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 The bench and bar of New Hampshire :incl 
 
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THE BENCH AND BAR OF 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 OF THE HIGHEST COURT, AND LAWYERS 
 
 OF THE PROVINCE AND STATE 
 
 AND A LIST 0% NAMES OF 
 
 * v,^'' THOSE NO|V LIVING 
 
 * ». 
 
 ^k 
 
 CHARLES H. BELL 
 
 
 
 ^Mwrmm^ 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 CbJ EtberfiiUe Preatf, C-ambrltiffe 
 
 1894 
 
By H. R. bailey, Administrator. 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 The Riverside Press, Cambi'idge, Mass., U. S. A. 
 Printed by H. 0. Houghton and Company. 
 
To 
 HONORABLE CHARLES DOE, LL. D. 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, 
 
 THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY THE A UTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I UNDERTOOK this woi'k Several years ago, by the desire and 
 with the encouragement of a number of my associates at the bar, 
 some of whom are no longer living. 
 
 In the preparation of it I have made use of all the public 
 means of information within my reach, and of the manuscript 
 biographical notices prepared by Dr. John Farmer, lent to me by 
 Edward H. Spaulding, Esq. ; also of notices and copies of bar 
 and court records collected by Hon. Samuel D. Bell and fur- 
 nished me by his sons, Hon. Samuel N. Bell and Hon. John J. 
 Bell ; of the sketches by Hon. William Plumer for which I am 
 indebted to his granddaughter. Miss Mary E. Plumer ; of a 
 series of letters of Moody Kent, Esq., to his kinsman, George 
 Kent, Esq., who presented them to me ; and of notes by Hon. 
 John Kelly, lent by Professor Bradbury L. Cilley. I have also 
 made use of written and oral communications from Isaac Patter- 
 son, Esq., Hon. George W. Nesmith, Henry Heywood, Esq., Hon. 
 James Wilson, John M. Shirley, Esq., Hon. Asa Fowler, John 
 H. White, Esq. (now deceased), Charles E. Batchelder, Esq., 
 Albert S. Batchellor, Esq., Edward S. Cutter, Esq., Otis F. Y. 
 R. Waite, Esq., Hon. Ellery A. Hibbard, Hon. William D. 
 Knapp, Hon. Joshua G. Hall, Miss Mary P. Thompson, and Dr. 
 Samuel A. Green, to all of whom with others not named I hereby 
 acknowledge my indebtedness and express my thanks. 
 
 My desire has been to include the name of every member of the 
 bar who has ever lived and practiced in New Hampshire, but not 
 those practitioners who were never admitted to the bar; nor 
 members of the bar who practiced here, but whose homes were 
 out of New Hampshire ; nor those admitted to the bar who never 
 practiced, or who practiced elsewhere. 
 
^'l , PREFACE. 
 
 I am too well aware of the liaLility to mistakes in works of this 
 class to expect this to be free from errors, though the utmost care 
 has been taken to attain accuracy. 
 
 The preparation of this work has been to me a labor of love, 
 and I now offer it in partial satisfaction of the debt I owe to a 
 noble profession. 
 
 CHARLES H. BELL. 
 
 The entire text of this book with the exception of Hon. Jere- 
 miah Smith's biographical notice of the author, the list of living 
 lawyers, a portion of the index, and the table of contents were 
 completed and for the most part printed before the death of Mr. 
 Bell. The preface is from notes prepared by him and is substan- 
 tially his work. The list of living lawyers has been completed 
 with the kind assistance of Charles G. Conner, Esq., the clerk of 
 the Court of Rockingham County. The death of the Hon. John 
 J. Bell occurred after a considerable portion of the work had been 
 printed, and for this reason the sketch of him is placed at the end 
 of the volume. The same is true of the sketches of John W. 
 Clark and A. M. Holbrook, the information required to prepare 
 them having been received by Mr. Bell too late to insert them in 
 the text in their alphabetical order. Some errors have been dis- 
 covered, and a list of corrections will be found after the biograph- 
 ical notice of the author. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAfiE 
 
 Biographical Notice of the Author . ix 
 
 Judges of the Highest Court, ix Chronological Order . 1 
 Me.mueks of the Bar who have lived and practiced in the 
 
 State : Deceased Lawyers ... 1.35 
 
 The Supreme Court .... 774 
 
 A List of Living Lawyers, distributed under the Towns in 
 
 which they oxce were or are now in practice .... 775 
 
 Index 783 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 It has seemed fitting that this volume should contain a short 
 notice of its author, who died as it was passing through the press. 
 
 Charles Henry Bell, the son of John and Persis (Thom) Bell, 
 was born at Chester, New Hampshire, November 18, 1823. He 
 prepared for college at Pembroke Academy, and Phillips Exeter 
 Academy ; and was graduated at Dartmouth in 1844. He studied 
 law with Messrs. Bell & Tuck of Exeter, and his cousin Samuel 
 D. Bell of Manchester. After practicing for a short time in 
 Chester, he became the partner of Nathaniel Wells of Great Falls. 
 In 1854 he removed to Exeter, where he was at first associated 
 with Gilman Marston. In 1856 he was appointed solicitor for 
 Rockingham County, and was reappointed in 1861, serving until 
 1866. He represented Exeter in the lower branch of the legisla- 
 ture in 1858, 1859, 1860, 1872, and 1873. In 1860 he was 
 elected Speaker of the House. He was a member of the state 
 Senate in 1863 and 1864, and president of the Senate during the 
 latter year. He was a Mason of high rank, and had served the 
 Grand Lodge of New Hampshire as its highest officer. In 
 March, 1879, Governor Prescott appointed him United States 
 Senator, to serve until an election should be made by the legisla- 
 ture in the following June. In November, 1880, he was elected 
 governor, an office previously filled by his father and his uncle. 
 His gubernatorial term extended from June, 1881, to June, 1883. 
 In 1889 he was president of the Constitutional Convention. He 
 was for a long time a trustee of Phillips Exeter Academy, and 
 latterly the president of the board. He served several years as 
 president of the New Hampshire Historical Society. In 1881 
 Dartmouth College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of 
 Laws. In 1868 Mr. Bell gave up active practice at the bar, and 
 
X BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 thenceforth devoted himself largely to literary and historical pur- 
 suits. He published among other works, " Historical Sketch of 
 Phillips Exeter Academy," " Memoir of John Wheelwright," and 
 " History of Exeter." His last labor was performed on the pres- 
 ent volume, the greater part of which was printed before his 
 death, the manuscript being then complete save part of the index. 
 He died at Exeter, November 11, 1893. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Bell married Sarah A. Gilman. She died in 1850, 
 and in 1867 he married Mrs. Mary E. Gilman, who survives him. 
 
 This bare array of facts and dates can, of course, give no ade- 
 quate idea of Mr. Bell's value as a public man or of the worth of 
 his literary and historical labors. The task of describing his 
 worth in those aspects of it will, it is hoped, be undertaken by one 
 who is fully competent to appreciate it. The chief purpose of the 
 present sketch is to briefly delineate Mr. Bell as a lawyer. 
 
 Until his appointment as county solicitor in 1856, Mr. Bell had 
 not been accustomed to take the lead in the trial of causes. It 
 was not as common then as now for young lawyers to try their 
 own cases, and he had had for his business associates, both at Great 
 Falls and Exeter, men older and more experienced than himself. 
 But his appointment as solicitor placed him at once in the fore- 
 front of battle, and subjected him to tests under which a weak 
 man would have succumbed. He had to undergo comparison 
 with Albert R. Hatch, his immediate predecessor in the office, 
 and with John Sullivan, then attorney-general, who were both 
 hard men to follow. But Mr. Bell stood the test successfully. 
 The business of the State, whenever intrusted to him, was ad- 
 mirably performed. There were peculiar difficulties under which 
 a county solicitor at that day labored. He was not only com- 
 pelled to try causes against able counsel, but he was also sure, in 
 a large class of cases, to encounter vehement prejudice on the 
 part of many jurors. A considerable part of the state docket 
 consisted of indictments for the violation of the Prohibitory 
 Liquor Law. This statute had been passed only the year before 
 Mr. Bell's appointment. Its enactment had been a political 
 issue, and its repeal was urged by a powerful party, comprising 
 very nearly half the voters of the State. It was inevitable that 
 each panel should contain some jurors who were bitterly opposed 
 to the law, and some of these men did not, at the outset of a trial, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. xi 
 
 understand that the proper place to manifest their opposition was 
 the ballot box, and not the jury room. Under these circum- 
 stances, it is not to be wondered at that, in a neighboring county, 
 there was at that time great difficulty in securing convictions 
 under this law. But the Rockingham County prosecutions were 
 so well handled, that, when Mr. Bell had been in office two years, 
 he was able to say that he had never yet addressed a jury in a 
 liquor case without obtaining a verdict for the State. 
 
 From 1856 until his retirement from practice in 1868, Mr. Bell 
 also took a prominent part in the trial of causes on the civil side 
 of the court ; and his name frequently appears in the New Hamp- 
 shire Reports as counsel in cases carried up from the trial term to 
 the law term. In his case, as in that of most lawyers, it is diffi- 
 cult to single out any one cause which deserves to be noticed 
 above all others. Probably the most protracted, and also the 
 most widely known, litigation in which he was engaged was the 
 controversy between Dr. Bassett and the Salisbury Manufactur- 
 ing Company on the subject of flowage and water rights ; a con- 
 troversy which, in some form or other, figured on the Rockingham 
 docket for about twenty years. One of the ablest oral arguments 
 Mr. Bell ever made before the full bench was in the equity suit 
 between these parties, reported in 47 New Hampshire Reports, 
 426. His opponent was the veteran leader of the New Hampshire 
 bar, Daniel M. Christie, who was deeply interested in a contro- 
 versy in which he had been retained for more than a third of his 
 long professional career. Mr. Bell's argument made an impres- 
 sion on at least one of his hearers which time has not effaced. It 
 is believed that none of the other able counsel, who, at different 
 periods in this long litigation, represented Dr. Bassett, ever made 
 a better presentation of his case or a more complete answer to the 
 other side. 
 
 As a jury lawyer Mr. Bell differed widely from most of the 
 men then recognized as leaders of the bar. They were largely 
 men of strength and character, but they had inherited from the 
 preceding generation some undesirable ways. From an early day 
 the demeanor of opposing counsel toward each other had gener- 
 ally been brusque, and sometimes rough. The treatment of wit- 
 nesses on cross-examination was often very objectionable. In 
 addresses to the jury, prolixity was the order of the day. For a 
 long time there had been no rule of court limiting the length of 
 
xii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 the closing argument, and the custom was, with one or two notable 
 exceptions, to discuss each case at inordinate length, dwelling on 
 every minute point. In all these respects Mr. Bell had the inde- 
 pendence to differ from the usages and traditions of the bar. He 
 never failed in courtesy. An observer might well have applied to 
 him the remark which Richard H. Dana made in reference to the 
 eminent Massachusetts lawyer, Franklin Dexter : " He seems to 
 be a gentleman practicing law, and not a mere lawyer." Mr. Bell 
 treated every one in the court-room with the same civility that he 
 exhibited towards his equals in social life. His bearing, there as 
 everywhere, was dignified, but without any touch of austerity or 
 superciliousness. He did not knowingly overstate his own case, 
 or misstate that of his adversary. One could not but feel that 
 here was a man whose first conscious desire was not that he might 
 achieve victory, but that he might achieve it worthily ; a man 
 who did not adopt the pernicious maxim that the counsel should 
 know no one except his client, but who recognized something 
 higher than his obligation to his client ; a man who made it his 
 object to live up to his oath, that he would " do no falsehood nor 
 consent that any be done in the court." Whatever could fairly 
 be done for his side, he would do ; but he would go no further. 
 Pro clientibus scepe, pro lege semper, was his motto. 
 
 With all Mr. Bell's courtesy and calmness, there was no lack 
 of strength or force. Attorney-General Sullivan, the heir to dis- 
 tinguished talent in two generations, and himself one of the most 
 eloquent and effective advocates of the day, is understood- to have 
 said of one of Mr. Bell's early efforts before a jury, that he had 
 never heard a case better argued. Mr. Bell was capable of using 
 sarcasm very effectively in rejoinder, but always within the bounds 
 of the professional amenities. His arguments were generally 
 brief, but clear. He did not waste his own time, or the time of 
 the court. Almost never did he utter a superfluous sentence, 
 and seldom an unnecessary word. " Clearness of statement," it 
 has been well said, " is the great power at the bar." Mr. Bell 
 possessed this faculty in a remarkable degree. His oral argu- 
 ments had the crystal-like clearness which was so marked a 
 characteristic of the written opinions of his cousin, the late Chief- 
 Justice Samuel D. Bell. It is safe to say that he never sat down 
 without making all his points fully understood. One great charm 
 of Mr. Bell's speeches consisted in his admirable command of 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. xiii 
 
 language. He always used the right word in the right place. 
 Probably no man of his time at the New Hampshire bar could 
 have better stood the test of a stenographic report. His off- 
 hand sentences uttered in the court-room might well be held up to 
 students as a model of pure and expressive English. 
 
 " He did not like a jury trial, and a jury trial did not like 
 him " — was said of an eminent lawyer in another State. The 
 first part of this statement may possibly have been true of Mr. 
 Bell. But the last part certainly was not applicable to him. His 
 experience with juries proves that courtesy and fairness are not 
 insuperable obstacles to success, and that a man of ability and 
 integrity can obtain verdicts without resorting to any small arti- 
 fices or objectionable methods. He did not fawn upon jurors, or 
 flatter them. He did not introduce irrelevant topics for the sake 
 of exciting sympathy for his client or prejudice against his op- 
 ponent. But his straightforward method of trying a case was 
 more effective than the flank movements which are sometimes 
 adopted. 
 
 Although usually calm and dispassionate, Mr. Bell was capable 
 of feeling righteous indignation, and also of forcibly expressing 
 it. In a congressional convention, in 1862, to which he was a 
 delegate, the committee on credentials reported in favor of seating 
 a certain claimant. Mr. Bell believed that this man had been 
 guilty of dishonorable conduct in the method of his election. He 
 stated the case to the convention in a scathing speech, which could 
 hardly have occupied five minutes. The chairman of the com- 
 mittee, no mean antagonist, and moreover representing on that 
 occasion the faction which succeeded in nominating its congres- 
 sional candidate, tried to stem the tide. But Mr. Bell's burning 
 words had done their work. The convention not only rejected the 
 favorite of the committee, but went so far as to seat his rival. 
 
 The belief in Mr. Bell's fairness was universal. It was gen- 
 erally understood that he did not speak unless he had something 
 to say, and that he expressed no opinion that he did not really 
 entertain. " The character of the man stood behind the efforts 
 of the advocate." Not only in the court-room, but also in the 
 stormiest political gathering, he was sure of being listened to with 
 attention. On one occasion, in a turbulent nominating conven- 
 tion, held in 1864, he was the only man on his side who could 
 obtain a respectful hearing while the excitement was at its 
 
xiv BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 height. The last session that Mr. Bell served in the legislature, a 
 measure was pending which aroused strong political feeling. The 
 opponents of the bill put up man after man to speak against it, 
 and consumed much time in this way. Meanwhile the friends of 
 the measure confided to Mr. Bell alone the task of replying, and 
 themselves sat silent, entertaining a just confidence that he, single 
 handed, would prove a full match for the entire phalanx of the 
 opposition. 
 
 No description of Mr. Bell as a lawyer can be complete which 
 omits all mention of his contributions to the social life of the bar. 
 Modern improvements in locomotion are rapidly eliminating the 
 social feature from legal life in New Hampshire. But when he 
 entered the profession, the railroads had not yet produced their 
 full effect ; the bar still congregated at the shire town throughout 
 " court week," and comradeship was not entirely a thing of the 
 past. No man was a more genial companion than Mr. Bell. 
 In conversation he had no superior and few equals. He was not 
 only a good talker, but also a good listener. He was not in the 
 habit of monopolizing the conversation, or of relating anecdotes 
 of which he was himself the hero. To listen to a familiar, off- 
 hand talk between two such men as Mr. Bell and his intimate 
 friend, Judge Bartlett, was a pleasure the like of which cannot 
 be enjoyed in New Hampshire to-day. Both were full of know- 
 ledge of books, and both had a strong sense of humor, and a 
 wonderful power of expression. The charm of such conversation 
 is more easily felt than described. 
 
 It was probably the general opinion of Mr. Bell's friends that, 
 though he was successful at the bar, yet the more appropriate 
 place for him was the bench, where two near kinsmen had served 
 with distinction. He certainly possessed marked qualifications 
 for that position ; a competent knowledge of law, practical ex- 
 perience, tact, sound sense, a dignified presence, and a power of 
 controlling men which led to his attaining the rare distinction of 
 being called upon to preside successively over the House of Rep- 
 resentatives, the Senate, and the Constitutional Convention. Had 
 he remained in active practice, he must erelong have been ten- 
 dered a judgeship. If still at the bar, he could not have been 
 passed over upon the reorganization of the court in 1876. One 
 reason for his non-appointment at an earlier day is to be found in 
 his unwillingness to push his own claims, and his willingness to 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. xv 
 
 recognize the claims of others. In 1861 he took an active part 
 in canvassing the lawyers of his section in behalf of the appoint- 
 ment of Judge Bartlett ; and, in 1869, he urged the appointment 
 of Judge Foster. He preferred others in honor. 
 
 The readers of the admirable biographies in this volume must 
 regret that the author's legal life could not be delineated by one 
 who possessed his own rare qualifications for such an undertaking. 
 But no such alter et idem is left behind him. 
 
 " The lips are silent which alone could pay 
 His worthy tribute." 
 
 Jeremiah Smith. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 91. At the end of the sketch of Judge Parker, for " He left no issue," 
 read " He left a daughter, and a son who is a member of the Massachusetts 
 Bar." 
 
 Page 134. Under Ellery A. Hibbard, for " 1876," read " 1874." Under 
 William L. Foster, add « 1876-1881," so as to read, " 1869-1874 ; 1876-1881." 
 Under Charles Doe, for " 1859-1876," read « 1859-1874," so as to read " J., 
 1859-1874 ; C. J. 1876-." Under Isaac W. Smith, for " 1874," read " 1874- 
 1876 ; 1877-." 
 
 Page 254. Under Francis Russell Chase, lines 8 and 9, for " the latter 
 year," read " in 1854." 
 
 Page 298. Under Charles William Cutter, for " Hatfield," read " Chat- 
 field." 
 
 Page 412. At the end of the sketch of William Henry Young Haokett, 
 for " Of their three children the two sons became lawyers," read " Mr. 
 Hackett had four children, two daughters and two sons." 
 
 Page 415. Under John P. Hale, LL. D., line 3 from bottom, for " In 
 1842 he was elected to Congress, and reelected two years later, serving four 
 years," read " In 1843 he was elected to Congress, and served one term in the 
 House." 
 
 Page 478. Under Jonathan Kittredge, 4iue 4, for " 1856 " read " 1855." 
 Line 7, for "two" read "four." 
 
 Page 499. Under Gilman Marston, line 3 from bottom, for " 1857 " read 
 " 1859." 
 
 Page 613. Under Amasa Roberts, for " He never married " read " He left 
 a widow but no children." 
 
JUDGES OF THE HIGHEST COURT, 
 
 IN- CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. 
 
 DECEASED JUDGES. 
 
 RICHARD MARTYN. 
 
 Chief Justice 1693-1694. 
 
 Richard Maetyn was a merchant, and a resident of Portsmouth 
 as early as 1660, when he received sixty-two acres in an allotment 
 of lands to the inhabitants. About that time he subscribed two 
 pounds for " the maintenance of the minister," and in 1671 he was 
 one of the founders of the Congregational Church in Portsmouth. 
 He was one of the selectmen in 1668, and for six of the ten suc- 
 ceeding years. In 1671 he was a commissioner for the trial of 
 small causes, and in 1672 and 1679 a deputy to the General 
 Court of Massachusetts. In President Cutt's commission he was 
 named a councilor of the province of New Hampshire, and filled 
 the office till 1683, when he was removed by Governor Cranfield. 
 During Cutt's administration he was also treasurer of the prov- 
 ince, and was afterwards sued by Governor Cranfield and Robert 
 Mason for the recovery of the fines and forfeitures which he had 
 received, and had disbursed on the order of the council. Judg- 
 ment went against him in the provincial court, but was reversed 
 by the King in Council. 
 
 In October, 1692, Mr. Martyn was one of the representatives of 
 Portsmouth in the New Hampshire provincial Assembly, and was 
 chosen Speaker. Governor AUen, in December following, ap- 
 pointed him a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and the next 
 year Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature, and he 
 administered the office till his death, April 2, 1694. He appears 
 to have possessed intelligence and good business qualifications, 
 1 
 
^ DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 and to have performed his public trusts acceptably ; and has been 
 justly characterized as a " leading man in church and state." 
 
 His first wife, whom he married December 1, 1653, was Sarah, 
 daughter of John Tuttle of Boston, Massachusetts ; his second, 
 Martha, daughter of Samuel Symonds and widow of John Deni- 
 «on of Ipswich ; his third, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Sher- 
 fcurae, and widow of Tobias Lear ; his fourth, Mary Benning, 
 widow of Samuel Wentworth of Portsmouth. By his first mar- 
 iriage he had four or five sons and four daughters. 
 
 EGBERT WADLEIGH. 
 Justice 1693-1697. 
 
 Kobert Wadleigh lived in Wells, Maine, in 1653, and was town 
 clerk there in 1659. In 1666 he bought land at what has since 
 been called Wadleigh's Falls, on the Lamprey River, now in Lee, 
 built a house and mills there in company with one Listen, and re- 
 moved thither with his family. In 1676 he was accepted as an 
 inhabitant of Exeter, and spent the rest of his life in that places 
 He was ithen a man of mature years, and had five sons, some of 
 them approaching manhood. In 1680 he was chosen a deputy to 
 the provincial Assembly, and acted as its clerk. In 1681 the 
 ttown made him a grant of two hundred acres of land. In 1682 
 Ihe paid the largest tax in the town. 
 
 The next year Walter Barefoote, probably as agent of Robert 
 Mason, brought a suit against him to recover some part of his 
 lands. Wadleigh resisted, and happily recovered a verdict, 
 which, however, was appealed from to the King. Thereupon 
 Wadleigh, who was determined and full of energy, sailed for Eng- 
 land to defend his rights, and made so favorable an impression 
 upon the Privy Council that he not only procured the dismissal 
 of the appeal, but was soon after appointed a councilor, doubtless 
 by their action. 
 
 Another probable cause of his visit to England was the fact 
 that three of his sons were under condemnation here for taking 
 part in " Gove's rebellion " against Cranfield's tyrannical adminis- 
 tration. They were soon after set at liberty. 
 
 His service as councilor continued from 1684 to May, 1686. 
 He was a justice of the peace in 1686 and probably for the rest 
 of his life, and in 1692 was an " assistant " in the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 3 
 
 On October 30, 1693, he was appointed a Judge of the Superior 
 Court, and was in office till April 27, 1697, when a new com- 
 mission was issued. He was a man of more than ordinary educa- 
 tion, independent, resolute, a friend of the people, and intrusted 
 by his townsmen with important affairs. 
 
 He left a considerable number of descendants. 
 
 WILLIAM PARTRIDGE. 
 J. 1693-1697. 
 
 According to Belknap's History, WiUiam Partridge was a na- 
 tive of Portsmouth, a shipwright of an extraordinary mechanical 
 genius, of a politic turn of mind, and a popular man. He was 
 largely concerned in trade, and was well known in England, 
 through his having supplied masts and timber for the navy. He 
 was treasurer of the province as early as 1692, and in October, 
 1693, was made a Judge of the Superior Court, and remained upon 
 the bench until 1697. In 1696 some of the leading men of Ports- 
 mouth, who disapproved of the conduct of Lieutenant-Governor 
 Usher, made interest for the appointment of Partridge to super- 
 sede him. Partridge accordingly went to England, and, through 
 the influence of Sir Henry Ashhurst, it is said, returned with the 
 desired commission. For some reason it was not immediately 
 published, and was not recognized by Usher, but on its being pro- 
 claimed in December, 1697, Partridge entered upon the duties of 
 his office, not, however, to enjoy it uninterruptedly, for Usher 
 died hard, and was for a time reinstated, but eventually was 
 obliged to yield. Partridge remained lieutenant-governor till 
 1703. In that year he quitted New Hampshire and removed to 
 Newbury, Massachusetts, and there died January 3, 1729, in the 
 76th year of his age. 
 
 His wife was Mary Brown. They were married December 8, 
 1680, and had three sons and two daughters. One of the latter 
 became the wife of Governor Belcher. 
 
 JOSEPH SMITH. 
 J. 1693-1696. C. J. 1696-1697 ; 1698-1699. 
 
 Joseph was a son of Eobert Smith, one of the signers of the 
 Exeter Combination in 1639. He was born about the year 1653, 
 
4 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 either in Exeter or in Hampton, to which place his father re- 
 moved, and where he himself passed his adult life. He was 
 many years in public employment. He was a representative in 
 the provincial Assembly in 1692, 1708, 1709, and 1716, at least ; 
 selectman of Hampton seven years, and a justice of the peace as 
 early as 1708. 
 
 His first commission as an assistant Justice of the Superior 
 Court was dated in 1693, and he acted as such until 1696 ; then 
 he was advanced to the position of Chief Justice, which he held, 
 with perhaps a slight interval, till 1699. 
 
 In 1696 he was treasurer of the province, and in 1698-99 was 
 of the council. In King William's war he was much engaged in 
 military affairs, being then a major of the militia. He also held 
 the office of Judge of Probate from 1703 to 1708. It is evident 
 that he was a useful and much trusted citizen. 
 
 He left no descendants, though he was thrice married ; first, to 
 Dorothy, eldest daughter of Kev. Seaborn Cotton ; second, April 
 17, 1707, to Mary, daughter of Captain William Moore ; and 
 last, February 16, 1709, to Mrs. Elizabeth Marshall, who out- 
 lived him. He died November 9, 1717. 
 
 NATHANIEL WEARE. 
 
 C. J. 1694-1696. 
 
 Nathaniel Weare, whose father bore the same name and was 
 an early proprietor of Newbury, Massachusetts, was born in Eng- 
 land in 1631, and became a resident of Hampton, where he was a 
 well-esteemed citizen. When Robert Mason attempted to assert 
 his claims to the ownership of the soil of New Hampshire against 
 the bona fide occupants, by the aid of venal and corrupt officials, 
 Mr. Weare distinguished himself by his resolute stand against 
 him, and was chosen by the inhabitants, outraged by the arbitrary 
 conduct of Governor Cranfield, to go to England and lay their 
 complaints and petition for his removal before the King. He 
 afterwards made a second voyage to England as attorney for 
 William Vaughan in his appeals from the judgment obtained by 
 Mason against him in a land suit, and in other matters. Weare 
 was successful in part, and gained much credit by his conduct of 
 the business. He was ever on the side of the people, in their 
 struggles against the invasion of their legal and civil rights. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 5 
 
 After the overthrow of the Andros government in New England 
 in 1689, New Hampshire being without an executive, an attempt 
 was made to restore authority by the election of commissioners 
 from the several towns, empowered to meet and conclude upon a 
 form of government ad interim. Mr. Weare was chosen one of 
 the commissioners from Hampton ; but the plan was not carried 
 out. He was also sent as one of a committee from Hampton to 
 advise with others at Portsmouth, as to what was necessary to be 
 done in defense of the province against the incursions of the 
 savage enemy in King William's war. 
 
 In 1692 he was chosen by Lieutenant-Governor Usher and 
 council a councilor of the province, and in April, 1694, was 
 appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court, as successor to 
 Kichard Martyn, and presided in the court until 1696. 
 
 He retained his seat in the council until January, 1698-99, and 
 then, on occasion of some difference with Governor Allen, was by 
 his own decree excused from further attendance. He resumed 
 his place at the council board upon the publication of Governor 
 Bellomont's commission in 1699, and until 1715, when he retired 
 from public employment. He died May 13, 1718. 
 
 He married Elizabeth Swain, December 3, 1656. She died 
 about 1660. He took for his second wife Huldah Hussey, No- 
 vember 9, 1690. His two sons, Peter and Nathaniel, were Judges 
 of the Superior Court, as was his grandson, Meshech ; and also 
 Chief Justice. 
 
 JOB ALC0CK.1 
 
 J. 1697-1699. 
 
 Job Alcock (sometimes spelled Alcot) was born about 1640, 
 and was a son of John Alcock, who was living in York, Maine, 
 before 1675. The son was appointed lieutenant in the company 
 of militia in that town in 1668, and afterwards captain. Under 
 the second charter of Massachusetts he was in 1691 made a 
 councilor for Maine, and subsequently a Justice of the Inferior 
 Court of Common Pleas, there. His garrison house in York was 
 one of the places of refuge for the whites, when the Indians made 
 
 1 lu some of the lists of Judges that have been published, the name of Job 
 Clements is given, instead of Alcock. The latter, however, is correct, as an 
 inspection of the original council records demonstrates. 
 
b DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 their descent upon that place in 1692. Williamson, in his History 
 of Maine, describes him as " one of the ancient, most substantial 
 and wealthy inhabitants " of York. 
 
 It was probably not long after 1692 that he removed his 
 residence to Portsmouth. In February, 1697, he was sworn 
 as a justice of the peace for the province of New Hampshire, 
 and in the following April he was appointed an associate Judge 
 of the Superior Court. In February, 1699, a new commission 
 issued, and terminated his connection with the court. 
 
 He was living in Portsmouth in January, 1700, when Samuel 
 Wentworth of Wells, Maine, nominated him one of the overseers 
 of his will. He died in 1716, and left a widow, Dorothy, but no 
 children. 
 
 PETER COFFIN. 
 C. J. 1697-1698. J. 1699-1712. 
 
 Peter Coffin was the eldest son of Tristram Coffin of Nantucket, 
 Massachusetts, and was born in Devonshire, England, in 1630. 
 He removed to Dover before 1650, and as early as 1690 to Exeter, 
 where he resided the remainder of his life. At one time he was 
 in company with Major Richard Waldron, and traded with the 
 Indians. As a merchant he was successful in business, and 
 acquired a large landed property. In Dover he was selectman 
 and town treasurer, each some years ; and was deputy to the 
 General Court in Boston in 1672, 1673, and 1679. In 1693 he 
 was appointed councilor, and served, with some interruption, 
 until near the close of his life. 
 
 At the attack of the Indians upon the inhabitants of Dover, 
 when the tragical death of Major Waldron occurred, the savages 
 broke into Coffin's house, and finding a bag full of money there, 
 compelled him to scatter it upon the floor while they scrambled 
 for it. On their failure to effect an entrance into his son's garrison, 
 they threatened to kill the father unless his son opened his doorS 
 to them. The younger man then surrendered, but the guard 
 placed by the Indians over the family was so negligent that they 
 all escaped. 
 
 The next year Coffin took up his residence in Exeter, where 
 he was received as an inhabitant, had a grant of land, and was 
 employed frequently in town affairs. It was while he lived in 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 7 
 
 Exeter that he served as councilor and as a member of the 
 Superior Court, first as Chief Justice about a year, and later as 
 an "assistant" for twelve years. He died there, March 21, 1715, 
 " a gentleman very serviceable to church and state," according to 
 his obituary. 
 
 His wife was Abigail, daughter of Edward Starbuck. He had 
 five sons and four daughters, and his descendants are numerous. 
 
 JOHN GEREISH. 
 J. 1697-1698; 1699-1714. 
 
 John Gerrish was of Dover. He was the son of Captain WiUiam 
 and Joanna (Oliver) Gerrish, and was born probably in Newbury, 
 Massachusetts, May 15, 1646. He was living in Dover as early 
 as 1660, when he received from Major Richard Waldron a 
 conveyance of part of a mill and a hundred acres of land, and 
 ten years after, of a house partly finished. These were perhaps 
 the dowry of Waldron's daughter, whom Gerrish married. He 
 took the oath of a freeman in 1669. In 1684 he was a deputy 
 from Dover to the provincial Assembly, and was styled captain, 
 having the command of a troop of horse in the militia. In 1689 
 he was a member of the convention " to resolve upon some method 
 of government," after Andres's deposition. He became councilor 
 in 1692; in 1697 a Judge of the Superior Court, to which position 
 he was again appointed in 1699, and retained his commission till 
 his death in 1714, though he attended court but once after 
 February, 1708-9, and that was in February, 1712-13. At the 
 August term, 1713, he was absent by reason of sickness, as appears 
 by the record. 
 
 He had six sons and two daughters. 
 
 KINSLEY HALL. 
 
 J. 1698-1699. 
 
 Mr. Hall was a son of Ealph and Mary Hall, and was born in 
 the year 1652. His father was one of the signers of the Com- 
 bination in Exeter, and the son resided there, though he may 
 have been a native of Dover. He was a man of much intelli- 
 gence and efficiency ; was a selectman of Exeter several years, 
 town clerk, and a representative in the provincial Assembly in 
 
8 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 1694 and 1695. During King Williatn's war he was often em- 
 ployed in a military capacity, having the then important commis- 
 sion of captain, and rendered valuable service. He was one of 
 the justices of the peace, aud»in 1698 was appointed a Judge of 
 the Superior Court, and sat as such till 1699. 
 
 He was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter 
 of Eev. Samuel Dudley of Exeter. He had five or more children, 
 and died in Exeter in 1736. 
 
 SHADRACH WALTON. 
 J. 1698-1699. 
 
 George Walton, the father of Shadrach, was a signer of the 
 Exeter Combination in 1639, and afterwards removed to Great 
 Island, where his son Shadrach was born in 1658, and resided 
 afterwards. The latter became a man of property and influence, 
 and distinguished himself in the Indian wars, rising to the dig- 
 nity of colonel of the New Hampshire forces, in which capacity 
 he assisted in the reduction of Port Royal, in 1710. In 1716 he 
 was appointed to the council, and continued in it until he became 
 the senior member and president thereof, and until his death. 
 Governor Shute appointed him in 1722 to the command of the 
 forces raised for the expedition against Penobscot, whereby Wal- 
 ton became involved in an unpleasant controversy between the 
 governor and the General Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 Colonel Walton was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas 
 from 1695 to 1698, and again from 1716 to 1737. He was ap- 
 pointed a Judge of the Superior Court in 1698, and was superseded 
 by the new commission in 1699. He lived until October 3, 1741. 
 
 By his wife, Mary, he had two sons and four daughters. 
 
 RICHARD HILTON. 
 
 J. 1698-1699. 
 
 Richard Hilton was a son of Captain William Hilton, and a 
 grandson of Edward Hilton, the emigrant. He lived in that part 
 of Exeter which is now South Newmarket, and in later life is said 
 to have removed to Portsmouth. He administered the estate of 
 his father, and was a selectman of Exeter seven of the years 
 between 1692 and 1716. In 1698 there was assigned to him a 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 9 
 
 place for a pew in the new meeting-house, for himself, his wife, 
 and four children. As early as the year 1700 he had a right of 
 ferry granted to him between Exeter and Stratham. 
 
 He received the appointment of Judge of the Superior Court in 
 1698, and served something less than a year, when a change was 
 made. He was living in 1736. 
 
 His wife was his cousin Ann, daughter of Edward Hilton, Jr. 
 They had five sons. 
 
 JOHN HINCKES. 
 C. J. 1699-1704. 
 
 Mr. Hinckes is understood to have been of English birth, and 
 to have come to Great Island subsequently to 1670. He was not 
 a lawyer, but probably a merchant, and possessed considerable 
 ability, though not much firmness of principle. In 1683 he was 
 chosen with three others by Governor Cranfield and his council as 
 a member of that body, in place of others arbitrarily removed. 
 He received the appointment of " assistant " to Robert Mason as 
 Chancellor to the province, and was one of the three persons to 
 whom Cranfield ordered Rev. Joshua Moody to administer the 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper in the Episcopal form, in 1683. 
 Mr. Hinckes was named one of "the council for New England" 
 in Governor Dudley's commission in 1686, and a councilor for 
 New Hampshire in Governor Allen's in 1692. He continued in 
 the latter capacity a large part of the time till about the year 
 1710, and acted as president of the council in the absence of the 
 governor and lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Upon the reorganization of the judiciary in 1699, he received 
 the appointment of Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and re- 
 tained the same until 1704, when he left the country " without 
 leave," and Eichard Waldron was named councilor by mandamus 
 in 1711, in his stead. 
 
 During the administration of Andros he was appointed captain 
 of the fort at Great Island, and in 1707 John Cross, who had 
 been a soldier under his command," petitioned the governor and 
 council for redress, alleging that Hinckes had received twenty-nine 
 pounds from the treasury, belonging to the petitioner, and had 
 clandestinely gone out of the province without paying him. The 
 governor and council granted Cross leave to bring a suit in the 
 
10 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 pro%'incial courts in formd pauperis, for the recovery of the 
 money. Judge Hinckes afterwards returned to New Hampshire, 
 it is believed, and is said to have died in Newcastle in 1734. 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel Fryer, and he 
 left descendants. 
 
 JOHN PLAISTED. 
 
 J. 1699-1716. C. J. 1716-1717. 
 
 John Plaisted was the son of Lieutenant Roger Plaisted of 
 Kittery, Maine, was born near the year 1660, and went to live in 
 Portsmouth when he was aged about nineteen. There he mar- 
 ried Mary, daughter of Captain John Pickering, and became a 
 popular and prominent citizen. He was a representative in the 
 provincial Assembly in 1692 and for several succeeding years, 
 and Speaker of the House in 1696. In 1702 he became a mem- 
 ber of the council, and so continued (with possible intervals) 
 till 1716. The commission of a Judge of the Superior Court 
 was awarded him in 1699, and he attended every term of the 
 Court as such to the time^of his appointment as Chief Justice in 
 August, 1716. As Chief Justice he attended but a single term. 
 His death probably occurred in 1717, although the statement of 
 one of his descendants would fix it at a date considerably later. 
 
 WILLIAM VAUGHAN. 
 C. J. 1708-1716. 
 
 William Vaughan was a grandson of Sir Roger Vaughan of 
 Glamorganshire in Wales. He received a mercantile education 
 under Sir Josiah Child in London, and came to Portsmouth as a 
 merchant in 1664, when twenty-four years of age. He was suc- 
 cessful in business and acquired wealth, and being generous, pub- 
 lic spirited, and resolute, he bore a very prominent part in the 
 early history of New Hampshire. He was admitted a freeman 
 of Massachusetts in 1669, and was soon after made a lieutenant 
 of cavalry under Captain Robert Pike. From 1676 to 1680 he 
 served as one of the selectmen of Portsmouth, and repeatedly 
 afterwards. 
 
 He was a member of President Cutt's council, and of those of 
 several of his successors, holding his seat with various interrupt 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 11 
 
 tions till 1713. In the first two years of the provincial govern- 
 ment he sat as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; and in 
 1683 he was by Governor Cranfield's appointment a member of 
 the special Court for the trial of Edward Gove and others for trea- 
 son. He was found too independent and too watchful of the 
 interests of the people to suit Cranfield, who displaced him from 
 the office of councilor. Vaughan took part in the movement for 
 forwarding a complaint to the King to procure Cranfield's re- 
 moval from the governorship, and thereby excited the ire of that 
 despotic ruler, who treated him with insolence, and illegally com- 
 mitted him to prison, where he was detained nine months, to the 
 great injury of his health. 
 
 He was one of those against whom Robert Mason, as proprie- 
 tor of New Hampshire, brought suit to recover the lands they 
 occupied, and was the only one who appealed from the adverse 
 decision of the Court, though his appeal was really for the bene- 
 fit of the whole. Mr. Vaughan was awhile treasurer of the prov- 
 ince, and for a number of years recorder of deeds ; he was also 
 prominent in military affairs, and at one time was in command 
 of the entire militia force of the province. In August, 1708, he 
 was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and retained 
 that commission till February, 1716, though he last appeared in 
 court in August, 1714. He died November 12, 1719. He was 
 an honest and courageous supporter of the people's rights and in- 
 terests, and was the object of their warm affection and admiration. 
 
 He married, December 8, 1668, Margaret, the younger daughter 
 of Eichard Cutt, and was the father of two sons and six daughters. 
 His son George was lieutenant-governor of New Hampshire. 
 
 MARK HUNKING. 
 J. 1712-1729. 
 
 Mark Hunking is understood to have been a son of John Hun- 
 king, and to have been born in Portsmouth, May 17, 1670. He 
 was a representative, and Speaker of the Assembly ; and in 1710 
 was brought into the council, where he kept his seat till 1728. 
 He was chosen recorder of the province in 1722, and again in 
 1726 for three years. 
 
 In 1712 he was commissioned a Judge of the Superior Court, 
 and is supposed to have remained in office till 1729, though the 
 
12 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 absence of dockets for a part of that time renders the duration 
 of his service uncertain. He is said to have deceased about the 
 year 1731. The fact that there were several contemporaries of 
 his, bearing the same name, so that it is not easy to distinguish 
 one from the others, makes any extended biographical sketch 
 impracticable. 
 
 SAMUEL PENHALLOW. 
 J. 1714-1717. C. J. 1717-1726. 
 
 This gentleman was born in St. Mabon, Cornwall, England, 
 July 2, 1665. He came to this country with his preceptor, Kev. 
 Charles Morton, in 1686. The Society for Propagating the Gos- 
 pel in Foreign Parts offered him strong inducements to become a 
 missionary among the Indians, but on account of the unsettled 
 state of affairs in the country he preferred to remove to Ports- 
 mouth, and engaged in trade. Marrying the daughter of Presi- 
 dent John Cutt, he came into possession through her of a large 
 estate, which he much increased by his successful business opera- 
 tions. He lived in handsome style, and was hospitable, notably 
 to strangers, and charitable. 
 
 In 1698 and several subsequent years he was a representative 
 in the Assembly, and in 1700 was Speaker. Near the same time 
 he was made collector of the port. In 1702 he was appointed to 
 the council, and remained in it as long as he lived, with the ex- 
 ception of a short suspension by Lieutenant-Governor Yaughan. 
 
 Several years he was chosen by the House of Representatives 
 recorder of deeds, and as such was required by Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor Usher, under the authority of the Lords of Trade and 
 Plantations in England, to deliver the records and files of the 
 courts, which had been deposited with the recorder by order of 
 the General Court, to the secretary of the province. Penhallow 
 refused to do so without an act of the General Assembly author- 
 izing it ; and neither threats nor persuasions could prevail upon 
 him to obey an order which he regarded as a violation of duty 
 and prejudicial to the interest of the people. 
 
 In 1714 he was commissioned Justice, and in 1717 Chief Justice, 
 of the Superior'Court. There he continued to preside as long as 
 his life lasted. His mental powers, his education, and his famil- 
 iarity with public business rendered him a valuable and excellent 
 judge. In 1714 the office of secretary of the province was also 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 18 
 
 conferred upon him, and he discharged its duties up to the time 
 of his decease well and faithfully, as he did all the various public 
 trusts that devolved upon him. 
 
 In the war against the Eastern Indians Mr. Penhallow served 
 as a captain, and subsequently was the author of a history of the 
 wars with those Indians from 1708 to 1726, which was published 
 in the latter year. It is a work of authority, and has been twice 
 reprinted. 
 
 He died in Portsmouth, December 2, 1726. 
 
 He had four sons and five daughters, and there are many of 
 his descendants living. 
 
 THOMAS PACKER. 
 J. 1717-1724. 
 
 Thomas Packer, a native of London, England, was bred a sur- 
 geon, and came to this country while a young man. After a short 
 stay in Salem, Massachusetts, he settled in Portsmouth, where he 
 practiced medicine and surgery, and acquired distinction. For 
 some years he devoted much attention to the duties of divers pub- 
 lic stations. He was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and 
 also Judge of Probate, and a lieutenant-colonel in the militia. 
 From these offices he was relieved about 1697 by reason of politi- 
 cal disputes ; but afterwards, in quieter times, he was made a 
 councilor, which he continued to be from 1719 to the time of his 
 death. He was also a member and Speaker of the House of 
 Assembly for one or more years, before his appointment to the 
 council. 
 
 He was a Judge of the Superior Court for about seven years ; 
 from January, 1717, to his decease. 
 
 He was married, August 7, 1687, to Elizabeth, widow of Joseph 
 Hall, and a niece of Major Kichard Waldron of Dover. They 
 had children. 
 
 GEORGE JAFFREY. 
 J. 1717-1726. C. J. 1726-1732 ; 1742-1749. 
 
 Mr, Jaffrey was the son of the early councilor of the same 
 name, and was born in Great Island, November 22, 1682. He 
 graduated from Harvard College in 1702, and was the first 
 man of a liberal education who appeared on the bench of New 
 
14 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 Hampshire. He became an inhabitant of. Portsmouth, and repre- 
 sented that town in the provincial Assembly in 1710 and several 
 succeeding years. In 1717 he was of the council, and the same 
 year was placed upon the bench of the Superior Court as an asso- 
 ciate.. In the latter capacity he acted until 1726, when upon the 
 death of Samuel Penhallow he was commissioned Chief Justice, 
 and made treasurer of the province. Henry Sherburne appears to 
 ■have been Chief Justice early in 1732, and Judge JafErey is sup- 
 posed to have resigned at that time. Judge Sherburne ceased 
 to preside in that court in 1742, when Jaffrey was recommissioned 
 Chief Justice, and the latter office he filled till his death. May 8, 
 1749. He also remained treasurer as long as he lived. His long 
 service in public offices indicates the confidence he inspired in his 
 ability and integrity. 
 
 He married, January 10, 1710, Sarah, daughter of David Jef- 
 fries of Boston, Massachusetts. She died, January 12, 1734, and 
 he married, March 9, 1738, Mrs. Sarah McPhedris, a daughter of 
 Lieutenant-Governor John Wentworth. By his first marriage he 
 had a son of his own name and three or four daughters. 
 
 PETER WEARE. 
 J. 1726-1730. 
 
 Peter, the son of Nathaniel Weare, was born in Newbury, 
 Massachusetts, November 15, 1660, and lived in Hampton, after- 
 wards Hampton Falls. He was admitted to a seat in the council 
 in 1698, but apparently went out with Allen's government the next 
 year. He was then styled lieutenant ; he afterwards rose to be 
 major and colonel. He was a representative from Hampton in 
 the Assemblies from 1715 to 1728, with scarce an exception, and 
 Speaker of the House in 1722. He appears to have been a man 
 of decided opinions, who spoke his mind with much candor, and a 
 useful public servant, being repeatedly a member of important 
 commissions. 
 
 It is understood that he received his appointment to the bench 
 of the Superior Court in 1726, and retained it till 1730. 
 
 He married Elizabeth, probably daughter of Humphrey Wil- 
 son, of Exeter, January 6, ,1692. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 15 
 
 JOHN FROST. 
 J. 1724-1732. 
 
 John Frost was a son of Major Charles Frost, of Kittery, 
 Maine, and was born March 1, 1682. Apparently he was bred 
 to the sea, for it is said that at one time he was the commander 
 of an English ship of war ; but later he was a merchant in New 
 Castle, and became useful and prominent in public affairs. He 
 was an inhabitant of Kittery till 1701, at least, and afterwards 
 of Poi-tsmouth. He was appointed a councilor of the province 
 in 1723, and served as such through life ; and in 1724 he was 
 commissioned a Justice of the Superior Court, to succeed Thomas 
 Packer. This office also he apparently occupied as long as he 
 lived. His death took place February 25, 1732. 
 
 September 4, 1702, he took to wife Mary, sister of Sir Wil- 
 liam Pepperrell, and they had seventeen children. 
 
 ANDREW WIGGIN. 
 J. 1729-1732. 
 
 Andrew Wiggin was the son of Andrew and grandson of Cap- 
 tain Thomas Wiggin, who came to this country first in 1631. The 
 subject of this notice was born in Squamscott, now Stratham, 
 January 6, 1672. While Squamscott was connected with Exeter 
 he was one of the selectmen in 1699, 1712, and 1714. Stratham 
 having been incorporated as a separate town in 1716, largely 
 owing to the exertions of Wiggin, he was elected for a number of 
 years its representative in the Assembly, and repeatedly held the 
 office of Speaker, beginning with 1728. He appears to have been 
 an energetic and competent man of business, and very fixed in his 
 opinions, which enrbroiled him with Governor Belcher. 
 
 His commission as Judge of the Superior Court is supposed 
 to have run to 1732, though he only sat on the bench three terms, 
 beginning with September term, 1729. He died about 1756. 
 
 He was twice married ; first, probably, to Abigail FoUett, Sep- 
 tember 2, 1697 ; afterwards to Rachel . He had seven chil- 
 dren, of whom five were daughters. 
 
16 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 NATHANIEL WEAEE. 
 J. 1730-1738. 
 
 It is said that this gentleman was the son of Peter Weare, and 
 was born in Newbury, Massachusetts. He afterwards lived in 
 Hampton, in that part of the township which was incorporated 
 as Hampton Falls. In 1727 he was a member of the Assembly 
 from Hampton Falls, and was elected and served as Speaker. 
 Eelations between the House and Lieutenant-Governor Went- 
 worth and his council had become somewhat "strained," and 
 when in 1728, on a new election of the House, nearly the same per- 
 sons composed it, and Mr. "Weare was again chosen as Speaker, 
 the lieutenant-governor refused to approve the choice. The House 
 demurred to his authority so to d,o, and it was nine days before 
 another Speaker, agreeable to "Wentworth, was chosen in his 
 stead. For a number of years after this Weare was reelected a 
 representative. He was evidently a leader of the popular party. 
 
 He is understood to have held the commission of Judge of the 
 Superior Court from 1730 to 1738. His will was made in 1738, 
 and he probably died about 1740. 
 
 He was twice married. The Christian name of his first wife was 
 Theodate. His second, Mary Wait, he married August 24, 1703. 
 He had five sons and eight daughters. His youngest son, Meshech 
 Weare, became the Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and first 
 President of New Hampshire under the republican government. 
 
 NICHOLAS OILMAN. 
 
 J. 1732-1740. 
 
 This was a son of Councilor John and Elizabeth (Treworgye) 
 Gilman, born in Exeter, December 26, 1672, and of that town a 
 life-long resident. He was a farmer and merchant, and was a rep- 
 resentative in the Assembly in 1732. In 1729 he was made a 
 Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and filled the position 
 about a year, when he resigned it to give his attention to his pri- 
 vate business. But on receiving the commission of Judge of the 
 Superior Court in 1732, he accepted it and performed the duties 
 satisfactorily till 1740, when he retired, his son Samuel Gilman 
 succeeding to the post. He was a man of large property for the 
 time, and died in 1749. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 17 
 
 He married Sarah, daughter of Nathaniel Clark of Newbury, 
 Massachusetts, and had six sons and three daughters. 
 
 HENRY SHERBURNE. 
 C. J. 1732-1742. 
 
 Henry Sherburne was born in Portsmouth, February 16, 1674, 
 and appears in his earlier years to have followed the sea. At a 
 later period he was engaged in merchandise, and had dealings for 
 many years with the province in furnishing supplies for the In- 
 dian wars, and in the issue and redemption of bills of credit. He 
 was styled captain, and later colonel, and saw some active service 
 during the intermittent hostilities of his time. He was a repre- 
 sentative from Portsmouth in the General Assembly in 1720 and 
 probably afterwards, and a councilor from 1728, for nearly thirty 
 years. In 1732 he was named Chief Justice of the Superior 
 Court, and retained the position for ten years. He was also 
 treasurer of the province in 1732, and for some years after. 
 
 He was a gentleman of intelligence and high standing. He 
 died in Portsmouth, December 29, 1757. 
 
 His wife was Dorothy, daughter of Samuel Wentworth, and! 
 they had several children, among them Henry Sherburne, who^ 
 became Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. 
 
 BENJAMIN GAMBLING. 
 J. 1733-1737. 
 
 Benjamin Gambling was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and 
 graduated from Harvard College in 1702. In 1709 he was of 
 Portsmouth, and Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1717 
 he was made sheriff of the province, and appears to have offici- 
 ated in that capacity till his successor was appointed in 1728. He 
 was a representative in the House of Assembly in 1727 and 1728 ; 
 and in 1732 was advanced to the council, where he served till his 
 decease. He was made Judge of Probate in 1731, and was placed 
 upon the bench of the Superior Court in 1733. His commission 
 terminated only with his life. He was a man of property and of 
 uncommon business capacity. Governor Belcher characterized 
 him as " knowing and honest." He died September 1, 1737, at 
 the age of fifty-six years. 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Samuel Penhallow. 
 
18 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 JOSEPH SHERBURNE. 
 J. 1739-1740. 
 
 Joseph Sherburne was a wealthy citizen of Portsmouth, who 
 paid in 1727 a tax the fifth in amount in that town. He held 
 the commission of lieutenant-colonel in 1734, when he entered the 
 provincial council, and served as councilor throughout the residue 
 of his life. 
 
 He was appointed special Justice of the Court of Common 
 Pleas repeatedly between the years 1733 and 1738, and is under- 
 stood to have held the permanent commission of Judge of the 
 Superior Court in 1739-1740. 
 
 He died in Portsmouth in the latter part of December, 1744, at 
 the age of sixty-four. 
 
 ELLIS HUSKE. 
 J. 1739-1749. C. J. 1749-1754. 
 
 This gentleman was a brother of General Huske, who dis- 
 tinguished himself at the battles of Dettingen and CuUoden, and 
 -was no doubt of English birth. He resided in Portsmouth, and 
 was honored with a place in the council in 1733, and kept it till 
 his death in 1755. He seems to have been a punctual and busy 
 councilor. His commission as a Justice of the Superior Court was 
 dated 1739, and he held it ten years, and was then advanced to 
 the Chief Justiceship. 
 
 Governor Penning Wentworth, in a message to the Assembly in 
 1754, asserted that during Huske's administration of the office 
 the Court " was fallen into great disorder, and by repeated delays 
 the course of justice was in a manner put a stop to." That ap- 
 parently brought about Huske's resignation. 
 
 He married Mary, daughter ' of Ichabod Plaisted, October 25, 
 1720. They had two sons and three daughters. John Huske, 
 one of their sons, removed to England, was elected to Parliament, 
 and has the credit of being the originator of the " Stamp Act." 
 He was the author of a pamphlet published in 1755, entitled " The 
 Present State of North America." 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 19 
 
 THOMAS MILLET. 
 J. 1740-1742. 
 
 Thomas Millet was of Dover, and was a stirring man, holding 
 public position for more than a quarter of a century. He had 
 the commission of captain, and was a representative in the House 
 of Assembly from 1731 to 1758, with the exception of three or 
 four years. He seems to have been especially active in the prep- 
 arations for the expedition against Louisbourg in 1745. He was 
 also a selectman of Dover for some twenty years, beginning with 
 1734. 
 
 He appears to have served as a Judge of the Superior Court 
 from August, 1740, to August, 1741. It may admit of doubt, 
 however, whether he was acting under a general commission, or 
 a special one. 
 
 His wife was Love Bunker, and his daughter Abigail married 
 Judge John Wentworth, October 16, 1750. 
 
 SAMUEL OILMAN. 
 J. 1740-1747. 
 
 Samuel, son of Nicholas and Sarah (Clark) Gilman, was born 
 in Exeter, May 1, 1698, and spent his long life in that town. In 
 1732 he was commissioned a captain, and in 1755 colonel, in the 
 militia, and in 1740 he was made a justice of the peace, — all 
 honorable titles then. His occupation was that of a tavern er, and 
 he was a man of means and the owner of a number of negro 
 slaves. 
 
 His service on the bench of the Superior Court covered a period 
 of seven years, from 1740 to 1747. He was a man of the 
 highest character, and universally respected. For a long time 
 he was the chief conveyancer of Exeter, and a great proportion of 
 the deeds of land were in his neat and uniform handwriting. 
 He died January 3, 1785. 
 
 He was married, first, September 2, 1719, to Abigail, daughter 
 of Robert Lord of Ipswich, Mass. She died November 29, 1745, 
 and he was married, second, February 19, 1746, to Mrs. Mary 
 "Woodbridge, who died in 1759. He had nine children, but out- 
 lived them all. 
 
20 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 JOTHAM ODIORNE. 
 J. 1742-1747. 
 
 Jotham, the son of John aud Mary (Johnson) Odiorne, was 
 born at New Castle about the year 1675. He engaged in the 
 shipping business and prosecuted it with success, and during his 
 active life exerted inuch influence as a leading public man. From 
 1715 be was a representative in the Assembly five or six years ; 
 in 1719 he was commissioned a Judge of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, and continued in the office till 1730. He was called to 
 the provincial council in 1724. Governor Benning "Wentworth 
 appointed him in 1742 a Judge of the Superior Court, and he 
 retained his seat upon the bench until the year before his death, 
 which occurred in New Castle, August 16, 1748. 
 
 His wife was Sarah Bassum, and they had three sons and four 
 daughters. 
 
 THOMAS WALLINGFORD. 
 J. 1747-1771. 
 
 He was a son of John and Mary (Tuttle) Wallingford, and 
 born in Bradford, Massachusetts, July 28, 1697. He appears to 
 have come early into New Hampshire, and rose from small begin- 
 nings to be a merchant in that part of Dover which is now Som- 
 ersworth. There he lived and throve, till he became one of the 
 wealthiest men in the province. He owned lands in Portsmouth, 
 and in 1767 generously gave to the town a lot for a schoolhouse. 
 Being one of the original purchasers of Mason's patent, he ac- 
 quired a great landed interest in various townships of New 
 Hampshire. 
 
 For a long period he was intrusted with public affairs, as select- 
 man of Dover for eight years, moderator four years, and represen- 
 tative six years. He was also colonel of a regiment of militia. 
 
 He was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court in 1747 and 
 by a second commission in 1749, and remained in the office to the 
 time of his decease. He died in Portsmouth, where he had gone 
 on business, August 4, 1771. 
 
 He was married three times. His first wife is supposed to 
 have been Margaret, daughter of Job and Abigail (Heard) Clem- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 21 
 
 ents ; his second wife was probably Mary Pray ; his third wife 
 was Mrs. Elizabeth (Swett) Prime. By these several marriages 
 he had thirteen children. 
 
 MESHECH WEARE. 
 J. 1747-1775. C. J. 1776-1782. 
 
 Meshech, a son of the second Judge Nathaniel Weare, was 
 born in Hampton Falls, June 16, 1713. He was graduated from 
 Harvard College in 1735, and prepared himself at first for the 
 pulpit, it is said, but afterwards devoted a considerable portion 
 of time to the study of the law, and made proficiency therein 
 which afterwards proved valuable to himself and to the public. 
 In 1745 he began to represent Hampton Falls in the provincial 
 legislature, and continued so to do most if not all the time until 
 1776. For several years he was also clerk of the House, and in 
 1752 was chosen Speaker, in which office he was retained till 
 1755. Of most of the principal committees during his connec- 
 tion with the legislature, his name appears as a member. In 
 1754 he was a delegate to the Albany Congress, and as early 
 as 1766 was colonel of a regiment of militia. 
 
 He was decidedly opposed to the measures of the British min- 
 istry which brought on the Revolution, and from 1775 to 1784 
 was a member of the provincial and state Committee of Safety, 
 which was invested with legislative and executive power in the 
 recesses of the legislature. In 1776 he was elected a member 
 of the council under the people's government, and also president, 
 and those offices he continued to fiU till 1784, when the people 
 by their suffrages chose him the first President of the State. 
 The next year he resigned that and all his other public trusts, 
 on account of the infirmities of age. 
 
 He was commissioned a Judge of the Superior Court in 1747, 
 and performed the duties till 1775. In 1776 he was preferred to 
 the position of Chief Justice, and served till 1782. During the 
 Revolution, therefore, he administered simultaneously the highest 
 offices in the State, legislative, judicial, and executive, a conjunc- 
 tion of powers which under other circumstances, and in a man of 
 less principle and patriotism, would have been hazardous in the 
 extreme. But he was never suspected of abusing his power. He 
 was a reading and thinking man, of sound judgment, industry, 
 
22 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 discretion, and integrity. " He served his country and was poor. ' 
 He was modest and unassuming, and when he surrendered office, 
 did it with clean hands. 
 
 He sat thirty-five years upon the bench of the Superior Court, 
 where his father and his grandfather had sat before him, — a re- 
 markable succession, never paralleled since. He died at Hampton 
 Falls, and the State, of which he was an early pillar, erected to 
 his memory a monument bearing this inscription : — 
 
 HERE 
 
 LIE THE REMAINS OF 
 
 HIS EXCELLENCY 
 
 MESHECH WEARE 
 
 A. M. & A. A. S. 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF 
 
 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 
 
 WHO DIED 
 
 JAN. 14, 1786, 
 
 .ET. 73. 
 
 President Weare was twice married ; first, July 20, 1738, to 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon Shaw of Hampton ; second, Decem- 
 ber 11, 1746, to Mehitable Wainwright. He had nine children. 
 
 JOSEPH BLANCHARD. 
 J. 1749-1758. 
 
 Joseph Blanchard was a son of Captain Joseph and Abiah 
 (Hassell) Blanchard, and was born in Dunstable, now Nashua, 
 February 11, 1704. He was a man of intelligence and much exec- 
 utive force, and was for many years the leader in his section of 
 the province in things civil and military. It is stated that he was 
 appointed a councilor by mandamus in 1741, but it does not 
 appear that he acted as such. He was chosen the first moderator 
 of his town upon its organization under the laws of New Hamp- 
 shire in 1742 ; and in 1744, and again in 1748, was elected repre- 
 sentative from Dunstable and its vicinity, but was not allowed 
 by the House to take his seat, upon the ground that his election 
 was by virtue of the governor's writ only, and not authorized by 
 former usage or by the House. , 
 
 He was in command of a regiment of militia as early as 1744, 
 and was the correspondent of Governor Benning Wentworth in 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 23 
 
 regard to the Indian incursions in the western parts of the prov- 
 ince. In 1754 he was ordered to send detachments from his 
 command to protect those frontiers, and the next year, when the 
 expedition against Crown Point was determined on, was placed at 
 the head of a regiment for that purpose. He joined the forces 
 under (Sir) William Johnson near Fort George, and one of his 
 companies was distinguished for contributing largely, under the 
 command of Captain Nathaniel Folsom, to the defeat of Dieskau ; 
 while another company acted as Rangers under the famous Robert 
 Rogers and John Stark. 
 
 Colonel Blanchard is said to have been the agent of the Mason- 
 ian Proprietors in respect to their great land-purchase in 1746. In 
 1749 he was placed upon the bench of the Superior Court, and is 
 supposed to have held his commission till his death, April 7, 1758, 
 though he appears not to have attended court after 1756. 
 
 His wife was Rebecca Hubbard or Hobart, and bore him thir- 
 teen children. His oldest son, Joseph, was a noted land-surveyor, 
 and in conjunction with Rev. Dr. Samuel Langdon, published in 
 1761 a map of New Hampshire which gained them much credit. 
 
 THEODORE ATKINSON. 
 
 C'. J. 1754-1775. 
 
 Son of Theodore and Mary Atkinson ; born, Newcastle, December 20, 
 1697 ; Harvard College, 1718 ; died, Portsmouth, September 22, 1779. 
 
 The father of Judge Atkinson is known as the third Theodore, 
 and was a native of Boston. He removed to Newcastle in 1694, 
 was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and clerk for several 
 years of the Superior Court, and died in 1719. 
 
 The fourth Theodore, the subject of this sketch, soon after he 
 quitted college received a commission as lieutenant of " the Fort," 
 and in 1720 was appointed clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, 
 and continued in the oflBce several years. During that time he 
 acquired a familiarity with the forms of legal proceedings, and as 
 early as 1731 was admitted an attorney. 
 
 While he was yet a young man, Lieutenant-Governor John Went- 
 worth, whose daughter he afterwards married, appointed him col- 
 lector and naval officer and sheriff of the province. But Governor 
 Belcher, who was unfriendly to Wentworth, removed Atkinson 
 in 1730 from the first two offices, and appointed another person 
 
24 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 to perform jointly with him the duties of sheriff. This naturally 
 aroused the resentment of Atkinson, who wittily and characteris- 
 tically manifested it soon afterwards to his Excellency. The 
 Governor, being about to visit Portsmouth, and being fond of 
 parade, ordered that a troop of cavalry should meet him as an 
 escort, and required the officers of the government to accompany 
 the cavalcade. Semi-Sheriff Atkinson appeared, tardily, and car- 
 rying only a moiety of his sheriff's official wand. The Governor 
 angrily inquired why he was so late. " Because I had only half 
 a horse to ride," was the answer. 
 
 When Mr. Atkinson was but twenty-eight years of age, he was 
 appointed a commissioner to proceed in company with a gentle- 
 man from Massachusetts to Canada, to procure the release of 
 prisoners, and to remonstrate with the governor there against his 
 violation of the treaty, by inciting the Indians to war. The mis- 
 sion was conducted faithfully and with a successful result ; and 
 upon Mr. Atkinson's return the Assembly of the province voted 
 him their thanks and compensation for his services. 
 
 In 1731 he was appointed by the King a member of the council 
 of New Hampshire, but Governor Belcher contrived to prevent him 
 from taking his seat until 1734, during which interval Mr. Atkin- 
 son was elected a representative, and maintained a constant oppo- 
 sition in the House against Belcher.^ He held the office of coun- 
 cilor from 1734 up to the dissolution of the royal government in 
 1775. 
 
 He was sent as a delegate to the Albany Congress of 1754, in 
 which he was a member of the committee who reported a plan for 
 a union for the defense of the colonies. This plan had the singu- 
 lar fortune to be rejected at home because it gave too much power 
 to the King, and in England because it gave too much authority 
 to the colonial assemblies. 
 
 Immediately after his return from Albany he was commis- 
 sioned Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and presided over 
 that tribunal until superseded by the formation of the Revolution- 
 ary government in 1775. He had been made secretary of the 
 province in 1741, and after holding the place several years relin- 
 quished it in favor of his son, Theodore Atkinson, Jr. The latter 
 died in 1769, upon which the father was replaced in the office, and 
 
 1 Belcher querulously wrote that he was informed that Atkinson's mandamus 
 as councilor cost him above one hundred guineas. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 25 
 
 retained it till 1775. Pluralism in temporal offices excited small 
 apprehension, it would appear, in colonial and Revolutionary times. 
 
 Judge Atkinson was opposed on principle to the Revolutionary- 
 movement, and when a committee of the people's convention 
 called on him for the records of his office of secretary, he refused 
 to deliver them up, " as against his oath and his honor," but 
 yielded to force. In all cases of difficulty and doubt his counsel 
 and cooperation were the mainstay of the little coterie who ruled 
 New Hampshire in the later colonial years, and he has been well 
 termed the "soul of administration of the government of the 
 province." He was a man of much general information, withal, 
 and had a genuine appreciation of a joke. It is said that he cul- 
 tivated the acquaintance of certain persons much below him in 
 social position for the purpose of enjoying their witty sayings. 
 
 One repartee which tickled the Judge, though it was uttered at 
 his own expense, is on record. While he was in the council, he 
 inquired of a facetious member of the House what had become of 
 a certain bill which had been sent down for their action. The 
 member replied that there were objections to it in the House, and 
 he did not think it would pass. The councilor was a little net- 
 tled, and exclaimed, " I wish you were all in Heaven ! " "I 
 should have no objection," responded the representative, " only that 
 it would be an eternal separation from his Majesty's council ! " 
 
 Judge Atkinson was married, September 4, 1732, to Hannah 
 (Plaisted), daughter of Lieutenant-Governor John Wentworth. 
 She died in 1769. He had one son and one daughter, who both 
 died before him. By his last will he made a provision which has 
 kept his memory green until our own time, — he gave a legacy of 
 two hundred pounds sterling to the Episcopal church in Ports- 
 mouth, the interest of which is expended for bread to be distrib- 
 uted on Sundays to the poor of the parish. 
 
 LEVERETT HUBBARD. 
 
 J. 1763-1784. 
 
 Son of Hon. Nathaniel Hubbard; born, Rhode Island, 1723 ; Harvard Col- 
 lege, 1742 ; practiced, Portsmouth; died there, January 2, 1793. 
 
 Leverett Hubbard's father was a Judge of the Superior Court 
 of Massachusetts. Rev. William Hubbard, the historian, and Gov- 
 ernor John Leverett were among his ancestors. The son quitted 
 
26 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 college with the reputation of a good scholar, but being disap- 
 pointed at having no part assigned him at Commencement, de- 
 livered from the church gallery a severe philippic in Latin against 
 the president. This would have cost him his degree but for the 
 intervention of his friends. He studied law in Rhode Island, and 
 came to Portsmouth about 1760 to practice his profession. In 
 1762 he was made controller of the customs, and in 1763 a Judge 
 of the Superior Court. He was sometimes extravagant in his 
 expressions, as when he declared, in summing up to the jury in the 
 trial of a cause, that he would willingly give the five hundred acres 
 of land in controversy, if covered with money, to be able to argue 
 a cause as Mr. West had done it ; but added, " I check myself in 
 the thought, for it appears to me like the impious wish of Simon 
 Magus to purchase the Holy Spirit with money ! " 
 
 Judge Hubbard was said to be benevolent, friendly, and of 
 courteous manner, but he never was eminent as a lawyer, nor 
 excelled as a judge. On the revision of the state Constitution in 
 1784 he was not reappointed, but was left in somewhat straitened 
 circumstances. Some time before his death his mental powers 
 became weakened. 
 
 He married, December 6, 1769, Anne, daughter of George 
 Jaffrey and widow of Nathaniel Pierce, and left no descendants. 
 
 WILLIAM PAEKER. 
 
 J. 1771-1775. 
 
 Son of William and Zerviah (Stanley) Parker ; born, Portsmouth, December 
 9, 1703 ; admitted, 1732 ; practiced, Portsmouth; died there, April 21, 1781. 
 
 The father of this gentleman was a tanner, and it has been 
 stated that his mother was a daughter of the noble house of 
 Derby, in England, but this has been disproved. The descend- 
 ants of Judge Parker have no occasion to go beyond himself in 
 pursuit of ancestral honors and true family worth. He was 
 taught only in the public schools of Portsmouth, and being de- 
 signed for his father's trade, was apprenticed to him when he 
 reached the age of fifteen. He made himself acquainted with his 
 calling, but must have studied privately during his apprenticeship, 
 as he became a master of one of the schools of the town, and in 
 his intervals of leisure gave his attention to the perusal of the 
 works essential to the qualification of a complete lawyer. The bar 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 27 
 
 of the province had so few trained members, when he entered it, 
 that he was received with every mark of encouragement and ap- 
 proval. * 
 
 When in 1737 the commissioners assembled to settle the bound- 
 ary line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, they ap- 
 pointed Mr. Parker as their clerk. And Governor Belcher gave 
 him the place of Register of Probate, where his legal knowledge 
 was of course of much service. He was also Surrogate Judge of 
 Admiralty, and long the only notary public in the province. In 
 1765 he was chosen a representative to the General Assembly, 
 and held his seat by annual reelections until 1774. 
 
 In 1771 he was appointed one of the Judges of the Superior 
 Court of the province,^ and he officiated as such until the open- 
 ing of the Revolution put an end to the royal authority here. He 
 was able to attend to no business, regularly, after that time, on 
 account of a hereditary gout, which confined him to his house. 
 Taking no part in the political differences of the time, he gave his 
 chief attention to the concerns of his family during the few years 
 that remained to him on earth. 
 
 Judge Parker was not only a self-made man, but cherished a 
 high ideal. In his profession he was not content with superficial 
 or mere practical knowledge, but he made himself master of the 
 law as a science. In his practice his thoroughness was the cause 
 of his employment by clients of discernment in all their important 
 concerns. He was retained, and his opinion chiefly relied upon, in 
 the principal cases in the courts, and bj-^ common consent he was 
 allowed to be at the head of his profession in New Hampshire. 
 Moreover, his ambition prompted him to become something more 
 than a mere lawyer. He gave no little attention to classical lit- 
 erature and belles-lettres, and made himself, as far as his defective 
 early training allowed, a man of general and liberal culture. His 
 proficiency was recognized by the authorities of Harvard College, 
 who in 1763 awarded him the degree of A. M. '■'■pro meritis suis, 
 and although he never had a public education," as it was ex- 
 pressed in his diploma. 
 
 His social qualities rendered him a pleasant companion, and 
 
 ' A descendant of Judge Parker states his official emoluments to have heen 
 on this limited scale : as Register of Probate, £65 per year ; as Justice, £60, 
 voted by the Assembly, and £24 in fees ; as Judge of Admiralty, eight guineas 
 in fees. 
 
28 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 attracted to his society his legal brethren and the educated gentle- 
 men in his vicinity. His conversation was instructive and en- 
 livened with pleasantry, and he sometimes indulged in writing 
 verses seasoned with true Attic salt. His sarcasms, however, could 
 have contained no sting, for his disposition is described as being 
 peculiarly sweet. He was kind and benevolent, "of inflexible 
 rectitude and undissembled piety." 
 
 He married Elizabeth Grafton in 1728, and became the father 
 of eleven children. His oldest son, bearing his Christian name, 
 was a lawyer and judge. Among his grandchildren were John P. 
 Hale of Rochester, and Nathaniel Adams of Portsmouth, long 
 clerk of the Superior Court. 
 
 MATTHEW THORNTON. 
 
 J. 1776-1782. 
 
 Matthew Thornton, a son of James Thornton, was born in Ire- 
 land in 1714, and came with his father to this country when only 
 two or three years old. At first they lived in Wiscasset, Maine, 
 then in Worcester, Massachusetts, where young Thornton had the 
 advantage of an academical training. He pursued the study of 
 medicine, and began practice in Londonderry among his country- 
 men, the Scotch-Irish, there. In a few years he gained reputation 
 and comparative wealth by his extensive employment, and became 
 an influential citizen in the affairs of the town and vicinity. In 
 1745 he was made surgeon of the New Hampshire troops in the 
 expedition against Cape Breton. From 1758 to 1760 inclusive he 
 represented Londonderry in the House of Assembly. Governor 
 Penning Wentworth gave him the commission of justice of the 
 peace, and Governor John Wentworth that of colonel of a militia 
 regiment. "But he was not the flatterer or the tool of either of 
 them ; he was the enemy of oppression and the friend of his coun- 
 try." He was a member of the fourth and fifth provincial Con- 
 gresses, which shaped the destiny of New Hampshire in the Revo- 
 lutionary movement, and so well understood were his principles, 
 and so great confidence was reposed in his wisdom and discre- 
 tion, that he was chosen to be the presiding officer of both those 
 bodies. As such, it was his duty to write many official letters and 
 documents in behalf of the Convention, which are creditable alike 
 to his patriotism and his intelligence. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 29 
 
 In December, 1775, he was appointed at the head of a commit- 
 tee to " frame and bring in a draft or plan of a new Constitution 
 for the rule and government of this colony," upon the adoption 
 of which, in January, 1776, he was chosen one of the twelve 
 councilors of the State. In September, 1776, he was appointed a 
 delegate to the Continental Congress, but did not take his seat till 
 November. He then affixed his name to the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and thereby signified his resolution to risk his all upon 
 the result of the contest with the mother country. 
 
 On the division of New Hampshire into counties in 1771, Dr. 
 Thornton was awarded the appointment of Chief Justice of the 
 Court of Common Pleas for the county of Hillsborough, having 
 probably changed his residence to Merrimac, in that county. In 
 1776 he was commissioned a Judge of the Superior Court, and 
 acted as such till 1782. 
 
 A singular incident is related of Judge Thornton, probably 
 while he was presiding in the Common Pleas, that shows the 
 fashion in which the business of the courts was sometimes con- 
 ducted in his day. As a counsel was making his closing argument 
 to the jury, in a protracted trial, on a warm afternoon, he discov- 
 ered that the presiding judge on the bench was absorbed in read- 
 ing a book, and his associate was soundly sleeping by his side. 
 The advocate turned to the jury, and with indignant emphasis re- 
 marked : " Gentlemen, my unfortunate client has no hope but in 
 your attention, since the Court in their wisdom will not condescend 
 to hear his case ! " 
 
 Of course there was no sleeping on the bench after that, but 
 Judge Thornton tranquilly looked up from his book, and re- 
 marked : " When you have anything to offer, Mr. , which is 
 
 pertinent to the case on trial, the Court will be happy to hear you. 
 Meantime I may as well resume my reading." 
 
 It is not strange that the jury sometimes " took the bit in their 
 teeth," when the judicial reins were held so loosely. We have no 
 reason to think, however, that Judge Thornton's general adminis- 
 tration of his office was other than impartial and satisfactory. 
 
 Judge Thornton removed to Exeter about 1779, and resided 
 there for a year or two, and then purchased a farm in Merrimac, 
 which he made his home during the residue of his life, but still 
 occasionally accepting public office and retaining his interest in 
 public affairs to the last. He died at the home of his daughter, in 
 
30 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 Newburyport, Massachusetts, June 24, 1803. On his tombstone 
 in Merrimac are inscribed the words, " The Honest Man." 
 
 Judge Thornton possessed uncommon intellectvial powers, and 
 had a turn for metaphysical speculation. He left in manuscript a 
 treatise entitled " Paradise Lost, or the Origin ^of the Evil called 
 Sin examined." He had made good use of his powers of observa- 
 tion and reflection through a long life, and was a most instructive 
 and entertaining companion. He was exemplary in his conduct, 
 and his memory was honored. 
 
 His wife was Hannah Jackson. They had two sons and two 
 daughters. One of his sons and a son of the other followed the 
 profession of the law. 
 
 JOHN WENTWORTH. 
 J. 1776-1781. 
 
 This gentleman was a son of Captain Benjamin and Elizabeth 
 (Leighton) Wentworth, and was born March 30, 1719, in that 
 part of Dover which afterwards became Somersworth and is now 
 EoUinsford. He lost his father while very young, and was 
 brought up under the charge of an uncle, Paul Wentworth, who 
 made him his principal heir. He early manifested his capability 
 for'affairs, and was made selectman of Dover in 1747, and repre- 
 sentative in the House of Assembly in 1749. Both these offices 
 he filled repeatedly afterwards. After Somersworth was incor- 
 porated, he represented that town in 1755, and annually there- 
 after as long as the provincial government lasted, and was 
 Speaker of the House from 1771 to and during 1775. He was 
 honored with the commission of lieutenant-colonel of militia as 
 early as 1767, and was colonel of the " second regiment of foot " 
 in 1772. When Strafford County was organized in 1773, he was 
 created Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and so con- 
 tinued till 1775. 
 
 In 1774 the first Assembly of the people of New Hampshire 
 was called for the election of delegates to the General Congress, 
 and Colonel Wentworth was chosen its chairman, as he was also of 
 the second and third provincial Congresses. On the formation of 
 the Revolutionary government in 1776, he was chosen a councilor, 
 and appointed a Justice of the Superior Court, both which places 
 he occupied as long as he lived. The fact that he was Speaker of 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 31 
 
 the provincial House of Assembly, with the approval of the royal 
 governor, at the same time that he presided over the Kevolutionary 
 Congresses, and was upon their most important committees, indi- 
 cates that he was no extremist, and that all parties were sensible 
 of the honesty of his intentions. His letters show that he was 
 a man of intelligent views and a sincere patriot. He died in 
 Somersworth, May 17, 1781. 
 
 He was married three times : first, December 9, 1742, to Jo- 
 anna, daughter of Judge Nicholas Gilman of Exeter ; second, 
 October 16, 1760, to Abigail, daughter of Thomas Millet of 
 Dover; and third, June 1, 1768, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Wallingford) 
 Cole. His children by these marriages numbered thirteen. 
 
 WOODBURY LANGDON. 
 J. 1782-1783; 1786-1791. 
 
 Woodbury Langdon was the son of John and Mary (Hall) 
 Langdon, and was born in Portsmouth in 1739. He received his 
 education in the public schools of his native town, principally 
 under the tuition of the well-known Major Samuel Hale. After 
 spending some time in the counting-room of Henry Sherburne, 
 an eminent merchant, and making several voyages at sea, he 
 commenced the mercantile business, and being enterprising and 
 industrious, had by the opening of the American Revolution accu- 
 mulated some property, a considerable part of which was in Eng- 
 land. To get possession of it he sailed for that country, and 
 having accomplished his purpose, returned in a frigate in 1777 to 
 New York, where he was imprisoned by the British general. 
 After his release he returned to New Hampshire, and was active 
 in promoting the designs of the Whigs. 
 
 In 1778-79 he was chosen a representative in the legislature, 
 and while there was elected a delegate to the Continental Con- 
 gress. He attended its sessions in 1779, 1780, and 1781, and 
 declined two subsequent elections. In 1782 he was made a Jus- 
 tice of the Superior Court, but after about a year resigned the 
 office, and refused to resume it, though requested by a vote of the 
 House so to do. Being again commissioned Judge, however, in 
 1786, he accepted the place, and held it about five years. This 
 time he became less acceptable in his judicial capacity than 
 before, not, however, for acts of commission so much as for neglect- 
 
32 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 ing to attend to his duties. A committee of the General Court 
 waited on him to know why he was not more punctual in attend- 
 ing the courts, to whom he explained that the failure to provide 
 permanent and honorable salaries for the judges, and the frequent 
 interference of the legislature in the granting of new trials, etc., 
 were things not calculated to make the judiciary more efficient. 
 Thereupon the House proceeded to impeach him, and the Senate 
 ordered him to appear for trial. But discovering that in the 
 recess of the House they had no power to try the impeachment, 
 they postponed the matter to the next session. Before that oc- 
 curred, Mr. Langdon was appointed by the President of the 
 United States a commissioner to adjust Eevolutionary claims, and 
 resigned his judgeship. 
 
 Judge Langdon displayed much ability in his public positions. 
 He possessed great independence and decision, and was keen and 
 sarcastic, and thoroughly outspoken. Without any of the arts of 
 a popularity seeker, he made friends by his frankness and direct- 
 ness, and by sheer ability. He was unyielding and peremptory, 
 but his sense of justice would not allow him knowingly to do a 
 wrong thing. His failings were of a manly cast ; he abhorred 
 everything mean and underhand. He died in Portsmouth, Janu- 
 ary 13, 1805. 
 
 His wife was Sarah, daughter of Henry Sherburne, and they 
 had nine children. 
 
 JOSIAH BARTLETT. 
 
 J. 1782-1790. C. J. 1790. 
 
 Josiah Bartlett was a son of Stephen and Mary (Webster) 
 Bartlett, and was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts, November 
 21, 1729. He was educated in the common schools, and also ap- 
 plied himself to Latin and Greek until he was sixteen years old, 
 when he began the study of medicine. This he pursued under 
 the instruction of neighboring physicians until 1750, when he re- 
 moved to Kingston and began practice there. He gained reputa- 
 tion by introducing Peruvian bark as a remedy for a malignant 
 sore throat that was epidemic in his vicinity a few years later. In 
 1765 he was chosen a representative in the provincial legislature, 
 and was regularly reelected until the outbreak of the Revolution. 
 He was made a justice of the peace and colonel of the militia by 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 33 
 
 the royal governor ; but when the differences began to arise which 
 led to the separation of the colonies from the British crown, Dr. 
 Bartlett took the side of the people. In February, 1775, Gover- 
 nor Wentworth summarily removed him from his offices, and soon 
 afterwards he became an active member of the several provincial 
 Congresses, called by the authority of the people, which laid the 
 foundations of the popular government, and also a member of the 
 Committee of Safety, invested during the recess of the legislature 
 with the chief powers of government. 
 
 In 1775 and 1776 Dr. Bartlett was a delegate to the Conti- 
 nental Congress, and in the latter year was the first to deliver his 
 vote in favor of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, 
 to which his name was duly affixed. In 1778 he served again in 
 the Continental Congress, and the next year was constituted Chief 
 Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1788 he was a mem- 
 ber and temporary chairman of the convention called to ratify 
 the Constitution of the United States, and in 1790 and the two 
 following years was elected President of New Hampshire. In 
 1794, under the newly adopted Constitution of the State, he was 
 chosen the first governor of New Hampshire, and in the succeed- 
 ing January resigned the office and all public employment by 
 reason of impaired health. 
 
 Governor Bartlett's service on the bench of the Superior Court 
 began in 1782 as associate Justice, and terminated as Chief Jus- 
 tice in 1790. He possessed superior abilities, sound judgment, 
 earnest patriotism, and high integrity. The several important 
 stations to which he was elevated prove the confidence that his fel- 
 low-citizens reposed in his honesty and ability, and he executed 
 them with general approbation. He was a founder and the first 
 president of the State Medical Society, and received from Dart- 
 mouth College the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. His 
 death occurred in Kingston, May 19, 1795. 
 
 His wife was Mary Bartlett of Newton. They had three sons, 
 all physicians, and six daughters. 
 3 
 
34 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 SAMUEL LIVERMORE, LL. D. 
 
 C. J. 1782-1790. 
 
 Son of Samuel and (Brown) Livermore ; born, Waltham, Massachu- 
 setts, May 14, 1732 (O. S.) ; Nassau Hall College, 1752 ; practiced, Ports- 
 mouth, Londonderry, and Holderness ; died, Holderness, May 18, 1803. 
 
 Mr. Livermore was a descendant in the fourth generation from 
 John Livermore, who emigrated to this country from Exeter in 
 England, according to tradition, and was admitted freeman in 
 Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635. The first that we learn of 
 the subject of this sketch is that in 1750 and 1751 he was a 
 teacher of a school in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and a member of 
 the Congregational church. He entered Nassau Hall, now Prince- 
 ton College, then at Newark, New Jersey, in 1751, in advanced 
 standing, and took his degree the next year. After spending 
 awhile in teaching, he studied law in the office of the distinguished 
 Edmund Trowbridge, and was admitted at the Court of Common 
 Pleas in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in June, 1756. Begin- 
 ning practice in his native town, he removed, after a year or so, to 
 Portsmouth. He early evinced a superior capacity for legal busi- 
 ness, and erelong established a reputation, which extended be- 
 yond the bounds of the province, as a knowing lawyer, prompt in 
 action and ready of speech. For several years he divided the 
 practice of Portsmouth and the country round about in a great de- 
 gree with Wyseman Clagett, who was like himself a man of legal 
 (education and in the prime of life, the older lawyers of the town 
 having retired from the more arduous labors of the profession. 
 Mr. Clagett's share, however, consisted very largely of the crimi- 
 nal business ; a much larger proportion of the civil causes went 
 to Mr. Livermore. 
 
 It was but a few years after his arrival in Portsmouth when 
 indications of impending trouble between America and the mother 
 country began to agitate society. Mr. Livermore evidently pre- 
 ferred not to be in a position where he would have to take an 
 active part in the contentions that afterwards arose. As early as 
 the beginning of the year 1764 he removed to Londonderry. It 
 was while he was residing in that place that ^ John Sullivan, the 
 
 1 This is stated on the authority of Hon. Arthur Livermore, the grandson of 
 Samuel, and indicates that the story in Brewster's Rambles, pp. 145, 146, must 
 be unfounded. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 35 
 
 future Major-General in the Revolutionary army, and President of 
 the State, was a student in his office. During the same period 
 Mr. Livermore was summoned to Quebec to defend Major Eobert 
 Rogers, the famous partisan in the French and Indian wars, who 
 was accused of some malversation in office. Rogers had married 
 a daughter of Rev. Arthur Browne, and sister of Mrs. Livermore, 
 and was described as at this time a " large, burly figure, somewhat 
 debased by indications of intemperate habits." 
 
 It is evident that Mr. Livermore made good his standing 
 among the sturdy Scotch-Irish of Londonderry, though they are 
 said to have felt little fondness for his calling. He was chosen 
 by the electors of that town to represent them in the provincial 
 Assembly of 1768, and held his seat there into 1770, though he 
 had resumed his residence in Portsmouth in 1769, having been 
 appointed advocate in the Court of Admiralty, and King's At- 
 torney-General in New Hampshire, which offices he continued to 
 enjoy as long as the royal government lasted. 
 
 In the spring of 1774 he returned to Londonderry. He had 
 for several years before been employed in buying up and perfect- 
 ing the titles to lands in the township of New Holderness, of 
 which he became eventually the proprietor of about two thirds; and 
 at this period he was spending a part of his time there superintend- 
 ing his improvements. In the winter of 1775—76 he removed 
 thither with his family. 
 
 He had the confidence of Governor Wentworth, and probably 
 in the early stages of the Revolutionary movement lacked faith 
 that it would prove successful, and so was unwilling to take a 
 prominent part ; though he was not suspected of toryism and was 
 elected Attorney-General by the people's government in 1776. 
 After the surrender of Burgoyne's army in 1777 he appears to 
 have had no doubt of the ultimate independence of the country. 
 
 There was little law business to do, except what officially de- 
 volved upon him while he served as Attorney-General, during the 
 period of the Revolution. But he found no lack of occupation 
 in his new home, probably, where there was an infinity of wants. 
 Among other improvements that he introduced was a grist-mill, 
 which he sometimes tended himself ; as he probably also took his 
 share of the agricultural and mechanical labors needed in his 
 frontier settlement. 
 
 In November, 1779, he was selected by the General Court as 
 
36 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 agent to the Continental Congress, "to support," in conjunction 
 with the regular delegates, " the claim of this State to the New 
 Hampshire Grants (so called) west of Connecticut river." At the 
 next session he was sent as a delegate to Congress until March, 
 1780, "not, however, to supersede either of the existing dele- 
 gates." He attended the Continental Congress by successive elec- 
 tions from that time until 1782, when on June 21 he was ap- 
 pointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court. In the autumn of 
 1785 he was again chosen a member of the Continental Congress 
 for a year, and took his seat and occupied it up to September 1, 
 1786, while still holding the office of Chief Justice of the Superior 
 Court. 
 
 In February, 1788, he was chosen a delegate from Holderness 
 and adjacent places, in the convention for acting upon the pro- 
 posed Constitution of the United States, and is said to have taken 
 an important part in its deliberations, and to have been greatly 
 instrumental in the adoption of the instrument by this State. He 
 was elected by the people one of the first representatives in the 
 new Congress in 1789, and took his seat therein. There being 
 then no provision in the state Constitution to prevent it, he con- 
 tinued also to occupy his judicial post. At this, dissatisfaction 
 began to be expressed, and even an address for his removal from 
 the bench was mooted, and in 1790 for that and other reasons he 
 resigned the chief justiceship. 
 
 But the confidence of the people in his honesty and capacity 
 was not shaken. He was reelected to Congress in 1791, and the 
 same year was sent as a delegate to the convention to revise the 
 Constitution of the State. Of that body he was made president, 
 and over it he is said to have exercised almost absolute sway. 
 The legislature of 1791 transferred Mr. Livermore from the 
 House of Eepresentatives in Congress to the United States Sen- 
 ate, and after the expiration of his term of six years he was 
 reelected. Owing to the impq,ired condition of his health, how- 
 ever, he retained his seat only till June 12, 1801, when he 
 resigned. This was his last public service. 
 
 Judge Livermore had an exceptionally long occupation of im- 
 portant and honorable public stations, and gained them by no arts 
 of the politician, but by ability, force of character, and unbending 
 integrity. 
 
 He was the possessor in a marked degree of robust common 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 37 
 
 sense, — the only genuine foundation of a leading character, — 
 of keen wit, and great intellectual force. He was little of a stu- 
 dent, but a practical m&u, who took accurate measure of the 
 things about him. He had small polish and great outspokenness. 
 For these qualities the mass of the people liked him, and because 
 he was independent of forms, but efficient in discharging his pub- 
 lic functions, evidently intent on doing justice, and of unques- 
 tioned honesty. They had not yet learned respect for the legal 
 fraternity, and it rather raised him in the popular estimation that 
 he was no favorite of that guild. For it was the lawyers, no 
 doubt, who complained of him for holding on to the bench while 
 he was at the same time a member of Congress. 
 
 It is not strange that he was not much relished by the bar. 
 The only certainty in the law is that derived from precedents. 
 If similar questions are to be determined differently in different 
 cases, then no counsel can advise his clients with confidence. 
 Judge Livermore refused to be bound not only by precedents in 
 general, but even by his own prior decisions. " Let every tub 
 stand on its own bottom," was his reply when confronted with an 
 adverse authority. The adjudications of the English tribunals 
 (which were about all the reported decisions of his time) he 
 refused to follow, though he was willing to consider for what they 
 were worth the grounds on which those made before our national 
 independence were based. Later ones he would not listen to for 
 any purpose. All this, in the estimation of the lawyers, was too 
 much like deciding cases by " the length of the chancellor's foot." 
 
 Moreover, he was accused of being peremptory and dictatorial. 
 He ruled his court with a rod of iron, it is said. For example, 
 the building in which he was presiding at a term of the court 
 in Exeter, in September, 1786, was surrounded one morning by 
 a mob of armed men, with apparently hostile intentions. They 
 were, in fact, the " greenbackers " of their time, and assembled 
 there for the purpose of overawing the legislature of the State, 
 and compelling them to pass a law for the issue of a paper cur- 
 rency. They had mistaken the building in which the legislature 
 were sitting, and meaning to intimidate the General Court had 
 encaged the judicial Court instead. No small excitement was 
 caused in the court-room by the alarming demonstration outside, 
 as may be imagined. But the judge on the bench went impertur- 
 bably on with the business, and sternly forbade every one to do so 
 much as to look out of a window ! 
 
38 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 In his private life he was useful and mueli esteemed. Being 
 the great landed proprietor in Holderuess, he long kept a kind of 
 feudal state there among his retainers. His habitation was a 
 home of somewhat rude abundance and unbounded hospitality. 
 As he was a sort of licensed autocrat there, it is not strange that 
 his manners became arbitrary and his naturally warm temper 
 sometimes broke from his control. " He never stooped to please a 
 friend or avoid an enemy," it was said. But if he had a rough- 
 and-ready manner, he had also a kind heart, and, there is no rear 
 son to doubt, a conscientious desire to do right. He early intro- 
 duced to his new home the Episcopal religious worship, to which 
 he was strongly attached. 
 
 His eccentricities appear to have been mere ripples which 
 stirred the surface of his deeper nature. His strong and lasting 
 hold on the popular heart, his evident adequacy to the important 
 public trusts with which he was invested, his ready ability to 
 deal with the new and vital questions which confronted him, all 
 bear out the opinion of a competent and judicious writer ^ that 
 " he was without question, during his day, the great man of the 
 State." 
 
 Dartmouth College gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1792. 
 
 He was married, September 23, 1759, to Jane, daughter of the 
 Eev. Arthur Browne of Portsmouth. They had three sons and 
 one daughter. Two of the sons, Arthur and Edward St. Loe, 
 became judges of the Superior Court, and the third, George Wil- 
 liamson, was clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in Grafton 
 County. 
 
 WILLIAM WHIPPLE. 
 
 J. 1783-1785. 
 
 William Whipple was a son of William and Mary (Cutt) 
 Whipple, and was born in Kittery, Maine, January 14, 1730. 
 He went early to sea, after obtaining a common school education, 
 and before reaching his majority had the command of a vessel. 
 He made numerous voyages to the West Indies, Europe, and the 
 coast of Africa, and at the age of twenty-nine entered into trade 
 in Portsmouth, in company with a brother. This he pursued with 
 success until he retired from it about 1775. He took part early 
 and zealously with his countrymen in their dispute with Great 
 1 Hon. Charles H. Atherton. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 39 
 
 Britain, and was frequently elected to offices in which his abilities 
 and patriotism were conspicuous. In 1775 he was a member of 
 the provincial Congress, and was sent as a delegate to the Conti- 
 nental Congress ; besides being placed upon the Committee of 
 Safety of his town and of the State. In 1776, on the adoption 
 of the people's Constitution, he was chosen a councilor, and again 
 a delegate to the Continental Congress. In that year he had the 
 honor to vote for and to subscribe the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence. His membership of the Continental Congress did not ter- 
 minate tUl 1778. 
 
 He was selected to command one of the brigades of militia of 
 the State, and in 1777, when Burgoyne's expedition was threaten- 
 ing to separate New England from the other American States, 
 proceeded with detachments from his command to Saratoga, and 
 served under Gates in the campaign which eventuated in the cap- 
 ture of the British army. He was also in active service in the 
 field the following year under General Sullivan in his Rhode 
 Island campaign.^ 
 
 His services, both in his military and his civil capacity, were of 
 great utility to the cause of his country. After quitting Congress 
 he was repeatedly chosen to the legislature of the State, and in 
 1782 was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court. He possessed 
 the qualifications for the place which were deemed most essential, 
 — "a discerning mind, a sound judgment, and integrity," — and 
 his judicial duties appear to have been performed to the satisfac- 
 tion of the community. After about three years his failing health 
 obliged him to quit the bench in the midst of the circuit, and he 
 departed this life November 10, 1785. 
 
 His wife was Catharine, daughter of John Moffatt, and he died 
 childless. 
 
 JOHN DUDLEY. 
 
 J. 1784-1797. 
 
 John Dudley was a son of James and Mercy (Folsom) Dudley, 
 and was born in Exeter (the part which is now Brentwood), April 
 
 1 It was during the Bnrgoyne campaign in 1777 that the well-known anec- 
 dote of General Whipple's giving freedom to his slave' Prince is said to have 
 occurred. It is a pity to spoil the story, but the fact appears to be that Prince 
 Whipple, with other slaves, petitioned the legislature for their freedom as 
 late as November, 1779. — 18 N. H. State Papers, 705. 
 
40 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 9, 1725. His parents were unable to give him even a common 
 school education, and his early instruction barely enabled him to 
 read. He went while young to live with Colonel Daniel Gilman in 
 Exeter, as a laborer on his farm, where his native capacity was 
 recognized, and he gained much political and general information 
 by conversation and otherwise, though "he never was able to 
 write five consecutive sentences in correct English." He entered 
 into trade as a grocer in Exeter, after leaving Colonel Gilman's, 
 and though he suffered a severe loss by fire, persevered and pros- 
 pered. For five years, 1760 to 1765, he was one of the selectmen 
 of the town. 
 
 In 1766 he removed to a farm which he purchased in Eaymond, 
 and gave his attention to agriculture and the lumber trade. In 
 1768 he was honored by the royal governor with the commission 
 of justice of the peace. At an early stage of the differences 
 which arose between the colonists and the mother country, he 
 manifested his attachment to the cause of his countrymen, and 
 was known as a decided and active Whig. The news of the armed 
 collision at Lexington and Concord in 1775 roused him to instant 
 action, and he may truly be said to have devoted his time for the 
 next eight years to the cause of liberty. Chosen to the provincial 
 Congresses in 1775, he at once made himself recognized as a 
 leader, and few were the important committees in which his name 
 did not appear. From 1775 to 1784 he was constantly in the 
 legislature, and in 1782 and 1783 he was Speaker of the House. 
 From 1776 to 1784 he was one of the Committee of Safety. In 
 1776 he was constituted a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, 
 and held the position until 1784, when he was advanced to the 
 bench of the Superior Court. There he continued until his resig- 
 nation in 1797. 
 
 Though he was unlearned in the law, his judicial functions 
 were performed not only to the acceptance of suitors and the pub- 
 lic, but also to the satisfaction of unprejudiced members of the 
 legal profession. 
 
 His mental powers were vigorous, his judgment was rarely at 
 fault, he was attentive, impartial, and upright, and he was the 
 master of a rude eloquence that was highly effective. He took 
 decided views, ancl spared no pains to enforce them upon his 
 jurors, but no one questioned his perfect honesty. He used to 
 declare that it was justice that he was after, rather than law. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 41 
 
 Chief Justice Parsons said of him, " though we may smile at 
 his law and ridicule his language, yet Dudley, take him all in all, 
 was the greatest and best judge I ever knew in New Hampshire." 
 And Judge Arthur Livermore affirmed " that justice was never 
 better administered in this State, than when Dudley was on the 
 bench." 
 
 After quitting his judicial post he retired to his home, and 
 passed the evening of his days there in quiet, scarcely ever going 
 away even so far as a mile's distance. He died in Raymond, 
 May 21, 1805, at a good old age. 
 
 He was married, June 22, 1749, to Elizabeth, daughter of Caleb 
 Gilman of Exeter, and was the father of eight children. 
 
 SIMEON OLCOTT. 
 
 J. 1790-1795. C. J. 1795-1802. 
 
 Sou of Timothy Olcott, Jr. ; born, Bolton, Connecticut, October 1, 1735 ; 
 Tale College, 1761 ; practiced, Charlestown ; died there, February 22, 1815. 
 
 Before New Hampshire was divided into counties all the courts 
 were held in Portsmouth, and there was little encouragement for 
 lawyers to settle in the remote parts of the province, both for that 
 reason and because of the inability of the frontier inhabitants to 
 support them. But the demand for their services had enticed a 
 very small number of adventurous young legal aspirants to try 
 their fortunes in the valley of the Connecticut. Among them was 
 Simeon Olcott. 
 
 He labored upon the paternal acres until he was twenty-one 
 years of age, and then prepared himself for college under the 
 tuition of the Rev. Mr. White, the minister of Bolton. He was 
 enabled to complete his college course by the aid of his brother. 
 Rev. Bulkley Olcott, and by money which he received for keeping 
 school in his vacations. Some time he spent afterwards in teach- 
 ing in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and then pursued the study of the 
 law in the office of Daniel Jones of Hinsdale. 
 
 He established himself in his profession in Charlestown in 
 1766 or earlier, and there resided through life. He was chosen a 
 representative in the General Assembly of the province in 1772 
 and 1773, and was placed upon one or more committees of im- 
 portance. In the latter year he was appointed Judge of Probate 
 for the county of Cheshire. At this time he appears to have had 
 
42 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 business enough to justify him in taking a partner, Benjamin 
 West. 
 
 But soon the disturbing influence of the war came in, and for 
 some years all legal business was at a standstill. It has been 
 intimated that Mr. Olcott was unfriendly to the cause of the 
 country, but this lacks confirmation, and was probably the result 
 of the jealousy with which the people in those early times were 
 accustomed to regard members of the legal profession, — a jealousy 
 which survived till long within the memory of men now living. 
 
 Before the war was over, the Vermont controversy broke out, 
 and Mr. Olcott's place of residence was in the debatable territory. 
 But all these disquieting influences were at length ended, and on 
 December 25, 1784, he received the appointment of Chief Justice 
 of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Cheshire. This 
 office he held until January 25, 1790, when he was elevated to a 
 place on the bench of the Superior Court, of which he was pro- 
 moted to be Chief Justice, March 28, 1795. Here he continued 
 till, in 1801, the legislature of New Hampshire chose him a 
 senator of the United States, to fill the unexpired term of Samuel 
 Livermore, who had resigned his seat. 
 
 Mr. Olcott served as senator till the expiration of his term in 
 1805, and then, at the age of sixty-nine, retired from active em- 
 ployments. His constitution was naturally sound ; he preserved 
 his health by exercise, temperance, and regular habits of life; 
 and when out of order he trusted for his recovery rather to absti- 
 nence and rest than to medicines. 
 
 Judge Olcott's speech is said to have in some expressions be- 
 trayed his want of early education,^ and he had too little experi- 
 ence as an advocate, amid his official avocations, to acquire the 
 art of addressing a jury effectively. His legal attainments, 
 though in our later day they might be deemed inconsiderable, 
 were quite on a level with those of the average lawyers of his 
 time. It is said to be a fact that on two occasions he mistook the 
 day of holding his courts, and failed to attend ; and this is at- 
 tributed by Governor Plumer to his having consulted the almanac 
 
 1 While he was holding a term of the court at Dover, he was observed to 
 make use of the expressions "this 'ere" and "that 'are ;" whereupon-some 
 wag caused to be published in the Dover Sun the following epitaph : — 
 
 " Here lies the body of Ichabod Hare, 
 Who has left this 'ere world and gone to that 'are." 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 43 
 
 instead of the statute to ascertain the time ! This almost incredi- 
 ble statement indicates how loosely the business of the judicial 
 proceedings was carried on a century ago. No doubt Judge 01- 
 cott's good judgment and sense of justice enabled him to conduct 
 trials with fairness and equity, and in a manner, on the whole, 
 quite acceptable to the community. It helped him much that his 
 reputation for honesty and integrity was high, and was never 
 questioned. It was these sterling qualities that gave him his place 
 in the public estimation, and atoned for every deficiency. 
 
 Governor Plumer says, " He was open and frank, and expressed 
 his opinions of men and measures freely and bluntly. He cor- 
 dially hated hypocrisy, and studiously avoided every species of 
 dissimulation. He was not avaricious, — never sought or acquired 
 much property, but enough to live well ; and left enough to render 
 his family comfortable. He thought it less trouble to wait on 
 himself than to call for servants ; indeed, he lived in a great mea- 
 sure without them." ^ 
 
 He did not think it beneath his dignity to perform any kind of 
 useful labor. While he held the office of Chief Justice he was 
 in the habit of himself taking his corn to the mill to be ground. 
 One day, as he was returning home from an errand of that kind, 
 he met a young law student, who was ransacking the village to 
 find some lad to send to mill, not dreaming for an instant of the 
 possibility of descending to such humble employment himself. 
 The Judge gave him a lesson by saying, " Well, as soon as I have 
 carried home my grist, I '11 come and take yours to mill." 
 
 He was scrupulously punctual in his attendance upon his sena- 
 torial duties. He did not often take part in the debates, but 
 usually contented himself with a brief explanation of his views, 
 and of the grounds of his action. 
 
 At the age of forty-seven he married Miss Tryphena Terry 
 of Enfield, Connecticut. They made the journey to Charlestown 
 on horseback, a considerable part of the way guiding their course 
 by marked trees. She survived her husband, who left also three 
 sons, of whom one studied his father's profession. 
 
 1 MS. of Governor Plumer, in the possession of the N. H. Historical So- 
 ciety. 
 
44 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 JOHN PICKERING, LL. D. 
 
 C. J. 1790-1795. 
 
 Son of Joshua Pickering ; born, Newington, 1737 ; Harvard College, 1761 ; 
 practiced, Greenland and Portsmouth ; died, Portsmouth, April 11, 1805. 
 
 Mr. Pickering was a descendant of the prominent early citizen 
 of New Hampshire bearing the same name. He was fitted for 
 college under the instruction of the Eev. Joseph Adams of New- 
 ington, and upon his graduation began the study of divinity, but 
 changed it for that of the law. After his admission to the bar he 
 received an invitation to settle as a clergyman in Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, but declined it, believing that the legal profession af- 
 forded him equal opportunities for benefiting his fellow-men. He 
 was of strong religious feelings, and aimed rather at promoting 
 justice than his own aggrandizement. In the practice of his pro- 
 fession he never refused his services to the poor, though without 
 the prospect of reward. He commenced to do business at Green- 
 land, but in a short time removed to Portsmouth. His talents, 
 his industry, and his integrity secured him an extensive practice. 
 It is said that no lawyer in New Hampshire advocated so many 
 causes as he, and, it is added, received relatively so small a com- 
 pensation. Though one of the most eminent practitioners of his 
 time, he realized from his business little more than he required for 
 the support of his family. 
 
 Mr. Pickering was representative in the Assembly of the prov- 
 ince of New Hampshire in 1774, and was chosen a member of 
 the Committee of Correspondence. He was then inclined to oppose 
 the measures of Great Britain towards her American colonies ; but 
 being of a somewhat timid constitution, he dreaded the issue of an 
 open breach with the mother country. When the provincial Con- 
 gress of New Hampshire voted to throw off the British authority 
 and to assume self-government, he was one of those who appeared 
 before the Congress in behalf of the remonstrants against that 
 decided step. 
 
 Not long after this time he appears to have taken up his resi- 
 dence in Exeter, from which place he was a delegate to the con- 
 vention to form a Constitution for the State in 1778. After a 
 short stay in Exeter he returned to Portsmouth, and was thence 
 chosen a delegate to the similar convention held in 1781. Of this 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 45 
 
 body he was an important and useful member, and contributed 
 greatly to the difficult task of framing a form of government that 
 the people would accept, and that would have the necessary force. 
 The Constitution of 1783 was termed his " favorite child, of his 
 own begetting." 
 
 In 1787 Mr. Pickering was elected a delegate to the convention 
 for framing a Constitution for the United States, but his attach- 
 ment to his home, and his timidity at encountering the risks of a 
 long journey, prevented his attendance. But he was a member 
 of the New Hampshire convention in 1788 to ratify the United 
 States Constitution, and was among the most influential in pro- 
 curing its adoption. It is believed that, had he employed his 
 abilities and eloquence as zealously against the instrument as he 
 actually did in its favor, the convention would have rejected it. 
 His connection with the shaping of the organic law of the State 
 was completed by his service in the convention to revise the Con- 
 stitution in 1791-92, of which he was unanimously elected presi- 
 dent jyvo tern, in the absence of the permanent presiding officer, 
 and in which he took an important and useful part. 
 
 Mr. Pickering was repeatedly chosen to the legislative bodies of 
 the State, the House and Senate, as well as to the Executive Coun- 
 cil. Being the senior senator in January, 1790, when John Lang- 
 don upon being chosen a senator of the United States resigned 
 the office of president, Mr. Pickering became for the remainder 
 of the oflficial year President of the State. In August, 1790, he 
 received the appointment of Chief Justice of the Superior Court, 
 and is said to have brought to the position more law learning 
 than any judge who had sat there before him. 
 
 He continued, upon that bench till his appointment in February, 
 1795, as Judge of the District Court of the United States. The 
 latter office he accepted, and for some years performed its duties 
 most satisfactorily ; but he had been for a long time much af- 
 fected by hypochondria, which had repeatedly interfered with the 
 regularity of his attendance upon the state courts, and this 
 malady originated such a condition of mental incapacity that in 
 April, 1801, the Circuit Court of the United States appointed one 
 of its judges to take the place of Judge Pickering during his in- 
 ability. But that court was soon after abolished, and Judge Pick- 
 ering again assumed his judicial functions, but with his intellect 
 so shattered that in his court he repeatedly used the language of 
 
46 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 profanity, and exhibited marks of gross intoxication. As his life 
 had been always pure, and his habits irreproachable, this deplor- 
 able change could have been attributed by impartial observers to 
 nothing but positive insanity ; and it might have been expected 
 that those associated with his court would have looked with the 
 utmost sympathy and leniency upon his condition. It seems, how- 
 ever, as if they cared less for what happened to him than for 
 what they could gain for themselves, as the consequence of his 
 infirmity. 
 
 In a public point of view it was undoubtedly a very perplexing 
 case. The business of his court was practically suspended. It 
 was important that it should be resumed under a judge with his 
 faculties unimpaired. But there was no method of removing 
 Judge Pickering from the position for which he was obviously un- 
 fitted, except by the odious process of impeachment for malfeas- 
 ance in office. That course was accordingly taken, and the Senate 
 of the United States, sitting as a court of impeachment, heard the 
 evidence in the case, the respondent, though duly notified, not 
 being present. It was proved, clearly enough, that his conduct 
 on the bench had been entirely incompatible with the position ; 
 and it was proved scarcely less clearly that this was caused by 
 mental alienation ; but after a hearing that did no credit to the 
 tribunal, it was determined by the necessary majority of the sena- 
 tors, who voted on the question, to remove him from his office. 
 
 It was little short of a travesty of justice, and was only to be 
 palliated by the ignorance of mental maladies which prevailed at 
 the time, and by the exceptional exigency of the case. It is to 
 be hoped that, should a similar instance of decaying powers in the 
 occupant, of any judicial position hereafter occur, some legislative 
 remedy may be devised to secure the interests of the public, with- 
 out resort to the false and shameful process of impeachment for 
 willful misconduct. 
 
 Judge Pickering, before the terrible visitation of insanity came 
 upon him, was a man of specially symmetrical character. His 
 native powers were trained to their best by assiduous study and 
 exercise ; he was witty, eloquent, and judicious ; his opponents — he 
 had no enemies — could speak only good of him, and in spite of 
 the fact that his profession was cordially disliked by the mass of 
 the people, they all liked him. He was a reader and a scholar, 
 but published nothing beyond one or more charges to the grand 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 47 
 
 jury and an address to the bar. He was made chairman of the 
 committee to receive President Washington in Portsmouth in 
 1789, and welcomed him in felicitous terms. He was chosen a 
 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 
 was honored by the degree of LL. D. from Dartmouth College. 
 
 Judge Pickering married Abigail, daughter of Jacob Sheafe, 
 Esq., of Portsmouth, and had one son and five daughters. Three 
 of his daughters were married to lawyers ; namely, Abigail, to 
 William K. Atkinson of Dover ; Hannah, to Charles Walker of 
 Concord ; and Lucretia, to Isaac Lyman of Portsmouth. 
 
 TIMOTHY FARRAR. 
 J. 1791-1803. 
 
 Timothy Parrar was the youngest son of Deacon Samuel and 
 Lydia (Barrett) Farrar, and was born in that part of Concord 
 which is now Lincoln, Massachusetts, June 28, 1747. He lived 
 on his father's farm and attended the schools in his native town 
 till he entered Harvard College in 1763, whence he graduated in 
 1767. He taught school in Massachusetts about two years, and 
 in 1770 came to New Ipswich and settled upon a farm there, 
 at the same time being employed as an instructor. In 1774 he 
 was chosen first selectman and town clerk of New Ipswich. On 
 the alarm on April 19, 1775, that the British troops had marched 
 out of Boston, he with others, hastily arming themselves, started 
 to meet them, but on reaching Concord they learned that the 
 regulars had retreated to Boston, and proceeded no further. 
 
 In 1775 Mr. Farrar received from the Revolutionary govern- 
 ment the commission of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and 
 also that of major in the militia. He accepted both, and though 
 it is not known that he ever distinguished himself as a military 
 man, he filled judicial stations for forty continuous years with 
 usefulness and honor. Inter arma silent leges, and it was not tiU 
 the Eevolution was substantially achieved that the courts were 
 much occupied with business. Meantime, Judge Farrar was from 
 1778 to his resignation in 1782 a member of the convention 
 for forming a more complete state Constitution, and of the com- 
 mittee to draft the instrument, and from 1779 to 1784 he was a 
 councilor. 
 
 In March, 1791, Judge Farrar was transferred to the bench of 
 
48 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 the Superior Court. After five years' performance of his duties 
 there, he tendered his resignation, but on the urgent request of the 
 Executive he was induced to withdraw it. In 1802 he received 
 the appointment of Chief Justice. In the desire that Judge Jere- 
 miah Smith would accept the office, and with the intention of 
 quitting the Superior Court, Judge Farrar took no action upon 
 the appointment, but remained as acting Chief Justice until Judge 
 Smith's acceptance later in the same year. He was then rein- 
 stated as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and presided there 
 until 1813. On the reorganization of that court in 1813 with a 
 wider jurisdiction, he was appointed Chief Justice, and served as 
 such till a political revolution in 1816. 
 
 Though Judge Farrar was originally intended for the pulpit, 
 and had no regular legal training, yet he did not fail to study to 
 qualify himself for his duties. When he received his first ap- 
 pointment he procured a copy of Blackstone's Commentaries, and 
 " read it with more avidity than any girl ever read a novel." He 
 was highly conscientious in reference to his duties, and doubtless 
 omitted no means in his power to enable him to discharge his 
 judicial functions well and thoroughly. When Jeremiah Mason 
 surprised the court by filing a demurrer, Judge Farrar appears 
 to have been the only one of their Honors who had any rational 
 idea of the purpose and effect of the proceeding. He has been 
 described as a man of " strong powers of mind, of large acquaint- 
 ance with business, and supe'rior in talents and information gen- 
 erally." And in 1796 Judge Jeremiah Smith wrote of Farrar 
 and Dudley, that in his opinion they greatly overmatched the two 
 lawyers who were then upon the bench. 
 
 Judge Farrar lived more than thirty years after quitting the 
 judgeship, and died in Hollis, at the home of a daughter, Febru- 
 ary 20, 1849. 
 
 His wife, whom he married October 14, 1779, was Anna, 
 daughter of Captain Edmund Bancroft of Pepperell, Massachu- 
 setts. He left a son and three daughters. 
 
 EBENEZER THOMPSON. ' 
 J. 1795-1796. 
 
 Ebenezer was a son of Robert and Abigail (Emerson) Thomp- 
 son, and was born in Durham, March 5, 1737. His early educa- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 49 
 
 tion was conducted under the advice of Dr. Joseph Atkinson, 
 who afterwards made Thompson his heir. He was prepared for 
 the profession of medicine, and practiced till he became engaged 
 in political affairs, after which he substantially abandoned it. In 
 1765 he was chosen a selectman of Durham, and rechosen for 
 each of the ten years succeeding, and in 1766 he was representa- 
 tive in the provincial legislature, a position which he continued 
 to fill until the Revolution. He was early recognized as an op- 
 ponent of the acts by which the British ministry attempted to 
 abridge the liberties of the colonies, and in December, 1774, was 
 one of the party that dismantled Fort William and Mary at New 
 Castle of its ammunition. For this overt act of resistance to the 
 royal authority he is said to have been deprived of his commis- 
 sion of the peace by Governor Wentworth. 
 
 He was a delegate to the several provincial Congresses which 
 were elected by the people between the practical dissolution of the 
 royal government and the adoption of the first written Constitu- 
 tion in January, 1776, and was made a member of the Committee 
 of Safety from May, 1775, to January, 1781. He also held the 
 office of secretary of New Hampshire from 1775 to 1786. In 
 1776 he was chosen a member of the council, and remained such 
 until 1781. During the period of the Revolution he was fre- 
 quently placed upon the most important committees. He was 
 twice appointed delegate to the Continental Congress, but de- 
 clined the office. 
 
 From 1783 to 1787 he was clerk of the Court of Common 
 Pleas in the county of Strafford, till in the latter year he was 
 made Judge of the same court. From that bench he was in 
 1795 transferred to the Superior Court, but resigned after about 
 a year's service. Again appointed in 1796 Judge of the Court of 
 Common Pleas, he officiated as such to the close of his life. In 
 1792 he was an influential member of the convention to revise 
 the state Constitution, and was a presidential elector in that year, 
 in 1796, and in 1800. 
 
 Judge Thompson was a man of reading and much general in- 
 formation ; of a keen, discriminating mind, a retentive memory, 
 and sound judgment. He was also cautious and shrewd ; of much 
 decision of character and perseverance, and in the opinion of those 
 who knew him best, upright and honest. He was plain and unas- 
 4 
 
50 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 suming, averse to display, industrious, and devoted to the public 
 interest. He died suddenly at Durham, August 14, 1802. 
 
 He married. May 22, 1758, Mary, daughter of Vincent Torr of 
 Dover. They had five children. 
 
 DANIEL NEWCOMB. 
 
 J. 1796-1798. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Copeland) Newcomb ; born, Norton, Massa- 
 chusetts, April 19, 1747 ; Harvard College, 1768 ; practiced, Keens ; died there, 
 July 14, 1818. 
 
 Mr. Newcomb, after leaving college, is said to have taught a 
 ■Latin school in Wrentham, Massachusetts. He then studied the- 
 ology and preached for a time. Not satisfied to follow the profes- 
 sion of divinity, he prepared himself for the bar under John 
 Lowell of Boston, Massachusetts, and was there admitted an 
 attorney in October, 1778. The same year he came to Keene. 
 Benjamin West, the distinguished lawyer of Charlestown, was 
 his classmate and friend in college, and Mr. Newcomb is un- 
 derstood to have induced him to come to New Hampshire, offer- 
 ing him his choice between Keene and Charlestown as a place 
 of settlement. 
 
 The period of the Revolution was not favorable to lawyers, but 
 Mr. Newcomb was an active, prudent man, and as he found him- 
 :self in 1781 in a condition to marry, he must have soon secured 
 such business as the vicinity afforded. In 1783 his practice was 
 large, and he became a man of note and influence. He had risen 
 into notice during the movement for uniting some of the towns on 
 the western border of New Hampshire with Vermont, and was 
 clerk of the convention held by the delegates from those towns at 
 Walpole in 1780, and a delegate from Keene in the convention 
 at Charlestown the year following. He was opposed to a union 
 with Vermont. He was also a member of the convention to 
 revise the Constitution of the State in 1791-92. 
 
 In 1789 he was appointed solicitor of the county of Cheshire, 
 and in 1790 a Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, but 
 resigned October 2, 1793. In 1796 he was commissioned a Jus- 
 tice of the Superior Court, and kept his seat upon the bench 
 until his resignation in 1798. In 1796, 1800, and 1805 he was a 
 member of the state Senate. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 51 
 
 Judge Newcomb's talents were above mediocrity, but not pre- 
 eminent. He was a good classical scholar, and gathered a library 
 of some value, being a true bibliophile. He read much, and hav- 
 ing a tenacious memory was fond of quotations. He is said to 
 have been of an acute rather than a broad mind, and as a lawyer 
 to have been better versed in the forms and proceedings than in 
 the principles of jurisprudence. He had an extensive practice, 
 but was too diffident and sensitive to succeed as an advocate. 
 Though a fair lawyer and an honest man, he was not distinguished 
 as a judge. 
 
 It is said that he was a lover of money, and that he was in the 
 habit of repeatedly suing judgments, which he might have col- 
 lected on execution, to swell the amount of his fees. This is a 
 charge which has been made against many lawyers of his time, 
 and no doubt with too much justice. But it is to be remembered 
 that it was always competent for the debtors to prevent such pro- 
 ceedings by satisfying the judgments when they were recovered ; 
 and they understood full well the penalty which the practice of a 
 large proportion of the profession exacted for neglect. Probably 
 Judge Newcomb did no more than most, or many, of his brethren, 
 under like circumstances. He accumulated a handsome fortune, 
 and was the president of the earliest bank established in Keene. 
 He was much interested in the advancement and prosperity of the 
 town. As early as 1793 he established a grammar school there at 
 his own expense, and was largely influential in the erection of the 
 first court house in 1796. 
 
 His first marriage, in November, 1781, was with Sarah, daughter 
 of Eev. David Stearns of Lunenburg, Massachusetts ; his second, 
 in February, 1800, was with Hannah, daughter of Major "William 
 Dawes, and widow of Benjamin Goldthwaite of Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts. He is said to have sent six sons to college, of whom 
 two died undergraduates. One son, Seth Newcomb, followed the 
 calling of his father. 
 
52 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 EDWARD ST. LOE LIVERMORE. 
 
 J. 1797-1799. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Jane (Browne) Livermore ; born, Portsmouth, April 5, 
 1762 ; practiced, Concord and Portsmouth ; died, Lowell, Massachusetts, Sep- 
 tember 15, 1832. 
 
 Mr. Livermore, up to the age of thirteen, lived in Portsmouth, 
 and a part of the time in Londonderry ; in the winter of 1775 he 
 was taken by his father to Holderness. There his instruction was 
 superintended by his father, assisted probably by Dr. John Por- 
 ter, a graduate of Harvard College, and afterwards a lawyer in 
 Plymouth. He is not known to have attended any academy or 
 college. He acqjiired his preparation for the bar in the office of 
 Theophilus Parsons of Newburyport, and entered upon his profes- 
 sion in Concord in 1783. In a few years he removed his resi- 
 dence to Portsmouth, from which place he was sent as a delegate 
 to the convention to revise the Constitution of the State in 1791. 
 February 15 of the same year he was appointed solicitor of 
 Eockingham County, but acted as such less than three years. 
 The President of the United States, in February, 1794, gave him 
 the office of District Attorney for New Hampshire, but after 
 holding it till June, 1797, he resigned it. lu the same year the 
 Executive of the State elevated him to the dignity of a Judge of 
 the Superior Court, but he quitted the bench in little more than 
 a year after, upon the ground of the inadequacy of the salary, 
 which was then no more than eight hundred dollars. President 
 Adams, September 20, 1798, appointed him naval officer for the 
 port of Portsmouth, a place from which he was removed by Presi- 
 dent Jefferson in 1802. 
 
 July 17, 1799, Judge Livermore delivered an oration at Ports- 
 mouth upon the subject of our relations with France. The result 
 was a sharp controversy with a citizen of Boston, against whom 
 he had made certain charges. Although the dispute was referred 
 to arbitration, the party who felt himself aggrieved made a per- 
 sonal assault upon Judge Livermore, in Boston ; but found that 
 he had mistaken his man, for the hot Livermore blood boiled up, 
 and the Judge gave him a severe castigation. 
 
 From Portsmouth he removed to Newburyport, Massachusetts, 
 in 1802. He had developed much interest in political affairs, at 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 53 
 
 this period, and soon became one of the leading members of the 
 Federal party in his new home. He was chosen to the General 
 Court, from Newburyport, and in 1807 was elected a Eepresen- 
 tative in Congress. He was kept there four years, and was a 
 determined opponent of the measures of Jefferson and his succes- 
 sor. He made speeches which gained him much credit for firm- 
 ness and ability. 
 
 After his return from Congress he became a citizen of Boston, 
 Massachusetts. There he was selected in 1813 to deliver the 
 annual Fourth of July oration. It was a sharp arraignment of 
 the conduct of the Administration in involving the nation in the 
 war with Great Britain, but was undoubtedly in sympathy with 
 the feelings of a large majority of his hearers. The interest in 
 the oration was heightened by the circumstance that the speaker's 
 oldest son had been wounded and made prisoner about a month 
 before, as a volunteer chaplain in the Chesapeake, when, after 
 a hard-fought action carried on almost within view of Boston, she 
 surrendered to the English ship Shannon. 
 
 About 1815 he proceeded with his family to Zanesville, Ohio, 
 with the design of making a home there if circumstances were 
 propitious. But he soon abandoned that idea, and returning to 
 New England, purchased a beautiful farm in Tewksbury, Massa- 
 chusetts, near the confluence of the Concord with the Merrimac 
 Kiver. There he spent the remainder of his life. 
 
 Judge Livermore inherited the prominent qualities of his race : 
 decision, strong powers of intellect and of will, integrity, and a 
 love of justice. Nor did he lack a jot of the courage, the domi- 
 neering spirit, and hot temper that belong to the name. At the 
 bar these qualities gave him distinction, but not popularity, either 
 among his brethren, or with the public. Though he ranked well 
 in his professional attainments, he never had a very extensive 
 practice, for that would probably have required a greater degree 
 of patient labor than comported with his hasty, ardent tempera- 
 ment. Thus constituted, it might naturally have been a question 
 how far he was adapted to judicial labors. And here the testi- 
 mony of one who knew, and who was not given to over-praise, 
 is conclusive. "He was a good judge. In that office he was 
 modest, calm, and patient, and acted, as a gentleman. As a judge 
 he was popular beyond the expectation of his friends, and by his 
 prudence mortified his bitter enemies." 
 
54 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 He was married first, about 1783, to Mehltable, daughter of 
 Robert Harris, at Concord. She lived about ten years, and left 
 him five small children. His second wife, to whom he was united 
 iu May, 1799, was Sarah C, daughter of William Stackpole of 
 Boston, Massachusetts. By this marriage he had seven children, 
 some of whom are still living. The son who has been referred to 
 as a volunteer on board the Chesapeake recovered, and after- 
 wards became a lawyer in Louisiana, and was the author of two 
 legal treatises, one of which, " Livermore on Agency," was for 
 many j'ears the received text-book on that subject. His sister, 
 Harriet Livermore, a gifted but very eccentric lady, passed sev- 
 eral years of her life in Oriental lands. Of the younger children, 
 one married Judge J. G. Abbott of Massachusetts. 
 
 PAINE WINGATE. 
 J. 1798-1809. 
 
 Paine "Wingate, a son of Eev. Paine and Mary (Balch) Win- 
 gate, was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts, May 14, 1739. He 
 graduated from Harvard College in 1759, and prepared himself 
 for the ministry. In 1763 he was ordained over the church and 
 society of Hampton Palls, from which he was dismissed in 1776, 
 after some disagreement with his parish, and removed to a farm 
 in Stratham without holding or apparently seeking another pasto- 
 ral charge. It appears that in April, 1775, he expressed the opin- 
 ion that a pacification with England upon honorable terms was 
 practicable. He was chosen a delegate from Hampton Palls to 
 the fourth provincial Congress, and attended at least a part of 
 the session. In 1776 he was one of the forty-two men in Strat- 
 ham who refused to sign the Association Test. It is probable 
 that he took no active part on either side during the Revolution, 
 but lived quietly, busying himself with the pursuits of husbandry. 
 
 He was chosen in 1781 a delegate to the convention to frame a 
 permanent plan or system of government for the people of the 
 State, which after repeated sessions produced the Constitution that 
 was adopted in 1788. In the latter year, and also twelve years 
 later, he was a representative of Stratham in the state legislature. 
 In 1787 and 1788 he was a member of the Continental Congress ; 
 in 1789 he was chosen a senator of the United States, and took 
 part in the opening of the new national government under the 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 55 
 
 Constitution. In fixing the term of the first senators, his was for 
 four years only, and expired in 1793, whereupon he was chosen to 
 the lower House of Congress, and in that position completed his 
 eight years of congressional service. In 1798 he accepted the 
 appointment of Judge of the Superior Court, and discharged its 
 duties until he reached the constitutional limit of age, in 1809. 
 When he assumed the post he was unacquainted with the science 
 of the law and with the modes of judicial proceedings, besides 
 being nearly sixty years of age, and past the time for ready 
 acquisition of new habits of thought and action. Like many men 
 unlearned in the law, he failed to realize the importance of 
 general rules, and believed that it was practicable to fit an equita- 
 ble decision to every special case. Moreover he was inclined to 
 hold pertinaciously to his first impressions ; insomuch that The- 
 ophilus Parsons remarked " that it was of great importance that 
 Judge Wingate should form a correct opinion before he pro- 
 nounced it, for after that, law, reason, and authority would be 
 unavailing." Though he was a man of talents, of strong mind, 
 retentive memory, and great general information as well as of 
 strict integrity, he appears not to have been considered so well 
 adapted to the judicial functions as some others of less education. 
 
 After retiring to private life he passed nearly thirty years in 
 agricultural pursuits, upon his homestead, where he died March 
 7, 1838. 
 
 His wife was Eunice, daughter of Deacon Timothy Pickering 
 of Salem, Massachusetts. They had five children. 
 
 ARTHUR LIVERMORE. 
 
 C. J. 1799-1813. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Jane (Browne) Livermore ; born, Londonderry, July 26, 
 1766 ; practiced, Concord, Chester, and Holderness ; died, Campton, July 1, 
 1853. 
 
 It is not known that Arthur Livermore received a public educa- 
 tion, but as during his minority his home was in the frontier town 
 of New Holderness, it is probable that his father, or perhaps his 
 father's friend and protege. Dr. John Porter, was his principal 
 instructor. His subsequent career proved that he was well taught 
 and well informed. The earliest glimpse we have of him is as a 
 youth of sixteen, accompanying the court to Keene in 1782, 
 
66 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 when the discontents of the people led to the attempt to close the 
 courts by a show of force. The story is well told in the Life of 
 William Plumer. John Sullivan, then Attorney-General of the 
 State, was the hero of the occasion, and unquestionably was of the 
 greatest service to the court and to the cause of good order, by 
 the bold front with which he met and disposed of the demands of 
 the disaffected populace. Youjig Livermore, a youth of courage 
 and spirit, acted as extempore aid to Sullivan. He described, at 
 a later day, the skill and eloquence of the General. " I thought," 
 said he, " if I could only look and talk like that man, I should 
 want nothing higher or better in this world." 
 
 He studied law with his brother, Edward S. Livermore, in Con- 
 cord, and opened an office in that place in 1792, but the next year 
 changed his residence to Chester. There he was chosen repre- 
 sentative to the General Court in 1794 and 1795. In 1796 he 
 proved that he inherited the ardent temper of his race by cow- 
 hiding the notorious " Lord " Timothy Dexter, at that time an 
 inhabitant of Chester. The sufferer gives what is now a ludi- 
 crous account of the assault, in his "Pickle for the Knowing 
 Ones." He dwells especially upon the ingratitude of his assail- 
 ant, to whom he had formerly lent " 200 dolors." The merits 
 of the affair are now beyond the reach of investigation, but it is 
 safe to say that there was no loss of time on Livermore's part in 
 resorting to the argument of the cowhide. 
 
 On December 6 of the same year he was commissioned solici- 
 tor of the county of Rockingham, and performed the duties of 
 the appointment until December 21, 1798, when he was raised to 
 the bench of the Superior Court. He then quitted Chester, and 
 returned to the paternal mansion, which he had inherited, in Hol- 
 derness. He continued associate Justice until 1809, when upon 
 the resignation of Judge Jeremiah Smith he was made Chief 
 Justice of the Court. On the " reorganization " of the courts 
 in 1813 he was continued on the bench as associate Justice of 
 the " Supreme " Court, while Judge Smith was again appointed 
 Chief Justice. But notwithstanding he accepted his new appoint- 
 ment, he did not believe such a wholesale change of the judiciary 
 to be warranted by the Constitution, and took an early occasion to 
 state this opinion publicly from the bench. Considering this cir- 
 cumstance, it is rather remarkable that, when his party regained 
 the power in 1816, and legislated the "reorganized" court out 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 67 
 
 of existence, they did not reappoint Judge Livermore ; but they 
 failed, for some reason, to do so. 
 
 The same year he was chosen a Representative in Congress, 
 and rechosen in 1818. In 1821 and 1822 he was a member of 
 the state Senate, and in March, 1823, he was elected to Congress 
 for a third term. In the interval of his congressional service, on 
 July 5, 1822, he was commissioned Judge of Probate for the 
 county of Grafton, but resigned the situation the next year. He 
 was not suffered to remain long out of the public employ, for in 
 1825 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, and administered the office until 1833. At the close of 
 his official life he sold his place in Holderness, and removed to 
 Campton, where he spent the rest of his days. 
 
 Judge Livermore has been well characterized as a " man of 
 strong, uncertain powers." It was unpleasant to have him against 
 you, and not entirely safe to have him with you. His temper 
 was naturally high, and he had no sufficient control of it. Hence 
 he did acts in his official capacity which involved him in serious 
 trouble. At the opening of one term of the court he was an- 
 noyed, as he had before been, by the want of punctuality in the 
 attendance of the counsel. Without waiting to learn the reason, 
 he directed the crier to adjourn the court without day, remark- 
 ing that by the next term the lawyers would probably learn to ap- 
 pear in proper season. On another occasion he is said in a fit of 
 passion to have grossly insulted a peaceful and reputable mem- 
 ber of the bar, in open court. On both these occasions he nar- 
 rowly escaped severe censure, or perhaps an address for his re- 
 moval, by the General Court. 
 
 He must have possessed sterling compensatory virtues, to have 
 received from the legislature and the people such tokens of their 
 confidence and favor for the period of thirty-five years. He is 
 represented as not being remarkably learned in the law, though 
 an anecdote that is related of him shows that he was familiar with 
 its terminology, at least. About the time he ascended the bench, 
 some changes had been introduced in the form of the count in the 
 " writ of entry," not pleasing to the taste of the older lawyers. 
 On one of these declarations being read before Judge Livermore, 
 he exclaimed, " In a plea of land," as that phrase grated harshly 
 on his ear, — "in a plea of land ! You might as well declare in 
 an action of trover ' in a plea of a horse ! ' " 
 
68 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 His wife was Louisa Bliss of Haverhill. They were the parents 
 of several children, of whom three graduated from Dartmouth 
 College, and two followed the law. 
 
 JEKEMIAH SMITH, LL. D. 
 C. J. 1802-1809 ; 1813-1816. 
 
 Son of William and Elizabeth (Morison) Smith ; bom, Peterborough, No- 
 vember 19, 1759 ; Queen's College, 1780 ; practiced, Peterborough and Exeter ; 
 died, Dover, September 21, 1842. 
 
 As a child, Jeremiah Smith was noted for his eagerness in the 
 pursuit of knowledge. At the age of twelve he began the study 
 of Latin, and soon afterwards of Greek, under the tuition of Rev. 
 Mr. Emerson of HoUis, and was admitted to Harvard College in 
 1777. About the same time he volunteered in a military com- 
 pany raised for two months to march under General Stark to 
 check Burgoyne's advance. He fought bravely at Bennington, 
 and was slightly wounded. Eeturning to college, he completed 
 his sophomore year there, and then migrated to Queen's, now 
 Kutger's College in New Jersey. The five years following his 
 graduation he spent in teaching and in reading law, a part of the 
 time in Barnstable, Massachusetts, where his preceptor was Shear- 
 jashub Bourne, and a part in Salem^ Massachusetts, under Wil- 
 liam Pynchon. In 1786 he made application to the bar of Hills- 
 borough County for admission. It was objected that he did not 
 produce certificates of the required period of study. As the court 
 was to adjourn the following day, Smith rode all night to procure 
 the certificates, and returned the next morning with them ; but 
 was then told it was too late to hold another bar meeting at that 
 term. This put him upon his mettle, and he rose in court and 
 stated the conduct of the bar towards him. The judges at once 
 ordered his admission. Smith wrote to a friend that "it was 
 devilish hard to be refused admittance to had company." The 
 lawyers were discomfited, but the candidate's fitness was so indis- 
 putable that they were quite willing to keep on the right side of 
 him, afterwards. 
 
 He first settled in his native town, whose citizens soon made 
 him useful as town clerk and selectman. In 1787 and the two 
 following years he was a representative in the legislature, and 
 was placed in 1789 upon a committee to revise the laws of the 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 59 
 
 State, a duty to which he devoted much labor. In 1791 and 
 1792 he was an active and influential delegate to the convention 
 which framed the Constitution of the State under which our 
 fathers lived for more than half a century. 
 
 Mr. Smith was first elected to Congress in 1790, took his seat 
 in March, 1791, and retained it by repeated elections till 1797, 
 when he resigned. Though never deeply interested in party 
 politics, he was recognized as a leading man in the national legis- 
 lature, and was the intimate friend, and afterwards the corre- 
 spondent, of such eminent statesmen as Fisher Ames and Chris- 
 topher Gore. During his political career he was at one time a 
 guest at Mount Vernon of President Washington, for whose 
 character he conceived the highest admiration and reverence. 
 
 When he left Congress he changed his residence to Exeter, 
 which was thereafter his home until a little time before his de- 
 cease. He received the appointment of United States District 
 Attorney for New Hampshire in 1797, and. acted as such until 
 1800, at which time the office of Judge of Probate for Rocking- 
 ham County was conferred upon him. While occupying the 
 latter position, he gathered from all the scattered sources then 
 accessible the materials of a treatise on Probate law. They 
 formed a valuable compend, which was published after his death, 
 in the volume of his " Decisions." 
 
 One of the later official acts of President John Adams was to 
 sign the commissions of a number of Judges of the Circuit Court 
 of the United States, in pursuance of a law constituting that tri- 
 bunal. Mr. Smith was the Judge designated for New Hampshire. 
 This was presumptively a life appointment, and of high impor- 
 tance, and Judge Smith proceeded with more than his usual dili- 
 gence to fit himself for the post, by unintermitted study for some 
 fourteen hours per day, during a period of three months. But to 
 his extreme disappointment, no doubt. President Jefferson gave 
 the word for repealing the act establishing the Court, and after a 
 few terms' attendance his tenure of the office ceased. What was 
 a loss to the nation was a gain to the State, for in 1802 he was 
 persuaded to accept the Chief Justiceship of the Superior Court. 
 He was reluctant to do it, chiefly because of the obvious in- 
 adequacy of the salary ; but the legislature increased it in order to 
 induce him to undertake the office, and a few years later added a 
 much larger increase, to keep him in it. He presided in the court 
 
60 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 most satisfactorily till 1809, when he resigned upon the desire of 
 his friends in order to take upon himself the office of governor of 
 the State. He held it a single year, and was not reelected, very 
 little to his regret, however, for he had no liking for the place. 
 He had found that the ways of politicians were not his ways. 
 
 He returned to his professional work, and was busily employed 
 in it until 1813, his engagements taking him into several counties, 
 and measuring him with such antagonists as George Sullivan, 
 Daniel Webster, and Jeremiah Mason. He could hardly be said 
 to suffer by comparison with even the greatest of them ; for in 
 certain respects no one of them was his superior, to say the least. 
 They were his friends and admirers, and it was chiefly by the 
 persuasions of the latter two that he was induced again to take his 
 place upon the bench.^ The political party to which Judge Smith 
 belonged had made a radical change in the judiciary of the State 
 in 1813, partly on account of the defects of the former system, 
 and partly to rid the State of some incompetent judges. The 
 voice of the leading men of the party was unanimous in urging 
 Judge Smith again to take the chief justiceship. They felt that 
 no appointment save that of a jurist of his high attainments and 
 character could justify the wholesale revolution of the courts, and 
 reconcile the indignant minority to the change. He yielded to 
 their importunity, and somewhat reluctantly took the appoint- 
 ment. He found it, as he feared, no bed of roses. One of the 
 ousted judges had been reappointed, and even he made no secret 
 of his opinion that the abolition of the old courts was unconstitu- 
 tional; while the other two ex-judges for a while went the circuit, 
 and held court in rivalry with the new judiciary. The sheriffs of 
 two counties adhered to the old judges, and it was perhaps only 
 the fact that the latter were not strong men nor able lawyers that 
 prevented a great minority of the people from actively taking 
 sides with them. 
 
 The course of Judge Smith and his excellent associate Judge, 
 Caleb Ellis, at this critical juncture, was worthy of all praise. 
 They did not attempt to resist the proceedings of the late judges, 
 but simply ignored them, and kept on in the performance of their 
 
 1 The eminent Judge Story, a friend and admirer of Judge Smith, at the 
 Circuit Court over which he presided in October, 1812, bestowed upon him 
 and Jeremiah Mason the "honorable degree of sergeants at law," and the 
 degree of barristers of law upon Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Webster, and two others. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 61 
 
 duties as if there were nothing in question. After two or three 
 terms of empty pretensions, the attempt to keep alive the old 
 court collapsed. Judge Smith remained at the head of the new 
 judiciary for three years, and fully maintained the high reputation 
 which he had acquired, as a learned, able, and upright magistrate. 
 
 The political revolution of 1816 brought in a new court, and 
 Judge Smith returned again to the bar. Among the important 
 retainers which came to him about this time was that of Dart- 
 mouth College, in the celebrated suit concerning the rights of 
 that corporation under its charter. His able and learned argu- 
 ment in behalf of the college is reported in Farrar's History of 
 the case. 
 
 In 1820 Judge Smith retired from practice. He had then 
 acquired a competency of property, and had reached a time of 
 life when he had the right to rest from severe labors. He was 
 not without occupation ; he was the president of the bank and 
 treasurer of the Academy of Exeter, and never allowed his 
 powers to become rusty by disuse. He read much and wrote no 
 little, and enjoyed heartily the social and domestic pleasures of 
 home life. A few of his last years he passed in Dovpr, in the 
 midst of the relatives of his wife, and there he died, September 
 21, 1842. 
 
 Judge Smith did more, perhaps, for the improvement of the 
 jurisprudence of the State than any other man. Like the mon- 
 arch who changed a city from brick to marble, he found the law 
 without form and void, and during his connection with the courts 
 he reduced it to order and harmony. His genius was construc- 
 tive ; he had the systematizing faculty. He did not conceive of 
 the law as a mass of detached, independent rules ; in his mind it 
 was a series of requirements, each connected with and deducible 
 from great central principles. Before his day the judges were 
 mostly unversed in the technique of the law, and aimed at what 
 they deemed to be equitable conclusions. The result was that no 
 man could foresee with any confidence the issue of any cause. 
 Judge Smith drew straight the lines which had been confused or 
 obliterated, and gave the bar and the public firm ground on 
 which to stand. The counsel who knew the law began to take 
 his place above the mere tonguey man who saw nothing beyond 
 the case in hand. The influence of this upon the bar and upon 
 the administration of remedial justice could not fail to be of the 
 
62 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 most beneficial character. Fortunately we have now the evidence 
 of Judge Smith's reformatory work in a durable form. A vol- 
 ume of his decisions, from his own manuscript, has been recently 
 published, which bears unmistakable testimony to his vigorous 
 and scientific administration of the law. Upon its appearance, it 
 was remarked by an eminent judge that it was unfortunate that it 
 had been withheld so long, for if the opinions contained in it had 
 been at once promulgated, great expense would have been saved 
 to parties who subsequently litigated the very questions which 
 Judge Smith had before settled so conclusively. 
 
 Judge Smith himself repudiated the idea that he was possessed 
 of what is termed genius. He attributed his success to the gifts 
 of hard work and a tenacioiis memory. It is certain that he 
 possessed these, and more. He may not have been a great origi- 
 nator, but he certainly was unsurpassed in the art of making 
 the utmost of the materials in esse. His logic, his method, his 
 expression, his wit, made him a power in every situation. He 
 resorted to no artifices to gain advantage ; he despised appeals 
 ad captandum vulgus ; he won his way by sheer force of power 
 and skill. 
 
 His wit was as keen as a Damascus blade. When the repeal of 
 the law establishing the United States Circuit Court left him for 
 a short time briefless, he was at court in Hillsborough County, 
 and two of the humorists of the bar slightingly offered to pass 
 up to the clerk his list of new entries. Smith gravely wrote and 
 handed them the following : — 
 
 Common Sense vs. Baruch Chase. 
 Common Honesty ■us. Nathaniel Green. 
 The defendants felt that they took nothing by their motion. 
 
 Chief Justice Parsons of Massachusetts was a friend of Judge 
 Smith, and knew well his power of repartee. After a social even- 
 ing in which Judge Smith had shone, as usual, in a select com- 
 pany, his absence was noted at breakfast the next morning and 
 the inquiry was made where he was. " Oh ! " said Parsons, " he 
 is in bed, resting that tongue of his." 
 
 Numerous instances of his bright and sarcastic sayings are still 
 related, but one characteristic one is sufficient. In an Exeter town 
 meeting, the question was considered of building a new fence 
 about a burying-ground. Judge Smith opposed it. " What is 
 the need, Mr. Moderator," said he, " of a new fence about such a 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 63 
 
 place ? Those who are outside of it have no desire to get iu, and 
 those who are inside cannot get out ! " 
 
 Unlike many men who have passed the age of anticipation, 
 Judge Smith found his later days his happiest days. He lived, 
 to use the expression of his friend Daniel Webster, "among his 
 books and his friends," and each ministered in turn to his hearty 
 enjoyment. 
 
 One who knew him well wrote of him : " Smith in his old age, 
 even more perhaps than at an earlier period, was the delight of 
 both young and old by the rare gift of his conversational powers. 
 While his good sense and his industry made him an able lawyer, 
 there was high originality, true genius, in his humor. What 
 gayety, what waggery and exuberance of youthful spirits in this 
 arch and facetious old man. ... In his graver moods Smith was 
 equally interesting with the stores of his learning and his remi- 
 niscences of Washington, Hamilton, Marshall, Ames, and other 
 great men with whom he had become acquainted while in Con- 
 gress." 
 
 The estimate of Judge Smith by Daniel Webster, in a letter to 
 Chancellor Kent in 1825, ought to be preserved. " You know 
 Judge Smith of New Hampshire, at least in his public and profes- 
 sional character. I wish to recommend him to you on the score 
 of private worth and social qualities. There are few men in the 
 world, I think, more to your taste. I entertain for him the high- 
 est regard and true gratitude. When I came to the bar he was 
 Chief Justice of the State. It was a day of the gladsome light of 
 jurisprudence. . . . He knows everything about New England, 
 having studied much its history and its institutions ; and as to 
 the law, he knows so much more of it than I do or ever shall, that 
 I forbear to speak on that point." 
 
 Of Judge Smith's writings there have been published a eulogy 
 on Washington at Exeter, in 1800 ; his argument in the Dart- 
 mouth College case, in Farrar's History ; his oration on the two 
 hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Exeter, in the sixth 
 vohime of the New Hampshire Historical Society's Collections ; 
 and the volume of his legal opinions, etc., already referred to. 
 
 His eminence as a jurist and in letters was recognized by the 
 bestowal upon him of the honorary degree of LL. D. by Dart- 
 mouth College in 1804, and by Harvard in 1807. 
 
 His first marriage was with Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander 
 
64 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 t 
 
 Ross of Bladensburg, Maryland, March 8, 1797. She died June 
 19, 1827. He was united, September 20, 1831, to Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Hon. William Hale ef Dover, who survived him. 
 Their son, Jeremiah Smith, since a lawyer and Judge of the Su- 
 perior Court, was the only child who outlived the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 WILLIAM KING ATKINSON. 
 J. 1803-1805. 
 
 Son of William and Mary (Wendell) King ; born, Portsmouth, January 6, 
 1765 ; Harvard College, 1783 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, September 29, 
 1820. 
 
 Young King, which name he bore until he was about twenty- 
 five years of age, received good preliminary instruction in the 
 schools of Portsmouth, and under a private teacher, so that he was 
 admitted to college at the age of fifteen. He was a fair scholar, 
 and good in mathematics, insomuch that he was subsequently an 
 aspirant for the appointment of professor in that department. 
 Shortly after his graduation he began the study of the law in the 
 ofSce of John Pickering in Portsmouth, and combined therewith 
 the quite as agreeable study of making himself acceptable to Mr. 
 Pickering's daughter. After being admitted an attorney, he set 
 up an office in Berwick, Maine, for a year, and then removed in 
 1787 to Dover, his permanent home. 
 
 In the February preceding, his uncle, George Atkinson, died, 
 through whom a large, valuable estate passed to him upon the 
 condition of his taking the surname of Atkinson, which he accord- 
 ingly did, and had the adoption sanctioned by an act of the legis- 
 lature. He also about the same time received the appointment of 
 register of Probate for Strafford County, as successor to John 
 Wentworth, Jr. The next year a law was enacted providing for 
 the appointment of a solicitor in each county to conduct the crim- 
 inal business in the absence of the Attorney-General, and Mr. 
 Atkinson was designated as the first solicitor in his county. 
 
 The offices which he held were not lucrative, but they brought 
 him in some pecuniary returns, and contributed to extend his 
 acquaintance and his professional engagements. He was indus- 
 trious and attentive to business, an excellent collecting lawyer, 
 and prudent in his own concerns ; and the road seemed open to 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 65 
 
 him to fame and fortune. He had some literary pretensions, also, 
 and wrote wittily. In 1791 he was selected to deliver the Fourth 
 of July oration at Dover, which was thought worthy of publica- 
 tion. 
 
 In the year 1803 Mr. Atkinson was appointed a Justice of 
 the Superior Court of Judicature. He sat upon the bench about 
 two years and a half, when he resigned his commission without 
 reluctance. On accepting the office, he still retained the place of 
 register of Probate and continued to perform its duties, notwith- 
 standing the provision of the state Constitution which forbade 
 judges to hold any other office than that of justice of the peace. 
 Moreover, he did not resign his appointment of county solicitor, 
 though he never assumed to act as such, it is believed, while 
 he was Judge. But his apparent clinging to offices which were 
 clearly incompatible with the proper performance of his judicial 
 functions was the occasion of much animadversion. Mr. Mason, 
 in particular, excepted in court, where Judge Atkinson was pres- 
 ent, to the admission of certain records from the Probate office 
 certified by W. K. Atkinson, Register, on the ground that the 
 register had by accepting the judgeship vacated the other place. 
 Mr. Mason, who was also Attorney-General at the time, threat- 
 ened to absent himself from the court when the criminal business 
 came on, that Judge Atkinson might descend from the bench and 
 perform the duties of solicitor. In June, 1805, the legislature 
 increased the salary of the Chief Justice from one thousand to 
 fifteen hundred dollars a year, still leaving that of the associate 
 Justices at eight hundred dollars each. The object was to secure 
 the continuance upon the bench of Chief Justice Jeremiah Smith, 
 who had declared that he could not afford to hold the appoint- 
 ment for a less salary. Thereupon Judge Atkinson presented a 
 memorial to the legislature at their autumn session, stating that 
 his salary was inadequate, and praying that it might be enlarged, 
 with an intimation that he could not continue to hold the posi- 
 tion in case his wishes were not complied with. The legislature 
 having adjourned without granting his request, he resigned. In 
 February, 1807, he received from the Executive of the State the 
 appointment of Attorney-General, the duties of which he dis- 
 charged for about five years. All this time he had been a plural- 
 ist, for he had retained, and acted in, the office of register of 
 Probate also. But the tenure of two or more public positions, 
 5 
 
66 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 even if incongruous, was not without example in the early history 
 of the State ; and it is not alleged that it led, in the case of Judge 
 Atkinson, to any injurious results. 
 
 After the expiration of his term as Attorney-General he re- 
 sumed his practice at the bar, but held no public station, except 
 that of register of Probate, which he resigned about a year 
 before his decease. Judge Atkinson was unquestionably a man of 
 uncommon talents. For many years he managed with skill and 
 success an extensive law business, and was selected by successive 
 state administrations for duties of importance and responsibility. 
 
 Towards the close of his life he is said to have fallen into 
 habits of inebriety, so that there were times when he was unfitted 
 for business, and his own affairs were neglected, and suffered in 
 consequence. 
 
 He was united in marriage, September 3, 1788, to Abigail, 
 daughter of Judge John Pickering of Portsmouth. His daughter 
 Frances married Asa Freeman, a counselor at law. 
 
 JUCHAED EVANS. 
 
 J. 1809-1813. 
 
 Son (if John and Susanna '(March^ Evans.; born, Portsmouth, May 13, 1777 ; 
 •died, Hopkiuton, July 18, 1816. 
 
 This gentleman was of Welsh descent, and was not regularly 
 bred to the profession of the law. The public schools of Ports- 
 mouth afforded him his early education, which he supplemented 
 by private reading afterwards, Jiaving a strong desire to acquire 
 information. At the age of seventeen he entered into trade on his 
 own account. By an advertisement in a Portsmouth newspaper in 
 1798, it appears that he dealt in "muffs, tippets, blankets, and 
 other merchandise." Though he was successful in his business 
 for a while, it ended in failure. 
 
 His first essay in the law is said to have been in a suit wherein 
 he was the defendant, in the year 1804. He tried it for himself, 
 and though he was opposed by able counsel, acquitted himself 
 with much credit, and is stated, in spite of the adverse charge of 
 the judge, to have gained the verdict. However that might be, 
 there was but a single opinion of the remarkable ability with 
 which he conducted his defense. He became at once a conspic- 
 uous figure, and the next year by invitation delivered a Fourth 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 67 
 
 of July oration in Portsmouth. Being a Republican in politics 
 and an ardent partisan, he was soon recognized as a leader, and 
 wrote for the newspapers and made addresses at meetings of his 
 party friends. He was made a representative in the state legis- 
 lature from 1805 to 1809, inclusive, and was an active and earnest 
 member. He spoke with fluency and force, and became a chief 
 of his party, though it is intimated that his zeal sometimes outran 
 his discretion. While he was a representative, about the year 
 1808, he was one of several gentlemen concerned in the establish- 
 ing and editing a political journal in Concord, called the " Ameri- 
 can Patriot," which was the next year disposed of to Isaac Hill, 
 and by him, under the name of the " New Hampshire Patriot," 
 made the most influential paper in the State. 
 
 After his success in managing his own cause in court, Mr. 
 Evans gave a considerable time to the perusal of treatises upon 
 the law, with a view to qualify himself for practice, it is alleged. 
 But rather unwisely, as the event proved, he determined to do 
 his studying by himself, and not to enter thfe office of a practicing 
 lawyer. He was a friend of Governor Langdon, and in 1809, on 
 the occurrence of a vacancy on the bench of the Superior Court, 
 the governor appointed him a Justice of that court. His Excel- 
 lency had witnessed the success which laymen of ability had won 
 in that field in former years, and not being aware that a new 
 generation of lawyers had sprung up, better educated in the tech- 
 nicalities than their predecessors, undoubtedly thought he was 
 doing a wise act to place a non-professional man upon the bench. 
 
 Judge Evans gave as his reason for accepting the office, " that 
 it was in a gi-eat measure to gratify the wishes of many who 
 thought it important to have one judge who possessed some practi- 
 cal knowledge of commercial affairs and the ordinary pursuits of 
 life, and who, not having engaged in the active practice of the 
 law, although possessing some knowledge of its general principles 
 acquired by a course of private study, might be free from those 
 prejudices which too often attach to those whose pursuits are con- 
 fined to the practical part of professional life." 
 
 But upon entering on his judicial functions, he soon found 
 reason to regret the want of the very training and experience 
 which he had before undervalued. The abler lawyers, especially 
 those of the opposite political party, in disgust at the appointment 
 of a person from outside the bar, made it their business to show 
 
68 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 the unwisdom of the selection by worrying the judge. A plenti- 
 ful crop of pleas in abatement, special demurrers, and other like 
 legal refinements came suddenly before him for determination, 
 and made his life a burden. He attended to his duties in the 
 courts with regularity for a time, but at length his health suffered, 
 .and he became incapable of meeting the requirements of his 
 position. His political friends regarded the treatment which he 
 j-eceived from a large portion of the bar as simple persecution, but 
 ithe more impartial could not fail to see that he had undertaken 
 uluties which neither his training nor his delicacy of constitution 
 .enabled him to perform to complete satisfaction. 
 
 Tour years after his appointment a political revolution in the 
 iState put the power into the hands of the opposite party, and 
 they made use of it to repeal the law establishing the Superior 
 Coart, and to create a Supreme Court in its stead. This whole- 
 sale mode of disposing of obnoxious judges was deemed by the 
 victims and by their supporters a violation of the state Constitu- 
 tion ; and had the judges thus summarily dispossessed of their 
 authority been men of acknowledged judicial ability, their entire 
 political party would probably have sustained them in insisting 
 that the repealing statute was unconstitutional and inoperative. 
 W.hat infinite confusion and collision this would have occasioned 
 iinay .easilj'' be imagined. 
 
 But though the ousted parties, Messrs. Evans and Clagett, made 
 for some months continual claim that they were still the lawful 
 judges, and attended the courts as such, and made abortive 
 attempts to go on with the judicial business ; and though Arthur 
 Livermore, their late chief, who had accepted an appointment on 
 the new bench, arraigned the very statute under which he was act- 
 ing, yet their efforts were so fruitless, and their condition was so 
 helpless, that they excited derision rather than indignation or 
 sympathy. And when, in 1816, by the return of their party to 
 power, the judiciary law of 1813 was repealed, they shared the 
 fate of their successors in being removed by address, and an 
 entirely new set of judges was nominated. 
 
 Judge Evans, having been for three or more years in failing 
 health, and in narrow pecuniary circumstances, presented to the 
 legislature, at their June session 1816, a memorial in which he 
 recited his condition, and prayed for the payment of his salary 
 as judge, from 1813 to 1816, " to relieve his pressing necessities." 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 69 
 
 The committee to whom his petition was referred must have 
 been in a dilemma. By removing Messrs. Evans and his associ- 
 ates by address, the legislature had treated the judiciary act of 
 1813 as a nullity, and had recognized their tenure of office up to 
 1816 as valid. If that were so, then as Judge Evans continued 
 ready to perform the duties, he was legitimately entitled to the 
 emoluments attached to his office, and logically they should have 
 granted his petition. But the committee felt that it would never 
 answer to pay the judges their stipend when all the business was 
 transacted by another court. They therefore postponed the con- 
 sideration of the memorial to the session of the legislature to be 
 held the succeeding November. Before that time the petitioner 
 was in his grave. 
 
 Judge Evans was unquestionably a man of superior intellect, 
 of undoubting confidence in himself, and of indomitable pluck 
 and tenacity of purpose. The want of a thorough, and especially 
 of a technical education and a lack of prudence and careful judg- 
 ment were the most serious obstacles in the way of his attainment 
 of the highest success in the station to which his talents and 
 honesty had elevated him. His was the last instance of the ap- 
 pointment of a non-professional man to the position of Judge of 
 the highest court in this State. 
 
 Three years before his death, Judge Evans, in the hope that a 
 country residence would be beneficial to his health, as well as 
 from motives of economy, removed to Hopkinton, near the border 
 of Concord, and dwelt upon a farm. It was too late, however, to 
 arrest the progress of his fatal malady. 
 
 He had married, in 1810, Ann, daughter of Samuel Penhallow 
 of Portsmouth. Their son, Eichard S. Evans, was a lawyer. 
 
 JONATHAN STEELE. 
 
 J. 1810-1812. 
 
 Son of Captain David and Janet (Little) Steele ; born, Londonderry, Sep- 
 tember 3, 1760 ; admitted, 1787 ; practiced, Nottingham and Durham ; died, 
 Durham, September 3, 1824. 
 
 After obtaining the nearest approach to an academical edu- 
 cation which was to be had at that early day, young Steele be- 
 came a student at law with John Sullivan in Durham, and in due 
 time established himself in practice there. Diligent in study, he 
 
70 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 was equally assiduous in guarding the interest of his clients, and 
 soon became known as a lawyer of more than ordinary learning 
 and skill. He was said, however, to have little knowledge of 
 human nature, and never to have acquired the arts of popularity. 
 
 In 1789 he was appointed by his father-in-law, John Sullivan, 
 who was United States Judge for the District of New Hampshire, 
 the clerk of his court, and after Judge Sullivan's decease in 1795, 
 he was reappointed by Judge John Pickering his successor in the 
 office. When the latter, by a perversion of justice, was removed 
 from the judgeship, Steele, who had been one of the witnesses 
 against him, was tendered the appointment of United States dis- 
 trict attorney, but declined to accept it, avowedly because he was 
 unwilling to profit by the misfortune of his former chief, to which 
 he had been made to contribute by his testimony. 
 
 In 1804 he was chosen one of the presidential electors for New 
 Hampshire, and in 1805 was the representative of Durham in the 
 legislature. In 1810 Governor Jeremiah Smith, who knew him 
 well and thought him an eloquent advocate, not easily to be sur- 
 passed, gave him a place upon the bench of the Superior Court. 
 He kept it but two years, when he sent in his resignation, finding 
 his situation uncongenial and the salary insufficient. 
 
 Judge Steele returned to his legal practice, but though he was 
 then only fifty-two years of age, and had the standing of a leader 
 at the bar, he appears to have accomplished very little outside of 
 his own town afterwards. His friends thought him too diffident 
 to assert his proper place in society, and it is clear that he was 
 sensitive to adverse criticism, contentious about matters of trifling 
 consequence, and unhappy in his domestic circumstances. He 
 became unsocial, and withdrew from intercourse with his fellows. 
 He labored upon his farm as diligently as his hired hands, and 
 most of the residue of his life seems to have been to him dies 
 non juridicus. 
 
 In his later years he became much interested in religious con- 
 cerns, and gave liberally for the maintenance of public worship. 
 
 He was married, January 23, 1788, to Lydia, daughter of 
 General John Sullivan of Durham, and had a daughter and a 
 son, who lived to maturity. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 71 
 
 CLIFTON CLAGETT. 
 
 J. 1812-1813. 
 
 Son of Wyseman and Lettice (Mitchell) Clagett ; born, Portsmouth, Decem- 
 ber 3, 1762 ; practiced, Litchfield and Amherst ; died, Amherst, January 25, 
 1829. 
 
 Acquiring Ms professional training under the direction of his 
 father, Mr. Clagett began practice in Litchfield as early as 1784. 
 There he continued to reside until 1811, when he went to Amherst, 
 in which he made his subsequent home. From Litchfield he was 
 repeatedly elected a representative in the General Court, and 
 from Amherst in 1816. Three terms he was chosen and served in 
 the Congress of the United States, in 1802, in 1816, and in 1818. 
 In 1810 he was appointed Judge of Probate for the county of 
 Hillsborough, and resigned the office on being commissioned a 
 Justice of the Superior Court in 1812. The latter position he 
 occupied but a single year, when by a change in the organization 
 of the judiciary the Superior Court was abolished. In 1823 he 
 was again made Judge of Probate for his county, and continued 
 in the discharge of his duties as such during the remainder of his 
 life. 
 
 Judge Clagett had no brilliant powers of mind, and was not an 
 extraordinary lawyer ; but he was honest, and undoubtedly served 
 his constituents faithfully and satisfactorily in the various political 
 trusts which he assumed. As a Judge of Probate, too, no intima- 
 tion has been discovered that his conduct was not entirely ap- 
 proved by the people. 
 
 Governor Plumer has left it on record that he consented to the 
 appointment of Judge Clagett with reluctance, because he did 
 not consider him suitable for the place. The history of the legis- 
 lating out of existence of the Superior Court, and of the fruitless 
 measures taken by the ex-judges to retain their places, is given in 
 the biographical sketch of Judge Richard Evans in this work. 
 
 When in 1816 the success of the Republican party enabled 
 the legislature to restore the Superior Court, Judge Evans was in 
 the last stages of consumption, and Judge Clagett was not reap- 
 pointed. 
 
 But the fact that seven years afterwards he was replaced in the 
 office of Judge of Probate, and acted as such through life without 
 
72 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 exception, makes it clear that though he may not have been emi- 
 nent as a jurist, yet his honesty and the rectitude of his inten- 
 tions could not have been questioned. 
 
 He is said not only to have lacked the witty powers which 
 characterized his father, but to have been unable even to appre- 
 ciate them. Mr. Adams, the clerk of the Superior Court, once 
 repeated to him some of the epigrams and hon mots of the elder 
 Clagett, but the son could see nothing worthy of admiration in 
 them. Judge Arthur Livermore, on being informed of this, re- 
 marked : " Clagett has put off the old man ! " 
 
 His wife was Margaret McQuesten, of Litchfield. His chil- 
 dren were eight daughters and one son, William, the lawyer of 
 Portsmouth. 
 
 WILLIAM MERCHANT RICHARDSON, LL. D. 
 
 C. J. 1816-1838. 
 
 Son of Captain Daniel and Sarah (Merchant) Eiohardsou ; born, Pelham, 
 January 4, 1774 ; Harvard College, 1797 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Ches- 
 ter, March 23, 1838. 
 
 With the exception of Judge Jeremiah Smith, perhaps no 
 occupant of the judicial bench has done so much to shape the 
 jurisprudence of New Hampshire as the gentleman above named. 
 When he came into office, no printed reports of cases previously 
 adjudicated in the State were in existence, there was little uni- 
 formity of practice, and great uncertainty about many branches 
 of tbe law, more especially in regard to the construction of stat- 
 utes. At the close of his long, diligent, and efficient service, the 
 rules of practice had become well established, and the decisions of 
 his court had been published to the profession, and were recog- 
 nized as of value and authority in this State and elsewhere. 
 
 As has happened in many another instance, an accident gave 
 him to the law. His father was one of a line of cultivators of the 
 soil, and the son was employed in the same calling until he was 
 about fifteen years old, when he met with a severe injury to one of 
 his hands, which unfitted him for a time for manual labor, and 
 caused him to turn his attention to study. He prepared himself 
 for college, and graduated with a high rank for scholarship. He 
 next engaged in teaching, first in the academy at Leicester, Mas- 
 sachusetts, where his application was injurious to his health ; and 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 73 
 
 subsequently, after some interval of rest, as preceptor of the 
 academy in Groton, Massachusetts. While occupying these po- 
 sitions he devoted himself assiduously to the cultivation of his 
 literary powers. He there acquired the easy and graceful style 
 which distinguished all his writings, and indulged in poetical com- 
 position, for which he had much taste and aptitude. 
 
 While at Groton he formed the acquaintance of Judge Samuel 
 Dana, who invited him to enter his office as a student. This 
 probably decided Mr. Richardson to choose the law as a profes- 
 sion, and he engaged in the study with diligence. He passed his 
 examination for admission to practice with credit, and was at once 
 received as the partner of his preceptor. Of course he found 
 himself in abundant employment from the start, so that his pa- 
 tience was never tried by the vexatious process of waiting for 
 clients. 
 
 It was not long before he acquired an enviable standing as a 
 lawyer and a man in his conmiunity, and when in 1811 a vacancy 
 occurred in the office of Representative in Congress in the dis- 
 trict, he was chosen to fill it. He was a Republican of that day, 
 though not a violent partisan, made one or more speeches, and 
 altogether showed a very creditable figure in Congress. But he 
 had no fancy for political life, and shortly after being reelected 
 he resigned his seat. 
 
 In 1814, being made United States attorney for the District of 
 New Hampshire, he removed his residence to Portsmouth, and 
 entered into practice there. It is evident that he was at once 
 recognized as a lawyer of the first capacity, for when, on the 
 reorganization of the courts in 1816, Governor Plumer nominated 
 him for Chief Justice of the highest judicial tribunal to a council 
 politically divided, and in high party times, he was unanimously 
 confirmed. 
 
 He was now in the position for which his powers were pe- 
 culiarly well adapted, and was at first ably supported by his asso- 
 ciates. He devoted himself with characteristic application to his 
 duties ; and it may have been in consequence of this that he was 
 attacked shortly after his appointment by a dangerous illness 
 which brought him to death's door. He slowly recovered, but the 
 effects of the disease were visible throughout the remainder of his 
 life. A slight lameness was one of these ; his nervous system 
 was also affected, and he was liable to periodical fits of sickness, 
 
74 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 afterwards. But lie never relaxed his habits of industry, and 
 nothing but absolute physical inability could keep him from his 
 papers and his studies. 
 
 The famous Dartmouth College controversy culminated in one 
 of the earlier important causes which came before the Court after 
 Judge Richardson's appointment. The weighty questions involved 
 in it were argued by the ablest counsel, and the opinion, in which 
 all the Court were united, was prepared and delivered by the Chief 
 Justice. Notwithstanding it was afterwards overruled by the Su- 
 preme Court of the United States, the decision has always been 
 regarded as able, and by some jurists as the more correct state- 
 ment of the law. 
 
 The limits of this sketch do not admit of any specification of 
 the judicial labors of Judge Richardson during the nearly twenty- 
 two years of his service. The pages of the first six volumes of 
 the New Hampshire Reports attest his diligence and fidelity and 
 learning. A part of the time while he was on the bench his 
 associates were obviously his inferiors in judicial qualifications, 
 and the gravamen of the work fell upon him. But he sustained 
 it cheerfully, and the reputation of the tribunal in which he pre- 
 sided never suffered. 
 
 In holding jury terms of the court he appeared to no less ad- 
 vantage. His quickness to see and appreciate the points made 
 by counsel, his readiness to apply his wide knowledge of legal 
 principles to the shifting vistas of a trial, his entire freedom from 
 bias, all combined to make him an admirable nisi prius judge. 
 He had little pride of opinion, and was always ready to yield his 
 ^ first impressions to the force of argument or authority. In the 
 earlier years of his judicial experience, particularly, the leaders of 
 the bar were men of logic and research, and their forensic con- 
 tests sometimes occasioned displays of legal argumentation that 
 might well cause the judgment of the strongest mind to halt 
 between two opinions. Judge Richardson was thought by some 
 almost too ready to abandon a ruling he had once made, as soon 
 as he began to doubt if it were tenable. On one occasion Jere- 
 miah Mason was pressing a point to him with his usual force, and 
 the Judge, to save him the trouble of further argument, remarked, 
 " Brother Mason, the impression of the Court is in your favor." 
 " Yes," replied the great lawyer, " but I want your Honor to 
 stick ! " 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 75 
 
 Judge Eiehardson possessed an eminently judicial mind. He 
 was able to look down upon a case, as it were, from a serene height 
 of impartiality, and to see all its sides with noonday clearness. 
 Whatever might have been his first inclinations, his deliberate 
 judgment was formed on full consideration of the whole case 
 from every point of view. His perfect integrity and singleness of 
 purpose were never brought in question. The judicial ermine 
 received no stain from his wearing it. He knew no friends and 
 no enemies while in the seat of judgment, nor any of the ordi- 
 nary lines of divisions among men. His ideal was the very highest. 
 
 Untiring industry was one of his chief characteristics. That 
 there have been men who, by the force of extraordinary intrinsic 
 powers, have attained the highest judicial rank without giving 
 their days and nights to the study of the law cannot perhaps be 
 gainsaid ; but they are the exceptions. The giants of the law 
 have usually been the gigantic workers. The best judgments 
 have smelled of the lamp. Where one great lawyer has been 
 able to dispense with close study, a hundred have made them- 
 selves great by giving nearly double the traditional number of 
 hours to intense application. Judge Richardson's native capacity 
 was excelled by that of few men, but he supplemented it by the ut- 
 most industry over the works of the sages of the law. He believed 
 in general cultivation, too, as an adjunct to legal study. He pushed 
 his researches into almost every department of learning. He 
 kept up his knowledge of the classics, and read the best Italian, 
 French, and Spanish authors in their original tongues. He ac- 
 quired a thorough knowledge of botany, and more or less famil- 
 iarity with every branch of natural science. In addition to the 
 performance of his strictly official labors, he found time to take 
 part as chairman of a commission to revise the laws of the State 
 in 1826 ; to superintend the publication of a large part of the 
 cases included in the early volumes of the judicial Reports ; and 
 to prepare three manuals for the guidance respectively of Justices 
 of the Peace, Sheriffs, and Town Officers, and containing the ne- 
 cessary statutes, forms, and directions for each. He was also the 
 author of occasional poems, which were characterized by much 
 delicacy of feeling and expression, and breathed the spirit of true 
 poesy. Dartmouth College, in token of appreciation of his learn- 
 ing and literary accomplishments, bestowed upon him the degree 
 of LL. D. in 1827. 
 
T6 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 The private life of Judge Kichardson was exemplary. He 
 removed in 1819 from Portsmouth to Chester, where he passed 
 the residue of his life. Before the days of railroads, Chester, like 
 not a few other country places, was the residence of a good num- 
 ber of families of education and refinement. Here Judge Rich- 
 ardson found congenial society, and here his public spirit and 
 social graces were exhibited to appreciative friends. Every move- 
 ment for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town found in him 
 a ready supporter. He was not only interested in the church and 
 the schoolhouse, the two corner-stones of New England civiliza- 
 tion, but he exerted himself to support the other voluntary aids to 
 instruction and rational amusement. He lectured before the Ly- 
 ceum, and was the chief founder of the Athenaeum of the town. 
 At his home he solaced himself in his hours of relaxation with 
 music, in which he delighted and was no mean proficient, and 
 diversified his labors by work in his garden, on which he justly 
 prided himself. 
 
 He was fond of society, though the time he gave to study did 
 not allow him much leisure for formal company. But all classes 
 of his townsmen found a ready welcome at his house. There 
 were among them some privileged characters, in those days, with 
 whose blunt Scotch-Irish humor the Judge was entertained. One 
 of these, an inveterate cider-toper, used to call at the Judge's 
 house not unfrequently, to beg a mug of his favorite beverage. 
 This was never refused him so long as he was sober. But one 
 day, when he came with his usual request, he had evidently had 
 more than his full allowance already, and the Judge refused to 
 give him more. " Well," said the disappointed tippler, " I 've 
 heard of the unjust judge, who neither feared God nor regarded 
 man, and I think I know him pretty well, too." The. retort tickled 
 the Judge, but did not procure the coveted boon. 
 
 Besides deriving great enjoyment from the drollery and humor 
 of others. Judge Richardson was himself a wit. All who knew 
 him agree that no one, of his time, said brighter or keener things 
 than he. But such good sayings depend so much upon the cir- 
 cumstances which call them forth, and are of so evanescent a 
 character, that they suffer in the attempt to repeat them. 
 
 One mot, being professional, perhaps should not be withheld. 
 The Judge, while going his circuit in his open carriage, drove, in 
 the midst of a storm of sleet, up to the hotel where several mem- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 77 
 
 bers of the bar had ah-eady established themselves. "Well, 
 Judge," said one of them, " you 've had to face it." " Yes," 
 replied the Judge, " and I 'd rather "facit per aliuni' than \facit 
 per sc' " 
 
 Judge Richardson married, in 1798, Betsy, daughter of Peter 
 Smith of Pelham, and had seven children. Two of his daughters 
 married members of the New Hampshire bar : Elizabeth, who was 
 the wife of Benjamin B. French, and Anne, the wife of Henry F. 
 French. No descendants bearing the family name, it is believed, 
 now survive. 
 
 CALEB ELLIS. 
 
 J. 1813-1816. 
 
 Bom, Walpole, Massachusetts, 1767 ; Harvard College, 1793 ; practiced, 
 Newport and Claremont ; died, Claremont, May 9, 1816. 
 
 Mr. Ellis's legal studies were carried on under the direction 
 of John Davis of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and he commenced 
 practice in Newport about 1796. He could have remained there 
 but a short time, for he settled in Claremont probably before 
 1800, and is said to have tarried at Cornish awhile, between the 
 two places. 
 
 He was somewhat mature in years when he began his profes- 
 sional career, and was thoroughly well prepared for it by study 
 and cultivation. Without any personal desire for appearing in 
 public, he was soon brought forward by the suffrages of the people 
 for official positions, and was chosen representative in the legis- 
 lature in 1803 ; member of Congress for two years in 1804 ; 
 councilor in 1809 and 1810 ; state senator in 1811 ; presidential 
 elector in 1812. In 1813 he was appointed with the approval of 
 all parties a Justice of the Supreme Court, an honor which he 
 had declined three years previously. 
 
 His term of judicial service, cut short by his premature death, 
 served only to confirm the favorable impressions which led to his 
 appointment. He was in truth a model judge. His able associ- 
 ate in the court, Hon. Jeremiah Smith, pronounced a sketch of 
 his character before the grand jury, soon after his decease, in 
 which were admirably set forth his. peculiar qualifications for the 
 judicial functions. 
 
 He was modest and unassuming. His prominence was not the 
 
78 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 result of ambition or self-seeking, but was the reward of merit 
 that could not be concealed. He was moderate, prudent, and 
 conscientious. Those who differed from him in opinion could not 
 but admit his candor and honesty. He never allowed himself to 
 be carried away by stress of feeling ; all his conduct was gov- 
 erned by well-founded principle. Quick to perceive and appre- 
 hend, he was none the less ready to inquire and thoroughly inves- 
 tigate questions that came before him, and he had none of the 
 pride of opinion which would hinder him from abandoning his 
 first impressions, when the weight of authority was against them. 
 He studied the law as a science, and his reasoning powers were of 
 the first order. The only criticism made upon his intellectual 
 methods was that he was perhaps sometimes too refined and subtle 
 in his distinctions to be easily comprehended by a jury. 
 
 As a judge he was impartial and independent. He was far 
 above being influenced by the positions or opinions of parties, or 
 by any other considerations than those which properly entered into 
 the subjects of judicial inquiry. Neither fear nor favor affected 
 his official conduct by a feather's weight. Having carefully de- 
 termined what was right, he was firm and decided in adhering to 
 it. Nor did he render a disagreeable thing doubly disagreeable by 
 an ungracious manner. He was always pleasant and courteous, 
 and gave willing ear to all reasonable solicitations. Suaviter in 
 modo, fortiter in re, was practically his rule of conduct. 
 
 With so many desirable qualifications for the judicial station, 
 it was hoped by all that he might long continue to administer it ; 
 but it was not so to be. His constitution was slender, his health 
 soon began to fail, and after only three years of useful and 
 honorable duty upon the bench, his temporal life was brought to 
 a close. Few men have combined in an equal degree mental and 
 moral qualities of such acknowledged superiority, and personal 
 characteristics so engaging and attractive. His death was the 
 cause of widespread mourning, public and private. 
 
 He married Nancy, daughter of Colonel Eobert Means of Am- 
 herst, February 4, 1816. They had no children. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 79 
 
 SAMUEL BELL, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1816-1819. 
 
 Son of Hon. John and Mary Ann (Gilmore) Bell ; born, Londonderry, Teb- 
 ruary 9, 1770 ; Dartmouth College, 1793 ; admitted, 1796 ; practiced, Fran- 
 cestown, Amherst, and Chester ; died, Chester, December 23, 1850. 
 
 A descendant of one of the early " Scotch-Irish " settlers of 
 Londonderry, Mr. Bell was brought up on his father's farm, and 
 until the age of eighteen received no instruction beyond the 
 meagre routine of the common schools. In April, 1788, having a 
 strong desire to obtain a collegiate education, he began the study 
 of Latin, and afterwards became a pupil of the distinguished John 
 Hubbard, at the academy in New Ipswich. In the winter of 
 1790 he taught a school in his native town, and the next year 
 was admitted to the sophomore class of Dartmouth College. 
 
 Immediately after taking his degree he was received as a stu- 
 dent in the office of Samuel Dana of Amherst, and on the con- 
 clusion of his required term of three years, was admitted an attor- 
 ney, and commenced practice in Francestown. From that place 
 he was sent representative to the legislature in 1804, and the 
 two years succeeding, in both of which he was elected to the 
 Speaker's chair. In 1807 he was tendered the attorney-general- 
 ship of the State, but declined it. In 1807 and 1808 he was cho- 
 sen to the State Senate, and was honored both years with the 
 presidency of that body. In 1813 he served as a member of the 
 Executive Council. He had transferred his residence in 1806 
 from Francestown to Amherst, and about 1811 he removed from 
 Amherst to Chester. At that time his health had seriously 
 declined, so that he was disqualified for business, and fears were 
 entertained that he might never recover. By the advice of friends 
 he determined to try the effect of an extended trip on horseback, 
 though so weak that at first he could travel but few miles daily. 
 His strength improved by this exercise, and he passed much of 
 two seasons in journeying in Ohio, which was the " far West " of 
 that day. 
 
 With the restoration of his health he resumed professional 
 work, in Chester. He was commissioned a Justice of the Superior 
 Court in 1816, and performed his judicial duties three years. In 
 1819 he was chosen governor of the State, and rechosen the three 
 
80 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 years following, receiving at his last election nearly twenty-three 
 thousand votes, to little more than one thousand cast for all 
 others. As soon as his gubernatorial term ended in 1823, he was 
 elected a senator of the United States for six years, upon the 
 expiration of vi^hich he was reelected. His twelve years' service in 
 the Senate closed in 1835, and he then retired from political and 
 professional pursuits. 
 
 The retention during a period of nearly thirty years in such 
 responsible positions in public life, of one who was no popularity 
 seeker and no political manager, implies that he must by the 
 exhibition of uncommon ability, and attention to duty, have made 
 good his claim to the confidence of the public. Mr. Bell's mental 
 powers were of a high order, carefully cultivated and thoroughly 
 disciplined. He was a sound, though not a showy lawyer, pru- 
 dent in counsel, strong in contention. He made no pretension to 
 eloquence, and rather lacked fluency of speech, but he compen- 
 sated for it by the vigor and force of his reasoning and his ex- 
 pression. 
 
 His manner on the bench is described as courteous but decided. 
 
 He was of a dignified presence. Though accessible to all, he 
 unbent to few. His rulings were made with deliberation, and 
 were seldom withdrawn, in which respect he differed from Chief 
 Justice Richardson. If a persistent counsel ventured to press for 
 a reopening of a question already passed upon, " that point is de- 
 cided," was his mild answer, and it was then well understood that 
 nothing more was to be said. Jeremiah Mason stated, when it 
 was proposed to make Judge Bell governor of the State, that the 
 Superior Court would thereby " lose its backbone." John M. 
 Shirley, who made a careful study of the characteristics of the 
 gentlemen connected with the Dartmouth College Cases, described 
 him as " a man of immense erudition and great business capacity, 
 a thorough lawyer, and possessed of great moral courage." His 
 published judicial opinions in the early volumes of the state 
 Reports bear testimony to his habits of thorough and careful 
 research, his complete understanding of the rules and reasons of 
 the law, and his clear, logical habits of investigation and state- 
 ment. 
 
 His political fortunes were never advanced by display, artifice, 
 or intrigue. His fellow-citizens put him forward because they 
 had faith that he would represent them fairly and honestly. He 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 81 
 
 made few speeches, but they had the root of the matter in them. 
 He was conscientiously attentive to the public business, and left a 
 record in the highest degree creditable. He kept in touch with 
 the best sentiment of his section. When Daniel Webster went 
 into the national eapitol the morning after hearing the arraign- 
 ment of his political principles by Robert Y. Hayne, he called 
 Mr. Bell into consultation, gave him an outline of the reply he 
 was proposing to make, and asked him if that fairly represented 
 the views of their constituents at the North. Upon Mr. Bell's 
 assuring him that it did, " Then," said the great expounder, 
 " the country shall know my views of the Constitution, before this 
 day is over ! " So great was the confidence of the champion of 
 New England in the standing and understanding of the New 
 Hampshire senator. 
 
 After retiring from the Senate he spent the remainder of his 
 life at his home on a sightly hill in Chester, interesting himself 
 in the affairs of the day, and in the up-bringing of his younger 
 children, and enjoying the respect and honor of his townsinen 
 and of all who knew him. 
 
 The degree of LL. D. was awarded him by Bowdoin College in 
 1821. 
 
 His first marriage, November 26, 17^7, was with Mehitable 
 Bowen, daughter of Hon. Samuel Dana of Amherst ; his second 
 with Lucy, daughter of Jonathan Smith of Amherst, July 4, 
 1828. Of his five children by the former marriage, two, Samuel 
 D. and James, entered the legal profession ; and of his four by 
 the later, two, George and Louis, did likewise. 
 
 LEVI WOODBURY, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1816-1823. 
 
 Son of Hon. Peter and Mary (Woodbury) Woodbury ; born, Fraucestown, 
 December 22, 1789 ; Dartmouth College, 1809 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, 
 Francestown and Portsmouth ; died, Portsmouth, September 4, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Woodbury obtained the chief part of his preparation for 
 college at the Atkinson Academy under the preceptorship of 
 John Vose, and at Dartmouth was distinguished for his scholar- 
 ship. He studied the law with Jeremiah Smith at Exeter, Sam- 
 uel Dana of Boston, Massachusetts, and at the Litchfield Law 
 School, Connecticut, and began practice with high promise in his 
 6 
 
82 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 native town in 1812. In 1816 he was chosen clerk of the New 
 Hampshire Senate. This brought him before the eye of Governor 
 Plumer, a fellow-boarder, at the capital, who was then engaged in 
 the rather difficult operation of selecting a new set of judges. 
 The Governor saw that he was industrious and ambitious, with 
 such intellectual qualities as would insure his success on the 
 bench, and surprised most people who did not know the young 
 lawyer by giving him an associate justiceship of the Superior 
 Court. He was the youngest man who had ever been designated 
 for the place, and was called the " baby judge," but he soon 
 proved that the Governor's prognostications were not erroneous. If 
 he lacked anything of experience or knowledge, he made haste to 
 compensate for it by all that assiduity and labor could accomplish. 
 It was said that he could and did work sixteen hours a day when 
 occasion required it, and this, by the way, not only while he was 
 young, and eager to justify his appointment, but even to the later 
 years of his life. 
 
 In 1819 Judge Woodbury changed his residence to Ports- 
 mouth. He served as Judge about six years with great accept- 
 ance. His former associate, Samuel Bell, was so well convinced 
 of his judicial talents that he predicted at that early day that 
 Judge Woodbury would in due time be raised to the bench of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States. In 1823 the elders of the 
 party with which he was connected designated in the usual man- 
 ner a candidate for the office of governor of the State ; but the 
 " young America " wing of the party repudiated the selection and 
 made Woodbury their nominee. With the aid of some of the 
 other party he was elected governor. He served a year, and then 
 resumed the practice of the law. The next year, 1825, he was a 
 representative from Portsmouth, and though he had had no pre- 
 vious legislative experience, was chosen Speaker of the House, 
 and also senator of the United States for six years. 
 
 In 1831 he was made Secretary of the Navy, and acted as such 
 three years, and till he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. 
 In that office he served about seven years, within which period 
 he was again sought for as Chief Justice of New Hampshire, but 
 declined the appointment. In 1841 the legislature for the sec- 
 ond time chose him United States senator. He remained in the 
 upper house of Congress till 1845, when, after declining the 
 embassy to the Court of St. James, which was tendered him, he 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 83 
 
 was appointed an associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. The duties of that distinguished position he con- 
 tinued to perform with characteristic punctuality and ability, until 
 his career was terminated by his death, at the age of sixty-one. 
 
 In each of the important stations to which he was summoned 
 Judge Woodbury exhibited the same sense of responsibility, reso- 
 lute attention to duty, and unflagging industry. He was endowed 
 by nature with a ready apprehension, vigorous mental grasp, and 
 ambition to succeed. His physical powers were on a scale com- 
 mensurate with his intellectual, and he was capable of enduring 
 the strain of long-continued application to study, without incon- 
 venience. Whatever the problem before him, political or juridical,, 
 he grappled with it unhesitatingly, and was very sure to solve it 
 to his satisfaction before he quitted it. 
 
 Neither at the bar nor in the Senate was he a brilliant orator,, 
 but he had the qualities without which brilliancy is least effective. 
 He never rose without a full understanding of his subject. All 
 the aid which careful study and mature reflection could afford, he 
 brought to the consideration of every question. His facts and 
 his arguments he marshaled logically and systematically. His 
 speeches were no mere tours de force, but full, complete, and ex- 
 haustive. The most important of them are preserved in the three 
 volumes of his writings which were published after his decease. 
 
 The mental characteristics of Judge Woodbury fitted him pe- 
 culiarly to administer the law. His calmness and poise, never 
 stirred by feeling or bias ; his even-tempered patience and desire 
 to do exact justice ; his thoroughness, and determination to go to 
 the bottom of the case before him, — these were qualities not only 
 to make him a model judge, but also, which is perhaps, next in 
 importance, to be recognized as such by the community, and gave 
 him his firm hold upon their confidence. Of course his familiarity 
 with the learning of the law was by reason of his position known 
 to the country, as well by the laity as by the profession. 
 
 For some time before his decease the eyes of his friends and 
 party had been turning towards him as their probable candidate 
 for the loftiest office in the gift of the people of the Republic, 
 and there seems little question that, had his life been prolonged, 
 he would have succeeded to that high honor. But he had ac- 
 complished enougli to prove the great powers that were in him, 
 in administering with such distinction the important legislative, 
 executive, and judicial functions that devolved upon him. 
 
84 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 His alma mater gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of 
 Laws in 1823, as did Wesleyan University twenty years later. 
 
 He was united in marriage, in June, 1819, to Elizabeth W., 
 daughter of Asa Clapp of Portland, Maine, and was the father of 
 \two daughters and one son, Charles Levi Woodbury of Boston, 
 JMassachusetts, lawyer and ex-judge. 
 
 SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 J. 1819-1840. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel Green ; born, Concord, March 7, 1770 ; admitted, 1793 ; 
 jpracticed, Concord ; died, Washington, District of Columbia, March 22, 1851. 
 
 This was one of four brothers who embraced the legal profes- 
 sion, and the most successful of them in attaining high position. 
 He was prepared at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, 
 to enter college a year in advance. But though he lacked the 
 advantage of a completed liberal education, his earnestness in 
 study and self-improvement went far to compensate for the want 
 of it. In the midst of temptations to which too many of his 
 companions yielded, he preserved habits of sobriety and correct- 
 ness of life. His brother, Peter Green of Concord, and Jonathan 
 Rawson of Dover directed his legal reading, and he became an 
 attorney in Concord in 1793. 
 
 He was a representative in the legislature in 1806, and the 
 two years succeeding. For the next ten years he was quietly 
 tbuilding up a local reputation, and in June, 1819, on the resigna- 
 :tion of Samuel Bell, he was made his successor as a Judge of the 
 Superior Court. For this he was largely indebted to the opinion 
 of his townsmen, no doubt, of his fitness for the post, as he had 
 not then any very extended reputation as a lawyer, so far as 
 appears. 
 
 He changed his residence from Concord to Hopkinton in 1832. 
 Twenty-one years he remained a Judge, devoting his time and 
 powers conscientiously to his work. He was a highly respectable, 
 though not an eminent magistrate. His disposition was amiable 
 and equable, and his conduct towards suitors and counsel was 
 unexceptionable. Upright and just, he was never suspected of 
 wrong doing or intention. A good lawyer, of sound judgment 
 and useful though not shining talents, ready for work and deter- 
 mined to do his best, he administered the law to the general 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 85 
 
 satisfaction. In 1840 he reached the age of seventy years, which 
 severed his connection with the bench. 
 
 In 1834 Judge Green became a widower for the second time, 
 and as the emoluments of his office could not have enabled him to 
 make much provision for the future, he was probably not sorry to 
 accept a clerkship at the national capital, for his ultimate support. 
 In that quiet situation he passed the last ten years of his life, con- 
 tentedly and cheerfully. 
 
 His first wife was Mary G. Coffin, who died in 1806. In 
 August, 1810, he married Mrs. Ann N. Wardrobe. By his first 
 marriage he had a son and two daughters ; by his second a son. 
 
 JOHN HARRIS. 
 
 J. 1823-1833. 
 
 Son of Deacon Richard and Lydia (Atherton) Harris ; born, Harvard, 
 Massachusetts, October 13, 1769 ; Harvard College, 1791 ; admitted, 1794 ; 
 practiced, Hopkinton ; died there, April 23, 1845. 
 
 Upon his graduation from college Mr. Harris began his legal 
 studies under Simeon Strong, of Amherst, and completed them 
 under Timothy Bigelow of Groton, Massachusetts. Near the 
 close of 1794 he fixed his residence in Hopkinton, which then and 
 for years afterwards was about equal in population and im- 
 portance to Concord. He was postmaster of the town from 1810 
 to 1825, and Judge of Probate for the county of Hillsborough 
 from 1812 till the organization of the county of Merrimac in 
 1823. In 1816 a commission as Justice of the Superior Court 
 was tendered him, but he declined it. In 1817 he accepted the 
 appointment of county solicitor, and acted under it for six years. 
 In 1823 he was transferred to the bench of the Superior Court, 
 and sat there till 1833, when he was removed from it by the 
 Executive on a legislative address, but was at once replaced in 
 the post of Judge of Probate (for the county of Merrimac), and 
 there served until he reached the constitutional limit of seventy 
 years of age. 
 
 These various important public trusts, which covered so large a 
 portion of his active life, are evidence of his ability and integrity. 
 They were bestowed by party opponents, and upon one who ap-, 
 parently never possessed the least of those arts by which popular 
 favor is won. Judge Harris had angered the majority of his 
 
86 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 townsmen by injudicious comparisons between his own church 
 and those which they attended ; and still more deeply when as 
 chairman of a legislative committee to locate the state capital, he 
 gave the casting vote in favor of Concord, and against his own 
 town of Hopkinton. But there is little doubt that in this he was 
 actuated by the highest desire of promoting the public welfare. 
 
 He was a well read and balanced lawyer, and a man of good, 
 but not great capacity. He had no facility as an advocate. He 
 appeared to the best advantage when presiding in the Court of 
 Probate. There his services were appreciated and valuable. As 
 a Judge of the Superior Court he lacked confidence in himself, 
 and as a natural consequence he failed to inspire confidence in 
 others. His removal was a harsh proceeding, but was greatly 
 mollified by his immediate appointment to another position of 
 responsibility better suited to his inclination and his powers. 
 
 Judge Harris was named, December 23, 1820, with Charles H. 
 Atherton, his register, to revise the probate laws of the State, 
 a work which they performed so successfully that comparatively 
 little change has been found necessary to be made in them since 
 that time. 
 
 He was a good farmer, a devoted adherent of the Episcopal 
 Church, and an active and zealous member and officer of the 
 Masonic fraternity. He appears to have been somewhat tenacious 
 of the social distinctions of his time, and was of a rather reserved 
 disposition. 
 
 His wife, to whom he was united in 1799, was Mary, daughter 
 of Eliphalet Poor of Hampstead. They had four children, a son 
 and three daughters, but no lineal descendant of Judge Harris 
 now survives. 
 
 JOEL PARKER, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1833-1838. C. J. 1838-1848. 
 
 Son of Hon. Abel and Edith (Jewett) Parker ; born, Jeffrey, January 25, 
 1795 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; admitted, 1817 ; practiced, Keene ; died, 
 Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 17, 1875. 
 
 The father of Joel Parker paid a comrade for the privilege of 
 himself taking part in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was badly 
 wounded there ; and his obstinate courage, though exhibited in a 
 different field of contention, has been by some thought to be dis- 
 cernible in his son. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 87 
 
 Joel Parker, after fitting at the academy in Groton, Massachu- 
 setts, entered the sophomore class at Dartmouth College, and was 
 graduated at the age of less than seventeen. He studied law 
 with his brother Edmund at Amherst, and " held himself out " as 
 a lawyer in Keene at twenty-one. He was not a man to push 
 himself into pfactice, in Stryver fashion, and by 1821 decided to 
 make a trip to the West, with the idea of establishing himself 
 there. He went to Columbus, Ohio, and was there admitted to 
 the bar in 1822, but soon after reconsidered the matter and re- 
 turned to Keene. 
 
 His talents and industry and learning in due time became 
 known and appreciated, and were rewarded by an ample employ- 
 ment. James Wilson, Jr., though several years his junior, was 
 for a while one of his chief competitors at the bar. Their talents 
 and methods differed in toto. Wilson was ready, dashing, elo- 
 quent, seizing the strong points of his case, and handling them in 
 the most adroit and taking manner, while Parker was studious, 
 careful, elaborate in preparation, logical in argument, but apt to 
 be dry and uninteresting. Of attempting to suit the prejudices 
 of the jury he never dreamed. The two lawyers once attended a 
 two weeks' term at Newport, riding together on horseback, as was 
 the fashion of the time. There they were opposed to each other 
 in nearly every cause that was tried, and Wilson won all the ver- 
 dicts. At the close of the term they set out together on their 
 return. Parker was silent until they were about reaching the 
 halfway house, where they were to dine, and then said abruptly, 
 " Wilson, I 'm going home to sell out, and go to sea before the 
 mast I " "I know what you mean," replied Wilson. " I 've always 
 told you there was no use putting nice points of law to the jury." 
 " My clients," returned Parker, a little touched, " are satisfied 
 with the way I try their causes." " So are mine," rejoined Wil- 
 son, " so long as I get verdicts for them." But Joel Parker was 
 not the man permanently' to admit defeat. 
 
 He was elected a representative in the legislature in 1824, 
 1825, and 1826. He is also said to have been the author of the 
 act for remodeling the courts of the State, adopted in 1832, after 
 full consideration and discussion, with the approval of Chief 
 Justice Richardson. This act, besides providing for other bene- 
 ficial changes in the judiciary system, gave very full chancery 
 powers to the Superior Court. 
 
88 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 In January, 1833, Mr. Parker was placed upon the bench of 
 that court, where he continued to sit as associate, and afterwards 
 Chief Justice, for upwards of fifteen years. He was admittedly 
 one of the most able and learned of a sequence of jurists rarely 
 equaled in the annals of any State. The opinions which he 
 delivered were very numerous, indicating his familiarity as well 
 with the authorities as with the principles and reasoning of the 
 law. One or two of them are particularly entitled to notice. The 
 early familiar case of Britton v. Turner, in the 6th volume of our 
 Reports, was a distinct advance in an equitable point of view 
 over the prior decisions. If the doctrine of that case originated 
 with Judge Parker, he merits the highest commendation for sub- 
 ordinating his reverence for the antiquas vias to the claims of a 
 shorter and more direct road to exact justice. 
 
 But the great struggle, and ultimate triumph, of his judicial career 
 was occasioned by a difference of opinion between Justice Joseph 
 Story of the United States Supreme Court and himself, arising 
 out of the construction of a clause in the national Bankrupt Act 
 of 1841. It was adjudged by the former that a honafide attach- 
 ment of the property of a bankrupt on mesne process from a 
 state court, prior to the filing of the petition, would not take the 
 property out of the operation of the Act, or constitute a defense 
 against the claim of the assignee, and that the U. S. District 
 Court could by summary process follow such property (and the 
 avails thereof in case of a subsequent sale or levy under authority 
 of the state court) in the hands of parties or officers, and compel 
 the same to be surrendered to the assignee. 
 
 From this view Judge Parker utterly dissented, and in the cases 
 of Kittredge. v. Warren in the 14th, and Kittredge v. Emerson 
 in the 15th volume of our Reports, enunciated his convictions of 
 the validity of the lien created by attachment, of the powers of 
 the state tribunals, and of their immunity from the jurisdiction 
 of the inferior courts of the United States, in a manner which 
 was as logical as it was satisfactory to the bar and the legislature 
 of the State. The differences in question were authoritatively 
 settled by the Supreme Court of the United States in Pecic v. 
 Jenness., 1 Howard, 612, in which the views of Judge Parker 
 were completely sustained : that an attachment under the circum- 
 stances mentioned was a lien, and of equal operation with a lien 
 at the common law, and that the District Court had no super- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 89 
 
 visory power over a state court. If it is the province of a good 
 judge to amplify his jurisdiction, Judge Story, unless he has been 
 maligned, veas among the best. It was certainly a notable pas- 
 sage at arms between redoubtable legal champions ; and neither 
 in ratiocination, nor in the ultimate issue, was Judge Parker the 
 loser in the contest. 
 
 Before this question was finally passed on. Judge Parker had 
 left the bench, in June, 1848, and accepted the appointment of 
 Royall professor in the Harvard Law School, having his residence 
 thenceforth in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In this new situation 
 his duties required him to deal with a wide range of legal sub- 
 jects, and, especially at first, made heavy draughts upon his time. 
 But his previous thorough habits of investigation, and his expe- 
 rience at the bar and on the bench, made his work erelong less 
 oppressive, and he performed it with ease, and to the great ad- 
 vantage of the large body of educated young men who were his 
 pupils. For twenty years he occupied his professorial chair, and 
 then resigned it with the undiminished respect and esteem of all 
 connected with the institution. 
 
 He did not restrict himself to the work of the Law School. 
 In 1853 he was a delegate from Cambridge to the convention to 
 revise the Constitution, and in 1855 he was a member of a com- 
 mission to revise the Statutes of the Commonwealth ; he was Pro- 
 fessor of Medical Jurisprudence, and lecturer thereon in divers 
 Medical Schools. In addition to this, he was frequently called 
 upon for opinions upon important questions of law, and for some 
 years at least to argue such questions in the courts of his native 
 State. In the Massachusetts Historical Society he contributed 
 valuable and learned papers, especially upon topics which came 
 within the scope of his professional study. During the war of 
 the Rebellion he published a number of pamphlets upon the con- 
 stitutional and other questions arising therefrom, in which he 
 took ground independent of party, but always patriotic. He had, 
 as early as 1856, presided at a meeting in Cambridge after the 
 assault on Charles Sumner in the Senate Chamber of the United 
 States, in which, after referring to the violence of the South as 
 threatening the constitutional safeguards of freedom, he uttered 
 these remarkable words : " For myself personally, I am perhaps 
 known to most of you as a peaceable citizen, devotedly attached to 
 the Constitution, and much too far advanced in life for gasconade; 
 
90 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 but under present circumstances I may be pardoned for saying 
 that some of my father's blood was shed on Bunker Hill at the 
 commencement of our Eevolution, and that there is a little more 
 of the same sort left, if it should prove necessary, for the begin- 
 ning of another ! " 
 
 The seven years of life remaining to him after the resignation 
 of his chair, Judge Parker spent in Cambridge, holding a non- 
 resident legal professorship in Dartmouth College, in which insti- 
 tution he had always felt a warm interest, having served a number 
 of years on its board of trustees, and having by his will given a 
 considerable part of his fortune for the foundation of a depart- 
 ment of law therein. From that college he received the honorary 
 degree of LL. D. in 1837 ; as he did the same from Harvard 
 College eleven years afterwards. 
 
 The impression which has been commonly formed of Judge 
 Parker is that of a grave, austere man, whose interests in life 
 reached little beyond his briefs and his law-books. But there 
 was another side to his character, exhibited to a comparatively 
 small circle. Though he married late, his great enjoyment was 
 in his domestic life. He was especially fond of flowers, and in 
 his earlier years, at least, cultivated them with assiduity. He 
 enjoyed society, and unbent from his severer pursuits, gracefully. 
 No man appreciated a bright thing more thoroughly than he. 
 And it will surprise some who had seen but a single phase of the 
 man, to learn that he has on occasion courted the muse. A lady 
 friend of his, in the earlier part of his practice, addressed him 
 some lines, entitled " A Vision," in which she described her high 
 ideal of the lawyer's mission ; to which Mr. Parker responded by 
 the following : — 
 
 THE REALITY. 
 
 Oh ! I am a lawyer and live in a den 
 
 Called an office, a snug and a quiet retreat ; 
 
 It is sixteen feet one way, the other but ten, 
 
 And the temperature 's not far above "fever heat." 
 
 I watch there for clients ; but that 's all a hum, 
 
 Like sprites from the " vasty deep " called, they don't come. 
 
 I have pen, paper, ink, and blank writs a good store, 
 Three chairs and a table, a day-book and docket ; 
 Get five writs a term, a defense or two more, 
 Am plus in my idleness — minus in pocket. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 91 
 
 To persuade court and jury I argue all day 
 
 And convince them it 's right to decide — t' other \fay. 
 
 So much for the profit and pleasure. And now 
 The account as to honor pray let us be casting. 
 That there 's fame to be had, I most freely allow ; 
 People damn the profession to " fame everlasting," 
 They '11 tell you a lawyer but seeks for the pelf, 
 And for that will out-Herod the D 1 himself ! 
 
 August 9, 1828. 
 
 Judge Parker was joined in marriage, January 29, 1848, to 
 Mary Morse, daughter of Elijah Parker of Keene. He left no 
 issue. 
 
 NATHANIEL GOOKIN UPHAM, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1833-1842. 
 
 Son of Hon. Nathaniel and Judith (Cogswell) Upham ; born, Deerfleld, 
 January 8, 1801 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; practiced, Bristol and Concord ; 
 died. Concord, December 11, 1869. 
 
 Mr. Upham's childhood was passed in Eochester, to which town 
 his father removed in 1802, and he received his later education at 
 the Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College. He then 
 entered the law office of his brother-in-law, David Barker, Jr., as 
 a student, and on completing his preparation established himself 
 in practice, first in Bristol, and in 1829 in the wider field of Con- 
 cord. Four years after this, at the early age of thirty- two, he 
 was appointed a Justice of the Superior Court. He remained ten 
 years upon the bench, and it was to his business efficiency that he 
 then owed his transfer to the position of superintendent of the 
 Concord Railroad, for which he resigned the judgeship. Railway 
 management, now a distinct and important profession, was then 
 in its infancy, and had to be learned by experience. After a few 
 years of practice as superintendent. Judge Upham made himself 
 so essential to the Concord Railroad that he was chosen president 
 of the corporation, and was altogether connected with it no less 
 than twenty-three years, and up to 1866. 
 
 In 1860 he was chosen a delegate to the convention to revise 
 the Constitution of the State, and was made chairman of the busi- 
 ness committee of that body. In 1853 he was chosen by Presi- 
 dent Pierce as commissioner on the part of the United States to 
 adjust numerous claims which had long . been accumulating be- 
 
92 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 tween citizens of this country and Great Britain, and between cit- 
 izens of Gteat Britain and the United States. In the perform- 
 ance of this duty Judge Upham proceeded to London, and met 
 there the English commissioner, and together they succeeded in 
 adjusting satisfactorily claims amounting in the whole to several 
 millions of dollars, not a few of which were complex, difficult, and 
 involved troublesome questions of international law. In 1862 
 he was chosen to perform a service of a similar character as 
 umpire in a commission for the settlement of claims between this 
 country and New Granada. 
 
 Judge Upham was originally a Jeffersonian Democrat in poli- 
 tics, but in 1861' he took a determined stand against the disunion- 
 ists of the South, and wrote a letter defining and sustaining his 
 Ijosition, which had a wide circulation, and was welcomed by the 
 Union men of the North, among the most inflexible of whom he 
 was ever after ranked. In 1865 and 1866 he was a representa- 
 tive in the legislature, and was active in promoting the adoption 
 of the latest amendments to the national Constitution. 
 
 Judge Upham's practice at the bar was too brief to give him 
 the opportunities to show his best and matured powers there, but 
 his conduct as a judge was useful and highly creditable. His 
 legal training was of the greatest value to the railroad corporation 
 of which he was so long at the head, and in the service of his 
 country in the commissions already mentioned. 
 
 He was a man of indefatigable industry, and conscientious in 
 the performance of every duty. He belonged to a family noted 
 for literary capacity, and was himself a great student, and an 
 easy, versatile, and forcible writer. Several of his addresses — one 
 delivered at the request of the state legislature, a eulogy on 
 Lafayette ; another on " Rebellion, Slavery, and Peace," delivered 
 before the Lyceum in Concord ; and a third before the N. H. 
 Historical Society, of which he was the president, on the " Prog- 
 ress of Civil Liberty in New Hampshire " — were published, and 
 were productions of sterling merit. He had prepared a compila- 
 tion, embracing the best thoughts of authors ancient and modern, 
 together with valuable maxims the fruit of his own reflections, 
 which was regarded by competent judges as a work of great 
 merit ; but it has never been given to the public. 
 
 Judge Upham's private character was without blemish. He 
 was religious and consistent, a man worthy of all trust and re- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 93 
 
 spect. He was always to be found among the foremost of those 
 interested in promoting the interests, prosperity, and progress, 
 physical, intellectual, and moral, of the cjty of his residence. His 
 example and influence were ever for good. 
 
 He was united in marriage, October 28, 1829, wibh Betsey W., 
 daughter of Nathaniel Lord of Kennebunkport, Maine. She left a 
 son and a daughter, the latter the wife of Joseph B. Walker, Esq., 
 of Concord. His second wife was Elizabeth W., daughter of 
 Rev. Abraham Burnham of Pembroke, who survived her husband ; 
 their two children had died previously. 
 
 LEONAED WILCOX. 
 
 J. 1838-1840 ; 1848-1850. 
 
 Sou of Jeduthun and Sarah (Fisk) Wilcox ; born, Hanover, January 29, 
 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1817 ; practiced, Orford ; died there, June 18, 1850. 
 
 Mr. Wilcox's father removed, while Leonard was a child, to 
 Orford, so that his boyhood was spent there. He was a lad of 
 promise and forward in his stvidies, graduating from college at 
 the age of eighteen, with high rank as a scholar. It is supposed 
 that his father took the charge of his legal education, and he 
 began practice in Orford, probably in 1820. In his professional 
 career he did not disappoint the expectations which his friends 
 had formed. He was diligent in study, exact in his knowledge, 
 and had the judgment which enabled him wisely to apply the 
 principles of the law to the facts of his cases. He possessed 
 sagacity and practical common - sense, and unquestioned in- 
 tegrity, also. With such qualities he could not but command 
 ample employment at the bar, though his modesty and diffidence 
 in his own powers retarded his advancement. He did not excel 
 as an advocate ; he lacked fluency and power of voice ; but in 
 the preparation of causes for hearing, the marshaling of evi- 
 dence, and the array of authorities he was invaluable. The court 
 of revision knew his worth, and appreciated his opinions. 
 
 He held decided though not extreme political opinions, and was 
 a representative in the legislature from Orford for ^even years. 
 So highly were his legislative abilities esteemed that in March, 
 1842, on the resignation by Franklin Pierce of his seat in the 
 Senate of the United States, Governor Hubbard appointed Judge 
 Wilcox to the vacancy ; and upon the meeting of the legislature 
 
94 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 in the succeeding June, he was elected to fill out the unexpired 
 term, which ended in March, 1843. 
 
 Before this, on June 25, 1838, he had received the appointment 
 of Justice of the Superior Court, but by reason of illness had 
 resigned the office, September 29, 1840. His health having been 
 reestablished he was again placed upon the bench, first as Circuit 
 Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, in December, 1847, and 
 afterwards as Judge of the Superior Court, June 26, 1848. He 
 died in the latter office, when he had scarcely reached the confine 
 of age. 
 
 His mind was eminently judicial. The entire absence of pas- 
 sion or prejudice, the conscientious desire to decide justly, the care- 
 ful examination and wide learning of Judge Wilcox combined to 
 give his opinions great weight. He was courteous in his treat- 
 ment of the gentlemen of the bar, patient in hearing and deliber- 
 ate in deciding, and had the warm friendship and esteem of his 
 associates on the bench, and the respect of the community. 
 
 It was a pleasant trait of his character, referred to in the 
 address of William H. Duncan on the presentation of the resolu- 
 tions of the bar upon the death of Judge Wilcox, that he was 
 always ready to help and counsel and encourage his juniors of the 
 profession. His last illness was painful, and his death unex- 
 pected, but he was not unprepared, having the strength and con- 
 solation of firm religious convictions. 
 
 Judge Wilcox was married, first, to Almira, daughter of Sam- 
 uel Morey, September 12, 1819 ; and after her death to Mary, 
 daughter of Nathaniel Mann, October 10, 1833. He had chil- 
 dren by both marriages. His three sons were graduates of Dart- 
 mouth College, and lawyers. The eldest, Samuel M. Wilcox, 
 practiced for some years in this State. 
 
 JOHN JAMES GILCHRIST, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1840-1849. C. J. 1849-1855. 
 
 Son of Captain James and Susanna (Wymau) Gilchrist ; born, Medford, 
 Massachusetts, February 16, 1809 ; Harvard College, 1828 ; admitted, 1831 ; 
 practiced, Charlestown ; died, Washington, District of Columbia, April 29, 
 1858. 
 
 On the paternal side Judge Gilchrist was of Scottish descent. 
 His father was a shipmaster, who, having acquired a competence, 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 95 
 
 retired, while his son was yet young, to spend the evening of 
 life on a farm which he purchased in Charlestown. There the 
 future judge received his early education, much of it under the 
 instruction of the Rev. Dr. Crosby, the village clergyman. In 
 college young Gilchrist won many friends by his sterling qualities, 
 and without being over-ambitious to excel, maintained a good 
 rank, especially in certain studies congenial to his tastes, and was 
 noted as a great reader. 
 
 He commenced the study of the law with the eccentric William 
 Briggs of Charlestown, and then passed into the Harvard Law 
 School, and there gained a comprehensive view of the field of 
 jurisprudence. As soon as he was admitted to the bar he became 
 a partner of Henry Habbard of Charlestown, and so was intro- 
 duced immediately into an extensive practice. He did not fail to 
 avail himself of the opportunity to become familiar with the vari- 
 ous legal and business requirements of a large country office, and 
 his professional progress was rapid. Though he probably never 
 had any special political aspirations, he was chosen in 1836 and 
 1837 a representative in the legislature of the State ; and in 1838 
 he received the useful if not conspicuous appointment of register 
 of Probate.! 
 
 In 1840, after a legal experience of only nine years, he was 
 honored with the commission of associate Justice of the Superior 
 Court. As he could not have been generally known throughout 
 the State, his appointment must have occasioned surprise, but 
 those who had watched his progress felt confident that he had in 
 him the making of a first-rate judge. He resolved from the start 
 to make the judgeship his life work, and entered upon all needful 
 preparations therefor. He provided himself with an ample law 
 library, and made the best use of it. The decisions of the high- 
 est court of New Hampshire were indexed only in the twelve vol- 
 
 1 He also acted awhile as county solicitor, and from that experience, 
 perhaps, derived his helief that criminal laws were made in order to be put 
 in force, and not to be set aside by a weak sympathy. At a term of the 
 court in Rockingham, which Judge Gilchrist afterwards held, three men were 
 convicted of state prison offenses. Two of them went into conrt for sentence 
 before the other, who perhaps flattered himself that the Judge was a soft- 
 hearted weakling. If so, however, he was speedily disillusioned, for on the 
 return of his companions he inquired what was their sentence. " Five years 
 each " (the extent of the law), was the answer. " Five years," returned he, 
 in an injured tone. " Well, that Gilchryst is a sonker ! " 
 
96 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 umes of Eeports then published ; Judge Gilchrist within a few 
 years served himself and the profession alike, by classifying them 
 in the excellent " Digest " which bears his name. 
 
 His natural fitness and his acquired qualifications for his new 
 position, together with his fixed purpose to succeed, made him in 
 no long time a popular judge with his associates and the public. 
 He made an especially favorable impression when sitting at Nisi 
 Prius. His manner on the bench was such as to conciliate the 
 good-will of all, and to inspire confidence. His temper was mild, 
 and he never permitted it to be ruffled. If any heat was gen- 
 erated by the friction of a trial, it never reached the bench. He 
 treated the members of the bar with politeness and attention. No 
 one of them went away sorrowful from the conviction that his 
 case had not had a fair consideration by the judge. 
 
 Although Judge Gilchrist probably never ranked with the 
 great masters of legal lore in the extent of his acquirements, he 
 was yet well versed in the learning of his profession, and con- 
 tributed well to maintain the standing which the courts of the 
 State had acquired under such eminent jurists as Smith and 
 Richardson and Parker. And when in 1848 the latter resigned 
 the office of Chief Justice, Judge Gilchrist was with the general 
 approval made his successor. 
 
 The incidents in the life of a judicial officer in full work are 
 not of a character to give general interest to his biography, 
 and there is little more to tell of Judge Gilchrist's connection 
 with the New Hampshire court except that he devoted himself 
 after his elevation with equal if not increased diligence to the 
 little-varying round of his duties. In 1855 the Congress of 
 the United States created a new tribunal, the Court of Claims. 
 President Pierce, who well knew the peculiar qualities of Judge 
 Gilchrist, at once appointed him as the first Chief Justice of that 
 court. The duties of the position, of course, required his removal 
 to the national capital, and there were spent the remaining three 
 years of his life. He possessed peculiarly the temperament and 
 experience to fit him for inaugurating a new judicatory and set- 
 ting it in successful operation, and it is believed that the satisfac- 
 tory establishment and continuance of the Court of Claims was in 
 no small measure due to the fortunate choice of its first presiding 
 officer. 
 
 Besides his qualifications as a magistrate, he was fond of 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 97 
 
 letters, with scholarly tastes and an extensive acquaintance with 
 the literature of his own and foreign countries. His disposition 
 was social and genial, and his sense of humor combined with it 
 to make him a most agreeable and entertaining companion. In 
 all his instincts and habits he was a thorough gentleman, urbane, 
 hospitable, and high-minded. 
 
 He was the recipient of the degree of Doctor of Laws from two 
 colleges, Dartmouth in 1852, and Harvard in 1856. 
 
 He was married, August 25, 1836, to Sarah Dean, daughter of 
 Hon. Henry Hubbard of Charlestown. They had two children, 
 a daughter and a son. 
 
 ANDREW SALTER WOODS, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1840-1855. G. J. 1855. 
 
 Sou of Andrew and Isabella (Jameson) Woods ; born, Bath, June 2, 1803 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1825; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Bath ; died there, June 
 20, 1863. 
 
 Judge Woods was of North-of-Ireland stock, his father having 
 emigrated from the County of Antrim to this country ; and the 
 son exhibited many of the traits of character which distinguish 
 the Scotch-Irish. He was the first native of Bath to enter the 
 legal profession. After graduating from college, he read law in 
 the office of Ira Goodall of Bath, and when admitted, became his 
 partner in practice. They remained in that connection twelve 
 years, and acquired a business that in extent and emoluments could 
 hardly have been exceeded in the State. The habit of doing busi- 
 ness on credit that then prevailed, and the importance of prior 
 attachgients of property, led to a multitude of failures, and an 
 infinity of suits. The office of Goodall and Woods was known 
 far and wide, and was resorted to from a large circle of country. 
 It is said that a light used to be kept in it through the night, that 
 men in haste to secure their demands might be accommodated at 
 all hours ; and that two thousand court writs were made in the 
 office in a single year. 
 
 The junior partner became noted as not only a first-rate man 
 of business, but as a careful, knowing lawyer, whose matured 
 opinions it was safe to rely upon. It is not supposed that he was 
 a great student ; certainly he had little time for that after his 
 admission. But he was well grounded in the elements of the law ; 
 7 
 
98 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 he had the faculty of accurate discrimination and of careful delib- 
 eration ; and he was rarely mistaken in his judgment. As a 
 practitioner in court, he was thoroughly well prepared in the law 
 and the facts. He made no show, but the balance of judgments 
 was always in his favor. He was little pretentious as an advocate, 
 but he knew exactly the strength of his case, and he put it in its 
 most effective logical form. He had none of the little arts of 
 coaxing verdicts out of the prejudices or ignorance of jurors. He 
 treated " the twelve " like men of reason and sense, and no doubt 
 found his account in it. 
 
 After twelve years of practice at the bar, he was in 1840 made 
 an associate Justice of the Superior Court, with the general appro- 
 bation of the profession. His conduct as a judge was in all par- 
 ticulars worthy of the position. He was even-tempered, patient, 
 impartial, upright. It is within the knowledge of the writer that 
 his bearing in a hearing at chambers impressed several gentlemen 
 of high position from another State with singular admiration. 
 Few of our judges have given more general satisfaction than 
 he. He was strict in the execution of his duties, and he expected 
 like fidelity from all others. Though he undoubtedly made pretty 
 broad distinctions in his private estimates of men, he treated 
 them all with strict fairness in his official dealings. When a new 
 point was presented to him, his habit was to hear attentively the 
 discussion of counsel upon it before making his decision, and his 
 power of nice discrimination and of sound judgment usually ena- 
 bled him to decide it aright. It was rare that verdicts found in 
 his court were disturbed for faulty rulings or instructions of the 
 judge. 
 
 When the office of Chief Justice was vacated in 1855, by the 
 resignation of Judge Gilchrist to enter the Court of Claims, 
 Judge Woods was advanced to the position, and filled it with 
 ability and to the general acceptance. But with the change of 
 political preponderance in the State, which took place later the 
 same year, came the inevitable alteration of the courts, which legis- 
 lated the new Chief Justice out of office. It is said to have been 
 a blow to him, a sensitive and high-spirited man ; but there is no 
 reason to believe that it was aimed especially at him. The 
 change would have been made, whoever of his party had been at 
 the head of the court. 
 
 He returned to the bar and resumed his practice in Bath with 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 99 
 
 success up to the time when the insidious disease which termi- 
 nated his life incapacitated him for further labor. 
 
 Judge Woods valued property, and held firmly to the doctrine 
 that the laborer is worthy of his hire ; but he was a man of the 
 strictest integrity and trustworthiness, and all knew and felt it. 
 Others of our judges have had greater literary qualifications and 
 more extensive acquaintance with the ^tudy of jurisprudence 
 than he, but perhaps few, if any, of them understood better the 
 spirit of the common law, or could make a truer application of its 
 principles to the facts before him. 
 
 His college, in recognition of his eminence as a jurist, bestowed 
 upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1852. 
 
 Judge Woods was married, January 7, 1830, to Eliza, daughter 
 of Hon. James Hutchins of Bath. They had three daughters and 
 two sons, one of whom, Edward Woods, studied the profession of 
 his father. 
 
 IRA ALLEN EASTMAN, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1849-1859. 
 
 Son of Captain Stephen and Hannah (Page) Eastman ; born, Gilmanton, 
 January 1, 1809 ; Dartmouth College, 1829 ; practiced, Gilmanton, Concord, 
 and Manchester ; died, Manchester, March 21, 1881. 
 
 Shortly after his graduation at the age of twenty, Mr. Eastman 
 entered upon his course of law study with John Willard in 
 Troy, New York, and in that place he made his debut in 1832 as 
 a practitioner. In 1884 he returned to his native town, and re- 
 sided there the ensuing nineteen years. A large proportion of 
 that time he was in public office. In 1835 he was chosen clerk 
 of the state Senate; but as for some cause he did not appear, Asa 
 Fowler was chosen in his stead. In 1836 he was a representative 
 of Gilmanton in the General Court, and was reelected the two 
 years succeeding, in both of which he occupied the Speaker's 
 chair. He was appointed register of Probate in 1839 and served 
 four years, when he resigned, on being elected to the Congress of 
 the United States. He was in Congress four years. In 1844 be 
 was commissioned a Circuit Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, 
 and after five years' experience in that capacity, was promoted to 
 be a Justice of the Superior Court, the highest legal tribunal of 
 the State. His judicial service was terminated by his resignation 
 in 1859. 
 
100 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 Judge Eastman removed to Concord in 1853, and in 1858 to 
 Manchester. After quitting the bench he established a partner- 
 ship in the practice of the law with his son-in-law, David Cross 
 of Manchester, and for some time kept an office in that city and 
 ;in Concord. He continued in active business until about ten years 
 before his decease. His residence was in Manchester during the 
 Matter portion of his life. 
 
 In 1863 he was the candidate of his party for the governorship 
 .of the State, and in 1866 for the United States senatorship, but 
 in neither case was his party in the majority. 
 
 Judge Eastman's natural powers were good, though they could 
 hardly be called brilliant, but they were thoroughly well trained 
 and cultivated. He was an industrious and attentive student of 
 the law, and prompt and trusty in accomplishing the business put 
 into his hands. He had the advantage of a fine person, being 
 ■ consideBed, when he was Speaker of the House, the handsomest 
 .man in [that body. His treatment of others was uniformly polite. 
 ,He never betrayed by speech or look any annoyance or irritabil- 
 ity. His evenness of disposition well adapted him to the strug- 
 gles of the forum, where loss of temper puts the advocate to a 
 disadvantage and often leads to the loss of a cause ; and was of 
 equal importance to him in the performance of his judicial func- 
 tions, by enabling him to preserve that mental balance which is 
 essential to ministers in the temple of justice. His industry and 
 familiarity with legal principles are evidenced by the large num- 
 Iber of well-considered opinions from his pen, which are found in 
 the pages of 'the state Reports. 
 
 As a politician he was honorable and never failed to meet the 
 just expectations of his party, and in all the relations of life his 
 conduct was irreproachable. In 1858 he received the degree of 
 LL. D. from Dartmouth College, and the following year he was 
 chosen a trustee of the institution, and acted as such up to the 
 time of his decease. 
 
 He married Jane, daughter of John N. Quackenbush of Albany, 
 New York, who together with their daughter, the wife of Judge 
 David Cross of Manchester, survived him. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 101 
 
 SAMUEL DANA BELL, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1849-1859. C. J. 1859-1864. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel and Mehitabel B. (Dana) Bell ; born, Franeestown, Oc- 
 tober 9, 1798 ; Harvard College, 1816 ; admitted, 1819 ; practiced, Meredith, 
 Chester, Exeter, Concord, and Manchester ; died, Manchester, July 31, 1868. 
 
 Mr. Bell, after taking his collegiate degree, lost no time in 
 qualifying himself for the profession of his father and his mater- 
 nal grandfather, Samuel Dana of Amherst, in the office of George 
 Sullivan of Exeter. In 1819 he became an attorney, and went 
 first for a few months to Meredith, but decided afterwards to 
 establish himself in Chester. In 1823 he was commissioned so- 
 licitor for Eockingham County, and in 1825 and 1826 was chosen 
 a representative in the legislature. In 1827 and the two suc- 
 ceeding years he was a commissioner for the revision of certain 
 of the statutes of the State. In 1828 and 1829 he was clerk of 
 the House of Representatives, and in 1828 was reappointed so- 
 licitor, but declined the office. 
 
 One of the last criminal actions which he prosecuted was 
 against the robbers of the Exeter Bank, in 1828. The president 
 of the bank was Judge Jeremiah Smith, who was so much pleased 
 with the efficient and methodical style in which the government's 
 case was conducted, that he invited Mr. Bell to take up his resi- 
 dence in Exeter, offering him the post of cashier of the bank, 
 which it was supposed would not oblige him to give up his hold 
 upon the law. The offer was accepted, and Mr. Bell made Exeter 
 his home from early in 1829 to the latter part of 1836. But he 
 found that his profession admitted of no divided allegiance, and 
 removed to Concord to devote his entire time to it. Shortly 
 after this it became evident that the powerfully supported manu- 
 facturing interests of Manchester would soon render that place 
 a chief point of business in the State, and Mr. Bell, on being 
 appointed the general attorney of the great corporation which 
 controlled the land and water power there, removed his residence 
 thither in 1839, He continued, in that place also, the general prac- 
 tice of his profession. His interest in the progress and develop- 
 ment of Manchester was of the greatest use to the rapidly grow- 
 ing town. He foresaw the wants which an enlarged population 
 and extended business would generate, and by his advice they 
 
102 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 were seasonably provided for. No citizen did more than he to 
 implant in the town the germs of all that was needed to trans- 
 form the factory village into a populous and influential city. 
 
 In 1840 the need of a thorough revision of the state statutes 
 led to the appointment of three eminent lawyers to perform that 
 service, viz., Joel Parker, Samuel D. Bell, and Charles J. Fox. 
 '^The laborious official duties of Judge Parker devolved most of 
 the work of the commission upon the other two members, and 
 Mr. Bell has paid a high tribute to the diligence and capacity 
 displayed by Mr. Fox therein. It is well known, however, that 
 Mr. Bell was also untiring in his labors to forward and perfect 
 the work. Their recommendations were in substance adopted in 
 1842, and constituted what was known as the " Revised Statutes." 
 The changes in the old enactments were in some respects quite 
 radical, many outgrown articles were lopped away, and new 
 and needed provisions introduced. The phraseology of the entire 
 body of the statutes was recast in a uniform style. No such 
 thorough treatment had been given to the legislation of the State 
 before ; and it has served as a model for all subsequent revisions.-* 
 Manchester adopted her city charter in 1846, and Mr. Bell was 
 commissioned the first Judge of her Police Court, a post which he 
 accepted, doubtless, to give it character, and to fix its operations 
 upon a correct basis. Two years later he received the appoint- 
 ment of Circuit Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and in 
 1849 that of associate Justice of the Superior Court. The latter 
 position he continued to occupy during the next ten years, and 
 in 1859 he was preferred to the ofiice of Chief Justice, which he 
 filled until his resignation in 1864. Though he declined all, even 
 the most tempting and least burdensome retainers, thenceforth, he 
 responded to the call of the State in 1865, which placed him at 
 the head of another board of commissioners to revise the statutes. 
 He attended to that duty with his accustomed promptitude and 
 
 1 The changes introduced in the Revised Statutes led Mr. Bell to prepare 
 a manual for justices of the peace and other officers, entitled the " Justice 
 and Sheriff." It contained a great variety of forms and precedents, carefully 
 framed, and pruned of much unuecessary verbiage, and was indispensable to 
 the practicing lawyer. Several editions have been published, and the work is 
 still in universal use. 
 
 Mr. Fox prepared a similar volume for the use of officers of towns. A sec- 
 ond edition, called for after Mr. Fox's decease, was revised and improved by 
 Mr. Bell. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 103 
 
 zeal, and the result of the labors of the commission appeared in 
 1867 under the title of the " General Statutes." This was the last 
 of his public services. 
 
 Judge Bell had naturally extraordinary powers of mind and 
 memory, and cultivated them assiduously his life through. He 
 was a diligent student in college, at the bar, and on the bench. In 
 the law he was not content with the mastery of our own system of 
 jurisprudence alone, but made himself acquainted with the various 
 codes of other times and countries. But his studies were by no 
 means limited to the law. He acquired a vast store of know- 
 ledge of mechanics, of chemistry, and of the various branches of 
 natural history. Many anecdotes are told of his readiness in the 
 application of his learning to the needs of every-day life. The 
 value of such acquisitions to a general lawyer, and to a judge 
 upon the bench, is obviously incalculable. 
 
 Judge Bell's tastes led him to give much time to early history, 
 and particularly to that of his own State. Few of our anti- 
 quaries, if any, had acquired so full, intimate, and exact a know- 
 ledge as he of the circumstances attending the discovery and first 
 settlement of our coast, and of the character and conduct of the 
 settlers and their successors in the early generations. His re- 
 searches into the character of the courts and the administration 
 of justice in New Hampshire were particularly thorough, pursued 
 as they were principally by a perusal of the original records in 
 the several counties. It was hoped that he would have prepared 
 a judicial history of New Hampshire, and thus have preserved his 
 invaluable collections for posterity ; but his span of life was too 
 short. He communicated, however, to our state publications val- 
 uable articles which were the fruits of his careful research,^ and 
 left many memoranda and excerpts from which much assistance 
 has been derived for the present work. 
 
 Judge Bell was an early member of the State Historical So- 
 ciety, and a steady supporter of it throughout his life. Once, 
 when its very continuance was threatened for want of means, he 
 gave the society a new lease of life by taking upon himself the 
 pecuniary burden. He was vice-president of the society four 
 years, president two, and a member of the publishing committee 
 through the issue of two volumes of collections. He prepared 
 and delivered before the society two elaborate addresses, contain- 
 1 iV'. H. Repository, i. 122 ; N. H. Historical Collections, viii. 305, etc. 
 
104 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 ing the essence of long study and reflection. He was also an 
 associate and state vice-president for New Hampshire of the New 
 England Historic Genealogical Society for a number of years, 
 up to the date of his death. 
 
 Judge Bell owed his acknowledged preeminence not alone to his 
 intellectual power and the fullness of his learning; these were 
 backed by personal qualities and character that commanded con- 
 fidence and respect. Senator William E. Chandler bears the fol- 
 lowing testimony to his worth : " This clear-headed, strong-minded, 
 noble judge was most kind and considerate to all young lawyers. 
 He took pains to soften to them all his adverse nisi prius de- 
 cisions, and to expound to them the law as if giving a lecture 
 for the instruction of students. He never abated a young lawyer's 
 suit without giving him a better writ. As state reporter I had 
 much intercourse with the Chief Justice, and I wish to place on 
 record not only my own admiration and love for this kind and 
 courteous instructor, but also my opinion that he was one of the 
 purest and ablest of the judges who have graced the New Hamp- 
 shire bench." 
 
 His treatment of others was uniformly kind and fair. To all 
 his engagements he was punctuality itself. Though sometimes 
 disappointed by others, he was no martinet, but could make due 
 allowance for the infirmities of human nature. His conduct was 
 always governed by the principles of justice and right, and his 
 life was as blameless as it was filled with usefulness. A familiar 
 and favorite line of his gives an index to the framework of .his 
 character : — 
 
 " Justum et tenacem propositi virum." 
 
 Judge Bell's marriage with Mary H., daughter of Newell Healey 
 of Kensington, took place August 8, 1826. Of their six children 
 three lived to adult age, John J. and Samuel N., who both became 
 lawyers, and Mary, whose husband, John P. Newell, was of the 
 same profession. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 105 
 
 IRA PERLEY, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1850-1852. C. J. 1855-1859 ; 1864-1869. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Phebe (Dresser) Perley ; born, Boxford, Massachusetts, 
 November 9, 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1822 ; admitted, 1827 ; practiced, 
 Hanover and Concord ; died. Concord, February 26, 1874. 
 
 The death of Ira Perley's father, who was a farmer in moderate 
 circumstances, left the son at the age of seven years under the 
 care of his mother, a superior woman. She encouraged his taste 
 for reading, and stimulated his ambition for a liberal education 
 and a professional life. At sixteen he was sent to Bradford 
 Academy, Massachusetts, to be instructed by the keen-witted Ben- 
 jamin Greenleaf, who prophesied great things for his pupil, among 
 other reasons because he never whistled ! 
 
 He entered college at the top of his class, and always stayed 
 there, and is said to have been one of the very few Dartmouth 
 graduates who throughout their college course were perfect in de- 
 portment and scholarship. He found time to read a good deal, 
 also. A year after his graduation he was complimented with the 
 appointment of tutor, and filled the position two years. His pu- 
 pils portrayed his character pretty justly in their college song : — 
 
 " A giant in learning, a giant in mind, 
 A lion in temper, both savage and kind." 
 
 He studied law with Benjamin J. Gilbert of Hanover, and with 
 Daniel M. Christie of Dover, and established himself as a prac- 
 titioner in Hanover, being also chosen the treasurer of the college. 
 From Hanover he was twice sent as representative to the state 
 legislature. As a young man he apparently had no little popu- 
 larity among the members of the bar, and often contributed to 
 their pleasure during the terms of the court by his interesting dis- 
 course about the great lights of the profession in England, with 
 whose history and characteristics he was familiarly conversant, 
 and by singing to them, — an accomplishment which, more 's the 
 pity, has almost fallen into desuetude in our prosaic generation. 
 
 In the nine years that Mr. Perley practiced in Grafton County, 
 he tested his mettle against some of the best men there and else- 
 where, and proved himself to be a learned lawyer, a keen and 
 skillful pleader, and an advocate of great force. In 1836 he 
 
106 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 removed to Concord, a wider field of practice, and went at once 
 to the head of the profession, receiving engagements in the most 
 important causes, and matched against the strongest practitioners 
 in this and other States. 
 
 In 1850 he was appointed an associate Justice of the Superior 
 Court, but gave up the office two years afterwards. When the 
 courts were reorganized in 1855, he became the Chief Justice of 
 the same (then Supreme Judicial) court, till his resignation in 1859. 
 Again appointed Chief Justice in 1864, he served until he 
 reached 'the age of seventy; thus occupying the seat of justice, 
 in the aggregate, nearly twelve years. 
 
 The essential qualities of a great magistrate were happily com- 
 bined in Judge Perley, — quickness and clearness of perception, 
 a memory with the grip of a vise, a powerful, logical understand- 
 ing, and a conscientious sense of justice. And to these he added 
 immense learning, general and professional, and a thorough train- 
 ing, development, and mastery of his intellectual resources, as it 
 were in a mental gymnasium. Naturally he was at his best while 
 sitting in hanc. The slow, inch-worm progress of the trial term 
 was often irksome to one of his rapid mental constitution. He 
 must have been continually annoyed by the dull fumbling of 
 inferior men after points that were visible as the sun to him. 
 Everything of an ad captandum nature was his aversion, and 
 whatever savored of sharp practice was pretty sure to receive his 
 castigation. He was easily roused to sympathy or to resentment, 
 and was sometimes unpleasantly outspoken, though he never 
 meant to be unjust, or to cherish hard feelings. 
 
 He handled questions of jurisprudence with the ease of a mas- 
 ter. He had no need, in ordinary cases, to refer to books ; his 
 familiarity with principles gave him the key to most of the prob- 
 lems that came before him. He talked law, out of the abun- 
 dance of his knowledge, in the consultation-room, often better than 
 he wrote it out for the reporter. His printed decisions are mod- 
 els. In point of manner and matter, of style and substance, they 
 have been pronounced unsurpassed in our judicial reports, and it 
 may not be saying too much to add, in any judicial reports, at 
 home or abroad. By the common consent of the profession. Judge 
 Perley takes rank with the great jurists of the land, — the Mar- 
 shalls, the Kents, and the Parsonses. 
 
 At the bar his characteristics were displayed no less markedly. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 107 
 
 He believed in the justice of his clients' cause ; he would not 
 enlist in it, otherwise. Once, when a sharper tried to retain him, 
 after smoothing over his crooked conduct as well as he knew how 
 to the Judge, the latter astounded him by answering : — 
 
 " I think you have acted like an infernal scoundrel, sir." 
 
 " Is there any charge for that opinion ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, five dollars." 
 
 But when he engaged in a cause, he put his whole soul into it, 
 always in fair fighting, however. His addresses to the jury were 
 pointed and forceful. They carried demonstration with them, 
 and if he had occasion to administer a rebuke to meanness or 
 dishonesty, it was with a veritable whip of scorpions. 
 
 It was as a scholar that he is entitled to admiration only sec- 
 ond, if second, to that which he merits as a lawyer and judge. I 
 fear that few of the " college-learned " professional men make 
 any pretense of keeping up in after life their acquaintance with 
 the studies which they pursued with much expenditure of time, 
 and which so rapidly slip from the loosened hold. But Judge 
 Perley suffered none of his acquisitions to be lost through disuse. 
 He found time for everything. The rapidity of his mental work 
 made his office hours short, and he had the more leisure for his 
 garden and his library at home. Throughout life he maintained 
 his familiarity with the ancient classics in the originals. He read 
 Cicero and Horace much ; and the French and Italian authors in 
 their own tongues. Shakespeare, Milton, and the best English 
 writers were familiar to him, and he kept up with all desirable 
 contemporary literature with a scholar's interest. 
 
 He wrote not much for the press beyond his judicial opinions. 
 A charge to the Grand Jury, a eulogy on Daniel Webster, and 
 an address at the Dartmouth Centennial on the Relations of the 
 College to the Law are all his productions of that class that have 
 been published. He was not destitute of lighter accomplish- 
 ments. He was fond of conversation, liked to hear a good story, 
 and was noted for his own humorous sayings ; as for example, 
 when some member of the bar asked him to look at an absurd 
 brief: "No," answered the Judge, " I am like the boy that had 
 lived on woodchuck so long that it made him sick to see a hole." 
 
 He had a laconic style of pronouncing his judgment of men 
 and their actions, that would cling to the memory like a bur. 
 
 A gentleman who had held high office in the republic, but was 
 
108 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 suspected of undue subservience to Southern influence, in 1861 
 made a Union speech, long after the effective moment had gone by. 
 Some one asked Judge Perley what he thought of it. " Late ; 
 reluctant ; unimportant," was his reply. 
 
 Judge Perley was exemplary in his private life, as a husband, 
 father, friend, and neighbor. He was scrupulous in observing 
 every civic obligation. His honesty and perfect uprightness were 
 beyond the reach of question. He received his degree of Doctor 
 of Laws from Dartmouth in 1852. 
 
 In June, 1840, he was united in marriage with Mary S., daugh- 
 ter of John Nelson of Haverhill. They had a son and two 
 daughters. 
 
 GEORGE YEATON SAWYER. 
 
 J. 1855-1859. 
 
 Son of William and Mary (Yeaton) Sawyer ; born, Wakefield, December 6, 
 1805 ; Bowdoin College, 1826 ; practiced, Meredith and Nashua ; died, 
 Nashua, June 15, 1882. 
 
 Judge Sawyer was among the ablest lawyers, advocates, and 
 judges of the State. He inherited the manly independence, good 
 judgment, and legal aptitude of his father, and joined with it a 
 keener discrimination, more critical study, and great readiness 
 and force of statement. 
 
 He laid the foundation of his classical education at Phillips 
 Exeter Academy, studied law under his father, and settled in 
 Meredith in 1830. After practicing there four years, he removed 
 to his permanent home in Nashua, where he became the partner 
 of his uncle, Aaron F. Sawyer. It was remarked of him that he 
 never manifested any professional immaturity, but from the start 
 took his place as a thoroughly equipped, ripe practitioner. Eor 
 fifty years he was an active member of the bar, and then died 
 with the harness on. He was employed in a large proportion of 
 the important causes of his time and vicinity, and few men have 
 had more to do with ascertaining and shaping the law of the State 
 than himself. He was twice placed upon the judicial bench, first, 
 as a Circuit Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, July 7, 1851, 
 resigning the office September 15, 1854 ; and second, as a Justice 
 of the Supreme Judicial Court, July 20, 1855. From this po- 
 sition, too, he withdrew, November 1, 1859, for the reason that 
 
CHEOXOLOGICALLY. 109 
 
 his private practice was more lucrative and less exacting. As a 
 judge lie was dignified, learned, and able. While he had great 
 respect for the traditions of the profession, he had no scruples 
 against ransacking the grounds on which they were based. He 
 did not shut his eyes to mischiefs simply because they had the 
 glamour of age and the approval of past generations ; nor was he 
 afraid of novelty, when it commended itself to his understanding 
 and sense of right. The general voice of the profession pro- 
 nounced him a judge in every way worthy to uphold the credit 
 of the State. 
 
 As early as 1839, and the two following years, he was elected 
 to the state legislature, and again repeatedly in later life. In 
 1836 he was chairman of the committee on the Judiciary, and 
 took the leading part in the debates. In 1875 he was named 
 chairman of a special committee to consider the present system of 
 taxation. His report was marked by his customary thorough- 
 ness and sound sense, although its conclusions would innovate 
 upon the long-established system of the State too greatly to 
 admit of any expectation that they will soon be adopted here. 
 
 In 1865 he was appointed commissioner with Samuel D. Bell 
 and Asa Fowler to revise the laws of the State. The chief part 
 of the work was performed, by reason of the sickness of Judge 
 Bell, by Judges Sawyer and Fowler, and their report was adopted 
 with very slight modifications by the legislature at the annual 
 session of 1867, and was generally highly approved. The citizens 
 of Nashua availed themselves of Judge Sawyer's learning and 
 experience, by making him city solicitor in 1862 and the two 
 following years, and again in 1873 and 1874. He was also 
 appointed by the Court to perform the duties of county solicitor 
 during the absence of that officer in the army. 
 
 Judge Sawyer was decided in his political views, though by no 
 means an offensive partisan. In middle life he was a candidate 
 of the Whig party for a seat in Congress, but, perhaps fortunately 
 for his professional career, failed of his election by a few votes. 
 President Pierce, who knew and highly esteemed Judge Sawyer, 
 offered him the governorship of a Territory, it is said, but the lat- 
 ter declined it on the ground that his political sympathies were 
 not with the administration. 
 
 As a lawyer Judge Sawyer stood in the highest rank. It hap- 
 pened repeatedly that when some new or difficult question arose 
 
110 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 in a trial in which he was not employed, the Court inquired of 
 him as amicus curice, what was his understanding of the law in 
 the case. He was often applied to by younger members of his 
 profession for advice and help in their causes, and however much 
 engrossed in his own business he might be, he cheerfully put every- 
 thing aside and patiently listened to the recital of their difficul- 
 ties, and gave them wise counsel. It is pleasant to be assured 
 that he set a high value upon the estimation in which his younger 
 brethren of the bar held him by reason of his kind professional 
 intercourse with them. A few years before his death he said to a 
 friend : " When I am gone I hope some one will say of me, ' He 
 was always kind and considerate to the younger members of the 
 profession ! ' " His wish was granted. His ready, gratuitous 
 kindness to his juniors earned him the lasting love and gratitude 
 of his professional brethren. 
 
 In the trial of causes he exhibited great skill and strength. He 
 possessed too much dignity and self-respect to descend to any in- 
 direct methods. He confined himself to the law and the evidence, 
 treated witnesses fairly and according to their deserts, and sought 
 his verdict by clean arguments, and not by the arts of a petti- 
 fogger. His addresses to the jury were logical, strong, and con- 
 vincing. He rarely attempted to appeal to the sympathies. The 
 causes that he brought into court never lacked substantial merits. 
 He felt the full responsibility of his position as an attorney. On 
 one occasion he appeared for a prisoner under indictment for 
 murder. The judge who presided at the arraignment was dis- 
 posed, in the counsel's opinion, to push matters with undue 
 haste. In a discussion which arose respecting the arrangements 
 for the trial, the Court made some suggestion for the avowed pur- 
 pose of " saving time." " Saving time, your Honor," responded 
 Judge Sawyer in impressive tones, " does the Court realize that 
 with this respondent the issue is for time or eternity ! " 
 
 The single criticism which is remembered to have been passed 
 upon Judge Sawyer's judicial qualifications is that he was some- 
 times discursive in his opinions and instructions to juries. In 
 laying down general propositions he was perhaps sometimes led 
 aside to explain the various exceptions and limitations, which, 
 however important in a treatise, were liable to confuse and mis- 
 lead a jury. But this, if a failing, was a trifling one. His readi- 
 ness of resources and learning, his intellectual power, his profes- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. Ill 
 
 slonal honor and zeal for the cause of right and justice, were 
 never called in question. 
 
 Judge Sawyer was social and companionable among his 
 chosen friends. Like his father, he was partial to a game of 
 whist, and his tenacious memory, well stored with racy anecdotes, 
 enabled him to contribute his full quota to the evening's enter- 
 tainment. He was no perfect man, and had his share of human 
 failings, but they were the failings which accompany a robust 
 and generous nature. We may well bury them in oblivion, and 
 remember, for our improvement, his excelling merits. 
 
 Judge Sawyer's wife was Emeline, daughter of Daniel Tucker 
 of Meredith. They had one son, bearing his father's name, who 
 was a member of the bar in Nashua. 
 
 ASA FOWLER. 
 
 J. 1855-1861. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Mehitable (Ladd) Fowler ; born, Pembroke, February 
 23, 1811 ; Dartmouth College, 1833 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Concord ; 
 died, San Rafael, California, April 26, 1885. 
 
 Up to the age of fourteen young Fowler labored upon his 
 father's farm, with only the educational advantages that the dis- 
 trict school a part of each year yielded him. A serious fit of ill- 
 ness, which for a time incapacitated him for manual exertion, led 
 to his being placed as a student in the Blanchard Academy in his 
 native town, that he might qualify himself for a common-school 
 teacher. But his ambition grew to the determination to gain a 
 liberal education, and in sixty weeks' study after beginning Latin, 
 he qualified himself to enter college with the sophomore class. 
 It is said that he exhibited his characteristic diligence and punctu- 
 ality while in college by never being absent or unprepared at any 
 recitation. 
 
 After his graduation he was principal of the academy at Tops- 
 field, Massachusetts, for a single term, and then commenced the 
 study of the law, first with James Sullivan in Pembroke, and 
 afterwards, in the spring of 1834, with Charles H. Peaslee of Con- 
 cord. Mr. Peaslee had no liking for the drudgery of his office, 
 and that feU naturally upon his student, whose capacity for hard 
 work was unbounded. In 1837 Mr. Fowler opened an office in 
 Concord, and after a year and a half became a partner of Frank- 
 
112 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 lin Pierce. During the six years and upwards that they were 
 together, their practice was very extensive. Mr. Pierce's services 
 were in wide request as an advocate, and Mr. Fowler attended 
 to the business of the office, prepared causes for trial, and briefs 
 upon questions of law. He acquitted himself well in oral argu- 
 ment, but had no liking for it. Subsequently he was senior 
 partner of John Y. Mugridge and of William E. Chandler, 
 each, for a short time. 
 
 Mr. Fowler's public service began with his election to the 
 clerkship of the state Senate in 1835. He held the office until 
 1841. In 1845, 1847, 1848, 1871, and 1872, he was a represen- 
 tative in the legislature, and the last of those years Speaker. 
 August 1, 1855, he was appointed a Justice of the Superior 
 Court, and resigned after five and a half years' service. In 1861 
 he accepted the solieitorship of Merrimac County, and performed 
 the duties till 1865, when he was selected as one of three commis- 
 sioners to make a revision of the state laws. This duty, with 
 the labors of printing and explanation which it entailed, occupied 
 him two years or more. In 1861 he received the appointment of 
 delegate to the Peace Congress at Washington, District of Co- 
 lumbia, the last and fruitless attempt on the part of the Northern 
 States to avert the secession of the Southern. In addition to these 
 burdens of a public nature, Judge Fowler was a member of the 
 school committee and of the board of education of Concord above 
 twenty years, was a director of the State Capital Bank, president 
 of the First National Bank, and of the Manchester and Lawrence 
 Railroad. 
 
 Perhaps the most marked characteristic of Judge Fowler was 
 the immense amount of work he accomplished. He rose very 
 early in the morning, and at the proper season of the year delved 
 vigorously for an hour or two before breakfast in his garden. 
 The rest of the day he was in his office, and always busy. If cli- 
 ents thronged him, he sent none away to wait for a more con- 
 venient hour, but attended to all comers simultaneously, if neces- 
 sary. Some one observed of him, " He was the only man I ever 
 knew who could do three things at once ! " The amount of busi- 
 ness that was transacted in his law office was enormous. And it 
 was not only done, but well done. He was a capital lawyer, of ex- 
 cellent sense, and a thorough man of affairs. As a draughtsman 
 he was unrivaled. His facility in that direction perhaps led to 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 113 
 
 his being frequently called on to prepare bills for the action of 
 the legislature. For years a very large proportion of the first 
 drafts of proposed changes of the laws which were presented to 
 the General Court were in his handwriting. 
 
 He had no ambition, as some lawyers have had, to be a judge. 
 He preferred to have his business go at his own pace, which was 
 more rapid than that of the court-room, though he did no little to 
 " push things," there. And he undoubtedly succeeded in making 
 the wheels of justice turn more rapidly. His judicial opinions 
 were not treatises, but brief decisions of the bare points sub- 
 mitted, without obiter dicta. 
 
 His untiring devotion for upwards of forty years to professional 
 pursuits had, as might be expected, an injurious influence upon 
 his health, and he sought relief in foreign travel and in the 
 relinquishment of all business, except the care of the handsome 
 accumulations of property during his long and successful career. 
 During the residue of his life he gave much attention to literary 
 pursuits, which had always occupied a share of his time, to social 
 enjoyment, and to travel in the newer portions of our own 
 country. 
 
 Judge Fowler was married, July 13, 1837, to Mary D. C, 
 daughter of Robert Knox of Pembroke, and had five children. 
 Of the four sons, three became lawyers. 
 
 HENRY ADAMS BELLOWS, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1859-1869. C. J. 1869-1873. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Mary (Adams) Bellows ; born, Rockingham, Vermont, 
 October 25, 1803 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Walpole, Littleton, and Con- 
 cord ; died, Concord, March 11, 1873. 
 
 Judge Bellows was sprung from a family of note, and though 
 born on the border of an adjoining State, spent much of his 
 youth as well as all his mature years in New Hampshire. As a 
 child he was delicate, and preferred the society of his elders and 
 his book to the rough sports of boyhood. His education was 
 gained chiefly in the schools of Walpole and the academy at 
 Windsor, Vermont; and at the age of twenty he entered the 
 office of William G. Bradley of Westminster, Vermont, as a stu- 
 dent. Admitted at Newfane, Vermont, he first made a short 
 experimental stay at Walpole, and then fixed himself in Little- 
 8 
 
114 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 ton in 1828. Erelong he became the leading lawyer in that 
 vicinity. Land titles were then largely litigated in the county of 
 Grafton, and Mr. Bellows made himself thoroughly familiar with 
 that branch of the law, and was engaged in a great number of 
 suits of that character, as well as others of importance. 
 
 After twenty-two years at Littleton, feeling that he had out- 
 grown what might be called a provincial position, he removed to 
 Concord, as a wider field of action. Retained at once in a good 
 proportion of the heavy causes for trial in the central part of 
 the State, he measured himself against the strongest men of the 
 bar in that quarter. The comparison put them to the exercise 
 of their best powers. His sound judgment, his extensive legal 
 knowledge, his skillful manner of conducting trials, and his im- 
 perturbable equanimity made him an opponent to be respected as 
 well as feared. 
 
 He spared no pains in preparing or in presenting his cases. 
 All that study and consultation and the preparation of evidence 
 could do beforehand, he did with unwearied industry, and during 
 the hearings he was equally diligent, thorough, and faithful. It 
 must be admitted that in his conscientious zeal for his clients' 
 interests he fell into the habit of prolixity. This was his chiefest 
 failing. It was remarked of him by a brother practitioner, that 
 in consequence of his removal into Merrimac County, the average 
 duration of jury trials there had increased by one third. Other 
 members of the bar naturally felt that their clients would expect 
 from them something like the same patient painstaking that Mr. 
 Bellows gave to his ; and so all in a degree contributed to the 
 protraction of legal proceedings. 
 
 A pleasant anecdote is related which shows how little he re- 
 garded time in the thorough performance of his functions as 
 counsel. He had occasion in one of his trials to cross-examine 
 an expert in handwriting, in regard to the genuineness of a sig- 
 nature. The name in dispute began with the letter A, and Mr. 
 Bellows put a long series of questions to the witness, all in rela- 
 tion to the different parts of that letter, wherein they resembled 
 or differed from the genuine handwriting ; first the dot at the 
 end of the first down-stroke ; then the curve that terminated in 
 the dot ; then the slant of the stroke ; its lightness or heaviness ; 
 its termination at the top ; and a hundred other particulars about 
 that and the other lines which composed the letter. The pre- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 115 
 
 siding judge, feeling that this protracted style of examination was 
 prolonging the trial without compensating advantages, after bear- 
 ing it with what patience he might for half an hour or so, felt 
 impelled to put an end to it, and inquired, " Brother Bellows, 
 don't you think that this line of examination has gone far 
 enough?" "Perhaps it has, your Honor," replied Mr. Bellows 
 blandly, not realizing, however, that the Judge meant that he 
 should dismiss the witness from the stand ; " so now, if you 
 please, we will take up the second letter ! " 
 
 Mr. Bellows, though not a thorough partisan in politics, was 
 elected a representative in the legislature from Littleton in 1839, 
 and from Concord in 1856 and 1857. His eminence as a lawyer 
 in the latter years naturally pointed him out as the fittest chair- 
 man of the committee on the Judiciary, and in that position his 
 learning, good sense, and moderation were of great service. In 
 later years his advice respecting projected legislation was fre- 
 quently sought and freely given, and always prudently and wisely. 
 
 On the occurrence of a vacancy on the bench of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, Mr. Bellows was, with the concurrence of the bar 
 in general, selected to fill it, September 23, 1859. The residue 
 of his career was identified with that court. October 1, 1869, he 
 was promoted to the position of Chief Justice, and continued to 
 preside in the court to the close of his life. 
 
 The services of Judge Bellows while on the bench were of 
 great value. He possessed qualities which specially adapted him 
 to the place. In addition to his legal learning, which was ex- 
 tensive, his familiarity with practice and the traditions of the pro- 
 fession, gained from thirty years' fruitful experience, his habits of 
 industrious and careful investigation, and his sound judgment and 
 good sense, he had what has been called a judicial mind, the 
 power of holding the balance even between parties and conflicting 
 claims, uninfluenced by prejudice or partiality, and allowing due 
 weight to every consideration from every side. No judge ever 
 strove more earnestly to do his entire duty. In his tribunal each 
 suitor felt that full justice was done to his case. The Judge was so 
 obviously fair that he never gave offense, and scarcely ever cause 
 for dissatisfaction. But it was not because he had no decided 
 opinions. His convictions were formed deliberately, but when 
 formed they were held with proportionate tenacity. While he 
 made no professions to be a genius, capable of striking out new 
 
116 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 and original paths to the goal of justice, lie was faithful, con- 
 scientious, and discriminating in following the old. Like Lord 
 Kenyon, he felt safety and pride in standing super antiquas 
 vias ; and without being what is termed a black-letter lawyer, 
 'he cherished a reverence for the perfection of the common law 
 •system, and endeavored to maintain it in its purity. It certainly 
 ■never suffered at his hands. 
 
 In all the relation^ of life Judge Bellows was exemplary. A 
 bigh-minded, gracious gentleman, he had too much self-respect 
 to do an act or say a word unworthy the respect of others. He 
 treated every one with a civility which rarely failed to win civility 
 in return. In the company of friends he was genial, and abounded 
 in agreeable discourse, seasoned with a rare humor, and uttered 
 in a voice peculiarly hearty and pleasantly modulated. Fond of 
 the society of ladies, his behavior towards them was almost chiv- 
 alric. In his own home he was an attentive host, and as a hus- 
 band and father worthy of all love and respect. 
 
 Judge Bellows performed faithfully the duties of a good citizen, 
 was interested in public affairs, and encouraged public improve- 
 ments, sometimes to his own pecuniary loss. In religion he was 
 a staunch upholder of the liberal faith, and a devout, consistent 
 Christian. His career was a memorable exemplification of the 
 value of an equable temperament, habits of useful industry, and 
 the application of high principle in the conduct of all the affairs 
 of life. 
 
 He received his degree of LL. D. from Dartmouth College in 
 1869. 
 
 He was married, June 16, 1836, to his cousin, Catharine W., 
 daughter of Josiah Bellows of Walpole, and had six children, two 
 sons and four daughters. Two of the latter were successively the 
 wives of Charles P. Sanborn of Concord, and one of the sons 
 entered the profession of the law. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 117 
 
 JONATHAN EVERETT SARGENT, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1859-1873. C. J. 1873-1874. 
 
 Sou of Ebenezer and Prudence (Chase) Sargent ; born, New Loudon, Octo- 
 ber 23, 1816 ; Dartmouth College, 1840 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Canaan, 
 Wentworth, and Concord ; died. Concord, January 6, 1890. 
 
 Judge Sargent was prepared for college at Hopkinton and 
 Kimball Union academies, and defrayed a great part of the 
 expenses of his education by teaching during his vacations. He 
 began the study of the law in the office of William P. Weeks at 
 Canaan, and the next year engaged in teaching school in Virginia 
 and Maryland, at the same time continuing his legal reading 
 under the direction of David A. Hall of Washington, District of 
 Columbia. There he was admitted an attorney in 1842, and, re- 
 turning to New Hampshire, finished his three years' course in the 
 office of William P. Weeks, with whom, upon his admission to 
 practice in this State in 1843, he became a partner in Canaan. In 
 that position he remained till 1847, when he opened an office in 
 Wentworth, and built up there a large and profitable practice. 
 In 1844 he was appointed solicitor for the county of Grafton, and 
 served as such for the succeeding ten years. He was a repre- 
 sentative in the legislature in 1851, 1852, and 1853, and the last 
 of those years was Speaker. In 1854 he was chosen a member of 
 the state Senate, and was president of that body. 
 
 He was commissioned a circuit Justice of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas in April, 1855, and was continued on the bench of 
 the reorganized Court of Common Pleas till the abolition of that 
 court in 1859. Then appointed a justice of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court, he sat upon that bench till August, 1874, the last year 
 and a half of which time he was Chief Justice. 
 
 In 1874 he resumed the practice of the law in Concord. From 
 that city he was in 1876 elected a delegate to the Constitutional 
 Convention, and the two succeeding years a representative in the 
 state legislature. In 1877 he was chairman of a committee to 
 revise the general statutes of New Hampshire, a work which was 
 performed with thoroughness and adopted by the legislature in 
 1878 under the title of the " General Laws." 
 
 Judge Sargent had been successful in the accumulation of 
 property, and in his later years his services were largely employed 
 
118 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 as a director of the National State Capital Bank in Concord, and 
 as president and a member of the investment committee of the 
 Loan and Trust Savings Bank. He was also much interested 
 in historical studies. He delivered an oration at the centennial 
 anniversary of his native town in 1879 ; a memorial address on 
 Chief Justice Joel Parker at Dartmouth College, in 1880 ; and 
 was several years vice-president, and in 1888 and 1889 president 
 of the New Hampshire Historical Society. Other places of trust 
 and dignity were at various periods conferred upon him. 
 
 The career of Judge Sargent may well be commended to imi- 
 tation. Beginning with no special advantages of fortune or 
 position, he wrought his own way by industry and economy 
 to enviable success. With good but not transcendent original 
 endowments, he cultivated his powers so faithfully that he filled 
 the several important stations to which his fellow-citizens elevated 
 him with usefulness and credit. A careful, prudent, painstaking 
 lawyer, he carried with him upon the bench all his habits of thor- 
 ough work, and became a judge worthy of his place among the 
 eminent jurists who have done honor to the highest judicatory of 
 New Hampshire. His shrewd, sound sense and his knowledge of 
 men were on a par with his professional learning, and enabled him 
 to avoid the rocks on which merely bookish lawyers have often 
 split. He was always in touch with the masses. In testimony of 
 his legal acquirements and judicial standing, Dartmouth College 
 honored him with the degree of LL. D. in 18.69. 
 
 His studies were not confined to his profession. He read with 
 interest history, philosophy, and belles-lettres. In his social rela- 
 tions he found much pleasure ; he was a kind friend and neigh- 
 bor ; in manner he was agreeable and cordial. 
 
 He married, first, Mary C, daughter of John Jones of Enfield, 
 November 29, 1843. She died July 2, 1852, leaving two sons, 
 one of whom, John Jones Sargent, died in Wisconsin just as he 
 was ready to begin the practice of law. Judge Sargent's second 
 wife, whom he married September 5, 1853, and who survived him, 
 was Louisa J., daughter of Colonel James K. Paige of Went- 
 worth. By this marriage he had three children. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 119 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON NESMITH, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1859-1870. 
 
 Son of Deacon Jonathan and Elinor (Dickey) Nesmith ; born, Antrim, 
 ■ October 23, 1800 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, 
 Salisbury, afterwards Franklin ; died there, May 2, 1890. 
 
 A good share of the best qualities of his Scotch-Irish ancestry 
 descended to George W. Nesmith. His father was a leading- 
 man in Antrim, but had a large family and no superfluity of 
 means. Hence it is doubtful if George, his youngest son, would 
 have aspired to a college education, but for a slight lameness, 
 which would have interfered with labor on a farm or in a work- 
 shop. He acquired his classical instruction from Rev. John M. 
 Whiton in his native place, and, relying chiefly upon his exertions 
 for his support, obtained entrance to college. After his graduation 
 he earned the means to pay the arrears of his college expenses by 
 teaching, and was a year and a half principal of the academy at 
 Bradford, V^ermont. In 1822 he became by invitation of Parker 
 Noyes of Salisbury, an inmate of his law office. Mr. Noyes was 
 probably not unwilling to be relieved from contention, and kindly 
 allowed his student, as soon as he had mastered the rudiments of 
 the law, to attend for his own benefit to the justice business which 
 came to the office, of which there was a good deal at that day. 
 Thus young Nesmith early learned to measure himself against 
 experienced lawyers, and gained familiarity with his calling, 
 and confidence. When his three years of study were ended, Mr. 
 Noyes received him into an equal partnership for a year, and 
 then retired, leaving him the good-will of his business. 
 
 From his very start in his profession the people who knew him 
 believed in him, — in his mental ability, his sagacity, and his thor- 
 ough uprightness, and trusted him implicitly to look after their 
 public and private interests. He was chosen a representative in 
 the legislature no less than fifteen times, beginning with 1830 
 and ending with 1872, and was a delegate to the Constitutional 
 Convention of 1850, and a presidential elector in 1888. At the 
 time of his decease he was president of the Franklin Savings 
 Bank, of which he had been a director since 1869 ; a trustee of 
 Dartmouth College, which he had been since 1858 ; president of 
 the New Hampshire Agricultural College, of which he had been 
 
120 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 a trustee since 1870 ; and president of the New Hampshire Or- 
 phans' Home, which he had been since its organization in 1871. 
 He had also been one of the first directors and eight years presi- 
 dent of the Northern Eailroad. In 1859 he received the appoint- 
 ment of Justice of the Superior Court, and served until he reached 
 the age of seventy years. 
 
 Judge Nesmith had a firm hold of the great principles of the 
 law, but gave himself small concern about the niceties, — the orna- 
 mental work. He never encouraged litigation, and it was said of 
 him that he settled more incipient and projected suits than any 
 other practitioner in the State. He acted often as a referee in 
 important cases. This was a method of disposing of controversies 
 which met his approval, as it afforded an opportunity of doing 
 substantial justice between the parties, without being trammeled 
 by legal technicalities. An anecdote will show his summary 
 style of reaching an equitable depision. He was once the chair- 
 man of a board of referees, before whom a suit involving a con- 
 siderable amount was heard at great length. The youngest mem- 
 ber of the board acted as scribe to take minutes of the testimony. 
 When the case was finally submitted and the referees had with- 
 drawn for deliberation, the junior remarked, "I suppose now I 'd 
 better read over the evidence." " Oh, no," said Mr. Nesmith, " no 
 need of that ; let 's chaVkr Probably no man ever administered 
 justice with a more even hand, however, than he. He was coimsel 
 in many important actions, and his instinctive sense of right, his 
 native shrewdness, and his accurate judgment of men, as well as 
 his acquaintance with legal principles, rendered him a strong sup- 
 port to any cause. He made no display, but the client who had 
 secured his help felt that his interests would be fully guarded. 
 
 Judge Nesmith was long a political power in the State. He 
 had small ambition for his personal advancement, but as a legisla- 
 tor and counselor of his party he was invaluable. He was a par- 
 ticular friend of Daniel Webster, and at the visits of the great 
 statesman to his New Hampshire home, he always made much of 
 the society of Judge Nesmith. For him in return Judge Nesmith 
 had the highest admiration. It was through his instrumentality 
 that the Elms Farm, Webster's Franklin home, was secured for 
 the charitable purpose of furnishing a refuge to orphan children 
 of the State. He gave generously of his means and of his time 
 to this object, and the institution, now well founded and success- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 121 
 
 ful, will always remain a monument to the joint memory of 
 Webster and Nesmith. 
 
 Judge Nesmith's support was always cheerfully given to every 
 public improvement. He wrote the charter of the town of 
 Franklin, and labored zealously for its sanction by the legislature, 
 while he was a tyro in the law ; he was a leader in the campaign 
 that was necessary to introduce railroads in the State, and was 
 early interested in manufacturing enterprises that have since 
 brought so great prosperity to his town. 
 
 His personal character was of the highest. Notwithstanding he 
 was so many years before the public eye, no whisper of detraction 
 was ever breathed against him. Not even his political opponents 
 disparaged him. His society was sought by all. He was fond of 
 conversation, and drew from his capacious and tenacious memory 
 endless stores of reminiscences and anecdotes for the entertain- 
 ment of his hearers. His recollections of the earlier members of 
 the bar were clear and distinct, and the present writer only regrets 
 that they could not be embodied in his own racy style in this 
 work. He was the author of not a few sketches of interesting 
 persons and events, which have been published in journals and 
 magazines ; but was never prevailed upon to undertake any ex- 
 tended historical work, though often urged to do so. 
 
 He was joined in marriage, September 26, 1826, to Mary M., 
 daughter of Samuel Brooks of Bradford, and granddaughter of 
 General Timothy Bedel of the Eevolution. They had two sons 
 and a daughter ; the latter alone outlived her father. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY BARTLETT. 
 
 J. 1861-1867. 
 
 Son of Samuel C. and Eleanor (Pettingill) Bartlett ; born, Salisbury, August 
 20, 1827 ; Dartmouth College, 1847 ; admitted, 1851 ; practiced, Concord ; 
 died there, September 24, 1867. 
 
 The family of Bartlett has long been a distinguished one in the 
 annals of New Hampshire, and the branch of it from which Wil- 
 liam H. Bartlett sprang is specially notable for its men of talents 
 and learning. In his childhood he took to study with a keen 
 relish, sometimes even to the neglect of " healthful play." At the 
 age of thirteen he entered the academy at Meriden village. Plain- 
 field, and in two years' time had mastered the preparatory studies 
 
122 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 for college. In 1842 he was matriculated at Dartmouth, and 
 stepped at once to the head of his class. In his sophomore year 
 he was absent several months, engaged in study elsewhere, so that 
 when he reentered, it was in the class of 1847, and in that also he 
 took the highest rank as a scholar. His youth rendered it ad- 
 visable, in the opinion of his friends, that he should not at once 
 after his graduation begin his professional preparation, and he 
 spent a year as a post-graduate in the study of history, German, 
 and the Greek drama, at the Western Eeserve College, in which 
 one of his brothers was a professor. 
 
 He then, in 1848, was received as a student at law in the office 
 of Ira Perley at Concord, until the latter went upon the bench in 
 1850 ; after which he finished his study under Henry A. Bellows 
 of the same city. Immediately on his admission to the bar in 
 1851 he opened an office in Concord. In 1853 and 1854 he was 
 chosen solicitor of the city. In 1857 his health began to show 
 symptoms of failure, and from that time forth he was never a 
 well man, but continued heroically to the last to do his work as 
 lawyer and judge, in spite of the progress of incurable disease. 
 
 His legal accomplishments and his intellectual superiority were 
 so generally understood, that from his very start in the profession 
 his services were in request in cases of difficulty and importance. 
 And although he rarely appeared as an advocate, and especially 
 at trial terms, and was one of the most unassuming of men, yet 
 his fame as a lawyer of great learning, and of the highest judicial 
 fitness, was so well established among the bar, that in 1861, when 
 a vacancy occurred upon the bench, and it was understood that 
 he would accept the appointment, he was named a Justice of 
 the Superior Court by substantially the unanimous voice of the 
 profession. 
 
 It is scarcely extravagant to say that he met every require- 
 ment of his position. Let Chief Justice Perley, who knew him 
 thoroughly, and valued him most highly, tell the story of his 
 reception : " When he went upon the bench, his high qualifica- 
 tions for the office were at once recognized by the legal profes- 
 sion. His youthful appearance, his unpretending manners, and 
 his easy and rapid way of dispatching business might have led a 
 careless observer to fear that he would be found wanting in solid- 
 ity and soundness of judgment ; but the character of his mind was 
 eminently judicial. His examination of authority in cases which 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 123 
 
 required it was faithful and exhaustive. He weighed conflicting 
 arguments and reasons with equal impartiality. He had great 
 sagacity in perceiving the practical bearing of any question under 
 consideration, and its connection with the whole complete system 
 of the law, and his opinions and rulings were received with the 
 greatest respect and deference by the legal profession throughout 
 the State. In presiding over trials I never learned that he was 
 known in the most irritating circumstances to lose the sweetness 
 and equanimity of his own temper ; and he often had the rare 
 felicity of winning from both sides the commendation of perfect 
 fairness and impartiality." 
 
 Judge Bartlett's relations with his associates upon the bench 
 were of the most agreeable character. His legal learning, and 
 the readiness and almost unerring certainty with which he grasped 
 the principle which should govern the decision of a cause, were 
 well knovra to them. In repeated instances they felt constrained 
 to yield their impressions of the law to his unanswerable argu- 
 ments, and in one prominent case ^ his opinion reversed the doc- 
 trine which had previously been held in this State, sustained, 
 too, by the current of English and American authorities. And 
 unquestionably his associates rested with more confidence upon 
 their opinions, in general, when buttressed by his approval. He 
 did not need, however, to give his entire time to the law. The 
 rapidity of his acquisition was such that he found leisure also for 
 various and wide reading. He was fond of books and of con- 
 genial society, and never denied himself the enjoyment of either. 
 He had a genuine scholar's taste for the best literature ; and 
 there was an aroma of scholarship in everything that proceeded 
 from his lips or his pen. 
 
 Through the six years of his connection with the bench, he per- 
 formed his public duties with no diminution of thoroughness or 
 ability, though the inroads of disease in the later part of that 
 period greatly decreased his bodily vigor. But his spirits were • 
 never depressed, and his intellectual fires never paled. His 
 pleasant and often playful manner would never have led one to 
 suppose that he was struck with a mortal illness. The world has 
 not often seen a more symmetrical character than that of Judge 
 Bartlett. Learned without ostentation ; with intellectual powers 
 of "the first order, yet without assumption ; easily leading, yet 
 1 Bassett v. Salisbury Manufacturing Co. 60 N. H. Reports, 444. 
 
124 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 making none seem to follow ; yielding in trifles, firm and fearless 
 in essentials'; always devoted to the right, he was the ideal of a 
 great judge. Affectionate by nature, a fond son, husband, and 
 brother, a true friend, conscientious and pure-hearted, he was as 
 much beloved as a man as he was respected as a magistrate. In 
 his presence the angry elements of forensic contests were stilled. 
 The most disappointed suitor never dreamed of questioning his 
 impartiality or his capacity. 
 
 May 8, 1856, he was married to Caroline, daughter of Abel 
 Baker of Concord, and sister of Nathaniel B. Baker. She sur- 
 vived her husband. 
 
 WILLIAM SPENCER LADD, LL. D. 
 
 J. 1870-1876. 
 
 * Son of Hiram and Aurelia (Palmer) Ladd ; born, Dalton, September 5, 
 1830 ; Dartmouth College, 1855 ; admitted, 1859 ; practiced, Colebrook and 
 Lancaster ; died, Lancaster, May 13, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Ladd was fitted for college at the New Hampshire Confer- 
 ence Seminary at Tilton ; and after taking his degree, was a 
 teacher at Danvers and South Danvers, Massachusetts, for a year 
 or more. His law studies were commenced in the office of Alfred 
 A. Abbott of Salem,- Massachusetts, and concluded in ^hat of 
 Burns and Fletcher in Lancaster. Beginning practice at Cole- 
 brook in 1859, he continued there till September, 1867, when he 
 entered into partnership with Ossian Ray at Lancaster. In 1870 
 he received the appointment of Justice of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court. That judicatory was " reorganized " in 1874, and he was 
 retained in the highest state tribunal by being commissioned a 
 Justice of the Superior Court. Another change of the courts 
 took place in 1876, and Judge Ladd was not reappointed. 
 
 He returned to the bar, and continued in practice as long as 
 he lived. 
 
 In 1883 he was cbosen a representative in the legislature of the 
 State, and the same year was selected as state reporter. This 
 office he filled with punctuality and accuracy up to the time of his 
 death. His last public service was as a delegate to the conven- 
 tion to revise the Constitution of the State, in January, 1889. 
 
 Judge Ladd was endowed with great intellectual strength. By 
 the constitution of his mind he was impartial and independent. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 125 
 
 Early in his practice he made his mark as one who could be 
 trusted to do his utmost for his employers, and whose utmost was 
 not easily surpassed. His removal from Colebrook to Lancaster, 
 the seat of the chief law business of the county, indicated a stage 
 of his progress. A broader field had become necessary for the 
 free exhibition of his powers. The firm of Eay and Ladd was a 
 peculiarly strong one. Both members made friends and inspired 
 confidence ; the one was noted rather for his fluency, readiness, 
 and adaptability ; the other for strength, tenacity, and breadth of 
 views. 
 
 Judge Ladd had been at the bar only eleven years when he 
 entered upon his judicial labors, and had not become well known 
 in many sections of the State ; but wherever he made his appear- 
 ance his fitness was quickly admitted. All his instincts were on 
 the side of justice. He had no patience with the cobweb theories 
 that were woven to obscure the real merits of causes, but brushed 
 them aside without scruple. He got down at once to the hard 
 pan of fact and reason. 
 
 He was a believer in the gospel of work. His conclusions were 
 not reached hastily, but were wrought out on the anvil of study 
 and thought. When he had once got his grasp upon a subject, 
 he did not part with it without learning it through and through. 
 His upright character and steady poise gave confidence that he 
 would not be hurried away by stress of passion, nor swayed by 
 fear or favor. No more appropriate field for the exercise of his 
 peculiar qualities could be found than the judicial bench. And 
 the same qualities caused him to be frequently called on to act as 
 arbitrator in questions of special nicety and importance. 
 
 As a practitioner he ranked with the best. In consultation he 
 was reckoned a tower of strength. In matters of railway law, 
 wherein he was much employed in later life, he became a recog- 
 nized authority. He was more distinguished as a counselor than 
 as an advocate. He had none of the readiness of speech that is 
 sometimes mistaken for eloquence ; nor the art of getting on 
 the "blind side" of jurymen. His words came slowly and with 
 apparent effort, but they carried weight, for there was thought 
 behind them. 
 
 Judge Ladd was respected by all who knew him. He was 
 positive, honest, outspoken, and did nothing in a corner. Where 
 you found him to-day, you might be sure he would be to-mor- 
 
126 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 row. He was fond of books, and rare ones, and gathered many. 
 He enjoyed the society of friends, and was a most agreeable com- 
 panion. His nature was kindly, his disposition generous. He 
 attached himself strongly to those who knew him best. 
 
 Dartmouth College granted him the degree of LL. D. in 1887. 
 
 He was married, July 1, 1860, to Mira B., daughter of Hiram 
 A. Fletcher of Lancaster. They had two sons and a daughter. 
 Fletcher Ladd, the elder son, is a practitioner of the law in Boston, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 EDMUND LAMBERT GUSHING, LL. D. 
 
 C. J. 1874-1876. 
 
 Son of Edmund and Molly (Stearns) Cushing ; born, Lunenburg, Massachu- 
 setts, May 3, 1807 ; Harvard College, 1827 ; admitted, 1834 ; practiced, 
 Charlestown ; died there, June 4, 1883. 
 
 This gentleman was connected with noted jurists ; Asahel 
 Stearns, the author of the " Treatise on Real Actions," was his 
 maternal uncle, and Luther S. Cushing, the author of the 
 " Manual of Parliamentary Practice," was his elder brother. He 
 was among the brightest and best scholars of his class in college, 
 and upon his graduation was offered the post of tutor, which he 
 filled for a time, though he afterwards regretted it, saying that 
 " he wasted some very valuable years in teaching." He was not 
 admitted to the bar till he was twenty-seven, and did not begin 
 practice in New Hampshire till six years after that, when he 
 settled in Charlestown, an eligible opening occurring there by the 
 appointment of John J. Gilchrist to the bench in 1840. He had 
 already found a wife there. 
 
 His thorough preparation and application to his profession, and 
 his .success in practice, soon brought him into prominence. In 
 1850, 1852, and 1853, he was chosen to represent the town in the 
 legislature ; and in 1855 he was appointed one of the circuit 
 justices of the Court of Common Pleas, an office which was soon 
 abolished by a change of the judiciary system. He was then 
 tendered a judgeship of the new Court of Common Pleas, but 
 declined it. He returned to the bar, and practiced with great 
 success and repute in the western counties of the State until 1874, 
 when upon a reorganization of the courts by the political party to 
 which he belonged, he was summoned to the post of Chief Justice 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 127 
 
 of the Supreme Judicial Court. The reorganization, after sub- 
 sisting only two years, was again changed, and Judge Cusbing's 
 judicial career abruptly ended. It is always unfortunate when 
 the courts of justice become the subject of party contentions, and 
 especially so when the effect may be to deprive the community 
 of the services of officers of high character and qualifications. 
 Judge Gushing undoubtedly possessed many of the requisites of a 
 first-rate judge. He had, according to the description of an emi- 
 nent member of his own profession, " a well-ti-ained mind, a calm 
 judgment, a keen power of analysis that never failed to throw 
 light upon the matter that he had in hand. . . . And he has 
 done what would satisfy the ambition of most men, — he has con- 
 tributed largely to elevate and dignify the character of his chosen 
 profession. ... In the long line of our eminent chief justices, it 
 is believed that no one has brought to the position a stronger 
 desire to perform the high duties allotted to him with integrity 
 and absolute impartiality." Though experience has shown that 
 in this country, at least, appointees to the bench above the age of 
 sixty have rarely become successful judges, yet it seems a pity 
 that a man of Judge Cushing's accomplishments should not have 
 had a longer trial. 
 
 Besides his distinction at the bar, Judge Gushing was noted 
 for his literary and scholarly tastes. He edited an edition of 
 bis brother's " Manual " with original notes, and is said to have 
 done other literary work. His gift as a musician was especially 
 notable. From early life he was a performer upon the organ 
 and piano, of wonderful skill. He had a peculiarly light and 
 airy touch ; and his performance has been characterized as " pic- 
 turesque." In his own church he always played the organ at 
 religious meetings, except when he was absent on professional 
 business. 
 
 Harvard College gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws in 
 1875. 
 
 His first marriage was with Laura E., daughter of Vryling 
 Lovell of Gharlestown, April 1, 1835 ; his second to Martha E., 
 daughter of» Captain James Gilchrist of Gharlestown, November 
 24, 1858. By the former marriage he had four children. His' 
 eldest son, Edmund H. Gushing, prepared himself for a lawyer's 
 life, but early left the profession. 
 
128 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 CLINTON WARRINGTON STANLEY. 
 
 J. 1874-1884. 
 
 Son of Horace C. and Mary Ann (Kimball) Stanley ; born, Hopkinton, De- 
 cember 5, 1830 ; Dartmouth College, 1849 ; admitted, 1852 ; practiced, Hop- 
 kinton and Manchester ; died, Manchester, December 1, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Stanley, at the age of fourteen, had at the district school 
 and the academy in his native town fitted himself to enter college. 
 Graduating therefrom at nineteen, he applied himself for two 
 years to the study of the law under the direction of Hamilton E. 
 Perkins of Hopkinton. The last year of his apprenticeship he 
 passed in the office of George W. Morrison of Manchester. After 
 one year of practice in Hopkinton, he was received as a partner 
 by Mr. Morrison, who recognized the value of an association with 
 the young lawyer of such cool business habits and untiring in- 
 dustry. Thenceforth Mr. Stanley lived in Manchester, and was 
 identified in interest and reputation with that city. The firm of 
 Morrison and Stanley (which also included two or three other mem- 
 bers at different times) was a peculiarly strong one, and for about 
 twenty-three years had perhaps the largest practice in Hills- 
 borough County, besides no insignificant amount in Merrimac 
 and Rockingham. Mr. Morrison was an advocate of wide re- 
 nown, and Mr. Stanley was a thorough business lawyer, who not 
 only knew about his own cases, but his opponents' also, and never 
 let an advantage go unimproved. Their practice embraced a 
 great variety of matters, in almost every department of the law. 
 They had so many irons constantly in the fire that nothing but 
 the systematic attention and industry of Mr. Stanley could have 
 prevented some of them from being burned, occasionally. But he 
 was always calm and collected, never hurried, never flurried, and 
 everything was cared for in its due season. Of course, as the 
 managing partner of a large office, he could not have successfully 
 conducted the business, had he not been also a good " all-round " 
 lawyer. He had little time to devote to any study, however, out- 
 side of the questions that arose in his own practice, but those 
 were never neglected. He was also amply endowed with that 
 clear common-sense and sound judgment, without which all book- 
 learning is unavailing. 
 
 A business of such extent and so conducted must be profitable. 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 129 
 
 pecuniarily, and Mr. Stanley acquired property, to the investment 
 and management of which he brought the same care and fore- 
 sight. His financial ability was seen and called into requisition 
 by others. Upon the organization of the City National Bank in 
 1865,. he was chosen its president, and for fourteen years con- 
 tinued to fill that office. And in 1881, upon the death of Judge 
 Ira A. Eastman, he was elected one of the trustees of Dart- 
 mouth College. To that board he was an acquisition of great 
 worth, on account of his deep interest in the institution, his wise 
 discretion, and his advice upon legal and prudential questions. 
 
 In 1874, when the judiciary system of the State was remodeled 
 and a Circuit Court established, Mr. Stanley was made one of the 
 judges. So satisfactorily were his duties performed that, two 
 years afterwards, when the opposite political party restored the 
 former system, he was retained on the Superior Court bench, as 
 the senior associate Justice. There he remained to the close of 
 his life. He was an eminently useful and acceptable magistrate ; 
 especially so when holdiug trial terms of the court, where his 
 remarkable power of dispatching business with prom23tness and 
 accuracy had scope for its exercise. He had the reputation of 
 being able to bring causes to a conclusion more rapidly than any 
 other judge, and it may be added, with equal contentment to 
 suitors. 
 
 Judge Stanley made no pretensions to briUianey or to excep- 
 tional legal talents. His strength lay largely in his clear head, 
 his well-balanced judgment, and his power and disposition for 
 mental labor. His bodily health was sound, his vigor had never 
 been sapped by disease or indulgence, and he loved to work. In 
 his judicial duties he found his recreation not less than his occu- 
 pation. His long experience in the courts gave him great readi- 
 ness in disposing of all interlocutory questions. His knowledge 
 of the state of the docket at every term seemed almost an intui- 
 tion. After the first calling over of the list of actions, he ap- 
 peared to know, better than the counsel, almost, what and how 
 much there was in every case to occupy the attention of the 
 Court. 
 
 No matter how hard pressed he was, he always came to the 
 duties of the new day with a smile on his face. Nothing dis- 
 turbed his equanimity. Even down to the latest period of his life 
 he maintained the same serene composure. His death was a seri- 
 9 
 
130 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 ous loss to the bench, to the college for which his interest was 
 constant and deep, and to the city of his home, where he was 
 especially esteemed and valued. 
 
 He was united in wedlock, December 24, 1857, to Lydia A. 
 Woodbury of Weare, who outlived him. He left no childreji. 
 
 AARON WORCESTER SAWYER. 
 
 J. 1876-1877. 
 
 Son of Aaron F. and Hannah (Locke) Sawyer ; born, Mont Vernon, Octo- 
 ber 11, 1818 ; admitted, 1844 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, August 23, 
 1882. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer acquired his academical instruction at the semina- 
 ries in Hancock, Derry, and Nashua, and his professional training 
 in the office of his father. He had also several years' experience 
 in teaching district schools, no bad preparative for a legal career, 
 accustoming him as it did to habits of patience, accuracy, and 
 thoroughness, and acquainting him with human nature in the 
 child, " the father of the man." He was the partner of his father 
 in practice in Nashua from 1844 to 1847, when his father's death 
 put him in possession of the business and a homestead. A year 
 afterwards he formed a partnership with Charles G. Atherton, 
 which lasted until Mr. Atherton's death in 1853. Mr. Sawyer 
 . continued in business alone until 1858, and then became the part- 
 ner of Aaron F. Stevens. In 1874 he withdrew, in a great mea- 
 sure, from practice, but in 1876 was commissioned a judge of the 
 Supreme Court. He retained his seat on the bench, however, less 
 than two years, when he resigned it on account of ill health. An 
 insidious disease, from which he had suffered for some years, af- 
 fected his bodily, and to some extent his mental powers, so that 
 he felt it was imprudent for him to retain his judicial responsibil- 
 ities longer. 
 
 He had in early life connected himself with the Congregational 
 church, and as he advanced in years felt a desire to exert himself 
 more actively in the work of religion. In 1874 he obtained from 
 the Hollis Association of Ministers a license to preach, and dur- 
 ing the later years of his life he gave a great portion of his time 
 to public religious exhortations, and to lectures on temperance. 
 
 Judge Sawyer was moderate in speech and in manner, and 
 inherited much of the good judgment and conscientious feeling 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 131 
 
 that characterized his father. He was fond of his profession ; stu- 
 dious, with a large library ; untiring in mastering every question 
 that arose in his business. His cases were prepared with thor- 
 oughness, and tried with care and deliberation. When his opin- 
 ion was required, he scorned to encourage with unfounded hopes 
 or too sanguine views of the law, but with conscientious fidelity 
 disclosed the worst as well as the best, to his clients. 
 
 His manners and disposition were winning, and his friendships 
 were many and lasting. The community in which he lived gave 
 him their esteem and confidence. He served his town for a con- 
 siderable time as superintending school committee, and after- 
 wards as chairman of the board of selectmen ; and when Nashua 
 became a city, he was made city solicitor and mayor. He was 
 also representative in the legislatures of 1865 and 1866, and state 
 senator in 1857 and 1858. From 1867 to 1876 he administered 
 the office of register in Bankruptcy under the laws of the United 
 States. Dartmouth College attested his merits by conferring upon 
 him in 1863 the honorary degree of Master of Arts. 
 
 Judge Sawyer was twice married ; first, to Fanny Ingalls of 
 Merrimac, who died after a few months ; second, to Fanny, 
 daughter of Francis Winch of Nashua, who survived him. He 
 also left a daughter and a son. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON ALLEN. 
 
 J. 1876-1893. 
 
 Son of Kev. Joseph and Lyna (Abbott) Allen ; born, Winhall, Vermont, 
 December 10, 1829 ; Dartmouth College, 1855 ; admitted, 1858 ; practiced, 
 Newport ; died, New York city, April 26, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Allen in his youth made himself familiar with the labors 
 of the farm, and afterwards with the duties of a master of " win- 
 ter schools." In coUege he is reputed to have been the second in 
 rank of a class which contained several scholars of mark. After 
 three years spent in teaching and in diligent study of the law 
 under the direction of Messrs. Wheeler and Faulkner of Keene 
 and Messrs. Burke and Wait of Newport, he was qualified to 
 open his own office in the latter town in 1858. He was soon after 
 appointed clerk of the courts in Sullivan County, and served 
 acceptably until 1863, when he was made a paymaster in the 
 army of the United States. In this capacity he was stationed for 
 
132 DECEASED JUDGES 
 
 upwards of a year in Washington, District of Columbia, and 
 afterwards and until his discharge, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
 
 In December, 1865, he settled his accounts, and returned to his 
 law practice in Newport. He was soon again called upon to serve 
 the public by his appointment as Judge of Probate for his county 
 in January, 1867. In the seven years and a half that he filled 
 that post he was so successful that not one of his decisions was 
 set aside by the Supreme Court. 
 
 In 1867 he was also made a United States register in bank- 
 ruptcy, and he continued to exercise the duties of that office, also, 
 until 1876, when upon the general request of the bar of Sullivan, 
 he was raised to the bench of the Supreme Court of the State. 
 His appointment was highly satisfactory. He was endowed with 
 many engaging qualities. He was genial and obliging, and com- 
 manded the good-will and confidence of all. Of scholarly tastes 
 and habits, he excelled particularly in mathematical science. His 
 knowledge of the law was ample and exact, and among his printed 
 opinions are to be found some that are models of legal discus- 
 sion and statement. In the determination of questions of law he 
 was especially useful to the Court. 
 
 In his practice at the bar he had had little experience in the 
 trial of causes before the jury, and for that reason, perhaps, did 
 not fully realize and make allowance for the difficulties that beset 
 counsel, and impede progress at nisi prius. Active and ready 
 himself, he was inclined to remonstrate against delays, and even 
 sometimes to almost take the functions of the lawyer into his own 
 hands ; a proceeding which usually tends very little to promote 
 real satisfactory progress. Trifling as were these blemishes upon 
 a spotless judicial character, it is probable that they were the first 
 visible effects of the disease which at length obliged him to resign 
 his commission. 
 
 He fully comprehended the obligations of his station, and was 
 always ready to meet them. The good fame of the profession 
 to which he belonged was dear to him, and he would not see it 
 sullied by the misconduct of any of its members. The zeal with 
 which he pursued certain alleged violations of the attorney's oath, 
 in one instance, was most commendable as well as salutary in its 
 effects. 
 
 After remaining upon the bench more than seventeen years, 
 the failing state of his health admonished him that he must re- 
 
CHRONOLOGICALLY. 133 
 
 * 
 
 frain from further severe application. He sought a warmer 
 clime ; and it was on his return from Cuba, where he had 
 spent the winter, that he suffered a relapse, which terminated his 
 life. 
 
 From the year 1868 his home was in Claremont, where he was 
 highly esteemed. Chosen often to town offices, he cheerfully 
 accepted them. His legal knowledge, his practical good sense, 
 and his superior business capacity he willingly put at the service 
 of his townsmen on all occasions. 
 
 He was first married in 1856, to Ellen E., daughter of John 
 Joslin of Surry. She died in 1873. In October, 1874, he was 
 again married, to Sally S., daughter of Dr. John Sabine of Straf- 
 ford, Vermont. He left seven children by his first marriage. 
 
LIVING EX-JUDGES. 
 
 Jeremiah Smith, Dover, J. 1867-1874. 
 
 Ellert a. Hibbard, Laconia, J. 1873-1876. 
 
 William L. Foster, Concord, J. 1869-1874. 
 
 George A. Bingham, Littleton, J. 1876-1880 ; 1884^1891. 
 
 PRESENT JUDGES. 
 
 Charles Dob, EoUinsford, J. 1859-1876. C. J. 1876- 
 
 IsAAC W. Smith, Manchester, J. 1874- 
 
 Lewis "W. Clark, Manchester, J. 1877- 
 
 IsAAC N. Blodgett, Franklin, J. 1880- 
 
 Alonzo p. Carpenter, Concord, J. 1881- 
 
 William M. Chase, Concord, J. 1891- 
 
 Eobert M. Wallace, Milford, J. 1893- 
 
MEMBERS OF THE BAR 
 
 WHO HAVE LIVED AND PRACTICED IN THE 
 
 STATE. 
 
 DECEASED LAWYERS. 
 
 DANIEL ABBOT. 
 
 Son of Timothy and Sarah (Abbot) Abbot ; born, Andover, Massachusetts, 
 February 25, 1777 ; Harvard College, 1797 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Lon- 
 donderry and Nashua ; died, Nashua, December 3, 1853. 
 
 Mk. Abbot was descended from George Abbot, one of the early 
 settlers of Andover, Massachusetts. He was prepared for the bar 
 in the office of Ichabod Tucker, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and 
 of Thomas W. Thompson, in Salisbury, where he is said to have 
 been a fellow student of Daniel Webster. In September, 1802, 
 he offered himself as an attorney at Londonderry, but after a 
 short stay there, fixed his residence in Dunstable, afterwards 
 Nashua. Where now the city of Nashua stands, the unbroken 
 forest then stood. There the ambitious young lawyer on July 4, 
 1803, delivered an oration on our National Independence, which 
 received the honor of print. 
 
 It was some years before any other lawyer appeared in Dun- 
 stable to share the limited business of the place. But in about 
 twenty years began the growth of manufactures which have since 
 brought Nashua into the front rank of our prosperous cities. Mr. 
 Abbot's fortunes advanced pari passu. He became a consider- 
 able owner, and the president of the Nashua Manufacturing Com- 
 pany during its early years ; the president of the Nashua and 
 Lowell Railroad from its inception in 1837 for some fourteen 
 years, and also president of the Wilton Railroad from its organi- 
 zation to within a short time of his death. 
 
 He represented the town in the state legislature in 1810, 1811, 
 
136 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1812, 1821, 1838, 1839, and 1848 ; was chosen state senator in 
 1831, and declined a reelection in 1832 ; and in 1850 was a 
 delegate to the convention to revise the Constitution of the 
 State. He was a prudent, careful lawyer, who made little dis- 
 play, but was successful in business, and won the respect of 
 clients and townsmen. His standing among his professional 
 brethren was of the highest, and he was long president of the 
 bar of Hillsborough County. 
 
 In his domestic relations he was happy. His wife was Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of William Pickman of Salem, Massachusetts, 
 and they had four sons and a daughter. The latter was the 
 accomplished wife of Charles J. Fox, after whose early decease 
 she was again married to Governor Samuel Dinsmore, Jr. 
 
 JOSEPH B. ABBOT. 
 
 Son of a school-teacher, and a native of Pennsylvania, it is believed. 
 
 Of this gentleman, who made but a brief stay in the State, little 
 has been ascertained. Farmer states that he was a student with 
 Joseph Bartlett of facetious memory. He was admitted in the 
 Court of Common Pleas of Rockingham County at the August 
 term, 1815, and was in practice in 1816 at Portsmouth, in com- 
 pany with Joseph Bartlett. The bar records show that in Janu- 
 ary of that year certain " expressions used by Estwick Evans 
 towards Mr. Abbot, a member of this bar, were highly indecorous, 
 and an apology was due." 
 
 Mr. Abbot removed to Virginia, since which nothing is known 
 of him. 
 
 SAMUEL ABBOT. 
 
 Son of Abiel and Dorcas (Abbot) Abbot ; born, Wilton, March 30, 1786 ; 
 Harvard College, 1808 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Wilton and Dunstable ; 
 died, Jaffrey, January 2, 1839. 
 
 Receiving his early instruction from his brother Abiel, after- 
 wards the distinguished clergyman, and at the public schools of 
 his native town, Mr. Abbot entered Harvard College at the age 
 of eighteen. His law studies he prosecuted in the office of Charles 
 H. Atherton of Amherst, on whom, by his ability and conscien- 
 tious improvement of his time, as well as by his classical learn- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 137 
 
 iiig, he made a most favorable impression. He first went to 
 Wilton to practice, but soon after to Dunstable, and remained 
 there till 1817. He next tried Ipswich, Massachusetts, but at 
 the close of 1818 returned again to Wilton, and quitted the prac- 
 tice of his profession. 
 
 He had no liking for the practice of law, and his most satisfac- 
 tory labors were in the field of physical and moral science, and 
 general literature. He devoted himself especially to chemistry 
 and the mechanic arts in their application to the useful purposes 
 of life. He was the first to carry into practical operation the 
 manufacture of starch from the potato. The process of extract- 
 ing and clarifying the starch was his own invention, and as early 
 as 1813, he, with the cooperation of his brother Ezra, erected a 
 mill moved by horse power which accomplished the desired result. 
 In 1821, with the encouragement of the Waltham Manufacturing 
 Company, they established the first potato starch manufactory, on 
 a considerable scale. 
 
 This valuable discovery led, singularly enough, to the accident 
 which caused his death. Mr. Abbot was interested in a starch 
 mill in Jaffrey, and was its superintendent. The establishment 
 took fire, and Mr. Abbot attempted to save a trunk containing 
 his accounts and securities, which was in the interior of the build- 
 ing. He entered the door, but his retreat was cut off by a sudden 
 outbreak of flame and smoke, and he fell, suffocated, never to 
 rise again. The remains of his body were found amid the ruins. 
 
 He was one of the few men who habitually and systematically 
 throughout life made the utmost of their powers. He was deeply 
 religious, and acted in all things from conscientious motives, sub- 
 ordinating his passions and desires to his sense of duty. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JOHN FRINK ADAMS. 
 
 Son of Professor Ebenezer and Alice (Friuk) Adams ; bom, Leicester, 
 Massachusetts, November 3, 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1817 ; admitted, 1823 ; 
 practiced, Lyme ; died, Baltimore, Maryland, May 10, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Adams's professional experience in New Hampshire was 
 short. He was fitted for college at Moor's Charity School in 
 Hanover, and after his graduation was a teacher a year in Massa- 
 chusetts, a year in Virginia, and three years in Washington, Dis- 
 
138 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 trict of Columbia. He afterwards took a course of Instruction at 
 the Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut. He practiced two 
 years at Watertown, New York, and then came to Lyme, where 
 he stayed from 1825 to 1827, but probably finding it no encour- 
 aging field, he removed to Mobile, Alabama, and pursued his 
 profession there for twenty-six years. His appointment to a clerk- 
 ship in the Pension Office then brought him to Washington, Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, where he held that position and afterwards a 
 similar one in the Land Office, until his resignation in 1857. He 
 continued to live in Washington for some time afterwards, and 
 was for a while a Judge of the Court of Claims, and finally, 
 before 1880, removed to Baltimore. 
 
 He was married, July 2, 1835, to Elizabeth L., daughter of 
 Lovell Walker of Leominster, Massachusetts. She died in 1866. 
 Of their five children, four survived their parents. 
 
 NATHANIEL ADAMS. 
 
 Son of Captain Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Parker) Adams ; born, Ports- 
 mouth, 1756 ; Dartmouth College, 1775 ; lived, Portsmouth ; died, Exeter, 
 August 6, 1829. 
 
 Though Mr. Adams was not strictly a member of the bar, yet 
 he was so long and so closely identified with the profession that it 
 appears highly proper to include a sketch of him in this work. 
 
 His father was a prominent shipmaster, and his mother was a 
 daughter of Judge William Parker of Portsmouth. He grad- 
 uated from college with distinction, and subsequently was compli- 
 mented with the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Harvard 
 College. He first established himself in his native town as a land 
 surveyor and civil engineer, and in 1779 was made a notary 
 public, an office of importance then. 
 
 In 1781 he was appointed assistant clerk, and in 1787 clerk of 
 the Superior Court, and filled the latter office continuously until 
 his decease, with the highest degree of intelligence, efficiency, and 
 fidelity. His duties were, a part of that time, quite onerous, as 
 he was obliged to attend the sessions of the Court in all the coun- 
 ties. He also edited the first volume of the reported decisions of 
 the Court. 
 
 He gave much time to literary and historical pursuits, and 
 aided greatly in establishing the Portsmouth Athenaeum. He 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 139 
 
 was a contributor to the published collections of the New Hamp- 
 shire Historical Society, of which he was an original member, and 
 an officer. The great achievement of his pen was the " Annals of 
 Portsmouth," issued in 1825, a work of character, and an author- 
 ity to-day in all matters then within the reach of a careful and 
 diligent investigator. 
 
 One who knew him. describes him as " a gentleman of cour- 
 teous and polished manners, and possessed of a wonderful mem- 
 ory, stored with an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes of the court 
 and bar, which he took great delight in relating. In his personal 
 appearance he bore a striking resemblance to President John 
 Quincy Adams." 
 
 He died of apoplexy whUe in attendance upon a term of the 
 Court in Exeter. 
 
 His first marriage was with Eunice, daughter of Colonel Moses 
 Woodward of Portsmouth, May 20, 1784 ; his second with Mar- 
 tha Church of Hatfield, Massachusetts, in October, 1795. He left 
 several children. 
 
 JONATHAN AIKEN. 
 
 Son of James and Elizabeth (Pinterton) Aiken ; bora, Londonderry, June 
 19, 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Goffstown ; died, Peoria, Illi- 
 nois, August 28, 1839. 
 
 Mr. Aiken studied law in the office of Josiah Forsaith of Goffs- 
 town. In 1813 he settled in practice in Goffstown, and there con- 
 tinued to reside for something more than a quarter of a century. 
 He was a respectable, but not a brilliant practitioner, and out of 
 the avails of his professional labors in a small country town found 
 it not too easy, probably, to do much more than support his large 
 family. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that he at length 
 turned his eyes towards the West, as likely to afford to his chil- 
 dren, as well as to himself, a more encouraging prospect of for- 
 tune. But so far as he was concerned, he postponed his removal 
 too long, for at fifty-four or five years of age, so radical a change 
 of residence and habits is fraught with danger. He took up his 
 abode in Peoria, Illinois, but survived the removal only a few 
 months. 
 
 He was married, November 22, 1809, to Nancy Patterson, 
 daughter of Phineas Aiken of Bedford. He had twelve children, 
 nearly all of whom lived to maturity. One, John Aiken, was a 
 lavryer. 
 
140 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 CALVIN AINSWORTH. 
 
 Son of Dr. Calviu Ainsworth ; born, Littleton, August 22, 1807 ; admitted, 
 1835 ; practiced, Littleton and Concord ; died, Madison, Wisconsin, July 7, 
 1873. 
 
 Mr. Ainsworth was educated in the common schools and at the 
 academy in Concord, Vermont, and began the study of the law 
 with Jonathan Stoddard of Waterford, Vermont, and completed 
 it under Henry A. Bellows of Littleton. He was admitted at the 
 court in Plymouth, November term, 1835. Establishing himself 
 as a practitioner in his native town, he remained there seven 
 years, and then changed his home to Concord. For a time he 
 was a partner of Ira Perley. In 1845 he received the appoint- 
 ment of register of Probate for the County of Merrimac, which 
 he held till 1850. In 1852 he was joined with Ralph Metcalf 
 and Samuel H. Ayer in a commission to revise the statutes of the 
 State ; and their work was enacted by the legislature, and pub- 
 lished in 1853 under the title of the " Compiled Statutes." 
 
 Upon the adoption by the inhabitants of Concord of a city 
 charter in 1853, Mr. Ainsworth was appointed Judge of the 
 Police Court, and occupied the position as long as he remained in 
 the State. He was also for a time treasurer of the Concord and 
 Claremont Railroad. After twelve years' stay in Concord, he 
 determined to change his residence to the great West, and made 
 his new home in Madison, Wisconsin. He lived there about 
 eighteen years. He was chosen Police Justice of Madison in 
 1862, and was a most satisfactory officer. 
 
 He was regarded as a good and safe lawyer, not of the aggres- 
 sive sort, but decidedly conservative. As a man of business and 
 accounts he had few equals, but he had not the qualities to make 
 him an advocate. He was tenacions of his opinions, of correct 
 jiidgment, and the strictest integrity, and he won friends in every 
 community where his fortunes called him. 
 
 He was twice married ; first, to Eliza, the sister of Judge Henry 
 A. Bellows, who lived but a short time after her marriage ; and 
 second, in 1846, to Mrs. Letitia (Stinson) White, widow of 
 Joseph W. White, a lawyer who practiced for a time in Ports- 
 mouth. She survived him, but he left no descendants. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 141 
 
 WILLIAM AINSWORTH. 
 
 Son of Laban and Mary (Minot) Ainsworth ; born, Jaffrey, August 24, 
 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, JafErey ; died. Concord, June 14, 
 1842. 
 
 Mr. Ainsworth was the son of a clergyman, and studied law 
 partly with Samuel Dakin of Jaffrey, and partly with Judge 
 Barnes of Tolland, Connecticut. He opened an office in his 
 native town in 1814, and practiced there with good success for 
 about seventeen years. He was thought highly of by his fellow- 
 citizens, as he well might be, for he discouraged the spirit of liti- 
 gation, and strove to heal the differences that sprang up among 
 his neighbors. He was chosen a representative in the legislature 
 for four successive years, beginning in 1827. 
 
 In 1831 he was induced to change his residence to New Ips- 
 wich, to take the appointment of cashier of the Manufacturers' 
 Bank in that place. In effect he had the entire management of 
 the bank, such unquestioning confidence had the officers in his 
 capacity and integrity. Of course his practice at the bar was 
 abandoned when he accepted this engrossing position. But the 
 people of his new home availed themselves as far as practicable of 
 his learning and abilities. He was placed upon committees for 
 transacting the town business, and in 1841 and 1842 was sent as 
 representative of New Ipswich to the legislature. It was while 
 he was in attendance upon this duty at Concord that he was 
 stricken down by the illness which caused his death. 
 
 He married Mary Morse, daughter of John Stearns of Jaffrey, 
 September 29, 1819. They had four children, of whom it is 
 believed that one survives. 
 
 WILLIAM GEORGE ALDEN. 
 
 Son of William and Eliza (Andrews) Alden ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 April 22, 1853 ; practiced, Laconia ; died, Palatine, Illinois, October 15, 
 1887. 
 
 Mr. Alden, who is said to have been a descendant of the 
 Plymouth John Alden, was educated in the Boston Latin School, 
 and studied law with J. Lincoln in his native city. Admitted a 
 member of the Suffolk bar, he was in practice two years in Bos- 
 
142 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ton, Massachusetts, and then happening, while on his way to the 
 White Mountains to recruit his health, to make a little stay at 
 Laconia, he was so much pleased with the appearance of the 
 place that he remained and settled there. He associated himself 
 in practice with O. A. J. Vaughan, and was also interested with 
 him in the publication of the Laconia " Democrat." 
 
 He had not resided long in Laconia, when he determined to 
 seek a home in the West. He first went to Chicago, Illinois, and 
 there pursued his profession three or four years, and then re- 
 moved to Palatine in the same State, and, having a taste for jour- 
 nalism, became the proprietor of two newspapers, which he carried 
 on so long as he lived. 
 
 Mr. Alden is said to have been a fine scholar, with good powers 
 of mind, and many engaging qualities of character. 
 
 He married, April 28, 1875, Ella A. Lawrence of Laconia, and 
 they had two children. 
 
 AMOS S. ALEXANDER. 
 
 Born, Lowell, Massachusetts, May 24, 1829 ; admitted, 1853 ; practiced, 
 Concord and Portsmouth ; died, Chicago, Illinois, May 9, 1877. 
 
 The father of Mr. Alexander was at one period a resident of 
 Hopkinton, whence it happened, perhaps, that the son pursued 
 his law studies in the neighboring city of Concord. He first 
 established himself in practice in the village of Fisher sville in 
 Concord. He was there but a little time when he decided to 
 make his residence in Portsmouth, and, being an ardent politician, 
 became the editor of the New Hampshire " Gazette," a Democratic 
 newspaper there. He held at the same time an appointment in 
 the custom house at Portsmouth. 
 
 He rendered loyal service to his party with pen and voice, 
 making many political speeches, especially in the presidential 
 campaign of 1856. He manifested much ability in this direction, 
 though it was charged that he sometimes allowed zeal to outrun 
 discretion. In February, 1859, he quitted Portsmouth and moved 
 to Chicago, Illinois. There he devoted himself to his profession, 
 and in about five years formed a most advantageous business con- 
 nection as partner of J. W. Merriam, which continued during the 
 remaining thirteen years of his life. 
 
 Mr. Merriam says of him : " I never have met with a man, in 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 143 
 
 an experience of more than thirty years at the bar, with a more 
 happy faculty of getting the facts in a case before a jury, both 
 from his own and from opposing witnesses. He was a sound and 
 sometimes eloquent advocate, and presented model briefs in Courts 
 of Review. In short, he was a good lawyer, good friend, and good 
 fellow, whose early death was deeply regretted by all who knew 
 him." 
 
 Mr. Alexander is remembered by many in this State as of a 
 very genial, social disposition. His political employments, how- 
 ever, allowed him comparatively little opportunity to show his 
 legal acquirements in our courts. 
 
 He was married while in New Hampshire, and at his death 
 left a wddow and children. 
 
 FOSTER ALEXANDER. 
 
 Son of Colonel Reuben and Sarah (Foster) Alexander ; born, Winchester, 
 July 3, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1796 ; practiced, Winchester and Keene ; 
 died, Winchester, August 2, 1841. 
 
 This gentleman belonged to a large and respectable family. 
 After the usual apprenticeship to study in the office of Noah 
 Cooke, he was admitted as an attorney, and commenced business 
 in his native town, about the beginning of the century. In 1809 
 he changed his domicile to Keene, but after practicing there till 
 1828, returned again to Winchester, which he made his home 
 ever after. 
 
 Mr. Alexander is described as of gentlemanly manners and accom- 
 modating disposition, a fair lawyer, but not eminent, and with little 
 ambition or aptitude for the trial of causes in court. While first 
 settled at Winchester he was chosen a representative of that town 
 in the state legislature for five years successively, from 1802 to 
 1807, and afterwards when in Keene he represented that town in 
 1822. He was elected, too, for six years, from 1827, to the office 
 of treasurer of the county of Hillsborough. 
 
 He never married, though he is said to have been once engaged, 
 and to have built himself an elegant mansion in "Winchester, 
 upon a well-chosen site, with the expectation of occupying it with 
 the lady of his choice. But she changed her mind at the eleventh 
 hour, and he never put faith in womankind afterwards. 
 
144 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 DAVID ALLEN, JR. 
 
 Son of David and Hannah (Wilcox) Allen ; born, Newport, December 1, 
 1805 ; practiced, Newport ; died there, September 1, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Allen worked upon his father's farm until he was nearly 
 twenty-one, and in the intervals of his labor obtained his educa- 
 tion in the common schools and at the Newport Academy, where 
 he prepared himself to be a teacher. In that capacity he was 
 employed for several years in Johnstown, New York. He then 
 determined to study law, and carried out the plan in the offices of 
 Edmund Burke in his native town, and of his brother, Ebenezer 
 Allen, in Orono, Maine. He began to practice in Perrysburg, 
 Ohio, but shortly afterwards returned to Newport, and took the 
 office and law business of Edmund Burke while the latter was 
 serving in Congress and as Commissioner of Patents. He was a 
 lawyer in respectable standing, but not distinguished. He lived 
 only about a year after Mr. Burke's final return to Newport. 
 
 He was for a time the superintending school committee of New- 
 port, and represented the town in the legislatures of 1849 and 
 1850. 
 
 His wife was Emeline B., daughter of Colonel Daniel Sanborn 
 of Sanbornton. Their marriage took place February 16, 1847, 
 and they had one child, who died in infancy. 
 
 BOOZ MOORE ATHERTON. 
 
 Son of Dr. Oliver and Abigail (Ladd) Atherton ; born, Chesterfield, Sep- 
 tember 30, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Keene and West- 
 moreland ; died, Morris, Illinois, 1867. 
 
 The father of Mr. Atherton was a physician. His son ob- 
 tained a collegiate education, and was admitted a counselor of the 
 Superior Court in Cheshire County in 1812. In that year he was 
 in practice in Keene, and from 1813 to 1815 in Westmoreland. 
 His name is found as counsel in one of the actions in Cheshire 
 County at the December term, 1814, reported in " Smith's Deci- 
 sions." 
 
 Soon afterwards he removed to Ohio. In 1819 he was at 
 Cleveland, and in 1834 at New Philadelphia, in that State. Sub- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 145 
 
 sequently he established himself in practice in Morris, Illinois, 
 where it is presumed he remained through life. 
 
 He married Chloe Hubbard of Keene in November, 1813, and 
 had one child, born in Westmoreland in 1814. 
 
 CHARLES GORDON ATHERTON. 
 
 Son of Charles H. and Mary Ann (Toppan) Atherton ; born, Amherst, 
 July 4, 1804 ; Harvard College, 1822 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Nashua ; 
 died, Manchester, November 15, 1853. 
 
 Mr. Atherton began life amid the most favorable surroundings. 
 His father's circumstances were affluent, and his social and pro- 
 fessional position among the highest. The son was forward in his 
 education, and at twenty-one had finished his legal studies in 
 his father's office. He chose Dunstable, afterwards Nashua, as 
 his place of residence, and its subsequent growth and importance 
 justified the choice. His professional attainments and his gifts as 
 a public speaker speedily brought him into notice, and his tastes 
 inclined him to political life. 
 
 As early as 1830 he was chosen representative in the legisla- 
 ture from Dunstable ; in 1831 and 1832 clerk of the state senate ; 
 representative again in 1833, 1834, 1835, and 1836, and the last 
 three of those years Speaker of the House. He was thrice elected 
 to Congress, serving from 1837 to 1843 ; in 1843 he took his seat 
 as a senator of the United States for the term which ended in 
 1849, and was reelected in 1852 for six years, only a small frac- 
 tion of which had elapsed at the time of his decease. He was also 
 a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1850, and took a 
 prominent pai-t in its deliberations. 
 
 Notwithstanding the demands which these various offices made 
 upon his time, he never neglected nor lost his interest in his pro- 
 fession. He attended punctually and faithfully to all his engage- 
 ments, and maintained a position among the foremost lawyers in 
 the State. His legal knowledge was ample, and he had the most 
 ready command of it, and of all his resources. He was dexterous 
 in the management of a cause, and sagacious in his treatment of 
 jurors and witnesses. He brought out the strong points of his 
 cause with great clearness and force, and presented them to the 
 Court and jury in correct and elegant English, and with an elocu- 
 tion singularly exact and agreeable. His style in the court-room 
 10 
 
146 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 has been compared to that of Eranklin Pierce; but while they 
 were both powerful and effective advocates, yet Mr. Atherton was 
 much the cooler and more studied in his style, and had his feel- 
 ings well in hand. Mr. Pierce was more impulsive and spon- 
 taneous and emotional. Mr. Atherton kept up his law practice as 
 long as he lived, and it was while he was in attendance upon the 
 court at Manchester that the paralytic seizure occurred, which a 
 few days later terminated his earthly existence. Though previ- 
 ously well and strong to appearance, it is probable that he had had 
 some premonition of the attack, for as soon as he was able to 
 write, while still speechless, he traced on paper with a trembling 
 hand the words, " I expected this, but not so soon." 
 
 His career in Congress, no less than his eminence as a lawyer, 
 manifested his high intellectual endowments. He was a leader in 
 counsel and in action. His station was in the front ranks. His 
 services in committee were not less important than in debate. 
 His congressional speeches were numerous, and marked with great 
 lucidity and vigor. He was an intense partisan, and his second 
 election to the United States Senate was said to have been 
 greatly desired, if not actually brought about, by Franklin Pierce, 
 then President elect, in order that he might have a personal 
 friend as the champion of his administration. 
 
 It was a remarkable circumstance that Mr. Atherton was a 
 staunch apologist for the " peculiar institution," which his grand- 
 father had so bitterly antagonized in the convention called to pass 
 upon the Constitution of the United States. The grandson did 
 his best in the House to abrogate the right of petition in regard 
 to African bondage, insomuch that he acquired from his political 
 opponents the unpleasant sobriquet of " Gag " Atherton. But he 
 was not alone among the people of the Northern States in misinter- 
 preting the drift of public sentiment, and in taking simply a con- 
 stitutional, instead of a humanitarian view of the slavery question. 
 It was reserved for time to open the eyes of a great majority of 
 our public men to a just perception of the course which true 
 statesmanship not less than philanthropy prescribed, in dealing 
 with that perplexing and exciting subject. 
 
 Upon the announcement of Mr. Atherton's death to the Court, 
 which was in session at the time, Daniel Clark offered some 
 remarks, of which the following appear to afford a just estimate 
 of the character of the deceased : " Our late brother was a bril- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 147 
 
 liant instance of a strong and masculine mind, successfully devel- 
 oped and beautifully trained. Liberally endowed by nature, he 
 wonderfully increased the force and power and richness of those 
 endowments by early and careful training. If it were asked in 
 what faculty he excelled, it would be difficult to answer. He was 
 clear ; he was strong. He was brilliant ; he was solid. He was 
 at times melting and tender ; then sarcastic. The great point of 
 his excellence was a harmonious and successful development of 
 the whole intellect. He was eminent as a lawyer and statesman. 
 He attained a high standing both at the bar and in the councils 
 of the nation." 
 
 Mr. Atherton's accomplishments were not confined to legal or 
 political topics. He was thoroughly conversant with the history 
 and biography of our own and foreign countries, and with the 
 classics of English literature. Much of the elegance and vigor 
 of his own diction he derived through his familiarity with the 
 productions of the great writers of the time of Queen Anne. He 
 was a thorough gentleman in his bearing, a little reserved it 
 may be to strangers, but courteous and polished in his manners, 
 towards all. 
 
 He married in 1828 Ann Barnard, daughter of Hugh Hamilton 
 Clark. He left no children. 
 
 CHARLES HUMPHREY ATHERTON. 
 
 Son of Joshua and Abigail (Goss) Atherton ; bom, Amherst, August 14, 
 1773 ; Harvard College, 1794 ; admitted, 1797 ; practiced, Amherst ; died 
 there, January 8, 1853. 
 
 The college song of the time described this gentleman as " high- 
 blooded Atherton," from which we may infer something of his 
 youthful character. He pursued his legal studies with his father 
 and his brother-in-law, William Gordon, in his native town, was 
 there admitted an attorney, and there in 1797 he entered iuto 
 practice. Amherst was his home for life, except a few months 
 that he passed in Portsmouth. The law was by no means a lucra- 
 tive profession in a country place at that time, and young Ather- 
 ton could receive little or no help from his father, but was obliged 
 to depend on his own exertions for support. This circumstance 
 probably taught him habits of prudence and thrift, which con- 
 tributed to the accumulation of his large property in later life. 
 
148 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In less than a year he succeeded in obtaining the appointment of 
 register of Probate, which, though it brought him no great salary, 
 was yet a welcome help to a young man. His accurate and con- 
 scientious business habits made him a model register, and he 
 retained the office nearly forty years, till he resigned it in August, 
 1837. 
 
 Mr. Atherton became early known as a keen, well-read lawyer, 
 and a sagacious, prudent man. In his own town of Amherst he 
 was constantly put forward in every enterprise where a cool judg- 
 ment and competent knowledge were requisite^ Whenever the 
 town's rights were in question, or a bank, an insurance company, 
 or a railroad seemed to be needed, his name always appeared con- 
 spicuously in connection with it ; his townsmen always felt safe 
 under his lead. 
 
 Though he had no taste for political life, yet he held very de- 
 cided opinions on public questions, and was chosen a member of 
 Congress ; but after serving a single term, from 1815 to 1817, he 
 declined a reelection. Thrice at a later period he represented the 
 town of Amherst in the state legislature, in 1823, 1838, and 
 1889. 
 
 He was appointed in 1822 by the legislature upon a commission 
 to revise the Probate law of the State. John Harris of Hopkin- 
 ton and James Bartlett of Dover were the other members, but it 
 is understood that the work was mainly performed by Mr. Ather- 
 ton. Their report constitutes the basis of that branch of the law 
 as it has existed from that time to the present, and is a permanent 
 memorial of Mr. Atherton's learning, ability, and judgment. 
 
 Mr. Atherton was a cultivated and scholarly man, and was 
 called upon to address his fellow-citizens on many public occa- 
 sions, upon topics of interest. In 1798 he pronounced an oration 
 on Independence Day at Amherst ; the next year a Masonic ora- 
 tion at Concord ; in 1800 a eulogy on Washington at Amherst ; 
 in 1820 an address before the Hillsborough Agricultural Society 
 at Weare, all of which were published. He had also much aptitude 
 for historical and biographical studies, and became early a member 
 of the New Hampshire Historical Society ; delivered its annual 
 address in 1831, was made vice-president in 1832 and 1833, and 
 president in 1834 and the three following years. He contributed 
 to the third volume of the Society's Collections valuable memoirs 
 of Samuel Dana and Wyseman Clagett, and at a subsequent 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 149 
 
 time prepared a biographical sketcli of his father, Joshua Ather- 
 ton, which was printed for circulation among his friends. Mr. 
 Atherton's historical labors were recognized by the American 
 Antiquarian Society, and by the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 of both which he was chosen an associate. 
 
 For a long period he was the acknowledged head of the bar in 
 his county. In point of learning, acumen, and general ability, as 
 well as diligence, sagacity, and the mastery of graceful and vigor- 
 ous speech, he was fully entitled to the preeminence. 
 
 In his personal appearance, Mr. Atherton was a notable speci- 
 men of the gentleman of the old school. Erect, slender, dignified, 
 and handsomely clad, with ruffled shirt, hanging watch-chain and 
 seals, and all the other adornments of his station, at a time when 
 the dress was a distinctive badge of the different classes of society, 
 he was recognized at a glance as belonging to what might be 
 called the patrician order, if such an order there be in our re- 
 public. He retained his sound mental and bodily powers until 
 past the allotted age of man. 
 
 Mr. Atherton married, October 30, 1803, Mary Ann, daughter 
 of Christopher Toppan of Hampton. She died in 1817. They 
 had seven children, only two of whom survived him, his son, 
 Charles G. Atherton, and a daughter, who outlived him but eight 
 days. 
 
 JOSHUA ATHERTON. 
 
 Son of Peter and Experience (Wright) Atherton; born, Harvard, Massa- 
 chusetts, June 20, 1737 ; Harvard College, 1762 ; admitted, 1765 ; practiced, 
 Litchfield, Merrimac, and Amherst ; died, Amherst, April 3, 1809. 
 
 Mr. Atherton might probably have followed the calling of his 
 father, who was a blacksmith, if his constitution had not been 
 early shattered by a bilious fever, which led to his being educated 
 for a profession. At the age of twenty he was placed under the 
 tuition of Eev. Timothy Harrington of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 
 and at twenty-one entered college. After his graduation he studied 
 law first with Abel WiUard of Lancaster, and afterwards with 
 James Putnam of Worcester, Massachusetts, and was there ad- 
 mitted to the bar, and opened an office for a short time in Peters- 
 ham, in the same county. In the fall of that year, however, he 
 removed to Litchfield. He made two other changes of residence ; 
 
150 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 in 1768 to Merrimac, and in 1773 to Amherst, on receiving the 
 appointment of register of Probate to the newly constituted county 
 of Hillsborough. 
 
 He had already met with some success in his profession, but 
 the stormy appearance of the political horizon boded little good to 
 those of his sentiments. He was a staunch loyalist, as were many 
 of the professional men, officials, and weU-to-do people of mature 
 years, of that time. Mr. Atherton was aristocratic in his feelings, 
 high-tempered, and unyielding, and though advised by his fellow 
 loyalists to quit the country, he refused to do so. No doubt he 
 then believed the attempt at revolution would prove a failure ; 
 and it was not till after the capture of Burgoyne and the conse- 
 quent alliance with France that he abandoned the expectation of 
 seeing the rebellion crushed by the arms of Great Britain. 
 
 Meantime his opinions involved him in serious troubles. Im- 
 mediately after the battle of Bunker Hill, the liberty boys sur- 
 rounded his house, and marched him to a neighboring tavern, 
 where they refreshed themselves bountifully at his expense. In 
 1777 he was apprehended and committed to jail in Exeter, upon 
 the charge of being inimical to the liberties of America. He was 
 subsequently allowed " the liberty of the yard," upon the ground 
 that the air of the prison .was injurious to his health. The next 
 year he was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in counter- 
 feiting the paper money of the State. This was an offense 
 frequently imputed at that time to prominent loyalists. Men who 
 were above being suspected of forgery for mere gain were 
 thought capable of taking that method of throwing discredit upon 
 the currency of the " rebels," in order to destroy confidence in 
 the solvency and permanence of the governments set up in oppo- 
 sition to the Crown. The British officials in New York gave 
 countenance to this view. Counterfeits of the paper currency 
 issued by the Continental Congress were openly offered for sale 
 there at the cost of paper and printing, upon the assumption that 
 it was a legitimate mode of waging war to undermine the finances 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Mr. Atherton was acquitted of the charge, and was liberated on 
 giving bond with sureties that he would be a good and faithful 
 subject of the State, etc. 
 
 In January, 1779, being by that time probably convinced that 
 it was of no avail further to withstand the tide of public senti- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 151 
 
 ment, he took the oath of allegiance to the new government, and 
 at the same time the attorney's oath, and was admitted to prac- 
 tice in the courts of the State. He soon apparently outgrew any 
 prejudices caused by his loyalty to the Crown, and in 1783 was 
 chosen as a delegate from Amherst to the convention to revise 
 the Constitution of the State. 
 
 After the establishment of peace, the courts, which had been 
 practically closed, were again opened, with accessions of new busi- 
 ness. Mr. Atherton obtained his fuU share of it. There were 
 plenty of suits to be brought and defended, and he was quite 
 successful as an advocate, for though he hardly possessed the gift 
 of eloquence, he was a ready and forcible speaker. About this 
 time William Plumer, the elder, went into his office for a short 
 time as a student. His experience there gives us an insight into 
 the requirements of that time preliminary to the study of the law. 
 Mr. Atherton, who had the best law library outside of Ports- 
 mouth, first put into his student's hands Coke upon Littleton, no 
 easy reading for a tyro, all lawyers will admit. After three or 
 four weeks of this regimen, he informed young Plumer that he 
 must study Latin, so as to read Cicero in that language, before 
 he could be fitted for the bar. The Latin grammar of that day 
 proved too tough a morsel for poor Plumer, who soon turned his 
 back on Amherst, and at a later day found a less discouraging 
 entrance to the legal profession. 
 
 In 1788 Mr. Atherton was chosen as a delegate to the conven- 
 tion called to act upon the question of the adoption of the Consti- 
 tution of the United States. The delegates were nearly equally 
 divided in numbers, though not in ability, for most of the ablest 
 speakers in the convention favored adoption, while Mr. Atherton 
 was the chief of its opponents, and one of the few who had any 
 skill in addressing a public assembly. He took a large share, 
 therefore, in the debates, as the principal spokesman of his party, 
 and naturally made himself obnoxious to the supporters of the 
 Constitution. He habitually wore a cloak, which he was in the 
 habit of folding about him when he rose to speak, and hence they 
 styled him the "cloak orator." No doubt he rehearsed at full 
 length all the arguments that the press had already presented 
 against the ratification of the proposed Constitution ; but he cer- 
 tainly struck the vulnerable point of the instrument, when he 
 denounced it as sanctioning slavery and the traffic in human chat- 
 
152 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tels, in the clause which put it out of the power of Congress to 
 prohibit the slave trade until the year 1808. 
 
 Mr. Atherton was also a delegate to the convention called in 
 1791 to revise the state Constitution of 1783. It resulted in 
 the improved and durable Constitution of 1792. In 1792 and 
 1793 he was chosen both a representative and senator, and ac- 
 cepted the latter election, but resigned his seat after the sum- 
 mer session of 1793, on being appointed Attorney-General of the 
 State by Governor Josiah Bartlett. 
 
 In the year 1797, when he had reached the age of sixty, Mr. 
 Atherton's health began to fail, by reason of an organic affection 
 of the heart. He accepted, however, the appointment by Presi- 
 dent Adams of commissioner for the valuation of lands and 
 buildings in Hillsborough County for the levy of a direct tax. 
 This was found a most unpopular method of collecting a public 
 revenue, and the law was soon repealed. He retained the office of 
 Attorney-General till 1801, and upon his resignation of it, his son- 
 in-law, William Gordon, was chosen in his stead. 
 
 This was about the close of his active life, although he survived 
 to the age of seventy-three. The state of his health forbade him 
 to attempt arduous business, but he had the satisfaction to see 
 that his clients had recourse to the assistance of his son and his 
 son-in-law. He continued social and hospitable to the last, and 
 presided with grace over his well-covered table. 
 
 His wife was Abigail, daughter of Rev. Thomas Goss of Bol- 
 ton, Massachusetts. They had a large family, and a son and six 
 daughters outlived him. 
 
 DANIEL. CLARK ATKINSON. 
 
 Son of Phineas and Phebe (Clark) Atkinson ; born, Boscawen, September 8, 
 1785 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; admitted, 1809 ; practiced, Sanbornton ; 
 died there, April 5, 1842. 
 
 The father of Judge Atkinson was a farmer, who, discerning in- 
 dications of superior intelligence in his son in childhood, placed 
 him under the charge of Rev. Dr. Wood to be fitted for college. 
 In due time he was entered at Hanover, and passed through the 
 collegiate course with diligence and credit. He began to read 
 law with Daniel Webster, it is believed, at Boscawen, but on Mr. 
 Webster's removal to Portsmouth, he entered the office of Parker 
 Noyes, and there finished his studies. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 153 
 
 The same year he settled in Sanbornton, first at the Square, 
 and a few months later at the Bridge. He acquired a handsome 
 business, built a large dwelling-house, bought mills, and became 
 a prosperous and public-spirited citizen. He interested himself 
 in the establishment of the academy, and in the various improve- 
 ments of the village where he resided. He was chosen moderator 
 of the town meetings six years, and was a member of the super- 
 intending school committee three years. In 1819 he was chosen 
 a state senator, and in 1823 and 1824 one of the Executive 
 Council. 
 
 December 20, 1824, he was commissioned Judge of Probate for 
 the old county of Stafford, and continued in that office during 
 the rest of his life. Though not what would be called eminent 
 as a lawyer, his qualifications were highly respectable, and he dis- 
 charged his official duties with credit and to the general satisfac- 
 tion. Early in his professional life he was active and aspiring, 
 and obtained a large share of the law business of his vicinity, but 
 as he increased in years his zeal is said to have somewhat relaxed, 
 and he was contented to lead an easier life. He was distinguished 
 for his benevolent and charitable disposition, and was esteemed 
 and respected by his neighbors and townsmen, as well as by his 
 brethren of the profession. 
 
 Judge Atkinson married, in 1818, Mahala, daughter of Jere- 
 miah Tilton of Sanbornton, who died in 1820. In 1828 he mar- 
 ried for his second wife, Mehitable Tilton, her sister, who survived 
 him. He left four children, a son and three daughters. 
 
 THEODORE ATKINSON. 
 
 Son of Theodore and Anne L. (Tufts) Atkinson ; born, Madbury, October 
 14, 1818 ; practiced, Dover ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, March, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Atkinson was a descendant of the old New Hampshire 
 family of that name, and was born in the house of his grand- 
 father, WiUiam K. Atkinson, on the corner of three towns, Dover, 
 Madbury, and Durham. He was educated in the Dover Academy, 
 and read law with John H. White in Dover, in which town he 
 also passed his three or four years of practice, from about 1843 to 
 1847. He then changed his profession to that of a civil engineer, 
 and in that capacity was employed in railroad surveys in Maine, 
 Massachusetts, and in some of the Western States. His experi- 
 ence in railroads and like works extended over a period of more 
 
164 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tlian twenty years, and resulted in his health being seriously 
 affected by malaria. 
 
 Little remains to show his proficiency in the law, but he cer- 
 tainly had the readiness and sense of humor which are valuable 
 allies to the practitioner. 
 
 There was in the older part of Dover a square called by the 
 name of Washington, on one side of which were the offices of 
 most of the members of the bar of the town, and on the other 
 the margin of the river, where the fishermen used to land with 
 their fares. On this Mr. Atkinson pronounced the following jeu 
 di' esprit : — 
 
 " In Washington square the lawyers abound, 
 At the foot of the square the fish boats are found, 
 Fly, honesty, fly to a safer retreat, 
 For there 's craft in the river and craft in the street." ^ 
 
 Mr. Atkinson married, October 25, 1849, Martha P. H., 
 daughter of Barnabas H. Palmer, and had two sons, one of 
 whom outlived him. 
 
 CLINTON SPALDING AVERILL. 
 
 Son of Calvin and Eunice (Spalding) Averill ; born, Milford, September 22, 
 1827 ; Norwich University, 1849 ; admitted, 1858 ; practiced, Milford ; died 
 there, December 18, 1891. 
 
 Before entering the military institution from which he gradu- 
 ated, Mr. Averill had attended the academies at Hancock and at 
 Pembroke. For four years after taking his bachelor's degree he 
 continued in the Norwich University as tutor and professor. His 
 interest in education and his peculiar qualifications as an instruc- 
 tor would perhaps have led him to spend his life as a teacher, had 
 not his impaired health warned him that he must seek a change. 
 
 He then entered the office of Oliver W. Lull of Milford, as 
 a student at law. He did not at once attempt practice, upon re- 
 ceiving his certificate as an attorney, but in 1861, when the war 
 of the Rebellion broke out, yielded to the desire of his alma mater 
 that he should return thither to aid in giving the military instruc- 
 tion that was so widely and urgently called for by those who were 
 eager to volunteer for the defense of the Union. This emergency 
 
 1 If it should appear that this was not original, it was certainly -well ap- 
 plied. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 155 
 
 having been met, he returned to Milford, and in 1862 opened his 
 office there. His capacity for business and his agreeable man- 
 ners enabled him soon to build up a considerable practice, not of 
 the showy, but of the substantial, paying character. His interest 
 in education never flagged, and he was made superintendent of 
 schools in Milford for a number of years. Nashua in 1873 gave 
 him the same office in that city, which he filled acceptably for 
 two years. He was then chosen treasurer of the savings bank in 
 Milford, of which he had been a trustee from its incorporation, 
 and returned and made his home in that place, up to the time of 
 his decease. 
 
 In 1882 he was chosen president of the Souhegan National 
 Bank ; and for twenty years he was the treasurer of the Unitarian 
 Society. His integrity and uprightness were proverbial. 
 
 He was married, March 10, 1852, to Catharine F., daughter of 
 Dr. James Hutchinson of Milford. She, with their only child, 
 died a few years before him. 
 
 WILLIAM L. AVERY. 
 
 Born, Pittsford, Vermont, 1814 ; practiced, Laconia ; died, Mount Clemens, 
 Michigan, March 27, 1891. 
 
 The father of Mr. Avery was a Revolutionary soldier, who was 
 with Washington at Valley Forge; his mother was a sister of 
 Lyman B. Walker, Attorney-General of New Hampshire. Their 
 son was reared in Brandon, Vermont, and while a little lad was a 
 school-fellow of Stephen A. Douglas. At the age of eighteen he 
 was principal of the large high school of Brandon. He studied 
 for three professions : first, the ministry, next medicine, and 
 finally the law, and when afterwards he was admitted to the 
 Supreme Court of Illinois, it was done on the motion of Mr. 
 Douglas. After some years' residence in Illinois, he removed in 
 1845 to Saratoga, New York, and was master in chancery and 
 police Judge in that place. In 1852 he was living in New York 
 city, prominent in politics, it is said, and president of one or more 
 insurance companies. 
 
 It was about the year 1857 that he came to Laconia. In 
 May, 1858, he was made register of Probate, and continued such 
 for a little over three years. Soon after the expiration of his 
 term of office, he was named by President Lincoln a member of 
 
156 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 a tribunal, composed also of commissioners from France and 
 England, to decide questions connected with the slave trade, and 
 proceeded to Cape Town, South Africa, and resided there five 
 years. Then, returning to this country, he did not resume pro- 
 fessional employment, but in 1868 was actively interested in rail- 
 road enterprises in the South, some of which were very profitable. 
 He built a hotel and an opera house in Atlanta, Georgia. In the 
 course of his operations he had occasion to pass some time in 
 Europe. 
 
 In 1874 he went to the West. A severe attack of rheumatism 
 in 1879 determined his future residence. Hearing of the virtues 
 of the mineral springs at Mount Clemens, Michigan, in ailments 
 like his own, he went thither, and was cured. He built the Avery 
 House there, became the leading citizen, and was active in de- 
 veloping the place and popularizing the waters. 
 
 Judge Avery had the reputation of being a lawyer of ability 
 and a forcible advocate. Those who knew him well considered 
 his natural capacity to be of a very high order. 
 
 He married, in 1852, the only daughter of Lyman B. Walker of 
 Laconia, and left one son. 
 
 SAMUEL HAZEN AYER. 
 
 Son of Samuel aud Sarah (Connell) Ayer ; born, Portland, Maine, 1819 ; 
 Bowdoin College, 1839 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, Hillsborough aud Man- 
 chester ; died, Manchester, October 4, 1853. 
 
 The father of Mr. Ayer was a native of Concord and a brother 
 of Richard H. Ayer. He was a physician, who practiced in Port- 
 land, and died in Eastport, Maine, leaving a widow and young 
 children. They removed to Concord afterwards. Samuel was 
 prepared for college at Burr Seminary in Vermont. There, and 
 in college, he sustained a good reputation for scholarship, and 
 though of an ardent temperament, was generally beloved by rea- 
 son of his kindly nature. 
 
 He studied law in the office of Pierce and Fowler in Concord, 
 and began practice in Hillsborough in 1842, succeeding to the 
 office of Albert Baker, deceased. He speedily made himself 
 known as a zealous, trustworthy, and successful lawyer, and busi- 
 ness began to flow in upon him. For five successive years, begin- 
 ning with 1845, the people of Hillsborough sent their young 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 157 
 
 townsman to represent them in the state legislature. He took 
 and maintained a conspicuous standing there, and was elected 
 Speaker the last two years of his membership. In 1847 he was 
 appointed solicitor for the county of Hillsborough, and acted to 
 the time of his death. In 1852 he was placed upon the com- 
 mission to revise the laws of the State, in connection with Ralph 
 Metcalf and Calvin Ainsworth. Their report, when finally com- 
 pleted, was published in 1853 under the title of the " Compiled 
 ^'^'^tutes." To this work Mr. Ayer gave all the time he could 
 ^o\q from his business, for many months. His constitution was 
 i, inder, and could ill bear the long-continued strain of such 
 p;ngrossing and responsible occupation. Nothing but his resolute, 
 courageous spirit would have kept him up under the pressure. It 
 is not doubted that his premature death was the result of this 
 overwork. He became liable to attacks which were nelieved only 
 by opium or some like narcotic, and it is apprehended that he 
 might unwittingly have taken an overdose ; for soon after the task 
 of revision was completed he was found one morning insensible in 
 his bed, and died before night, of congestion of the brain. 
 
 Few men at the early age of thirty-three had attained so com- 
 manding a position as he. Plis prospects of future distinction 
 were apparently unclouded, and the delicacy of his constitution 
 was scarcely realized, so great were his hopefulness and courage. 
 He had endeared himself to a wide circle of companions by his 
 engaging qualities, and it was with disappointment and sadness 
 that they saw his sun go down at noon. 
 
 NATHAN GODFREY BABBITT. 
 
 Son of Dr. Nathan and Anna (Newoomb) Babbitt ; born, Norton, Massa- 
 chusetts, February 12, 1787 ; Middlebury College, 3811 ; practiced, West- 
 moreland and Walpole ; died, Beloit, Wisconsin, March 11, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Babbitt's father acted as a surgeon in the American Revo- 
 lution, and his mother was related to Judge Daniel Newcomb of 
 Keene. He came with. his parents to Westmoreland as early as 
 1790. After his graduation from college he read law with Henry 
 Hubbard of Charlestown, and began practice in Westmoreland. 
 There he continued for about forty years, interrupting his resi- 
 dence by a stay of three or four years in Walpole about 1850. 
 He was selectman of Westmoreland in 1828, and town clerk 
 
158 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1843 to 1845 ; and in Walpole he held the oface of postmaster 
 three years. 
 
 From January 17, 1842, until 1855, he was a county Judge of 
 the Court of Common Pleas. He was a zealous member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, and for several years officiated in the Grand 
 Lodge of the State. He is said to have been a friend and associ- 
 ate of Judge Joel Parker of Keene. 
 
 At the age of seventy Judge Babbitt quitted Westmoreland 
 
 and went to Beloit, Wisconsin, to spend his last years with j^'' i 
 
 son, Clinton Babbitt, a member of the United States Congr^^^ 
 
 As he took his final kindly look at the village which had so lo^^^^' 
 
 been his home, he repeated : — 
 
 " Farewell, friends ; farewell, foes ! 
 My love with these ; my peace with those ! " 
 
 His declining years were passed very happily in his new home. 
 He was elected a member of the city council of Beloit, and 
 formed fresh friendships. It was a matter of course that he con- 
 nected himself with the Masonic associations ; and when he died, 
 at the age of fourscore years, he was borne to his rest by the 
 hands of his brethren of the mystic tie. 
 
 His wife was Eunice, daughter of Edmund Brewster of West- 
 moreland. They had three children. 
 
 STEPHEN COLBY BADGER. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Naomi (Colby) Badger ; born, Warner, April 12, 
 1797 ; Dartmouth College, 1823 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced. New London 
 and Concord ; died, Concord, October 29, 1872. 
 
 The father of Mr. Badger was a forehanded farmer, and his son 
 labored upon the soil until he was about twenty. His health then 
 suffering from over exertion, as was supposed, he resolved upon a 
 college education, and prepared himself under Eev. Dr. Wood of 
 Boscawen and at Kimball Union Academy. For mathematics he 
 evinced a special liking. He pursued the study of the law under 
 Henry B. Chase at Warner, and set up in business as an attorney 
 and land surveyor in New London in 1826. After eight years' 
 experience he removed to Concord, and accepted the appointment 
 of clerk of the courts for the county of Merrimac. In 1846 he 
 returned to the general practice of his profession, combining with 
 it the occupation of a practical and scientific engineer. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 159 
 
 In 1857 he was constituted Judge of the Police Court of Con- 
 cord, and officiated as such for the succeeding ten years, till he 
 reached the age of seventy. For a time he held also the appoint- 
 ment of pension agent. In the several public employments in 
 which a large share of his life was passed, he maintained a high 
 character for honesty and faithful attention to duty. 
 
 He was united in marriage in June, 1830, to Sophronia W., 
 daughter of Benjamin Evans of Warner. He left two sons, the 
 elder of whom, Benjamin E. Badger, is a practicing lawyer in 
 Concord. 
 
 DAVID H. BAILEY. 
 
 Son of Jesse and Sarah (Philbrick) Bailey ; born, Weare, January 10, 
 1790 ; Middlebury College, 1814 ; practiced, Unity ; died Weare, 1875. 
 
 After his graduation in 1814, Mr. Bailey was a student at law 
 with Levi Woodbury in Francestown ; and about 1818 opened an 
 office in Unity. He made there a stay of only two years, when 
 he took his departure to Rochester, New York, where he tarried 
 an equal length of time, and then lived eleven years in Oswego 
 in the same State. In 1838 he returned to his native town, but 
 did not resume, to any extent, the active practice of his profes- 
 sion. 
 
 His wife was Sabra, daughter of Joseph Philbrick of Weare, 
 who died the year before him. Their marriage took place in 
 1820, and they had six children. 
 
 FREDERIC WILLIAM BAILEY. 
 
 Son of Captain Edward and Sarah (Hayden) Bailey ; born, JafBrey, August 
 16, 1838 ; Dartmouth College, 1862 ; admitted, 1865 ; practiced, Jaffrey ; 
 died, Keene, April 27, 1870. 
 
 Mr. Bailey was prepared for college at the Appleton Academy 
 in New Ipswich. After his graduation he was preceptor of the 
 Eichmond Academy, Maine, for a year, and then prosecuted his 
 law studies in the office of Wheeler and Faulkner in Keene, and 
 in the Law School at Albany, New York, until his admission. 
 In 1864 and 1865 he was a representative from Jaffrey in the 
 legislature. In 1866 he began practice in (East) Jaffrey, and 
 remained there till 1870, when he removed to Keene, but had 
 
160 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 scarcely got settled in his new home when he was attacked by 
 diphtheria, which speedily proved fatal. 
 
 He was a young man of much promise, and his friends pre- 
 dicted for him a career of distinction, had his life been prolonged. 
 
 His wife, to whom he was united September 2, 1866, was Mary 
 Perkins of Jaffrey, and they had one daughter. 
 
 LAWRENCE DUDLEY BAILEY. 
 
 Son of Dudley aud Sarah (Woodman) Bailey ; born, Sutton, August 26, 
 1819 ; admitted, 1846 ; practiced, Washington, Milford, aud Bradford ; died, 
 Lawrence, Kansas, October 15, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Bailey worked upon his father's farm until the age of seven- 
 teen, aud then, after acquiring an academical education, com- 
 menced the study of the law with Weare Tappan and Mason "W. 
 Tappan of Bradford, from whom he undoubtedly adopted, or at 
 least intensified, the free-soil sentiments which influenced his sub- 
 sequent course. His professional studies completed, he went into 
 practice for a few months at East Washington, and then in 
 M^ch, 1847, at Milford, as a partner of S. K. Livermore. His 
 talents and genial disposition gave him popularity, and he stayed 
 in Milford until 1849, at which time he became one of the numer- 
 ous throng of adventurers to California. In 1853 he returned to 
 this State, and formed a partnership with Mason W. Tappan at 
 Bradford. In March, 1857, he went to Kansas, and opened a law 
 office near Emporia, and was elected to the legislature the two 
 years following. Under the new free-soil Constitution he was 
 chosen a Judge of the Supreme Court, and in 1862 re-chosen for a 
 term of six years. In 1869 he was again a member of the legisla- 
 ture. 
 
 He was much interested in the material development of Kan- 
 sas, was prominent in the organization of the first Board of Agri- 
 culture ; for a time was editor and publisher of the " Cultivator 
 and Herdsman," and was long a contributor to the newspaper 
 press. In his later life he occupied a farm. 
 
 Judge Bailey was in Kansas at the critical point of the destiny 
 of that Territory, and was conspicuous in his efforts to rescue it 
 from the blight of slavery ; and this not without personal risk, 
 for being in Lawrence when it was sacked by the " border ruf- 
 fians," he narrowly escaped with his life by swimming the Kansas 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 161 
 
 River in the night. His career was filled with adventure and 
 variety, and he is entitled to high credit for his steady and 
 consistent opposition to the extension of slavery, and his important 
 agency in securing the public domain to the area of freedom. 
 
 He married Mrs. Elizabeth A. Peabody of Lawrence, Kansas, 
 December 15, 1870, who survived him. 
 
 ALBERT BAKER. 
 
 Son of Mark and Abigail (Ambrose) Baker ; born, Bow, February 5, 1810 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1834 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Hillsborough ; died 
 there, October 17, 1841. 
 
 Albert Baker, though he died in early manhood, had already 
 made his mark in law and in politics. He was fitted for college 
 at Pembroke Academy under Master John Vose. His legal 
 studies were directed by Franklin Pierce, then of Hillsborough, 
 and by Eichard Fletcher of Boston, Massachusetts ; and he was 
 admitted to the bar of Suffolk County in April, 1837. He es- 
 tablished himself in practice in Hillsborough as successor to 
 Mr. Pierce, and soon took a leading position as a lawyer and a 
 politician. 
 
 In college he was an excellent scholar, and persistent to the 
 extent of sometimes defending his own opinions in the recitation- 
 room, against the doctrines of the professors. As a lawyer he 
 was well-read, sharp in making points, and unyielding in main- 
 taining them. He was a good advocate. But he is said to have 
 begun on the mistaken principle of bringing suits whenever clients- 
 desired it, whatever might be his own opinion on the subject, and 
 the consequence was that after his early death, it was found that 
 he had a large number of actions upon the docket which had to 
 be discontinued. 
 
 He carried his pertinacious and combative disposition into po- 
 litical life. He was the most radical of Democrats. He spoke 
 well and forcibly in the state legislature, of which he was a 
 member in 1839, 1840, and 1841, and, young as he was, was an 
 acknowledged party leader at the time of his decease. 
 
 Mr. Baker was said to have been a great user of tobacco, 
 which perhaps sapped his strength, so that he became an easier 
 prey to disease. He never married. 
 11 
 
162 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 NATHANIEL BRADLEY BAKER. 
 
 Son of Abel and Nancy (Bradley) Baker ; born, Henniker, September 29, 
 1818 ; Harvard College, 1839 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced. Concord ; died 
 Des Moines, Iowa, September 12, 1876. 
 
 One of the most popular men that New Hampshire has ever 
 produced was Nathaniel B. Baker. Of fine physique, engaging 
 manners, and thoroughly kind heart, he had not an enemy even 
 among his political opponents. 
 
 He received his education at Phillips Exeter Academy in 1834 
 and 1835, at Dartmouth College, and at Harvard College, where 
 he graduated. He then turned his attention to the study of the 
 law in the office of Pierce and Fowler in Concord, but in 1841, 
 before completing his legal reading, became the joint proprietor 
 with H. H. Carroll of the New Hampshire " Patriot," the leading 
 Democratic newspaper of the State, at Concord. His connection 
 with the paper continued about two years. In the mean time, in 
 1842, he had completed his law studies, with Charles H. Peaslee 
 of Concord. Three years after his admission to the bar he was 
 ■made clerk of the courts in Merrimac County. That post he 
 resigned in 1852, and resumed the practice of the law in company 
 with Francis B. Peabody at Concord. 
 
 Meantime his popularity naturally bore him into the front 
 ranks of his party, as a candidate for political honors. He was 
 elected to the state legislature in 1850, and was chosen Speaker 
 of the House, an unusual honor to a new member, indicating the 
 high estimation in which his abilities were held. He was familiar 
 with the mode of proceeding of the body over which he was called 
 to preside, having acted as reporter thereof, while he was con- 
 nected with the New Hampshire " Patriot ; " and he fully met 
 the expectation of his most sanguine supporters by the readiness, 
 accuracy, and impartiality with which he discharged the duties of 
 the chair. The next year his party could hardly boast of a clear 
 majority, either in Concord or in the House ; yet he was again 
 chosen, the sole representative from Concord, and Speaker for the 
 second time. 
 
 In 1854 he was nominated for the governorship of the State, 
 and was elected, though by less than a thousand majority. The 
 year after, he was renominated, but his popularity was neutralized 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 163 
 
 by the political changes which had come over the State, and 
 which united men of various shades of opinion in the support of 
 what was called the American ticket ; and Governor Baker failed 
 of a reelection. But he probably received more votes than any 
 other man of his party would have had. 
 
 In 1855 Governor Baker was attracted to the West by the offer 
 of the attorneyship of an important railroad, and changed his 
 home to Clinton, Iowa. His popularity followed him there. He 
 represented his county in the legislature of Iowa in 1860 and 
 1861. When the Southern Rebellion broke out, being a thorough 
 Union man, he was at once chosen Adjutant-General of the State. 
 His activity and energy, his devotion to his country's cause, his 
 sound good sense and thorough comprehension of his duties, and 
 his honorable and impartial treatment of officers and soldiers and 
 all men with whom he had to deal, rendered him one of the most 
 useful of the many excellent adjutant-generals of the States. He 
 was retained in the office up to the hour of his death. 
 
 He was married in May, 1843, to Lucy C, daughter of Rev. 
 Petrus S. Tenbroeck, rector of the Episcopal Church in Concord, 
 and left several children. 
 
 THOMAS BANCROFT. 
 
 Son of Deacon Nathaniel and Mary (Taylor) Bancroft ; born, Lynnfield, 
 Massachusetts, November 14, 1765 ; Harvard College, 1788 ; practiced,, 
 Rochester ; died, Canton, China, November 15, 1807. 
 
 This gentleman's residence in New Hampshire was transitory. 
 He probably fitted himself for his profession in Massachusetts, 
 and made his appearance in Rochester about the year 1794, and 
 remained there as a legal practitioner for a year or two, at most. 
 Probably finding the field a very unprofitable one, he then with- 
 drew to Salem, Massachusetts, and became master of the gram- 
 mar school there. He afterwards had the appointment of clerk 
 of the courts in Salem for several years. After resigning that 
 place he went to sea as supercargo of the ship Hercules, and died 
 at the end of his outward voyage. 
 
 He was married, November 10, 1797, to Elizabeth Ives, daugh- 
 ter of Robert Hale and Sarah (Bray) Ives, of Beverly, Massa- 
 chusetts ; and had two sons who survived him. 
 
164 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 EVERETT COLBY BANFIELD. 
 
 Son of Key. Joseph and Elizabetli (Chapman) Banfield ; born, Wolfe- 
 borough, September 19, 1828 ; Harvard College, 1850 ; practiced, Wolfe- 
 borough ; died. New York city, November 12, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Banfield was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and 
 Harvard College, and studied his profession with Nathan Clifford 
 in Portland, Maine, and with John P. Healy in Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts. He received his license to practice in Boston, and con- 
 tinued there from 1853 to 1866, and then removed to New York 
 on being appointed to a position in the law division of the United 
 .States custom house in that city. After three years he was ap- 
 pointed solicitor of the United States Treasury at Washington, 
 District of Columbia, and acted as such from 1869 to 1874. In 
 the last-named year he was retained as the attorney of the Pacific 
 Mail Company of San Francisco, California, and fiUed that po- 
 sition for a year. A partial failure of his health caused him to 
 withdraw from this employment, and he returned to his native 
 town on Lake Winnepesaukee. 
 
 After a rest of a year or two he opened an office in Wolfe- 
 borough, but never engaged very largely in practice there. He 
 was particularly active in organizing the high school in Wolfe- 
 iborough. 
 
 Mr. Banfield is represented as possessed of marked ability and 
 intellectual cultivation. Never content with what he had already 
 accomplished, he was continually striving throughout his life to 
 enrich his mind with further acquisitions. In his person and 
 manners he was peculiarly attractive ; he was esteemed by his 
 townsmen, and in his family relations was especially beloved. 
 
 He married Anne S., daughter of Professor N. W. Fiske of 
 Amherst, Massachusetts, October 28, 1854. She and their six 
 children survived him. 
 
 DAVID BARKER. 
 
 Son of Colonel David and Ann F. (Simpson) Barker ; born, Stratham, Janu- 
 ary 8, 1797 ; Harvard College, 1815 ; admitted, 1819 ; practiced, Rochester ; 
 died there, April 1, 1834. 
 
 The father of Mr. Barker, shortly after the birth of this his 
 eldest son, changed his residence permanently to Rochester. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 165 
 
 David, the son, was transferred from the school of that town to 
 the Phillips Exeter Academy, and thence to college, from which 
 he graduated at eighteen. He qualified himself for the bar in 
 the office of John P. Hale of Rochester, and opened his own office 
 there in 1819. He was an accomplished scholar and a well- 
 instructed lawyer, with remarkable maturity of judgment, an 
 agreeable disposition, a habit of promptitude, and integrity un- 
 sullied. 
 
 In 1823 he was chosen a representative to the General Court, 
 and rechosen in 1825 and 1826. Though of well-defined opinions, 
 he was not a mere partisan in politics, but rather independent in 
 some of his views and actions. In 1827 he was elected to the 
 United States Congress. There he manifested an intimate know- 
 ledge of the political history of the country and a thorough ac- 
 quaintance with the questions at issue between the parties, and 
 made himself known as a legislator of enlarged views and marked 
 ability. When the next election came round, however, the old 
 party lines had so far changed in the State that the entire con- 
 gressional delegation were replaced by new men. Mr. Barker re- 
 turned to his legal practice and his usefulness as a private citizen. 
 
 It was not long afterwards that he began to perceive indications 
 of failure of his bodily health. He was not disquieted, however, 
 but kept about his business, and maintained his equanimity and 
 cheerfulness until he saw the last of earth. He had a clear con- 
 science, and was a firm believer in the Christian religion. 
 
 He took in marriage, October 1, 1823, Mary, daughter of 
 Nathaniel Upham of Rochester. She survived him, with their 
 two children. 
 
 DANIEL BARNARD. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Phebe (Eastman) Barnard ; born, Orange, January 23, 
 1827 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Franklin ; died there, January 10, 1892. 
 
 The farm on which Mr. Barnard was born and passed his 
 youth was distant three miles from the district school. His 
 parents, however, contrived that he should get as much schooling 
 as was possible, and supplemented it by their own instruction in 
 the evenings. 
 
 At the age of seventeen he resolved on a collegiate education, 
 and labored on the farm and taught school to pay the expenses of 
 his preparation. 
 
166 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His plan of study was interrupted by his being sent as a, repre- 
 sentative to the legislature, by his townsmen, as soon as he at- 
 tained his majority, and for four years in succession. Though 
 the youngest member, he manifested such sagacity and legislative 
 talent that he became a leading man in the House. In 1851 he 
 gave up the idea of college, and became a student of the law with 
 George "W. Nesmith and Austin F. Pike of Franklin, and in three 
 years was duly admitted to the bar, and to a partnership with Mr. 
 Pike, Mr. Nesmith retiring from practice. Mr. Barnard's business 
 was large and widely extended ; he attended the courts in Merri- 
 mac and Belknap counties, and the Plymouth sessions in Grafton 
 County, besides the federal tribunals in the State. 
 
 In 1860 and 1862 he was a representative of Franklin in the 
 General Court ; in 1865 and 1866 a state senator, and the latter 
 year president of the Senate ; and in 1870 and 1871 a member of 
 the Executive Council. From 1867 to 1872 he was solicitor of 
 Merrimac County, and he declined a reappointment in 1872, and 
 again in 1877. In 1887 he was appointed Attorney-General of 
 the State, and that office he filled to the hour of his death. He 
 left no duty of all these official trusts undone or ill done. His 
 labors as Attorney-General were protracted and exhausting, espe- 
 cially in the prosecutions of Sawtelle and of Almy each for mur- 
 der, and possibly weakened his powers of resistance to the malady 
 which terminated his life. 
 
 Mr. Barnard's amiable disposition and frank and honorable 
 character attached his brethren of the bar very strongly to him, 
 and made him friends throughout the community. One who 
 knew him thoroughly, and appreciated his merits, happily de- 
 scribed one of his leading characteristics in the phrase, " There was 
 nothing sinister about him." 
 
 He had abundant technical learning and skill ; was an industri- 
 ous worker, grudging no time or labor to the complete perform- 
 ance of his professional or official duties ; a judicious adviser alike 
 in legal and in ordinary affairs ; a master of terse and convincing 
 speech before a popular assembly, a legislative body, or as an 
 advocate in the court-room. He was a trustee of the Franklin 
 Library Association and of the Savings Bank, and president of 
 the Franklin National Bank. The degree of Master of Arts 
 from Dartmouth College in 1867 was a deserved tribute to his 
 attainments and character. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 167 
 
 His home was to him the happiest of all places, and he was for- 
 tunate in his domestic relations. He was married, November 8, 
 1854, to Amelia, daughter of Rev. William Morse of Chelms- 
 ford, Massachusetts. Of their four sons, two became lawyers ; 
 and there were two daughters. 
 
 LEVI BARNARD. 
 
 Son of Dr. John Barnard ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, 1772 ? ; practiced, 
 Lancaster ; died there, October 12, 1832. 
 
 Mr. Barnard was fitted for, and for a time was a student in, 
 Harvard College, but did not complete his course. He com- 
 menced the practice of the law in Lunenburg, Vermont, and rep- 
 resented that town in the General Assembly in 1803 and 1810. 
 He was afterwards settled in Concord, Vermont. In 1820 he 
 transferred his home to Lancaster, where he lived ever after. He 
 is described by one who remembers him, as an accomplished 
 gentleman, and rather distinguished as an advocate ; very precise, 
 and with the manners, habits, and dress of the olden time. He 
 argued causes in court with fluency and ease, but excelled in rhet- 
 oric rather than in logic. 
 
 In some of his business operations he was not altogether for- 
 tunate, and he never acquired an extensive practice after his re- 
 moval to Lancaster. 
 
 He married, in 1805, Lucy, daughter of Dr. William Page of 
 Rockingham, Vermont, formerly a well-known citizen of Charles- 
 town. They had a son and three daughters. 
 
 WILLIAM MORSE BARNARD. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel and Amelia (Morse) Barnard ; born, Franklin, January 
 10, 1856 ; Dartmouth College, 1876 ; admitted, 1879 ; practiced, Franklin ; 
 died there, April 15, 1886. 
 
 A career of high promise was cut short by the early death 
 of William M. Barnard. With a thorough education obtained 
 at the Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, supple- 
 mented by a careful legal training in the office of his father and 
 at the Boston Law School, he was completely equipped for his 
 chosen profession ; while his natural abilities enabled him to 
 make the best use of his acquirements. He entered at once into 
 
168 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 company with his father in his practice, and by his youthful 
 energy and ready apprehension became a power in the office, and 
 made his influence felt and respected. His father treated him in 
 their business on equal terms. Young Mr. Barnard had already, 
 at the age of thirty, made bis mark at the bar. 
 
 His friends were numerous, and strongly attached to him. In 
 his town, where the political majority was against him, he was 
 chosen repeatedly to local offices, for which his qualifications 
 were of the best. A year before his decease he was prostrated by 
 severe illness, from which he never fully regained his strength. 
 Upon a relapse, he sank rapidly, until death put a period to his 
 earthly prospects and labors. 
 
 ISAAC ORR BARNES. 
 
 Son of Nathan and Anna (Remick) Barnes ; born, Bedford, June 12, 1798 ; 
 Middlebury College, 1818 ; practiced, Barnstead ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 January, 1864. 
 
 This gentleman, who was better known as a politician and 
 humorist than as a devotee of the law, was one of the nine children 
 of a farmer. He prepared himself for college at the academy in 
 New Ipswich. One year after his graduation he spent in teaching 
 the academy at Franeestown, and then became a law student in 
 the office of Titus Brown of the same town, receiving his certifi- 
 cate as an attorney in 1822. 
 
 He first became a practicing lawyer at Barnstead. He is de- 
 scribed as " a pretty good lawyer when he would attend to husi- 
 ness," and as one " who could enjoy a joke even at the expense of 
 his own political party." He had small liking for the law, but a 
 genuine proclivity towards political life. Nine years of practice 
 in Barnstead sufficed him ; in 1831 he went to Lowell, and, two 
 years after, to Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 In March, 1835, while his brother-in-law, Levi Woodbury, was 
 a member of the national Cabinet, Mr. Barnes was made naval 
 officer of the port of Boston, and retained till 1841. Most of the 
 remainder of his life was spent in public office. In 1845 he 
 became United States Marshal for the district of Massachusetts ; 
 in 1849 clerk of the Circuit Court ; in 1853 Pension Agent at 
 Boston until his decease. 
 
 Of Colonel Barnes's wit and humor many anecdotes are related. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 169 
 
 The manners of the people of Barnstead, during his sojourn there, 
 were rather primitive, and his neighbors, as he complained, were 
 in the habit of borrowing his boots, to wear on great occasions. 
 He had no objection to lending them to those whose feet were of 
 ordinary dimensions ; but the majority of the borrowers had large 
 feet, and so his boots got ruined. He adopted the expedient, 
 therefore, he said, of having a strong pair made on purpose to 
 lend, — large enough for the megapods, — and in that way saved 
 his credit, and his personal boots for his own wear. 
 
 After Jackson's famous " removal of the deposits," various 
 "pet banks," as they were called, sprang up in our principal 
 cities. Of one of these, the Lafayette of Boston, Barnes was 
 made president. Like many others of the same class, it soon 
 found itself in difficulties, and its assets were discovered to be 
 largely composed of worthless paper. An official investigation 
 of the affairs of the bank was ordered. The officer called on the 
 bank president. " Well," said Barnes, in his high falsetto voice, 
 " I hope you may be able to find some property belonging to the 
 bank, for I assure you I cannot." 
 
 The last 7not which is credited to this inveterate joker was 
 uttered while he was upon his death-bed. He was visited by his 
 physician, who tried to say something encouraging. He found 
 the sick man's extremities were warm, and remarked cheerfully, 
 " Your feet are warm ; that is an excellent symptom ; no man 
 ever died with warm feet." " How was it with John Rogers 
 the martyr?" was the response. 
 
 Mr. Barnes was married about 1826 to Hannah T., daughter of 
 Hon. Peter Woodbury of Francestown. He left no descendants. 
 
 ROYAL DEXTER BARNES. 
 
 Son of Warren M. and Mary (Blodgett) Barnes ; born, Northfield, Massa- 
 chusetts, June 18, 1854 ; admitted, 1878 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, 
 August 29, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Barnes was educated at the McCoUom Institute in Mount 
 Vernon, and the Literary Institute in Nashua, and read law in 
 the same city with George Y. Sawyer. He was chosen city solici- 
 tor of Nashua in 1880 and the three following years, and ac- 
 quired a fair practice, both civil and criminal. Without extraor- 
 dinary legal qualifications, he was active, self-confident, and 
 
170 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 energetic. He miglit probably Have acquired position at the bar, 
 if he had been steady and industrious. But his habits of dissi- 
 pation were an insuperable obstacle to his progress, and led at 
 length to his death by his own hand. 
 
 He married, March 13, 1878, Idella E. Prescott, at Nashua. 
 She with their three children outlived him. 
 
 WILLIAM BARRETT. 
 
 Son of Zimri and Persis (Batehelder) Barrett ; born, Wilton, July 2, 1836 ; 
 Harvard College, 1859 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, Nashua ; died, St. Paul, 
 Minnesota, September 14, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Barrett began the study of the law in 1859, with Aaron P. 
 Hughes of Nashua, and afterwards attended lectures at the Har- 
 vard Law School. He decided to try his fortune at practice in 
 Nashua. He was chosen city solicitor, and to several other local 
 offices. In 1871 the position of solicitor for Hillsborough County 
 was given him. Two trials for murder occurred during his five 
 years' occupancy of the office, one of which, the " Major case," 
 was especially difficult and keenly contested, and in that he se- 
 cured a conviction. Mr. Barrett was a man of popular manners 
 and superior intellectual capacity, and made many friends. 
 
 About the year 1873 he quitted Nashua, in some embarrassment 
 it was said, and removed to St. Paul, Minnesota. He is reported 
 to have won a fine position in that citj' as a lawyer and a citizen. 
 He was appointed chairman of the Board of Public Works, and 
 was greatly esteemed. His death was sudden and unexpected. 
 
 Mr. Barrett was a zealous Freemason, and had been the Grand 
 Master in New Hampshire and attained high rank in other 
 Masonic bodies. 
 
 He was the author of a Genealogy of the descendants of 
 Thomas Barrett, Sr., of Braintree, Massachusetts, published at St. 
 Paul, Minnesota, in 1888, a work apparently of research and 
 value. 
 
 Mr. Barrett married Sarah E., daughter of Christopher Page 
 of Nashua, who with a son and daughter survived him. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 171 
 
 GEORGE BARSTOW. 
 
 Son of William and Abigail (Pownsend) Barstow ; born, Haverhill, June 
 19, 1812 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; practiced, Hillsborough and Manchester ; 
 died, San Francisco, California, September 9, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Barstow was fitted for college at the academy in his native 
 town, and at Peacham, Vermont. He entered the class of 1835, 
 of Dartmouth College, but did not graduate in course. During 
 the years 1835 and 1836 he was principal of the academy at 
 Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and the next three years he spent 
 in the study of the law in the office of Robert Rantoul, Jr., in 
 Boston. There he was admitted, and practiced from 1839 to 
 1844. He then removed to Hillsborough in this State for a year, 
 and then to Manchester, and devoted himself to his profession for 
 about four years with much success. 
 
 He had already brought himself into public notice by the com- 
 position of a History of New Hampshire, first issued in Concord 
 in 1842. It was a work of some ability, though immature, and 
 written with evident bias ; it reached a second edition in 1851. 
 
 Parts of the years 1849 and 1850 he spent in travel in Europe, 
 and on his return he fixed his residence in New York city. 
 After about eight years there, he turned his face towards Cali- 
 fornia. Planting himself in San Francisco, he soon achieved a 
 reputation in the judicial courts and in the legislature of the 
 State. He was a member of the House of Representatives as a 
 pronounced Union man, in the exciting years of 1861 and 1862, 
 and the latter year was Speaker. He was again a representative 
 in 1878. For the two or three years before 1860 he was pro- 
 fessor of medical jurisprudence in the University of the Pacific. 
 He was also president of the Young Men's Christian Association 
 in San Francisco. 
 
 Mr. Barstow was successful in his profession, and made himself 
 useful and respected in California. He gave his legal knowledge 
 and financial assistance to many of the local charities, and was a 
 frequent contributor to the press on topics of public importance. 
 Some of his articles in the journals, and in pamphlet form, are 
 said to have had a wide and salutary influence. 
 
 Mr. Barstow's wife was Emily E., daughter of John Shepley of 
 Saco, Maine. She survived him, and he left no children. 
 
172 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ENOCH BARTLETT. 
 
 Son of Hon. Bradbury and Polly (True) Bartlett ; born, Nottingham, March 
 15, 1819 ; practiced, Epping ; died, Nottingham, June 27, 1855. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett's education was ottained at the academies of 
 Hampton and Derry, and he was several years a school-teacher 
 before he entered upon the study of the law, in the office of Wil- 
 liam W. Stickney of JsTewmarket. He opened an officej|n Epping 
 in 1845, and practiced there two years in company with James 
 McMurphy, doing a business of considerable extent. After the 
 decease of his partner in 1847, he removed to Lawrence, Massa- 
 chusetts, then rapidly growing into importance, and commenced 
 practice there, with success. In 1852 he was a representative to 
 the General Court, and in 1853 was elected the second mayor of 
 the newly created city. He gave up his practice, and devoted 
 his attention assiduously to the duties of this post, probably to 
 the detriment of his health. He had repeated attacks of illness 
 afterwards, and never resumed practice. 
 
 In the spring of 1855 he returned to his native air, but the 
 disease had made too much progress to be then arrested. 
 
 He was a man of quick perceptions, good intellectual ability, 
 energetic habits, and agreeable and popular manners. 
 
 He was married to B. Jane, daughter of Joseph C. Plumer, 
 Esquire, of Epping, who with one daughter survived him. 
 
 GREENLEAF CILLEY BARTLETT. 
 
 Son of David and Susan (Cilley) Bartlett ; born, Nottingham, May 7, 1822 ; 
 practiced, Salem and Derry ; died, Derry, April 10, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett has been truly styled a self-made man. Indebted 
 to no famous seminary of learning, he, like the typical New Eng- 
 land country boy, obtained his instruction in the common schools. 
 He early discovered an inclination to be a lawyer, and when he 
 attained the age of twenty-five the wish of his youth was realized, 
 and he began to practice in his own office in Salem. After eight 
 years there he moved to Derry. He represented that town in the 
 legislature of 1866. 
 
 He was successful In his chosen profession. He kept his eyes 
 open, and was a diligent worker. His counsel was much sought 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 173 
 
 and relied on. He gave no opinion until he had thoroughly in- 
 vestigated the law and the facts. Having once satisfied himself 
 of the proper course, he pursued it with the persistency of a 
 sleuth-hound. He tried causes in the courts with strength and 
 skill, and addressed the jury forcibly. Sometimes in contention 
 he appeared stubborn and blunt of speech ; but he had a kind 
 heart, and in private life was genial and agreeable. He was 
 something of an antiquary, and gathered books and other relics of 
 bygone generations. He labored in his vocation up to the last 
 day of his life. 
 
 He married Charlotte J. Kelley of Salem, May 4, 1864. They 
 had five children, of whom one was brought up to his father's 
 profession. 
 
 ICHABOD BARTLETT. 
 
 Son of Dr. Joseph and Hannah (Coleord) Bartlett ; born, Salisbury, July 
 24, 1786 ; Dartmouth College, 1808 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Durham and 
 Portsmouth ; died, Portsmouth, October 19, 1853. 
 
 Among the many able lawyers in the earlier part of the cen- 
 tury, Ichabod Bartlett was one of the very foremost. He studied 
 his profession with Moses Eastman and Parker Noyes of Salis- 
 bury. He was in practice in Durham for about six years, and 
 then made his permanent home in Portsmouth. A lawyer of his 
 education and calibre could not long continue briefless, and he 
 seems almost at once to have stepped into a practice of the best 
 class. Only five years after his admission to the bar he was em- 
 ployed as counsel with George Sullivan in the Dartmouth College 
 cases, against Jeremiah Smith, Jeremiah Mason, and Daniel 
 Webster. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett won his spurs in a field, and against competitors, 
 that no second-rate man could have faced. He was continually 
 pitted against the leaders of the then renowned Rockingham bar. 
 He was not so learned as Mason or Smith, he had not the melli- 
 fluous flow of Sullivan's oratory, nor the titanic intellect of Web- 
 ster; but he possessed a sufficiency of learning and of logical 
 power, and an adroitness, a dexterity, a readiness, all his own, and 
 an eloquence of the most effective character. His courage and 
 tenacity were quite as remarkable as his other qualities. 
 
 Thus equipped, he was a formidable man to meet. For more 
 
174 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tlian thirty years he stood among the very first practitioners in 
 New Hampshire, and was retained in a good proportion of the 
 causes where much was at stake. For a considerable part of that 
 time he " traveled the circuit " with the judges, attending the 
 successive terms of the court from Rockingham through to Graf- 
 ton County. His diligence while on the circuit was untiring ; he 
 studied and prepared his causes with the utmost care ; his days 
 were given to trials in the court-room, and at night he laid out his 
 work for the morrow. His best powers and exertions were given 
 to his clients, and no one had ever occasion to reproach him with 
 negligence or unfaithfulness. But when the circuit was ended, 
 and the work that resulted from it was over, he felt himself 
 at liberty to indulge, like Counselor Pleydell, in " high jinks," 
 or the American equivalent of that diversion. His practice as a 
 counselor, indeed, was probably quite secondary to his business 
 in court. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett held in the course of his life many official posi- 
 tions. He was clerk of the state Senate in 1817 and 1818 ; rep- 
 resentative in the legislature from Portsmouth in 1819, 1820, 
 and 1821, in which last year he was elected Speaker ; again repre- 
 sentative in 1830, 1838, 1851, and 1852; and delegate to the 
 state constitutional convention in 1850. He was appointed 
 solicitor for the county of Eockingham in November, 1818, and 
 held the office about three years ; in 1822 he was chosen repre- 
 sentative in Congress, and retained his seat for three successive 
 terms. 
 
 It was during his first term in Congress that he had his famous 
 collision with Henry Clay. In point of talents and parliamentary 
 experience Mr. Clay was one of the strongest men in Congress, 
 and when he found a new and comparatively unknown member 
 boldly setting up an opinion adverse to his decree, he attempted 
 to brush him out of the way with the rough side of his tongue. 
 But Mr. Bartlett had abundant spirit, and was no novice in a 
 conflict of wits, and in the encounter with Mr. Clay was adjudged 
 not to have come off second best. The great Kentuckian was not 
 accustomed to such treatment, and was very indignant at it. Mr. 
 Bartlett was warned to be on his guard against an attack else- 
 where with weapons more fatal than words, and went armed ac- 
 cordingly. He was also given to understand that if Jie would wait 
 after the adjournment of Congress, he would receive a message 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 175 
 
 from Mr. Clay such as was then "customary among gentlemen." 
 Mr. Bartlett remained in Washington for three days, but no 
 message came. Evidently his antagonist had become cooler and 
 wiser by reflection. The affair, however, demonstrated the spirit 
 and pluck of the representative of the Granite State. 
 
 Upon Mr. Bartlett's return from Congress, he resumed his prac- 
 tice with his accustomed energy. His experience as solicitor 
 gave him familiarity with the criminal law, and besides his civil 
 business he was called upon to conduct the defense in several cap- 
 ital cases. His argument for the prisoner in State v. Ferguson is 
 said to have been one of the most powerful that he ever uttered. 
 The case of Abraham Prescott, charged with murder, strongly en- 
 listed his feelings, for he was convinced that the accused was 
 irresponsible by reason of mental alienation. The indictment 
 was twice tried, and the appeal which Mr. Bartlett made to the 
 jury would at this day have consigned the accused to an insane 
 asylum instead of the gallows ; but the subject of insanity as a 
 branch of medical jurisprudence was then in its infancy. 
 
 His arguments were never long ; he did not think it necessary 
 to elaborate any but the great points of his case. He had the art 
 of condensing, — a rare accomplishment in an off-hand speaker. 
 He made every epithet tell, and contrived to get the sympathy of 
 the jury from the start. 
 
 An instance indicates how skillfully he could turn the tables 
 upon his adversary by a word. In a cause which he tried before 
 a jury, without result, his principal witness was a man bearing the 
 patronymic of Leathers, — a name of peculiar unfragrance in New 
 Hampshire. Mr. Bartlett being of the opinion, not without 
 reason, that the witness's statements would be more readily cred- 
 ited if he were n8l handicapped by a bad name, in anticipation 
 of another trial was instrumental in procuring for him the new ap- 
 pellative of Smith, by an act of the legislature. Meantime the 
 other party was not idle, but tampered with the same witness with 
 complete success. So when the cause came again before the jury, 
 and Mr. Bartlett called his witness by his newly obtained desig- 
 nation of Smith, he found that his testimony had undergone as 
 radical a change as his name. After putting the witness through 
 his paces sufficiently to understand the nature of the transforma- 
 tion, Mr. Bartlett said, in a tone that conveyed his contempt to 
 every ear in the court-room, "You may step down and out, 
 Mr. Leathers, we want nothing more of you ! " 
 
176 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Bartlett was quick to denounce anything like fraud or dis- 
 honesty, in whatsoever quarter it appeared. He was once em- 
 ployed to bring an action on some promissory notes which the 
 testimony produced by the defendant proved to be tainted by 
 illegality of consideration, as they were given to suppress a prose- 
 cution for forgery. Indignant that by the rascality and silence 
 of his client he had been put into the attitude of attempting to 
 enforce an odious claim, Mr. Bartlett flung his papers upon the 
 table, in open court, and with the remark that " he trusted the 
 Court would do him the justice to believe that he had before no 
 suspicion of the real circumstances of the case," he abandoned his 
 client to his fate. 
 
 Though he could be severe upon occasion, few men possessed 
 more winning traits of character than Mr. Bartlett. The younger 
 members of his profession, especially, entertained for him the 
 highest admiration and regard. He made it a point to notice 
 them and address them, especially in company, where their diffi- 
 dence would have kept them silent. He was always ready to help 
 them in court, when they were at a loss, and to supply the key 
 to unlock the difficulty. The writer remembers an occurrence of 
 this kind, at a law term, where a young and modest practitioner 
 was making his maiden speech. Some member of the Court, 
 forgetting that an interruption might embarrass the beginner, 
 chopped in upon him with a hard question. The poor fellow 
 blushed and stood speechless. Mr. Bartlett quietly whispered to 
 him an answer that satisfied his interlocutor, and restored the 
 young man to his self-possession. He never forgot the kind act, 
 we may be sure. 
 
 In his public speeches he had a fashion, when he wished to lay 
 particular emphasis upon a word, of pausing an instant before 
 pronouncing it. One of the elders of the bar described this 
 process as '■^poising his word before he launched it." It seemed 
 as if he were hesitating in the choice of his expression, and that 
 he always picked out the fittest. But in fact the man never hesi- 
 tated. His powers were always on the alert. If he had had 
 hours for deliberation he could not have done or said the right 
 thing at the right moment more uniformly than he did without a 
 moment's forethought. 
 
 One day a brother lawyer was handed a villainous-looking let- 
 ter in Mr. Bartlett's presence. " That letter must have come 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 177 
 
 from the jail," said Mr. Bartlett ; " I have received a good many 
 such looking ones from there." "No," said the other smartly, 
 " none of my friends are in the jail." " Ah ! " replied Mr. Bart- 
 lett, as quick as a flash, " when did they escape ! " 
 
 Mr. Bartlett wrote little for the press. Beyond a few political 
 speeches, and his poorly reported arguments in two or three crimi- 
 nal trials, a single oration delivered at the age of twenty-two, and 
 one or two trifles hereafter to be mentioned, are all that remain in 
 print to attest his literary powers. He manifested his interest, 
 however, in some matters outside his profession. His services 
 were in great demand at political gatherings, and his speeches, 
 bright and caustic, were very telling. In the campaign that re- 
 sulted in the election of President Harrison, he was particularly 
 active. Indeed, it was supposed to be owing to his extraordinary 
 exertions at that time that he was first attacked by the disease 
 which finally caused his death. Like most men bred on a farm, 
 in an agricultural community, he always maintained an interest in 
 husbandry, and was a member of one or more societies for the 
 promotion of the art. He was one of the original members of the 
 New Hampshire Historical Society, which was the outgrowth of 
 the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement 
 of New Hampshire by Europeans. Several odes were written for 
 the occasion, among them one which is attributed by Mr. Plumer, 
 who undoubtedly had the means of knowledge, to Mr. Bartlett. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett was president of the New Hampshire Historical 
 Society four years, from 1826 to 1830. In 1827 he delivered the 
 annual address before the Society, which was never published. 
 The biographical sketch of Nathaniel A. Haven, Jr., in the second 
 volume of the Society's Collections, is understood to be from his 
 pen. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett was generous, sensitive, and high spirited. 
 Though he could not easily forget a slight or an injury, yet he 
 would do anything for a friend. In his earlier days he had the 
 reputation of being a great "ladies' man." And he never en- 
 tirely lost it, for his polished and deferential manners and agree- 
 able conversation made his society most acceptable to the sex, at 
 all periods of his life. But his attentions were general, and never 
 focused upon any individual, although whispers of an unfulfilled 
 romance in his youth were not wanting. 
 
 His attitude towards womankind was the occasion of the follow- 
 12 
 
178 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ing epigram, believed to have been the work of John Kelly of 
 
 Exeter, — 
 
 " He }oved the ladies, great and small, 
 He loved the few — he loved the many. 
 But since he could not marry all, 
 He would not marry any ! " 
 
 JAMES BARTLETT. 
 
 Son of Dr. Joseph and Hannah (Colcord) Bartlett ; born, Salisbury, August 
 14, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1812 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, July 17, 
 1837. 
 
 This was a younger brother of Ichabod Bartlett. He studied 
 his profession with Moses Eastman of his native town, and with 
 his brother Ichabod at Durham. After his admission he entered 
 into a partnership with the latter, which continued for about three 
 years. On the 1st of July, 1819, he received the appointment of 
 register of Probate for the county of Strafford, and then, or before, 
 took up his abode in Dover. That office he held for sixteen or 
 seventeen years. In the mean time he was chosen a representative 
 of Dover in the legislatures of 1823 to 1826, inclusive, and a 
 ■state senator in 1827 and 1828. 
 
 He possessed good natural abilities, but lacked ambition. As 
 an old member of the Strafford bar expressed it, " he had a good 
 deal of latent power, but did not love work." He was a popular 
 man, and enjoyed the reputation of being a " smart " one ; which 
 introduced him to convivial assemblages, and at length to habits 
 of dissipation, it is said. His characteristics were strength and 
 clearness, rather than brilliancy. 
 
 His first wife, married in June, 1820, was Jane Ballard. His 
 second, married in June, 1831, was Jane M., daughter of George 
 Andrews of Dover. He left two or more children, one of whom 
 became a lawyer in Bangor, Maine. 
 
 JOSEPH BARTLETT. 
 
 Born, Plymouth, Massachusetts, June 10, 1762 ; Harvard College, 1782 ; 
 practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, October 20, 1827. 
 
 This eccentric genius removed into this State from Maine, as 
 early as 1809, and lived in Portsmouth for ten or twelve years. 
 He had graduated from college with so high a rank for scholar- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 179 
 
 ship that he secured an election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. 
 Shortly after peace was ratified with Great Britain he was in 
 London, England. A happy retort at the theatre one night to a 
 piece designed to ridicule his countrymen introduced him to the 
 company of the young bloods about town, and his wit, audacity, 
 and recklessness rendered him quite popular among them. For 
 a time he led a gay life there, and afterwards boasted that he 
 frequently met with Fox and Sheridan, which is not unlikely to 
 be true. But soon, overwhelmed with debt, he was arrested and 
 imprisoned. Having extricated himself by the proceeds of a 
 comedy which he wrote, he next tried his fortune for a time upon 
 the stage. But finding that London merchants were not disin- 
 clined to reopen trade with America, he purchased a quantity of 
 goods on credit, and set sail with them for this country, but was 
 wrecked on the coast of Cape Cod. A second experiment which 
 he made in trade also failed. 
 
 He then returned to his original intention of studying the law. 
 About this time the " Shays rebellion " occurred in Massachusetts, 
 and volunteer companies were raised in and about Boston to aid 
 in suppressing it. Bartlett was chosen captain of one of the com- 
 panies, and marched with it two hours on the road to Springfield, 
 when tidings were received that the insurrection was quelled, and 
 the volunteers were ordered to return to their homes. Upon sur- 
 rendering his command Bartlett made a humorous speech, saying 
 that no doubt Shays had retreated by reason of hearing that he 
 and his brave companions had taken the field against him ! 
 
 On his admission to the bar, he first made his abode in Woburn, 
 Massachusetts. He soon manifested that spirit of demagogism 
 which, with his wit and impudence, constituted his chief stock in 
 trade. " He harangued in the grog-shops and at the town meet- 
 ings, and at all times had the power of setting the mob in a roar." 
 He painted his house black, and called it "the coffin." He 
 neglected no art to attract notice, and " as odd as Joe Bartlett " 
 became a by-word. 
 
 Cambridge, Massachusetts, was his next residence. Here his 
 eccentricities had wider scope. He attended the meetings of the 
 Phi Beta Kappa society, and while ingratiating himself with a 
 certain class of the students, made himself odious to the au- 
 thorities of the college. He managed to get himself chosen to 
 deliver the poem before the Phi Beta Kappa meeting at Com- 
 
180 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 mencement. His production was by no means without merit, but 
 was filled with flings at the professors. He wrote criticisms for 
 the newspapers on the college performances, and took the part of 
 the students who were under discipline ; in short, he was a source 
 of perpetual annoyance to the faculty. 
 
 Party politics ran high at this period, and Bartlett contrived to 
 get elected for a year or two as representative in the General 
 Court, but he made little figure there. And in the judicial courts 
 he fared no better, for he had neither the industry, the legal 
 knowledge, nor the moral qualities which have weight with judge 
 and jury. The character of his business and of his clients de- 
 teriorated, and he found it expedient — to use his own phrase — 
 " to see new faces." 
 
 In 1803 he removed to Saco, Maine. For a time he made a 
 sensation there, especially in political affairs. He changed sides 
 from Federalism to Democracy, and was chosen to the Senate 
 of Massachusetts, but became embroiled with the leaders of his 
 own party. A civil action for a libel, in which Bartlett was the 
 plaintiff, and in the end the successful party, put money in his 
 purse for a while, but made another change of residence expedi- 
 ent, and Bartlett migrated to Portsmouth in our own State. 
 
 Very shortly after his arrival he was invited to deliver an 
 address on the Fourth of July, which was published. His fame 
 as a ready speaker for a time attracted him some business, es- 
 pecially on the criminal dockets of the courts. He wrote con- 
 siderably for the journals of the day, and made no scruple of 
 declaring that his pen was at the service of the highest bidder ; 
 but in his productions under his own name he introduced nothing 
 immoral or offensive to good taste. In 1810 he published a vol- 
 ume of " Aphorisms," which were of respectable literary merit for 
 the time, though containing little that was original. At this day 
 they remind one strongly of the sounding platitudes of Tupper. 
 
 When Timothy Farrar took his seat as Chief Justice of the 
 Court of Common Pleas in 1813, Bartlett, who had been in the 
 habit of treating his predecessor in the office with little defer- 
 ence, made an address of a very offensive character to the Court, 
 and then sat down and looked around the bar with the air of 
 having done a smart thing. Judge Farrar quietly directed the 
 sheriff to take him into custody for contempt of court. Poor 
 Bartlett's triumph was short-lived. He was taken by the sheriff 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 181 
 
 into one of the jury-rooms, and there he endeavored to excite 
 the sympathy of his professional brethren. But nobody pitied 
 him, and all with one accord assured him that he must make 
 an apology to the Court. He accordingly returned to the court- 
 room, and expressed his regrets to the Bench in a very neat 
 speech. Judge Farrar, in behalf of the Court, accepted his 
 apologies as satisfactory, and he was allowed to resume his place 
 in the bar. But it is said that Bartlett, far from being mortified 
 at the part he had acted, was flattered by the assurance that he 
 had made a very good apology ! 
 
 John Hale, a most promising young lawyer of Portsmouth, 
 had died some years before Bartlett's removal there. Bartlett, 
 however, on one occasion, improvised an epitaph upon him, and 
 added to its point by interjecting the application of the lines, as 
 follows : — 
 
 " God takes the good, 
 
 Too good by far to stay (that 's him) ; 
 And leaves the bad, 
 
 Too had to take away (that 's me)." 
 
 Bartlett's fortunes were erelong on the wane. His wife left 
 him on account of his neglect or inability to provide for her ; for- 
 tunately, they had no children. His wit degenerated into buf- 
 foonery and scurrility ; he neglected his person. His employers 
 were from the lowest rounds of the social ladder. It was at this 
 period that he uttered the witticism, — referring to his only re- 
 maining client, a colored man named Caesar, — " Aut Ccesar aut 
 nullus." 
 
 "The last day of suing" is remembered by the older lawyers as 
 a very busy time, when it behooved every practitioner who hoped 
 for a long list of entries to be in his office till midnight. On one 
 of these important occasions, during the latter part of Bartlett's 
 stay in Portsmouth, Ichabod Bartlett, then an active young law- 
 yer, was hurrying to his office, and met his older namesake stand- 
 ing quietly at the street corner. 
 
 " Stop," said Joseph. " I can't," said Ichabod, " it 's the last 
 day of service." " Pooh, pooh," said Joseph, " I can get more 
 business in the street than in the office. While I 've been stand- 
 ing here I 've got five defenses," — showing that number of sum- 
 monses which had been served on himself &s defendant. 
 
 At length the people of Portsmouth virtually hired him to leave 
 
182 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 the town, by taking tickets in a literary recitation wMch he gave 
 to obtain the means to remove elsewhere. 
 
 His last home was in Boston, Massachusetts, where he became 
 dependent upon the benefactions of his brethren of the profession, 
 and the charity of his landlady. He endeavored to eke out his 
 slender means by a second edition of his " Aphorisms," in 1823 ; 
 to which he affixed his early poem of "Physiognomy," which 
 showed real marks of the poetical faculty, and a prose essay on 
 the " Blessings of Poverty," which had at least the merit of 
 being based upon experience. 
 
 He died in Boston, October 27, 1827. The following epitaph 
 
 he composed for himself : — 
 
 " 'T is done ! the fatal stroke is given, 
 And Bartlett 's fled to hell or heaven ; 
 His friends approve it, and his foes applaud, 
 Yet he will have the verdict of his God." 
 
 JOSEPH K. BARTLETT. 
 
 This was a son of Amos Bartlett, born in Bath in the year 
 1805. He was admitted to Dartmouth College as a freshman, 
 and is represented to have been a superior scholar. He studied 
 law in the office of Jonathan Smith of Bath, and was admitted an 
 attorney in 1831. He started in practice in Mont Vernon, but 
 stayed there only about one year, when he removed to Dunstable, 
 now Nashua, and formed a partnership with Aaron F. Sawyer. 
 Ill health compelled him a year later to abandon New Hampshire, 
 and he proceeded to Cincinnati, Ohio. He lived there but about 
 six months, and died of cholera. 
 
 RICHARD BARTLETT. 
 
 Sou of Caleb and Ruthy (McClintook) Bartlett ; born, Pembroke, January 
 8, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1815 ; admitted, 1818 ; practiced, Concord ; 
 died, New York, October 23, 1837. 
 
 When Mr. Bartlett was fifteen years of age, his regular and 
 handsome handwriting attracted the attention of Philip Carrigain, 
 at that time Secretary of State, and he became the secretary's 
 clerk. There he remained three years, and then entered Phillips 
 Exeter Academy, on the foundation. With assistance from 
 friends he accomplished his college course, with the high honor of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 183 
 
 the valedictory oration, in 1815. He then entered the office of 
 George Sullivan of Exeter, and completed his legal studies, and 
 ■was admitted an attorney. 
 
 Being indebted for the cost of his education, he took the place 
 of deputy Secretary of State, which was offered him, and at the 
 same time advertised himself as a practicing lawyer in Concord. 
 He continued in the secretary's office as deputy until 1825, and 
 three successive years as Secretary of State. Here his services 
 were of great value. He realized the importance of preserv- 
 ing every aid to history that the archives of the State afforded, 
 and had the orderly habit of mind that would have a place for 
 everything and everything in its place. While he occupied the 
 office he did more towards putting the records of the State in 
 good condition than had ever been done before. He caused to be 
 recorded many acts which had been omitted. He procured copies 
 of ancient documents from Massachusetts, and many files which 
 had been retained by Secretary Waldron. He also inaugurated 
 the practice of binding the acts of the legislature into volumes. 
 
 By reason of the change in the political complexion of the 
 State, he was not reelected in 1829. From that year to 1831 
 he had the editorial charge of the Concord "Journal." But 
 after about a year and a half he relinquished journalism. 
 
 On various public occasions Mr. Bartlett delivered addresses of 
 merit, but they were never printed. His best published produc- 
 tions are said by his friend John Farmer to have appeared anony- 
 mously in the journals of the day. He was chosen a represen- 
 tative in the legislature from Concord in 1830 and 1831 ; and 
 in the latter year was complimented with a nomination for Con- 
 gress, but declined it. 
 
 On the formation of the New Hampshire Historical Society he 
 was an original member, and one of its officers for several years ; 
 and prepared a valuable article for the fifth volume of its Collec- 
 tions, on the Care of Public Archives. 
 
 In 1832 he left the State, and became interested in the book- 
 store of his brother, Caleb Bartlett, in New York. There he re- 
 mained until his death. 
 He never married. 
 
184 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEORGE SULLIVAN BARTON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Cyrus and Hannali (Hale) Barton ; born, Concord, May 9, 
 1831 ; Dartmouth College, 1851 ; admitted, 1853 ; practiced, Newport ; died. 
 Concord, July 24, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Barton graduated from college at the age of twenty, 
 studied law, and in two years was admitted an attorney. He 
 began practice in Burlington, Iowa, but after a year there returned 
 to New Hampshire, and became a partner of Edmund Burke 
 of Newport. He was ambitious, and inherited political tenden- 
 cies, no doubt ; and in 1855 and 1856 was chosen clerk of the 
 state Senate, a place which has often served as a stepping-stone 
 for young men to higher party honors. But in his case it was 
 not to be, for his life was cut short when he had reached the age 
 of only twenty-six. 
 
 He was a man of much promise, a fine penman, a skillful 
 draughtsman, and gifted with no mean poetic talent. 
 
 IRA McLaughlin barton. 
 
 Son of Hon. Levi W. and Mary A. (Pike) Barton ; born, Newport, March 
 11, 1840 ; practiced, Newport ; died there, January 19, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Barton was prepared for college at Meriden, and entered 
 Dartmouth College in 1858. He remained there only a year, and 
 left, for no fault, in 1859, and entered upon the study of the law 
 in his father's office. On the breaking out of the war of the 
 Southern Eebellion, he is said to have been the first man in Sulli- 
 van County to enlist. He was commissioned captain in the First 
 Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. After three months' 
 service he received the appointment of captain of Company E. 
 in the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment, and was in the several 
 battles before Richmond in 1862. From 1863 to 1865 he was 
 lieutenant-colonel of the First Regiment of New Hampshire Heavy 
 Artillery, and stationed in the defenses about Washington. 
 
 After the war closed he was appointed a first lieutenant in the 
 regular army, and acted as provost-marshal at Pine Bluffs, Ar- 
 kansas ; and afterwards received successively the appointments 
 of district attorney and judge of a criminal court in Arkansas. 
 Having practiced his profession there about three years, he re- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 185 
 
 turned to New Hampshire and entered into partnership with his 
 father. There he continued up to the time of his decease. 
 
 Colonel Barton was a man of warm and generous feelings. 
 His abilities were proved by the positions which he filled. In a 
 professional life so varied and interrupted, he had scarcely the 
 opportunity to prove what he was capable of accomplishing in the 
 law, but his friends anticipated for him a career of marked dis- 
 tinction had his life been spared. 
 
 Colonel Barton left no children, though he was twice married ; 
 first to Helen M. Wilcox of Newport, and second to Addie L. 
 Barton of Ludlow, Vermont. 
 
 ZACHARIAH BATCHELDER. 
 
 Son' of Zachaiiah and Polly (Kuowlton) Batohelder ; born, Beverly, Massa- 
 chusetts, February 4, 1796 ; Dartmouth College, 1821 ; practiced, Chichester, 
 and Wolfeborough ; died, Wolfeborough, May 11, 1869. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Batchelder removed shortly after his birth 
 to Wendell, now Sunapee, in this State, where his early years 
 were spent. At the age of twenty he became a pupil in Kimball 
 Union Academy, whence the next year he entered college. It 
 was his original desire to qualify himself for the ministry, but 
 upon mature consideration he believed himself better adapted 
 to some other calling. The three years after his graduation he 
 spent in teaching at Meredith, Salisbury, Winchester, and North- 
 field, Massachusetts ; at the same time reading law partly with 
 Samuel I. Wells of Salisbury, and in part with Benjamin Kim- 
 ball of Winchester. He began to practice in Chichester, where 
 he remained during the years 1827 and 1828, and then removed 
 to Wolfeborough, his home through life. 
 
 He was a fine scholar, especially in Greek and mathematics, 
 holding the third or fourth place in rank in his class, and he never 
 lost his knowledge by neglect afterwards. As might be expected, 
 he was a well-read and accurate lawyer. He was regular in his 
 habits and upright in his conduct, a quiet, reserved man, who 
 made no display of his capacity. He rarely argued causes in 
 court, though he was from 1841 to 1846 solicitor of the county. 
 
 He never married. 
 
186 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEOEGE EDWIN BEACHAM. 
 
 Son of John C. and Olive (Young) Beacham ; born, Wolfeborough, May 
 12, 1852 ; admitted, 1876 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died there, March 30, 
 1892. 
 
 Mr. Beacham was educated chiefly in the public schools of 
 Great Falls village, in Somersworth. At the age of twenty-one 
 he entered the office of William J. Copeland, at Somersworth, as 
 a student at law, and was admitted at the end of three years to 
 the bar. He established himself in practice in Great Falls village, 
 and at a later date connected himself in business with attorneys 
 in Carroll County, and York County in Maine. 
 
 He was a good, safe lawyer, not of extraordinary power or 
 learning, but honest and attentive to his employers' interests, and 
 never advising unnecessary litigation. His business embraced 
 the collection of claims, the drawing of instruments, and the like, 
 and became quite considerable. He tried very few cases before 
 the jury. 
 
 In 1881 and 1882 he was a representative in the legislature, 
 and in the latter year was made associate Justice of the Police 
 Court of Somersworth. 
 
 He was a good deal interested in Freemasonry, and had made 
 considerable progress in the collection of materials for a history 
 of Libanus Lodge in Somersworth, but never completed the 
 work. 
 
 He was married, February 14, 1876, to Olive L., daughter of 
 Henry Nunn of North Berwick, Maine, and left one son. 
 
 lEA ALLEN BEAN. 
 
 Born, Moultonborough, e. 1799 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Sandwich ; died, 
 Urbanna, Ohio, e. 1869. 
 
 After completing his law studies with Jonathan C. Everett at 
 Meredith, Mr. Bean opened an office in Sandwich in 1823. Hav- 
 ing resided there ten years, he was seized with an inclination to 
 " go West," and removed to Urbanna, Ohio. He entered into 
 trade there, it is said, took part in politics, and was elected to the 
 Ohio Senate. About 1856 Mr. Bean returned to Sandwich, and 
 resumed his law practice, and at the same time engaged in farm. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 187 
 
 ing. In 1865 and 1867 he was a member of the New Hampshire 
 House of Representatives. In 1869 or 1870, he returned to Ohio, 
 and there suddenly died. 
 
 He was a lawyer of respectable rank, and is said to have ex- 
 celled as an advocate. He was a ready debater, and a clear, in- 
 cisive speaker. 
 
 His wife was Eliza F., daughter of General Daniel Hoit of 
 Sandwich. They were married, March 9, 1826. 
 
 ITHAMAE WARREN BEARD. 
 
 Son of Ithamar A. and Mary (Warren) Beard ; born, Littleton, Massachu- 
 setts, September 3, 1814 ; admitted, 1839 ; practiced, Pittsfield ; died, Lowell, 
 Massachusetts, October 31, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Beard's father was in early life a noted and successful 
 teacher, and later was agent of the cotton mill in Pittsfield. He 
 had a strong desire that his son should follow a mechanical pur- 
 suit, to which the latter dutifully submitted until he was emanci- 
 pated, when he devoted his time to the acquisition of a more 
 complete education. He took a partial course of instruction at 
 Bowdoin College for two years ; and then commenced the study 
 of the law with Moses Norris at Pittsfield. By his energy, inde- 
 pendence, and decided opinions, he attracted no little attention 
 among the legal and political intimates of Mr. Norris. Thus 
 his interest in law and in politics naturally kept pace with one 
 another. 
 
 In 1839 Mr. Beard became a partner of Mr. Norris in Pitts- 
 field. This relation continued for three years, and until Mr. 
 Beard left the State. He practiced his profession with credit and 
 success in Lowell, Massachusetts, for about fourteen years, and 
 then transferred his office, in 1856, to Boston. While in Lowell 
 he was chosen, in 1851, a member of the state Senate. In Oc- 
 tober, 1853, he was appointed assistant Treasurer of the United 
 States, and in 1860 cashier of the custom house in Boston. Not 
 long after this his health gave way. He quitted Boston and 
 returned to Lowell, where his connections resided, and made the 
 attempt to continue his legal practice ; but his strength was 
 unequal to the task, and his earthly career closed at the age of 
 forty-eight. 
 
 He was an upright and downright man, gifted with a powerful 
 
188 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and impressive physique, a frank, generouSj and fearless dispo- 
 sition, " superior ability, and high moral character." His pluck 
 and tenacity, the honesty of his convictions, and his unblemished 
 reputation gave him great moral power, and he was a most effec- 
 tive speaker in the court-room and upon the platform. 
 
 His first wife was Mary A. Todd of Pittsfield, a sister of the 
 wife of Moses Norris. They were married, September 7, 1836. 
 Mrs. Beard died in 1853, and Mr. Beard married Abba W. Man- 
 sur of Lowell, January 3, 1854. Of his three children by his 
 former marriage, onlj' one now survives. 
 
 JOHN BEDEL. 
 
 Son of General Moody and Mary (Hunt) Bedel ; born, Indian Stream ter- 
 ritory, July 8, 1822 ; admitted, 1850 ; practiced, Bath ; died there, February 
 26, 1875. 
 
 It was in the schools of Bath, supplemented by the seminary at 
 Newbury, Vermont, that Mr. Bedel obtained his education. In 
 1843 he cofiimenced studying law with Harry Hibbard at Bath, 
 but in 1847, before he had completed his five years' apprentice- 
 ship, he enlisted as a private in the army, for service in the war 
 with Mexico. In two months he rose to be sergeant, in nine 
 months to be lieutenant, and during a great part of 1848 he was 
 in command of a company. After the war was closed, in 1849, he 
 resumed his place in Mr. Hibbard's office, and at the same time 
 employed himself considerably as soldiers' claim agent. He was 
 admitted in 1850, and became the next year a partner of Mr. 
 Hibbard. He is described as able to " talk pretty saucy " in 
 proper cases, but apparently had no great love for his profession. 
 
 In 1853, after a practice of three years, he obtained an appoint- 
 ment in the United States Treasury Department, and went to 
 Washington, which he made his home for the next eight years. 
 His duties required him to deal with the accounts of men who 
 had failed to meet their obligations to the government, and his 
 accurate habits and decision made him an excellent officer. 
 
 At the first clash of arms in 1861, the warlike spirit which he 
 had inherited from two generations of soldier ancestors impelled 
 him to the field. His zeal and military experience procured him 
 the appointment of major of the Third New Hampshire Regi- 
 ment in 1861, and he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in June, 
 1862, and colonel in 1864, while in the hands of the enemy. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 189 
 
 In July, 1863, he was taken prisoner in the assault on Fort 
 Wagner, while far in advance of his men. He was detained five 
 months before being enlarged on parole, and was treated with such 
 harshness and rigor that upon his release he proceeded at once to 
 Washington, and made to the President a full statement of the 
 circumstances, with a view to expedite the exchange of prisoners, 
 a purpose to which his representations are supposed to have 
 materially contributed. He then returned to his regiment in Wil- 
 mington, North Carolina, and continued to serve until hostilities 
 were ended. He was brevetted brigadier-general, to rank from 
 March, 1865. 
 
 At the close of the war he returned to Bath, and engaged in the 
 manufacture of starch. He was chosen a member of the popular 
 branch of the legislature in 1868-69, and was the candidate of the 
 Democratic party for the office of governor in 1869 and 1870. 
 His death occurred from over-exertion and exposure on the occa- 
 sion of the burning of his starch mill, on a cold and stormy day. 
 
 In December, 1853, he was married to Mary A., daughter of 
 Jesse Bowers of Nashua. They had seven children, three of 
 whom were living at their father's decease. 
 
 GEORGE BELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel and Lucy (Smith) Bell ; born, Chester, June 24, 1829 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1851 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Manchester ; died, 
 Cleveland, Ohio, September 2, 1864. 
 
 Prepared for college at the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, and 
 for admission to the bar in the office of Wheeler and Faulkner in 
 Keene, Mr. Bell made his first essay in practice in Chicago, Illi- 
 nois. After about two years he returned to this State, and opened 
 an office in Manchester. There he prepared for publication a 
 Digest of the Decisions of the Superior Court, as a continuation 
 to Gilchrist's Digest. It was issued in 1858, and met with uni- 
 versal favor from the profession, until it, as well as Gilchrist's 
 work, was superseded by the Digest of Morrison, ten years later, 
 which covered the ground of both. 
 
 About 1860 Mr. Bell. changed his residence to Cleveland, Ohio. 
 While there he served a year in an Ohio regiment in the Union 
 army. He was a man of marked ability, but diffident, and not 
 gifted with the pushing faculty. His Digest shows him to have 
 
190 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 been not only thoroughly grounded in the law, but also to have 
 formed a critical acquaintance with nice legal distinctions. It is 
 said that he cherished the scheme of preparing something like a 
 Universal American Digest, but his life came to an end too soon 
 to allow him to carry out the design. 
 
 He married Emma A. Preston, of Manchester, August 2, 1859, 
 and died childless. 
 
 JAMES BELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel and Mehitable (Dana) Bell ; born, Francestown, No- 
 vember 13, 1804 ; Bowdoin College, 1822 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Gilman- 
 ton, Exeter, and Gilford; died, Gilford, May 26, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Bell was prepared for college at Phillips Academy, An- 
 dover, Massachusetts. His law education he obtained in the office 
 of his brother, Samuel D. Bell, in Chester, and at the Law 
 School in Litchfield, Connecticut, and he commenced practice in 
 Gilmanton. After a stay there of six years he removed in 1831 
 to Exeter. He devoted himself with great assiduity to his pro- 
 fession. After a time, the extent of his practice made it necessary 
 for him to have an associate in business, and he took as a partner 
 Amos Tuck, who had been his student. For several years their 
 practice in Rockingham and Strafford counties was scarcely 
 equaled by that of any other office. A large portion of it con- 
 sisted of litigated cases, which Mr. Bell almost invariably ar- 
 gued to the court and jury. Upon the trial docket he was counsel 
 for one or the other of the parties in a great majority of all the 
 causes in his own county ; and during the sessions of the courts 
 had scarcely a breathing spell from the opening to the " previous 
 proclamation." As soon as the jury had gone out in one of his 
 cases, he had usually to take out another set of papers to open the 
 next case to another jury ; and so on, with few exceptions, for 
 weeks together throughout the term. Nothing but the most care- 
 ful preparation and exact method would have made such contin- 
 ual mental labor possible. His equable temperament and regular 
 habits enabled him to undergo the strain with the least wear and 
 tear, it is true ; but in process of time the exhausting toil told 
 upon his constitution, and implanted in it the seeds of a linger- 
 ing but surely fatal malady. 
 
 In 1846 he accepted the offer of a position that promised to re- 
 lieve him of much of the confining work of the office and "olirt- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 191 
 
 room. The proprietors of the great manufacturing establishments 
 on the Merrimac Eiver, that had usually suffered from the low 
 water of the summer droughts, conceived the plan of purchasing 
 the lands and rights of flowage around Lake Winnepesaukee, 
 so as to make it a reservoir for their use. This would involve a 
 great variety of questions of title and of riparian rights, which 
 could be properly dealt with only by a lawyer of competent 
 attainments and knowledge of men. These qualities the Win- 
 nepesaukee Land and Waterpower Company found in Mr. Bell, 
 and made him their' agent to conduct the preliminary and far 
 the most difficult part of the business. He gave himself to it 
 with his usual diligence, changing his residence to Gilford for 
 the purpose, and so much to the contentment of his employers 
 that he was retained in the agency as long as he lived. 
 
 Though Mr. Bell had no special liking for political life, he 
 served in the legislature in 1846 from Exeter, and in the con- 
 stitutional convention of 1850 from Gilford, and was twice made 
 the candidate of his party for the office of governor. The party 
 being then in a minority, he was not chosen, but in June, 1855, 
 when a political revolution had given the power to his friends, he 
 was elected a United States senator for a full term. He served 
 in that capacity in the thirty-fourth Congress, and in the extra 
 session in 1857, though so much enfeebled by disease that he was 
 unable to do fair justice to his abilities and acquirements. 
 
 Mr. Bell's qualifications and standing as a lawyer cannot be 
 better described than in the language of Chief Justice Perley : — 
 
 " Mr. Bell was a man of large attainments, and great variety 
 and versatility of powers. Considered as a lawyer, it would not 
 be easy to name one more completely furnished for all exigen- 
 cies in the different departments of the profession. He was an 
 advocate fully equal to the conduct of the weightiest and most 
 difficult cases. As a legal adviser, no man gave a sounder and 
 safer opinion on a naked question of law.^ . . . There was an 
 even balance in his mind and a just proportion in all the parts of 
 his character. . . . There was nothing for which he was more re- 
 markable than for the variety and amount of labor which he was 
 
 1 The point raised by Mr. Bell in the celebrated "guide-board" cases, 
 which relieved several towns from being cast in heavy damages under a care- 
 lessly drawn statute, is a good example of his ingenuity and acumen in dealing 
 with legal questions. See the notice of Jonas B. Bowman. 
 
192 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 able to perform. Without hurry or confusion he disposed of his 
 work with unrivaled ease and dispatch. He was entirely free 
 from all low craft and disingenuous artifice, yet his dexterity and 
 fine tact in the handling of a cause have not been surpassed by 
 any contemporary in this State. . . . He was the most modest 
 and unobtrusive of men, yet was never known to fail in self-pos- 
 session, and in the perfect mastery and control of his faculties. 
 With the greatest mildness and gentleness of manner, he was 
 strenuous and unyielding in the assertion of all his client's sub- 
 stantial rights. ... Of professional deportment a more perfect 
 model could hardly be proposed. The prevailing kindness of his 
 disposition, the delightful courtesy and gentleness of his manners, 
 his good nature and habitual disposition to oblige in all the for- 
 mal parts of business, his perfect good faith and unsullied integ- 
 rity, his untiring patience and freedom from that irritability which 
 his cares and exhausting labors might well have excused, en- 
 deared him in no common degree to his brethren of the legal pro- 
 fession at the bar and on the bench. . . . His life was without a 
 stain, and to the last, most diligently devoted to useful and honor- 
 able labor in the way of his duty." 
 
 Mr. Bell, at the age of twenty-seven, married Judith A., daugh- 
 ter of Nathaniel Upham of Eochester, and left five children. 
 Both his sons studied law, and one practiced for a time in this , 
 State ; and one of his daughters was the wife of Nathaniel G. 
 White, a lawyer of Lawrence, Massachusetts. 
 
 JOSEPH BELL, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Mary (Houston) Bell ; born, Bedford, March 21, 1787 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1807 ; admitted, 1811 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died, Sara- 
 toga, New York, July 25, 1851. 
 
 This able lawyer came of that Londonderry Scotch-Irish stock 
 which has produced so many of the marked men of our State, and 
 though born to narrow circumstances, was aspiring and resolute to 
 obtain a liberal education. This, by his exertions and prudence, 
 he accomplished. One year after his graduation he was employed 
 as preceptor of the academy in Haverhill, and then began his 
 legal studies ; first in the office of Samuel Bell, in Francestown, 
 and subsequently with Samuel Dana of Boston, Massachusetts, 
 and Jeremiah Smith of Exeter. He settled in Haverhill in the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 193 
 
 year 1811, in a very modest way, with few law-books, in a small 
 office, where he also had his bed. His means had been exhausted 
 in his preparation, and at first his prospects were not encouraging ; 
 but soon after, he was appointed cashier of the Grafton Bank, 
 and this was the stepping-stone to fortune. It afforded him a 
 certain income, brought him in contact with business and moneyed 
 men, and gave him a chance to show his capacity. All his leisure 
 hours were devoted to his professional business, which soon be- 
 came considerable. In about three years it engrossed so much of 
 his time that he resigned the cashiership, and thenceforward he 
 never lacked clients. 
 
 But all was not plain sailing with him yet. In 1816, when the 
 old court house in Haverhill was burned, he met with a serious 
 accident by stepping on a nail which protruded from a fallen 
 shingle. Lock-jaw was threatened, and was averted only by a 
 serious surgical operation. A fever ensued, which reduced him 
 to the very verge of dissolution ; but by careful nursing he gradu- 
 ally recovered, and at length resumed his business with increasing 
 success. 
 
 In 1821, when he had acquired property and reputation, and 
 had taken a wife, a suit was brought against him by one of the 
 ladies who nursed him in his sickness, for breach of promise of 
 marriage. This was a menace to his reputation and his purse, 
 and he prepared himself resolutely to defend both. The action 
 was twice tried, Richard Fletcher leading for the plaintiff, and 
 assailing the defendant with all the bitterness, it is said, of an un- 
 successful rival ; but the verdict was for the defendant. It was 
 characteristic of Mr. Bell that he taxed his costs and took out 
 execution, and quietly put it away in a pigeon-hole. The death 
 of the plaintiff occurred a few years later, and as she left prop- 
 erty, he then presented his claim to her executor and it was paid. 
 
 For thirty years Mr. Bell was in practice in the county of 
 Grafton, and the greater part of that time was facile princeps 
 there. The courts were regularly attended by several of the 
 ablest lawyers of the State, such as George Sullivan, Ichabod 
 Bartlett, Joel Parker, and Jeremiah Smith, so that Mr. Bell had 
 no easy task to bold his position ; but he did it. Until the last 
 few years of his stay in the State, however, he did not go much 
 out of his own county. But in those later years he was retained 
 13 
 
194 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 in the trial of a number of important causes in Kockingham, 
 Strafford, and perhaps other counties. 
 
 From a letter of the late Chief Justice Parley the following 
 analysis of some of the prominent characteristics of Mr. Bell as a 
 lawyer is condensed : — * 
 
 Mr. Bell was remarkably deliberate, thorough, and methodi- 
 cal in his preparation of a cause, and never willingly trusted 
 to the examinations of others. He was particularly attentive to 
 •the pleadings, a title of the law with which he was extremely 
 familiar. 
 
 He was as far removed as possible from all the low arts by 
 -which clients are sometimes obtained and retained; yet no man 
 could be more patient with clients and assistant counsel. 
 
 His business in Grafton County was very large and miscella- 
 neous, but it was done promptly, without hurry or confusion, and 
 with the utmost method and exactness. His numerous papers 
 were arranged and kept in complete order, and ready to be pro- 
 .duced at once when needed. 
 
 His analysis of facts and of the law was often remarkably 
 -acute and subtle ; but his arguments, whether addressed to the 
 court or jury, were seldom extended to great length. His judg- 
 ment or the natural turn of his mind led him rather to seize on 
 the strong and prominent points of his case, than to run it out 
 into a sifting examination of details. 
 
 He was a most thoroughbred lawyer. His learning was not 
 diffuse and miscellaneous, but deep and very exact. He was con- 
 istitutionally averse to anything like display of his legal attain- 
 ments. His powers and resources appeared greatest when their 
 manifestation was accidental, and partly involuntary, as when 
 some question arose and was discussed incidentally in "the course 
 of a trial. On such occasions Mr. Bell exhibited far greater 
 ability than in the discussion of legal questions formally set down 
 for argument. His keen analysis of facts, his ready command of 
 the most exact legal phraseology, his thorough mastery of legal 
 principles, and his prompt recollection of cases and authorities 
 gave him great advantage where time was not allowed for the 
 plodding preparation which some men require. 
 
 It may be added that Mr. Bell was always ready with his cases 
 whenever they came up in their order, " whether the judge called 
 the docket forwards or backwards." He had a full appreciation 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 195 
 
 of his own abilities and position, and this he manifested by a 
 rather imperious manner, and by high charges for his professional 
 services.^ In dealing with witnesses on the stand, and in address- 
 ing juries, his voice was so loud that it could be heard far outside 
 the court-room. It is said that he was naturally diffident about 
 speaking in public, and found that raising his voice gave him 
 confidence. However this was, his manner and stentorian tones 
 probably impaired his influence with the jury, and he was most 
 successful in his arguments before the judges. 
 
 After he had acquired wealth and standing sufficient, he ap- 
 parently formed a desire for political honors. He had been 
 appointed solicitor for the county of Grafton in 1814, had repre- 
 sented Haverhill in the legislature in 1821, 1828, 1829, and 1830, 
 and had been the candidate of his party for Congress in 1835 ; 
 but his party was in the minority in the State, and the doors 
 of political advancement were closed to him there. This is said 
 to be one of the motives which led him to remove his home to 
 Boston, Massachusetts, in 1842. 
 
 There he entered at once into a lucrative practice, chiefly as 
 chamber counsel, and was elected to the state legislature twice 
 as representative, and two years in the Senate, of which he 
 was chosen the president. But neither nature nor his training 
 had adapted him to a political position. His business sagacity 
 enabled him nearly to double his fortune, after his departure 
 to Boston, and he might well rest content with his high reputation 
 as a lawyer and a man, and the abundant fruits of his labors. 
 
 In his intercourse with others Mr. Bell was rather reserved, and 
 had the reputation of being somewhat proud and exclusive. But 
 to his intimates he unbent, and was social and most agreeable. 
 For some years before his death he suffered with occasional attacks 
 of heart disease, one of which occurred while he was traveling in 
 Scotland with his brother-in-law, Rufus Choate. They had driven 
 to the entrance of Holyrood Castle, when Mr. Bell declined to 
 
 ^ In an important cause which he tried in Strafford County, during the later 
 years of his residence in New Hampshire, his fee was two hundred dollars, 
 which in later times would not be considered very large for a leading lawyer 
 retained to go into a distant county. But then, and to his close-fisted client, it 
 seemed enormous, and in speaking of it to a friend he said, " I have always 
 believed in the doctrine of universal salvation ; but now I think if there is not 
 a hell, there ought to be one ! " But it could not be justly charged that Mr. 
 Bell was dishonorable, or that he took undue advantage of his clients. 
 
196 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 enter the building, but did not allow his companion to know the 
 cause of his refusal. Like the Spartan youth, he bore his suffer- 
 ing in silence. He was too proud and self-contained to parade his 
 infirmity before the eyes of another. 
 
 Dartmouth College gave Mr. Bell the degree of LL. D. in 
 1837. 
 
 He married Catharine, daughter of Mills Olcott of Hanover, 
 September 6, 1821, and had two sons and three daughters. His 
 son, Joseph Mills Bell, became a lawyer. 
 
 LOUIS BELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel and Lucy (Smith) Bell ; born, Chester, March 8, 1837 ; 
 admitted, 1867 ; practiced, Earmington ; died, Wilmington, North Carolina, 
 January 15, 1865. 
 
 The great civil war of 1861 proved that our modern age 
 abounded in examples of heroism of the highest type. At the 
 call of patriotism a very myriad of young, ardent Americans 
 abandoned ease, safety, and plenty to encounter hardship, disease, 
 and the perils of the battlefield. Among that number the sub- 
 ject of this notice was conspicuous. 
 
 Educated at the academies of Derry and Gilford, and at Brown 
 University (where, however, for some reason not to his discredit, 
 ihe appears not to have taken his degree), Louis Bell was fitted by 
 nature and by taste to be a soldier, and was disappointed in not 
 •being able to fit himself for the military profession by a course 
 at West Point. By his reading he made himself thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with military subjects, and thus unconsciously qualified 
 himself for the duties which were in store for him in the future. 
 His favorite studies besides were chemistry and the natural 
 sciences. 
 
 He read law with Edmund L. Cushing of Charlestown, and 
 opened an office in Farmington in 1857, when he was scarcely 
 twenty-one years of age. He entered his profession with a will, 
 as he did everything. 
 
 In two years he was appointed police justice of the town, and 
 in two years more solicitor of Strafford County. It was character- 
 istic of his military tastes that he also held the commission of 
 major on the brigade staff of the state militia. He gave promise 
 of attaining high distinction as a lawyer, but circumstances 
 opened a different career before him. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 197 
 
 The first call for volunteers to suppress the great rebellion, in 
 1861, found Louis Bell ready. He tendered his services to the gov- 
 ernor of the State, and was commissioned captain of the first com- 
 pany in the First Eegiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. After 
 serving out the three months' term for which the regiment was 
 raised, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Fourth, 
 a three years' regiment, and with it was in a short time ordered 
 to Beaufort, South Carolina. There it came under the command 
 of General T. W. Sherman, who on becoming acquainted with 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Bell appointed him his inspector-general and 
 chief of staff. In the spring of 1862 he was promoted to be 
 colonel of the Fourth New Hampshire Regiment, and continued 
 in command of it in South Carolina and Florida for the next two 
 years. 
 
 In April, 1864, he was ordered to Virginia, and put in com- 
 mand of a brigade of five regiments in the Army of the James. 
 With it he participated in the engagements at Drewry's Bluff, at 
 Cold Harbor, and others of less importance, always conducting 
 himself with courage, skill, and credit. His brigade formed a 
 part of both the expeditions against Fort Fisher. He was deeply 
 mortified at the inglorious termination of the first one, and hailed 
 with alacrity the orders for the second, though it was evident that 
 the work was then not to be taken, except by a desperate expen- 
 diture of life. He led his command to the assault of the rebel 
 stronghold with his customary coolness, and had just congratu- 
 lated an officer by bis side on the admirable behavior of his men, 
 when a rifle-ball from the enemy's lines pierced his breast and 
 inflicted a ghastly wound. He was taken by tender hands to 
 the rear, and though he was well aware that his hurt was mortal, 
 he would not allow himself to be removed from the scene until 
 he saw the colors of his own regiment floating proudly over the 
 captured fort. A few hours later his gallant spirit took its 
 flight from earth. President Lincoln recognized his value by 
 conferring upon him the brevet rank of brigadier-general, dated 
 on the day when Fort Fisher fell. 
 
 He was united in marriage, June 8, 1859, to Mary A. P., 
 daughter of Eev. Dr. Nathaniel Bouton of Concord. She sur- 
 vived him but a few months, leaving a son and a daughter. 
 
198 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 SAMUEL NEWELL BELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel D. and Mary H. (Healey) Bell ; born, Chester, March 
 25, 1829 ; Dartmouth College, 1847 ; practiced, Manchester ; died, North 
 Woodstock, February 8, 1889. 
 
 The father of Samuel N. Bell, his grandfather, and his great- 
 grandfather, Samuel Dana, were all of them jurists of note. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was prepared for college at the 
 Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Upon attaining 
 his degree of A. B. he naturally turned to the law for his profes- 
 sion, and studied in the office of William C. Clarke of Man- 
 chester, which place was then and ever after his home. He was 
 engaged in active practice there for above a quarter of a century. 
 His naturally quick parts, and his habits of application, gave him 
 an almost immediate start in his profession. He was a quiet 
 man and made little ado about his business, and had small in- 
 clination for publicity or show. But his opinions, formed after 
 careful study and reflection, were deemed of the highest authority. 
 On two occasions he was tendered the office of chief justice of 
 the highest state court, but declined to accept it. He had little 
 ambition for exalted station, and preferred to keep the control of 
 his time for his private business, and for the scientific studies in 
 which he delighted. Though little of a politician he was induced 
 to accept a nomination for Congress, and sat in the national 
 House two terms, 1871-73 and 1875-77. But he was too inde- 
 pendent to be a strict partisan. 
 
 He possessed remarkable business sagacity and tact. One of 
 his first transactions of importance was the purchase of a valuable 
 block of stores and offices in Manchester. He found it could be 
 bought on favorable terms for cash. The purchase-money (or the 
 most of it) he obtained from savings banks, on long loan, on the 
 security of a mortgage of the building. The stores and offices 
 were so well rented that they not only paid the interest on the 
 money borrowed, but a handsome annual percentage of the prin- 
 cipal, so that in no long period the building " paid for itself," and 
 became the unincumbered property of the purchaser. 
 
 Mr. Bell carried the same careful calculation into all his busi- 
 ness methods. He became the owner of much real estate in and 
 about Manchester, and was largely concerned in many corpora- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 199 
 
 tions, but in none of his ventures did lie rely on the opinions of 
 others ; he investigated for himself and backed his own judg- 
 ments. The sequel proved the wisdom of his conduct. He was 
 at the time of his decease president of the Manchester Street 
 Railroad, and vice-president (and practically manager) of the 
 New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company, both which were 
 among the most successful corporations in the State. 
 
 Somewhat early in his career Mr. Bell turned his attention to 
 the railroad system of New Hampshire, and as usual was satisfied 
 with no half knowledge. It is doubtful if any man, before or since, 
 has ever made himself so thoroughly acquainted with the history 
 and condition of the several lines as he was. He was president 
 of the Concord and Portsmouth, the Suncook Valley, the Pemi- 
 gewasset Valley, the Profile and Franconia Notch railroads, and 
 was clerk of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal. Of these he 
 may be called the father of the Suncook Valley and the Pemige- 
 wasset Valley railroads, for without his faith and encouragement, 
 and steady and continued impulsion, it is questionable whether 
 they would have been in operation at this day. He was rewarded 
 for his enterprise and foresight and judicious management by 
 the accumulation of a large property. 
 
 To his acuteness and business sagacity Mr. Bell joined an 
 untiring industry. He wasted no time. The intervals of his mul- 
 tifarious activities were filled by reading, of a useful sort. He 
 collected a large library, of which a great proportion related to 
 scientific subjects. His habits of thoroughness were visible in his 
 study, as in all else. When a subject engaged his attention, he 
 could not rest till he exhausted it, and if there were books which 
 could enlighten him, he got them without regard to cost. 
 
 He was intei'ested especially in the growth and prosperity of 
 the Manchester Athenaeum, the foundations of which were due in 
 a great measure to the liberality and foresight of his father. He 
 served as an officer of this institution for many years, and it was 
 largely due to him that its collections became so numerous, and of 
 so great utility to the population of the city. 
 
 Mr. Bell enjoyed a wide popularity. But it was not the popu- 
 larity which comes of acquiescence in every one's statements. He 
 was a man of decided convictions, and never hesitated to declare 
 them. It was his very honesty and outspokenness that gave men 
 faith in him. He had a quaint method of expression, and his say- 
 
200 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ings were widely repeated. Men liked to hear what he thought on 
 the topics of the day. His information and his judgment gave 
 tone to the thoughts of numerous others. 
 
 His funeral was attended by the bar of Hillsborough County 
 in a body, and by a great concourse of sorrowing friends. All 
 the banks of Manchester and many of the leading places of 
 business were closed, in testimony of the loss of one of the lead- 
 ing and most re'spected citizens. 
 
 Mr. Bell was never married. 
 
 ABEL HERBERT BELLOWS. 
 
 Son of Abel and Harriet (Houghton) Bellows ; born, London, England, 
 May 28, 1821 ; Harvard College, 1842 ; admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Concord 
 and Walpole ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, March 23, 1889. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Bellows resided in Walpole, and were 
 traveling in Europe at the time of his birth. He was educated 
 at the Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, studied 
 law with Frederic Yose of Walpole, and was graduated LL. B. 
 from Harvard Law School in 1845. He was then received as a 
 partner in the office of his cousin, Henry A. Bellows, afterwards 
 Chief Justice, at Concord, and lived there fifteen years or more, 
 and then returned to Walpole. He was a representative from 
 Walpole in the legislatures of 1865 and 1866. The last few years 
 of his life he spent in Boston. 
 
 He iuherited from his father a handsome property, and al- 
 though he entered the practice of his profession, he probably felt 
 quite independent of it. He was public spirited and liberal. 
 
 In 1867 he was chiefly instrumental in replacing the old toll 
 bridge over the Connecticut at Walpole by a new free bridge. 
 He distinguished himself also by the vigor and pertinacity with 
 which he followed up the perpetrators of the robbery of the sav- 
 ings bank in Walpole in 1864, by which he was a considerable 
 loser. 
 
 The principal offender in that crime was arrested, tried, and 
 after conviction escaped from jail, and was re-arrested and com- 
 mitted to the state prison, from which by the aid of a confederate 
 he again escaped. ^ It was in a great degree owing to the zeal 
 
 1 The bank robber, whose name was Shinborn, was never retaken. But, 
 several years afterwards, an application was made by telegraph to the gov- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 201 
 
 and acumen of Mr. Bellows that he was brought even thus far to 
 justice. 
 
 Mr. Bellows was amiable in disposition, a courteous and refined 
 gentleman, ready to do anything to help a friend, or to forward a 
 public improvement. 
 
 He was married, May 27, 1861, to Julia A. Warren of Boston, 
 Massachusetts, and left a daughter and two sons. 
 
 ASAHEL HICKS BENNETT. 
 
 Son of Nehemiah and Lucy Bennett ; born, Swanzey, 1805 ; admitted, 1830; 
 practiced, Winchester ; died, Davenport, Iowa, July 14, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Bennett is said to have come from old Quaker stock. He 
 was educated at the academies in Chesterfield and Hancock, and 
 after teaching school in his native town, studied law under Tim- 
 othy Reed and Benjamin Kimball of Winchester, and Thomas M. 
 Edwards of Keene. He began to practice in Winchester about 
 1830, and remained there above a quarter of a century, becoming 
 a man of prominence, with a good standing in the community. 
 
 In 18.50 he was a delegate to the convention to amend the 
 Constitution of the State; from 1851 to 1854 he was school com- 
 missioner for Cheshire County, and in 1852 and 1853 he was a 
 member of the state Senate. He had also accumulated property, 
 and was a director in the Winchester Bank. 
 
 An anecdote is preserved of Mr. Bennett which shows that 
 though the blood of Friends flowed in his veins, he did not lack 
 proper spirit. In an important hearing which he was conducting 
 before a somnolent Judge of Probate, he was annoyed when 
 he came to his argument to find that the Judge, after a hearty 
 dinner, gave unmistakable and audible evidence of being asleep. 
 
 emor and council of the State for his pardon, upon condition that he would 
 make good the stolen property. No attention was paid to the application. 
 Upon surprise being expressed at the escaped prisoner's wish for a pardon, 
 when he was already at large and out of the jurisdiction, a gentleman who 
 knew the ways of criminals, and the manner in which their booty is extorted 
 from them, answered that Shinborn was undoubtedly compelled to pay black- 
 mail to the officers of the city where he lived, by threats of informing against 
 him so as to procure his extradition to this State to serve out the remainder 
 of his sentence. And in reply to the inquiry where Shinborn could possibly 
 get the means to replace the stolen securities, the answer was, " By breaking 
 another bank ! " 
 
202 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Bennett stopped, his Honor awoke, and Mr. Bennett remon- 
 strated that as his client's interests were at stake, the Judge ought 
 to remain awake and listen to what was said in his behalf. The 
 Judge denied the impeachment, and said that he was only medi- 
 tating with his eyes shut. " I '11 be ," retorted Bennett indig- 
 nantly, " if I believe the Court is awake when he snores ! " The 
 Court slept no more while the hearing lasted, but the story goes 
 that he " got even " with the counsel by deciding the case against 
 him. 
 
 About the year 1856 Mr. Bennett removed with his family to 
 Davenport, Iowa, thenceforward his home. He received the ap- 
 pointment of Judge of the Court for the Fourteenth Judicial Dis- 
 trict in Scott County, Iowa, in 1857. In 1872 he was chosen 
 mayor of the city of Davenport, and was instrumental in intro- 
 ducing a system of water-works and other improvements. It 
 is evident that though transplanted somewhat late in life, he took 
 kindly to his new habitat. 
 
 His wife was Abby A. G., daughter of Moses Smith, a lawyer 
 of Lancaster, Massachusetts. They had five sons and four daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 JACOB BENTON. 
 
 Son of Samuel S. and Esther (Prouty) Benton ; born, Waterford, Vermont, 
 August 19, 1814 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, Septem- 
 ber 29, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Benton attended academies in Vermont, and graduated 
 from the seminary in Manchester, in that State. In 1841 he 
 commenced to study law with Heaton and Heed at Montpelier, 
 and in a few months assumed the principalship of the academy at 
 Concord Corner, Vermont, at the same time pursuing his law 
 studies with Henry A. Bellows of Littleton. In 1843 he removed 
 permanently to Lancaster. He entered the law office of Ira Young 
 there, and became his partner. Mr. Benton was devoted to his 
 profession, and relinquished its active duties only with his life. 
 
 In 1854 he entered the state legislature as a representative, and 
 was rechosen in each of the two succeeding years. It was an 
 exciting period in the politics of New Hampshire, and the name 
 of General Benton (for he held the position of brigadier-general 
 of militia) became prominent before the voters of his section. In 
 1867 he was elected representative in Congress. He kept his 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 203 
 
 seat two terms, and was an active and useful member. His 
 speech in February, 1868, in arraignment of the policy of Presi- 
 dent Johnson, had a wide circulation, and was considered a power- 
 ful exposition of the views of his party associates. 
 
 He was in person tall, well proportioned, erect, with a frank 
 and open countenance. His candor and courage corresponded 
 with his look. His law business was large, his methods were 
 manly and straightforward. In conducting litigation he had no 
 inclination for the technicalities and subtleties which are by some 
 mistakenly deemed the indicia of a great lawyer. He preferred 
 to trust to the intrinsic merits of his case, and to meet his op- 
 ponents in the open field, where no advantage was to be taken. 
 In his forensic addresses he selected the strong points in contro- 
 versy, and handled them with logical power and skill, calling to 
 his aid a good-humored wit, which enlivened his speech and drove 
 home his arguments and illustrations. His native shrewdness 
 and knowledge of men seldom misled him as to what could be 
 successfully attempted, and his never-failing tact enabled him to 
 make the most of the mistakes of his opponent, while exposing 
 himself as little as possible. 
 
 Mr. Benton's powerful physique and prudent habits of life 
 preserved his bodily and intellectual powers unimpaired to the 
 last, and he was as capable of business at seventy-eight as in 
 middle age. His death was the result of being thrown from his 
 carriage. 
 
 He was married in 1860 to Louisa Dwight, daughter of Gen- 
 eral Neal Dow of Portland, Maine. 
 
 JOHN MACDONOUGH BERRY. 
 
 Son of John and Marianna (Hogan) Berry ; born, Pittsfield, September 18, 
 1827 ; Yale College, 1847 ; admitted, 1850 ; practiced, Alton ; died, Minne- 
 apolis, Minnesota, November 8, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Berry prepared himself for college at the academies in 
 Pittsfield, Gilmanton, and Andover, Massachusetts, and studied 
 for his profession with Arthur F. L. Norris of Pittsfield, and Ira 
 Perley of Concord. He settled in practice at Alton in 1850, and 
 lived there two years, the sum of his professional life in this State, 
 during which, however, he gave promise of the eminence that he 
 subsequently attained. 
 
204 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His first removal was to Janesville, Wisconsin, for two years ; 
 thence to Austin, and afterwards to Faribault, Minnesota, where 
 he practiced eleven years, and until he was elected an associate 
 Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. In that position he 
 was retained by successive elections to the time of his death, 
 when he was the oldest of the associate Justices. 
 
 He had been a member of the territorial legislature of Minne- 
 sota in 1856-57, and a senator of the State in 1863 and 1864 ; 
 and in each of those bodies was chairman of the judiciary commit- 
 tee. He was also a member of the board of Regents of the State 
 University in 1860 and 1861. 
 
 Upon his decease a committee of the bar of the State presented 
 to the Court a series of resolutions containing the highest tributes 
 to his natural and acquired qualifications for the judicial station, 
 his ability, learning, sense of justice, independence, and upright- 
 ness, and to his estimable private character. 
 
 In 1862 Judge Berry was married to Alice Parker. They had 
 four children, a son and three daughters. 
 
 GEOEGE ONSLOW BETTON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Silas and Mary (Thornton) Betton ; born, Salem, June 8, 
 1807 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; practiced, Eppiug and Derry ; died, Bos- 
 cawen, June 25, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Betton pursued his law studies with his brother, Thornton 
 Betton of Derry, and opened his ojB&ce for practice in Epping 
 about the year 1838. He remained there three years, and near 
 the time of his brother's death in Derry returned to that town, 
 and continued practice there until 1845, when he abandoned the 
 law. 
 
 He afterwards became a clerk in the post-office in Boston, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 NINIAN CLARK BETTON. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Anna (Ramsay) Betton ; born, New Boston, January 
 10, 1787 ; Dartmouth College, 1814 ; practiced, Hanover ; died, Boston, 
 Massachusetts, November 19, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Betton was left an orphan before he was four years old. 
 At the age of fourteen he was put into a store, but having no 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 205 
 
 taste for trade, he succeeded in preparing himself at the Atkinson 
 Academy for a liberal education. 
 
 He read law in part in the office of Ezekiel Webster at Bos- 
 cawen, and in part in that of his more distinguished brother, Dan- 
 iel Webster, at Portsmouth, and Boston, Massachusetts. In the 
 latter city he was admitted, and began practice. Not long after- 
 ward, he transferred his residence to Hanover in this State, where 
 he remained two or three years, and then returned to Boston. 
 His professional experience in New Hampshire was too short to 
 gain him any distinctive reputation here ; but by the bar in Bos- 
 ton he was esteemed a capable lawyer and an honest man, well 
 read in the learning of the law, and a skillful counselor. He 
 held important positions in the city government and in the legisla- 
 ture of the State. 
 
 He married his cousin, Wealthy J., daughter of Silas Betton 
 of Salem, and had three sons, one of whom, George E. Betton, 
 succeeded him in the practice of law in Boston. 
 
 SILAS BETTON. 
 
 Son of James and Elizabeth (Diekey) Betton ; born, Windham, August 26j 
 1767 ; Dartmouth College, 1787 ; practiced, Salem ; died there, January 22, 
 1822. 
 
 Mr. Betton prepared himself for college under the tuition of the 
 E,ev. Simon W^illiams of Windham, served his legal apprentice- 
 ship in the office of Samuel Dana of Amherst, and settled as an 
 attorney in Salem about the year 1790. He was the first lawyer 
 in the place, and there was no friendly feeling, but a jealous 
 suspicion among the common people in regard to members of 
 his profession. When they came to know him, however, their 
 prejudices thawed before his genial qualities, and he became well 
 liked. His townsmen chose him to represent them in the state 
 legislature in 1797 and the two following years, and again in 
 1810 and 1811. He was honored with a seat in the New Hamp- 
 shire Senate in 1801, 1802, and 1803 ; and with two elections to 
 the Congress of the United States, serving from 1803 to 1807. 
 In 1813, when Josiah Butler was removed from the office of 
 sheriff of Kockingham County, Mr. Betton was appointed in his 
 place, and filled the office five years. 
 
 As a legislator he was attentive to his duties and true to his 
 
206 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 constituents, not a speechmaker, but quite capable of taking his 
 share in the transaction of public business. His courage and 
 stalwart vigor are said to have stood him in good stead in Wash- 
 ington, as there were fire-eating politicians in those times who 
 used to threaten to use the argument of physical force upon their 
 Northern opponents, and some of the latter felt safer to have a 
 miiscular friend like Betton for a companion in their walks abroad. 
 
 He was respectable as a lawyer, not a trier of causes, nor a mere 
 money-seeker. In his dealings he was liberal, and is said to have 
 lent a helping hand to the needy, and to have had the respect of 
 all his neighbors. He was a contributor to the newspaper press, 
 and possessed a plain and easy style of composition. Robert 
 Dinsmoor, the " Rustic Bard," as he was termed, was his friend 
 and warm admirer. In the volume of the latter's metrical pro- 
 ductions, published in 1828, are several letters of Mr. Betton, and 
 frequent mention of his name in terms of honest praise. 
 
 Mr. Betton's wife was Mary, eldest daughter of Matthew 
 Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
 He left seven children, two of whom became lawyers. 
 
 THORNTON BETTON. 
 
 Son of Silas and Mary (Thornton) Betton ; born, Salem, April 3, 1800 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1820 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Salem and Derry ; died, 
 Derry, September 16, 1841. 
 
 Upon his graduation from Dartmouth College, Mr. Betton 
 entered the office of James Thom of Derry as a student, and 
 after his three years' novitiate, set up practice in Salem, his na- 
 tive town. He continued there six years, in the last three of 
 which he represented the town in the state legislature ; and then 
 removed to Derry. 
 
 He had the reputation of being a lawyer of ability, and was 
 employed in some cases of importance. He had little of the 
 open, outspoken manner of his father, but was rather reserved, 
 and kept his own counsel. Perhaps from this circumstance he 
 got the name of being something of a schemer, and men were 
 cautious in their dealings with him. He was, however, a stirring 
 man, and had a considerable business. 
 
 He married, in 1832, Mary E. B. H., daughter of Captain 
 Caleb H. Hopkins of Portsmouth, and left three sons. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 207 
 
 ELIJAH BINGHAM. 
 
 Son of James and Mary (Willey) Bingliam ; born, Lempster, February 24, 
 1800 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Lempster and Alstead ; died, Cleveland, 
 Obio, July 10, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Bingham had some experience as a teacher before entering 
 Dartmouth College, which he did from Appleton Academy, at 
 New Ipswich, in 1818. Finding that he was not getting the full 
 benefit of his collegiate instruction by reason of an imperfection 
 in his hearing, he quitted his class in March, 1819, and the next 
 year was admitted into the office of his brother, James H. Bing- 
 ham, as a student at law. He completed his studies in 1825, and 
 in October of that year made an excursion to Cleveland, Ohio. 
 On his way he stopped at Buffalo, New York, on the very impor- 
 tant occasion when the Erie Canal was opened amid great rejoic- 
 ings, connecting the waters of the Great Lakes with those of the 
 Hudson River. 
 
 Mr. Bingham was so much pleased with Cleveland that he 
 made arrangements after reaching home to return thither and 
 enter into the practice of the law. But the death of a brother at 
 Lempster demanded his services at that place to settle the estate, 
 and resulted in his opening a law office and receiving the appoint- 
 ment of postmaster at Lempster. He remained there but about 
 a year, and then became his brother's successor in Alstead. He 
 continued there until 1835, when he carried out his long-deferred 
 plan of establishing himself in Cleveland, Ohio. His journey 
 thither was accomplished by private carriage, by stage-coach, and 
 canal, and occupied no fewer than nine days. 
 
 He engaged in the flour-milling business in Cleveland, which 
 proving successful, he became the owner of real estate, and im- 
 proved it in agriculture, horticulture, and in the cultivation of the 
 vine for the purpose of wine manufacture. 
 
 In his early life Mr. Bingham was an intimate associate of 
 Jonas Chickering, afterwards the well-known piano manufacturer. 
 He watched the progress of the latter with much interest, and 
 purchased the first instrument he made, June 23, 1823, for the 
 lady who afterwards became Mr. Bingham's wife. The same 
 piano, after being used nearly seventy years, was recently bought 
 by Mr. Chickering's son, as a memento of his father. 
 
208 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Bingham married Thankful C, daughter of Major Samuel 
 C. Hutchinson of Alstead, October 25, 1827. They lived to- 
 gether long enough to celebrate their golden wedding. Of their 
 seven children, two survived their father. 
 
 JAMES HERVEY BINGHAM. 
 
 Son of James and Lima (Hibbard) Bingham ; born, Lempster, April 11, 
 1781 ; Dartmouth College, 1801 ; admitted 1804 ; practiced, Alstead and 
 Claremont ; died, Washington, District of Columbia, March 31, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Bingham was a classmate of Daniel Webster at Phillips 
 Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College ; read law in the office 
 of Benjamin West at Charlestown, and commenced practice at 
 Alstead. He remained in that place twenty-two years, and was 
 chosen representative to the General Court four years, and a 
 state senator three. He left Alstead for Claremont to assume the 
 post of cashier in the newly incorporated bank in that town, at 
 the urgent desire of George B. Upham, the president and chief 
 stockholder of the bank. After fifteen years of faithful service 
 Mr. Bingham resigned the office of cashier, and removed four 
 years afterwards to Cleveland, Ohio, the home of his brother 
 Elijah. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Bingham, having become reduced in circumstances 
 by reason of unfortunate investments, received a clerkship in the 
 Department of the Interior at Washington, through the influence 
 of Daniel Webster, and occupied it during the remainder of his 
 life. The early friendship between these gentlemen was never 
 forgotten by either. The correspondence between them has been 
 published, and is creditable to the memory of both. 
 
 Mr. Bingham's first wife was Mary, daughter of Samuel Stevens 
 of Charlestown. She died in 1818, and he married Charlotte 
 M., daughter of William A. Kent of Concord. He left no chil- 
 dren. 
 
 WILLIAM NOYES BLAIR. 
 
 Son of Joseph C. and Dolly (Noyes) Blair ; born, Campton, June 23, 1834; 
 practiced, Campton and Laconia ; died, Campton, May 18, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Blair was educated at the academies in Plymouth and New 
 Hampton, and read law with Napoleon B. Bryant of Plymouth, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 209 
 
 and Tolman Willey of Boston, Massachusetts. In that city he 
 was admitted to the bar in 1857, and immediately returned to 
 Campton to commence practice. A year later he transferred his 
 office to Laconia. He was superintending school committee of 
 Laconia in 1859 ; solicitor of Belknap County from 1861, two 
 terms, until 1871 ; and state senator in 1870. 
 
 He is described by a friend as possessing an active, strong, and 
 clear mind, well read in his profession, full of zeal, and ambitious 
 of advancement; interested in all matters of public concern, 
 sincere, and honorable. He was a good advocate, and conducted 
 with success important prosecutions, while county solicitor. In a 
 good number of litigated causes his services were retained, and he 
 was regarded as one of the rising men of his time. 
 
 He married, August 5, 1862, Josephine V. Ranlett of Laconia, 
 and left two daughters. 
 
 DANIEL BLAISDELL 
 
 Son of Hon. Elijah and Mary (Fogg) Blaisdell ; born, Pittsfleld, August 26, 
 1806 ; Dartmouth College, 1827 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Haverhill, Leb- 
 anon, and Hanover ; died, Hanover, August 24, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell prepared himself for college mainly at Kimball 
 Union Academy in Plainfield, under the tuition of Rev. Israel 
 Newell. He studied law in the office of Joseph Bell at Haver- 
 hill. Two months after becoming an attorney he commenced 
 practice as partner of John Nelson in Haverhill, and there con- 
 tinued for something over a year, when he removed to Lebanon. 
 He stayed but little longer there, and then settled for life in 
 Hanover. 
 
 In 1835 he received the appointment of treasurer of Dartmouth 
 College, and held it till his death, a period of forty years, which 
 is believed to be the longest term of service of any officer of that 
 institution. He was a representative from Hanover in the legis- 
 latures of 1839, 1840, 1841, 1865, and 1866, and a senator in 
 1863 and 1864. He was also a presidential elector in 1860. In 
 the year last mentioned he was chieily instrumental in establish- 
 ing the Dartmouth Savings Bank in Hanover; and in 1864 in 
 organizing the Dartmouth National Bank ; and became the presi- 
 dent of both. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell was noticeable for his pleasing address and gen- 
 14 
 
210 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tlemanly manners. At the same time he was a keen business 
 man, and. looked well after the main chance. Industrious and 
 zealous as a lawyer, and well versed in professional learning, he 
 gained and preserved, in a remarkable degree, the esteem and 
 confidence of the people among whom his life was passed. 
 
 He was married. May 30, 1832, to Charlotte Osgood of Haver- 
 hill. They had two children, a son and a daughter. 
 
 ELIJAH BLAISDELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel and Sally (Springer) Blaisdell ; born, Canaan, October 
 30, 1782 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Canaan and Lebanon ; died, Lebanon, 
 October 10, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell was bred to the occupation of a shoemaker. At 
 the age of twenty-seven, while working at his trade in Pittsfield, 
 and having the responsibility of a wife and three children, he de- 
 termined to become a lawyer. He studied in the office of a prac- 
 titioner in Montpelier, Vermont. Being admitted there, he cast 
 about for a while in search of a promising location, and at length 
 settled in Canaan. Thomas H. Pettingill was already established 
 there, and a second lawyer seemed to be a desideratum. Mr. 
 Blaisdell remained twenty-one years in Canaan, and was often 
 chosen to fill town offices, and in 1827 and 1828 was elected 
 representative to the legislature. In 1829, when a great political 
 change in New Hampshire occurred, Mr. Blaisdell transferred his 
 allegiance from the Federal to the Jackson party, the immediate 
 occasion of which was said to be an interview which he enjoyed 
 with " Old Hickory," about the time of his inauguration. 
 
 In 1833 he moved to Lebanon, and about the same time was 
 commissioned "side" judge of the Court of Common Pleas for 
 the county of Grafton. This office he resigned in 1834, and was 
 appointed in the succeeding year solicitor for the same county, 
 and reappointed five years after. He was also the colonel of a 
 regiment of militia. 
 
 Though Mr. Blaisdell appears to have found difficulty in ob- 
 taining entrance to the bar of this State, he is represented to 
 have possessed a sufficiency of professional knowledge ; and 
 there is no question that he was a man of a decided character. In 
 the " justice hearings," which were apt to be occasions of sharp 
 encounters of words, at least, in his time, he was fully capable 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 211 
 
 of holding his own, as he appears to have been, in fact, in every 
 position that he occupied. 
 
 Judge Blaisdell was married, first, in 1803, to Mary Fogg of 
 Hampton. She bore him eleven children. His second wife was 
 Mrs. Mary Kingsbury of Plainfield. One of his sons was a 
 lawyer. 
 
 NICHOLAS BLAISDELL. 
 
 Son of Robiuson and Mary (Churchill) Blaisdell ; born, Madison, March 
 29, 1832 ; practiced, Madison ; died, Jacksonville, Florida, December 19, 
 1885. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell obtained his education at the academy in Parsons- 
 field, Maine, and at the seminary in North Scituate, Rhode 
 Island, where he completed his preparation for college. He then 
 engaged in teaching school, two years in New Jersey, and after- 
 wards several terms in Massachusetts. He entered the Harvard 
 Law School in 1859, and after taking his degree of LL. B. in 
 1861, went into the office of Paine and Herrick in Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, and was there admitted. He remained in Boston until 
 1869, and then practiced two years in New York. In 1871 he 
 returned to Madison, but never engaged much in the practice of 
 the law afterwards. 
 
 He is represented as of fair legal attainments and ability, and 
 a good scholar ; a man of strict integrity, who entered with much 
 zeal into whatever he undertook. He was many years superin- 
 tendent of schools in Madison. 
 
 His wife was Martha C. Hood of Somerville, Massachusetts. 
 They were married February 21, 1867, and had one child, a 
 daughter. 
 
 EGBERT TIBBETTS BLAZO. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Abigail (Chapman) Blazo ; born, Parsonsfield, Maine, 
 August 11, 1797 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Moultonborough and Sandwich ; 
 died, Parsonsfield, Maine, May 26, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Blazo, who lived to be the oldest of the lawyers admitted 
 to the bar of Straflford County, prepared himself for college 
 at the academy in WoKeborough, and studied his profession 
 with Samuel Emerson and Aaron B. Hoyt of Sandwich. He 
 practiced four years at Moultonborough and five at Sandwich, 
 
212 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and then returned to his native town in Maine to pass the re- 
 mainder of his life. As a business lawyer he was esteemed to 
 have excellent qualifications, but he had little ambition to appear 
 in the higher courts. He was successful in the management of 
 his affairs, and became one of the wealthiest men in his town. 
 He took great interest in the cultivation of his lands, and retired 
 from practice a few years before his decease. 
 
 He married Mary, daughter of James O. Freeman of Moulton- 
 borough, and had four children, two sons and two daughters. 
 
 JONATHAN BLISS. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Martha (Martin) Bliss ; born, Randolph, Vermont, 
 July 15, 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1824 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Plym- 
 ,outh and Haverhill ; died, Cleveland, Ohio, July 27, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Bliss read law at the school in Northampton, Massachu- 
 setts, with Joseph Bell at Haverhill, and William C. Thompson 
 at Plymouth, and began practice at the latter place in 1828. In 
 four years he changed his residence to Haverhill, and tarried an 
 equal length of time, when he migrated to Gainsville, Alabama. 
 There he carried on the practice of his profession to the end of 
 his active life. 
 
 Up to the year 1861 he was extremely successful and prosper- 
 ous. When the madness of secession began to rage in the South, 
 he had acquired property of the value of a hundred thousand 
 dollars. Knowing the peaceable but determined temper of the 
 North as he did, he strove with all his might to dissuade his 
 neighbors from rushing into armed rebellion, but all to no pur- 
 pose. Soon he was summoned to declare himself on one side or 
 the other, and reluctantly decided that he must cast his lot with 
 the section where he dwelt. As an earnest of his sincerity he 
 raised a military company, and armed and equipped them at an 
 expense of twenty thousand dollars. They went into the Confed- 
 erate army seventy-two strong, but only one sixth of that number 
 ever returned to their homes. Mr. Bliss lost a large proportion 
 of his property by the war. 
 
 As the greater part of his legal life was spent in Alabama, it 
 seems proper to seek there for an account of him. In an amus- 
 ing volume called " Flush Times in Alabama and Mississippi," 
 by J. G. Baldwin, we find him described under the name of Jona- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 213 
 
 than Blass, as he was probably known to the uneducated Alabami- 
 ans. He is represented as a distinguished member of the legal 
 fraternity, who had maintained a leading position in the profession 
 many years ; his masculine sense, acuteness, and shrewdness re- 
 lieved and mellowed by fine social habits and an original and 
 genial humor. He had a remarkably keen and quick sense of the 
 ridiculous, and some whims and prejudices. He is also described 
 as an elder of the Presbyterian Church and a man of no small 
 dignity of character. The judgment of one of the inferior officers 
 of the law is thus pronounced upon Mr. Bliss in these words: 
 " Old Blass knows, when it comes to hard law, all the law they is ; 
 but whether he can norate it from the stump, that is the ques- 
 tion ! " 
 
 There was no occasion to raise that question, apparently, for a 
 much better judge, living in New England, who knew Mr. Bliss 
 well, averred that he was not only a good lawyer but he could 
 talk! 
 
 Mr. Bliss had three wives ; he married, first, Lucretia, daugh- 
 ter of William Leverett of Windsor, Vermont ; second, Mary, 
 daughter of Dr. Samuel Kidder of Charlestown, Massachusetts ; 
 third, Maria Kidder of Medford, Massachusetts. His death oc- 
 curred while he was upon a journey. 
 
 FRANCIS NEWTON BLOOD. 
 
 Son of Francis and Margaret (Patterson) Blood ; born, Hillsborough, No- 
 vember 26, 1829 ; practiced, Hillsborough ; died there, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Blood's father died while his son was quite young, and the 
 latter grew up in very narrow circumstances, under the charge of 
 his widowed mother. He worked in the factory at Hillsborough 
 till he earned enough money to defray his expenses as a student 
 at the Tubbs Union Academy in Washington. After tarrying 
 there as long as his resources permitted, he went to Lowell, Mas- 
 sachusetts, and by manual labor acquired the means to enable him 
 to begin the study of the law in the office of Samuel H. Ayer of 
 Hillsborough. It was in 1853, probably, that he was admitted as 
 an attorney, and he commenced practice in Hillsborough, in the 
 same office which had been, years before, the scene of Frank- 
 lin Pierce's early legal labors. 
 
 The voters of Hillsborough sent him as representative in the 
 
214 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 state legislature four successive years, beginning in 1861. He 
 was an earnest and faithful member, and acted one or two years, 
 at least, upon the judiciary committee. In his legal practice he 
 was thorough, painstaking, and very methodical ; in all his deal- 
 ings he was upright and honorable. His financial management 
 was excellent, and at his death he left an estate of considerable 
 amount, which he had gained in the practice of his profession. 
 
 He was married, November 8, 1853, to Ophelia A., daughter of 
 Eev. Joseph Barber of Alstead. They had no children. 
 
 WILLIAM BOARDMAN. 
 
 Son of William and Martha (Lane) Boardman ; born, Newmarket, July 31, 
 1779 ; practiced, Farmington ; died, Newmarket, February 4, 1808. 
 
 Mr. Boardman was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, 
 entering in 1798, at the age of eighteen. His legal studies he 
 pursued in the office of Ebenezer Smith of Durham ; and he 
 entered upon practice in Farmington about 1806. But in the 
 course of one or two years he returned to Newmarket, by reason 
 of the failure of his health, it is supposed, and his early death 
 occurred in that place. 
 
 WILLIAM RICE BOARDMAN. 
 
 Sou of Dr. John H. and Susan R. (Rice) Boardman ; born, Portsmouth, 
 1848 ; admitted, 1872 ? ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, February 24, 
 1880. 
 
 Mr. Boardman was educated in the public schools of Ports- 
 mouth and the Phillips Exeter Academy, and studied his profes- 
 sion under John S. H. Frink, in his native place. His practice 
 never grew to be extensive, and was chiefly confined to his office, 
 as he was so lame as to require the aid of crutches. 
 
 He was a good lawyer, of fine intellect and sound judgment, 
 a most entertaining companion, with a large fund of information, 
 a keen wit, and a ready appreciation of the ludicrous. His powers 
 of imitation were excellent. As a friend he was steadfast, and 
 it is believed that he never had an enemy. 
 
 He never married. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 215 
 
 BENJAMIN BORDMAN. 
 
 Son of Colonel Amos and Mary (Lewis) Bordman ; born, South Reading, 
 Massachusetts, February 15, 1798 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Ossipee, Bath, 
 Concord, Sanbornton, etc. ; died. Concord, April 3, 1871. 
 
 At the age of twenty years Mr. Bordman was in Concord, en- 
 gaged in teaching. There he remained, pursuing the study of the 
 law in the office of Samuel Fletcher, his brother-in-law, till his 
 admission in 1825. He then went to Ossipee, where he practiced 
 three years ; then to Bath, and there entered into partnership 
 with Ira GoodaU. He stayed in Bath but a few months before 
 he sold his interest to Andrew S. Woods, and tried his fortune 
 in Conway. In 1832 he left Conway and returned to Concord, 
 where he remained only a year, and then opened an office in San- 
 bornton. There and at Meredith Bridge and Gilford he passed 
 the succeeding fourteen years. Lawrence, Massachusetts, next 
 became his abode for nearly twenty years, when he went back to 
 Concord until the termination of his life. 
 
 Mr. Bordman was evidently not averse to novelty and change, 
 and could hardly have felt much local attachment. He informed 
 Moody Kent, while at Concord in 1833, that he meant to go back 
 to Strafford County, " he could make more money there." In his 
 case, however, it is believed that the old adage about the rolling 
 stone was verified, and that he failed to find an Eldorado in spite 
 of all his removals. 
 
 All accounts agree that he was quite well informed in his pro- 
 fession, active, enterprising, and somewhat pushing. This natu- 
 rally brought him sometimes in conflict with others. Wrangling 
 among counsel in justice courts and in similar public contests was 
 much in vogue in the earlier part of the century. A story is told 
 of an encounter between him and Joel Eastman of Conway, in 
 their earlier days, in which the latter, who was the stronger intel- 
 lectually and physically, deposited his adversary under the table. 
 
 Mr. Bordman was ready of speech, and at some period of his 
 life had a very large practice, and tried causes with considerable 
 ability. He was probably not a very unfair specimen of the 
 practitioners of his time. 
 
 It is stated in the History of Sanbornton that Mr. Bordman 's 
 house at Gilford " was for years the pleasant home of the judges 
 during the sessions of the courts." 
 
216 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Ann, daughter of Thomas Stickney of Concord. 
 They had several children. 
 
 JONAS BAPSON BOWMAN. 
 
 Son of Dr. Zadock Bowman ; born, Gilmanton, c. 1795 ; admitted, 1820 ; 
 practiced, Bedford and Manchester ; died, Bedford, c. 1861. 
 
 This gentleman studied his profession first with Jeremiah H. 
 Woodman of Rochester, and afterwards with James Parker of 
 Bedford, whose partner in practice he afterwards became and 
 remained until the death of Mr. Parker in 1822. Mr. Bowman 
 continued practice in Bedford for more than twenty years, and 
 then established his office in Manchester. There for a time John 
 Porter, Jr., was his partner. They did a considerable business, 
 and made many writs. 
 
 Mr. Bowman managed and argued causes in court to some ex- 
 tent, and was quite successful as a collecting lawyer. He dealt a 
 good deal in real estate, and had a turn for speculating and money- 
 making. He was reasonably successful, and when he withdrew 
 from practice had accumulated a fair property. 
 
 He became known outside of his own vicinity chiefly by a num- 
 ber of suits which he brought against towns in two or more coun- 
 ties for his own benefit, as was believed, though perhaps not in his 
 own name, to recover penalties for failure to keep up guide- 
 boards at the intersection of highways. The statute, in the Re- 
 vision of 1842, rendered a town liable to a penalty of one dollar 
 for each month that it failed to maintain a guide-board at any such 
 intersection, for one year before suit brought, the penalty to inure 
 to the benefit of the person who might sue therefor. In most 
 towns there were scores of instances on by-roads where the law 
 was not complied with, and as Mr. Bowman understood it, those 
 towns were liable to pay twelve doUars for every such instance of 
 neglect. His suits promised, therefore, to bring in many thousands 
 of dollars from the delinquent towns. 
 
 Naturally the " fathers " of the towns sued were much alarmed 
 at the prospect of being so severely mulcted, and engaged some 
 of the leading lawyers in their counties to resist the claims. They 
 arranged to " pool " their cases, and held careful consultation to 
 make the strongest defense possible. It was mainly confined to 
 questions of law, for there was no denying the fact that the towns 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 217 
 
 were at fault. After grave comparison of views, nine several 
 points of law were agreed upon to be raised to the court, to which 
 one of the counsel, James Bell, suggested a tenth, " to round out 
 the number," as he said ; which was added, though perhaps re- 
 garded as of minor consequence. 
 
 When the Court passed upon the points, they overruled the nine, 
 severally, but held the tenth valid ; namely, that a town was liable 
 to only a single penalty, however many cases of neglect were 
 shown. Consequently none of the towns sued had to pay more 
 than twelve dollars at the utmost; and as a matter of course 
 no more costs than damages. As the plaintiff's expenses in pre- 
 paring and conducting the suits must have been many times 
 greater than all he could recover, the speculation proved disas- 
 trous in every way. In 1846 the statute was so far amended as 
 to rid it of its most obnoxious feature. 
 
 Mr. Bowman was chosen moderator of Bedford a number of 
 years, and a representative in the legislature of the State in 1838. 
 
 His wife was Asenath Ladd. They had two sons, one of whom 
 was bred to the profession of the law. 
 
 MOSES HAZEN BRADLEY. 
 
 Son of Hon. John and Hannah (Ayer) Bradley ; born, Concord, March 15, 
 1782 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; admitted, 1811 ; practiced, Bristol and San- 
 bornton ; died, Concord, June 22, 1834. 
 
 Mr. Bradley studied his profession in the office of Samuel 
 Green, in his native town. In 1811 he settled in practice in 
 what is now Bristol Village, which was up to the year 1820 a 
 part of the town of Bridgewater, and there, with the exception 
 of the years 1813 and 1814, when he made a temporary removal 
 to Sanbornton, his professional life was passed. He was chosen a 
 member of the school committee from 1824 to 1827 ; representa- 
 tive to the legislature in 1823 ; and state senator in 1824. As a 
 lawyer he is represented as of fair abilities and learning, though 
 he was not an advocate. Moody Kent in his diary mentions 
 him in terms of respect and friendship, which speak well for his 
 standing. 
 
 In the autumn of 1832 his health began to fail, and slow con- 
 sumption ensued. He was removed to the home of his brother, 
 Kichard Bradley, in Concord, but his last sickness was prolonged 
 for more than a year and a half before his death. 
 
218 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Dr. Peter Green of Concord. 
 They were married in 1817, but had no children. 
 
 WILLIAM BRIGGS. 
 
 Son of Eliphalet and Mary (Cobb) Briggs ; born, Keene, June, 1773 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1799 ; admitted, 1803 ; practiced, Charlestown ; died 
 there, January 27, 1847. 
 
 The subject of this sketch began his career on the shoemaker's 
 bench, in Keene, in the same building where Samuel Hunt had his 
 office. But his ambition looked to something above " leather and 
 prunella," and by dint of diligence and economy he accomplished 
 a collegiate education. One year he studied law with Peleg 
 Sprague in Keene, and then finished his apprenticeship with Ben- 
 jamin West in Charlestown; and in the latter town he estab- 
 lished himself in practice. 
 
 He had no gifts as an advocate, was forbidding in his personal 
 appearance and stern in his manner, but his legal knowledge, in- 
 tegrity, and fidelity were so well known and relied upon that his 
 services were in much request. The very men who were angry 
 with him on account of his bluntness of speech were sure to in- 
 trust him with their business if they wanted it done squarely and 
 promptly. 
 
 One man, in a fit of anger, carried to his office, on purpose to 
 affront him, a pair of boots, to be mended. This allusion to his 
 former trade Mr. Briggs was too sensible to resent, and he told 
 the man to leave the boots and he would attend to them. He pro- 
 cured a shoemaker to repair them, and compelled his insulter to 
 pay the bill, with a commission to himself for attending to the 
 business. 
 
 He was equally philosophical in regard to his personal un- 
 comeliness. One day a stammering man vented his spleen upon 
 him in language something like this : " You m-miserable old 
 cuss, you, y-you are the w-worst looking man I ever saw. You 
 r-run away from your M-Maker before you was half m-made 
 up! " Mr. Briggs was a sober man, but this ebullition overcame 
 his gravity, and he shouted with laughter. 
 
 Mr. Briggs married, December 1, 1811, Elizabeth, daughter of 
 John Willard of Charlestown. They had no children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 219 
 
 ABIATHAR G. BRITTON. 
 
 Born, Westmoreland, c. 1776 ; admitted, 1798 ; practiced, Orford ; died, 
 Boston, Massachusetts, December 14, 1853. 
 
 Neither the parentage nor the educational outfit of Mr. Britton 
 has been ascertained. The tradition is that he came to Orford 
 from Fryeburg, Maine, in consequence of an agreement between 
 Judah Dana and himself to cast lots which of them should settle 
 in Fryeburg and which in Orford. The latter place fell to Brit- 
 ton, and he proceeded thither about the year 1798. He was 
 admitted to the bar of the Superior Court in Grafton County in 
 1800, probably two years after he became an attorney. He rode 
 into Orford on horseback, his entire effects in his saddle-bags, 
 books in one side and clothing in the other. 
 
 It was not long before he gained a paying practice and the 
 favorable opinion of his townsmen. He took much interest in 
 public affairs, was many years auditor of the selectmen's ac- 
 counts, and moderator, and was often engaged as counsel for 
 the town. In 1835, 1836, 1838, 1839, 1850, and 1851 he was 
 representative to the General Court, and in 1816 and 1817 a 
 member of the state Senate. He was also a delegate to the con- 
 stitutional convention in 1850-51. 
 
 Mr. Britton was a good but not a profound lawyer, and had a 
 remarkable talent for business. His method of dealing with his 
 clients was peculiar if not unique. He kept no books of account, 
 but for all services rendered which were not at once paid for he 
 took demand notes, so that in process of time he had immense files 
 of those promises to pay. His habit was to sue every note once 
 a year, which was expected by the debtors, as a matter of course. 
 If the note was paid, well ; but in a great number of cases, where 
 the debtors were responsible, new notes were given to cover the 
 amount of the old ones, with interest and costs; and these in 
 their turn were sued the next year, and so on. In the nature 
 of things the lawyer's gains rapidly accumulated by this process. 
 It is only fair to say, however, that not a few lawyers- of that time 
 treated their debtors much more severely than this, and exacted 
 from them usurious interest, which Mr. Britton never did. In 
 his long and successful practice he acquired a large fortune. 
 
 Mr. Britton was a wit and a most genial companion. Isaac 
 
220 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Patterson liked to rehearse the pleasantries of the members of 
 the bar when they used to hold their symposiums during the 
 sessions of the courts, before the introduction of railroads. Mr. 
 Britton appeared to advantage on those occasions. His bright 
 sayings and his melodious voice were great attractions. He sang 
 the " Vicar of Bray " with prodigious eflPect ; and rehearsed in 
 rhythmical style a deed of warranty and mortgage of land, in a 
 manner which fairly brought down the house. Mr. Britton used 
 to tell, too, his early experience with his justice of the peace, who 
 at first was very scrupulous lest his name might be appended to a 
 writ filled out with an unrighteous cause of action, but after tast- 
 ing the sweets of his fees became quite ready to give the plaintiff 
 judgment in every case where his attorney did not make the pre- 
 concerted signal for him to do otherwise. 
 
 One morning, after being compelled to share his bed with 
 another counselor of huge physical development, Mr. Britton, 
 who was of slender frame, remarked to his friends that he was 
 going to petition the court to have his dower set off in the bed, so 
 that he could have his thirds. 
 
 The store of jokes and fun at Mr. Britton's command is said to 
 have been inexhaustible. He was the master, too, of wide infor- 
 mation on most subjects of general interest, and nothing gave him 
 more pleasure than to impart it to others, especially to the younger 
 portion of the community. 
 
 In person Mr. Britton was graceful ; he was polite in manner, 
 with a soft voice. His whole bearing was rather aristocratic, 
 which, it is said, in his later years did not tend to render him 
 generally popular. 
 
 His wife was Miss Fowle, from Watertown, Massachusetts, 
 a sister of the wife of William Smith of Hanover. She is de- 
 scribed as an elegant woman. They had two sons and several 
 daughters. 
 
 TITUS BEOWN. 
 
 Son of Elias and Rebecca (Keyes) Brown ; born, Alstead, February 11, 
 1786 ; Middlebury College, 1811 ; practiced, Alstead and Franoeatown ; died, 
 Francestown, January 31, 1849. 
 
 Mr. Brown read law with James H. Bingham of Alstead, and 
 began to practice there in 1816. After one year he removed to 
 Francestown, the scene of his chief life work. He was popular 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 221 
 
 and able, and was in 1819 elected a representative to the General 
 Court, and reelected four times. In 1823 he was appointed to 
 the solicitorship of the county, and resigned it after two years to 
 accept a seat in Congress, to which he was chosen in 1825 and 
 again in 1827. In 1842 and 1843 he was a member of the state 
 Senate, and president of that body the latter year. From 1844 
 to 1846 he was bank commissioner, and from 1846 to 1849 rail- 
 road commissioner, of the State. 
 
 Mr. Brown was a firm but not violent partisan, honest and 
 upright, compelling the respect of his political opponents. In 
 the law he was well versed, practical, and careful. His mental 
 powers were of a superior order, not, however, of rapid operation, 
 but moderate, discerning, and not apt to err. He filled a large 
 space in the political arena for many years, and perhaps was 
 'better known in that character than as a lawyer, though as a 
 lawyer he was much above mediocrity. 
 
 His wife was Jerusha Hutchinson, and he had a son and a 
 daughter. 
 
 JOSEPH HUNTINGTON BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 Son of Joseph T. and Melinda (Alvord) Buckingham ; born, Boston, Mas- 
 sachusetts ; practiced, Lebanon and Lancaster ; died, Lancaster. 
 
 Mr. Buckingham's father was the celebrated editor, Joseph T. 
 Buckingham, who had thirteen children, including three lawyers, 
 two ministers, and one physician. This, presumably the eldest 
 son, was educated and fitted for his profession in Massachusetts. 
 It is not known how long, or where, he practiced it before coming 
 to New Hampshire, but as he had been a correspondent for the 
 Boston " Courier " from Europe and from Washington, District of 
 Columbia, it is clear that he had not given his undivided atten- 
 tion to the law. He first settled in Lebanon as an attorney in 
 1861, and represented the proprietors of lands in Dixville. From 
 some transactions respecting them arose a long-continued litiga- 
 tion in which he was employed. In 1864 Mr. Buckingham 
 changed his place of business to Lancaster, and remained there 
 till his decease, about the year 1873. 
 
 He was endowed with good mental powers, but was thought 
 not to show much faculty for business. It is supposed that he 
 had little general practice. 
 
222 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Eliza Willett of Boston. They had one daughter 
 and three sons. 
 
 JOSEPH BUFFUM. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Sally (Haskell) BufBum ; born, Fitchburg, Massachu- 
 setts, September 23, 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Keene ; died, 
 Westmoreland, February 23, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Buffum began the study of the law with Noah Cooke of 
 Keene, and was admitted an attorney of the Court of Common 
 Pleas as early as 1812, and opened his office in Keene. He was 
 elected a representative in the Congress of the United States in 
 1819, and served through one term, but declined a reelection. 
 The reason of his quitting political life is said to have been his 
 extreme distaste for the corrupt methods which he witnessed at 
 the national capital. 
 
 On returning to New Hampshire he did not resume his law prac- 
 tice, but retired to his paternal home in Westmoreland. There he 
 spent the residue of his long life in seclusion, seldom appearing 
 off his farm, except for urgent reasons. He avoided all female 
 society save that of his mother, and depended on his newspapers 
 and books for company. His abilities were much above medi- 
 ocrity, he was fond of reading, his judgment was sound, and his 
 honesty not open to suspicion. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 EDMUND BURKE. 
 
 Son of Elijah and Grace (Jeffers) Burke ; born, Westminster, Vermont, 
 January 23, 1809 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Colebrook, Whitefield, Clare- 
 mont, and Newport ; died, Newport, January 25, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Burke's father, to encourage his son's ambition for study, 
 relinquished all further claim upon his services when be was 
 fifteen, and he began to learn Latin under the instruction of 
 Henry A. Bellows, then a student at law in the office of William 
 C. Bradley of Westminster. A year later, young Burke began 
 to acquire the rudiments of the law in the same office, and 
 improved his time diligently during the five years which the rules 
 of Vermont prescribed. As soon as he was admitted, he began 
 practice in Colebrook, but after a little time moved to Whitefield, 
 where he met with encouraging success in the law, and also 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 223 
 
 evinced his decided predilection for politics. His party friends 
 in 1833 offered him the editorial charge of the " Argus," a weekly 
 newspaper then lately established in Claremont, and he removed 
 thither, without delay. The place of publication of the news- 
 paper was changed at the end of a year from Claremont to New- 
 port, the editor at the same time removing his residence to the 
 latter town. Another paper, called the "New Hampshire Specta- 
 tor," was absorbed by the " Argus," under Mr. Burke's manage- 
 ment, while he at the same time carried on his law business, a 
 continually increasing one. 
 
 The "Argus and Spectator" was strongly political, and Mr. 
 Burke's able editorial articles gained him much credit within and 
 outside of the State, insomuch that in 1837 he was invited by Felix 
 Grundy, James K. Polk, and others interested in the Nashville 
 " Union," the leading organ of their party in Tennessee, to remove 
 thither and assume the charge of that journal. Mr. Burke pre- 
 pared at once to accept the flattering offer, but his friends dis- 
 suaded him from it by engaging to support him at the next 
 election for member of Congress, if he would remain in this State. 
 He took his seat as representative in 1839, and was reelected for 
 the two following terms, six years in all. He was emphatically a 
 working member, and though among the youngest men in the 
 House, he exerted no little influence. He spoke seldom, and 
 with thorough knowledge of his subject. He was the chairman 
 of a committee appointed in 1844 to report upon the suffrage 
 movement in Rhode Island known as the " Dorr Rebellion." 
 The elaborate report on that subject, of nearly one hundred 
 printed pages, was written, and the voluminous documents on 
 which it was based, two hundred and thirty-two in number, were 
 all arranged by him for publication, between Saturday night and 
 the Monday morning following. He was compelled to this haste 
 by reason of an unexpectedly early adjournment of Congress. 
 It was a remarkable instance of his power of rapid and accurate 
 literary workmanship. 
 
 President Polk, without solicitation, gave Mr. Burke the ap- 
 pointment of Commissioner of Patents. During his occupancy 
 of the office he contributed to the Washington " Union " a series 
 of articles upon the tariff question, under the signature of " Bundel- 
 cund," which were widely circulated in pamphlet form. 
 
 In 1850 he returned to his home in Newport, and devoted him- 
 
224 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 self during the remaining active years of his life chiefly to the 
 practice of the law. He had at different times associates in 
 business, and enjoyed a large and important practice in the state 
 and federal tribunals. From his experience in the government 
 service he had become an expert in questions of patents, and 
 was much employed in cases of that character. He never forsook 
 his habit of writing for the public press, but contributed fre- 
 quently through life to the columns of the journals of his party 
 in this and the neighboring States. His literary tastes and desire 
 for useful information made him a diligent reader, and led to his 
 collecting an exceptionally large and choice private library. 
 
 He was united in wedlock, December 1, 1840, with Ann, daugh- 
 ter of Francis Matson of Stoddard. His second wife, whom he 
 married November 29, 1866, was Mary Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Stephen Whitney of Newport. By his first marriage he had one 
 daughter. 
 
 GEORGE WILLIAM BURLEIGH. 
 
 Son of John A. and Sarah (Briard) Burleigh ; born, South Berwick, Maine, 
 April 11, 1830 ; Dartmouth College, 1851 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Somers- 
 worth ; died there, April 25, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Burleigh at fourteen became a student in the Phillips Exe- 
 ter Academy, and thence entered college. His professional studies 
 were carried on in the office of Nathaniel Wells and Charles H. 
 Bell, in Somersworth, and when admitted he succeeded to the 
 place of the latter, who removed to Exeter. Mr. Burleigh re- 
 mained in active practice at this time from 1854 till 1856, when 
 his father, who was agent of the Great Falls Manufacturing 
 Company, was compelled to visit Europe for his health. During 
 his absence, the son was selected to act in his father's place, and 
 upon his father's death in 1860 he was made the permanent 
 agent. This arduous and responsible post he administered until 
 his resignation in 1874. It gave him an overmastering power 
 and influence in the town, which he used with discretion and for 
 the best interests of the people. Every reasonable project that 
 made for the welfare of his townsmen was certain to obtain his 
 support and that of the wealthy corporation which he repre- 
 sented. The fruits of his public spirit and foresight are still 
 enjoyed by those who survived and have succeeded him. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 225 
 
 Few men, after fourteen years' abandonment of practice, could 
 return to the law without feeling and appearing " rusty." But 
 Mr. Burleigh resumed his legal labors as if they had never been 
 interrupted. In fact, his experience in outside affairs seemed to 
 have made him a better lawyer than before. He advanced at once 
 to a front position among the leading counselors of the State. He 
 took real pleasure in his work ; his active mind reveled in solving 
 the intricate problems of the law and in the keen encounters of 
 the court-room. He pronounced this portion of his life to be his 
 " golden age." It was only too short. In four years from the 
 time of his resumption of practice he was struck down by paral- 
 ysis, and survived the attack but two months. 
 
 Mr. Burleigh was a man of brilliant parts, handsome in per- 
 son, accomplished, and a universal favorite. In political life he 
 might easily have taken the highest prizes, had his inclination 
 ■ prompted, but he never went beyond the state legislature, in which 
 he was a representative in 1863 and 1864, and senator in 1865 
 and 1866. He was a trustee of Dartmouth College from 1870 to 
 the time of his decease, and for some years maintained at his 
 own expense a lectureship in the institution. He was a director in 
 the Waumbeck, Great Falls, and Newichawannock Woolen com- 
 panies, in the P. S. and P. and Conway railroads, in the Great 
 Falls National Bank, and a trustee of the Somersworth Savings 
 Bank. 
 
 He was married, September 2, 1854, to Louisa H., daughter of 
 John S. Bryant of Haverhill, and left a son and two daughters. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS BURLEIGH. 
 
 Son of John and Abigail (Smith) Burleigh ; born, Gilmanton, January 2, 
 1800 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died there, August 22, 1860. 
 
 - Young Burleigh, under the tuition of Dudley Leavitt, the alma- 
 nac maker, was fitted for Yale College, but never entered. He 
 went into the office of his brother, "William Burleigh of South 
 Berwick, Maine, and there completed the study requisite for 
 admission to the bar of York County. Until the year 1832 he 
 practiced in South Berwick, and then removed to Great Falls 
 Village in Somersworth. He was a keen, shrewd, far-sighted 
 lawyer and man of business, and faithful and true to his employ- 
 ers. After six years' practice in Great Falls he was appointed 
 15 
 
226 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 agent of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company. He rapidly 
 made himself master of aU the details of their complicated and 
 extensive business, and with extraordinary foresight and know- 
 ledge of men filled the chief positions in the establishment with 
 competent officers, and gave liberal aid to every movement that 
 promised advantage and increased prosperity to the town. Under 
 his administration the corporation brought much gain to the 
 stockholders, and he became " the best citizen of the town." 
 
 His legal acumen and experience found also full employment in 
 the various questions and suits which arose respecting the rights 
 of the company to the use of the waters in the Salmon Falls 
 River and the several ponds and streams connected with it. It 
 was not until after Mr. Burleigh's death that the change in the 
 legislation of the State known as the " Flowage Act " was placed 
 upon the statute book. It was in an action brought by the 
 Great Falls Manufacturing Company that the constitutionality 
 of that enactment was put in issue, and was affirmed in an elab- 
 orate opinion given by Chief Justice Perley, reported in 47 N. H. 
 Reports, 444. 
 
 Mr. Burleigh married, first, Sarah Noble Briard of Ports- 
 mouth, June 3, 1829. They had seven children. His second 
 wife was Emily Ann Colcord of South Berwick, Maine, who sur- 
 vived him. Two of his sons studied the profession of the law, 
 though one did not practice. 
 
 JOHN BURNHAM. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Marj (Perkins) Burnham ; bom, Dunbarton, Septem- 
 ber, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Hillsborough ; died there, 
 April 6, 1826. 
 
 This was a member of a family of educated men of some note, 
 and was prepared for college under the instruction of the Rev. 
 Dr. Harris .of Dunbarton. He studied law with Samuel Bell of 
 Francestown, and David Starrett of Hillsborough, whose brother- 
 in-law he afterwards became. Being licensed as an attorney in 
 1811, he settled in Hillsborough in April, 1812, after the mys- 
 terious disappearance of Mr. Starrett, and finished his life there. 
 He is described as a good scholar, of a strong and discriminating 
 mind, but wanting ambition and industry. His literary taste was 
 well known, and he was called on to make public addresses on 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 227 
 
 various occasions. While an undergraduate in 1806, he com- 
 posed a eulogy on Eliphalet Hardy, a fellow student at Dartmouth 
 College, and he delivered a Masonic address before the Blazing 
 Star Lodge at Henniker in 1809, and an oration before the citi- 
 zens of Hillsborough on the Fourth of July, 1810. All these 
 productions were published. 
 
 His wife was Sarah H., daughter of Kev. Joseph Appleton of 
 North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Their marriage took place 
 January 15, 1811, and their children were five in number. 
 
 WILLIAM BURNS. 
 
 Sou of Dr. Robert and Mary (Merrill) Burns ; born, Hebron, April 25, 
 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1841 ; admitted, 1844 ; practiced, Littleton and 
 Lancaster ; died, Plymouth, April 2, 1885. 
 
 It was in the academies in Plymouth and in New London that 
 William Burns received his pre-collegiate training. He studied 
 law with Leonard Wilcox at Orford, and in the Harvard Law 
 School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and opened an office in 
 Littleton in the autumn of 1844. There he stayed until May, 
 1846, when he purchased the business of John S. Wells at Lan- 
 caster, and removed thither. A year later Grovernor Williams 
 made him solicitor for Coos County. The duties of this office, in 
 addition to his considerable and growing civil business, demanded 
 all his time and care. He became associated in practice with 
 Hiram A. Fletcher, and remained his partner for eighteen years. 
 They were the attorneys of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Rail- 
 road, and in 1854 Mr. Burns took passage over the line of the 
 railroad for Portland, on professional business. At Stark, on his 
 way, a terrible collision of trains took place, and Mr. Burns was 
 among the passengers seriously injured. It was only after a long 
 confinement, and by the most assiduous care, that he was brought 
 again to a condition to pursue his profession. But his fractured 
 limbs were never strong, and he was never again wholly free from 
 pain. Still, with indomitable resolution he returned to his office 
 and his ordinary pursuits. 
 
 He gave up general practice in 1876, though he continued to 
 respond to applications for legal counsel up to the last year of his 
 life. 
 
 By the testimT)ny of all his associates Mr. Burns was a law- 
 
228 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 jer of great ability and learning, and an advocate of the fore- 
 most rank. Having once undertaken a cause, he ever after- 
 wards identified himself with it. He was a keen but honest 
 £ghter, and never failed to keep his engagements with opposing 
 .counsel. He was most successful in presenting cases to the jury. 
 His diction was simple and clear, his manner thoroughly earnest 
 and indicative of his own conviction of the justice of his cause. 
 When he was sarcastic or severe, which he well knew how to be, 
 it was evidently because he believed such a style was merited. 
 
 He took early to politics. His party was chosen before he left 
 •college, and he addressed a great political assemblage while he 
 was yet an undergraduate. Here, too, he was a manly opponent. 
 He believed in the doctrines of his party, but not in unfair meth- 
 ods. He was chosen to the state Senate in 1856 and 1857, and 
 was a candidate for Congress at three elections, but his party was 
 in a minority. To the constitutional convention of 1876 he was 
 chosen by the concurrence of all parties of his townsmen. 
 
 The winters of the last few years of his life he spent in part 
 away from this home, in Boston or in Plymouth. 
 
 He was married on his twenty-third birthday to -Clementine E. 
 Hayes of Orford. She was his devoted nurse in his various ill- 
 nesses, and survived him. They had no children. 
 
 JOSEPH BURROWS. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Rachel (Blaisdell) Burrows ; horn, Lebanon, Maine, Au- 
 gust 24, 1813 ; practiced, Effingham, Holderness, and Plymouth ; died, Plym- 
 outh, April 5, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Burrows' education was acquired in the common schools 
 and from private study. He had a strong desire for a liberal 
 education, prepared himself for college, and put by his scanty 
 earnings to pay the expenses of his four years' course ; but the 
 illness of his younger brother frustrated his plans. With the 
 generosity which he manifested towards his father in later life, he 
 devoted his savings to the relief of the sufferer. 
 
 Mr. Burrows studied his profession in the office of Josiah 
 Dearborn in Effingham, and at the Harvard Law School. After 
 his admission to the bar he practiced first at Effingham until 
 1844, then at Holderness (now Ashland) for fourteen years, and 
 the rest of his life at Plymouth. In each of tht)se places he was 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 229 
 
 chosen to local offices, and after his removal to Plymouth he was 
 a representative in the legislature in 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874, 
 and a member of the executive council in 1878-79. He was for 
 some time a member of the board of education, and a trustee of 
 the State Normal School. Dartmouth College gave him the 
 honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1874. 
 
 Mr. Burrows possessed a good legal mind, was industrious and 
 persevering, and his name is associated in the judicial Eeports 
 with several actions of more than usual consequence. 
 
 In his legal work he was careful and thorough. His belief in 
 his client and his cause was implicit, and called forth his best 
 efforts and the whole of his resources. He had the faculty of 
 stating a case lucidly and strongly. He was a positive, outspoken 
 man, of very decided opinions, and never slow to defend them. 
 He had his likes and his dislikes, but he had a kind heart at 
 bottom. If he showed some of the foibles, he showed also much 
 of the strength of a self-made man. His practical good sense, 
 his general information gained by much reading, his powers of 
 conversation and genial humor, are pleasantly remembered by 
 all who associated with him. 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Josiah Dearborn of 
 Effingham. She bore him six children, of whom five outlived 
 him. 
 
 His oldest son, Joseph M. Barrows, follows the profession of 
 his father. 
 
 CHARLES W. BURT. 
 
 Son of Willard and Martha (Wood) Burt ; born, Westmoreland, November 
 6, 1820 ; practiced, Colebrook ; died, Detroit, Michigan, April 11, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Burt was a student in Mount Caesar and Lebanon acade- 
 mies, and for two years in the Norwich (Vermont) University, 
 and maintained a high rank in his classes. He studied law in 
 the office of Levi Chamberlain of Keene. After his admission in 
 Cheshire County, he proceeded to Colebrook, and established him- 
 self in practice in 1848. He continued there six years, and then 
 went to Detroit, Michigan. In that city, in 1855, he formed a 
 law partnership with A. B. Maynard, which lasted through the 
 remainder of Mr. Burt's short life. 
 
 His surviving partner describes him as of decided ability, and 
 
230 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 of the best repute for legal learning and capacity and for purity 
 and uprightness of character. At a meeting of the Bar of De- 
 troit he was eulogized by several of the leading members as an 
 untiring student, a lawyer of sound judgment, and of growing, 
 solid reputation. 
 
 He married in January, 1854, Julia, daughter of Horace Loo- 
 mis of Colebrook. She died in Detroit, Michigan. 
 
 JAMES DEARBORN BUTLER. 
 
 Son of Hon. James H. and Mary Hersey (Dearborn) Butler ; born, Not- 
 tingham, November 9, 1842 ; Harvard College, 1864 ; admitted, 1867 ; prac- 
 ticed, Portsmouth ; died, Nottingham, November 13, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Butler was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and studied law in Portsmouth with John S. H. Frink, 
 whose office-mate he became after his entrance to the bar. In his 
 short professional experience, though he performed his part in 
 the varied work of the office, he never grew to that fondness for 
 his calling which induces men to forsake their amusements and 
 other pursuits in order to make it their one chief object. His 
 abilities, however, were excellent. His entire professional life 
 little exceeded the term of eight years, for the sbattered condition 
 of his health led him to pass his last year or two at the home of 
 his father in Nottingham. 
 
 He was married, June 16, 1869, to Sarah Hersey, daughter of 
 John O. Cilley of Nottingham, and left two children. 
 
 JOSIAH BUTLER. 
 
 Son of Nehemiah and Lydia (Wood) Butler ; born, Pelham, December 4, 
 1779 ; Harvard College, 1803 ; practiced, Pelham and Deerfield ; died, Deer- 
 fleld, October 29, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Butler attended the academies at Londonderry and at At- 
 kinson, and completed his preparation for college under the in- 
 struction of William M. Richardson, afterwards Chief Justice. 
 He began the study of the law in Amherst in the office of Clifton 
 Clagett. There he remained but a short time, when he went to 
 Virginia, and spent three years in that State, teaching an 
 academy, and reading law in the offices of Governor Cabot and of 
 Jacob Kinney. Having been admitted to practice in Virginia, he 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 231 
 
 returned in 1807 to New Hampshire, and set up his office in his 
 native town. During the two years that he continued there, he 
 was chosen to represent his townsmen in the state legislature, but 
 he found Pelham an unfavorable place for one of his profession, 
 and in 1809 removed to Deerfield. 
 
 In 1810 he was commissioned sheriff of Rockingham County, 
 but his service was cut short in 1814 in an extraordinary way. 
 In 1813, upon a political change in the State, the old Superior 
 Court was abolished, and a new Supreme Court established in its 
 stead. The effect was to indirectly oust the former judges from 
 office, and a new bench was appointed. The old judges and the 
 party to which they belonged contended that the establishment of 
 the new court did not and constitutionally could not abrogate the 
 former court, or deprive its judges of their position. Accordingly 
 the judges attended at the terms fixed by law, and for a time 
 attempted to keep up the semblance of the departed court. The 
 new clerks, however, and the parties and juries, generally adhered 
 to the new establishment. Two of the sheriffs, Benjamin Pierce 
 of Hillsborough County, and Josiah Butler of Rockingham, stood 
 up for the. old judges, and obeyed their orders. For doing this, 
 they were at the next session of the legislature removed from 
 their offices by address. The party to which they belonged natu- 
 rally regarded them as political martyrs, and upon its return to 
 power handsomely provided for them both. 
 
 In 1815 and 1816 Mr. Butler was chosen a representative in 
 the legislature, and in 1816 was appointed clerk of the Court of 
 Common Pleas. In 1817 he was elected a representative in the 
 Congress of the United States, and continued such by successive 
 elections for six years. In 1825 he was commissioned a justice 
 of the Court of Common Pleas, and occupied the position eight 
 years, when the court was abolished. He then returned to prac- 
 tice at the bar, and also attended to the cultivation of his farm. 
 He was subsequently appointed postmaster of South Deerfield, 
 and retained that office to the time of his death. 
 
 Judge Butler was a man of good, but not extraordinary abili- 
 ties. He was not distinguished as an advocate, though he argued 
 causes to some extent, and while in Congress made some speeches. 
 He had studied his profession diligently, and was an excellent 
 practicing lawyer. His business for many years was extensive, 
 and carefully and successfully attended to. In the performance 
 
232 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 of his legislative duties he fully met the expectations and won the 
 approbation of his party friends. He was an upright and just 
 judge. He is said also to have had uncommon facility in writing 
 for the press. 
 
 His wife was Hannah, daughter of Richard Jenness of Deer- 
 field. They were married in 1811, and had nine children. Two 
 of their sons became lawyers in other States. 
 
 NEHEMIAH BUTLER. 
 
 Born, Pelham, February 22, 1824 ; admitted, 1848 ; practiced, Boscawen; 
 died there, August 10, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Butler acquired his education at the academies in Derry 
 and in Pembroke. His law studies he prosecuted in the office of 
 Asa Fowler of Concord, and at the Harvard Law School. Settling 
 in the village of Fishersville, in Boscawen, in the spring of 1848, 
 he remained there in successful practice till November, 1852, 
 when he was appointed clerk of the courts in Merrimac County, 
 and changed his residence to Concord. In 1860, on account of 
 the condition of his health, he resigned the clerkship, and resumed 
 his practice in Fishersville. In 1862, and again in 1865, he was 
 elected a county commissioner, serving six years in the office. 
 Upon the decease of Jonas D. Sleeper in 1868, he for the second 
 time filled the position of county clerk for a year. In 1869 and 
 1870 he represented Boscawen in the state legislature ; and in 
 1876 was commissioned Judge of Probate, and continued to dis- 
 charge the duties of that office as long as he lived. 
 
 Judge Butler was a very good lawyer, not brilliant, but a solid, 
 judicious, careful man. He was not ambitious to become a leader 
 at the bar. His business, for the place where he lived, was a 
 very good one. As a public officer his conduct left nothing to be 
 desired. " As careful and trustworthy as Judge Butler," was the 
 highest commendation among all who knew him. 
 
 His wife was Mary M., daughter of Richard Gage of Boscawen. 
 They were married in 1849, and had six children, of whom three 
 outlived their father. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 233 
 
 ERASMUS BUTTERFIELD. 
 
 Son of Isaac and Hannah (Chamberlain) Butterfield ; born, Westmoreland, 
 January 24, 1769 ; Dartmouth College, 1792 ; practiced, Westmoreland, Marl- 
 borough, Fitzwilliani, and Keene ; died, Westmoreland, December 27, 1828. 
 
 Mr. Butterfield was admitted an attorney of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas in the county of Cheshire, September, 1795, and 
 probably entered into practice there soon afterward. As early as 
 1803 he removed to Marlborough, and a year later to Fitzwilliam, 
 and remained there till 1808 or 1809. In 1811 he was living in 
 Keene, but in 1814 had returned to Marlborough, where he passed 
 the most of his remaining years. From his changes of residence 
 it would appear that he could not have been anchored by his 
 business to any single locality. The historian of Fitzwilliam inti- 
 mates that he suffered a lack of popularity among the common 
 people from the extent to which he maintained the dignity of his 
 profession, but we learn that he was chosen a representative in 
 the legislature from that towu in 1807. He was not specially 
 distinguished as a lawyer, so far as is shown by record or tra- 
 dition. 
 
 His wife was Esther, daughter of Phillips Sweetser of Marl-, 
 borough. They Were married in 1803, and had nine children. 
 
 SAMUEL BUTTERFIELD. 
 
 Born, GofEstown, December, 1791 ; admitted, 1816 ; practiced, Epping, 
 Andover, and Concord ; died. Concord, July 4, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Butterfield studied his profession with Thomas Jameson 
 and Josiah Forsaith of Goffstown, Levi Woodbury of Frances- 
 town, and John Harris of Hopkinton, and was admitted to the 
 bar at Amherst " on motion of Benjamin Champney in the name 
 of all the attorneys practicing in that court," as the record states. 
 In 1817 he commenced to practice in Epping, and remained there, 
 with the exception, perhaps, of a short interval at Goffstown, 
 until 1828, when he established himself in Andover. He left 
 Andover in the latter part of November, 1855, after a residence 
 there of about thirty-two years, and moved to Concord. He was 
 postmaster of Andover during the administration of Jackson and 
 Van Buren, representative in the state legislature in 1846 and 
 
234 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1847; and member of the executive council in 1851 and 1852. 
 When the State Capital Bank of Concord was organized in 1853, 
 Mr. Butterfield was chosen its president, and so remained as long 
 as he lived. 
 
 He was a man of great energy and industry. He married 
 young, and before he reached the age of twenty-five was left a 
 widower with three children, and this before he had acquired his 
 profession. But he never lost an opportunity to add to his re- 
 sources, in traffic or speculation, and even had the magical power, 
 not common to lawyers at least, of making the cultivation of the 
 soil yield him profitable returns. To accomplish this he did not 
 neglect the old adage, however, but day after day, in spite of an 
 inherited liability to rheumatism, put his own hands to the plough. 
 He seems to have been a veritable Midas, for he drew gold from 
 a stage line in which he was concerned, and was a late investor in 
 eastern lands, which he could not sell again, but which afterwards 
 proved highly remunerative. 
 
 Mr. Butterfield was not a lawyer of wide reading, but had the 
 principles of jurisprudence well defined in his mind. He was a 
 clear-headed and safe adviser. He had few causes in the trial 
 courts, and was not gifted with the faculty of speech-making; 
 but on occasion he pronounced a terse, pointed statement, that 
 was as effective as an oration. As a draftsman of legal instru- 
 ments he excelled. 
 
 He was married three times ; first, in 1810, to Nancy M. Vose 
 of Francestown ; second, in 1835, to Mary B. Ware of Pomfret, 
 Vermont ; and third, in 1854, to Anna Maria Abbot of Charles- 
 town, Massachusetts. By his first two marriages he had children. 
 Two of his sons became lawyers. 
 
 WILLIAM BUTTERFIELD. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Nancy (Vose) Butterfield ; born, GofEstown, September 
 18, 1815 ; Dartmouth College, 1836 ; practiced, Gilmanton and Nashua ; died, 
 Concord, February 1, 1884. 
 
 Although Mr. Butterfield won the chief success of his life in 
 the field of political journalism, he began his career at the bar. 
 After leaving college he was one year in the office of his father 
 in Andover, and two years in that of D. F. Cook, Maumee City, 
 Ohio, in which State he was admitted an attorney in July, 1839. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 235 
 
 On April 1, 1840, he began practice at the Iron Works village in 
 Gilmanton. Two years afterwards he removed to Lowell, Massa- 
 chusetts, and edited the Lowell " Advertiser " until the 1st of Janu- 
 ary, 1844 ; then returning to Gilmanton he resumed practice at 
 " the Corner " until April, 1846. But he preferred the vocation of 
 an editor to that of a lawyer, and having by numerous contributions 
 to the press satisfied himself that he could depend on his pen for 
 a livelihood, he purchased the " Gazette " newspaper at Nashua, 
 and there fixed his abode for some seven months. On the fourth 
 day of August, 1846, Henry H. Carroll, the proprietor of the 
 " New Hampshire Patriot " at Concord, died, and that newspaper 
 was sold to Mr. Butterfield, who assumed the editorial charge of 
 it in the succeeding December. This was then the principal 
 organ of the Democratic party of New Hampshire, and the con- 
 trol of it gave Mr. Butterfield a leading position in the State. It 
 demanded abilities of a high order to conduct the paper to the 
 general satisfaction of his party, great prudence and careful con- 
 sideration of many interests, but he passed through the ordeal 
 successfully. 
 
 In 1845 he was chosen assistant secretary of the state Senate ; 
 from 1847 to 1855 state printer jointly with John M. Hill. His 
 connection with the " New Hampshire Patriot " ceased in 1873. 
 The next year, on his party succeeding to power in the State, he 
 was made Secretary of State. In 1878 he was appointed a mem- 
 ber of the State Board of Equalization, and in 1879 auditor of 
 public printer's accounts, and he was kept in both positions until 
 the day of his death. 
 
 Mr. Butterfield married, December 31, 1844, Eosamond M., 
 daughter of Pindlay W. Kobinson of Gilmanton, and left three 
 sons. 
 
 CHARLES HUTCHINS BUTTERS. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Theodate (Drake) Butters ; born, Canterbury, Janu- 
 ary 29, 1818 ; Dartmouth College, 1837 ; practiced, Pittsfield and Concord ; 
 died, Pittsfield, May 13, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Butters began the study of the law with Ira Perley in 
 Concord, then engaged for a time in teaching at Petersburg, Vir- 
 ginia, and elsewhere, and afterwards entered the office of Messrs. 
 Hayes and Cogswell in South Berwick, Maine, to complete his 
 
236 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 preliminary term. In 1843 he was received as the partner of 
 Moses Nprris, Jr., then in practice in Pittsfield. He resided in 
 that place until 1853, and then after a few months in Meredith 
 removed to Concord, which continued to be his place of business 
 ever afterwards. From Pittsfield he was chosen a representative 
 in the legislatures of 1850 and 1851, and a delegate to the con- 
 stitutional convention of 1850. 
 
 He was bright, able, and popular. He had many of the quali- 
 ties of a first-rate lawyer, quickness of a^jprehension, keenness of 
 discrimination, a wide mental grasp, and sound reasoning powers. 
 A distinguished judge remarked of him : " As a young man he 
 had one of the best and clearest legal minds I ever knew, and 
 was a very good advocate." Nothing appeared necessary to in- 
 sure him a place among the distinguished men of his time, but 
 steady application to the labors of his profession. But the ease 
 with which he turned off work tended to disincline him to habits 
 of regular industry, and a taste for convivial indulgence began to 
 undermine his usefulness and standing. This increased upon him 
 until his untimely death. 
 
 He was married at Manchester, December 10, 1845, to Julia 
 Ann Hunt, adopted daughter of Amasa Trescott of Dover. 
 
 TIMOTHY CALL. 
 
 Son of Moses and Mehitable (Jackman) Call ; born, Bosoawen, February 
 13, 1763 ; Dartmouth College, 1790 ; practiced, Gilmanton and Moulton- 
 borough ; died, Lake Champlain, July, 1804. 
 
 Mr. Call began business as an attorney in Gilmanton in 1793. 
 In that town and in Moultonborough he remained until 1801. 
 From the accounts that have come down to us, he was indicted 
 and convicted in 1802 for passing counterfeit money. How he 
 was enabled to be at large two years afterwards is not known ; but 
 the " Farmer's Cabinet " of July 31, 1804, contained this notice : 
 " Drowned, on the west side of Lake Champlain, the noted Timo- 
 thy Call, of money-making memory." 
 
 He was married to a lady named Cleveland, of Connecticut. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 237 
 
 EDMUND CARLETON. 
 
 Son of Dr. Edmund and Joanna (Coffin) Carleton ; born, Haverhill Octo- 
 ber 29, 1797; Dartmouth College, 1822 ; practiced, Haverhill and Littleton ; 
 died, Littleton, March 11, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Carleton was prepared for college at the HaverhlU acad- 
 emy. After taking his bachelor's degree he was tutor a year in a 
 gentleman's family in Washington, District of Columbia, and 
 studied law two years in Virginia and one with Joseph Bell of 
 Haverhill. His first practice was in Haverhill in 1826, about a 
 year ; then he moved to Littleton. On account of the delicacj' 
 of his health, he could do little beyond a collecting business. He 
 was a good lawyer and a cautious and exceedingly deliberate 
 counselor, averse to litigation, preferring to reconcile differences 
 vnthout recourse to the law. 
 
 After some years he engaged in the business of lumbering, as 
 better, suited to his health, but he was never very successful in it, 
 and finally made shipwreck of his property in the White Moun- 
 tains Railroad. 
 
 He was a practically religious man and an early abolitionist. 
 His house was a refuge for fugitives from slavery to free Canada. 
 Later he was a Free Soil candidate for Congress, but unsuccess- 
 fully. He was a prominent citizen, widely known throughout 
 northern New Hampshire, not simply in his legal capacity but as 
 a business man and a philanthropist. 
 
 In the year 1836 he married Mary K., daughter of Thomas 
 Coffin of Boscawen, and became the father of seven children. 
 
 HARVEY CARLETON. 
 
 Son of Eodolphus Carleton ; born, Winchester, 1810 ; admitted, 1840 ; 
 practiced, Chesterfield, Keene, and Winchester ; died, Winchester, December 
 20, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Carleton's father was a cloth-dresser, and his grandfather 
 was of Coleraine, Massachusetts. He himself received a good 
 academical education ; then turned his attention to the study of 
 the law, in Keene, and was admitted in Cheshire County. The 
 next fourteen years he practiced his profession in Chesterfield. 
 In 1854, the last year of his stay in that town, he held the office 
 of school commissioner for the county. The next year he trans- 
 
238 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ferred his residence to Keene, and remained in practice there 
 almost twenty years. He went to Winchester to reside, upon 
 receiving the appointment of Judge of Probate in 1874. For two 
 years he filled the office, after which he did little or no profes- 
 sional business, but lived very quietly upon his farm. 
 
 He never belonged to the order of hustling lawyers, but had 
 the respect of the community as a well-intentioned and upright 
 man. 
 
 JOHN P. CARE, JR. 
 
 Son of John P. and Emily A. (Cochran) Carr ; born, Enfield, May 1, 1845 ; 
 admitted, 1867 ; practiced, Andover ; died, Tipton, Missouri, July 12, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Carr acquired his education at the Union Academy in 
 Canaan and the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, and read law 
 with John M. Shirley at Andover, whose partner in practice he 
 became. His connection with Mr. Shirley continued until he 
 removed to Missouri in May or June, 1869. In the brief period 
 of his professional life in this State his qualities could have been 
 known to but few; but Mr. Shirley, in his impulsive, warm- 
 hearted way, wrote of him as follows : " As a scholar he was not 
 above the average, but his perception of principles was nice ; his 
 practical judgment excellent ; his business capacity great ; and 
 his industry and energy knew no bounds. He was free from bad 
 habits, and thoroughly upright, with a high sense of honor. A 
 devoted husband and father and a true friend, he was always 
 ready to stand by those he loved, regardless of consequences to 
 himself. With a high ambition in his profession ' he pulled on 
 the bit till his tireless energy slew him.' " 
 
 Mr. Carr was married in May, 1869, to Jennie H. Ayers of 
 Canterbury. They had two children, one of whom, a son, sur- 
 vived his father. 
 
 PHILIP CARRIGAIN. 
 
 Son of Dr. Philip and Elizabeth (Clough) Carrigain ; born, Concord, Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1772 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; practiced, Concord, Epsom, and 
 Chichester ; died, Concord, March 16, 1842. 
 
 Mr. Carrigain's commencement part at his graduation from col" 
 lege was a poem on agriculture, which was considered so meritori- 
 ous that it was printed in the " Columbian Centinel " and other 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 239 
 
 papers of the time. He read law in the office of Arthur Liver- 
 more of Holderness, and began practice in his native town. His 
 engaging personal qualities, his reputation for talents and learn- 
 ing, his gift of bright speech and easy versification, his readiness 
 to take part in all festive occasions, all combined to surround him 
 with popularity. No political, agi-icultural, or social gathering 
 was complete without his presence. A toast, a speech, and a 
 poem were always ready in his prolific brain. He complimented 
 the ladies, flattered the farmers, and won the plaudits of all. For 
 years he was a constant attendant at all convivial occasions. 
 
 In 1805 and the three following years he was chosen Secretary 
 of State. In 1806 he was one of an " association of gentlemen " 
 who carried on a newspaper in Concord called the " American Pa- 
 triot ; " the same which, at a later date, under the title of the " New 
 Hampshire Patriot," and under the editorship of Isaac Hill, won 
 for itself an unexampled political influence throughoiit the State. 
 In 1821 and the two succeeding years he was clerk of the state 
 Senate. The pi-incipal work by which Mr. Carrigain will be 
 remembered, however, is probably the map of the State of New 
 Hampshire, issued by him by authority of the legislature in 1816. 
 The surveys of some of the towns were made by incompetent 
 persons, and it required ingenuity if not actual force to fit them 
 perfectly together. But the map when completed was a great 
 improvement over any preceding one, and was for that day a most 
 creditable performance. Mr. Carrigain's convivial tastes and 
 diversified pursuits did not conduce to his success in his profes- 
 sion. He gained his early popularity cheaply, and as time went 
 by his law office became less and less inviting. He looked to 
 other employments for a livelihood, until it was too late for him 
 to become a thorough lawyer. As years went by he saw others 
 far less bountifully endowed by nature than himself, by sheer 
 plodding outstripping him in the race. It was the old story of 
 the hare and the tortoise. He tried several places which he 
 thought afforded better openings for a legal practitioner, Loudon, 
 Chichester, and Epsom, between 1822 and 1836, but returned in 
 the latter year to Concord, and there spent the remainder of his 
 days in rather reduced circumstances. He had partaken gayly of 
 the foam and sparkle of life, but the dregs were tasteless and 
 uninviting. He was never married. The friends of his better 
 days erected his tombstone. 
 
240 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Many anecdotes are related of Mr. Carrigain. While he was 
 secretary, a letter was received by the governor, from the cele- 
 brated John Randolph of Roanoke, upon the seal of which was 
 impressed the motto " Fari quae sentiat." The governor and 
 council, all ignorant of Latin, called upon the secretary, as a 
 " college learned " man, to translate the mystic words. It is to 
 be feared that he comprehended the meaning of the motto no bet- 
 ter than they, but he had a ready wit and was not to be posed ; so 
 he rendered the phrase " God and our country," which was duly 
 admired by his auditors, being not only patriotic but religious as 
 well. 
 
 Being frequently called upon for his signature to recommenda- 
 tions to the state authorities for appointments to office, his prac- 
 tice was to affix his beautifully executed autograph to every such 
 paper that was laid before him ; but he wisely had an understand- 
 ing with the powers that be, that his signature was to go for 
 nothing unless it was supplemented by a flourish beneath it, repre- 
 senting an eagle's beak. 
 
 Mr. Carrigain's numerous poetical effusions were never gath- 
 ered into a volume, and indeed, though temporarily popular, were 
 hardly worth preservation, in general. As a matter of curiosity, 
 however, some stanzas of one of the best of them are here given. 
 They were written on occasion of the reception of General Lafay- 
 ette in Concord, June 22, 1825, and are remarkable as applying 
 to New Hampshire the expression " the Granite State," for the 
 first time. 
 
 LAFAYETTE'S RETURN. 
 
 North and South, and East and West, 
 A cordial welcome have addressed 
 Loud and warm, the Nation's Guest 
 
 Dear Son of Liberty ; 
 Whom tyrants cursed when Heaven approved, 
 And millions long have mourned and loved, 
 He comes, by fond entreaties moved, 
 
 The Granite State to see. 
 
 Bliss domestic, rank, wealth, ease. 
 Our guest resigned for stormy seas 
 And for war's more stormy breeze. 
 To make our country free ; 
 And potent Britain saw dismayed, 
 The lightning of his virgin blade 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 241 
 
 To Freedom flash triumphant aid 
 But death to tyranny. 
 
 Now in his life's less perilous wane, 
 He has recrossed the Atlantic main, 
 Preserved by Heaven to greet again 
 
 The land he bled to save ; 
 And those who with him, hand in hand, 
 Fought 'neath his mighty sire's command, — 
 Alas, how thinned that gallant band. 
 
 Band of the free and brave ! 
 
 Such were the men our land did save 
 
 Nor e'er can reach oblivion's wave 
 
 (Though booming o'er the statesman's grave), 
 
 Our deep, redeemless debt. 
 No I Merrimac may cease to flow, 
 And our White Mountains sink below ; 
 But naught can cancel what we owe 
 
 To them and Lafayette, 
 
 BUEL CLINTON CARTER. 
 
 Son of Sanborn B. and Marie A. (Frost) Carter ; born, Sauford, Maine, Jan- 
 nary 4, 1840 ; Yale College, 1862 ; practiced, Wolfeborough and Dover ; died, 
 KoUinsford, December 11, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Carter was fitted for college at the Phillips Exeter Acad- 
 emy, and immediately after completing his collegiate course en- 
 tered the thirteenth regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers as a 
 first lieutenant, and proceeded to the seat of war. He was 
 severely wounded at Fredericksburg, Virginia, was afterwards 
 promoted to be captain, and subsequently brevetted major. After 
 honorably serving to the close of the war he returned to New 
 Hampshire, and prepared himself, under the direction of his father, 
 Sanborn B. Carter of Ossipee, for admission to the bar. He first 
 established himself at Wolfeborough about 1870, and remained 
 there ten years, taking a position of prominence as a sound and 
 successful lawyer. While there he held the appointment of bank 
 commissioner from 1872 to 1875, and that of county solicitor 
 from 1876 to 1878. 
 
 In 1880 he removed his home to RoUinsford and his office to 
 Dover, where he became the partner of William F. Nason. There 
 he was again appointed bank commissioner in 1882, and a third 
 16 
 
242 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 time in 1885. This post of course interfered with his professional 
 practice, but he did enough to demonstrate his capacity and relia- 
 bility. 
 
 He married Ellen Frances, daughter of Hon. James M. Bur- 
 bank of Saco, Maine, May 16, 1866, and left no descendants. 
 
 SANBORN BLAKE CARTER. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Betsey B. (Blake) Carter ; born, Rochester, February 20, 
 1819 ; practiced, Ossipee ; died there, July 8, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Carter received his education at the academy in Alfred, 
 Maine, and read law with John T. Paine, afterwards of Bos- 
 ton, Massachusetts, and with Charles W. Woodman at Dover. 
 He established himself in practice in Ossipee about 1841, and 
 there remained throughout his life. During the greater part of 
 that time he was an occupant of some official station. For years 
 he was moderator, clerk, or school committee of his town ; he 
 represented it in the state legislature in 1850 and 1851, and in 
 1869 and 1870, and was also a delegate to the constitutional 
 conventions of 1850 and 1876. He was solicitor of the county 
 from 1845 to 1850 ; school commissioner from 1850 to 1854 ; reg- 
 ister of Probate from 1851 to 1856, and register of Deeds from 
 1874 to the time of his decease. He is described by one who 
 knew him as " a lawyer of good repute ; courteous and agreeable in 
 his manners ; personally popular ; and in probate matters once 
 regarded as the leading lawyer in the county." 
 
 In October, 1852, Mr. Carter was seriously injured by a colli- 
 sion of trains on the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad, 
 and never fully recovered from the effects of the accident. 
 
 He married, first, Marie Antoinette Frost, January 20, 1839 ; 
 and second, Mary Abbie Sweat, September 30, 1868. The for- 
 mer was the mother of his three children. 
 
 SAMUEL CARTLAND. 
 
 Son of Elijah and Abigail (Scales) Cartland ; born, Lee, March 15, 1791 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1816 ; admitted, 1822 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died, Exe- 
 ter, Maine, February 24, 1852. 
 
 Mr.' Cartland was connected with a family of Friends some- 
 what noted for their intellectual capacity. He was educated at 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 243 
 
 the Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, and studied 
 his profession with Joseph Bell, leader of the Grafton County 
 bar at Haverhill. In that town he began practice, on his admis- 
 sion in 1822, and was soon marked as a rising man, professionally 
 and politically. In 1825 he was chosen a representative in the 
 legislature, and in 1829, 1830, and 1831 was elected a member 
 of the Senate of the State. In 1829, upon the resignation by 
 Abner Greenleaf of the presidency of the Senate, Mr. Cartland 
 was chosen to succeed him in the office. In 1831 he was again 
 chosen president of the Senate, and as such became acting gov- 
 ernor of the State, and presided in the council in that capacity for 
 a couple of days, until the newly elected governor (Dinsmoor) 
 
 was inaugurated. 
 
 Mr. Cartland resigned the office of president of the Senate in 
 July, 1831, to accept the commission of Judge of Probate for the 
 county of Grafton. The duties of that office he discharged with 
 ability for about one year, and then relinquished it, owing proba- 
 bly to the delicacy of his health, which soon after compelled him 
 to resort to a milder climate. He was afterwards in Mobile, Ala- 
 bama, for a time, employed in the business of the Southern Col- 
 lecting Agency, and about 1840 he took up his residence in 
 Baltimore for about ten years. Receiving then an appointment to 
 a clerkship in the Treasury Department, he went to Washington, 
 District of Columbia, for a year or two. In 1851 the consump- 
 tive malady which had long hung over him induced him to seek 
 the home of his relatives in Exeter, Maine, where he lingered 
 until his death. 
 
 Judge Cartland possessed talents and attainments which quali- 
 fied him for high position, nor was he lacking in ambition. But 
 he had none of the craft of the politician, and he had the mortifi- 
 cation to see inferior men distance him in the race for promotion, 
 merely by continual pushing and adroit management. That he 
 was disappointed in his political aspirations there can be no 
 doubt. In his last sickness he gave directions for the disposal of 
 his correspondence, and added, sadly, that " his life would proba- 
 bly not go into history." 
 
 In every position he occupied, his ability was conspicuously dis- 
 played, and he won universal respect by the sterling integrity of 
 his character. 
 
 He never married. 
 
244 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ASA PIPER GATE. 
 
 Son of Simeon and Lydia (Durgin) Gate ; born, Sanbornton (now Tilton), 
 June 1, 1813 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Sanbornton ; died, Northfleld, De- 
 .eember 12, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Gate was educated at the academies in Sanbornton and in 
 jBoscawen ; and read law under the direction of George W. Nes- 
 mith of Eranklin. Upon his admission, in 1838, he went into 
 practice in Sanbornton Bridge, a short distance from his resi- 
 dence in Northfield. 
 
 Mr. Gate was of a slender constitution, and, as one of his stu- 
 dents remarks, " hardly ever knew what it was to be well." Yet 
 feeble as he was, he was always busy. He was colonel of a regi- 
 ment of militia ; moderator of the meetings of his town for thirty 
 years and upwards ; representative in the legislature in 1839, 
 184Q, 1864, 1865, and 1866 ; state senator in 1844 and 1845, and 
 president in the latter year ; county solicitor from 1844 to his 
 resignation in 1851 ; railroad commissioner from 1849 to 1851 
 inclusive:; delegate to the constitutional convention of 1850; can- 
 didate for governor in 1858, 1859, and 1860 ; and Judge of Pro- 
 bate from 1871 to within a few months of his death. In addition 
 to this he was a trustee and secretary of the New Hampshire Gon- 
 ference Seminary for fifteen years ; a director of the Boston, 
 Goncord, and Montreal Railroad ; and president of the Gitizens' 
 National Bank at Tilton, from the time of its establishment, as 
 long as he lived. Moreover he superintended the cultivation of 
 his farm, which was well tilled and produced valuable crops. 
 
 In the various public trusts thus showered upon him he ac- 
 quitted himself to the satisfaction of all reasonable men. He 
 was not brilliant, but rather a dealer in facts, and of sound prac- 
 tical judgment. As a Judge of Probate he was especially the 
 right man in the right place. 
 
 Golonel Gate was a good lawyer and an upright man. By 
 nature he had no taste for contention, and rather avoided the 
 trial of causes in court, but liked the office employment of con- 
 veyancing and counsel. Yet, if occasion required, he showed that 
 he could hold his own in a contest. He had a good voice, was a 
 ready speaker, and his words " always fitted the thought." 
 
 The historian of Sanbornton represents him as a " genial gen- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 245 
 
 tleman, who enjoyed the confidence of his townsmen to a large 
 degree, and who lived and died a conscientious Christian." 
 
 Colonel Cate was united in marriage, in 1840, to Clara Proctor 
 of Franklin, who, with two daughters, survived him. 
 
 JOHN COLBY CAVERLY. 
 
 Son of John S. and Nancy J. Caverly ; bora, Barrington, August 3, 1852 ; 
 admitted, 1879 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, June 4, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Caverly attended the academy at New Hampton, and 
 finished the prescribed course in the seminary at Northwood. His 
 legal study he pursued in the office of Josiah G. Hall of Dover, 
 whose partner he afterwards for a time became. A man o£ more 
 than ordinary talents, and of a good legal mind, the chief draw- 
 back upon his advancement in his profession was the infirmity of 
 his health. For a year or two he was city solicitor, and for a 
 longer period a trustee of the Public Library. He was a well- 
 informed, sensible, and practical man, and in the trial of causes 
 and the cross-examination of witnesses showed especial skill. In 
 the midst of his busy life disease disqualified him for active exer- 
 tion, and after two years' suffering he sank beneath it. 
 
 He left a wife and one or two children. 
 
 JOHN CURTIS CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Son of Deacon John and Mary (Curtis) Chamberlain ; born, Worcester, 
 Massachusetts, June 6, 1772 ; Harvard College, 1793 ; admitted, 1796 ; prac- 
 ticed, Alstead and Charlestown ; died, Utica, New TQjrk, December 8, 1834. 
 
 Benjamin West of Charlestown superintended Mr. Chamber- 
 lain's legal studies until he was admitted an attorney. He first 
 settled in Alstead, in 1796, and there passed eight years, when 
 he went back to Charlestown as the partner of Mr. West. This 
 relation continued until Mr. West's death in 1817. Mr. Cham- 
 berlain lived on in Charlestown till 1826, and then left the State, 
 going first to Honeoye Falls, Monroe County, New York, and 
 thence to Utica, where his career terminated. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain, like his law instructor, had little ambition 
 outside of his profession. He was a few times pressed into the 
 office of moderator of town meetings ; was once a representative 
 in the General Court, and once a representative in Congress, and 
 
246 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 probably had no desire to repeat his experience in either position. 
 But he liked his profession, especially the exciting public portion 
 of it. He aimed to be a popular advocate, and was highly suc- 
 cessful. He did not accomplish his purpose so much by diligent 
 preparation and study, but depended largely upon his innate 
 resources, which seldom failed to rise to the requirements of great 
 occasions. He had a winning and flexible voice, capable of tak- 
 ing his audience into his confidence by its conversational tones, 
 and of rousing enthusiasm in his passages of impassioned decla- 
 mation. His command of language was complete ; the apt word 
 and the felicitous expression came at his call. It rather detracted 
 from his standing, in the estimation of judicious men, that he was 
 studiously negligent of his dress ; but he thought it added to his 
 popularity with the masses. Others, in later times, have made 
 the same mistake. 
 
 For many years he was one of the leading advocates of his sec- 
 tion, in causes of magnitude and consequence. His retainers ex- 
 tended beyond his county, and he followed the circuit in probably 
 one half of the State, but he had little taste for the tame labors 
 of the office. 
 
 One of the causes celebres in which Mr. Chamberlain ap- 
 peared was that of the State v. Ryan, tried in Cheshire County, 
 in 1811. Ryan was a handsome, intelligent young Irishman, but 
 extravagant and dissipated. In a fit of desperation and reckless- 
 ness he armed himself one day, and bade a quiet traveler " stand 
 and deliver " on the highway. He could not have expected much 
 booty, and he got nothing but some small silver. But he had 
 technically been guilty of highway robbery, a crime at that time 
 punishable with death. Apprehended at once without resistance, 
 and secured in jail, it is no wonder that the fearful dispropor- 
 tion of the penalty to the offense excited wide sympathy for the 
 culprit. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain was retained to defend him. The evidence 
 that the prisoner committed the act was overwhelming. The 
 defense of insanity, which the counsel boldly set up, and which 
 has been so much overworked in later times, was a novelty then. 
 Under the scrutiny of scientific alienists of our own time the 
 defense would have melted away like a morning vapor. But the 
 youth of the accused and the hardship of- his case pleaded in his 
 favor, and there was no lack of witnesses who were willing to 
 testify to their opinion that the culprit was " out of his head." 
 
ALPHABETICALLY 247 
 
 His counsel's argument to the jury was most effective, draw- 
 ing tears from the strong men of his audience, and rousing- 
 indignation against the Draconian law which would doom so 
 slight an offender to the gallows. The prisoner was triumphantly 
 acquitted. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain had one bad habit, which was not uncommon 
 in his generation, and unfortunately has survived to our times, 
 of indulging rather overmuch in strong drink. On one occasion 
 he was employed to try a critical cause arising in Grafton County, 
 and his client stipulated beforehand with him that he should 
 abstain from all liquor until the trial was over. Mr. Chamber- 
 lain agreed to do so, and kept his word. But the client had 
 reason to regret his precaution, for the counsel, missing the stimu- 
 lus to which he was accustomed, became tame and spiritless (in 
 a double sense), blundered through his task in a perfunctory man- 
 ner, and failed to win his verdict in the end. 
 
 In his early life Mr. Chamberlain gave considerable attention 
 to the cultivation of literature, and was the writer of the " Narra- 
 tive of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson," which has been several 
 times republished, in this country and in Great Britain. 
 
 He was married, December 25, 1797, to Nancy, daughter of 
 Hon. John Hubbard of Charlestown, and sister of Hon. Henry 
 Hubbard. They had nine children. His oldest son, bearing his 
 name, was a lawyer in western New York. 
 
 LEVI CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Son of Deacon John and Mary (Curtis) Chamberlain ; born, Worcester) 
 Massachusetts, May 14, 1788 ; practiced, Fitzwilliam and Keene ; died, Keene, 
 August 31, 1868. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain entered Williams College, and remained there 
 two years ; and then without completing his course took up the 
 study of the law, at first with his elder brother, John C. Cham- 
 berlain of Charlestown, and afterwards with Levi Lincoln of 
 Worcester, Massachusetts. He was admitted at the latter place 
 in December, 1813, and came at once to Keene, and remained 
 there about five years, in the mean while acting for a time as 
 assistant clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1819 he 
 changed his place of residence to Fitzwilliam. He was repeatedly 
 chosen to the office of moderator, and of school committee there, 
 
248 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and represented the town in the legislature of the State eight con- 
 secutive years, from 1821 to 1829. In 1827 he was commissioned 
 solicitor of Cheshire County, and served through his term of five 
 years; and was state senator in 1830 and 1831. 
 
 He returned to Keene in 1833. In 1849 and 1850 he was the 
 candidate of his party for the governorship of the State, but the 
 party was in a hopeless minority. In 1861 he was appointed a 
 delegate to the " Peace Congress " which attempted vainly to 
 avert the great civil strife which was too certainly impending. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain has been justly termed " one of the leading 
 lawyers of the State." He was well read in his profession, sensi- 
 ble and judicious in counsel, and tried his causes in court with 
 ability. His manners were quiet and dignified, and well com- 
 ported with his tall and rather aristocratic figure. In his inter- 
 course with others he was genial, and he always had something 
 bright and pertinent to say. His witty remarks were abundant, 
 but always kindly, and never left a sting behind. It was he who 
 originally invited his brethren of the bar to visit the site of the 
 new court-house, by quoting to them the lines of the old hymn, — 
 
 " Ye living men eome view the place 
 Where you shall shortly lie ! " 
 
 Many of his witticisms are still remembered, but they are apt to 
 lose their aroma when transferred to the printed page. One, how- 
 ever, is so genuine a Hibernicism that it especially deserves to be 
 recorded. Mr. Chamberlain, at an evening party, was one of the 
 last to go to the dressing-room to resume his hat. Knowing that 
 exchanges of head-gear were sometimes made on such occasions, 
 he had taken the precaution to wear his very worst tile. Perhaps 
 he had amused himself with the idea that some other guest might 
 have made an involuntary and disadvantageous " swap." But he 
 found his own property safe. " What rascal has carried off his 
 good hat, and left me my poor one ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain was a good lawyer, a good citizen, a good 
 man, and left behind him none but pleasant memories. 
 
 His wife was Harriet A., daughter of Dr. Josiah Goodhue of 
 Hadley, Massachusetts. They were married in April, 1835. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 249 
 
 EICHARD CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Of the few educated lawyers who appeared in the province of 
 New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, Eichard Chamberlain 
 was one. He was a son of William Chamberlain of London, 
 gentleman, and was entered a student at Gray's Inn, May 3, 1651. 
 He arrived at Portsmouth, in this country, in December, 1680, 
 with the royal appointment of secretary of the province. By the 
 commission which created Edward Cranfield governor, Chamber- 
 lain was made a member of his council ; and, October 23, 1682, 
 the governor appointed him recorder of deeds and clerk of all 
 the courts of judicature within the province. These offices he 
 kept, together with those of clerk of the council and justice of 
 the peace, until 1686, when Governor Dudley recom missioned 
 him clerk of the courts of the province of New Hampshire. Not 
 long after this his name disappears from our records, he having 
 returned to England, without doubt. 
 
 The last link which connects him with New Hampshire was 
 the issue of a pamphlet of thirteen pages in London in 1698, en- 
 titled " Lithobolia, or the Stone-throwing Devil," containing an 
 account of the alleged persecution of the family of George "Wal- 
 ton at Great Island, by the flinging of stones and other missiles 
 by unseen hands, which was attributed to diabolic agency. It 
 purported to be written by "R. C, who was a sojourner in the 
 same family the whole time, and an ocular witness of those dia- 
 bolical inventions." E. C. was undoubtedly Richard Chamber- 
 lain. He evidently believed that poor Walton was the victim of 
 the spite of the infernal powers ; but modern incredulity accounts 
 for the phenomena which he related as the work of neighbors 
 whose ill-will Walton had provoked, and of mischievous young- 
 sters whose pranks have deluded older and wiser heads many 
 times before and since. 
 
 BENJAMIN CHAMPNEY. 
 
 Son of Ebenezer and Abigail (Trowbridge) Champney ; born, Groton, Mas- 
 sachusetts, August 20, 1764 ; admitted, 1786 ; practiced, New Ipswich ; died 
 there, May 12, 1827. 
 
 The early educational advantages of Mr. Champney were lim- 
 ited to the common schools and occasional instruction from his 
 
250 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 father. He entered his father's office as a student, and in 1786 
 began to practice at Groton, Massachusetts. In 1792 he removed 
 to New Ipswich. 
 
 He filled the office of selectman many times, and was postmas- 
 ter twenty years. He was one of the projectors and original 
 proprietors of the first cotton factory built in the town. His 
 judgment was sound, and his advice and opinions commanded gen- 
 eral confidence. He was fairly well read in his profession, and 
 had a respectable acquaintance with English literature. Unfor- 
 tunately some of his business plans were unsuccessful, so that he 
 lost much of his property late in life. 
 
 Charles H. Atherton described him as " a dapper, lively man ; 
 not much of a lawyer, but obliging and clever, and stood well 
 with the bar. He had a great taste for music, and often attended 
 meetings for the performance of music ; and when at home was 
 generally singing or fiddling." 
 
 His first wife, whom he married in 1792, was Mercy Parker. 
 She died in 1795, after having borne him three children. In 
 1809 he was again married, to Rebecca Brooks of New Ipswich. 
 By this union he had seven children, nearly all of whom lived to 
 maturity. 
 
 EBENEZER CHAMPNEY. 
 
 Son of Solomon and Elizabeth (Cunningham) Champney ; born, Cambridge, 
 Massachusetts, April 3, 1744 ; Harvard College, 1762 ; practiced, New Ips- 
 wich ; died there, September 10, 1810. 
 
 This gentleman was said to have been a good scholar, partic- 
 ularly in the Latin tongue. After his graduation from college he 
 first studied divinity with the Rev. Caleb Trowbridge of Groton, 
 Massachusetts, and preached for a time, receiving a call to settle 
 as a minister in Township No. 1, now Mason, which he declined. 
 He decided afterwards, perhaps from a change in his religious 
 opinions which is said some time to have occurred, to become a 
 lawyer, and studied with Samuel Livermore at Londonderry, and 
 was admitted in 1768. In June of the same year he settled in 
 New Ipswich, and remained there till 1783. In the difficulties 
 which occurred with the British government, and through the 
 early stages of the Revolutionary war, he was what was termed a 
 " moderate Tory," believing that the peace might and ought to 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 251 
 
 remain unbroken by mutual concessions of both parties. Bat he 
 never became very obnoxious to the active Whigs, and was well 
 satisfied with the result of the war. 
 
 From 1783 to 1789 he resided in Groton, Massachusetts, and 
 while there represented that town in 1784 in the General Court 
 of that commonwealth. He then returned to New Ipswich, and 
 there continued through life. He was appointed county solicitor 
 in 1789, and Judge of Probate in 1793. The latter office he held 
 till his resignation on account of ill health, a short time before 
 his decease. The bar of Hillsborough County passed a vote in 
 1802 that Clifton Clagett should present an address in their 
 behalf to Mr. Champney, advising him to accept the office of 
 Chief Justice, presumably of the Superior Court. Though he 
 did not complj', he was well adapted to a judicial station by his 
 scholarship, his legal learning, his soundness of judgment, and 
 his personal dignity. But of course he was not the equal of 
 •Jeremiah Smith, who accepted and adorned the place in question. 
 Judge Champney had for many years a considerable business, 
 being the only lawyer in an extensive tract of country, and for 
 some time, in connection with his son Benjamin, kept an office in 
 Groton, Massachusetts, as well as in New Ipswich. The late 
 Charles H. Atherton described him as " a man of great good 
 sense and judgment, and a good lawyer, but who never exercised 
 himself as an advocate. . . . Such was his intuitive clearness of 
 thought that his decisions carried great sway. He was particu- 
 larly distinguished for the technical accuracy and conciseness of 
 his professional draughts. They always contained whatever was 
 necessary, vnthout one word to spare." 
 
 He was married, first, in 1764, to a daughter of the Kev. C^b 
 Trowbridge of Groton, Massachusetts ; second, in 1778, to Abigail, 
 daughter of Samuel Parker ; and third, in 1796, to Susan Wyman. 
 By his first marriage he had seven children, and by his second 
 four. 
 
 LUTHER CHAPMAN. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Eleanor (Belden) Chapman ; born, Keene, December 28, 
 1778 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; admitted, 1806 ; practiced, Swanzey, Fitz- 
 william, and Troy ; died, Fitzwilliam, August 15, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Chapman was the son of a farmer. He pursued the study 
 of the law with John C. Chamberlain of Charlestown, In 1806 
 
252 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 he located himself In Swa.nzey, but after remaining there about 
 two years removed to Fitzwilliam, where he resided twenty-eight 
 years. In 1816 and 1817 he represented the town in the state 
 legislature. In 1836 he established himself in Troy, being the 
 only legal practitioner who ever settled there. After a residence 
 of nineteen years in Troy he returned to Fitzwilliam, where, about 
 a year later, his death ensued. 
 
 Mr. Chapman is described as having in his best days tried 
 causes to some extent, before the jury. An anecdote shows that 
 if he was not eloquent, he had the wisdom not to waste words. 
 An action which he brought, when it came on for trial, appeared 
 to him on the evidence to be so perfect that he did not incline toi 
 weaken it by bolstering it up by a long speech. " Gentlemen," 
 said he, " this is nothing more nor less than a question of common 
 sense." Short but sufficient. The jury applied the test, and, 
 returned their verdict for bis client. 
 
 Mr. Chapman cultivated music, and played upon an instrument» 
 which has of late fallen rather into disuse among amateurs — the 
 German flute. He was an ardent politician, too, though it does 
 not appear that he figured in any public position beyond that of 
 representative. 
 
 In later life it is said his docket dwindled, until it consisted of 
 only a single action, in which he, personally, was the defendant. 
 The wits of the bar used to interrogate him, at the beginning of 
 every term, how matters stood between the plaintiff and himself. 
 At length he informed them that there was a prospect of the suit 
 being ended, " for," said he, " I told the plaintiff he might take 
 fifteen dollars and go to hell, and I guess he will do it ! " 
 
 JHe was married, February 9, 1808, to Sally, daughter of Samuel 
 King of Chesterfield, who outlived him. They had no children. 
 
 ARTHUR CHASE. 
 
 Son of Bishop Carlton and Harriet (Cutler) Chase ; born, Bellows Falls, 
 Vermont, October 21, 1835 ; Norwich University, 1856 ; practiced, Clare- 
 mont ; died there, November 20, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Chase read law in the office of George Ticknor in Clare- 
 mont, and took his degree of LL. B. at Harvard Law School in 
 1859. Admitted to the bar the same year, he set up in practice 
 in Claremont, but by reason of his slender physical constitution 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 253 
 
 he soon relinquished that pursuit, and gave his chief attention to 
 the cultivation of the soil. He was possessed of intellectual 
 ability which, had his bodily powers been equal to the labors of 
 the law, would have insured him a high place in his profession. 
 In 1868 he purchased the " National Eagle " newspaper, and for 
 three years was its editor and publisher. He died at the age of 
 only thirty-three. 
 
 His wife was Garafelia, daughter of Charles Davis of Roxbury, 
 Massachusetts, and he left four children. 
 
 BARUCH CHASE. 
 
 Son of Dudley and Alice (Corbet) Chase ; born, Sutton, Massachusetts, 
 March 27, 1764 ; Dartmouth College, 1786 ; practiced, Hopkinton ; d'ied there, 
 March 7, 1841. 
 
 The Chase family of New Hampshire boasts many members of 
 note, both in and outside of the learned professions. Baruch 
 Chase had one brother, Philander, who was a bishop of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, two others, Dudley and Salmon, 
 who were lawyers of note, one of them also a senator, and Chief 
 Justice of Vermont, and a fourth brother who was an executive 
 councilor, and the father of Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of 
 the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 The subject of this notice was prepared for college at Moor's 
 Charity School in Hanover, and became preceptor of the same 
 one year after his graduation. Twenty-seven young men are 
 said to have been fitted for admission to college under his instruc- 
 tion, so great was his reputation for classical scholarship. His 
 professional studies were pursued with Messrs. Bradley and Buck 
 in Vermont, and Aaron Hutchinson of Lebanon ; and he com- 
 menced practice in Hopkinton in the year 1790, the second lawyer 
 settled in that town. 
 
 Hopkinton, in his time, was a county seat, and a rival of Con- 
 cord for the distinction of becoming the capital of the State, and 
 was an important centre of law business. Mr. Chase had his full 
 quota of employment, and in professional repute stood among the 
 best in his county. He was commissioned county solicitor in 
 1808, and served as such for ten years. He was also the presi- 
 dent of the Merrimac County Bank, — a good voucher for his 
 correct business habits and his sound pecuniary condition. 
 
264 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Ellen, daughter of Benjamin Wiggin of Hopkin- 
 ton, who survived her husband more than a quarter of a century, 
 dying in 1868 at the age of 92. They had three children, of 
 whom two, sons, lived also to old age. 
 
 FRANCIS RUSSELL CHASE. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jonathan T. and Fanny M. (Bean) Chase ; born, Gilmanton, 
 April 5, 1818 ; admitted, 1844 ; practiced, Conway and Northfleld ; died, 
 Northfleld, March 12, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Chase, after an academical education, pursued his legal 
 studies with Judah Dana of Fryeburg, Maine, and when ad- 
 mitted to the bar, settled in Conway. There he remained above 
 twenty years, until his removal, in 1866, to Northfield, after 
 which his office was at Sanbornton Bridge, now Tilton. He 
 was a popular man, prominent in political affairs, though not a 
 bitter partisan, a representative in the legislature from Conway 
 from 1852 to 1855, and elected speaker of the House the latter 
 year. He also represented NorthBeld in 1871 and 1872. As a 
 lawyer he was active, ready, and of respectable rank, though not 
 given to delving in the lore of the profession. He was described 
 with justice as a genial companion and a faithful friend. He was 
 an active member of the Episcopal religious society. 
 
 Dartmouth College gave him the honorary degree of Master of 
 Arts in 1871. 
 
 His wife was Huldah P. Fessenden of Fryeburg, Maine, and 
 they had seven children. 
 
 FREDERICK CHASE. 
 
 Son of Professor Stephen and Sarah T. (Goodwin) Chase ; born, Hanover, 
 September 2, 1840 ; Dartmouth College, 1860 ; practiced, Hanover ; died 
 there, January 19, 1890. 
 
 The father of Mr. Chase was professor of mathematics in Dart- 
 mouth College, and the son's preparatory studies were completed 
 in Kimball Union Academy at Plainfield, and Phillips Academy 
 at Andover, Massachusetts. After his graduation he was assist- 
 ant to the professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College for a few 
 months, and then went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to teach ; but 
 the political prospects were so stormy there that he soon returned 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 255 
 
 to Hanover, and began the study of the law with Daniel Blais- 
 deU. Eeceiving, in 1861, the appointment of clerk in the office of 
 the Second Auditor of the United States Treasury, he proceeded 
 to Washington, and in that position and as clerk to the office of 
 the secretary, remained till 1869, in the mean time completing his 
 preparation for the bar, and taking the degree of LL. B. in the 
 Law School of the Columbian College in 1867. 
 
 He was at the head of the law firm of Chase, Hartwell, and Cole- 
 man of New York and Washington, from 1869 to 1874, himself 
 residing in the former city the first year, and the remainder of 
 the time in the latter. He returned to Hanover in 1874 and 
 entered into practice. The next year, on the decease of Daniel 
 Blaisdell, he was chosen treasurer of Dartmouth College, and 
 the year after was appointed Judge of Probate for the county. 
 These positions he occupied up to the time of his decease. 
 
 Judge Chase was a man of thorough and exact knowledge, of 
 prompt business habits, great executive efficiency, and sterling in- 
 tegrity. He was a shrewd financier, and provided well for his 
 own family, and gave generously to others who were in need. His 
 public spirit and liberality were conspicuous, and his administra- 
 tion of the important office of Judge of Probate was marked by 
 wise discretion and a complete knowledge of his duties. 
 
 He manifested a natural liking for historical studies, and had 
 projected and carried well towards completion a history of Han- 
 over and Dartmouth College. The first volume had passed nearly 
 through the press, when he was attacked by the peculiar influenza 
 then prevalent, known as la gnppe, and he was cut off in the 
 prime of his powers. 
 
 He was married, November 9, 1871, to Mary F., daughter of 
 Dr. Thomas P. Pomeroy of Detroit, Michigan, and left five sons. 
 
 HARVEY CHASE. 
 
 Sou of Moses Chase ; born, Cornish, November, 1778 ; Yale College, 1800 ; 
 practiced, Cornish ; died there, 1857. 
 
 Though this gentleman belonged to a family of which several 
 members attained distinction in public position, it would appear 
 that he lacked the ability or the ambition to emulate them, for he 
 spent his life in his native town, and was little known outside of 
 Its limits. He is represented as a man of very moderate talents, 
 
256 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and a " business " lawyer, giving attention to the collection of 
 claims, to probate matters, and the like. 
 
 He was married, and left a son and two daughters. 
 
 HENRY BRIGHT CHASE. 
 
 Son of Caleb Chase ; born, Brookfield, Massachusetts, January 27, 1777 ; 
 practiced, Warner ; died there, January 11, 1854. 
 
 The subject of this notice is understood to have been of kin to 
 the Cornish family of Chase, in this State. He studied his pro- 
 fession with Baruch Chase of Hopkinton, and was admitted in 
 1804. In December of the same year he located himself in War- 
 ner. He was made clerk of the state Senate in 1810, 1811, and 
 
 1812, and was commissioned the first postmaster of Warner in 
 
 1813. He was also chosen representative from Warner in 1813, 
 1816, and 1817, in the last of which years he was elected Speaker 
 of the House. 
 
 Upon the erection of the new county of Merrimac in 1823 Mr. 
 Chase received the appointment of register of Probate, the duties 
 of which he performed with much fidelity until his resignation in 
 1840. It is said that while he was in office the legislature at one 
 time, by reason of political feeling, cut off the salary of the office 
 of register in this and in Hillsborough County, the latter held 
 by Charles H. Atherton, in the hope that they could induce the 
 incumbents to resign. Mr. Chase and Mr. Atherton were two of 
 the best officers in the State, and had no notion of surrendering 
 on such a summons. They retained their places, and in due time 
 were awarded their compensation. 
 
 Harriman's History of Warner states that while Mr. Chase 
 was in the legislature, in 1816, he was associated on the part of 
 this State with a committee of the General Court of Massachu- 
 setts, appointed to carry out a scheme for connecting the waters 
 of the Merrimac and Connecticut rivers by a canal, to pass 
 through Sunapee Lake. The plan is said to have been brought to 
 an ignominious conclusion by the rather tardy discovery that the 
 elevation of the lake was some eight hundred feet greater than 
 that of the rivers. 
 
 Mr. Chase was a man of superior abilities and professional 
 qualifications, and stood high in the estimation of the community. 
 His honesty and uprightness were conspicuous, and he reared 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 257 
 
 his family in comfort and respectability. "His reputation as a 
 lawyer," says a local historian, " was second to that of no man 
 in the State." 
 
 He married Dolly, daughter of Nathaniel Bean of Warner. 
 Four children were living at his death : a son, bearing his father's 
 name, who studied law and practiced in Louisiana, and three 
 daughters. 
 
 HORACE CHASE. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Molly (Stanley) Chase ; born, Warner, December 14, 
 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1814 ; practiced, Goshen and Hopkinton ; died, 
 Hopkinton, March 1, 1875. 
 
 Horace Chase studied his profession under Matthew Harvey of 
 Hopkinton, and after a stay in Goshen of about three years, 
 returned to Hopkinton in 1821, and entered into partnership with 
 Mr. Harvey. He was a representative in the legislature of 1829, 
 and the same year received the appointment of postmaster, which 
 he held until 1850. From 1830 to 1832 he was assistant clerk 
 of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. In 1833 he 
 was commissioned Judge of Probate for Merrimac County, and 
 administered the office until 1855. In 1845 he published the 
 " Probate Directory," a convenient and useful manual of the law 
 and practice of the court over which he presided. 
 
 Judge Chase was an enthusiastic Freemason, and for many 
 years was the secretary of the Grand Lodge of the State, and 
 of other Masonic bodies. He compiled and edited in 1860 the 
 " Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, 1789 to 
 1856." 
 
 As a lawyer he was well read and careful, not rapid in his men- 
 tal operations, but reaching sound conclusions. He was a very 
 good Judge of Probate, and thoroughly honest. Before accepting 
 the office he had acquired quite an extensive practice. 
 
 He was a genial companion, full of amusing anecdotes, 
 and highly valued and esteemed by his numerous acquaintances 
 throughout the State. 
 
 He was thrice married. His first wife was Betsey, daughter of 
 Stephen Blanchard of Hopkinton, whom he married December 
 24, 1818, and who left him four children ; his second, married 
 June 5, 1844, was Lucy, her sister ; his last wife, married Novem- 
 ber 15, 1849, was Mrs. Ruhamah, daughter of Joseph Cochran o£ 
 17 
 
258 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 New Boston, and widow of Daniel Clarke of Canaan. He had 
 two sons in the legal profession. 
 
 THADDEUS S. CHASE. 
 
 Mr. Chase was a native of Maine, and came to Gorham ahout 
 the year 1867, apparently on a " prospecting " trip. He remained 
 there but a few months, and then, as he could not decide to make 
 it his permanent home, he returned to North "Windham, Maine, 
 
 where he died not long afterwards. 
 
 CHARLES GILMAN CHENEY. 
 
 Son of Moses and Abigail (Morrison) Cheney ; born, Holderness, July 8, 
 1826 ; Dartmouth College, 1848 ; admitted, 1851 ; practiced, Peterborough ; 
 died there, November 13, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Cheney studied law in the office of Messrs. Nesmith and 
 Pike in Franklin, and began practice in Peterborough in Septem- 
 ber, 1851. Upon the organization of the Peterborough State 
 Bank, in 1855, he became its cashier, and continued in that em- 
 ployment until in consequence of sickness he resigned. May 16, 
 1862. The last two or three years of his life he suffered much 
 from disease. He was a man of amiable and correct character, 
 and strongly attached to him those with whom he had dealings. 
 His early decease disappointed the high hopes that had been 
 formed of his future influence and usefulness. 
 
 He married Sarah E. Smith of Holderness, October 25, 1851, 
 and had one child. 
 
 DANIEL MILTIMORE CHRISTIE, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Zibiah (Warren) Christie ; born, Antrim, October 15, 
 1790 ; Dartmouth College, 1815 ; admitted, 1818 ; practiced, Dover ; died 
 there, December 8, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Christie was the son of a tiller of the soil, and without ex- 
 traordinary advantages was successful in obtaining a collegiate 
 training, and the necessary legal instruction in the office of James 
 Walker of Peterborough. At the age of twenty-eight years he 
 seated himself in the town of York, Maine, to wait for clients. 
 The first five years they could not have been numerous, for he 
 made two removals, first to Berwick, Maine, and then, in 1823, to 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 259 
 
 Dover. He was neither a showy nor a pushing man, and it took 
 time for his sterling merits to become appreciated. As he be- 
 came better known, his virile powers of mind, his fondness for 
 professional labor, and his sense of responsibility to his employers 
 indicated him as one worthy of trust, and destined to succeed. 
 
 His work and his play were both found in the law. He in- 
 dulged in no sports and in no idleness ; he read little, if any- 
 thing, unconnected with his profession ; he had no fancy for 
 society ; he never speculated ; he had no " fads." He held only 
 two public of&ces in the course of his long life, that of United 
 States district attorney, which President Adams gave him in 
 1828 ; and that of representative in the General Court, to which 
 he was chosen in 1826, and eleven years, at intervals, afterwards. 
 His great interest in life was centred in his profession. His 
 daily habit, for half a century and more, was to repair to his office 
 as soon as breakfast was over, and to spend the day, and the 
 evening until ten o'clock, in it, unless summoned elsewhere by 
 his business. 
 
 Thoroughly grounded in the principles of the law, and untiring 
 in research, he was rarely at fault in his legal opinions. The 
 instances in which his advice was found to be erroneous were few 
 indeed. He relied not merely upon decided cases, he examined 
 carefully into the reasons of decisions. If he could not fully 
 justify a ruling to his own understanding, with his proverbial 
 caution he was shy of trusting to it. 
 
 He may be said to have been a growing man through life. It 
 was remarked that in his addresses to the court and jury after he 
 had passed the age of seventy his diction was more copious and his 
 illustrations were more various than ever before. For a quarter 
 of a century at least he was the acknowledged leader of the bar in 
 his section of the State. He was a contemporary of two genera- 
 tions of practitioners, from the prime of Mason and Bartlett and 
 Woodbury to that of Bell and Hale and Marston ; and was no 
 unworthy match for the strongest of them in his youth not less 
 than in his age. 
 
 Mr. Christie in his management of his business acted fully up 
 to the spirit of Lord Brougham's definition of the duties of an 
 advocate. He spared no effort to forward the interest of his 
 client, and entered into his cause with all his heart and soul. 
 But he never construed the obligations of counsel, as some law- 
 
260 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 yers are thought to have done, to mean that he should sacrifice 
 truth or honor for the sake of victory ; nor was he ever so carried 
 away by the gaudium certaminis, though he gloried in a hard 
 ifight, as to forget for a moment his sterling principles. But he 
 never granted an indulgence, and, to do him justice, he seldom 
 asked one. He fought every inch of ground. 
 
 He was always thoroughly well prepared. He studied the law 
 idiligantly, he examined the testimony carefully. Every danger 
 owas foreseen and discussed, and the best method of avoiding it 
 \was settled in advance. His clients, at the prior conferences of 
 .counsel, were amazed to learn how many difficulties their causes 
 presented, and were apt to think that Mr. Christie was too timid 
 and full of apprehensions. But when he got into court all this 
 was changed. No more doubts ; no more uncertainty ; he pre- 
 sented his points with boldness and perfect confidence. The 
 objections which had been mountains in consultation became 
 molehills in the court-room. 
 
 He was equally thorough in all the stages of a trial. He never 
 left a witness without having got from him the very last favorable 
 word that he would utter. He was not loud or imperious in cross- 
 examination, .but he never failed to let the jury see the difference 
 between his treatment of an honest witness and of a falsifier. In 
 all the numerous questions that came up in the examination of 
 witnesses, his discussions were ingenious and cogent. He con- 
 trived that the jury should be fully impressed with the force of 
 all the evidence that he offered, even if the Court ruled it inad- 
 missible. But he did not offer evidence that was obviously 
 improper, simply for the purpose of arguing for it in the jury's 
 hearing. 
 
 His addresses to the jury were clear, logical, and powerful. 
 At times, and especially in his later years, he indulged in bits of 
 humorous description that caused much merriment. But in 
 general he treated the jury as understanding men, and appealed 
 to their reason and good sense. He never talked for buncombe, 
 and never appealed to the passions or lower prejudices of men. 
 He was somewhat noted for the prolixity of his forensic efforts, 
 often repeating the same ideas in various forms of words. The 
 humorists of the bar used to say that he was not satisfied until 
 he had put each of his points into a dozen different shapes, one 
 for each of the panel. In truth, he never felt that he had done 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 261 
 
 justice to a proposition so long as he thought it might be ex- 
 pressed more clearly or strongly. 
 
 He had a habit of dwelling upon any peculiarly striking expres- 
 sion uttered in a trial that made in his client's favor. In an 
 action that he brought for the breach of a warranty of a mare, 
 one of the witnesses referred to the animal as the " fitty mare." 
 Mr. Christie caught at the happy description, and in his argu- 
 ment to the jury repeated it over and over, rolling it on his tongue 
 with emphasis and unction until he made the defendant half wild 
 with the " damnable iteration," and fairly pile-drove it into the 
 jurors' memories. 
 
 An incident that occurred to Mr. Christie in another trial 
 demonstrated his coolness and professional readiness under dis- 
 concerting circumstances. It was at a time when the court was 
 composed of three judges, a circuit justice who presided at trials, 
 and two " side judges " whose real function was to adjust the 
 county business, and who often left the court-room for that pur- 
 pose. The trial referred to was going on before the presiding 
 Justice, solus, and was stubbornly contested. Mr. Christie was 
 anxious to introduce a piece of testimony which his opponents 
 meant he should not, and promptly objected to every question put 
 for that end. The Judge sustained the objection ; but the evi- 
 dence appeared to Mr. Christie so important that he strove again 
 and again by varying his questions to bring it out. The Judge 
 at length intimated that there had been enough of that. Mr. 
 Christie rose, apparently to fight the battle over anew, when the 
 Judge directed him to take his seat. Mr. Christie's Scotch-Irish 
 grit was roused by this, and he informed the Judge that he " pre- 
 ferred to stand ! " An awkward pause ensued ; evidently the 
 next step must be the commitment of the contumacious counselor 
 for contempt. But the instinct of the lawyer never left him. 
 " If I may be allowed to speah" he said, " I would suggest that 
 there is no quorum of the Court present." Neither of the two 
 " side judges " was on the bench. The presiding Judge (probably 
 to his no small relief) ruled that the point was well taken, and the 
 trial was resumed. 
 
 Mr. Christie belonged to the stalwart generation who did not 
 break down under intellectual labor. Week in and week out he 
 breathed the vitiated air of the court-room, and underwent the 
 strain of forensic contests, without detriment to his splendid phy- 
 
262 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 sique. Indeed, it happened more than once that he was in poor 
 health when he began a term of the court, and recovered rapidly 
 as soon as he got at work. 
 
 Take him for all in all, Mr. Christie was one of the very best 
 lawyers that the State has produced. With almost no failings he 
 had very many excellences. He was upright, honorable, straight- 
 forward, clean. No man accused him of anything worse than 
 obstinacy in his client's behalf. He was industrious, faithful, 
 true, sincere. He pursued his ends by fair and honest means. 
 All trickery and crooked ways were foreign to his nature, and 
 would not have been tolerated by him. A lawsuit to him meant 
 a square stand-up fight ; a fair test of strength and skill. Like 
 Mrs. Battles he loved "the rigor of the game." He has been 
 termed " the massive Christie," and not inaptly, for physically as 
 well as mentally he towered above the average man. 
 
 When in 1857 he received from his alma mater the degree of 
 Doctor of Laws, it was universally admitted that it was a tribute 
 justly due to his great attainments and his spotless character. 
 
 Immersed though Mr. Christie was in professional engage- 
 ments, he thoroughly enjoyed the pleasures of domestic life. He 
 was married, December 1, 1827, to Dorothy D., daughter of Hon. 
 John Wheeler of Dover, and the widow of Charles Woodman. 
 They had six daughters, three of whom became the wives of 
 lawyers. 
 
 BARTLETT GEESHOM CILLEY. 
 
 Son of Aaron and Sally (Carr) Cilley ; born, Andover, June 4, 1835 ; Dart- 
 mouth College, 1859 ; admitted, 1862 ; practiced, Bradford ; died there, 
 August 21, 1867. 
 
 Mr. CiUey's home until he reached adult years was in Andover, 
 and after his graduation he taught school there. He read law in 
 Concord with Minot and Mugridge, and began practice in 1862 
 in Bradford as the partner of Mason W. Tappan. Their connec- 
 tion lasted about a year, and Mr. Cilley continued to practice 
 there alone during the few remaining years of his life. 
 
 He married Martha J., daughter of Dr. Jason H. Ames of 
 Bradford, and left two children, a son and a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 263 
 
 BRADBURY POOR CILLEY. 
 
 Son of Jacob and Harriet (Poor) Cilley ; born, Nottingham, January 2, 
 1824 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, Manchester ; 
 died there, March 22, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Cilley was fitted for college at the Phillips Exeter Acad- 
 emy, studied law in the Yale Law School and in the office of 
 Daniel Clark at Manchester, and went into practice in that city in 
 1847. He developed a considerable interest in public affairs ; 
 became an alderman, a candidate for mayor, and postmaster of 
 Manchester from 1867 to 1871, and a delegate to the constitu- 
 tional convention of 1876. His proclivity for military position 
 may have been hereditary, for he was a grandson of Colonel 
 Joseph Cilley of the Revolution on one side, and of General 
 Enoch Poor on the other. He was prominently connected with 
 the Amoskeag Veterans, as clerk, treasurer, and captain, and was 
 a colonel on the staff of Governor Goodwin in 1859. He had 
 much to do with the development of the Suncook Valley Railroad, 
 and was a trustee of the City Savings Bank. 
 
 Mr. Cilley was a lawyer of good acquirements, excellent 
 judgment, and acquaintance with human nature. He was not 
 ambitious to address juries, though he was clever in making an 
 offhand speech. He maintained a position through life, as a 
 practitioner of ability and standing, a leading member of his 
 political party, and a prominent and respected citizen. 
 
 He married, June 30, 1856, Angeline, daughter of Nahum Bald- 
 win of Manchester. She with their only child, a daughter, sur- 
 vived him. 
 
 HORATIO GATES CILLEY. 
 
 Son of Horatio G. and Sarah (Jenness) Cilley ; born, Deerfield, November 
 25, 1805 ; Dartmouth College, 1826 ; practiced, Deerfield ; died, Lowell, Mas- 
 sachusetts, March 13, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Cilley had his preparation for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and after his graduation pursued his legal studies with 
 George Sullivan in Exeter. He began practice in the south vil- 
 lage of Deerfield in 1830. That town he represented in the state 
 legislature in 1851 and 1852. Soon after this he removed to 
 Lewiston, Maine, and continued the practice of his profession, but 
 only for a short time, as his circumstances rendered him inde- 
 
264 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 pendent of it. His last residence was in Lowell, Massachusetts. 
 He was a lawyer of good attainments, very gentlemanly in his 
 manners, and well esteemed by his associates. 
 
 He was married in May, 1840, to Deborah, daughter of 
 Thomas Jenness of Deerfield, and left two sons. 
 
 WYSEMAN CLAGETT. 
 
 Son of Wyseman Clagett ; born, Bristol, England, August, 1721 ; practiced, 
 Portsmouth and Litchfield ; died, Litchfield, December 4, 1784. 
 
 The father of this gentleman was an English barrister at law, 
 who enjoyed as long as he lived an ample estate, gave to this son 
 a good classical education, and bred him to his own profession, but 
 apparently as an attorney, not a barrister. The young man at 
 the age of twenty--seven established himself as a practitioner in 
 the island of Antigua, in the West Indies. He was very successful 
 there, if we may judge from the estimation in which he was held 
 by one of the citizens, John Weeks, who by his will, which took 
 effect in 1750, settled upon him an annuity of fifty pounds ster- 
 ling during life. This proved to be a welcome resource in his 
 later years. 
 
 After a stay of ten years in Antigua, Mr. Clagett came to 
 Portsmouth, no doubt with the expectation of taking a leading 
 position in the province. He was admitted to the bar of the 
 Superior Court, and was made a justice of the peace, having 
 already the credentials of a notary public. These positions, so 
 common now, were then limited to a few, and imported some 
 special qualifications and gave consequence. Certainly Justice 
 Clagett magnified his magisterial office. Every petty violation of 
 the criminal law which came to his knowledge he made the object 
 of his official cognizance. In order to invest his office of justice 
 with suitable dignity, he caused to be fitted up in his house a sort 
 of court-room, with a bench and raised chair for himself, and less 
 elevated seats for his clerk and his sheriff. Into this abode of 
 the majesty of the law he caused offenders to be conducted and 
 arraigned before himself, whose heavy frown and portentous voice 
 added to the imposing character of the scene. An example will 
 show his method of proceeding. Clagett inquired one day of a 
 countryman who had brought in a load of wood to sell, what price 
 he asked for it. On being informed, the Justice d d the man 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 265 
 
 (for he was In the habit of swearing like " our army in Flanders ") 
 for asking too much. The man retorted, with similar impreca- 
 tions. Thereupon Clagett issued a warrant against him for pro- 
 fane swearing, and caused the poor fellow to be brought before 
 himself for trial. 
 
 The culprit then began to realize the situation, begged the Jus- 
 tice's pardon, and averred that he would never have spoken so if 
 he had known it was his honor, 'Squire Clagett. 
 
 " 'Squire Clagett harbors malice against no man," said the Court, 
 " and freely forgives you." 
 
 " Thank your Honor," said the prisoner, and was about to go, 
 when the Court interrupted in thunder tones : — 
 
 "Stop, sir; 'Squire Clagett forgives you, but the law does 
 not I " He then went on to pronounce judgment against the 
 teamster, who was at last fain to get off with the sacrifice of his 
 load of wood in satisfaction of the fine and costs. 
 
 So frequent did such proceedings become in this tribunal, that 
 they gave a new word to the common speech, and " I '11 Clagett 
 you " took the place of " I '11 proseejute you." 
 
 It is not to be understood that Mr. Clagett's business was con- 
 fined to transactions of the character here described. On the 
 contrary, he held his station and dignity as a counselor at law in 
 the highest estimation. It is not known whether in this country 
 the rules ever prevailed which separated the English barrister 
 from vulgar tradesmen, but certainly for a long period it was 
 regarded here as infra dignitatem for an educated lawyer to ad- 
 vertise his business in the newspaper. Samuel Livermore, with 
 a wholesome disregard of inapplicable traditions, when he had 
 occasion to move his office, advertised in the " New Hampshire 
 Gazette " not only that fact, but also that he had tickets in the 
 Newmarket Lottery for sale. This double offense against the ex- 
 elusive character of his profession produced from Clagett, who 
 had a pleasant knack at versification, the following : — 
 
 ON AN ADVERTISEMENT OF S. L. ESQ. 
 
 Pray is it not a thing surprising 
 To see a Lawyer advertising ? 
 Tho' Law 's the plea and the intent, 
 Yet Lawyers should quote precedent. 
 True it is, there 's no dispute on 't, 
 A tree 's known best by the fruit on 't, 
 
266 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 So he that sells the choicest wine 
 Need have no bush (that is) no sign, 
 But with the Lawyer we agree, 
 The end of Law 's a Lottery. 
 
 Mr. Clagett enjoyed the reputation of being a wit. One of 
 his smart sayings has come down to us, chiefly because it turned 
 out unexpectedly to be prophetic. He married a young lady not 
 only of beauty, but with handsome expectations of property. An 
 acquaintance congratulated him on marrying a fortune. " Not a 
 fortune," he replied, " but a fortune's daughter — a mis-fortune ! " 
 The subsequent conduct of the lady is said to have proved his 
 reply to have been " a true word though spoken in jest." 
 
 In 1765 Mr. Clagett was appointed by Governor Benning 
 Wentworth attorney-general of the province, and in 1768, on 
 the accession of Governor John Wentworth, his commission was 
 renewed. He conducted the prosecution against the unfortunate 
 Ruth Blay in 1768, the victim of a barbarous law, prematurely 
 carried into execution by an unfeeling official. Mr. Clagett's 
 inflated exordium in opening the prosecution was an apology for 
 the enforcement of a statute so abhorrent to every sentiment of 
 humanity ; " he called Heaven to witness that he was discharging 
 a duty that he owed his country, his king, and his God ! " 
 
 In 1769 Mr. Clagett took his family to England, where he 
 would have remained, in consequence of inducements offered him 
 by his friends and relations there, but for the obstinate refusal of 
 his wife. He returned to this country after about two years, and 
 soon afterwards purchased a farm in Litchfield, on the bank of 
 the Merrimac, to which, in 1772, he retired with his family. For 
 this he probably had a double reason ; first, he had openly taken 
 part with the colonists in their complaints against the British 
 government, and therefore could expect no further favors from 
 Governor Wentworth or his friends who were all-powerful in 
 Portsmouth; and secondly, the province had just been divided 
 into counties, each of which would have its own courts, and 
 Litchfield promised to be one of the centres of legal and other 
 business for Hillsborough County. 
 
 From Litchfield and Nottingham West, he was chosen a mem- 
 ber of the last House of Representatives which assembled under 
 the royal government, and to the third and fifth Provincial Con- 
 gresses. He was an active and prominent member, and served on 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 267 
 
 the most important committees, notably that to draft the plan for 
 the government of the State. Under the new Constitution adopted 
 in January, 1776, he was chosen a councilor, and shortly after- 
 wards attorney-general, which position he resigned after about 
 two years. He was appointed a member of the Committee of 
 Safety in 1776, and elected a representative from Merrimac and 
 Bedford in 1777. In August, 1778, he was chosen a special 
 justice of the Superior Court, and in November, 1781, solicitor- 
 general for the State. This office he filled until the establish- 
 ment of the new Constitution in 1783, and he was the only person 
 who ever held it. 
 
 Mr. Clagett's business lay chiefly in criminal proceedings, of 
 greater or less magnitude. He was an excellent public prosecu- 
 tor, and was fully employed in his duties as such for several years. 
 Indeed, he thought it necessary at one time to call upon the legis- 
 lature for assistants. But his civil practice is said never to have 
 been very considerable, nor was he much employed as an advocate. 
 
 His personal appearance was striking. Tall and robust, with 
 a stern countenance, heavy brow, and piercing black eyes, and an 
 occasional convulsive twitch of the mouth accompanied by a 
 frown and snap of the eye, he was not only a " terror to evil- 
 doers," but an unattractive personage to all strangers. His rude- 
 ness of manner and profanity of speech matched well with his 
 looks. But beneath this forbidding exterior were found gentler 
 qualities. He was social, hospitable, kind-hearted, and liberal, and 
 had no malice in his composition. 
 
 He was not happy in his domestic relations, and his home was 
 rather neglected. Unfortunately he failed in his duty to suitably 
 educate his children. Those of them who acquired respectable 
 learning did it in spite of his neglect. He never lost his self- 
 importance, but is described as retaining his full-bottomed wig 
 and once laced hat and threadfcare fine garments to the last. 
 
 He was married in 1759 to Lettice Mitchell of Portsmouth, and 
 had seven children, one of them of his own profession. 
 
 ICHABOD BAETLETT CLAGGETT. 
 
 Son of William and Mary (Thompson) Claggett ; born, Portsmouth, Sep- 
 tember 21, 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1845 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died 
 there, March 12, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Claggett began the study of the law under his father in 
 
268 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Portsmouth. Then, being made preceptor of the Brackett Acad- 
 emy in Greenland, he devoted all his leisure time for the next two 
 years to the same study, and finished it in the office of lehabod 
 Bartlett in Portsmouth. He was admitted to the bar in 1848. 
 Twice he was elected solicitor of the city of Portsmouth. He was 
 a young man of amiable character, respectable in his profession, 
 and attentive to his business. His health after a few years gave 
 way, and his life was terminated by consumption. 
 
 WILLIAM CLAGGETT. 
 
 Son of Hon. Clifton and Margaret (McQuesten) Claggett ; born, Litclifleld, 
 April 8, 1790 ; Dartmouth College, 1808 ; practiced, Portsmonth ; died there, 
 December 28, 1870. 
 
 Few men have begun life with more favorable prospects than 
 William Claggett. The son of a judge of the Superior Court, 
 with a collegiate training, he served his legal apprenticeship in 
 the offices of his father, of Edmund Parker of Amherst, and of 
 George Sullivan of Exeter, and in 1811 began practice in the 
 chief town of the State. He was selected the next year to deliver 
 the Fourth of July oration, and a year or two later elected a mem- 
 ber of the legislature, in which he held a seat repeatedly after- 
 wards. Business naturally flowed in upon him, so that at one 
 time he entered more actions in court than any other practitioner 
 in the county. He was appointed clerk of the Circuit Court of 
 the United States in 1821 ; was state senator in 1825 ; and naval 
 officer of the port of Portsmouth in Jackson's administration. 
 
 But as he advanced in life he failed to retain the advantages he 
 had gained. His business fell off and deteriorated in character, 
 and his later years found him comparatively unemployed and in 
 needy circumstances. There appears to have been some radical 
 defect in his character, to cause so marked a loss of confidence in 
 his professional capacity. 
 
 Several of his earlier speeches and addresses were published : 
 an oration on Independence, 1812 ; speech in the New Hampshire 
 legislature, 1814 ; address on Slavery ; address on the Unity of 
 Races. 
 
 Mr. Claggett ^ was married, May 20, 1816, to Sarah F., daugh- 
 
 1 William Claggett was the first of his family to spell his name with a 
 double g ; his father and grandfather used but a single one. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 269 
 
 ter of Governor William Plumer of Epping. Her death took 
 place within a year or two, and he married, May 14, 1819, Mary, 
 daughter of Ebenezer Thompson of Portsmouth. 
 His son by his second marriage was a lawyer. 
 
 CHARLES CLAPHAM. 
 
 This gentleman, a native of England, is said to have served for 
 a time as a midshipman on a mast-ship. That probably brought 
 him to this country. He was the teacher of the " Garrison Hill 
 school " in Dover in 1775 and 1778, and in company with Joseph 
 Blanchard made in 1787 the survey of the straight western line 
 of Mason's patent, as mentioned in Belknap's History of New 
 Hampshire. He studied law in Dover with Jonathan Rawson, and 
 was recommended by the bar of Strafford County for admission to 
 the Court of Common Pleas as an attorney, November 20, 1788. 
 The next year he and Rawson were elected " attorneys for the 
 town." In 1789 Mr. Clapham purchased from Rev. Dr. Jeremy 
 Belknap, the historian, the dwelling-house which the latter had 
 formerly occupied, at " the Landing " in Dover. 
 
 August 21, 1797, Mr. Clapham advertised in the Dover " Sun " 
 that he "had removed his office from Daniel Libbey's store to 
 one adjoining Mr. Thomas Footman's House, where constant 
 attendance will be given in the line of his profession." The tradi- 
 tion is that he was afterwards employed in some official position 
 on board a vessel of war, and the announcement of his death is 
 made in a newspaper of the time as follows : — 
 
 " Died on board the ship Merrimack at Dominico, 14th March, 
 1799, by a fall, Charles Clapham, Esq., of Dover." 
 
 Mr. Clapham was married prior to his admission as an attor- 
 ney, and had at least one son. 
 
 DANIEL CLARK, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wiggin) Clark ; born, Stratham, October 
 24, 1809 ; Dartmouth College, 1834 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Epping and 
 Manchester ; died, Manchester, January 2, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Clark was the son of a respectable farmer and blacksmith, 
 and from time to time, as he grew up, attended the Hampton 
 Academy, where he qualified himself to enter college. The ex- 
 
270 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 penses of his education he defrayed in considerable part by his 
 earnings as a teacher in vacations. One half of his term of law 
 study he passed in the office of George Sullivan, and the remain- 
 der in that of James Bell, both of Exeter. He began practice in 
 Epping, but in less than two years was attracted to Manchester 
 by the prospect that it was to become a great business centre. 
 Growing up with the place, he became identified with it in inter- 
 ests, made himself known to all new-comers, and acquired a large 
 practice. He was city solicitor, member of the school board, 
 chief engineer of the fire department, trustee of the city library, 
 and five years representative in the legislature, namely, 1842, 
 1843, 1846, 1854, and 1855. 
 
 A few years after his settlement in Manchester occurred the 
 murder of Jonas L. Parker, which in respect to its atrocity, the 
 public place of its commission, and the impossibility of ascertain- 
 ing the author of the crime, has become a cause celebre in the 
 State. Mr. Clark was employed by the government to lead the 
 prosecution, and succeeded so far as to procure the extradition from 
 a neighboring State of the suspected criminal, and, after a pro- 
 tracted examination, to obtain his committal to await the action 
 of the Grand Jury. Though no sufficient evidence was found to 
 warrant the indictment of the prisoner, yet in the hearing before 
 the Police Court, where the defense was managed by the united 
 strength of Benjamin F. Butler, Charles G. Atherton, and Frank- 
 lin Pierce, Mr. Clark gained great credit for the ability with 
 which he conducted the prosecution. 
 
 He became prominent in political affairs as he advanced as a 
 lawyer. He was three times candidate for the state Senate, but 
 his district was controlled by the adverse party. He had ac- 
 quired so high a standing as a party leader, especially in the 
 General Court, that he was put forward as a candidate for United 
 States senator in 1855. His competitor was James Bell, who 
 was elected, though in feeble health, and died in 1857. Mr. 
 Clark was chosen to fill out the remaining four years of the 
 term, at the expiration of which he was chosen for another full 
 period, giving him in all ten years of service, including the entire 
 duration of the great Kebellion. He was thus in a most re- 
 sponsible and conspicuous position in those " times that tried 
 men's souls." In the committee-room, on the floor of the Senate 
 where his voice was often heard, and everywhere, in public and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 271 
 
 in private, he gave his support and influence to the cause of his 
 country. He gained the confidence and warm regard of his as- 
 sociates, and a national reputation as a statesman. During a 
 considerable part of two sessions he was president pro tern, of the 
 Senate. 
 
 Soon after his senatorial career terminated in 1866, he was 
 appointed Judge of the United States District Court for New 
 Hampshire. That office he filled to the time of his decease, 
 though the law was such that he might have relinquished it at 
 seventy years of age, with the continuance of a salary for life. But 
 he chose to "earn his money." That he made an excellent judge 
 may readily be believed. He put new life into the administration 
 of the court, and was often called on to preside in the federal 
 tribunals in other States of the circuit. 
 
 Twenty years' active practice at the bar, ten years' service in 
 the highest legislative body in the nation, and twenty-four years 
 upon the bench constitute a remarkable record, in the life of one 
 man. And Judge Clark took no secondary place, wherever his 
 fortune called him. He was a lawyer of learning, ingenious, acute, 
 and strong, alike in counsel and in the courts. He was pitted 
 against the leading members of the bar in Hillsborough, Merri- 
 mae, and Rockingham counties, and needed to give no odds. His 
 arguments were directed at once to the heart of the questions at 
 issue. On various important public occasions, he delivered ora- 
 tions, more elaborate and scholarly, often eloquent in feeling and 
 expression. His alma mater in 1866 added his name to the 
 honored list of her Doctors of Laws. In the constitutional 
 convention of 1876 he was chosen president, and gave the key 
 to the changes in our organic law which were effected by that 
 body. 
 
 In private life Judge Clark was much respected. In his inter- 
 course with others, though somewhat distant and formal, he was 
 always inclined to oblige. He was honest, upright, and faithful 
 to every trust. At the time of his death he was the oldest di- 
 rector of the Amoskeag Corporation, and a trustee of the City 
 Library, and of the Manchester Savings Bank. For some years 
 he was the president of the Industrial School, in the success 
 of which he felt much concern, and to which he gave his best 
 efforts. 
 
 In 1840, June 9, he was united in marriage with Hannah W., 
 
272 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 daughter of Maxcy Robbins of Stratham. She died in 1844, and 
 he married, May 13, 1846, Ann W., daughter of Henry Salter of 
 Portsmouth. She survived him, with their two sons, one of 
 whom, Henry S. Clark, is a lawyer in New York. 
 
 DAVID FRENCH CLARK. 
 
 Son of David J. and Susan J. (French) Clark ; born, Manchester, Septem- 
 ber 12, 1854 ; admitted, 1878 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, March 24, 
 1890. 
 
 Mr. Clark was educated in Manchester, graduating from the 
 High School in 1873, and passing without conditions the exami- 
 nation for admission to Dartmouth College. The state of his 
 health at that time prevented him from prosecuting a collegiate 
 course, and he entered, some months afterwards, the office of 
 Messrs. Herman Foster and Lucian B. Clough of Manchester as 
 a student at law. In 1878 he was admitted, and formed a 
 partnership in practice with Mr. Clough. In 1884 he was 
 chosen county treasurer for the term of two years, and in 1886 
 was elected a representative in the legislature. He was an un- 
 assuming but capable and successful lawyer, and a popular man, 
 being a member of several orders and fraternities of a social 
 character. 
 
 His disease was tuberculous, and he was ill but a short time. 
 
 DAVID JOSEPH CLARK. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wiggin) Clark ; born, Stratham, Novem- 
 ber 9, 1812 ; Dartmouth College, 1836 ; admitted, 1839 ; practiced, Peterbor- 
 ough and Manchester ; died, Manchester, September 3, 1866. 
 
 In 1830 Mr. Clark was a student at the Phillips Academy in 
 Exeter, and in the same town he pursued the study of the law 
 from 1836 to 1839, in the office of James Bell. Immediately 
 after his admission as an attorney he entered into practice in 
 Peterborough ; in April, 1847, he removed to Lawrence, Massa- 
 chusetts, and in October, 1850, he returned to New Hampshire, 
 and became partner of his brother, Daniel Clark, in law practice in 
 Manchester. In 1861 he received the appointment of postmaster 
 of Manchester, and continued in that office to the close of his life. 
 He was a man of amiable character, and though he was not 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 273 
 
 peculiarly adapted for the highest range of professional employ- 
 ment, was sufficiently successful in the practice of the office. 
 
 He was married, December 20, 1842, to Susan J., daughter of 
 Leonard C. French of Bedford. He left children, one of whom 
 was a lawyer of Manchester. 
 
 JOHN LEWIS CLARK. 
 
 Son of Peter and Jane (Aiken) Clark ; born, Francestown, December 4, 
 1812 ; Dartmouth College, 1832 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Nashua ; died, 
 Andover, Massachusetts, November 29, 1854. 
 
 This was a younger brother of Peter Clark of Nashua, with 
 whom he prepared himself for the bar. In 1836 he left this State 
 and went to New Orleans, Louisiana, presumably with the inten- 
 tion of remaining there, but in 1837 he returned to Nashua. He 
 was in practice there but a short time, however, and afterwards 
 became engaged in commercial business in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JOSEPH CLARK. 
 
 Son of Simeon and Lydia (Mosely) Clark ; born, Columbia, Connecticut, 
 March 9, 1759 ; Dartmouth College, 1785 ; died, East Hartford, Connecticut, 
 December 21, 1828. 
 
 This gentleman had an uncommon training for his profession. 
 He served in the Revolutionary war, was taken prisoner and 
 carried to Halifax, and afterwards to England. After peace was 
 declared he was received into the office of John Sullivan of Dur- 
 ham as a law student, and commenced practice in Rochester 
 about 1788. There he continued till 1810, or a little later, 
 when he resumed his residence in his native town in Connecticut, 
 and subsequently removed to East Hartford, where his death, 
 from an apoplectic attack, occurred. He appears to have been a 
 man of competent abilities and acquirements, and to have estab- 
 lished a good standing among the people of Rochester. He was 
 chosen to deliver a Fourth of July oration in 1794, which was 
 published; and was elected representative of the town in 1798 
 and 1801. 
 
 His wife was Anna H. Burleigh of Newmarket. 
 18 
 
274 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JOSEPH BOND CLAEK. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Betsey (Clement) Clark ; born, Gilford, June 22, 1824 ; 
 Brown University, 1848 ; admitted, 1853 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, 
 October 22, 1886. 
 
 At the age of seventeen Mr. Clark began to prepare himself 
 for college at New Hampton Literary Institute, and for five 
 years after his graduation from the university he was a teacher of 
 schools in this State and in Massachusetts, pursuing his law 
 studies in the mean time under the direction of Asa Fowler of Con- 
 cord. After his admission in Belknap County in 1853, he was 
 two years principal of the academy at Wolf borough ; he then 
 established himself as a lawyer in Manchester. He was chosen 
 city solicitor in 1858 and 1859, and a representative in the legis- 
 lature in 1859 and 1860. In 1861 he was appointed solicitor of 
 Hillsborough County, and at the expiration of his five years' term 
 was reappointed. 
 
 In September, 1862, he was commissioned lieutenant in the 
 11th regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, and was promoted 
 to be captain in March following. May 6, 1864, in the battle of 
 the Wilderness, he was severely wounded ; and in June, 1865, was 
 mustered out of the military service. Returning to his practice 
 in Manchester he was elected mayor of the city in 1867. In 
 1884 he was a delegate to the national Republican convention, 
 and in 1886, shortly prior to his decease, he was an aspirant for 
 the nomination to Congress, but was unsuccessful. 
 
 Captain Clark, in addition to his very considerable legal prac- 
 tice, was officially interested in various corporations. He was a 
 director of the Merrimac River Bank, and of its successor the 
 First National Bank ; a trustee of the Merrimac River Savings 
 Bank ; a director of the Nashua, Acton, and Boston Railroad, of 
 the Manchester Horse Railroad, and of the New Hampshire and 
 People's Fire Insurance companies. He was also a large property 
 holder. 
 
 As may be inferred from the positions he filled, Captain Clark 
 enjoyed a large measure of the public confidence. He was a 
 fast friend, a good citizen, and a lawyer of ability and standing. 
 A hard worker, he perhaps assumed too many cares ; ambitious 
 and sensitive, he took every miscarriage sorely to heart. His 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 275 
 
 death was the consequence, it is supposed, of the burden of his 
 many responsibilities, in addition to political disappointment. It 
 was a complete surprise to all who knew him. 
 
 He was married, September 12, 1862, to Mrs. Mary J. (Pea- 
 body) Smith. She died in 1873, leaving him with two children, a 
 son and a daughter. 
 
 PETER CLARK. 
 
 Son of Peter and Jane (Aiken) Clark ; born, Lyndeborough, April 29, 1810 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1829 ; admitted, 1832 ; practiced, Francestown, Dun- 
 stable, and Nashua ; died, Nashua, May 29, 1841. 
 
 This gentleman pursued his professional studies with Edmund 
 Parker of Nashua, Samuel Fletcher of Concord, Titus Brown of 
 Francestown, and at the New Haven Law School. For a short 
 time he had an office in Francestown, and then, in 1833, removed 
 to Dunstable, afterwards Nashua. In the eight years of his life 
 there he established a high character for legal and business 
 capacity, and made himself popular and respected. At the time 
 of his decease he was the chairman of the board of selectmen of 
 Nashua, and the treasurer of the Concord Railroad Corporation. 
 An obituary notice represents that " he enjoyed a high rank in his 
 profession ; as a man of business he had few equals ; as a friend 
 and companion he was beloved by all, and as a citizen he was in 
 the foremost rank." 
 
 He married Susan, daughter of Nathaniel Lord of Kennebunk- 
 port, Maine, May 28, 1834, and had four children. 
 
 WARREN CLARK. 
 
 Son of Jacob K. and Mary Clark ; born, Hopkinton, March 29, 1837 ; Nor- 
 wich University, 1857 ; practiced, Henniker and Concord ; died, Concord, 
 November 22, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Clark was two years a teacher of mathematics and military 
 tactics in New York and New Jej-sey, and then returned to this 
 State and studied law in the office of Messrs. George and Foster 
 in Concord. In 1862 he was admitted to the bar. He then spent 
 a year or more in imparting military instruction to officers of 
 newly raised regiments, before he opened his office in Henniker. 
 There he stayed until 1870 and then moved to Concord. 
 
 In 1874 he was made Judge of Probate of his county, and 
 
276 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 served until a change in the state administration in 1876. From 
 1888 to 1890 he was postmaster of Concord. Throughout his life 
 he manifested a deep interest in popular education. He was a 
 member of the superintending school committee of Hopkinton and 
 jHenniker, and after his removal to Concord he served upon the 
 rschool board from March, 1875, to the time of his decease almost 
 .continuously. 
 
 As a public officer Judge Clark performed his duties punctu- 
 :ally and faithfully. He attended industriously to his law practice, 
 which in spite of his impaired health grew to be very considera- 
 ble, though it was mainly confined to work that could be per- 
 formed in his office. He was a safe counselor, and seldom 
 -encouraged litigation. He was of a genial nature and courteous 
 in manner, and made many friends. 
 
 May 11, 1864, he was married to Fanny S. Otis of Colchester, 
 iConnecticut, who survived him. 
 
 JOHN BADGER CLARKE. 
 
 Son of (Greenleaf and Julia (Cogswell) Clarke ; born, Atkinson, January 20, 
 1820 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; admitted, 1848 ; practiced, Manchester ; 
 died ther^, October 29, 1891. 
 
 .Always an excfellent scholar, both in the Atkinson Academy 
 :and afterwards in college, Mr. Clarke assumed after his grad- 
 luation the charge of the ^.eademy at Meredith Bridge for three 
 years. While there he began the study of the law under the 
 direction of Stephen C. Lyford, and afterwards finished his 
 course with his brother, William C. Clarke, at Manchester. In 
 February, 1849, he went to California to practice his profession, 
 but like most others there, of whatever calling, soon turned to 
 mining. In 1851 he returned to Manchester, and began practice 
 successfully, for a year, but with a view to a shorter road to 
 advancement, then assumed the editorship of the " Mirror," a 
 daily newspaper there published. This he purchased the succeed- 
 ing year, and added to it two other papers which he secured, and 
 from them built up the daily " Mirror and American," and the 
 weekly "Mirror and Farmer," both which journals acquired a 
 larger circulation and great influence. The weekly became an 
 authority in agricultural subjects, in which Mr. Clarke took great 
 interest. He was especially devoted to the improvement of the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 277 
 
 breed of horses and other stock, and owned many valuable animals 
 himself, seldom being without excellent specimens of the best 
 blood in his stable. 
 
 His daily paper, in addition to the latest news of the day, con- 
 tained all the local intelligence that enterprise could secure, and 
 was the mouthpiece of his political party in Manchester and its 
 vicinity. To his newspaper office Mr. Clarke added an extensive 
 printing establishment, where for years the state printing was 
 performed under his official direction. He issued from it several 
 useful works chiefly of a historical character, — the History of 
 Manchester, prepared by himself; Successful New Hampshire 
 Men ; Sanborn's History of New Hampshire ; and others. 
 
 He was in many directions a man of high ambition, enterprise, 
 and zeal ; whatever he took in hand, he put his best powers into. 
 He was a warm partisan and a devoted friend ; always liberal and 
 whole-souled. 
 
 Though no aspirant for public office except in the way of his 
 calling, he was a trustee of the Merrimac River Savings Bank 
 from its inception, was lieutenant-colonel of the Manchester 
 Veterans, and president of the Fish and Game League of the 
 State, besides his nine years' service as state printer. 
 
 He was married, July 29, 1852, to Susan Greeley Moulton of 
 Gilmanton, and after her decease to Olive Eand of Warner, in 
 1886. By his first marriage he had two sons. 
 
 SAMUEL GREELEY CLARKE. 
 
 Son of Captain John Clarke ; born, Pittsfield, June 17, 1827 ; Harvard Col- 
 lege, 1851 ; practiced, Northwood ; died, Bristol, Rhode Island, April 19, 
 1887. 
 
 Mr. Clarke was distinguished for his scholarship at the Phillips 
 Exeter Academy and in college, and graduated at the head of his 
 class. Studying law in the office of Daniel Webster and John P. 
 Healey in Boston, Massachusetts, he was admitted to the bar in 
 Suffolk County and practiced there a few years. His health 
 broke down under the strain of his long and close application to 
 study. He engaged in extensive travel abroad, in Europe and 
 elsewhere, and is said to have had so great a facility for the 
 acquisition of foreign languages that he was able to speak French, 
 German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. His acquaintance 
 
278 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 with the Latin and Greek classics he kept up with ardor to the 
 latest day of his life. 
 
 He lived and practiced his profession in Northwood from 1861 
 to 1865, excepting the year 1863. 
 
 The use of stimulants, to which he was advised to resort for the 
 restoration of his health, and under the influence of which he was 
 in danger of falling, in spite of the best intentions, constituted the 
 main obstacle to his attainment of that professional eminence 
 which his abilities and accomplishments entitled him to expect. 
 
 His warm heart, companionable disposition, and honorable feel- 
 ings won him an abundance of friends wherever he chanced to be. 
 
 Mr. Clarke married, September 24, 1857, Martha A., daughter 
 of Hon. George H. Kuhn of Boston, Massachusetts, and left a 
 son and a daughter. 
 
 WILLIAM COGSWELL CLARKE. 
 
 Son of Greenleaf and Judith (Cogswell) Clarke ; born, Atkinson, December 
 10, 1810 ; Dartmouth College, 1832 ; admitted, 1836 ; practiced, Meredith 
 and Manchester ; died, Manchester, April 25, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Clarke at the academy in Atkinson and in college held 
 high rank in scholarship. One year he was principal of the acad- 
 emy in Gilmanton, and then began legal study at the Harvard 
 Law School, with Stephen Moody of Gilmanton and Stephen C. 
 Lyford of Meredith. In Meredith he commenced practice in 
 1836. Four years afterwards, Belknap County was organized, 
 and Mr. Clarke was appointed its first solicitor. In 1844 he 
 moved to Manchester. 
 
 In 1849 and 1850 he was chosen city solicitor ; in 1850 he was 
 a delegate to the state constitutional convention, and in 1851 he 
 was appointed Judge of Probate for Hillsborough County. In 
 1855 he declined the offer of a seat on the bench of the Supreme 
 Court of New Hampshire, and in 1856, as one of the results of 
 a political overturn in the State, he was superseded in the office 
 of Judge of Probate. In 1863 he received the appointment of 
 Attorney-General of the State, which he retained to the time of 
 his decease. 
 
 He was for many years a director and trustee of two or three 
 banking institutions, a trustee of the Manchester Athemeum, and 
 trustee and clerk of the City Library, and for a time treasurer 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 279 
 
 and afterwards clerk of the Manchester and Lawrence Eail- 
 road. 
 
 Up to the time of his assumption of the duties of Attorney- 
 General, he enjoyed a large private practice. As the public pros- 
 ecutor of the State he gained high credit. He was a careful and 
 exact lawyer, and rarely if ever made a slip in his pleadings. He 
 was scrupulous in attention to his official duties, and allowed no 
 offenses to pass without proper inquiry and investigation. At the 
 same time he could make allowance for youth and ignorance, and 
 had no vindictiveness or severity in his disposition. It was never 
 believed of him that he used the extensive powers of his office 
 wrongfully, or even heedlessly. On the contrary his acts were all 
 with a single eye to justice and the public good. 
 
 Judge Clarke married, in 1834, Anna Maria, daughter of 
 Stephen L. Greeley of Gilmanton, who with two sons and two 
 daughters survived him. Their oldest son is a lawyer, formerly 
 of Manchester, and now in New York city. 
 
 AUGUSTUS BAXTER CLAY. 
 
 Son of Barber and Mary (Stevens) Clay ; born, Andover, February 19, 
 1831 ; admitted, 1858 ; practiced, Newmarket ; died there, March 26, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Clay's education was obtained in the common schools and 
 at the academies in Nashua and Andover, Massachusetts. Before 
 reaching the age of twenty-one he was employed in a store in 
 Newmarket, but was then looking forward to the law as his pro- 
 fession, and devoted all his spare hours to study. He finished his 
 preliminary reading in the office of William B. Small of Newmar- 
 ket, and began practice there immediately after his admission. 
 
 He was bright and ambitious, and his career, both as a lawyer 
 and a politician, promised to be a very successful one. He was 
 elected a member of the legislature in 1860, and had laid the 
 foundations of a considerable legal business, when he was attacked 
 by the illness which in two weeks terminated his earthly existence. 
 
 He married Mary G. Woodman of Newmarket, February 26, 
 1852. They had one daughter, who died in childhood. 
 
280 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JAMES BOWDOIN CLEAVELAND. 
 
 Son of Professor Parker and Martha (Bush) Cleaveland ; born, Brunswick, 
 Maine, 1810 ; Bowdoin College, 1828 ; practiced, Newmarket ; died, Bruns- 
 wick, Maine, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Cleaveland was a man of handsome talents and stood well 
 in college. He divided the period of his law study between the 
 offices of Ebenezer Everett of his native town, Stephen Longfel- 
 low of Portland, Maine, and Eufus Choate of Boston, Massachu- 
 setts. He was an inhabitant of New Hampshire from 1835 to 
 1837, practicing in Newmarket. The residue of his professional 
 life he spent in Maine, at first in Portland, afterwards at Gray, 
 and finally at Passadumkeag on the Penobscot. One year he was 
 a member of the legislature of Maine. In the summer of 1854 
 he came to his father's house in poor health, and shortly after- 
 wards died of dysentery. 
 
 His wife was Lucinda P. Kenney, and they had four children. 
 
 EDWIN FRANKLIN CLOUTMAN. 
 
 Son of Jeremiah A. Cloutman ; born, Alton, 1838 ; admitted, 1879 ; prac- 
 ticed, Milton and Farmington ; died, Farmington, January 14, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Cloutman was educated at the public schools of Farming- 
 ton and at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and studied law with 
 George N. Eastman of Farmington and Josiah G. Hall of Dover. 
 He was admitted to the bar of Essex County in Massachusetts, 
 and practiced awhile in Lynn. In this State he opened an office, 
 first in Milton (Mills), but after a short experience there, estab- 
 lished himself in Farmington. He was considered a man of 
 ability and good promise, and in the five or six years that he 
 resided there had gained a respectable business. 
 
 He was married to Ellen F. Alexander of. Mount Vernon, and 
 left one child. 
 
 FRANCIS COGSWELL. 
 
 Son of Colonel Amos and Lydia (Baker) Cogswell ; born, Dover, April 16, 
 1790 ; practiced, Dover and Bosoawen ; died, Goodwin, Dakota, October 22, 
 1881. 
 
 In his youth Mr. Cogswell was wild and difficult of con- 
 trol. He entered Dartmouth College, and remained in his class 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 281 
 
 three years, and was then sent away for some serious misde- 
 meanor. He prepared himself for the law under Oliver Crosby 
 of Dover ; practiced in that town from 1817 to about 1822, and 
 then removed to Corser's Hill in Boscawen, with the intention of 
 carrying on a farm in addition to his law business. At first he is 
 said to have been dissipated, but he afterwards reformed, led a 
 more orderly life, and used to exhort in religious meetings. He 
 quitted New Hampshire about 1833 and removed to Dakota, 
 and there rounded out his life of more than ninety years, dying in 
 the house of his second son. 
 
 He was married, March 7, 1820, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Smith) 
 Tebbets of Dover, and left three sons and four daughters. One, 
 if not two of his sons followed their father's profession. 
 
 FRANCIS COGSWELL. 
 
 Son of Dr. William and Judith (Badger) Cogswell ; born, Atkinson, De- 
 cember 21, 1800 ; Dartmouth College, 1822 ; admitted, 1827 ; practiced, Tuf- 
 tonborough, Ossipee, and Dover ; died, Audover, Massachusetts, February 11, 
 1880. 
 
 Mr. Cogswell was preceptor of the academy at Meredith two 
 years after his graduation, and then attended to the study of the 
 law in Gilmanton under the direction of Stephen Moody. His first 
 practice was at Tuftonborough, but shortly afterwards he removed 
 to Ossipee, and remained there about five years. Thence, in 
 1834, he proceeded to Dover, receiving the appointment of clerk 
 of the courts in Strafford County. That position he resigned in 
 1842, and took up his residence in Audover, Massachusetts. He 
 was appointed treasurer of the Ballardvale Woolen Company, 
 and in 1845 became also cashier of the Andover Bank. After 
 eleven years of duty there, he was chosen president of the Boston 
 and Maine Railroad. In 1862 he relinquished the latter office, 
 but in 1865 he was reelected and served till 1871. Under his 
 management the railroad gained greatly in means and credit. 
 
 He was a director in the Andover Bank twenty years, treasurer 
 of the Marland Manufacturing Company twenty-two years, a trustee 
 of the Gilmanton and Atkinson academies, and of the Punchard 
 Free School at Andover, and an overseer of Harvard College six 
 years. His business talents were excellent, his social qualities made 
 him acceptable everywhere, and his power of reading and dealing 
 
282 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 with men was uncommon. His personal character was high, — his 
 integrity above suspicion. He was systematic and industrious, 
 and put his best abilities into the work he had to do. 
 
 He was married, June 8, 1829, to Mary S., daughter of Abrar 
 ham Marland of Andover, Massachusetts, and was the father of 
 eight children. 
 
 NATHANIEL COGSWELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Thomas and Ruth (Badger) Cogswell ; born, Haverhill, Massa- 
 chusetts, January 19, 1773 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; practiced, Gilmanton ; 
 died at the rapids of Red River, in Louisiana or Arkansas, August, 1813.* 
 
 Nathaniel Cogswell was a student at Phillips Exeter Academy 
 in 1784. He studied his profession with Ebenezer Smith of Dur- 
 ham, and commenced practice in Gilmanton in 1805. He stayed 
 there three years, and then removed to Newbury port, Massa- 
 chusetts. He was a rolling stone, and traveled extensively in 
 Europe. He was, moreover, a black sheep in discredit with 
 the bar, and by his criminal extravagance impaired the property 
 of his father. Having a fancy for the military profession, as was 
 the case with many of his family, he was aid to General Brickett 
 in the militia, and afterwards joined the patriot army in one of 
 the many revolutionary movements in Mexico, and rose to the 
 rank of major-general. It was while he was in that service that 
 his death to^k place. 
 
 BENJAMIN MARION COLBY. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Polly (Woodman) Colby ; born, Sanbornton, July 25, 
 1818 ; admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Sanbornton ; died there, February 9, 1863. 
 
 The father of Mr. Colby was a veteran schoolmaster, and 
 though the son did not receive a liberal education, yet he must 
 have been well instructed. Most of the time of his legal study 
 was passed with George W. Nesmith of Franklin. He practiced 
 in his native town where he was best known and highly esteemed, 
 and was very successful in his profession. He was chosen super- 
 intending school committee from 1847 to 1849. Though he was 
 in practice but eighteen years, yet he accumulated a handsome 
 property, and by fair and honorable dealing. 
 
 1 Another account states that his death occurred in May, 1814. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 283 
 
 Ml'. Colby was widely connected with the members of his pro- 
 fession. He was an elder brother of Jeremiah H. W. Colby of 
 Dover, a nephew of Jeremiah H. Woodman of Rochester, and of 
 Charles "Woodman of Dover ; and a cousin of Charles W. Wood- 
 man of Dover, Moses K. Hazelton of Bradford, and Jonathan 
 Kittredge of Canaan. 
 
 His first marriage, April 28, 1852, was with Electa M., daugh- 
 ter of Joseph L. Conner ; his second, January 29, 1861, with 
 Elizabeth D., daughter of David Robinson of Stratham. By his 
 first wife he had one son, who died in childhood. 
 
 JEREMIAH HALL WOODMAN COLBY. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Polly (Woodman) Colby ; born, Sanbornton, January 
 14, 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1842 ; practiced, Dover ; died, Manitowoc, 
 Wisconsin, May 11, 1853. 
 
 Eleven years from the time of his leaving college brought the 
 life of Mr. Colby to a close, and of that period less than one 
 half was spent in New Hampshire. From 1842 to 1845 he was 
 reading law with Daniel M. Christie and Charles W. Woodman 
 in Dover ; then he was a year in practice there, and in 1846 he 
 emigrated to Wisconsin. He settled in Manitowoc in 1847, and 
 in the six years he lived there was appointed district attorney for 
 one term, and for a short time Judge of Probate for the county. 
 
 His wife was Emily, daughter of Benjamin Jones of Chicago, 
 Illinois, and they were married October 29, 1850. They had no 
 children. 
 
 DAVID HAYNES COLLINS. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Sarah (Haynes) Collins ; born, Deerfleld, November 9, 
 1811 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; practiced Plymouth and Haverhill ; died, 
 Deerfield, June 24, 1843. 
 
 Mr. Collins after completing his course in college read law 
 with Charles H. Peaslee in Concord and Josiah Quincy in Rum- 
 ney. He began practice at Plymouth, but soon went to Haver- 
 hill, where he lived from 1839 to near the time of his decease. 
 In July of that year he was appointed register of Probate for 
 Grafton County, and held the office about three years. His 
 services in that capacity were of great value, as he rearranged 
 
284 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and indexed the neglected papers in the office in a methodical 
 and orderly manner. But his health was so slender that he was 
 constrained to spend the last winter of his life in the South, but 
 without substantial benefit, and he returned to die among his 
 kindred. 
 
 Mr. Collins was well educated, possessed a good deal of literary 
 taste, and wrote letters that showed originality and polish. He 
 was somewhat peculiar and reserved towards strangers, but those 
 who came to know him well found him most social and agreeable. 
 
 MOSES NORRIS COLLINS. 
 
 Son of David and Ruth (Bean) Collins ; born, Brentwood, April 15, 1820 ; 
 admitted, 1856 ; practiced, Exeter ; died, the Wilderness, Virginia, May 6, 
 1864. 
 
 Mr. Collins had an academical education, and was several years 
 employed in teaching in Maryland. He began the study of the 
 law in the office of Bartlett and McMurphy of Epping, and com- 
 pleted it with Gilman Marston at Exeter, with whom, after his 
 admission to the bar in 1857, he became a partner. 
 
 He was an energetic and efficient practitioner, and during the 
 absence of General Marston in Congress and in the army, con- 
 ducted the business of the office with ability and success. He 
 represented Brentwood in the legislature in 1855 ; and in 1861 
 and 1862 he was elected to the same office from Exeter. While 
 he was in Concord in the latter year the 11th regiment of New 
 Hampshire Volunteers was organized, and Mr. Collins was ap- 
 pointed its major, from which post he was soon afterwards pro- 
 moted to be lieutenant-colonel. He proceeded with the regiment 
 to the seat of war ; was with it in the fruitless battle of Fred- 
 ericksburg in December following, and in nearly all the engage- 
 ments in which it took part, to the battle of the Wilderness in 
 May, 1864. 
 
 On that occasion he was bravely leading his men to the attack, 
 when he received a rifle bullet in the brain, and fell instantly 
 dead. 
 
 Colonel Collins was possessed of robust powers, mental and phy- 
 sical, and was ambitious and persevering. He could not have 
 desired a more honorable termination of his brief career than 
 that of giving his life to his country's cause. 
 
 He was married to Abby Dow of Epping, and left one daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 285 
 
 ABEL CONANT. 
 
 Son of Abel aud Margaret (Jewett) Couant ; born, Hollis, June 1, 1784 ; 
 admitted, 1813 ; practiced, New Ipswich ; died, Lowell, Massachusetts, April 
 12, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Conant studied his profession with Walter Hastings of 
 Townsend, Massachusetts, and was admitted to practice in that 
 State. Settling in Townsend he remained there until 1820 when 
 he came into New Hampshire and located himself in New Ipswich, 
 where he resided six years or more, engaged in the practice of his 
 profession. He then proceeded to Lowell, Massachusetts, and, his 
 health being poor, he abandoned the law and gave his attention 
 to the study of new inventions in chemistry and mechanics. 
 He was highly successful. He invented the seraphine, or parlor 
 organ ; and the hollow auger, so much used by wheelwrights. 
 The mortise lock, one of the greatest conveniences of modern 
 times, was conceived and patented by him ; and he was the dis- 
 coverer of the method of raising bread by cream of tartar and 
 other acids, which, though a saving of labor, is in other respects a 
 doubtful blessing. It would seem that these improvements should 
 have brought their originator fame and fortune. But the diffi- 
 culty of preventing infringements upon his patents deprived him 
 in a great measure of the rewards to which he was justly entitled. 
 
 Mr. Conant did not cease his useful labors for benefiting the 
 public whilst his life lasted. 
 
 He was married in 1822 to Harriet, daughter of Professor John 
 Hubbard of Dartmouth College. 
 
 NOAH COOKE. 
 
 Son of Noah and Keziah (Parsons) Cooke ; born, Hadley, Massachusetts, 
 October 8, 1749 (O. S.) ; Harvard College, 1769 ; practiced, Keene ; died 
 there, October 16, 1829. 
 
 Mr. Cooke was fitted for college at the grammar school in his 
 native town. He became a resident-graduate and student of 
 divinity at Cambridge, and was licensed as a preacher on the day 
 when he attained the age of twenty-two years. In October, 1775, 
 he joined the American forces stationed at Winter Hill as a chap- 
 lain, and was commissioned and performed his duties as such first 
 
286 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 in the regiments of Colonels John Stark and Enoch Poor, and 
 afterwards in the hospital of the eastern department of the Conti- 
 nental army. In 1780 he retired from the military service. 
 
 It is alleged that his pay as chaplain was received by Colonel 
 Stark, who for some cause refused to turn it over to Mr. Cooke, 
 so that a suit was necessary to recover it ; and that Stark's pop- 
 ularity was so great that the jurors only vidth great reluctance 
 agreed upon a verdict against him. 
 
 Mr. Cooke then determined to adopt the profession of the law ; 
 not from any disinclination to that of the ministry, but because of 
 the poverty of the country after the war, and the scanty support 
 that could be afforded to the clergy, imposing upon them the 
 necessity of manual labor, which in his case was impossible by 
 reason of lameness and bodily infirmity. He read in the office of 
 Daniel Newcomb of Keene,^ and was admitted an attorney in 
 Cheshire County in January, 1784. 
 
 He commenced to practice in New Ipswich, where he built a 
 dwelling-house and remained till 1791, when, after Mr. Newcomb 
 received the appointment of Judge, he removed to Keene which 
 was then without any other lawyers. There he continued to prac- 
 tice his profession to quite an advanced period of his life, until 
 disease disabled him from appearing abroad.^ 
 
 The physical infirmity under which he labored gave him an 
 aversion for employments that would require much active exertion, 
 and he was mainly an office lawyer, but had the reputation of 
 being an upright and safe counselor, and a judicious and skillful 
 manager. Both in New Ipswich and in Keene he was noted for 
 his interest in town affairs, and particularly in the public schools. 
 He was described as " a good citizen, a kind neighbor, and an 
 indulgent parent." 
 
 1 While he was with Mr. Newcomb, on April 19, 1783, an agreement was 
 made between them that Mr. Cooke should "have as perquisites all writings 
 except original writs and processes." This method of dividing the business of 
 a lawyer with a well qualified student was probably not unusual. 
 
 2 As evidence of the extremely modest professional charges of the early 
 days of Mr. Cooke's practice, the following bill of his is introduced : — 
 
 " March 27, 1799, Abijah Wilder to Noah Cooke, Dr. 
 To drawing writings between him and Prentiss, 15 cents." 
 The Prentiss referred to was John Prentiss, the founder of the New Hamp- 
 shire Sentinel, who lived to be the oldest editor and publisher in the State ; 
 and the transaction which gave occasion for the " writings " was the sale of the 
 office at which the paper was first printed. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 287 
 
 He was married in 1784 to Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Eock- 
 wood of Winchester. By her he had four children, of whom two, 
 Josiah P. and Noah R., entered the profession of the law. After 
 the death of his wife in 1801 Mr. Cooke was married in 1805 to 
 Eliza, widow of Dr. Abraham Moore of Bolton, Massachusetts. 
 She died in 1836. 
 
 NOAH ROCKWOOD COOKE. 
 
 Son of Noah and Mary (Rockwood) Cooke ; born, Keene, June 17, 1792 ; 
 admitted, 1816 ; practiced, Rindge and Keene ; died, Keene, July 21, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Cooke was a student in Chesterfield Academy, and com- 
 pleted his preparation for college under the tuition of Eev. Mr. 
 Sabin of Fitzwilliam, but never undertook a collegiate course. 
 He went into his father's office and there finished the required 
 legal reading for admission as an attorney, after which he took up 
 his residence in Eindge. There he remained until the death of 
 his father in 1829, and then returned to Keene. 
 
 Apparently he had little taste for the work of his profession, 
 and not being driven to exert himself, fell into the dissipated 
 fashions of the time, like many others ; but unlike many others 
 he had the resolution to shake off the habits before they proved 
 ruinous. He reformed, and lived to a good old age with the 
 respect of all those about him. He died in the house where he 
 first saw the light. 
 
 He was married in 1850 to Maria L. Mead of Walpole ; and 
 had no children. 
 
 SAUNDERS WELCH COOPER. 
 
 Son of Jesse Cooper ; born, Connecticut, March 4, 1791 ; admitted, 1822 ; 
 practiced, Lancaster ; died there, c. 1865. 
 
 Mr. Cooper's father, who is described as " a bitter Federalist," 
 is understood to have emigrated from Connecticut to Vermont 
 about the year 1812. The son, being naturally bright and ambi- 
 tious, succeeded in qualifying himself for the practice of the law 
 and was admitted in Essex County, Vermont. He proceeded to 
 Colebrook, and passed a while there, doing some collecting busi- 
 ness. He also practiced somewhat in Canaan, Vermont. Between 
 1830 and 1840 he came to Lancaster, and there remained as long 
 as he lived. 
 
288 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 While he could not be called a learned lawyer, he could pre- 
 pare a case well, and was " pretty keen in a trial." His appeals to 
 the jury were well put, though he was rather inclined to verbosity 
 and prolixity. It was while he was arguing a cause at much 
 length to a jury, that the learned Chief Justice who was presid- 
 ing, lost his patience and his balance, hitched his chair fairly off 
 the platform of the bench, and measured his length upon the floor. 
 The accident naturally created a sensation, and broke the thread 
 of the counsel's harangue. Cooper lost his verdict, and afterwards 
 complained of the interruption, saying it prevented him from 
 arguing his case as he wanted to ! 
 
 He had an inveterate prejudice against a former member of the 
 Court. On one occasion his power of protracting his speech did 
 him good service. The last day of term had come, the Court was 
 about to adjourn, and the obnoxious presiding Judge was to leave 
 in the stage at a given hour. A trial in which Mr. Cooper was 
 counsel for the plaintiff was in progress, and the Judge vainly 
 endeavored to hurry it along, that he might give it to the jury 
 before he departed. But the counsel had no mind that he should 
 have the charging of the jury. At that time the " side judges " 
 had all the power of the Court, in the absence of the circuit jus- 
 tice. Mr. Cooper was quite willing that they should submit his 
 cause to the jury, and drew out his argument to such a length 
 that the presiding Judge had to go off before it was finished. He 
 then brought it to a close ; the county judges completed the case, 
 and it is to be hoped that the counsel gained the rewai'd of his 
 ingenuity. 
 
 Mr. Cooper received the appointment of solicitor of Coos 
 County in January, 1847, and held the office for one or two years. 
 
 In 1854 he was compelled by failing health to give up practice, 
 and was never able to do any law business afterwards. 
 
 His wife was Mary Porter of Lancaster. 
 
 WILLIAM J. COPELAND. 
 
 Son of Rev. William H. Copeland ; born, Albion, Maine, January 24, 1841 ; 
 admitted, 1862 ; practiced, Somersworth and Manchester ; died, Somersworth, 
 August 1, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Copeland was educated in West Lebanon, Berwick, and 
 Limerick academies in Maine, and studied law with Increase S. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 289 
 
 Kimball of Sanford in that State. He obtained the. means to 
 defray the charges of his education by his personal exertions, in 
 teaching school in winter, and in laboring upon a farm in sum- 
 mer. When admitted to practice he was under twenty-one years 
 of age. He first settled iu Presque Isle, Maine, till 1868, when 
 he moved his office to Great Falls village in Somersworth. It 
 was but a short time before his strength as a jury lawyer was 
 noised abroad, and clients began to pour in upon him. For sev- 
 eral years he was the leading advocate of his section of the State, 
 and was retained in many weighty causes in other counties. He 
 gained much celebrity by his defense of two persons indicted in 
 Carroll County for murder, Joseph B. Buzzell in 1874, and Syl- 
 vester W. Cone in 1876. The case of the former was peculiar 
 and almost unprecedented, for after being acquitted of murder, 
 he was again tried for being accessary before the fact to the same 
 murder. In those cases Mr. Copeland showed his capacity for 
 severe and long-continued intellectual effort, his power of keen 
 analysis, his familiarity with the principles of evidence, and his 
 masterful influence with witnesses and jurors. He was not distin- 
 guished for culture, reading little, probably, beyond legal works 
 and the news of the day. Nor was he noted for refinement, as he 
 was negligent iu his personal habits, and blunt of speech. He 
 was a ready talker, and fond of intercourse with all sorts and con- 
 ditions of men. He has been called " a master of the art of cross- 
 examination." Quick in perception, ready and fertile in re- 
 sources, be was not often taken at a disadvantage. His forte 
 was his logical acuteness, joined with an earnestness and personal 
 force tbat would take no denial. 
 
 In 1882 he opened an office in Manchester, and divided his 
 time thereafter between that city and Somersworth, his practice 
 in extent and value rivaling that of any other lawyer in the State. 
 The last three winters of his life he spent in Florida, where he 
 had purchased lands, and was extensively engaged in planting 
 orange groves. 
 
 Mr. Copeland in 1862 married Ellen M. Wade, granddaughter 
 of Colonel Benjamin Foster of Machias, Maine. She, with their 
 three daughters, survived him. 
 19 
 
290 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 AMASA COPP. 
 
 Son of David and Margaret (Palmer) Copp ; born, Wakefield, October 8, 
 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Milton and 
 Wakefield ; died, Wakefield, January 7, 1871. 
 
 President Wheelock said that New Hampshire could not pro- 
 duce another so brilliant young man as Amasa Copp. Prepared 
 for his profession under William K. Atkinson of Dover and Amos 
 Kent of Chester, Mr. Copp began practice in Milton, but soon 
 removed to Wakefield. From that town he was chosen a repre- 
 sentative in the legislature in 1832, 1833, 1834, and 1838, 1839, 
 and 1840. He was fonder of hunting foxes than of the law, and 
 preferred to trust to the inspiration of the moment rather than to 
 submit to the drudgery of systematic study. Though by native 
 powers he was a leading man, yet he never grew to be a lawyer of 
 great learning. He is said to have made for a time more writs 
 than any other practitioner in the county, and was a ready and 
 strong speaker. He was tall and large in person and of high 
 courage, and as the trials before justices and arbitrators used 
 occasionally to degenerate into contests of physical 'strength, his 
 services in such encounters were very desirable. He used to 
 boast that he was captain of the swamp law as Jeremiah Mason 
 was of the common law. Of great natural powers, only applica- 
 tion was needed to make him the equal of the best lawyers of 
 his generation. 
 
 He married, December 31, 1813, Charlotte K., daughter of 
 William K. Atkinson of Dover. She died November 4, 1815, 
 and he married, December 13, 1821, Eliza L., daughter of John 
 Remick of Milton. He had four children, a son and three 
 daughters. 
 
 DAVID COPP, JR. 
 
 This was a son of David Copp of Wakefield. He was at the 
 Phillips Exeter Academy in 1784, and afterwards pursued the 
 study of the law in the office of William K. Atkinson of Dover. 
 In that place he was settled as a lawyer as early as 1797, and 
 lived seven or eight years. He is said to have quitted New 
 Hampshire under a cloud, and went to New Orleans, Louisiana, 
 where he died in 1803. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. . 291 
 
 He appears to have been a man of much ability, but with the 
 moral side of his character less developed than the intellectual. 
 His wife was a Miss Watson of Dover. 
 
 HENRY CRAWFORD. 
 
 Son of Theophilus and Annis Crawford ; born, Westminster, Vermont, Sep- 
 tember 22, 1793 ; Middlebury College, 1815 ; practiced, Walpole ; died, 
 Aurora, New York, 1836. 
 
 This gentleman sojourned in New Hampshire only about two 
 years, and little has been learned respecting him, at this late day. 
 He studied law with William C. Bradley of Westminster, Ver- 
 mont, and was in practice in Walpole from 1 820 to 1822, while 
 he was still a tyro in his profession, and afterwards removed to 
 Buffalo, and thence to Aurora, New York. He had, in Walpole, 
 the reputation of being a promising young lawyer. 
 
 He married Wealthy Wales, December 10, 1819, and had one 
 daughter. 
 
 JABEZ CROOKER. 
 
 Born, Easton (or Pembroke), Massachusetts, c. 1786 ; admitted, 1816 ; prac- 
 ticed, Chester ; died, Coosawhatchie, South Carolina, November 27, 1823. 
 
 This gentleman was a twin or younger brother of Stephen 
 Crooker. He was an inhabitant of Chester in 1814, while he 
 was a student-at-law with Daniel French, and in September of 
 that year was sergeant and clerk of the militia company which 
 was mustered into the service of the United States for sixty days, 
 and stationed at Portsmouth. In August, 1816, he was admitted 
 an attorney of the Common Pleas, and from that time to about 
 1820, he was in practice in Chester. He removed afterwards to 
 South Carolina. 
 
 In September or October, 1817, he was married to Susan Sar- 
 gent Foss, a granddaughter of Judge Nathaniel P. Sargent of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 STEPHEN CROOKER. 
 
 Born, Ea.ston (or Pembroke), Massachusetts, 1786 ; admitted, 1816 ; prac- 
 ticed, Merrimac ; died there, April 2, 1824. 
 
 Stephen Crooker was a student at Phillips. Exeter Academy in 
 1809, and his residence was then Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is said 
 
292 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 to have been an attorney in Plymouth County before 1816, and 
 made application in that year for admission to the bar of Rock- 
 ingham County, without success. In August, 1816, however, he 
 received their approbation to practice here. 
 
 He opened an office in Merrimac in 1814, and lived there 
 about ten years. He was chosen moderator at one or more meet- 
 ings of the town, and, so far as appears, maintained a creditable 
 standing in his profession. 
 
 His wife was Mrs. Sarah (Gage) Conant, daughter of Deacon 
 Aaron Gage of Merrimac, and they had five children. 
 
 ALBERT HARRISON CROSBY. 
 
 Son of Dr. Dixi and Mary J. (Moody) Crosby ; born, Gilmanton, April 23, 
 1828 ; Dartmouth College, 1848 ; practiced, Franoestown ; died, Exeter, Sep- 
 tember 5, 1886. 
 
 Dr. Crosby (by which title he was known the greater part of 
 his adult life) was a lawyer not above six years in all, only about 
 two of which he lived in this State. He studied with his uncle 
 Nathan Crosby of Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Harvard Law 
 School, and with Samuel Fessenden of Portland, Maine. He 
 practiced between 1851 and 1853 in Francestown ; afterwards in 
 Connecticut and in New York city. Somewhat discouraged at 
 the tardiness of success in the legal profession, and perhaps feeling 
 that he was better fitted for the vocation in which his father and 
 grandfather had distinguished themselves, he gave up the law 
 and became a physician ; studying with his father, and taking his 
 degree of M. D. in 1860. After practicing medicine four years 
 at Wells River, Vermont, he removed to Concord, and resided 
 the rest of his life there as a physician and surgeon, enjoying an 
 extensive business, and a high reputation for science and skill. 
 
 He was a medical officer in the military service of the govern- 
 ment nearly three years, during the civil war ; was physician of 
 the state prison sixteen years ; was one of the board of examining 
 surgeons of the pension bureau for a number of years, and was 
 an active member of the New Hampshire Medical Society, and at 
 one time its president. His private practice was large ; he was fre- 
 quently called in consultation outside of Concord, and to perform 
 surgical operations, for which he had special fitness. He likewise 
 gave many lectures before lyceums and literary societies, and con- 
 tributed numerous articles to medical journals and the press. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 293 
 
 His wife was Eebecca, daughter of Moody Moore of Wells 
 Kiver, Vermont. They were married November 20, 1860, and 
 had one daughter. 
 
 DANIEL AVERY CROSBY. 
 
 Son of Dr. Josiah and Olive L. (Avery) Crosby ; born, Gilford, July 16, 
 1836 ; Dartmouth College, 1857 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, Decem- 
 ber 5, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Crosby divided his three years of legal study between the 
 offices of Samuel Upton and of Clark and Smith in Manchester, 
 and began practice there in 1860. In two years he left New 
 England, for the benefit of his health, and went to San Francisco, 
 California, where he opened an office. He was chosen librarian 
 of the city, but after a stay of four years was compelled by the 
 decline of his health to return to Manchester, the home of his 
 parents. His disease was consumption, and he survived his 
 return but a few months. 
 
 The historian of the Crosby family says "he was a careful 
 scholar, methodical in his acquisitions, sincere and pure in his life, 
 habits, and influences." 
 
 The beginning he made in his profession was respectable, and 
 gave good promise for the future, had life and strength per- 
 mitted. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 NATHAN CROSBY, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Dr. Asa and Rebecca (Holt) Crosby ; born. Sandwich, February 12, 
 1798 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, New Chester 
 and Gilmanton ; died, Lowell, Massachusetts, February 11, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Crosby had for his instructors Dudley Leavitt at Mere- 
 dith, and Samuel I. Wells at Salisbury Academy, both eminent 
 teachers. He studied his profession at Gilmanton, in the office 
 of Stephen Moody. He first practiced in New Chester, now Hill, 
 but after a short time returned to Gilmanton, and became a 
 partner of Mr. Moody. In 1826 he removed to Amesbury, and 
 in 1829 to Newburyport, Massachusetts. There he accepted 
 the position of under agent of the Salisbury Manufacturing Com- 
 pany the succeeding six years. He moved to Boston in 1839, as 
 agent of the Massachusetts Temperance Union, and for five years 
 
294 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 traveled througli the State in behalf of the great reform. In 
 1843 he resumed the practice of the law in Lowell, Massachu- 
 setts, and in 1845 and 1846 went to New Hampshire as the agent 
 of the manufacturing corporations of Lowell and Lawrence, for 
 the purchase of the lakes as reservoirs of water for the steady 
 supply of the Merrimac River, on which their miUs were situated. 
 In May, 1846, he was commissioned Judge of the Police Court of 
 Lowell, which office he filled more than thirty-eight years, and 
 almost to the day of his death. 
 
 Judge Crosby was not only a discreet, learned, and able magis- 
 trate ; he was also a useful and influential citizen, and an author 
 noted alike for his literary and his historical excellence. A 
 pioneer In the anti-slavery movement, when the great Rebellion 
 arose he was the first to propose a scheme for the sanitary relief 
 of the Union soldiers, and subscribed one hundred dollars to 
 inaugurate an association for the purpose, of which he became the 
 first president. Many other benevolent and philanthropic objects 
 received his support through the public press and by pecuniary 
 donations. 
 
 He edited several temperance journals, and published two 
 volumes of obituary notices in 1857 and 1858 ; eulogies upon 
 Judge Wilde and Tappan Wentworth, and notices of distin- 
 guished men of Essex County. An address he delivered on the 
 first half century of Dartmouth College and his history of a 
 Crosby family are full of valuable information. His Alma Mater 
 worthily conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL. D. In 
 1879. 
 
 He was married to Rebecca M., daughter of Stephen Moody of 
 Gilmanton, September 28, 1824, and to his second wife, Matilda 
 (Pickens) Fearing, May 19, 1870. He had nine children, all by 
 his first marriage. 
 
 OLIVER CEOSBY. 
 
 Son of Major Oliver Crosby ; born, Billerica, Massachusetts, March 17, 
 1769 ; Harvard College, 1795 ; practiced, Dover ; died, Atkinson, Maine, July 
 30, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Crosby prosecuted his law studies in the office of William 
 K. Atkinson of Dover, and was admitted about the year 1798. 
 He chose Dover for his residence, and remained there in practice 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 295 
 
 for more than a quarter of a century. He had a handsome busi- 
 ness, and was regarded as a reliable counselor, though he could 
 not be called eminent in his profession. His collections and office 
 business brought him in good returns, and he invested his gains 
 in lands in the township of Atkinson, Maine, so that at length he 
 considered it for his advantage to remove thither to superintend 
 his possessions. This was about the year 1821, and from that 
 time he practically gave up professional engagements. He was 
 highly esteemed in his new home for integrity and usefulness. 
 
 While a resident of Dover, the story goes, that he used to sing 
 in church, though his style was rather vigorous than melodious. 
 His brother lawyer, Charles Woodman (who was no vocalist), 
 was observed one day lending the choir the aid of Ms powerful 
 voice also. On being asked the reason of the unusual effort, he 
 replied, " I am trying to drown Crosby." 
 
 Mr. Crosby's wife was Harriet, a daughter of Stephen Chase 
 of Portsmouth. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY CURRIER. 
 
 Son of Rev. John and Martha (Foster) Currier ; horn, Walden, Vermont, 
 September 7, 1835 ; Middletown University, 1857 ; admitted, 1862 ; practiced, 
 Alton ; died there, June 8, 1887. 
 
 The father of Mr. Currier was a minister of the Methodist de- 
 nomination, whose home was often changed. His son fitted him- 
 self for college in the towns where his father was stationed, and 
 was in the Albany Law School in 1861. Entering the office of 
 Lewis W. Fling of Bristol the next year, he was admitted to 
 the bar in Belknap County, and established himself in Alton. 
 Twice he was appointed county solicitor ; in 1867 and 1868 he 
 was assistant clerk of the state Senate, and the two following years 
 was the principal clerk. Eighteen years he was chosen town 
 clerk of Alton, and for some time was connected with its schools. 
 
 He was a good lawyer, and dealt honestly and candidly with 
 all who consulted with him. He never encouraged litigation 
 where it could properly be avoided, and was essentially a peace- 
 maker. He had, however, a sufficiency of business in the courts, 
 and in some noted cases made his mark. 
 
 His reading was not confined to his profession. He was a man 
 of culture, and the author of poetical articles of merit. In con- 
 
296 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 versation he was ready, entertaining, and witty. He gained an 
 abundance of friends. 
 
 His wife was a daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel George D. Sav- 
 age of Alton. She with their two sons outlived him. 
 
 THOMAS CURRIER. 
 
 Born, Dover, 1801 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Portsmouth and Dover ; 
 died, Conway, c. 1875. 
 
 This gentleman was by inheritance in easy circumstances. He 
 was a student in the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1814, and pre- 
 pared himself for the bar in the office of William Burleigh of 
 South Berwick, Maine, and in that of Jeremiah Mason of Ports- 
 mouth. His name appears among the lawyers of Portsmouth in 
 1825, and among those of Dover in 1826, and a number of subse- 
 quent years. In fact, however, he is said to have had no office, 
 and no regular business, though Dover was his home until 1840 
 or later. Afterwards for the residue of his life he resided in 
 Conway. 
 
 Mr. Currier Is reputed to have been a man of peculiar habits, 
 a bachelor, and a dyspeptic. He traveled in this country exten- 
 sively ; visited New Orleans and the far "West. In Minnesota he 
 bought land, but finding the taxes to be burdensome, he aban- 
 doned it. He made no figure at the bar. 
 
 EDMUND HENRY GUSHING. 
 
 Son of Hon. Edmund L. and Laura E. (Lovell) Cushing; born, Charles- 
 town, July 22, 1838; Harvard College, 1859; admitted, 1862; practiced, 
 Charlestown ; died at sea, March 11, 1869. 
 
 This young gentleman had scarcely qualified himself for com- 
 mencing professional life, when at the call of patriotism he entered 
 the naval service of the United States, as secretary to Admiral 
 Andrew H. Foote, and accompanied him in his various tours of 
 duty up to the time of his death in 1863. Receiving then the 
 commission of paymaster in the navy, he continued in active ser- 
 vice until the close of his life, which was occasioned by yeUow 
 fever. His remains were buried at sea. 
 
 He is described as greatly beloved, and as having given prom- 
 ise of a distinguished career. Unfortunately, his connection with 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 297 
 
 the law was too brief to prove by experience what he might have 
 accomplished. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 SAMUEL CUSHMAN. 
 
 Son of Job and Priscllla (Kipley) Cusbmau ; born, Hebron, Maine, July 21, 
 1783 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there. May 22, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Cushman's education was obtained at the common schools 
 and academies within easy reach of his home. He studied his 
 profession with that eccentric genius, John Holmes of Alfred, 
 Maine, and in 1807 set up practice in Parsonsfield in the same 
 State. There he remained nine years, doing no large legal busi- 
 ness, for he was a " foe to all unnecessary litigation," but em- 
 ployed considerably as an officer of the town, and as postmaster 
 during the administration of President Madison. 
 
 In 1816 he took up his abode in Portsmouth where, though 
 he had a fair amount of practice as a lawyer, he did not devote 
 himself wholly to it, but was engaged in the care of estates, 
 and in various official duties. He was overseer of the poor, 
 town agent, assessor of taxes, and chairman of the district school 
 committee of Portsmouth ; treasurer of the county, five years ; 
 executive councilor, two years ; and a member of Congress two 
 terms, beginning in 1835. In addition to this he was postmaster 
 during a part of Van Buren's administration, and navy agent 
 through Polk's administration ; and on the adoption of a city 
 charter by Portsmouth in 1850, was appointed the first Justice of 
 her Police Court. 
 
 In Congress he was noted rather for his business qualities and 
 attention to his official duties than as a speech-maker, and by his 
 devotion to the furtherance of his party's measures, received from 
 his opponents the sobriquet of " Previous Question " Cushman. 
 He was honest as well as earnest in his convictions, and his pri- 
 vate character was above reproach. 
 
 As a lawyer he required to be convinced of the justice of a 
 cause before he would undertake it, and listened willingly to the 
 calls of the poor and the friendless. His life was correct and 
 without a stain, and he lived and died a consistent Christian. 
 
 He married in May, 1812, Maria J., daughter of John Salter 
 of Portsmouth. They had twelve children of whom it is believed 
 that only two survived their father. 
 
298 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ZARA CUTLER. 
 
 Son of Captain Benoni and Laurana (Leavens) Cutler ; born, Guildhall, 
 Vermont, December, 1786 ; practiced, Northumberland and Conway ; died, 
 Conway, March 2, 1861. 
 
 This gentleman received his education in Vermont, and studied 
 law with Seth Cushman of that State, John M. Tillotson of 
 Northumberland, and Sylvanus Backus of Pomfret, Connecticut. 
 
 In 1813 he settled in Northumberland, and resided there until 
 March 31, 1816, when he adopted Conway for his future home. 
 He lived in that town forty-five years, leading the life of a country 
 lawyer, doing aU such business as fell in his way, a good collector, 
 not remarkable as an advocate, but interested in the affairs of his 
 town, and much esteemed for his social and religious character. 
 The bar of Carroll County adopted appropriate resolutions at a 
 special meeting held after his death, referring to him as " a man 
 of sound judgment, discreet in practice, of strict integrity, exem- 
 plary in his deportment, and of irreproachable reputation." 
 
 He was thrice married ; first, to Mary Waldo of Pomfret, Con- 
 necticut, a granddaughter of General Israel Putnam. She died 
 in 1832. His second wife was Judith, daughter of Captain Enoch 
 Coffin of Concord. She was married, December 3, 1833, and 
 died March 25, 1835. June 8, 1840, he married Maria Tillson of 
 Boston, Massachusetts. By his first marriage he had six children. 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM CUTTER. 
 
 Son of Jacob Cutter ; born, Portsmouth, June 11, 1799 ; Harvard College, 
 1818 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Hatfield, Minnesota, August 6, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Cutter studied law in the office of Jeremiah Mason at 
 Portsmouth. On his admission to the bar, September, 1821, he 
 established himself as a practitioner in his native town, and for 
 several years was a contributor to the Portsmouth " Journal," a 
 newspaper of excellent repute. He soon embarked on the uncer- 
 tain sea of politics. As a supporter of the Whig party he was at 
 all times ready with his voice and pen. About 1823 he removed 
 for a year or two to Dover, and there established a newspaper 
 called the Dover " Republican." Returning to Portsmouth he 
 was an associate editor of the "Journal" from July, 1825, to 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 299 
 
 January, 1830. As a writer and speaker he was highly success- 
 ful. He represented Portsmouth for several years in the state 
 legislature, and held the offices of clerk of the Circuit and Dis- 
 trict Courts of the United States from March 13, 1826, for fifteen 
 years. In 1841 he was appointed naval storekeeper. He enjoyed 
 that office four years, and that of navy agent from 1849 to 1851. 
 Not long afterwards he proceeded to the West where he closed 
 his career. 
 
 Mr. Cutter was a model son, and a noble, generous-hearted 
 man. Well informed in the literature of the day, interested in 
 historical research, an attractive public speaker on the platform 
 or from the desk, he was capable of winning distinction in almost 
 any calling. His acquaintance with Daniel Webster and other 
 high officers of the government gave him no little political in- 
 fluence. He may therefore be considered as fairly successful in 
 the arena of politics. But as the result of his experience, he 
 advised " every young man to follow any honest calling rather 
 than rely for support upon public office." 
 
 He never married. 
 
 MOODY CUTTER. 
 
 Son of John and Rebecca (Browning) Cutter ; born, New Ipswich, Septem- 
 ber 1, 1782 ; admitted, September, 1808 ; practiced, Stoddard ; died there, 
 July 29, 1827. 
 
 This was a self-made man, having no advantages of instruction 
 save what the common schools of his native town offered in his 
 early day. He qualified himself by his assiduity to be a school- 
 teacher, and sttidied law with Ebenezer Champney of New Ips- 
 wich. Establishing himself in Stoddard, he also taught schools 
 there and carried on a farm. He is said to have been elected 
 to several town offices, and to have been much esteemed, though 
 never specially prominent as a lawyer. 
 
 He married, April 10, 1805, Henrietta, daughter of Isaac 
 Fisher, and had six children. 
 
300 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 CHARLES CUTTS. 
 
 Son of Samuel Cutta ; born, Portsmouth, 1769 ; Harvard College, 1789 ; 
 practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Fairfax County, Virginia, January 25, 1846. 
 
 Mr. Cutts' father was a merchant of Portsmouth, and his 
 mother a daughter of President Holyoke of Harvard College. 
 He studied law in the office of John Pickering of Portsmouth, 
 and became a counselor of the Superior Court in 1795. He is 
 said to have been one of a party of young men of education who 
 gave dramatic entertainments in Portsmouth about the close of 
 the last century. His talents were evidently of a popular cast, 
 for he was chosen representative from Portsmouth in the legisla- 
 ture of 1803, and the seven years next following ; and in 1807, 
 1808, and 1810 he was honored with the speakership. In the 
 last of these years the office of United States senator had become 
 vacant by the resignation of Nahum Parker, and the legislature 
 filled it by the selection of Mr. Cutts. 
 
 He served out the three remaining years of the term, and then 
 was appointed by Governor Plumer, temporarily, to the same seat 
 for a month in a special session of Congress. 
 
 In 1814 he was made secretary of the United States Senate, 
 and so continued till 1825. He never returned to live in New 
 Hampshire afterwards, but made his home in Washington, and 
 finally in Virginia. He was a man of good talents and acquire- 
 ments, but scarcely reached the highest rank. It was said of him 
 not unjustly that " his political career was a short and successful 
 one ; the talents and industry which he brought into the common 
 stock of the party were not very great, and the sacrifices which 
 he was required to make for the common good were small." In 
 the few years that he was in the active practice of his profession 
 he left but few memorials of his acquirements or standing in it. 
 One great secret of his political success is said to have been his 
 personal popularity, based on amiable traits of character and an 
 agreeable and impressive manner. 
 
 Mr. Cutts' wife was Lucy Henry SouthaU, a niece of Mts. 
 James Madison, and a descendant of Patrick Henry. It was at 
 the residence of their son, in Fairfax County, Virginia, that his 
 death occurred. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 301 
 
 EDWARD CUTTS. 
 
 Son of Edward Cutts ; born, Kittery, Maine, 1782 ; Harvard College, 1797 ; 
 practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, August 22, 1844. 
 
 Mr. Cutts graduated from college with a fair reputation for 
 scholarship, though he was not specially prominent. He entered 
 the office of Jeremiah Mason of Portsmouth, and applied himself 
 with diligence to the study of the law, and was admitted attorney 
 in 1804, and counselor of the Superior Court in 1806. He set- 
 tled, and performed his life's work, in Portsmouth. 
 
 He appears from the outset of his career to have limited his 
 ambition to his profession, and to have given his best strength to 
 climb to the loftiest place in it within the reach of his powers. 
 He had no gift of eloquence, nor the demagogical arts by which 
 second-rate men have acquired large employment in the courts. 
 Whatever he accomplished was done by honest effort, and not by 
 sleight of hand. He was an industrious worker, a clear thinker, 
 and a lawyer of extensive learning. A cause which had his delib- 
 erate opinion in its favor was already half won. In his practice 
 he was upright and honorable. He seldom attempted to address 
 the court or jury in a set speech ; his forte did not lie in that 
 direction. But the weight of his character and learning gave a 
 force to his baldest statement, beyond the reach of rhetoric. His 
 contemporaries at the bar regarded him as one of the most learned 
 of their number, even when Webster, and Mason, and Bartlett, 
 and others scarcely less eminent were members. He held no pub- 
 lic or fiduciary position save that of president of one bank and 
 director of another. 
 
 His history is written in the judicial records of his time. The 
 state and federal courts were the scenes of his labors and his 
 triumphs. His memory is that of a lawyer merely, and no mem- 
 ory is ordinarily more transient. Those who remember him are 
 rapidly passing away, and their recollections have already grown 
 dim. Posterity will know him by no literary production, by no 
 official title, by no striking act, by not even a witty saying ; but 
 only as an embodiment and devotee of the law. Perhaps, how- 
 ever, he would not have had it otherwise. 
 
 Mr. Cutts in 1810 married Mary Huske, daughter of Jacob 
 Sheafe, Esq., of Portsmouth. They had no children. 
 
302 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 HAMPDEN CUTTS. 
 
 Son of Edward and Mary (Carter) Cutts ; born, Portsmouth, August 3, 
 1802 ; Harvard College, 1823 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died. North Hartland, 
 Vermont, April 27, 1875. 
 
 This was a nephew of Charles Cutts, and a more distant 
 relative of Edward Cutts, lawyers of Portsmouth. He was a stu- 
 dent of Phillips Academy in Exeter. Jeremiah Mason received 
 him into his office as a law student, and, after his admission in 
 1827, he was the office-mate of Ichabod Bartlett for a year. 
 
 He was endowed with a clear, musical voice, and was distin- 
 guished while an undergraduate for his elocutionary skill. In 
 1824 he delivered a Fourth of July oration at Portsmouth. 
 In 1827 he edited a newspaper, established to support the claims 
 of John Quincy Adams for the presidency, called the " Signs 
 of the Times." 
 
 Mr. Cutts remained in the practice of his profession in this 
 State only six years. At that point of his career he was induced 
 to remove to the town of North Hartland, Vermont, to take 
 charge of a valuable farm which was presented to him by his 
 father-in-law, Consul Jarvis. It was supposed that he could use- 
 fully divide his attention between agriculture and his law practice. 
 But a very brief experiment satisfied him that he could not thus 
 serve two masters, and the result was that he in a great measure 
 abandoned his profession. 
 
 He was much engaged in public duties in Vermont. He repre- 
 sented Hartland in the legislature in 1840, 1841, 1847, and 1858 ; 
 was state senator in 1842 and 1843 ; Judge of the Windsor 
 County Court in 1849, 1850, and 1851 ; was first commissioner 
 on the insane in 1845, and many years vice-president of the Wind- 
 sor County Agricultural Society. 
 
 In 1861 he removed to Brattleborough. From that time until 
 his decease he was busied in literary and historical pursuits, as a 
 public reader and lecturer. He was an active member of the Ver- 
 mont Historical Society, and a vice-president of the N. E. His- 
 toric Genealogical Society from 1867 to his death. He prepared 
 many biographical sketches for publication, and was the author 
 of a history of Hartland, which appeared in the "Vermont His- 
 torical Magazine." 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 803 
 
 He was united in marriage in 1829 to Mary P. S., daughter of 
 Consul WiUiam Jarvis of Weathersfield, Vermont. They had 
 nine children. 
 
 SAMUEL DAKIN. 
 
 Son of Deacon Amos and Sarah (Minot) Dakin ; born, Mason, November 
 17, 1770 ; Dartmouth College, 1797 ; practiced, Jaffrey ; died. New Hartford, 
 New York, January 29, 1844. 
 
 In coUege Mr. Dakin excelled in scholarship. He was admitted 
 an attorney in Grafton County in 1800. Commencing practice in 
 Jaffrey in 1801, he lived in that place about fifteen years. He 
 was a very respectable lawyer, and had a considerable practice, but 
 wishing for a more active business he gave up the law and 
 engaged in the manufacture of crockery. In order to produce 
 a white ware of the proper quality, he found it necessary to 
 send to Monkton, Vermont, to obtain a suitable clay. The ex- 
 pense of this was so great that it swallowed up all the profits of 
 the manufacture. Mr. Dakin became involved, and the business 
 was abandoned. 
 
 On his first arrival in Jaffrey he received the appointment of 
 postmaster. From 1806 to 1815 he was town clerk and select- 
 man. 
 
 About 1816 he went for a short time to Goffstown, and then 
 left the State, going first to Utica, and afterwards to New Hart- 
 ford, New York. 
 
 His wife was PoUy, daughter of Eev. Stephen Farrar of New 
 Ipswich. They had a family of seven children. 
 
 SAMUEL DANA. 
 
 Son of William Dana ; born, Cambridge, now Brighton, Massachusetts, 
 January 25, 1739 ; Harvard College, 1755 ; practiced, Amherst ; died there, 
 April 2, 1798. 
 
 Mr. Dana, in conformity with the wishes of his parents, prepared 
 himself for the religious ministry, and was ordained in June, 1761, 
 over the Congregational society of Groton, Massachusetts. He 
 preached there to the acceptance of the people fourteen years, 
 and until the dawning of the American Revolution. Believing in 
 his conscience that opposition to the measures of the British gov- 
 
304 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ernment would result in failure and a worse condition of things 
 for the colonies, he expressed those opinions in a discourse, on a 
 windy Sunday in March, 1775, which was afterwards called his 
 " wind sermon," and led to a dissolution of his official relation to 
 the parish, without the aid of a council. 
 
 Later he heartily supported the measures of the people's gov- 
 ernment, and prepared himself for a change of profession. After 
 some private study of the principles of jurisprudence, he went to 
 Amherst and read law with Joshua Atherton, and in 1781 was 
 admitted an attorney, and settled there. 
 
 His education and experience in public speaking, "with his ma- 
 ture years, gave him a great advantage, at the start. He is said, 
 however, never to have mastered some of the technicalities of the 
 profession, — such as the science of special pleading, — but in that 
 particular, to be sure, he was on an equality with most of his pro- 
 fessional brethren. His peculiar strength lay in his methodical 
 habits and in his power as an advocate. He addressed the jury 
 with the gravity and almost the solemnity which belonged to the 
 pulpit ; his language was fluent and his style perspicuous ; and he 
 evinced an intimate acquaintance with human nature. Thus he 
 wielded a great influence over the jury, and was very successful in 
 causes which came before them. He possessed a self-control which 
 was rarely disturbed, and sometimes indulged in a sly, biting 
 humor not easy for others to bear. He must have been a formid- 
 able adversary in those times. 
 
 In 1782 he was elected a delegate from Amherst to the conven- 
 tion which formed the state Constitution of 1783. In 1783 he 
 was appointed a judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 
 but declined the office. In 1785 he was commissioned register of 
 Probate for the county of Hillsborough, and in about four years 
 after was promoted to the office of Judge of Probate. He filled 
 that position till the latter part of 1792, when he resigned it, say- 
 ing that he was obliged to practice as an attorney for the support 
 of his family, and there was danger that he might not always be 
 able to distinguish between a fee to the attorney and a hriibe to 
 the judge. The scruple was highly^ creditable to his sense of 
 official integrity. He was a member of the state Senate in 1793. 
 
 He continued in practice throughout his life, and though he 
 was a strict economist, and very industrious, the value of the 
 property he left at his decease is said not to have exceeded §7,000 ; 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 305 
 
 a proof that the fees of an able and successful lawyer during nearly 
 twenty years of practice must have been fixed on a very low 
 scale. 
 
 His wife was Anna, daughter of Caleb Kenrick of Newton, 
 Massachusetts. They were married in 1762, and had three sons 
 and six daughters. Of the sons two were lawyers. Their daugh- 
 ter, Mehitable B., became the wife of Samuel Bell, afterwards a 
 judge. 
 
 JOSIAH DANFORTH. 
 
 Son of Josiah and Sarah (Blodgett) Danforth ; born, Tyngsborough, Massa- 
 chusetts, January 1.5, 1786 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, Litchfield 
 and Weare ; died, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, November 5, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Danforth prepared himself for his profession under Wil- 
 liam M. and Daniel Richardson of Groton, Massachusetts, and 
 was admitted in 1814. He came to Litchfield for about eight 
 months, and then to Weare in 1819. From 1821 to 1827 he was 
 annually chosen moderator of the town meetings of Weare, and 
 in 1823 and 1824 he was a representative in the legislature of the 
 State. He lived in the town thirty-two years. He was consid- 
 ered a good lawyer, had a considerable practice, and was not 
 infrequently engaged in the trial of causes in court, but did not 
 possess the gift of eloquence. He was reputed to be strictly hon- 
 est, and a courteous gentleman. Like many another, in and out 
 of the profession, in his earlier days he sometimes indulged over 
 freely in habits of conviviality, but not to such an extent as to 
 impair his standing in the community. 
 
 In 1851 he left the State and returned to his native town of 
 Tyngsborough in Massachusetts, and there lived to a good old 
 age. 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of John Farwell of Tyngs- 
 borough, Massachusetts ; and they had one son. 
 
 BENJAMIN DARLING. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Leavitt) Darling ; born, Sanbornton, March 8, 
 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, Plymouth ; died, Rumuey, April 
 15, 1824. 
 
 Mr. Darling read law with Ezekiel Webster at Boscawen and 
 Joseph Bell at Haverhill, and was admitted in 1815, in Grafton 
 20 
 
306 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 County. He entered into practice in Plymouth. He is said to 
 have been better adapted for office work than for controversies in 
 the courts, and also to have fallen into habits of intemperance, 
 too prevalent at that time. He died early, being drowned in 
 Baker's River at the age of thirty-six. 
 His wife was Susan Eeed of Plymouth. 
 
 TIMOTHY DARLING. 
 
 Son of Hon. Joshua and Polly (Proctor) Darling ; born, Henniker, Decem- 
 ber 24, 1798 ; Harvard College, 1822 ; practiced, Hillsborough, Henniker, 
 Alton, and Loudon ; died. New York State, 1871. 
 
 The number of exchanges of profession from the bar to the 
 pulpit, in New Hampshire, has been about equal to those made in 
 the converse direction. In the former number was that of the 
 subject of this notice, who after leaving college studied his earlier 
 profession with Artemas Rogers of his native town and with Sam- 
 uel Hubbard of Boston, Massachusetts. Admitted an attorney 
 in April, 1826, he began his professional life in Hillsborough, but 
 removed to Henniker in 1827 and to Alton in 1828. He then 
 left the State, and is said to have been awhile in Richmond, Vir- 
 ginia ; and in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Returning to New Hamp- 
 shire about 1832 he was for a year or two in Loudon, in Warsaw, 
 New York, in 1835, and then went again to Ypsilanti, where he 
 was clerk of the Michigan House of Representatives for a term. 
 He came back subsequently to this State and studied for the min- 
 istry about 1839 in the Theological Seminary at Gilmanton. The 
 remainder of his life he passed as a Presbyterian clergyman, set- 
 tled in the v^estern part of New York. 
 
 He was married. 
 
 LOAMMI DAVIDSON. 
 
 The first that we learn of Mr. Davidson is in 1810, when the 
 bar of Rockingham County assented to his being received as a 
 student-at-law by Daniel French of Chester. The next year he 
 entered the Phillips Exeter Academy, being then twenty-one 
 years of age, and claiming Dunstable as his home. He was 
 admitted an attorney at the Court of Common Pleas for the 
 county of Grafton at the February term, 1817, and is said to 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 307 
 
 have taken up his residence in Wentworth in 1813. He prac- 
 ticed in Wentworth until about 1819, and then removed to some 
 place in New York, near Rochester, it is understood. There he 
 died shortly afterward. 
 
 He never did much at the law, but was more of a man of busi- 
 ness. 
 
 His wife was Mary,, daughter of Colonel Amos Tarleton of 
 Piermont. 
 
 FREDERIC HERSEY DAVIS. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel and Louisa (Freeman) Davis ; born, Portland, Maine, 
 c. 1788 ; practiced, Salem and Deerfleld ; died, c. 1850. 
 
 This gentleman, a son of the well-known solicitor-general of 
 Massachusetts, is said to have been educated in a Roman Catho- 
 lic college in Baltimore, Maryland. He received the honorary 
 degree of A. M. from Harvard College in 1811, and came to Salem 
 in this State about 1815, as an attorney. He was admitted to the 
 bar in Rockingham County in October, 1816. The next year he 
 changed his residence to Deerfield and remained there two years, 
 and then left the State. 
 
 John Kelly, the Exeter antiquary, says : " He was not worldly 
 wise, nor very puritanical in his notions. South Deerfield was 
 too keen for him and he made not much tarrying there." 
 
 CORNELIUS VAN NESS DEARBORN. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Fanny (Brown) Dearborn ; born, Corinth, Vermont, 
 May 14, 1832 ; admitted, 1855 ; practiced, Francestown, Peterborough, and 
 Nashua ; died, Nashua, April 18, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Dearborn was brought up on a farm, attending the district 
 school. When he was fifteen he was admitted to an academy, 
 and at seventeen he began to teach school. At the age of eighteen 
 he resolved to become a lawyer, and began to read in the office of 
 Rodney Lund in his native town. In 1854 he studied with Isaac 
 W. Smith of Manchester, until the time of his admission. He 
 practiced in Francestown from December, 1855 to 1858, when 
 he went to Peterborough. The next seven years he lived in that 
 town, and then removed to Nashua. An opportunity occurring 
 for him to purchase one half of the Nashua " Telegraph " on 
 
308 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 favorable terms, he accepted it and became for two years editor 
 and financial manager of that newspaper. The failure of his 
 health then induced him to relinquish it. While a resident of 
 Francestown he was twice chosen treasurer of the county, and in 
 Peterborough he represented the town in 1861 and 1862 in the 
 legislature of the State. In 1868 he was appointed register of 
 Probate for Hillsborough County, and served till 1874. Eor sev- 
 eral years he was treasurer of the Nashua and Lowell EaUroad, 
 and subsequently one of its directors. He was also a trustee of 
 the Mechanics' Savings Bank, president of the Indian Head 
 Insurance Company, and president of the city Board of Education. 
 
 At the time when the state banks of discount were converted 
 into National Banks, Mr. Dearborn was one of the bank commis- 
 sioners of the State, and officially superintended the operation. 
 In March, 1866, he was appointed by the President of the United 
 States examiner of National Banks for this State, and filled that 
 position up to the time of his decease. 
 
 He was a quiet, unobtrusive man, of much ability, universally 
 liked, and faithful in discharging every duty that he undertook. 
 
 He married in June, 1857, Louisa F., daughter of Moses W. 
 Eaton of Francestown, and left two sons. 
 
 JOSIAH DEARBORN. 
 
 Son of Asahel and Elizabeth (Drake) Dearborn ; born, Effingham, Septem- 
 ber 25, 1790 ; admitted, 1818 ; practiced, Effingham and Ossipee ; died, 
 Effingham, March 31, 1873. 
 
 This gentleman received a substantial academical education, 
 supplemented by home study, and read law with Samuel Cush- 
 man of Parsonsfield, Maine, and with William Sawyer of Wake- 
 field. On being admitted, he began practice at once in Effing- 
 ham, and with the exception of a year in Ossipee, in 1833-34, 
 made that place his home through life. He seems to have been 
 wedded to his profession, and was quite a model of the practi- 
 tioner of the old school. He was a sound common-lawyer, and 
 possessed excellent judgment. Deliberate in his methods it took 
 him some time to master the questions that came before him, 
 but then he was strong and hard to beat. He kept his temper 
 under perfect control in the contests of the court-room, and never 
 lost the cool and complete use of all his faculties whatever unex- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 309 
 
 pected circumstances the course of a hearing might develop. In 
 point of temperance, forbearance, and dignity in his family rela- 
 tions he was a man of exemplary habits and character. 
 
 He married. May 13, 1827, Belinda K., daughter of Hon. Sam- 
 uel Quarles of Ossipee, and had four sons, one of whom, Samuel 
 Q. Dearborn of Effingham, is of his father's profession. 
 
 NATHANIEL DEARBORN. 
 
 Son of John Sanborn and Mary (Emerson) Dearborn ; born, Chester, June 
 15, 1781 ; admitted, 1806 ; practiced, Pembroke, Deerfield, and Northwood ; 
 died, Northwood, September 12, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Dearborn's father was an innholder and farmer, and gave 
 him the advantage of instruction at Atkinson Academy, under the 
 famous Master Vose. He then pursued the study of the law in 
 the office of Amos Kent in Chester, and of George Sullivan in 
 Exeter, and was admitted an attorney in Rockingham County. 
 
 He began practice at Pembroke. For a time he was quite suc- 
 cessful in obtaining such business as is usually intrusted to young 
 practitioners, but in a year or two a competitor, Boswell Stevens, 
 came into the place, who secured the lion's share of the town's 
 practice. Mr. Dearborn removed to Vermont, and subsequently 
 to the western part of New York, where it is said he supported 
 himself by teaching. At length he returned to New Hampshire, 
 and after a brief further stay at Pembroke removed to Deerfield, 
 where he continued in practice for ten or twelve years ; and in 
 1831 settled in Northwood for the remainder of his life. 
 
 Mr. Dearborn never made a great figure in his profession. 
 Hjs talents and legal learning were not sufficient to command suc- 
 cess, and his knowledge of men wag not such that he could obtain 
 it by inspiring their confidence and regard. He could not be said 
 to be popular either with the bar or with the people. For this, 
 however, he was evidently more unfortunate than blameworthy. 
 
 Mr. Dearborn married in early life Abigail, daughter of Cap- 
 tain Newman of the United States Navy, and was the father of 
 three children. 
 
 BAILEY DENISON. 
 
 Mr. Denison is said to have been a native of Connecticut. His 
 father was Eleazer Denison, who removed to Jefferson in this 
 
310 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 State, and was a selectman and town clerk of that place from 
 1809 to 1812. He was the agent of Colonel Joseph Whipple, a 
 large land-owner there. 
 
 The son studied law with Samuel A. Pearson of Lancaster, and 
 was admitted an attorney in Essex County in Vermont, in 1818, 
 and the next year served as State's attorney for that county. He 
 removed to Northumberland in this State about 1821, and died 
 there in 1822, unmarried, at the age of twenty-eight years. 
 
 THOMAS DENISON. 
 
 Of this early practitioner, in the northern county of the State, 
 little has been learned. He studied his profession with Seth 
 Cushman of Guildhall, Vermont, and was without much question a 
 native of that State. There he was admitted to the bar of Essex 
 County in 1812, and was in practice in Barnet. He removed to 
 Lancaster, his future home, in 1822, and was the first lawyer 
 settled in the town. By the year 1835 he had withdrawn from 
 the profession, but lived until about 1845. His age at the time 
 of his decease was sixty or more. 
 
 JOSEPH DENNIE. 
 
 Born, Boston, Massachusetts, August 30, 1768 ; Harvard College, 1790 ; 
 admitted, 1794 ; practiced, Charlestowu and Walpole ; died, Philadelphia, 
 Pennsylvania, January 7, 1812. 
 
 This gentleman was more noted as a writer than as a lawyer, 
 but he studied for the legal profession, and for more than five 
 years practiced it, nominally at least, in this State ; and here too 
 he made those first essays in literature, which gave him a national 
 reputation. He was rusticated from college, and degraded for 
 some youthful misconduct, but was afterwards restored upon mak- 
 ing acknowledgment of his fault. But he was mortified and ever 
 after indignant at his treatment by the college authorities. Grad- 
 uating in 1790, he began the study of the law with Benjamin 
 West at Charlestown. He was said to be disinclined himself to 
 the profession, but chose it on the urgent advice of his friends. 
 While a student he appears to have eked out his resources by 
 attending to " justice cases," and for a time by acting as lay reader 
 in the Episcopal Church in Claremont. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 311 
 
 He was admitted to practice in the Court of Common Pleas, in 
 March, 1794, and opened an office in Charlestown, but in the fol- 
 lowing year removed to Walpole. He found a little law business, 
 and this, together with what he received for writing for the press, 
 barely kept him from want. His constitution was slender, he was 
 inclined to convivial habits, he was fond of dress, and he made no 
 pretensions to a greater knowledge of the law than the little that 
 he was conscious he possessed. It is said that he never appeared 
 in any court higher than that of a justice of the peace, except in 
 a single case. His experience on that occasion was afterwards 
 described by his friend Koyall Tyler in a very amusing newspaper 
 sketch. He desired a continuance for his client, who was sued on 
 a promissory note and had no defense. The presiding judge was 
 a farmer, of good sense, probably, but of no education. Dennie 
 addressed him in a speech full of the flowers of rhetoric, tinctured, 
 no doubt, with the quaint legal phraseology of Plowden, of which 
 the Court comprehended not one syllable. Roger Vose, who must 
 have hugely enjoyed the scene, came to the rescue, and informed 
 his Honor that what Dennie wanted was a continuance of the 
 cause. " Why did n't he say so, then ? " said the Judge, with 
 some not very complimentary epithets on the elaborate forensic 
 effort which had been wasted on him. Dennie retired from the 
 temple of justice disgusted, and never set foot there again. 
 
 A newspaper called the " Farmers' Weekly Museum " had been 
 established in Walpole about two years, when Dennie removed 
 thither. To this paper, in 1795, he began to contribute a series 
 of essays remarkable for their wit, their originality, and their 
 literary merit, under the signature of the " Lay Preacher." So 
 extraordinary was their popularity that they were copied exten- 
 sively by the press throughout the country. 
 
 Dennie now felt that he had found his true vocation, and in 
 six months' time became the editor of the "Museum." For two 
 years he continued in charge of it, and with the aid of Royall 
 Tyler and a brilliant staff of young writers, including Thomas 
 G. Fessenden, David Everett, and Isaac Story, placed it as a 
 literary periodical far above all rivals, and extended its circula- 
 tion from Maine to Georgia. 
 
 Joseph T. Buckingham, who was at that time an apprentice in 
 the printing-office of the " Museum," gives a graphic description of 
 Dennie as he then appeared : " In person he was rather^below 
 
312 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 than above the middle height, and was of slender frame. He was 
 particularly attentive to his dress, which, when he appeared in 
 the street on a pleasant day, approached the highest notch of the 
 fashion. I remember one delightful morning in May, he came 
 into the office dressed in a pea-green coat, white vest, nankin 
 small-clothes, white silk stockings, and shoes, or pumps, fastened 
 with silver buckles, which covered at least half tbe foot from the 
 instep to the toe. His small-clothes were tied at the knees with 
 ribbon of the same color, in double bows, the ends reaching down 
 to the ankles. He had just emerged from the barber's shop. 
 His hair in front was well loaded with pomatum, frizzled or 
 craped, and powdered ; the earlocks had undergone the same pro- 
 cess ; behind, his natural hair was augmented by the addition of a 
 large queue (called, vulgarly, the false tail), which, enrolled in 
 some yards of black ribbon, reached half way down his back." 
 
 Buckingham, as " printer's devil," often had occasion to call on 
 Dennie for copy, and found him dilatory to the last degree. One 
 of the best of his lay sermons was written in the village tavern, 
 where he and his friends were engaged at cards, and was delivered 
 piecemeal to the printer at the last moment. 
 
 Dennie became known also in political circles, and was sup- 
 ported by the Federalists for a seat in Congress, but failed of an 
 election. The publisher of the " Museum " was unsuccessful in 
 business, leaving his editor in arrear, and the paper passed into 
 other hands. In 1799 Timothy Pickering gave Dennie an ap- 
 pointment in the State Department of the United States, with a 
 respectable salary. Dennie performed the duties of the office for 
 about a year. 
 
 In 1800, in company with Asbury Dickens, he began the pub- 
 lication in Philadelphia of the " Port Folio," a periodical devoted 
 largely to literature and the arts, which under his editorship ac- 
 quired and maintained a high character. But Dennie's convivial 
 habits increased upon him, and at length his health gave way, 
 and he died .after a lingering illness. 
 
 Jeremiah Mason says of Dennie that he was " the most aerial, 
 refined, and sublimated spirit" that he had ever met with. 
 Mason was especially charmed with his brilliant conversational 
 powers. He was unquestionably a man of genius, with many of 
 the failings which have too often accompanied exceptional intellec- 
 tual powers. He attracted a wide circle of friends ; perhaps he 
 was his own worst enemy. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 313 
 
 Daniel Webster asserted that no one ever did him more good 
 than Joe Dennie. Some of Websters' early productions were 
 reviewed by Dennie in the " Farmers' Museum." " He declared 
 them full of emptiness, and it did me good," was Webster's frank 
 admission. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Andrew P. Peabody rated Dennie as belonging to the 
 first rank of our earlier American writers, and compared the " Lay 
 Preacher " to the sermons of Sydney Smith. 
 
 ARTHUR LITHGOW DEVENS. 
 
 Son of Charles and Mary (Lithgow) Devens ; born, Charlestown, Massachu- 
 setts, April 27, 1821 ; Harvard College, 1840 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, 
 Walpole ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, July 22, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Devens was fitted for college at the academy in Framing- 
 ham, Massachusetts, and under a private tutor. He studied his 
 profession with William C. Aylwin of Boston, Massachusetts, 
 with Henry Hubbard of Charlestown, and at the Harvard Law 
 School where he was graduated LL. B. in 1843. His practice 
 began in Walpole in 1843, and continued three years, at the end 
 of which he removed to Northfield, Massachusetts. In about two 
 years he went to Ware in the same State, where in 1849 he 
 accepted the position of agent of the Otis Manufacturing Com- 
 pany. A few years later he proceeded to Boston and there be- 
 came treasurer of the Hamilton and Appleton Manufacturing 
 companies of Lowell, Massachusetts. He did not afterwards 
 resume the practice of his profession. 
 
 From Ware he was sent as representative to the General Court 
 of Massachusetts in 1848. He was a bright and keen man, an 
 agreeable speaker, tried his cases well, and had the reputation 
 of a high-minded, able young lawyer. The few cases he argued 
 in the higher law tribunals are said to have shown a vigorous 
 legal intellect. He is described as a singularly attractive man in 
 private, witty and bright in conversation, and generous in tem- 
 perament. He was a brother of Charles Devens, Attorney-Gen- 
 eral of the United States. 
 
 He married Agnes Howard White of Watertown, Massachu- 
 setts, July 20, 1852, and was the father of four children. 
 
314 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 DAVID DICKEY. 
 
 Son of Hanover and Lydia (Osgood) Dickey ; born, Epsona, Ojotober 5, 
 1806 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; practiced, Newport and Haverhill ; died, 
 Lowell, Massachusetts, October 30, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Dickey was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and the earliest col- 
 lege graduate from Epsom. He was three years preceptor of the 
 academy in Hopkinton, all the while improving his spare hours in 
 the study of the law. He finished his legal preparation in the 
 office of Albert Baker of Hillsborough, and in that of Eichard 
 Fletcher of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 In 1840 he commenced practice in Newport, and two years 
 later removed to Haverhill, to take the business of David CoUins, 
 whose health had given way. His practice became extensive, and 
 he made considerable purchases of real estate, and at length was 
 involved in lawsuits of his own. He was an able man, but appar- 
 ently not so ambitious for distinction in his own profession as for 
 carrying on large business operations, with a view to pecuniary 
 profit. 
 
 In 1858 he gave up the practice of law and removed to Tewks- 
 bury, Massachusetts, where he remained tiU 1874, and then took 
 up his final residence in Lowell, Massachusetts. 
 
 On December 25, 1849, he was married to Lois Leverett, 
 daughter of John Nelson of Haverhill. They had nine children. 
 
 DAVID WOODBURN DICKEY. 
 
 Son of Robert and Hannah (Woodburn) Dickey ; born, Londonderry, De- 
 cember 25, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1818 ; admitted, 1821 ; practiced, 
 Londonderry and Salem ; died, Salem, January 26, 1837. 
 
 Mr. Dickey, a descendant of some of the earliest families of 
 Londonderry, was probably prepared for college at the Pinkerton 
 Academy in that place. He read law in the office of John Porter, 
 and entered into practice in 1821, in that part of the town which 
 is now Derry. In 1831 he removed to the adjoining town of 
 Salem. He is understood to have been a man of respectable abil- 
 ities, though he never took a specially prominent position. He 
 deceased at the early age of forty-four years. 
 
 His wife was Mary Davis of Haverhill, Massachusetts. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 315 
 
 DANIEL STARK DINSMOOR. 
 
 Born, Laconia, September 23, 1837 ; admitted, 1864 ; practiced, Laconia ; 
 died there, March 24, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Dinsmoor inherited on his mother's side the blood of Gen- 
 eral John Stark. He was fitted for college at the Institute in 
 New London, in the class of 1860, and then prepared himself for 
 the bar under George W. Stevens and O. A. J. Vaughan of Laco- 
 nia. He opened his office in Laconia in 1864, and a year after- 
 wards he was chosen cashier of the Laconia National Bank, then 
 just organized. From that time he practically relinquished the 
 practice of law. 
 
 He was register of Probate from 1871 to 1878 ; representative 
 in the legislature in 1875 ; a member of the governor's mili- 
 tary staff in 1875 and 1876 ; and also county treasurer. At the 
 time of his decease he was state senator elect from the fifth dis- 
 trict. The surviving members of that body adopted resolutions 
 on the occasion of his death, in which they described him as an 
 " able and upright gentleman, a faithful and respected citizen, 
 and a generous and just man." 
 
 He was married in 1865 to Amelia M., daughter of Hon. Amos 
 Whittemore of Bennington. 
 
 SAMUEL DINSMOOR. 
 
 Son of William and Elizabeth (Cochran) Dinsmoor ; born, Londonderry, 
 now Windham, July 1, 1766 ; Dartmouth College, 1789 ; practiced, Keene ; 
 died, Keene, March 15, 1835. 
 
 Samuel Dinsmoor, xmtil he was seventeen, assisted his father in 
 carrying on his farm. He then proposed to his father to furnish 
 him help to enable him to fit for and work his way through col- 
 lege, promising him that he would call upon him for nothing fur- 
 ther. His father consented, and young Dinsmoor pursued his 
 studies under the tuition of Kev. Simon Williams, taking for the 
 purpose a daily walk of eight miles. In 1785 he entered college, 
 having traveled thither in a cart drawn by oxen, and by a circui- 
 tous course, as there was no pretense of a direct road from Lon- 
 donderry to Hanover. He maintained himself while in college by 
 teaching school in the winter months, and by keeping a store for 
 the sale of merchandise. 
 
316 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was employed after his graduation in instruction for two or 
 three years, and then began the study of the law under Peleg 
 Sprague at Keene, who became much interested in the energetic 
 young fellow. In 1795 Mr. Dinsmoor was admitted to practice 
 in the Court of Common Pleas, settled in Keene, and at once 
 began to gather in business. 
 
 He was forward in the organization of the Keene Light Infan- 
 try, a military company of much repute in the old militia days, 
 and became its commander ; from which post he rose through 
 various grades to be a major-general. 
 
 In 1808 he was appointed postmaster of the town, and in 1811 
 he was chosen to the Congress of the United States. In 1812 he 
 voted with the majority of the representatives in favor of the war 
 with England. The election of 1813 restored the Federal party 
 to power in the State, and Mr. Dinsmoor was not returned to 
 Congress. He afterwards received the appointment of collector 
 of the direct tax. In 1821 he was chosen a member of the execu- 
 tive council, and in 1823 was the regular candidate of his party 
 for the office of governor of the State. Levi Woodbury, how- 
 ever, a popular member of the same party, was a third candidate, 
 and there being no choice by the people, secured the election by 
 the legislature. 
 
 The new governor the same year appointed Mr. Dinsmoor 
 Judge of Probate for the county of Cheshire. In 1830 Judge 
 Dinsmoor was again nominated for the governorship, and was 
 elected in 1831, and reelected in each of the two succeeding 
 years. 
 
 In 1838, upon the organization of the Ashuelot Bank, Governor 
 Dinsmoor was chosen its president, and so continued during the 
 remainder of his life. He was a prudent, careful lawyer, not gifted 
 with the eloquence which captivates juries, but honest and re- 
 liable. He began practice at a time when everybody ran in debt, 
 and nearly everybody got sued in conseqiience. His justice 
 docket is said to have shown the issue of a thousand writs, in a 
 single year. He was gentlemanly, and had something of the old 
 school in his manners, but was easy, unassuming, and generally 
 liked. He is said to have had no particular fancy for public life, 
 but it suited the leaders of his party to put forward a gentleman 
 of education and standing for office, and he allowed his name to 
 be used. His administration of the affairs of the State was 
 marked by honesty, discretion, and ability. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 317 
 
 He married in early life Mary Boyd, daughter of General 
 George Reid of Londonderry, who bore him four children, and 
 died two months before him. Their oldest child was a lawyer, 
 and also governor of the State. 
 
 SAMUEL DINSMOOR, JR., LL. D. 
 
 Son of Governor Samuel and Mary B. (Reid) Dinsmoor ; born, Keene, 
 May 8, 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1814 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, Feb- 
 ruary 24, 1869. 
 
 The younger Dinsmoor was a precocious boy, and was said to 
 have completed the preparatory studies then required for admis- 
 sion to college when he was only ten years of age. His father 
 allowed him to enter at eleven, placing him under the special 
 charge of Professor Shurtleff. The latter gave him as a chum a 
 heavy, steady-going student of thirty. The youthful freshman 
 had then much of the sportive humor that distinguished him in 
 after life ; and on being asked how he liked his room-mate, re- 
 plied : " Well, in every respect, but one. He says his prayers at 
 night, 'Now I lay me down to sleep,' etc., which is all very 
 proper ; but in the morning he says the same ; now I don't think 
 that prayer appropriate for morning 1 " 
 
 He read law with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 
 1818. The next year he accompanied Colonel James Miller, who 
 had been appointed governor of Arkansas, to that territory ; but 
 returned to Keene, and entered into practice about three years 
 after. His popular manners and beautiful handwriting led to his 
 election to the clerkship of the state Senate in 1826 and 1827, 
 and again in 1829 and 1830. In 1828 he was chosen to go to 
 France to look after the property of an uncle who had deceased 
 abroad. He thus gained an opportunity to see foreign countries, 
 and to acquire the French language, then a much less common 
 accomplishment than it is to-day. 
 
 In 1883 he was appointed cashier of the Ashuelot Savings 
 Bank, of which his father was president. This position he filled 
 till his father's decease in 1835, when he was chosen to the vacant 
 presidency. 
 
 In 1849 he was elected governor of the State, and again in 
 1850. He then declined to be considered a candidate for reelec- 
 tion, but circumstances induced him to reconsider his determina- 
 
318 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tion, and he was chosen for the third time. His administration 
 was clean, and in all ways eminently respectable. 
 
 Governor Dinsmoor's abilities and acquirements would unques- 
 tionably have enabled him to take a high position at the bar, had 
 he applied himself assiduously to his profession. But his circum- 
 stances did not compel him to buckle down to hard work, he had 
 no fondness for the contests of the courts, and quite willingly 
 gave up the law for banking. He inherited a large property, and 
 much of his time in later life was given to the care of it. He is 
 described as " possessing superior education, affable manners, and 
 a dignified deportment." His disposition was genial, and his 
 social qualities were eminent. He had through life the respect of 
 the community, and the warm regards of those who knew him 
 best. Dartmouth College conferred upon him the honorary de- 
 gree of Doctor of Laws in 1851. 
 
 He married, September 11, 1844, Ann Eliza, daughter of Hon. 
 WiUiam Jarvis of Weathersfield, Vermont, by whom he had two 
 children. After her death he married in May, 1853, Catherine 
 Abbott (Pickman), daughter of Hon. Daniel Abbott of Nashua, 
 and widow of Charles J. Fox. 
 
 OLIVER A. DODGE. 
 
 Son of Hon. George H. and Mary Dodge ; born, Hampton Falls, November 
 17, 1838 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, April 21, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Dodge was a resident of Georgia when the Southern 
 Eebellion broke out, and was pi-obably driven into the ranks of 
 the Confederate army, but is said to have afterwards voluntarily 
 borne arms for the Union. After the war was over he returned 
 to the North, and studied law with his brother, "WiUiam H. 
 Dodge, then an attorney in Dover ; and on being admitted, be- 
 came his partner in practice. 
 
 On account of certain irregularities for which his brother was 
 chiefly responsible, they Were both expelled from the bar, but he 
 was soon after restored again, on a re-hearing. He returned to 
 practice, with the good-will of his legal brethren, and it is said 
 that no one conducted his business more honorably than he there- 
 after. He was a man of excellent powers of mind, and acquired 
 a good practice and a creditable standing in society. 
 
 He left a widow. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 319 
 
 PERLEY DODGE. 
 
 Son of William and Rachel (Poland) Dodge ; born, New Boston, May 17, 
 1799 ; Union College, 1824 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Francestown, New 
 Boston, and Amherst ; died, Amherst, March 31, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Dodge was fitted for college at the Francestown and Pin- 
 kerton academies, and under the instruction of Rev. E. P. Brad- 
 ford, and entered Dartmouth College in 1820. After partially 
 completing the course in that institution, he migrated to Union 
 College, from which he took his bachelor's degree. He was pre- 
 ceptor of the Francestown Academy for a year or more, and then 
 pursued the study of the law with Titus Brown of Francestown, 
 and with Nehemiah Eastman of Farmington. He began practice 
 as a partner of Mr. Brown at Francestown, but in 1829 removed 
 to New Boston, and in March, 1832, to Amherst. He remained 
 in practice over half a century, and attended every term of the 
 court held in Hillsborough County during that period. In 1839 
 he was appointed clerk of the courts, and served as such for 
 eighteen years, diligently and satisfactorily, in 1837, 1853, and 
 1854, he represented Amherst in the legislature. For the thirty- 
 four years prior to his death he was a trustee of the Nashua Sav- 
 ings Bank. He was repeatedly moderator of the town meetings, 
 and chairman of committees appointed to promote the interests of 
 his townsmen. 
 
 Though not distinguished as an advocate, he was known as a 
 prudent, accurate lawyer, averse to needless controversy, and was 
 trusted implicitly by his clients. His faithfulness and honor 
 were above suspicion. His courtesy and social disposition made 
 him welcome in every company ; his chief enjoyment was in his 
 family and his home. 
 
 He married in 1831 Harriet, daughter of Peter Woodbury of 
 Francestown, and thus became brother-in-law of Levi Woodbury 
 of Portsmouth, of Nehemiah Eastman of Farmington, and of 
 Isaac O. Barnes of Barnstead. He was the father of two sons 
 and one daughter. 
 
320 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JOHN PHILBRICK DOE. 
 
 Son of Jeremiah and Dolly (Norris) Doe ; born, Pembroke, February 20, 
 1805 ; Dartmouth College, 1825 ; practiced, Loudon ; died, Pembroke, Jan- 
 uary 29, 1829. 
 
 The record of this lawyer is a very brief one. He studied law 
 with Boswell Stevens of Pembroke, and was received into the 
 profession but a few short months before his early decease. He 
 opened an office in Loudon, but could have done little more. He 
 was unmarried. 
 
 JOSEPH EMERSON DOW. 
 
 Son of Hon. Moses and Phebe (Emerson) Dow ; born, Haverhill, December 
 28, 1777 ; Dartmouth College, 1799 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Littleton, 
 Franoonia, and Thornton ; died, Franoonia, August 24, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Dow studied law with his father, and for four or five years 
 " held himself out " as a practitioner in Haverhill. In 1807 he 
 became the earliest lawyer in Littleton. One of the wits of the 
 bar illustrated his legal qualifications by the statement that " on 
 his examination he answered one question aright. He was asked 
 what was the highest title to real property, and replied that " he 
 did n't know ! " Apparently he kept no place of business, for it 
 was the saying of the time that " he carried his office in his hat." 
 
 In Littleton, as in other places where he lived afterwards, he 
 gained the good-will of the people, indicated by his frequent 
 selection for town offices. He was a member of the school com- 
 mittee of Littleton, with the village minister and doctor. In 
 some doggerel rhymes, the production of a mischievous pupil, the 
 committee are described as — 
 
 old bald head, 
 And wooden leg, 
 And popple-headed Dow. 
 
 After spending four years in Littleton he moved to Franoonia, 
 and there lived till 1830. Eleven years he was a selectman there, 
 and six years town clerk ; often moderator, and one of the school 
 committee. He did little or nothing at the law, but was fre- 
 quently engaged as a school-teacher, and for a number of years 
 was employed by the Franoonia Iron Company as a carpenter or 
 joiner. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 321 
 
 In 1830 he transferred his residence to Thornton. There he 
 was repeatedly chosen moderator and town clerk, and held the 
 appointment of postmaster a considerable time. 
 
 He went back to Franconia in 1847, and made that town his 
 home through the rest of his life. 
 
 Mr. Dow is described as a good scholar and agreeable in con- 
 versation. The handsome dowry said to have been brought him 
 by his first wife was perhaps no stimulant to his industry. He 
 accomplished little in his profession. In his later years he fell 
 into very narrow circumstances, and his second wife, a woman of 
 extreme energy, is said to have defended him from the sheriff by 
 saluting the latter with a copious external application of hot 
 water. 
 
 He married in early life Abigail Crawford, daughter of Hon. 
 Jonathan Arnold of Rhode Island. The issue of the marriage 
 was a daughter and four sons. After her decease he was united 
 to Nancy Bagley of Thornton. 
 
 MOSES DOW. 
 
 Son of John Dow ; born, Atkinson, c. 1746 ; Harvard College, 1769 ; prac- 
 ticed, Plymouth and Haverhill ; died, Haverhill, March 31, 1811. 
 
 Little is discoverable of the early history of Mr. Dow, except 
 that he obtained his education by his own exertions. He gradu- 
 ated from Harvard College, studied law, and is understood to 
 have made his debut in the profession in Haverhill, Massachu- 
 setts, where he became a member of the Fire Society in January, 
 1773. He must have come into New Hampshire early in the 
 year 1774. Toward the middle of that year he was a resident of 
 Plymouth, and is believed to have practiced his profession there 
 about five years. He was commissioned by the royal governor, 
 register of Probate for the county of Grafton, and continued by 
 subsequent appointments in that office during the term of thirty- 
 four years. As the breach widened betwixt the mother country 
 and the colonies, he took sides heartily with the latter, and in 
 1775 represented Plymouth and Eumney in the provincial Assem- 
 bly. In 1776 he acted as the agent of Plymouth to receive arms 
 and ammunition from the State for that town. 
 
 In 1781 and 1782 he was a representative from Haverhill in 
 the state legislature, and again in 1790 and 1793. He was a 
 21 
 
322 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 member of the state Senate in 1784 and in 1791, in which latter 
 year he was chosen president of that body. He was also a coun- 
 cilor in 1785 and 1786. 
 
 Mr. Dow was the earliest permanently settled lawyer in his 
 (County. At the April term of the Court of Sessions, 1774, he 
 was selected by the Court to act as the King's attorney ; and 
 again at the April term, 1775. At the June term of the Court of 
 Common Pleas, 1774, he entered five actions; at the August term, 
 1782, fifteen out of the whole number of twenty-one. For many 
 years his practice must have been extensive. In 1808 he was 
 .commissioned Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Grafton 
 County, and continued in the performance of his duties till his 
 .death. He was also an officer of the state militia for several years, 
 holding the commissions of brigadier and major-general. 
 
 General Dow was emphatically the man for the time and the 
 situation. With excellent education and abilities, enterprise and 
 sagacity, he was ready to turn his hand to any useful service, 
 from laying out a turnpike to keeping the records of the court. 
 For years he carried on his broad shoulders a good share of the 
 burdens and responsibilities of the frontier settlement, and did it 
 so modestly that he won and kept the liking and confidence of all 
 who knew him. 
 
 The position of delegate to the Continental Congress was ten- 
 .dered him in 1784, but he declined it. 
 
 General Dow is said to have been addicted to religious disputa- 
 tions. He was one of the earliest to protest against the taxation 
 of all citizens of whatever religious belief, or of none, to support 
 the preaching of the one favored religious denomination. 
 
 From Dartmouth College he received the honorary degree of 
 Master of Arts in 1785. 
 
 His wife was Phebe Emerson, and their family consisted of two 
 daughters and two sons, who both studied their father's profes- 
 sion. 
 
 MOSES DOW, JR. 
 
 Sou of General Moses and Phebe (Emerson) Dow ; born, Haverhill, u. 
 1776 ; admitted, 1799 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died there, c. 1840. 
 
 This, the eldest son of General Moses Dow, in due time be- 
 came a student in his law office, and a practitioner in HaverhiU in 
 1800. He was postmaster a number of years, and register of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 323 
 
 Probate from 1808 to 1838. He is said to have possessed 
 little force of character, and had small law practice. His office 
 was in a building with a country store. He is remembered chiefly 
 by a remark made of him by George Sullivan, counsel for the de- 
 fendant in the breach of promise case of his sister, Mary Dow, 
 against Joseph BeU, in which he testified as a witness. " Dow 
 appears pretty well," said the advocate, " and generally has on a 
 ruffled shirt, but it is n't always clean." 
 
 ALLEN PRATT DUDLEY. 
 
 Son of Moses and Persis (Pratt) Dudley ; born, Chesterfield, December 16, 
 1819 ; admitted, c. 1841 ; practiced, Winchester, Nashua, and Chesterfield ; 
 died, San Francisco, California. 
 
 Mr. Dudley probably qualified himself for his profession in 
 Vermont, and commenced practice in 1841 in Bethel, in that 
 State. Two years after he removed to Winchester, in 1844 to 
 Nashua, and about 1851 to Chesterfield. From Chesterfield, in 
 1855, he emigrated to San Francisco, California, where he prac- 
 ticed his profession till his death, some time after 1882. 
 
 He is represented as having decided ability, but as wanting 
 somewhat in " staying power." 
 
 He married, November 16, 1841, Mary S. Wheelock of Swan- 
 zey, and had eight children. 
 
 ASA DUNBAR. 
 
 Born, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, 1745 ; Harvard College, 1767 ; practiced, 
 Keene ; died there, June 22, 1787. 
 
 Mr. Dunbar studied for the pulpit, preached awhile at Bed- 
 ford, near Concord, Massachusetts, beginning in 1769 ; and was 
 settled as a colleague with the Kev. Thomas Barnard over 
 the first church in Salem, Massachusetts, July 22, 1772. He 
 gave great satisfaction to his parish, and was regarded as a 
 preacher of superior excellence, but after a few years his health 
 declined, and he was dismissed at his own request, April 29, 
 1779. 
 
 He afterwards determined to change his profession, and pre- 
 pared himself in the office of Joshua Atherton of Amherst for 
 the practice of the law. About the close of the Kevolutionary 
 
324 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 war he removed to Keene, and was admitted to practice probably 
 early in 1783. He soon rose to prominence. He acquired a 
 good share of business and much popularity. The same powers 
 which had given him his standing as a preacher enabled him to 
 excel as an advocate. The only lawyers of Cheshire County when 
 he was admitted were Simeon Olcott and Benjamin West of 
 Charlestown, and Daniel Newcomb of Keene. These were all 
 men of learning and ability, but Mr. Dunbar was probably fully 
 their equal in everything but professional experience. 
 
 He was much devoted to the institution of Freemasonry, and 
 delivered an address before Trinity Lodge of Masons at Worcester, 
 Massachusetts, June 25, 1781. He held the office of master of 
 the lodge at Keene up to the time of his decease, and was buried 
 with Masonic honors. The contemporaneous newspaper account 
 of his death states that " he was esteemed by his acquaintance as 
 an instructive, easy, and agreeable companion ; he was honorable 
 in his practice, attentive to his business, candid in his professions, 
 and zealous in the cause of virtue and religion." 
 
 His wife, Mary, a sister of Daniel Jones of Hinsdale, survived 
 her husband several years. He left also five children. 
 
 ELIJAH DUNBAR. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Mary (Snow) Dunbar ; born, Bridgewater ; Massachu- 
 setts, April 23, 1759 ; Dartmouth College, 1783 ; practiced, Keene and 
 Claremont ; died, Keene, May 18, 1847. 
 
 Mr. Dunbar was a student of the law in the office of his uncle 
 Asa Dunbar of Keene. There he entered into practice, and per- 
 manently resided, with the exception of seven years, from 1797 to 
 1804, when he was at Claremont. 
 
 He was chosen representative in the legislature from Keene in 
 1806, 1808, and 1810. Joel Parker became for a while a partner 
 in his office, and was the active manager of the business. Mr. 
 Dunbar did not attend the courts much after that time, but was 
 employed somewhat in justice matters. General James Wilson, 
 Jr., who remembered him as he was at this period, said : " He was 
 not much of a practicing lawyer, within my recollection. He was 
 fond of amusement. He used to go trout fishing a good deal, 
 and I used to go with him.'" 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Alexander Ralston of Keene. 
 They had six children, two of whom survived their father. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 325 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY DUNCAN. 
 
 Son of William and Mary (McMurphy) Duncan ; born, Candia, September 26, 
 1807 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; practiced, Haverhill and Hanover ; died, 
 Hanover, March 29, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Duncan was of Scotch-Irish descent, and prided himself 
 upon it, not a little. His father kept a country store, and was in 
 easy circumstances. The son had a taste for study, and com- 
 pleted his preparatory course at Phillips Exeter Academy. He 
 graduated from college with the honor of the valedictory address, 
 which was assigned to him, one of the three best scholars of his 
 class, it is said on account/ of his graceful manner and oratorical 
 powers. He was also selected to deliver the Master's oration 
 three years later. 
 
 He chose the law for his profession, on which, or some other 
 account, his father refused to do anything further for his support, 
 and he was compelled to resort to teaching. He pursued that 
 occupation in Charleston, South Carolina, for about four years, at 
 the same time studying law under the direction of Benjamin F. 
 Dunkin, and there was called to the bar. Returning to New 
 Hampshire, he began to practice at Haverhill, but in a little time 
 was induced by the failing health of his father-in-law, Mills 
 Olcott, who required his aid to manage his extensive concerns, to 
 settle in Hanover. There he passed the residue of his life. His 
 practice at one period was somewhat extensive, but as his wife's 
 delicate health rendered it necessary for him to accompany her 
 every winter for many years to Florida, his law business naturally 
 fell off, and towards the close of his life occupied but little of his 
 time. Still he loved his profession, and as long as his health and 
 strength permitted, attended the sessions of the courts. He was 
 well versed in the learning of the law, but he had no relish for 
 the rude contests of the country forum. He had a certain fastidi- 
 ous taste that held him aloof from all that was ostentatious, aggres- 
 sive, or discourteous. Hence his practice in court was necessarily 
 limited. But on those rare occasions when he was called on to 
 make a public address, he charmed all his hearers by his captivat- 
 ing manner, his fitly chosen language, and the dignity and 
 appropriateness of his sentiments. On one occasion when he was 
 a member of the legislature, a speech that he made attracted so 
 
326 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 much attention and commendation, that it was quite in his power 
 to have made it a stepping-stone to political prominence, if he had 
 wished. But he had no taste for political strife. 
 
 In private life Mr. Duncan was most estimable : a good citizen, 
 a model husband, a true friend, and a delightful companion. He 
 had enjoyed the advantages of the most cultivated society, and 
 the friendship of many able and distinguished men. His manners 
 were courtly, and based upon a kindly heart. He conversed with 
 fluency and elegance, and his memory was stored with an abun- 
 dance of anecdotes, which he related with admirable zest and 
 point. The lack of ambition, the easy pecuniary circumstances 
 which his marriage brought him, as well as his dislike for pub- 
 licity and contention, prevented him from exerting his best powers 
 in his profession or in letters. He was content with being a 
 scholar and a gentleman. 
 
 In 1851 he was made a lonely man by the death of his child- 
 less wife. After that he became almost a recluse in his chambers 
 in a public block in Hanover. For the last year or two of his 
 life his health was very feeble. His death was deeply regretted 
 by those who best knew his amiable qualities and the trials he 
 had undergone. 
 
 His marriage with Sarah M. Olcott was solemnized at Hanover, 
 June 25, 1834. 
 
 DANIEL MESERVE DURELL. 
 
 Son of Nicholas and Abigail (Meserve) Durell ; born, Lee, July 20, 1769 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1794 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, April 29, 1841. 
 
 Mr. Durell acquired his professional training in the office of 
 Henry Mellen of Dover, and in that town commenced practice in 
 August, 1797. In 1807 he was elected a representative in Con- 
 gress, and served one term. He was a member of the state legis- 
 lature in 1816 when a new arrangement of the courts was pro- 
 vided for, and he received the appointment of Chief Justice of the 
 District Court of Common Pleas. He held it until 1821, as long 
 as that court endured, and then went back to his practice. In 
 1830 he was made United States attorney for the district of New 
 Hampshire, and remained in the office during one administration. 
 
 Judge Durell was a man of superior abilities and of good pro- 
 fessional attainments. He did not enjoy popularity among the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 327 
 
 common people, who considered him too much of an aristocrat. 
 He was nice in his dress, and rather cold and distant in his man- 
 ners. In his dealings he was what is called a " close calculator," 
 and at his death left quite a large estate. 
 
 He was married, June 1, 1800, to Elizabeth, daughter of John 
 Wentworth, Jr., of Dover. They had several children. 
 
 JOHN SAMUEL HAYES DURELL. 
 
 Son of John S. and Elizabeth (Hayes) Durell ; born, Dover, September 24, 
 1798 ; Union College, 1819 ; admitted, 1822 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, 
 September 25, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Durell was a nephew of Judge Daniel M. Durell. He had 
 his preparation for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and 
 entered the Dartmouth University, but after the downfall of that 
 institution finished his course at Union College. His connection 
 with the bar was not a long one. He began to practice in Dover 
 in 1822, but was not dependent upon his profession, nor, appar- 
 ently, was he greatly enamored of it. About 1825 he sold out to 
 Thomas E. Sawyer, and departed to New Orleans, Louisiana, 
 where he went into business as a commission merchant. He 
 never practiced law again. After some years he returned to 
 Dover, and finished his life there. 
 
 He married in November, 1845, Clarissa D., daughter of An- 
 drew Wentworth of Somersworth. They had no children. 
 
 CHARLES AUGUSTUS DURGIN. 
 
 Son of Jesse and Clarissa (Dwight) Durgin ; born. Concord, November 10, 
 1826 ; admitted, 1862 ; practiced, Andover ; died there, August 10, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Durgin was educated in the schools of Concord, Hopkin- 
 ton, and Andover, and began life as a machinist, in Lowell, 
 Massachusetts. For a number of years he was a manufacturer of 
 sewing-machines, but having lost nearly everything by fire, he 
 decided to try his fortune elsewhere. He went to the city of New 
 York, and being of an ingenious turn, had faith that he might 
 succeed as a patent lawyer. He studied in the law department of 
 the University of New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. 
 He had not overestimated his ability, and for fourteen years prac- 
 ticed his profession there in patent cases with great success. He 
 
328 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 expended much money in fitting up a place at (East) Andover, 
 where he hoped to enjoy many years of life, and removed there, 
 but only to die. By those who knew him he was much respected 
 for his ability and his manly character. 
 
 . He married Placentia W. Crawford of Pelham, November 20, 
 1855, and left three children. 
 
 DANIEL DWIGHT. 
 
 Son of Justus and Sarah (Lamb) Dwiglit ; born, Belobertown, Massachu- 
 setts, September 7, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1797 ; practiced, Westmore- 
 land ; died, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 5, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Dwight was admitted a counselor of the Superior Court in 
 Cheshire County in May, 1803, having probably already been in 
 practice two years as an attorney of the Common Pleas in West- 
 moreland. He lived in that place a quarter of a century, and the 
 estimation in which he was held by his fellow-citizens is shown by 
 their election of him to various offices in the town, such as mod- 
 erator, and representative to the General Court. He was repre- 
 sentative in 1816 and 1817. 
 
 At the age of fifty he decided to try a new and distant locality, 
 and removed to Jacksonville, Illinois. He lived there more than 
 twenty-five years, and died, it is supposed, while on a journey into 
 Ohio. 
 
 He married Mary Dickinson, daughter of General Ebenezer 
 Mattoon, at Amherst, Massachusetts, December 24, 1807. 
 
 GEOEGE NEHEMIAH EASTMAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Nehemiah and Anstris (Woodbury) Eastman ; born, Farming- 
 ton, January 24, 1820 ; Dartmouth College, 1839 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, 
 Earmington ; died there, April 28, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Eastman was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy. He studied law with his father in Farmington, and as 
 long as the latter lived was associated with him in practice. His 
 home was in Farmington, and he died in the house in which he 
 was born. 
 
 He was chosen school committee and acted as such several 
 years ; he was a representative in the legislature in 1854 and 
 1858, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1876. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 329 
 
 He was also vice-president of the savings bank, an officer in the 
 Masonic institution and in the religious society of his town, and 
 many years was president of the bar association of Strafford 
 County. 
 
 He was a studiously careful and conscientious lawyer. Though 
 of modest disposition, he was firm and unyielding in his conten- 
 tion for the rights of those whom he represented. 
 
 He was a man of sterling qualities, personally as well as profes- 
 sionally. His even temper, kindly manners, his helpfulness and 
 hospitality, will not soon be forgotten by the people among whom 
 his life was passed. 
 
 His wife was Ellen F. Gilman of Laconia. They had no chil- 
 dren. 
 
 JOEL EASTMAN. 
 
 Son of Joel and Betsey (Pettengill) Eastman ; born, Salisbury, February 22, 
 1798 ; Dartmouth College, 1824 ; practiced, Conway ; died there, March 16, 
 1884. 
 
 This sturdy son of fruitful Salisbury was trained for college at 
 her academy, and studied law with her preceptor and counselor, 
 Samuel I. Wells, and with William C. Thompson at Plymouth. 
 In 1827 he began to practice in Conway. In 1832 he was mar- 
 ried, and his wife a few years later became hopelessly insane, and 
 lived in that condition to old age. It was a great grief to him, 
 and for a time almost unmanned him. But he was made of stern 
 stuff, and devoted himself resolutely to his profession, and to the 
 work of the political campaign then pending. He was a delegate 
 to the national convention which nominated General Harrison for 
 the presidency, and did yeoman service for the candidate of his 
 choice in New England. He made numerous political addresses, 
 and his imposing physique, his sonorous voice, and his eloquent 
 periods combined to gain him a high reputation as a platform 
 speaker of effectiveness. 
 
 He did not abandon his profession in the hope of the illusory 
 rewards of political life. He made the law his dependence. 
 Never a great student of books, he had mastered the main princi- 
 ples of the law, and had a natural sense of justice which usually 
 guided him to correct conclusions. If not technical, he was com- 
 monly right. Direct and sensible, he was a wise adviser, and he 
 was as true to his client as the needle to the pole. 
 
330 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 It was, however, his power as an advocate that gave him his 
 chief celebrity. Although the terms of the higher court came sel- 
 dom, yet there were plenty of hearings of minor degree that gave 
 opportunity for counsel to air their eloquence, and whenever Mr. 
 Eastman was to speak, he was sure of an audience. He entered 
 with his whole soul into a trial. He made the cause his own, in 
 every sense. His zeal sometimes carried him even into a physical 
 encounter with the adverse counsel, in which he was pretty sure 
 to get the best of it. 
 
 But it would be doing him injustice to represent him as a mere 
 fighting lawyer. He knew men, their prejudices, and their man- 
 ner of looking at questions in dispute, and could appeal with sin- 
 gular skill to their feelings and their judgment. The sincerity of 
 his own convictions shaped and pointed the arguments he im- 
 pressed with convincing force upon his auditors. His eloquence 
 was natural, springing directly from the heart, impetuous as a 
 torrent, and sweeping away all cavil and objections. There was 
 sometimes an adroitness in his manner of presenting his subjects 
 that was inimitable. He was once employed to defend the" occu- 
 pant of a burnt building, charged by the owner with setting it on 
 fire. There was really some reason to suspect the owner of the 
 offense, but not quite enough to accuse him directly. Mr. East- 
 man opened his defense thus: "Gentlemen of the jury: My 
 client stands charged with the crime of burning a building. But 
 it is one thing to make a charge, and another thing to prove it. 
 I might, for example, charge Deacon Jones, or the owner of the 
 building in question, with burning it — not that I wish to be 
 understood that Deacon Jones would be guilty of such an act ! " 
 The implication could not have failed to penetrate the densest 
 understanding. 
 
 If one had need of an adviser familiar with the niceties of the 
 law, he would hardly have applied to Mr. Eastman. But if he 
 wanted a straight-forward, strong counselor, able to brush aside 
 all sophistries, and measure the real merits of his case, and to 
 defend them loyally and ably, Mr. Eastman was his man. For 
 long years, in the hilly regions of old Strafford County he was a 
 popular hero, his name was one to conjure by, and men were 
 never tired of telling of the " powerful pleas " that he made. 
 
 His political life was a disappointment. He was district attor- 
 ney of the United States for New Hampshire, from 1841 to 1845 ; 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 331 
 
 a member of the legislature about half a dozen years ; a delegate 
 in the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and Judge of Probate 
 from 1856 to 1868. He was supported by his party in the legis- 
 lature for United States senator, and twice received a nomination 
 for Congress, but in each case failed of election. This undoubt- 
 edly caused him no little pain and annoyance at the time, but he 
 afterwards came to regard it as fortunate, in view of the many 
 trials and the few real satisfactions of congressional life. 
 
 Judge Eastman kept his bodily and mental vigor to a great 
 age. It was a characteristic of the race from which he sprang. 
 His mother, who died in 1867, lived to the age of one hundred 
 and five years and nine months, and preserved her faculties to the 
 last.^ As her son was about parting with her some time before 
 her death, he said : " Good-by, mother ; I may never see you 
 again." She instantly replied, " What ! Joel, you are not going 
 to die, are you ? " 
 
 He married in December, 1832, Kuth Gerrish, daughter of 
 Hon. Richard Odell of Conway. She bore him one child who 
 died in infancy. 
 
 MOSES EASTMAN. 
 
 Son of Edward and Anua (Judkins) Eastman ; born, Salisbury, August 1, 
 1770 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; admitted, 1797 ; practiced, Salisbury ; died, 
 Waltham, Massachusetts, April 19, 1848. 
 
 Mr. Eastman first saw the light in a town which has produced 
 many men of mark, with some of whom he was connected. He 
 was an uncle of Joel Eastman of Conway, was of kin to Daniel 
 Webster, and married a sister of Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth. 
 He studied law with Thomas W. Thompson of Salisbury, and 
 commenced practice in his native town in 1797. He was post- 
 master from 1801 for a quarter of a century ; in 1816 he was 
 made clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for the old county of 
 
 1 Mrs. Eastman was a little girl of six when the unfortunate Ruth Blay was 
 executed at Portsmouth for concealing the death of her illegitimate child. 
 Mrs. Eastman was a pupil of Kuth Blay, and was the first to discover the body 
 of the child hidden beneath the school-room. She naturally told her mother 
 what she had seen, which led to the trial and condemnation of the poor school- 
 mistress. Popular sympathy was strongly on the side of the convicted woman, 
 and Mrs. Eastman often said that she was sorry that she had ever given 
 information of the discovery she made. 
 
332 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Hillsborough, and soon afterwards, assistant clerk of the Superior 
 Court. In 1823, on the organization of Merrimac County, he 
 became clerk of the Superior Court, and afterwards clerk of the 
 Court of Common Pleas for that county. 
 
 In 1826 Mr. Eastman removed to Concord, but after eight 
 years there, resumed his residence in Salisbury, until 1847, when 
 he changed his abode to Waltham, Massachusetts, at the age of 
 seventy-seven, probably to be near some of bis children. 
 
 He was a good clerk, but was not particularly successful as a 
 lawyer. Though honest, and with the best intentions, he is said 
 to have lacked knowledge of men and of common affairs. More- 
 over, he was excitable, and liable to be carried away by any sud- 
 den gust of feeling. In hearings before a justice, for example, he 
 would get into a frenzy and lose his self-control completely. It 
 was probably this weakness that stood in the way of his employ- 
 ment in contested suits, and his own consciousness of it that led 
 him to obtain the assistance of other counsel in all his cases which 
 were to be heard in the higher tribunals. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Eastman was Susan, daughter of Dr. 
 Joseph Bartlett of Salisbury ; his second was Eliza Sweetser, 
 whom he married in 1807. 
 
 He had eleven children, most of them by his second wife. 
 
 NEHEMIAH EASTMAN. 
 
 Son of Ebenezer and Mary (Butler) Eastman ; born, Gilmanton, June 16, 
 1782 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, Farmington ; died there, January 19, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Eastman was a student in the academy at Gilmanton until 
 he reached the age of nearly twenty, and then entered upon his 
 term of legal study, four years wath Stephen Moody of his native 
 town, and one year with John C. Chamberlain of Charlestown. 
 In 1807 he commenced practice in Farmington, and was a careful, 
 prudent, diligent lawyer. It was his habit to be in his office as 
 early as any one was stirring, often by four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and to remain until ten o'clock in the evening, — a day's 
 work that in point of length would put to shame the laborers of 
 the present generation, professional or mechanical, the latter 
 especially. By such industry and application he secured a large 
 clientage. 
 
 His abilities were good, though not brilliant, his law knowledge 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 333 
 
 sufficient and at command, and he accomplished in his long prac- 
 tice a prodigious amount of business, not indeed of the character 
 to captivate the eye of the public, but of the kind which but- 
 tresses and facilitates the every-day transactions of men. He 
 rarely engaged in jury trials without an associate. With his 
 brethren of the bar and with the public his standing was alike 
 good. 
 
 In middle life Mr. Eastman was actively concerned in political 
 affairs, and was a warm partisan of Levi Woodbury whose sister 
 he married. He represented Farmington in the legislature of 
 1813 ; was a state senator in 1820 and the four following years ; 
 and was a representative in Congress from 1825 to 1827. 
 
 He married Anstris B., daughter of Hon. Peter Woodbury of 
 Franeestown, October 24, 1812. George N. Eastman, his succes- 
 sor in practice in Farmington, was their son. 
 
 ROYAL EASTMAN. 
 
 Son of Richard and Elmira (Morrill) Eastman ; born, Falmouth, Maine' 
 June 27, 1816 ; admitted, 1844 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died there, Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Eastman was bf Quaker parentage, and was educated at the 
 Friends' School, Providence, Rhode Island. After ari-iving at 
 man's estate, he was engaged for a time in teaching, and then 
 turned his attention to the law. He was in the office of Nathan- 
 iel Wells of Somersworth from 1842 to 1844, having previously 
 studied in Maine, it is supposed. He entered into practice in 
 Great Falls Village, in company with Winthrop A. Marston. 
 
 Mr. Eastman was a pleasant companion, a man of integrity, 
 and a sagacious lawyer. He was of rather too retiriiag and self- 
 distrustful a nature to take the brunt of the battle in a resort to 
 litigation. As junior counsel, to prepare causes, marshal author- 
 ities, and see that everything was in instant readiness, he was 
 invaluable. His practice was a considerable one, and he was 
 retained in not a few important causes. 
 
 He received the appointment of postmaster of Great Falls in 
 1870, and retained it as long as he lived. For many years he 
 held the office of superintendent of schools, and of the public 
 library. 
 
 He married, February 23, 1858, Harriet S., daughter of Dr. 
 
334 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Richard Russell of Somersworth. They had three children, one 
 son and two daughters. 
 
 EPHRAIM EATON. 
 
 Son of Henry and Hannah (Eaton) Eaton ; born, Candia, September 13, 
 1808 ; Dartmouth College, 1833 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Concord ; died, 
 Troy, New York, March 3, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Eaton's education was acquired at the Kimball Union 
 Academy and Dartmouth College, and he studied his profession 
 with Samuel Fletcher at Concord, at the same time holding the 
 secretaryship of the New Hampshire Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany there. He practiced in Concord sixteen years, with some 
 success so far as the pecuniary results were concerned, but appar- 
 ently without acquiring any high position as a lawyer. It may be 
 that in entering the law he mistook his vocation, as he manifested 
 considerable talent as an inventor, and in 1853 removed to Troy, 
 New York, and there pursued the business of an iron founder. 
 
 He afterwards became a member of the firm of Gilbert & 
 Eaton, car builders on a large scale. 
 
 He was a good scholar, and possessed a fine personal presence, 
 with a head resembling that of Daniel Webster. 
 
 He married in 1843 Mary J., daughter of Horatio G. Cilley of 
 Deerfield. 
 
 AMASA EDES. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Baker) Edes ; born, Antrim, March 21, 1792 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1817; practiced, Newport; died, there, September 10, 
 1883. 
 
 Mr. Edes was well described by the late John M. Shirley as 
 " a natural scholar." He manifested in childhood a love for 
 learning, and his early education was mostly self-acquired. 
 
 In 1814 he entered the office of James Wilson of Peterborough 
 as a student at law, and began to prepare himself for college by 
 the advice of Mr. Wilson, who generously offered to lend him the 
 means therefor. With a comparatively short period of study in 
 the New Ipswich Academy, young Edes was enabled to enter the 
 junior class of Dartmouth College in September, 1815. After 
 his graduation he employed his time in teaching schools and acad- 
 emies, and resumed his legal studies with Mr. Wilson, then at 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 335 
 
 Keene, and was admitted to the bar in 1822. On tBe first day of 
 the next year he began his long career of practice in Newport. 
 
 As a lawyer he was noted for his thorough understanding of his 
 cases, and his sound judgment. His sense of justice was keen, 
 and in his application of it to facts he seldom erred. He met 
 able competitors in the courts, and carried off his full share of 
 success and credit in the encounters. Through life he maintained 
 the character of a trustworthy counselor, and enjoyed an excep- 
 tional degree of prosperity and contentment. For a number of 
 his later years he was the respected president of the bar in Sulli- 
 van County. 
 
 He was an early and earnest advocate of temperance, and 
 never lost his interest in education. He was a member of the 
 legislature from Newport in 1834, and was a trustee of the New- 
 port Academy, and a member of the superintending school com- 
 mittee for many years. 
 
 He married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Hart of Keene, March 
 20, 1823, and had two sons, one of whom is the successor of his 
 father in legal practice. 
 
 THOMAS M'KAY EDWARDS. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Matilda (Chandler) Edwards ; born, Providence, Rhode 
 Island, December 16, 1795 ; Dartmouth College, 1813 ; practiced, Keene ; 
 died there, May 1, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Edwards's legal instructors were Foster Alexander, Henry 
 Hubbard, and Tristram Burges of Providence, iihode Island. 
 
 He settled in practice in Keene in 1817, and passed his life 
 there. Gifted by nature with excellent abilities and business 
 sagacity, he united to them industry and attention to his profes- 
 sion, and for a quarter of a century managed a large and profit- 
 able law practice. He tried causes in court to a considerable 
 extent, and argued them well. His mind was logical, he was 
 somewhat downright and literal, and the sense of humor was 
 nearly lacking in him. It is related that once, when he was in 
 political life, he made an attempt to tell a facetious story in a 
 public address, but his success did not encourage him to repeat 
 the experiment. 
 
 He began his service for the public as postmaster of Keene 
 from 1817 to 1829 ; he was representative in the legislature eight 
 
336 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 years, beginning in 1834, and ending with 1856 ; and in the latter 
 year was a presidential elector. In 1859 he took his seat as a 
 representative in Congress and held it four years. He made few 
 speeches, and they were marked with knowledge of his subject 
 and sensible views. 
 
 In 1845 he was chosen president of the Cheshire Kailroad, and 
 gave most of his time for seven years to its business. Here 
 he showed himself to have enterprise, self-reliance, and admirable 
 judgment. " He had his own way, in spite of engineers and all," 
 it is said, and the result was favorable in the highest degree. 
 The railroad was a source of an honorable fortune to its president. 
 
 His later life was mainly occupied in managing his private con- 
 cerns. He was president of the Ashuelot Bank, and of the Ashu- 
 elot Mutual Fire Insurance Company. His own account of his 
 life written to his college classmates in 1869 concludes with this 
 modest and highly satisfactory statement : " My life has not been 
 marked by any very remarkable incidents. I have always been 
 actively employed, professionally and otherwise, and have been 
 reasonably successful in all matters I have undertaken." 
 
 Mr. Edwards married Mary H., daughter of Phineas Fiske of 
 Keene, May 26, 1840. They had seven children. 
 
 CHARLES SUMNER ELA. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jacob H. and Abigail M. (Kelley) Ela ; born, Rochester, May 2, 
 1853 ; admitted, 1875 ; practiced, Rochester ; died, Denver, Colorado, Octo- 
 ber 21, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Ela acquired his education in the public schools of Roches- 
 ter, read law in the office of Worcester and Gafney, and began to 
 practice in the same town in 1875. In 1876 he received the 
 appointment of Judge of the Police Court, and continued in prac- 
 tice there until 1882. 
 
 His health had for some time been feeble, and he then went to 
 Colorado on some business for his father, in the hope also that the 
 change of climate might benefit him. He improved so rapidly 
 that he desired to make a longer stay there, and induced his 
 father to form a company for cattle raising, of which he was to be 
 superintendent. But his expectation of fully regaining his health 
 was fallacious, for in the second season he was attacked by dis- 
 ease which proved fatal. 
 
 He was a young man of much promise. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 337 
 
 RICHARD ELA. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Sarah (Emerson) Ela ; born, Lebanon, February 21, 
 1796 ; admitted, 1819 ; practiced, Durham ; died, Washington, District of 
 Columbia, January 8, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Ela was educated in the public schools of Portsmouth, and 
 studied his profession there with William M. Kichardson, with 
 William Plumer the younger, and with Ichabod Bartlett. 
 
 He set up his office in Durham the same year, and remained 
 there till 1830, having a good share of practice in the courts of 
 Rockingham and Strafford counties. After leaving Durham he 
 was for a time employed in one of the public offices in Ports- 
 mouth, and in 1835 was appointed to a clerkship in the Treasury 
 Department in Washington, District of Columbia, where - he 
 passed the residue of his life. He was a very efficient and popu- 
 lar officer, and was the author of various articles of merit on 
 financial subjects. He was a good scholar, a habitual student, 
 a well-read lawyer, and a ready writer. While he was in practice 
 in this State he prepared for publication the trial of Amos Fer- 
 nald for murder of a child by starvation and other ill treatment, 
 in Strafford County. It was executed with a fullness and accu- 
 racy quite rare in those ante-stenographic days. 
 
 Mr. Ela was married, August 1, 1844, to Lucia King of Saco, 
 Maine. They had four children, a daughter and three sons. 
 
 MELBURN FRANCILLO ELDRIDGE. 
 
 Son of Dr. Michael Eldridge ; born, Dunstable, Massachusetts, o. 1822 ; 
 admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Exeter, Nashua, and Newmarket ; died, Milford, 
 October 13, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Eldridge fitted himself for the bar in the offices of George 
 Y. Sawyer of Nashua and Bell and Tuck of Exeter. Four or 
 five years of his professional life, from about 1845 to 1849, he 
 spent in Exeter, having an office a part of that time in Newmar- 
 ket. He then removed to Nashua, and remained there till a short 
 time before his decease. He was in practice awhile, also, in 
 Amesbury, Massachusetts. 
 
 He is described as of good powers of mind and pleasing man- 
 ners, but his repeated changes of residence and early death 
 22 
 
338 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 allowed him little opportunity for displaying his aptitude for his 
 calling. 
 
 His wife was Adeline, daughter of Daniel Conner of Exeter, 
 and he left one child. 
 
 JEREMIAH ELKINS. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Esther (Robinson) Elkins ; born, Andover, August 31, 
 1795 ; Dartmouth College, 1817 ; practiced, Gilford, Barnstead, and Meredith ; 
 died, Meredith, February 24, 1854. 
 
 After leaving college, Mr. Elkins proceeded to Virginia, where 
 he was engaged in teaching for several years. He read law with 
 William A. G. Dade, of Prince William County in the same 
 State, and was admitted at the Circuit Court of the District of Co- 
 lumbia in April, 1823. From that time till October, 1838, when 
 he opened an office in Meredith Bridge, Gilford, he was in prac- 
 tice in Washington, District of Columbia. He removed to Barn- 
 stead about 1836, and returned to Meredith about ten years later. 
 
 He was clerk of the New Hampshire House of Eepresentatives 
 in 1836 and the two following years, register of Probate for 
 StrafEord County from 1836 to 1839, and of Belknap County 
 from the time of its formation in 1841 to 1851. 
 
 Mr. Elkins was undoubtedly a good scholar and a man of 
 decided capacity. He was popular, and perhaps fonder of politics 
 than of the law. Like many another of similar tastes, he is said 
 to have fallen into convivial habits, which did not advance him in 
 his professional career. 
 
 His first wife, married in March, 1838, was Sarah G. Emerson. 
 After her death he married Mary Ann, daughter of Abraham 
 Bunker of Barnstead, who, together with two daughters by his 
 first marriage, survived him. 
 
 THOMAS LANGDON ELWYN. 
 
 Son of Thomas Elwyn ; born, Canterbury, England, c. 1775 ; admitted, 
 1811 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, 1816. 
 
 This gentleman is said to have been left an orphan at an early 
 age, and to have been educated at the University of Oxford, Eng- 
 land. In 1796 he came to this country, and was so much struck 
 with the attractions of a daughter of John Langdon, then a sen- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 339 
 
 ator in Congress, that he determined to give up his own country 
 for her sake. He went back to England, settled his affairs, re- 
 turned, and married her. His residence was ever afterwards in 
 Portsmouth, and he adopted the surname of his father-in-law as a 
 part of his own. 
 
 It is said that he had been admitted an attorney in Pennsylva- 
 nia, and sought admission in this State simply to conduct a cause 
 in which he was a party, and which contrary to the old adage he 
 succeeded in gaining. He was a peculiar man, but was much 
 respected. He was a representative in the state legislature. 
 
 His wife was Betsey Langdon, and he had two sons. 
 
 BENJAMIN EMERSON. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Lydia (Durrell) Emerson ; born, Alfred, Maine, March 
 20, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1816 ; practiced, Gilmanton and Pittsfield ; 
 died, Pittsfield, January 23, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Emerson received his ante-collegiate instruction at the 
 academy in South Berwick, and read law with the facetious John 
 Holmes of Alfred, Maine. Admitted in 1822, he went into prac- 
 tice the next year in Gilmanton, and remained twenty-seven years. 
 He v?as chosen repeatedly to town offices, and was representa- 
 tive in the legislature in 1824, 1826, and the two succeeding 
 years. In 1849 he changed his residence to Pittsfield. There, too, 
 he was elected selectman, and continued to practice his profession 
 to a greater or less extent to near the time of his decease. He 
 was a lawyer of good standing, and had a large clientele ; but 
 being a modest, unassuming man, never became a leading counsel, 
 though he was able to express himself in public tersely and 
 strongly. In the conduct of business he was very successful, and 
 accumulated a handsome property. For some years he was a 
 director of the Pittsfield bank, and he was an energetic promoter 
 of the Suncook Valley Kailroad, and of the Pittsfield Water 
 Works. He was quiet and studious in his habits, and kept him- 
 self well informed on all subjects of current interest. He also 
 held strongly religious views. 
 
 Mr. Emerson's first wife, whom he married June 6, 1818, was 
 Mrs. Kebecca S. Porter, daughter of Kev. Isaac Story of Marble- 
 head, Massachusetts ; his second was Frances, daughter of Sam- 
 uel Leighton of Alfred, Maine ; her he married January 31, 1847. 
 
340 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 BENJAMIN FEOTHINGHAM EMERSON. 
 
 Son of Rev. Daniel and Esther (Frothingham) Emerson ; born, HoUis, July 
 3, 1806 ; Union College, 1830 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, September 6, 
 1884. 
 
 Mr. Emerson studied liis profession with Benjamin M. Farley 
 of HoUis, and at the Harvard Law School, and opened his office 
 in 1835 in Townsend, Massachusetts. The next year he came 
 to Nashua. Until 1840 he was a partner of Aaron F. Sawyer ; 
 afterwards he practiced alone. He had a little office on Rail- 
 road Square, which he occupied as long as he lived, and which 
 remained unchanged amid the improvements which were going on 
 around it, in the rapidly growing place. 
 
 While he lived in that part of the township called Nashville, he 
 held many town offices and was a leader in local affairs, and after 
 Nashua adopted a city charter he was chosen alderman and repre- 
 sentative in the legislature. For the last quarter century of his 
 life his practice was almost wholly in the Probate Court, and was 
 extensive and successful. He was a man of high character, sin- 
 cere, honorable, and trustworthy. 
 
 He first married Eliza Kendall of Bedford, who died in 1870, 
 leaving two sons. In 1872 he was united to Mrs. Caroline C. 
 Morse of Nashua, who outlived him. 
 
 SAMUEL EMERSON. 
 
 Son of John and Elizabeth (French) Emerson ; born, Chester, February 4, 
 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1814 ; practiced, Moultonborough and Sandwich ; 
 died, Sandwich, March 4, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Emerson prosecuted his law studies in the office of Amos 
 Kent in his native town, and began to practice in Sandwich in 
 September, 1817. After seven years' residence there, he went to 
 Moultonborough, where he married and remained three years. 
 He then returned permanently to Sandwich. He was solicitor 
 for Carroll County from 1851 to 1855 inclusive, and state senator 
 in 1859. 
 
 His rank at the bar was among the highest in his county. As 
 an advocate he did not excel, but as a counselor he commanded 
 great confidence. He gave especial care and attention to the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 341 
 
 preparation of his cases, and was a proficient in the almost lost 
 art of special pleading. He was one of those lawyers who identi- 
 fied themselves with their clients ; and in his best days he enjoyed 
 a very large practice. 
 
 His first wife was Mary A. Moulton of Moultonborough, by 
 whom he became the father of a son and a daughter. In 1860 he 
 married Mrs. Elizabeth (Morrill) Picket of Chester. 
 
 JAMES WOODWARD EMERY. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Ruby (Woodward) Emery ; born, Haverhill, Massachu- 
 setts, November 30, 1808 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; admitted, 1833 ; prac- 
 ticed, Portsmouth ; died there, December 16, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Emery studied law with Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth, 
 and afterwards was associated with him in practice until the 
 death of the latter in 1853. In 1857 he removed to Cambridge, 
 Massachusetts, and became president of the Union Horse Rail- 
 road Company, which under his management was highly success- 
 ful. He was also one of the projectors and promoters of the 
 European and North American Railroad, and was largely inter- 
 ested in coal mines in New Brunswick. He returned to Ports- 
 mouth in 1870, after which he gave little attention to the law, but 
 was chiefly employed as a director in various banks and railroads, 
 and in other trusts. 
 
 Before leaving Portsmouth he was the chief promoter, if not 
 the projector, of the Portsmouth and Concord Railroad, a real 
 experiment, involving risk and troubles innumerable. He was 
 the legal adviser, encourager, and one of the main upholders of 
 the enterprise. Though the original stockholders were losers, yet 
 it is since demonstrated that the scheme was not chimerical, but 
 only a little in advance of the times. 
 
 The legal firm of Bartlett and Emery constituted a fortunate 
 combination of qualities, Mr. Bartlett being a brilliant advocate, 
 and Mr. Emery emphatically a worker, with no ambition for dis- 
 play, but earnest and eager for success. Their list of causes in 
 the courts was among the largest in the county. 
 
 After Mr. Bartlett's death, Mr. Emery remained a few years in 
 practice alone, in Portsmouth, with an ample clientele. What he 
 won, he gained in fair, open contest; he despised all indirect 
 methods. 
 
342 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Emery was a representative in the state legislature for six 
 years between 1844 and 1874, and one of the most prominent and 
 influential members. In 1873 he was Speaker. 
 
 He was a man of character and high standing in public and 
 private affairs. Upright and manly, he was respected even as an 
 opponent. Though not a man to waste words, he was frank and 
 pleasant to all who meant honestly. 
 
 He was joined in marriage, August 15, 1857, to Martha E., 
 daughter of Captain Andrew W. Bell of Portsmouth, and be- 
 came the father of two daughters and two sons, one a lawj^er. 
 
 NOAH EMEKY. 
 
 Son of Noah and Elizabeth (Chick) Emery ; born, Kittery, Maine, Decem- 
 ber 22, 1725 ; practiced, Exeter ; died there, January, 1788. 
 
 Mr. Emery no doubt prepared himself for the practice of the 
 law under the instruction of Nicholas Ferryman of Exeter, and 
 was probably associated with him in business. The amount of 
 legal business at that time must have been small, and the fees 
 proportionate. 
 
 As the political troubles between the American colonies and 
 the mother country increased in intensity, Mr. Emery warmly 
 took the side of his country. In June and in December, 1775, he 
 was a member of the provincial Congress from Exeter. He was 
 one of the committee who reported the brief constitution under 
 which New Hampshire was governed through the trying period 
 of the Revolution, the first written constitution adopted by any of 
 the United States. 
 
 Mr. Emery was a member and clerk of the House of Represen- 
 tatives, through 1776 and 1777. 
 
 In 1776 he received the appointment of clerk of the Court of 
 Common Pleas, and performed the duties as long as he lived. 
 
 He was married, March 20, 1745, to Joanna, daughter of 
 Nicholas Perryman, he being twenty years of age, and she only 
 fourteen. He left five sons and four daughters. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 343 
 
 TURNER ESTABROOK. 
 
 Son of Rev. Joseph and Lucy (Gushing) Estabrook ; born, Athol, Massachu- 
 setts, AprU 18, 1790 ; Harvard College, 1810 ; practiced, Lee and Farming- 
 ton ; died, 1816. 
 
 While Mr. Estabrook was in college he underwent a severe 
 attack of typhoid fever, from which it is said he never fully 
 recovered. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, and 
 settled in practice in Lee in 1813 or 1814. For a time, too, he 
 appears to have had an office in Farmington. In two or three 
 years he left New Hampshire for Philadelphia, but afterwards 
 proceeded to the South, presumably in pursuit of health. The im- 
 pression of his friends was that he was drowned while crossing a 
 river in traveling ; though they received no definite account of his 
 death. He was unmarried. 
 
 ESTWICK EVANS. 
 
 Son of John and Susanna (March) Evans ; born, Portsmouth, 1787 ; prac- 
 ticed, Portsmouth and Exeter ; died, New York city, November 20, 1866. 
 
 This eccentric person belonged to a family of uncommon natu- 
 ral powers ; his brother Richard having without a regular legal 
 education reached the position of a judge of the highest court, 
 and his sister Sarah Ann, afterwards Mrs. Lehmanowski, being 
 the author of a novel and other literary works. He was in a 
 great measure self-instructed in the law, and was, contrary to all 
 precedent, admitted an attorney in 1811 by the Court of Common 
 Pleas, without the recommendation of the bar. This proceeding 
 called forth a spirited remonstrance from the bar, and has never 
 since been repeated, it is believed. 
 
 Mr. Evans practiced in Portsmouth up to 1815 ; then awhile 
 in Exeter, and, later, again in Portsmouth. He was noted for 
 taking up the cases of sailors, and the poor generally, who had 
 grievances, and was regarded by them as their champion ; while 
 the regular legal practitioners were none too friendly to him of 
 course. Jeremiah Mason is said to have declared that Evans 
 " had about as much influence as any one, because he was a clever 
 fellow, honest, poor, and not well treated, and the people sympa- 
 thized with him." 
 
344 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was a warm politician, and favored the war of 1812. In 
 1819 he was a candidate for Congress, and in 1822 and the two 
 years following he was a representative in the state legislature. 
 
 In 1818 he made a journey on foot from New Hampshire to 
 the West, and to New Orleans. He was clad in furs, carried a 
 long rifle, and was attended by two dogs. He published an 
 account of it under, the title of " A Pedestrious Tour," etc. In 
 1829 he removed to Washington, and spent the rest of his life 
 there, in the practice of the law, and as a clerk in one or another 
 of the departments. 
 
 Mr. Evans had the instincts of a soldier. He volunteered in 
 the war of 1812, but had no opportunity to serve. He yearned 
 to join the patriots of South America in their struggle for inde- 
 pendence. He actually made a voyage to Greece to offer his ser- 
 vices to the revolutionists against the tyranny of the Turks, but 
 the battle of Navarino, accomplishing what he desired, had been 
 fought before his arrival. In the great civil war of 1861 he 
 would fain have taken the field in behalf of the Union, had not 
 his age forbidden. But his pen was busy in the patriotic cause. 
 He was a frequent contributor to the columns of the " National 
 Intelligencer," and put forth a pamphlet early in the war, in favor 
 of the national banking system. 
 
 He married, in 1820, Eliza L. Wade of Milford, and had four 
 sons and two daughters. 
 
 RICHARD STUART EVANS. 
 
 Son of Hon. Richard and Ann W. (Penhallow) Evans ; born, Portsmouth, 
 February 5, 1811 ; Bowdoin College, 1829 ; admitted, 18.33 ; practiced, Ports- 
 mouth ; died, Hyattsville, Maryland, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Evans was assigned a poem for his part at graduation. 
 He read law under Richard Wallach, in Washington, District of 
 Columbia, and practiced one year in Portsmouth, then in Wash- 
 ington, and in New York city for nearly twenty years. Erom 1865 
 he occupied a position in the Treasury Department in Washington 
 ten years, and then resumed legal practice there in company with 
 his son, Richard P. Evans. 
 
 He possessed a mind of untiring activity, and gave attention to 
 many subjects outside his profession. He wrote largely for the 
 newspaper press, and lectured widely on literary, patriotic, and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 345 
 
 philosophical themes. He mastered several European languages, 
 and advertised himself as " translator of foreign literature." He 
 retained his powers to a good old age. 
 
 He married, in 1850, Catharine E. Eoland, and had one son 
 and three daughters. 
 
 DAVID EVERETT. 
 
 Son of David and Susanna Everett ; born, Princeton, Massachusetts, March 
 29, 1770 ; Dartmouth College, 1795 ; practiced, Amherst ; died, Marietta, 
 Ohio, December 21, 1813. 
 
 This gentleman, before he entered college, and while a teacher 
 of a grammar school in New Ipswich, in 1790, wrote some lines to 
 be recited by one of his pupils of seven years of age, which proved 
 a happy inspiration and will outlast our time. They begin, — 
 
 " You 'd scarce expect one of my age, 
 To speak in public on the stage," 
 
 and have often been attributed to another and more distinguished 
 Everett. Moreover some of the lines have been altered. The 
 couplet — 
 
 " May not New Hampshire boast as great. 
 As any other Federal State ? " 
 
 has had Massachusetts foisted into it, to suit a different latitude. 
 
 The little poem was welcomed as a gem, and has been repeated 
 times without number at school exhibitions since. 
 
 Mr. Everett studied law with John M. Forbes, and went into 
 practice in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1801, but the next year 
 came to Amherst, where he had for a student Lemuel Shaw, 
 afterwards Chief Justice of Massachusetts. Though Mr. Everett 
 adhered to the law some years, he was obviously more inclined to 
 literature than litigation. He wrote poems and orations for pub- 
 lic occasions, and published in the " Farmer's Museum " at Wal- 
 pole a series of papers entitled " Common Sense in Dishabille," 
 filled with wit and wisdom. 
 
 In 1807 he went to Boston, Massachusetts, and made jour- 
 nalism his chief profession afterwards. He was connected, edi- 
 torially, with several publications ; he established the " Boston 
 Patriot," and in 1813 proceeded to Ohio, with the design of 
 establishing a newspaper there, but before this was accomplished 
 was struck down by death. 
 
346 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Among Mr. Everett's productions, which are said by competent 
 authority to be entitled to higher commendation than they have 
 received, are an essay on the rights and duties of nations, and a 
 tragedy entitled " Daranzel, or the Persian Patriot," which was 
 performed on the stage. 
 
 He married, in 1799, Dorothy, daughter of Deacon Isaac Ap- 
 pleton of New Ipswich. He left no children. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON EVERETT. 
 
 Born, New London, November 19, 1819 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, New 
 London ; died, Cincinnati, Ohio, August 27, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Everett attended the schools, and afterwards the academy, 
 in New London, and then began his law studies in the office of 
 Walter P. Flanders of that place. He was diligent in applica- 
 tion, and depended upon his own exertions for his support. He 
 began his professional life among his own townspeople, by whom 
 he was chosen a representative in the legislatures of 1852 and 
 1856. He acquired credit as a man of business and a debater. 
 In 1856 he was commissioned solicitor of Merrimao County, and 
 duly completed his five years' term. 
 
 When, in 1862, the Ninth Regiment of New Hampshire Volun- 
 teers was organized, he became its major. Being then ill, he did 
 not accompany his command to the front, but joined it as soon as 
 his health permitted. In several battles and skirmishes he proved 
 himself courageous and skillful. As the regiment, in August, 
 1863, was ascending the Mississippi from Yicksburg, he was taken 
 dangerously ill, and was compelled to pause at Cincinnati, Ohib, 
 where he hoped a little rest would restore him ; but it proved 
 otherwise, and he breathed his last there. 
 
 His wife was EUen T. Lane of Gloucester, Massachusetts. 
 
 JONATHAN C. EVERETT. 
 
 Mr. Everett was born and died outside of this State, and so 
 long ago that he is scarcely remembered by even the oldest in- 
 habitant. He was a native of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, and 
 studied his profession with Clifton Clagett of Litchfield. Ad- 
 mitted an attorney in 1811, he appears to have practiced two or 
 three years in Meredith^ about the same period in Hillsborough, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 347 
 
 then in Sandwich about four years, again in Meredith five or six 
 years, then in Plymouth, and finally in Tamworth, each about 
 two years. This closed his career in New Hampshire, and he re- 
 moved to Dover, Maine, near the year 1831, and is supposed to 
 have died there. 
 
 In spite of his many changes of domicile, the historian of Car- 
 roll County represents him as traditionally a man of much ability. 
 
 RICHARD CLAIR EVERETT. 
 
 Son of Captain Richard and Drusilla Shurtleff (Clair) Everett ; born, Attle- 
 borough, Massachusetts, March 28, 1764 ; Dartmouth College, 1790 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1793 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, March 22, 1815. 
 
 Mr. Everett was an orphan lad obliged to seek a home with an 
 aunt, from whom he ran away, enlisted in the Eevolutionary 
 army, and remained therein about two years. The tradition is 
 that his forlorn appearance attracted the notice of General Wash- 
 ington, who took him into his personal service, where he fared 
 better. 
 
 On quitting the army he came to Lancaster, and there entered 
 the employ of Major Jonas Wilder, one of the principal settlers ; 
 with him he lived two years. 
 
 In 1784 he began to study in Moor's Charity School in Han- 
 over, and thence entered Dartmouth College. He could pursue his 
 course there only by dint of careful economy and by occasional 
 school teaching. But about that time he learned that he was 
 entitled to some property which his father had owned, unknown 
 to the family, so that his circumstances became much improved. 
 
 He studied law in Albany, New York. In 1793 he returned 
 to Lancaster, and began the practice of his profession. Having 
 still some means from his fortunately discovered patrimony, he 
 purchased lands about the village of Lancaster, which, with others 
 subsequently inherited by his wife, made him a large proprietor. 
 Being the only lawyer, he had substantially all the legal business 
 of the vicinity to do. He was chosen to represent in the legisla- 
 ture the class of towns to which Lancaster belonged, six years, 
 between 1796 and 1802. He was in command of a regiment of 
 militia for some years. In 1805 he exchanged his title of colonel 
 for that of judge, upon being appointed Chief Justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas for the new county of Cobs. In 1813 he was 
 
348 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 made Justice of the state Court of Common Pleas for the West- 
 ern Circuit, and as such he acted during the residue of his life. 
 
 Judge Everett is described as possessing legal knowledge suffi- 
 cient for his time and purpose. He had good sense and unques- 
 tioned honesty. It is said his decisions were rarely appealed 
 from. Judge Nesmith said of him : " Judge Everett, though dying 
 early, had deservedly gained a good solid reputation as a citizen 
 in private life, and a jurist of much eminence, always exerting a 
 salutary influence upon the community while living, and leaving 
 a memory to be cherished, when dead." 
 
 He married, in 1793, Persis, daughter of Major Jonas Wilder. 
 He left five daughters, two of whom were married to lawyers. 
 
 STEPHEN FALES, JR. 
 
 Born, Boston, Massachusetts, May 3, 1790 ; Harvard College, 1810 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1814 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Cincinnati, Ohio, September 3, 
 1854. 
 
 Before completing his professional studies, Mr. Fales occupied 
 the position of tutor in Bowdoin College during the years 1811 
 and 1812. He then finished his term of legal study in the 
 office of Jeremiah Mason, in Portsmouth, while a teacher in his 
 family. He practiced in Portsmouth until about the year 1819, 
 and then removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became a part- 
 ner of Francis A. Blake, a distinguished lawyer. In 1821 he 
 changed his residence to Dayton, Ohio, and remained there ten 
 years. While there he was chosen a state senator. He then 
 returned to Cincinnati. 
 
 Mr. Fales is described as a fine classical scholar, who habitually 
 carried a copy of the Greek Testament in his pocket, and often 
 perused it. He was esteemed and loved by his associates in 
 Bowdoin College, and left behind him many pleasant memories 
 when he quitted Portsmouth. His professional career was not 
 very successful. He was probably engaged in teaching to some 
 extent in Ohio. The late Hon. George H. Pendleton is said to 
 have been his pupil. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 349 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANCIS FARLEY. 
 
 Son of Hon. Benjamin M. and Lucretia (Gardner) Farley ; born, Hollis, 
 November 20, 1808 ; Yale College, 1832 ; practiced, Hollis ; died, Worcester, 
 Massachusetts, January 14, 1892. 
 
 This was the only son of his distinguished father, and was in- 
 tended by him to succeed to his legal practice. In his office the 
 son was qualified for admission, and for a time practiced in com- 
 pany with him. But the young man preferred other occupation, 
 though he is said to have often gratuitously given the aid of his 
 legal knowledge to those in need. 
 
 He spent a few years in mercantile pursuits in Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, and afterwards in Boston, Massachusetts, after which he 
 retired to the country, for which he had great fondness, and gave 
 the greater part of his life to the pursuits of agriculture. In 
 1870, and subsequently, he lived in Worcester, Massachusetts. 
 
 " He was a man of unswerving integrity and most kindly sym 
 pathies, and was held in high regard by all who knew him." 
 
 His wife was Mary E. White, and he left children. 
 
 BENJAMIN MARK FARLEY. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Lucy (Fletcher) Farley : born, Hollis, now Brookline, 
 April 8, 1783 ; Harvard College, 1804 ; admitted, 1808 ; practiced, Hollis ; 
 died, Lunenburg, Massachusetts, September 16, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Farley pursued his law studies with Abijah Bigelow of 
 Leominster, Massachusetts. Hollis was the scene of his legal 
 labors for forty-seven years ; from 1808. He was endowed with 
 qualities which early brought him clients: untiring industry, a 
 clear head, devotion to the interests of his employers, and strict 
 integrity. His constitution was sound and his health vigorous, 
 and he grudged no amount of time or labor in the pursuit of his 
 calling. Every question submitted to him was thoroughly studied 
 and considered. His opinions carried great weight and authority. 
 The business of his office was systematically conducted, and grew 
 to be among the most extensive in his section. The dockets of 
 the courts in his own and the adjacent counties show the extent 
 of his practice in the higher tribunals, and the success which 
 attended it. 
 
360 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was especially distinguislied for his skill In preparing and 
 dealing with the testimony in his causes for trial. His careful 
 and minute examination of the statements of those whom he in- 
 tended to call upon the stand to testify caused him to be accused 
 of " drilling " his witnesses. In cross-examinations he was keen, 
 severe, and sometimes, perhaps, overbearing. He assuredly got 
 his evidence before the jury " for all it was worth." 
 
 He became an advocate of wide repute, and for years argued 
 numerous important causes before the jury and the law courts. 
 He was no orator in the accepted sense of the term ; his speeches 
 were distinguished by plain, severe logic. But they were so clear 
 that the dullest could not fail to get the whole force of them. He 
 knew the vulnerable points of his auditors, and his arrows were 
 rightly directed and seldom went wide of the mark. As a lawyer 
 he deservedly ranked among the best that the State has produced. 
 He would have added strength to the bench at any period. He 
 was a sound classical scholar, too. 
 
 He was never at a loss for an illustration. Some one asked 
 him how circumstantial evidence could he more convincing than 
 positive testimony. " I can show you," replied Mr. Farley. " I 
 buy a can of milk which the seller assures me he took directly 
 from the cow, strained it into a clean can, which he knows was 
 not opened afterwards. If, when I take the stopper from the can, 
 a bullfrog leaps out, the frog is more credible evidence than the 
 man." 
 
 The successful lawyer used to be the banker in a country 
 neighborhood. Mr. Farley had money to lend, but unlike some 
 others, he never took usurious interest. He invested his gains in 
 the good old-fashioned security of note and land-mortgage. He 
 is said never to have owned a share of stock in a bank or a manu- 
 facturing corporation. 
 
 He was much esteemed by the people among whom he lived. 
 He discouraged litigation, and they rarely appeared as suitors in 
 court. They chose him repeatedly to town offices, and made him 
 their representative in the legislature from 1814 to 1818, and from 
 1824 to 1829, inclusive, eleven years in all. Though in a political 
 minority, his legal learning and weight of personal character 
 gave him great influence as a law-maker. 
 
 Mr. Farley was cool and rather distant in his demeanor, but 
 behind his mask of reserve and coldness is said to have had a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 351 
 
 warm and generous nature. He retained his mental and bodily 
 powers to a remarkable extent to the end of his life. His later 
 years he spent in Massachusetts with his relatives. 
 
 He was married first to Lucretia, daughter of Eev. Francis 
 Gardner, who bore him six children, and died in 1819. Septem- 
 ber 18, 1828, he married Lucretia, daughter of Eev. John Bal- 
 lard, and widow of Lemuel Barker of Pepperell, Massachusetts. 
 One of his sons, and the husbands of two daughters, were of the 
 legal profession. 
 
 GEORGE FREDERIC FARLEY. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Lucy (Fletcher) Farley ; born, Dunstable, Massachu- 
 setts, April 5, 1793 ;. Harvard College, 1816 ; admitted, 1820 ; practiced, 
 New Ipswich ; died, Groton, Massachusetts, November 8, 1855. 
 
 Mr. Farley read law in part with Luther Lawrence of Groton, 
 Massachusetts, but chiefly with his elder brother, Benjamin Mark 
 Farley of HoUis. Settling in practice in New Ipswich in 1821, 
 he acquired, during his ten years' residence there, an extensive 
 business. In 1831 he was a member of the state legislature, and 
 later in the same year changed his residence to Groton, Massa- 
 chusetts, where he practiced with great success for near twenty 
 years. During the latter part of his life he had also an office in 
 Boston. 
 
 The testimony to his accurate knowledge of the law, his judg- 
 ment in the application of it to the cases before him, his keenness 
 and readiness in the emergencies of trials, and his forcible presen- 
 tation of his clients' claims, is abundant from all who were 
 acquainted with him in his mature years. 
 
 Like many of the great verdict-winners, Scarlett, Mason, and 
 others, he made no pretensions to oratory ; his arguments were 
 plain talking, right on a level in point of diction with his audi- 
 ence, but thoroughly logical. When he had finished one of his 
 demonstrations, it was as if he had said, " Get away from that if 
 you can." He fully understood the value of allowing his oppo- 
 nents to put themselves in the wrong. In the trial of a railroad 
 case, the counsel for the road produced some expensively executed 
 plans. Mr. Farley for the plaintiff asked for the loan of them 
 to explain his case to the jury. They had not yet been put in 
 evidence, and the opposing counsel rather cavalierly refused to let 
 
352 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 him see them. Later in the trial they were introduced, and Mr. 
 Farley might of course have used them, but as the jury sympa- 
 thized with his client when the refusal was made, he preferred not 
 to lose the favorable impression. When he came to make his 
 closing argument, he said to the jury : " Has any one of you a 
 piece of chalk in his pocket ? " A juror at once produced one, 
 and Mr. Farley chalked out on the floor before the jury his plan, 
 gaining probably all the more attention from the novelty of the 
 proceeding, and then went on to argue the cause to a favorable 
 conclusion. He " fairly chalked us out of the case," said the pres- 
 ident of the railroad; and very wisely gave him a general re- 
 tainer, when it was over. 
 
 Whatever ingenuity could do in the way of explanations and 
 suggestions, which was much in his day when the lips of parties 
 were sealed, was sure to be done in every trial which Mr. Farley 
 conducted. 
 
 Governor Boutwell declared that "Mr. Farley often encoun- 
 tered, in important causes, the best practitioners in New Hamp- 
 shire and in Massachusetts, and in his contests with them never 
 suffered a defeat which was not inherent in the case." 
 
 He married, November 25, 1823, Lucy, daughter of John Rice 
 of Ashby, Massachusetts. One of their daughters became the 
 wife of Edward A. Kelley, a lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 EVARTS WORCESTER FARR. 
 
 Son of John and Tryphena (Morse) Farr ; born, Littleton, October 10, 
 1840 ; admitted, 1867 ; practiced, Littleton ; died there, November 30, 1880. 
 
 Before he had finished his sophomore year in college, young 
 Farr volunteered for the defense of the Union, and was commis- 
 sioned a lieutenant in the Second Regiment of New Hampshire 
 Volunteers. Six months later he was a captain. While in com- 
 mand of his company at the battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, 
 May 5, 1862, he was shot in the right arm so severely that it had 
 to be amputated. He returned to the front as major of the 
 Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment ; served at Vicksburg, under 
 Grant, and elsewhere throughout the war, and was mustered out 
 of service June 4, 1865. 
 
 He then studied law with his father in Littleton, and engaged 
 in practice there till his decease. He was appointed assistant 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 353 
 
 assessor of internal revenue in 1865, and assessor in 1869, hold- 
 ing the office until 1873. In the latter year he was appointed 
 solicitor of Grafton County, and resigned in 1879 to accept the 
 office of representative in Congress, which he filled two terms. 
 He was also chosen councilor in 1876. 
 
 As a soldier Major Farr distinguished himself both as a disci- 
 plinarian and by his courage and endurance. Before the enemy 
 he set the highest example of cheerful obedience to orders, and 
 contempt of danger. 
 
 As a lawyer he stood among the most promising of the young 
 men of his time. He was a facile and effective speaker, though 
 he never could have been an assiduous student of books. Official 
 stations were his for the asking, and his supporters were not lim- 
 ited by party lines. The duties that devolved uppn him he per- 
 formed faithfully and well. Dartmouth College, in 1872, gave 
 him the honorary degree of A. M. 
 
 He married. May 19, 1861, Ellen F., daughter of Augustus 
 Burpee of New Hampton, who with several children survived him. 
 
 JOHN FARR. 
 
 Son of Noah and Lydia (Cobleigh) Farr ; born, Littleton, May 22, 1810 ; 
 admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Littleton ; died there, October 12, 1892. 
 
 The son of a farmer, and of narrow means, Mr. Farr entered a 
 store in his native town, at an early age, as a clerk. After attain- 
 ing his majority he was for a number of years in the mercantile 
 business. He was also a deputy sheriff five years ; a selectman of 
 the town ; and was forward in undertakings, not always success- 
 ful, for the increase of the prosperity of Littleton. At the age of 
 about forty, he began to prepare himself for the bar, first in the 
 office of William J. Bellows, and afterwards in that of Charles 
 W. Band. 
 
 Though Mr. Farr entered the profession at a late period of life, 
 his diligence and business capacity gave him an excellent stand- 
 ing. He had little to do, comparatively, in the judicial courts ; 
 his employment was chiefly in his office. As a collector of 
 claims, an adviser in the management of estates, and a draughts- 
 man of instruments, he excelled, and was widely employed. He 
 was president of the Littleton National Bank, and Savings Bank ; 
 treasurer and member of the Board of Education ; five years 
 23 
 
354 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Justice of the Police Court, and a delegate to the constitutional 
 convention of 1876. He was also a County Commissioner in 
 1862, and a commissioner to report upon the affairs of the Win- 
 nipiseogee Lake Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing Company in 
 1879. 
 
 Mr. Farr was an observing and reflecting man, and gifted with 
 an accurate and retentive memory. From the recollections of his 
 long life he contributed to the " Littleton Argus " a series of 
 valuable sketches of the town and its people. 
 
 He was thrice married, first, in 1833, to Tryphena Morse ; sec- 
 ond. May 5, 1852, to Mrs. E. M. Bowman ; and last, October 8, 
 1862, to Mrs. Emma M. Woolson. Of his eight children, five at 
 least were the fruit of his first marriage. 
 
 EDWARD FARRAR. 
 
 Son of Daniel W. and Eliza (Wright) Farrar ; born, Troy, November 14, 
 1822 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, February 11, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Farrar was a student of Dartmouth College during a part 
 of the prescribed course, but was prevented from completing it 
 by impaired health. He prosecuted his professional studies under 
 Levi Chamberlain of Keene, and at the Harvard Law School, 
 taking his degree of LL. B. in 1847. He then established him- 
 self in Keene. After he had been there ten years, in December, 
 1857, he was appointed clerk of the courts for the county of 
 Cheshire, and filled the office acceptably to the time of his decease. 
 
 He was elected a representative to the state legislature in 
 1871 and 1872 ; an alderman of the new city of Keene the two 
 following years, and mayor the next two years after that. He 
 was Justice of the Police Court from 1876 as long as he lived. 
 
 Mr. Farrar was of a pleasant and genial disposition, and was 
 always ready to lend a hand for the relief of those in need of 
 assistance. He devoted special attention to mechanical and 
 scientific subjects. He is said to have invented a machine for 
 reproducing by the aid of electricity, at a distant point, the sound 
 of the voice or of a musical instrument, thus substantially anti- 
 cipating the electric telephone. The instrument which he con- 
 structed was thought worthy of a description in the " Scientific 
 American," since the Bell telephone was perfected. 
 
 August 23, 1858, Mr. Farrar was married to Caroline, daugh- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 355 
 
 ter of Charles H. Brainerd of Keene. She, with two daughters, 
 outlived her husband. 
 
 HUMPHREY FARRAR. 
 
 Son of Humphrey and Lucy (Farrar) Farrar ; born, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 
 September 15, 1773 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; practiced, Canaan ; died, 
 Hanover, July, 1840. 
 
 Humphrey Farrar, senior, came from Massachusetts to Han- 
 over about the year 1790, presumably for the purpose of giving 
 his four sons a collegiate education. Humphrey, junior, the 
 eldest, became a lawyer, and established himself in Canaan, and 
 may have remained there until the early years of the present 
 century. Where he lived and how he was employed from that 
 time to near the time of his death has not been ascertained ; but 
 it is quite certain that he was not a practicing lawyer in this 
 State. It was probably on account of his early associations there 
 that he was led to return to Hanover about the close of his life. 
 
 JOSEPH FARRAR. 
 
 Son of Humphrey and Lucy (Farrar) Farrar ; born, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 
 February 24, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; admitted, 1797 ; practiced, 
 Wolfeborough ; died. New York City, February 7, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Farrar read law with Mr. Paine of Windsor, Vermont, 
 and practiced in Chelsea, Vermont. There he was choseu clerk 
 of the town, but owing to intemperate habits and other irregu- 
 larities was dismissed from the bar in 1805. He then came to 
 New Hampshire, and for a number of years found employment 
 as a teacher in Wolfeborough and in Wakefield. Subsequently, 
 about the year 1812, he resumed the practice of the law in Wolfe- 
 borough. It ought to be mentioned to his credit, that he had the 
 self-control to reform his habits, and became a temperate man. 
 
 He was a genial companion and a fluent talker, and being 
 gifted with a taste and capacity for music, was the chorister of the 
 church in the place of his residence. 
 
 Mr. Farrar married Mehitabel Dana, who died a few months 
 before him. Soon afterwards he went to visit his sons, one in 
 New York and the other in Ohio, but his own death occurred at 
 the residence of the former. 
 
366 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 TIMOTHY FARRAR. 
 
 Son of Timothy and Anna (Bancroft) Farrar ; born, New Ipswich, March 
 17, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced. New Ipswich, Portsmouth, 
 and Hanover ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, October 27, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Farrar studied his profession in the office of Daniel Web- 
 ster in Portsmouth, and was admitted as an attorney in Koeking- 
 ham County in 1810. Beginning practice in New Ipswich, after 
 a stay of only three years he returned to Portsmouth on the invi- 
 tation of Mr. Webster to become his partner. He continued in 
 Portsmouth until 1822, when he changed his residence to Hano- 
 ver, and in addition to his law practice, became secretary, treas- 
 urer, and librarian of Dartmouth College. 
 
 In 1824 he was appointed to the bench of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, and retained his seat till the court was abolished on a 
 change in the judiciary system of the State in 1833. In 1836 he 
 took the office of cashier of the Exeter Bank in Exeter. Upon 
 the expiration of its charter in 1844, he removed to Boston, Mas- 
 sachusetts, where the remainder of his life was passed, partly in 
 professional, and partly in literary and historical work. 
 
 He was by no means " forth-putting " in his profession, and 
 perhaps in early life failed to impress men with a sense of his 
 real knowledge and capacity. In 1819 he edited a report of the 
 Dartmouth College ease, which perhaps was the immediate cause 
 of his removal to Hanover. His conduct on the bench increased 
 his estimation with the bar and the community. So keen a 
 critic as Moody Kent wrote highly of his legal learning and of his 
 charges to the jury, as being logical and presenting clearly the 
 points in issue. 
 
 In later life he prepared papers for publication which gained 
 him much esteem as a publicist and constitutional lawyer. The 
 most important of these was a "Manual of the Constitution," 
 issued in a volume of over five hundred pages, in 1867, written 
 during and just after the great Eebellion, in refutation of certain 
 theories of men who were half sympathizers with it. 
 
 Judge Farrar was married, in 1817, to Sarah, daughter of Wil- 
 liam Adams of Portsmouth. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 357 
 
 WILLIAM FARRAR. 
 
 Son of Humphrey and Lucy (Farrar) Farrar ; born, Hanover, September 13, 
 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1801 ; admitted, 1804 (?) ; practiced, Colebrook 
 and Lancaster ; died, Lancaster, March 3, 1850. 
 
 Mr. Farrar acquired his legal training with Aaron Hutchinson 
 of Lebanon^ and as early as 1806 proceeded to Colebrook, and 
 became the first settled lawyer in that town. He is described as 
 diffident, but well-educated and of good habits. His practice in 
 Colebrook was moderate, and he exchanged that place for Lancas- 
 ter in 1811. There he was made solicitor of Cobs County two 
 years from 1812 ; register of Deeds, 1812 to 1816 ; again solicitor 
 from 1816 to 1826 ; and clerk of the Court of Common Pleas 
 from 1837 to 1839. He was also employed as Justice of the 
 Peace more extensively, perhaps, than any other in the commis- 
 sion in his county. 
 
 As a lawyer he was careful and painstaking. His practice was 
 mainly a collecting one. He was a man of great probity and uni- 
 versally respected ; agreeable and pleasant in manner, a deacon 
 of the church, and the leader of its choir. 
 
 He married, in 1812, Margaret, daughter of Gains Kibbe of 
 Minehead, Vermont. After her death in 1822, he married Try- 
 phena Burgin. 
 
 JAMES BOUTELLE FASSETT. 
 
 Son of Hiram and Cynthia (Adams) Fassett ; born, Enosburg, Vermont, 
 March 4, 1833 ; admitted, 1864 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, February 3, 
 1889. 
 
 Mr. Fassett qualified himself to be a teacher of a higher grade, 
 and was employed as such in several towns in this State. His 
 professional studies were carried on with Minot and Mugridge of 
 Concord and with Charles E. Morrison of Manchester, and he 
 chose Nashua as his future home, going there immediately after 
 his admission. 
 
 His experience as an instructor led to his being placed upon 
 the board of education, on which he served five terms. In 1876 
 he was appointed Judge of the Police Court, and so continued to 
 the end of his life. He was repeatedly chosen moderator of his 
 ward, and in 1889 was a delegate to the constitutional conven- 
 
358 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tion, which closed its labors only about three weeks before his 
 decease. 
 
 Judge Fassett was a man of genial temperament, and espe- 
 cially fond of athletic sports. As a lawyer his standing was good, 
 and his practice successful. 
 
 He married Ellen M., daughter of Hon. Hiram T. Morrill, who 
 with six children survived him. 
 
 FRANCIS AUGUSTUS FAULKNER. 
 
 Son of Francis and Eliza (Stearns) Faulkner ; born, Keene, February 12, 
 1825 ; Harvard College, 1846 ; admitted, 1849 ; practiced, Keene ; died there. 
 May 22, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Faulkner was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and studied law in the office of Phineas Henderson of 
 Keene and at the Harvard Law School. When admitted to prac- 
 tice he formed a partnership with William P. Wheeler, which 
 subsisted until the death of the latter. He then continued in 
 practice alone until a few months before his decease. It was 
 truly said of him that his life was an almost unexampled record 
 of work and achievement. The practice of Wheeler and Faulk- 
 ner was a very large one in two counties, at least, and the junior 
 partner did his full proportion of the work, and, after Mr. 
 Wheeler's death, had the entire burden of the business to sustain, 
 as none of the clients of the office were disposed to transfer their 
 cases to another. 
 
 Mr. Faulkner was not the man to slight his work, and labored 
 faithfully and conscientiously to conduct every client's cause to 
 the best practicable conclusion. He was admirably and exception- 
 ally adapted and equipped for his calling. " To a finely organ- 
 ized brain he united robust health and an ardent love for his pro- 
 fession, which enabled him to accomplish an amount of work that 
 excited the wonder and admiration of his associates." His tech- 
 nical knowledge was thorough and ready ; he had sound sense 
 and discriminating judgment in the application of it, and his 
 equanimity was never disturbed. His manners were courteous, 
 his integrity and honor were above suspicion. He was thoroughly 
 unpretending ; he never sought position, but many places of trust 
 came to him, a few of which he accepted. He was solicitor of 
 Cheshire County from 1856 to 1862, and then commissioner of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 359 
 
 the board of enrollment during the remainder of the war ; he rep- 
 resented Keene in the legislature for several terms, and in the 
 constitutional convention of 1876 ; and he v?as president of the 
 Cheshire Provident Institution during the later years of his life. 
 
 He was deeply interested in political affairs, and no man in his 
 section wielded more influence. He was one of the main pillars 
 in the religious society to which he belonged. He was a citizen 
 of liberality and public spirit, and a friend to whom one could 
 intrust his property or his reputation. 
 
 He married, in 1849, Caroline, daughter of Hon. Phineas Hen- 
 derson, and left three sons, one a lawyer. 
 
 WILLIAM EMERSON FAULKNER. 
 
 Son of Francis Faulkner ; born, Acton, Massachusetts, October 22, 1776 ; 
 Harvard College, 1797 ; practiced, Claremont and Newport ; died, Brookfield, 
 Massachusetts, October 1, 1804. 
 
 The share of this gentleman's brief tenure of life which was 
 passed in New Hampshire was small. He studied his profession 
 with his brother-in-law, Jabez Upham of Brookfield, Massachu- 
 setts, and settled as a lawyer in Claremont in 1801. After a stay 
 there of four or five months he changed his residence to Newport ; 
 continued there a short time, and returned to Brookfield, where 
 he became a partner of Mr. Upham. 
 
 He married a sister of Mr. Upham. 
 
 FRED R. FELCH. 
 
 Son of Horace C. and Helen H. W. Felch ; born, Bradford, July 15, 1860 ; 
 admitted, 1883 ; practiced, Derry and Manchester ; died, Manchester, De- 
 cember 22, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Felch was educated in the high schools of Bradford and 
 Warner, and became a law student of Mason W. Tappan in the 
 former town. He began to practice in Derry in May, 1884. A 
 part of the time he had also an office in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 In 1888 he was the candidate of his party for solicitor of Rock- 
 ingham County, but failed of an election. In the spring of 1891 
 he was engaged as the general attorney of the Granite State 
 Provident Association, and removed to Manchester. He was an 
 enterprising lawyer, and an active politician. 
 
 In December, 1884, he married Jennie L., the adopted daughter 
 of J. K. Lund. They had one child. 
 
360 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JEREMIAH FELLOWES. 
 
 Son of Ephraim and Betsy (Tueke) Eellowes ; born, Exeter, May 1, 1791 ; 
 Bowdoin College, 1810 ; practiced, Exeter ; died. Concord, September 5, 
 1865. 
 
 Mr. Fellowes was received into Phillips Exeter Academy in 
 1803, at the age of twelve. In college he is said to have culti- 
 vated literature more than science, and was known as the poet of 
 his class. After passing the usual time in George Sullivan's 
 office as a student, he became an attorney at law in Exeter in 
 1813. It is presumed that he gave more attention to the muses 
 than to his profession, and in 1824 he put forth a volume of verse, 
 entitled " Reminiscences, Moral Poems, and Translations." 
 
 While he was still a young man his mental powers gave way, 
 and he at length became the inmate of a retreat for the insane, 
 and passed there the remainder of his overclouded life. 
 
 NATHAN BUCKMAN FELTON. 
 
 Son of Benjamin Felton ; born, Pelham, now Presoott, Massaeliusetts, No- 
 vember 12, 1798 ; Middlebury College, 1821 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, 
 Haverhill ; died, Haverhill, December 22, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Felton fitted himself at the Chester Academy in Vermont, 
 in a year and a half after he began the study of the classics, to 
 enter the junior class in Middlebury College. He read law with 
 Charles W. Field at Newfane, Vermont, and was admitted there. 
 Opening his office in Lebanon, he lived there untU 1834 ; and 
 then removed to Haverhill, upon being appointed clerk of the 
 Superior Court for Grafton County. That office he occupied 
 until 1848. In 1852 he was appointed register of Probate, and 
 performed the duties about four years. He was chosen to various 
 town offices in Haverhill, and twice represented the town in the 
 state legislature, in 1842 and in 1853. 
 
 After Mr. Felton gave up the clerkship, he acquired an exten- 
 sive practice. His standing at the bar was excellent, as a " care- 
 ful, painstaking, and learned lawyer," or, as another expressed it, 
 " a very keen, critical lawyer, who prepared his cases well, and 
 argued them well, — one of the best lawyers at the bar." He did 
 not so much excel as a jury advocate as in discussing law points. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 361 
 
 which he did in a peculiar way, "by snatches — as keen as 
 razors." In his knowledge of the practice of the courts he had 
 no superior in the State, and was consulted as an authority by the 
 judges themselves. He was a man of great general information, 
 not copious of speech, but what he said was always well con- 
 sidered and to the point. A quaint humor often gave his words 
 peculiar pungency, and riveted them in the memory of his hear- 
 ers. His perfect uprightness was proverbial. He had a kind 
 heart, and showed much practical benevolence towards those who 
 needed help. 
 
 His wife was Ann M. Eeding, a sister of Hon. John R. Reding 
 of Portsmouth. They had no children. 
 
 WILLIAM GOODELL FIELD. 
 
 Son of William and Jerusha (Goodell) Field ; born, Connecticut (?), c. 1788; 
 Brown University, 1808 ; practiced, Walpole ; died, Louisville, Kentucky, 
 March 19, 1853. 
 
 This gentleman was in practice in Walpole as early as 1812, 
 and in 1814 became a counselor of the Superior Court in Cheshire 
 County. His law practice is said not to have been extensive. He 
 was a school teacher in Walpole in 1821 and 1822 ; one of the 
 superintending school committee from 1821 to 1824, inclusive, 
 and in 1827 and 1828 ; representative in the legislature, 1826 
 to 1829, inclusive ; town clerk in 1826, 1827, and 1828, and mod- 
 erator in 1829. In the year last mentioned he emigrated to Day- 
 ton, Ohio, where he was admitted to practice in the Supreme 
 Court, and afterwards settled in Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 He married Eliza Stone at Walpole, July 22, 1816. They had 
 three daughters and a son born in Walpole. Mrs. Field died in 
 Dayton, soon after their arrival there. Later, Mr. Field was 
 again married. 
 
 JOHN LANGDON FITCH. 
 
 Son of Hon. Lyman and Rhoda (Crocker) Fitch ; born, Thetford, Vermont, 
 January 26, 1820 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, December 10, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Fitch received his education at the academy in Thetford, 
 Vermont, and studied law with his brother-in-law, George W. 
 Morrison, in Manchester. On being admitted to the bar, about 
 
362 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1845, he became a partner of Mr. Morrison, and continued such 
 during the remainder of his life. He is credited with good 
 abilities, but is said to have been of an aggressive temperament, 
 and to have lacked cultivation. He accomplished a good deal of 
 the business of the office, but his habits were not such as to con- 
 duce to long life. 
 
 He was elected president of the common council of Manchester 
 in 1850. 
 
 He married Elizabeth Rogers of Bradford, Vermont, and left 
 two daughters. 
 
 CHARLES FLANDERS. 
 
 Son of Nehemiah and Sarah (French) Flanders ; born, Newburyport, Mas- 
 sachusetts, February 11, 1788 ; Harvard College, 1808 ; practiced, Plainfield 
 and Manchester ; died, Plainfield, April 15, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Flanders was fitted for college under Michael Walsh in 
 his native town, and studied law with Samuel L. Knapp and with 
 Little and Banister of Newburyport. He established himself in 
 his profession at Plainfield, and there remained until 1848 when 
 he removed to Manchester, but resumed his residence in Plainfield 
 about 1855. He was representative of Plainfield in the legisla- 
 tures of 1829, 1830, and 1838, and solicitor of Sullivan County 
 from 1827 to 1837. In 1847 Dartmouth College gave him the 
 honorary degree of Master of Arts. , 
 
 Mr. Flanders was for many years very successful in his profes- 
 sion. In 1823 he and Samuel Morse of Bradford are said to 
 have made each more entries in court than any other lawyer in 
 the county. He is described as industrious and attentive to his 
 clients' interests, of a clear and logical mind, and an honest man. 
 By all accounts he stood well in his profession. His business had 
 somewhat diminished when he left Plainfield, as writ-making, 
 which had, in the earlier part of the century, been a main reliance 
 of country lawyers, had by reason of the change in the methods 
 of business greatly declined. 
 
 He married, August 20, 1815, Lucretia Kingsbury of Keene, 
 and had four sons and a daughter. Two of his sons became law- 
 yers. One lived several years in Manchester. The other, Henry 
 Flanders, is known as the author of the " Lives of the Chief Jus- 
 tices " and of some law works. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 363 
 
 WALTER POWERS FLANDERS. 
 
 Son of Ezra and Lucy (Harriman) Flanders ; born, Warner, March 29, 
 1805 ; Dartmouth College, 1831 ; practiced, New London ; died, Milwaukee, 
 Wisconsin, January 24, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Flanders after his graduation was for some time principal 
 of the Lancaster Academy. His law studies he prosecuted with 
 John D. Willard of Troy, New York, and George W. Nesmith of 
 Franklin, and went into practice in New London in 1834. In 
 1842 and 1848 he was a member of the state legislature, and in 
 1848, after fourteen years' practice in New Hampshire, he went to 
 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and engaged principally in railroad and 
 real-estate business, which he followed up to March, 1881. 
 
 He was a man of great energy and force. He had a good deal 
 of business and was strenuous for his clients' interests. He was a 
 capable, strong lawyer, though not learned in the niceties of his 
 profession. Perhaps aware of this, he was cautious and sus- 
 picious ; slow to enter into agreements, lest he should find himself 
 entrapped. He took part in trials to some extent, but the greater 
 part of his business was outside of the court house. He was 
 decided in his opinions, and was an early anti-slavery man. 
 
 His wife was Susan E., daughter of Jonathan Greeley of New 
 London. They were married September 23, 1834, and had five 
 children. 
 
 WILLIAM W. FLANDERS. 
 
 Son of Ezra and Lucy (Harriman) Flanders ; born, Piermont, March 12, 
 1821 ; admitted, 1850 ; practiced, Wilmot ; died there, August 24, 1891. 
 
 This was a younger brother of "Walter P. Flanders of New 
 London, and made his home with him while fitting for college 
 at the academy in that place. Being prevented by severe ill- 
 ness from taking a collegiate course, he pursued the study of the 
 law with Mason W. Tappan at Bradford. 
 
 He entered into practice in Wilmot in 1850. From that town 
 he went representative to the legislatures of 1855 to 1858 inclu- 
 sive, and served one or more years upon the committee on 
 the judiciary. In 1875 and 1876 he was solicitor of Merrimac 
 County. He was a man of sound understanding, and an honest, 
 diligent, and faithful lawyer. As a legislator he was fair, and 
 
364 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 strove to serve the public interest. He lived to become the oldest 
 practicing lawyer in the county. 
 
 He was married, January 30, 1855, to Mary S. Ford of Dan- 
 bury. Their children were a daughter and two sons. 
 
 ARTHUR FLETCHER. 
 
 Son of Deacon Nathan F. and Nancy (Pillsbury) Fletcher ; born, Bridge- 
 water, October 1, 1811 ; Yale College, 1836 ; admitted, 1840 ; practiced, Con- 
 cord ; died there, February 19, 1885. 
 
 Ever after he arrived at the age of nineteen. Concord was the 
 home of Mr. Fletcher. He passed the first half of his college life 
 at Dartmouth, and then migrated to Yale. After some months 
 spent in teaching in New York, he studied with his uncle, Samuel 
 Fletcher of Concord, for the bar, and was duly admitted in Merri- 
 mac County. The next two years he was employed in winding 
 up the affairs of the Concord Bank. The residue of his life was 
 devoted to his profession, till within a few years of his decease. 
 He was appointed special Justice of the Police Court of Concord 
 in 1868, and held the office about eight years. 
 
 He was a lawyer in excellent standing, attentive to the interests 
 of his employers, and successful in his management of the affairs 
 of others and in acquiring a competency for himself. 
 
 He married Harriet M., sister of Josiah Minot of Concord, 
 August 1, 1848, who, together with their one daughter, outlived 
 him. 
 
 CHARLES B. FLETCHER. 
 
 Son of Hon. Isaac and Abigail (Stone) Fletcher ; born, Lyndon, Vermont, 
 1816 ; practiced, Nashua ; died, Lyndon, Vermont, September 12, 1851. 
 
 Of quick parts and precocious in learning, young Fletcher is 
 said to have completed his education at the Catholic college in 
 Montreal, Canada, in 1835, and accompanied his father, a mem- 
 ber of Congress, to Washington during most of the time from 
 1837 to 1841. Thus under his father's guidance he acquired the 
 needful legal knowledge for admission to the bar, together with 
 such information as to matters of legislation and state as such a 
 connection would naturally impart to an inquiring mind. 
 
 On the death of his father in 1842 he succeeded to his busi- 
 ness, and continued in Lyndon for a year or two afterwards ; but 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 365 
 
 about the year 1844 he removed to Nashua, and while there was a 
 partner in practice of Benjamin M. Farley of Hollis. 
 
 He was a fine pixblic speaker and an advocate of promising 
 ability. Of a nervous, impulsive temperament, he united with it 
 much energy, vivacity, and brilliancy of intellect. Unfortunately 
 his popular qualities led him into convivial society, and deviation 
 from habits of temperance ill comported with his delicate consti- 
 tution. About the year 1850 he left Nashua for Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, where for a short time he was an inmate of the office of 
 his wife's uncle, George F. Farley, and then returned to Lyndon, 
 Vermont. He survived the change but a few months. 
 
 He married, in 1843, Lucy, daughter of Benjamin M. Farley 
 of Hollis. 
 
 HIRAM ADAMS FLETCHER. 
 
 Son of Ebenezer and Peddy (Smith) Fletcher ; born, Springfield, Vermont, 
 December 14, 1806 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Colebrook and Lancaster ; 
 died, Lancaster, January 30, 1879. 
 
 The subject of this notice, at the age of seventeen, entered the 
 Kimball Union Academy in Plainfield, and made the best use of 
 his time in study, for about two years, after which he began to fit 
 himself for the law. He read successively with Seth Cushman of 
 Guildhall, Vermont, with John L. Sheafe and Jared "W. Williams 
 of Lancaster, and with Henry Hubbard of Charlestown, five years 
 in all, and was admitted to the bar in Sullivan County. 
 
 One year he practiced in his native town in Vermont, and then 
 went to Colebrook, remaining there till 1849, and doing business 
 on both sides of the Connecticut, as was usual with the active 
 lawyers of the towns bordering on the river. The work was hard, 
 but it was the kind of practice that brought out a lawyer's re- 
 sources, and Mr. Fletcher never shrank from any needful toil or 
 exposure. Under these circumstances he acquired a professional 
 standing that enabled him, when he removed to Lancaster, in 
 1849, to take a leading position there. In that place he con- 
 tinued to practice up to within a short time of his death, round- 
 ing out the period of forty-seven years of active professional life. 
 
 His business was varied, abundant, and much of it important. 
 He was a careful student of his profession, had a remarkable 
 memory of authorities, and kept up with the latest decisions. In 
 
366 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 meeting the shifting exigencies of trials, he was noted for his 
 readiness and tact. He was once engaged in the defense against 
 a very stale promissory note which had long before become " out- 
 lawed " in New Hampshire, where the maker lived, but was sued 
 in Vermont, where he happened to be long enough to be served 
 with process. When the Court inquired of Mr. Fletcher what was 
 the nature of his defense, he replied, "the age of the note." 
 " But," replied the judge, " you have no plea of the statute of 
 limitations." " No matter," said Mr. Fletcher, " the general issue 
 will answer." The plaintiff produced his note, and proved the 
 execution of it. Mr. Fletcher went to the jury without any 
 further evidence. He took up the instrument, yellow with age 
 and worn with folding, and began his address to the jury by a 
 solemn apostrophe to the note, as a relic of antiquity that had 
 come down from a former generation. Then he argued that the 
 legal presumption attached to all instruments, after a sufficient 
 lapse of time, that they had been duly paid and settled. 
 
 The jury, none too favorable to the enforcement of stale claims, 
 acquiesced in his views, and gave him their verdict. 
 
 His notions in religious matters were of a somewhat "ad- 
 vanced " school, and he was accustomed to refer to a church 
 which kept up the strictest Calvinistic rigor as " the iron-works." 
 
 At a hotel table where the menu was rather meagre, and his 
 hunger proportionately keen, when the waiter- inquired what he 
 would have, — "The whole bill of fare," was his reply. 
 
 A man of some prominence in a neighboring State, who had 
 repeatedly put himself within reach of the law, and had escaped 
 by the skin of his teeth, was at length indicted on evidence that 
 seemed overwhelming. Just before his trial was to come on, the 
 man died. " A cunning old fellow," said Mr. Fletcher. " I knew 
 he would get out of the scrape somehow ; and he has." 
 
 Mr. Fletcher cultivated some tastes outside of his profession. 
 He was fond of books, notably old law books, and antiquities 
 and curiosities. He had a small armory of guns and pistols, and 
 adorned his walls with trophies of the chase. 
 
 He married, in 1834, Persis E., daughter of Dr. Benjamin 
 Hunking of Lancaster. Their children were six in number. One 
 of his sons is a lawyer, and one of his daughters married another. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 367 
 
 EICHARD FLETCHER, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Hon. Asaph and Sarah (Green) Fletcher ; born, Cavendish, Ver- 
 mont, January 8, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; practiced, Salisbury ; died, 
 Boston, Massachusetts, June 21, 1869. 
 
 Mr. Fletcher's circumstances early taught him the lesson of 
 frugality; he had to borrow a coat in which to appear at his 
 graduation, and to resort to credit for obtaining the means to 
 study and begin his profession. He was an industrious and 
 superior scholar, and on leaving college obtained the preceptor- 
 ship of the academy at Salisbury. There for the first time he 
 saw Daniel "Webster, whose fame as a student still lingered at 
 Hanover. " It was the most majestic figure and the noblest 
 countenance on which I had ever looked," said the young man. 
 Webster became from that time his beau ideal of all manly and 
 intellectual perfection, and on finishing his engagement as pre- 
 ceptor at Salisbury in 1809, he went to Portsmouth to complete 
 his law studies, in the office, at the same time that he boarded in 
 the house, of Webster. 
 
 He was admitted an attorney in Rockingham County in 1811, 
 and established himself in Salisbury. He was quick-witted, dili- 
 gent, and ambitious. Few practitioners in the State have reached 
 the topmost rounds of the ladder with such celerity as he. He 
 practiced in New Hampshire about ten years, but in that brief 
 period he built up a business and a reputation scarcely inferior to 
 those of the ablest men of thrice his experience at the bar. He 
 was especially noted as an advocate. Kufus Choate, while in col- 
 lege, traveled from Hanover to Concord, no insignificant journey 
 in ante-railroad times, to hear Fletcher speak in an important 
 cause, and was so much pleased with the argument that it decided 
 him to become a lawyer. The author of the Fletcher genealogy 
 describes him as " an orator of great power, fluent and elegant 
 in diction, bright and sparkling in thought, keen and quick in 
 repartee." Judge Pingry of Vermont, after listening to a legal 
 argument of Fletcher's of some hours' duration, said " it was the 
 most learned and powerful that he ever heard from human lips." 
 It was the opinion of the late Judge Wilcox that " Mr. Fletcher 
 was the best advocate who ever appeared at the Grafton bar." 
 
 He became one of the half a dozen eminent counselors who 
 
368 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 traveled the circuit with the judges, and were retained to lead in 
 the principal trials in several counties. He thus came to have 
 the charge of the action of Dow v. Joseph Bell, in Grafton 
 County, for breach of promise of marriage. It is said that 
 Fletcher and Bell were not friends, and were rivals for the favor 
 of the lady whom Bell married. It is certain that Fletcher re- 
 mained single for life. In the trial referred to, Fletcher is said 
 to have been peculiarly bitter in his condemnation of Bell's con- 
 duct towards the plaintiff. But the defendant won the verdict. 
 
 An an'ecdote of Mr. Fletcher's New Hampshire experience 
 was related by the venerable George Kent. On a Sunday morn- 
 ing during a term of the court at Haverhill, Mr. Fletcher found 
 Judge Richardson and Mr. W., a member of the Grafton County 
 bar, who was noted for having but little respect for Sunday or any 
 religious observances, in the parlor of the hotel, and invited 
 Judge Richardson to go with him to church. The judge excused 
 himself, and, looking at Mr. W., remarked, " No doubt brother 
 W. will appear for me on this occasion." " May it please your 
 Honor," replied Mr. Fletcher, " I am very much afraid that he is 
 already retained on the other side ! " 
 
 In 1819 Mr. Fletcher removed to Boston, Massachusetts. It is 
 reported that he first distinguished himself in public there as a 
 volunteer counsel, in a case which was in danger of being sacri- 
 ficed by the incompetence of the lawyer. Mr. Fletcher at a mo- 
 ment's notice profPered his aid, saved the cause, and made himself 
 a position. 
 
 Though he had no predilection for politics, he was once or 
 twice chosen to the legislature of Massachusetts, and in 1837 
 was elected to Congress. He found, however, that the place was 
 unsuited to his taste and his talents, and though renominated 
 and secure of his reelection, he declined the position, and again 
 returned to his practice. 
 
 In Massachusetts, as in New Hampshire, he took his place 
 among the ablest members of the bar. Engrossed in his pro- 
 fession, without a family, without even a hobby, his time, his 
 labors, and his ambition were all concentrated on the law. He 
 was repaid by signal success in his practice, by the acquisition of 
 an ample fortune, and by the highest distinction as a jurist. 
 
 In 1848 he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of 
 the Commonwealth. Though he possessed abundant learning, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 369 
 
 courteous manners, and an ardent desire to do justice, he appears 
 to have found the duties vmcongenial, and after five years relin- 
 quished his office. 
 
 He did little business after leaving the judgeship. The mea- 
 sure of his ambition was filled. He devoted the remainder of his 
 long life to study and reflection. He was highly religious, and 
 made use of his means and faculties to do all possible good. He 
 was for several years the superintendent of the Sunday-school, 
 and was chosen deacon of the church of which he was a member. 
 He declined the latter office, however, because, being unmarried, 
 he could not fill the Scripture requirement that a deacon must be 
 " the husband of one wife." 
 
 He was a trustee of Dartmouth College, a fellow of Brown 
 University, and an overseer of Harvard University, each several 
 years, and from each he received the degree of Doctor of Laws. 
 
 SAMUEL FLETCHER. 
 
 Son of Joshua and Sarah (Brown) Fletcher ; born, Plymouth, July 31, 
 1785 ; Dartmouth College, 1810 ; practiced, Concord ; died there, October 28, 
 1858. 
 
 After his graduation Mr. Fletcher was the preceptor of the 
 Gilmanton Academy for two years, and then became a student at 
 law in the office of Samuel Green at Concord. In 1815 he was 
 admitted to practice in the Court of Common Pleas, and set up 
 his office in Concord. 
 
 He early connected himself with the leading religious society of 
 the place, and for some time was the editor of the " Concord 
 Observer," the organ of the orthodox Congregationalists of the 
 State. He thus formed a wide acquaintance with the leading 
 people of that sect, which was of no small service to him in his 
 business. 
 
 He gained an extensive practice in his county. He prepared 
 cases and argued them to the jury with ability and success, and 
 was the trusted counselor of a numerous clientele. He could not 
 be called a great lawyer, but was fully competent to meet all the 
 demands of ordinary practice. 
 
 In the year 1842 he accepted the offer of the office of treasurer 
 of the Phillips Academy and Theological Seminary at Andover, 
 24 
 
370 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Massachusetts, removed, and resided there until the year 1850, 
 when he returned to Concord to pass the evening of his days. 
 
 Early in his professional life Mr. Fletcher had been chosen 
 for two years a member of the lower House of the legislature, but 
 he had no inclination for a political career. For many of his 
 later years he was a trustee of Dartmouth College. 
 
 He was married, in July, 1819, to Nancy, daughter of Colonel 
 Boardman of South Reading, Massachusetts. After her death he 
 married, in February, 1847, Mrs. Hannah Briggs, daughter of 
 Bev. Jabez Chickering of Dedham, Massachusetts. 
 
 LYMAN THOMAS FLINT. 
 
 • Son of Thomas and Azubah (Willey) Flint ; born, Williamstown, Vermont, 
 September 29, 1817 ; Dartmouth College, 1842 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, 
 Colebr&ok and Concord ; died, Concord, April 14, 1876. 
 
 After he graduated from college Mr. Flint spent some four 
 years in teaching in schools and academies, and then applied him- 
 self to legal study under William C. Thompson of Plymouth, and 
 Hiram A. Fletcher of Colebrook. In 1847 he opened an office in 
 Colebrook, remained there seven years, and then removed his resi- 
 dence to Concord. He enjoyed a considerable practice in Cole- 
 brook, and also in Concord, and established a reputation for the 
 thorough character of his preparation of cases, and for his success 
 in the collection of evidence. The operations of his , mind were 
 slow, but when he fairly made himself master of a case he was 
 confident, pertinacious, and strong. He had not fluency of speech, 
 and did not excel in advocacy, but he was an able lawyer, and an 
 honest, conscientious man. 
 
 He was chosen representative from Concord in the state legisla- 
 ture in 1871 and 1872, and was appointed county solicitor in 
 1871, holding the position two or three years. 
 
 Subsequently to this, Mr. Flint, from some conscientious scru- 
 ples, abandoned the practice of the law, and purchased land two 
 or three miles distant from the city of Concord, where he erected 
 a bouse and labored as a husbandman till his death. 
 
 He married, in 1844, Hannah W. Willard of Lyndon, Ver- 
 mont, and left three sons and two daughters. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 371 
 
 GEORGE GILMAN FOGG, LL. D. 
 
 Sou of David and Hannah Gilman (Vickery) Fogg ; born, Meredith, May 
 26, 1813 ; Dartmonth College, 1839 ; practiced, Gilmanton and Concord ; 
 died. Concord, October 5, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Fogg acquired his professional training under Warren 
 Lovell and Stephen C. Lyford of Meredith, and at the Harvard 
 Law School, and entered into practice at Gilmanton Iron Works 
 in 1842. The four years that he continued there covered the 
 whole of his strictly professional experience. 
 
 He manifested early a strong interest in political affairs, and in 
 1845, when the Free Soil party had its birth, was one of its earli- 
 est sponsors. In 1846 he was a representative in the legislature, 
 and was chosen Secretary of State. He assumed the control of 
 the " Independent Democrat," and gave his energies to the man- 
 agement of that journal for the enduing fifteen years. In 1855 
 he received the appointment of state law reporter, and held the 
 office until 1859. In 1856 he was made clerk of the Kansas com- 
 mission ; in 1860 he was a delegate to the Republican National 
 Convention, and secretary of the National Executive Committee. 
 
 President Lincoln in 1861 appointed Mr. Fogg minister for the 
 United States to Switzerland, and he resided there until 1865. 
 In 1867 he was appointed by the governor United States senator 
 to fill out the unexpired term of Daniel Clark. 
 
 Returning to Concord, Mr. Fogg continued his connection with 
 the press for some years. He was also a trustee and benefactor 
 of Bates College, and corresponding secretary of the New Hamp- 
 shire Historical Society. 
 
 Mr. Fogg was a genial, social man and a writer of earnestness 
 and force. Bates College honored him with the degree of LL. D. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 HENRY ASA FOLSOM. 
 
 Son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Varney) Folsom ; born. Sandwich, February 
 14, 1846 ; Dartmouth College, 1871 ; practiced, Hanover ; died there, April 
 6, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Folsom was educated at Gilmanton Academy and Dart- 
 mouth College ; studied law with N. C. Berry of Boston, Massa- 
 
372 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 chusetts, and graduated LL. B. from the Harvard Law School in 
 1874. In 1872 and 1873 he was in Washington, District of 
 Columbia, as secretary of the United States Senate Committee on 
 the District of Columbia. From 1874 to 1882 he practiced law 
 in Boston, Massachusetts, and in the latter year was invited to 
 Dartmouth College as lecturer on municipal, constitutional, and 
 international law. He accepted the position, and was a resident 
 and practitioner in Hanover from that time till his decease. 
 
 He was distinguished for his scholarship and his professional 
 learning, and possessed a mind of that analytic and well-balanced 
 character which is well termed judicial. His exposition of legal 
 principles is said to have been singularly clear and intelligible. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 IRA FREEMAN FOLSOM. 
 
 Son of Benjamin G. and Kuth (Rowe) Polsom ; born, Gilford, May 20, 
 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1848 ; practiced, Gilford ; died there, August 18, 
 1859. 
 
 Mr, Folsom prepared himself for practice in the office of 
 Charles H. Butters of Pittsfield, and began business in 1851 at 
 Meredith Bridge. He was a lawyer of highly respectable attain- 
 ments, straightforward and industrious, and acquired a good gen- 
 eral practice during the eight years of his professional life. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 ELIJAH FOOTE. 
 
 On the first organization of the county of Essex, Vermont, in 
 the year 1800, the name of Elijah Foote appears as counsel in 
 one of the seven actions on the docket of the court. He was 
 state's attorney for the county in 1801 and 1802, and in 1813 
 and 1814 ; represented Guildhall in the legislature of the State 
 five years, between 1807 and 1813 ; and is reputed to have been 
 " a very respectable attorney and esteemed citizen." 
 
 He practiced in Essex County till 1817, when he removed into 
 New Hampshire and located himself in Hinsdale, where he ap- 
 pears to have lived till 1820. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 373 
 
 DAVID FORBES. 
 
 Son of Lieutenant Robert and Mary (Graham) Forbes ; born, Rutland, 
 Massachusetts, 1762 ; Dartmouth College, 1790 ; practiced, Chesterfield and 
 Keeue ; died, Rutland, Massachusetts, June 6, 1814. 
 
 This gentleman, of whose early history little has been learned, 
 settled in Chesterfield as an attorney in 1793, and was admitted a 
 counselor of the Superior Court in 1796. In that or the follow- 
 ing year he went to Keene, which was his home until about 1812, 
 when he returned to Rutland, Massachusetts, the place of his 
 nativity. He was a representative from Keene in the legislature 
 of 1803. 
 
 General Wilson remembered Mr. Forbes as a man of " a good 
 deal of character ; an interesting, witty, funny man." He is 
 believed never to have been engaged much in trials in court. 
 
 JOSIAH FORSAITH. 
 
 Son of Deacon William and Jane (Wilson) Forsaith ; born, Deering, De- 
 cember 14, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, GofEstown and New- 
 port ; died, Newport, March 30, 1846. 
 
 Mr. Forsaith pursued his course of law study in the offices of 
 George B. Upham and Caleb Ellis of Claremont, and established 
 himself as an attorney at Goffstown in 1810. The succeeding 
 twelve years he spent in that place, with the exception of two or 
 three of the later, when he was in Boston, Massachusetts. In 
 1822 he went to Newport, and followed his profession there dur- 
 ing the residue of his life. 
 
 He was a superintending school committee, and in 1841 a 
 representative of Newport in the state legislature. He did a fair 
 amount of business in his profession, and his career is described 
 as a successful one. 
 
 He married Maria, daughter of William Southworth of Hing- 
 ham, Massachusetts, October 6, 1822. Of their five children one 
 became a lawyer, and a Judge of the Municipal Court of Boston, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
374 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 HERMAN FOSTER. 
 
 Son of John and Mary (Danforth) Foster ; born, Andover, Massachusetts, 
 October 31, 1800 ; admitted, 1839 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, Febru- 
 ary 17, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Foster prepared himself at the Derry Academy to enter 
 college, but a disease of the eyes forbade him to pursue a further 
 course of study. For several years he was engaged in teaching, 
 and then entered mercantile business in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 Failing in that, he removed in 1830 to Warner, and for the next 
 eight years lived upon a farm. While there he studied law in 
 the office of Henry B. Chase, and in 1840 opened an office in 
 Manchester. With that place and its interests and prosperity, 
 Mr. Foster became identified for the remainder of his life. 
 
 He was chosen treasurer of the town in 1842 and 1843 ; repre- 
 sentative in the state legislature in 1845 and 1846 ; city solicitor 
 in 1857 ; state senator in 1860 and 1861, being president of the 
 Senate the latter year ; and representative again in 1868 and 
 1869. In his legal capacity he built up a large office business, 
 and brought many suits. He was not an advocate, but bis advice 
 was sought in many important causes, and he was a confidential 
 counsel of the great corporations of Manchester. 
 
 He was a trustee of the Manchester Savings Bank, a director 
 of the old Amoskeag Bank, and subsequently of the Amoskeag 
 National Bank, treasurer and clerk of the Manchester Gas-Light 
 Company, and one of the first directors and clerk of the Manches- 
 ter and Lawrence Railroad. 
 
 In his dealings Mr. Foster was straightforward and exact ; he 
 was a helpful friend, and a public-spirited citizen. 
 
 He married, in November, 1826, Harriet M. A. Whittemore of 
 West Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
 
 JOHN LUTHER FOSTER. 
 
 Son of John and Phila (Haskins) Foster ; born, Lyman, September 15, 
 1837 ; Dartmouth College, 1864 ; admitted, 1867 ; practiced, Manchester, 
 Littleton, and Lisbon ; died, Lisbon, January 17, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Foster was fitted for college at the academy at Peacham, 
 Vermont, and after a term of service as paymaster's clerk, towards 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 375 
 
 the close of the civil war, was prepared for admission to the bar 
 in the office of Morrison, Stanley, and Clark at Manchester, with 
 whom he was for about a year associated in practice. He then 
 went to Boston, Massachusetts, for two years ; and returning to 
 New Hampshire, established himself at Littleton from 1874 to 
 1877, and finally in Lisbon. In Littleton he held the office of 
 Justice of the Police Court, and while in Lisbon he was for years 
 chairman of the Board of Education, and a member of the con- 
 stitutional convention of 1889. 
 
 He was a gentleman of good talents and amiable character, and 
 a lawyer of excellent standing, though his practice was somewhat 
 interrupted by iU health. 
 
 He married, January 14, 1875, Augusta L. Stevens of Haver- 
 hill. He left a widow with three children. 
 
 JOHN MATHER FOSTER. 
 
 Son of Rev. Dan Foster ; born, Poquonock, Connecticut, c. 1780 ; admitted, 
 1807 ; practiced, Stoddard ; died there, c. 1815. 
 
 Before Mr. Foster's admission as a counselor of the Superior 
 Court, he had probably seen at least two years' practice as an 
 attorney, at Stoddard. Apparently he moved for a time to Lyn- 
 don, Vermont, though he did not remain there long. The his- 
 torian of that town describes him as " naturally bright and 
 kinky, particularly so when he was a little warmed up by the 
 spirit of the bar." He is stated to have left Lyndon in 1812, 
 and to have entered the army. He was afterwards in Stoddard 
 to the time of his decease. 
 
 He was married, November 24, 1805, to Alice Carlisle at 
 Charlestown. 
 
 WILLIAM RUSSELL FOSTER. 
 
 Son of Joseph Hiller Foster ; born, Portsmouth, 1854 ; Harvard College, 
 1876 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, March 10, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Foster was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and studied his profession in Portsmouth. Beginning 
 practice there in 1878, he was the next year chosen solicitor of 
 the city, and continued in the office three years. He was then 
 elected solicitor of Eockingham County, but did not live to enter 
 
376 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 upon the duties of the office. He was an estimable young man, 
 and well prepared for the duties of his profession. 
 He never married. 
 
 CHARLES JAMES FOX. 
 
 Son of Jedediah and Mary (Wheeler) Fox ; born, Hancock, October 28, 
 1811 ; Dartmouth College, 1831 ; admitted, 1834 ; practiced, Nashua ; died 
 there, February 17, 1846. 
 
 Few men in our State have possessed the versatility of powers 
 that characterized this namesake of the great English Whig ora- 
 tor. He prepared himself for his profession at the Yale Law 
 School and in the office of Daniel Abbott at Nashua, and there 
 settled in practice. In 1835 he was appointed solicitor of Hills- 
 borough County ; in 1837 he was a representative in the legisla- 
 ture ; in 1840 he prepared and nearly completed a history of the 
 old town of Dunstable, published in 1846 ; in 1841 he was one of 
 the commissioners to revise the statutes of the State, in conjunc- 
 tion with Joel Parker of Keene and Samuel D. Bell of Man- 
 chester. This work was completed in the spring of 1843. While 
 he was engaged upon it he was the collaborator of Rev. Samuel 
 Osgood in gathering and preparing for the press the " New 
 Hampshire Book ; Specimens of the Literature of the Granite 
 State," issued in 1842. 
 
 In August, 1843, he was attacked by pulmonary disease ; and 
 sailed the next autumn to the Mediterranean, and traveled through 
 Spain and Egypt, returning home the succeeding spring by way 
 of Italy, Switzerland, France, and England. His travels afforded 
 him no permanent relief. In the following autumn he made 
 another journey in pursuit of health, to the West Indies. He re- 
 turned to his home in June, 1845, never again to leave it in life. 
 The remaining months he spent in Nashua, gradually sinking, till 
 his decease. 
 
 It is seldom that a man leaving the world at the early age of 
 thirty-four has accomplished so much of value. This is attribu- 
 table not more to his native ability, which was extraordinary, 
 than to his habits of conscientious and persistent industry. As a 
 lawyer, a poet, a historian, and a philanthropist, he was equally 
 untiring in his labors. 
 
 He was greatly instrumental in carrying through the project 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 377 
 
 for the extension of the Boston and Lowell Railroad into New 
 Hampshire, and was the earliest treasurer of the Nashua and 
 Lowell Railroad. In politics he was an intense partisan from 
 conviction, and a leader of elevated and honorable character. 
 Among his many employments he never neglected the cultivation 
 of his literary taste, nor his religious obligations. 
 
 John H. Warland, a political opponent, wrote of him thus : — 
 
 " The scholar's hrilliant light is dim, 
 
 And on his brow death's signet set ; 
 Oh, many an eye that welcomed him 
 
 With sorrow's burning tears is wet. 
 His was a noble heart and true, 
 
 His was a strong and gifted mind ; 
 And fame and love around him threw 
 
 Their wreaths, with choicest flowers entwined." 
 
 Mr. Fox married, in 1840, Catherine P., daughter of Daniel 
 Abbott of Nashua. They had one son. 
 
 JOHN HOWE FOX. 
 
 Son of Dr. John and Isabel W. (Howe) Fox ; born, JafBrey, June 14, 1856 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1878 ; practiced, JaSrey ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 AprU 11, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Fox was fitted for college at Appleton Academy, New Ips- 
 wich. He studied law with F. B. Spalter at JafErey, and graduated 
 from the Albany Law School in 1880. About two years he was 
 in practice in East JafPrey ; then he turned his attention to farm- 
 ing in the same place for two or three years. He was a member 
 of the legislature in 1883 and 1885, and a member of the board 
 of supervisors for several years. Having inherited a good prop- 
 erty, he gave considerable time to his investments, and was in 
 1884 chosen president of the Burton Stock Car Company, and of 
 the Consumers' Boot and Shoe Company. His duties required 
 his presence in Boston, where his death occurred. 
 
 He married, November 30, 1882, Belle W. Brown of Fitch- 
 burg, Massachusetts, who bore him a daughter. 
 
378 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ASA FREEMAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jonathan and Sarah (Huntington) Freeman ; born, Hanover, 
 January 9, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1810 ; admitted, 1816 ; practiced, 
 Dover ; died there, December 8, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Freeman, upon quitting college, entered the office of his 
 brother, Peyton R. Freeman, in Portsmouth, and there passed two 
 years, and subsequently studied under the direction of Isaac Ly- 
 man of York, Maine. He was admitted an attorney in York 
 County, Maine, and practiced there till 1818, when he removed 
 to Dover, his subsequent home. 
 
 He was appointed a commissioner of the United States by 
 Judge Story, and was elected a delegate to the constitutional con- 
 vention in 1850, and a state senator in 1851 and 1852. In June, 
 1857, he was appointed register of Probate for Strafford County, 
 and retained the position to the time of his decease. 
 
 He was an excellent specimen of the old style of lawyers, care- 
 ful, deliberate, and exact. Without shining talents, he put his 
 respectable powers to the best use. He performed his official 
 duties with regularity and correctness, and was a man of fidelity 
 and integrity. 
 
 He married Frances, daughter of Hon. William K. Atkinson, 
 December 1, 1820, and had four children, one of whom was of 
 the legal profession. 
 
 EDWARD FREEMAN, JR. 
 
 Son of Edward and Elizabeth (Duncan) Freeman ; born, Plainfleld, June 3, 
 1823 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; admitted, 1846 ; practiced, Marlow ; died, 
 Plainfleld, April 4, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Freeman was fitted for college at the Kimball Union 
 Academy, and pursued his legal studies with Philander C. 
 Freeman of Claremont. Admitted to the bar in the county of 
 Cheshire, he entered upon practice in Marlow in 1846. His 
 experience as a lawyer was short. He remained at Marlow not 
 more than two years, when he returned to Plainfield, and aban- 
 doned the law, preferring to cultivate the soil. In this ancient 
 and honorable employment he continued for the rest of his life. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 379 
 
 He was chosen and served as a county commissioner for the term 
 extending from 1865 to 1868. 
 He never married. 
 
 FRANCIS ATKINSON FREEMAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Asa and Frances (Atkinson) Freeman ; born, Dover, November 
 29, 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1841 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, November 
 14, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Freeman belonged to a family of lawyers and of public 
 officers. He was a student at law in his father's office, and that 
 of Charles W. Woodman of Dover, and at the Harvard Law 
 School in 1845. In 1847 he began to practice in Boston, Massar- 
 chusetts, and removed the following year to Murphy, Calaveras 
 County, California. There he remained for above twenty years, a 
 great part of which time he was a Judge of the County Court. 
 About 1872 he returned to Dover. 
 
 He was possessed of fine abilities, was a great reader in general 
 literature, and a capital converser on subjects in which he was 
 interested. He was understood also to have been at times a dili- 
 gent student of the law, having something of the black-letter 
 tastes of his uncle, Peyton R. Freeman of Portsmouth. But a 
 lack of steadiness and of regularity of habits stood in the way of 
 his success, and he never made of himself what nature intended. 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 JAMES OTIS FREEMAN. 
 
 Son of Colonel Otis and Ruth (Bicknell) Freeman ; born, Coventry, Con- 
 necticut, September 29, 1773 ; Dartmouth College, 1797 ; practiced, Plym- 
 outh, Sandwich, and Moultonborough ; died, Moultonborough, March 30, 1815. 
 
 This gentleman studied law under Aaron Hutchinson of Leba- 
 non. About the year 1800 he opened his office in Plymouth, but 
 only remained there two or three years, when he transferred his 
 home to Sandwich. There he resided five or six years, and then 
 removed to Moultonborough, where he spent the rest of his life. 
 
 He is said to have been, next to Joseph Tilton, the earliest 
 lawyer in that part of Strafford County, which is now Carroll 
 County. Little has been definitely ascertained of his character or 
 standing in the profession. Tradition, however, represents him as 
 
380 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 a man of brilliant promise, " who under more favorable circum- 
 stances might have been a great leader in his profession." 
 
 He married Susanna, daughter of Ezekiel French, a prominent 
 citizen of Sandwich, and was the father of several children. One 
 of his daughters became the wife of a lawyer, Robert T. Blazo. 
 
 PEYTON RANDOLPH FREEMAN. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Jonathan and Ruth (Huntington) Freeman ; born, Hanover, 
 November 14, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1796 ; practiced, Hanover and Ports- 
 mouth ; died, Portsmouth, March 27, 1868. 
 
 Mr. Freeman studied law with William Gordon of Amherst and 
 Benjamin J. Gilbert of Hanover. From the latter, familiarly 
 known as " Baron " Gilbert, he may have derived his taste for out- 
 of-the-way legal studies. Beginning practice at Hanover, he re- 
 moved in 1803 to Portsmouth. In 1816 and 1817 he was deputy 
 Secretary of State, and from 1817 to 1821 clerk of the United 
 States District Court. In 1810 he delivered a Fourth of July 
 address, and in 1816 he wrote a pamphlet on the Dartmouth Col- 
 lege case, both of which were printed. 
 
 He was an able counselor, high-minded, true, faithful, and not 
 afraid of hard work. He was the confidential adviser of many of 
 the leading families of Portsmouth, and in cases involving the 
 title to real property his opinions were received with special respect 
 and confidence. He excelled as a draughtsman of legal instru- 
 ments; the more complicated they were, the better they suited 
 him. In process of time he became known as a black-letter law- 
 yer, and was resorted to for the solution of questions especially 
 unusual and recondite. In court his practice became confined, in 
 later life, to the argument of complicated questions of law, and of 
 equity cases. As he is now remembered, he appeared more like 
 the typical denizen of the London inns of court of a century ago, 
 than like a modern American lawyer. 
 
 He was a bachelor. 
 
 PHILANDER CHASE FREEMAN. 
 
 Son of Benjamin Freeman ; born, Plainfleld, August 27, 1807 ; Kenyon 
 College, 1829 ; practiced, Claremont ; died there, April 20, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Freeman pursued his legal studies with J. H. Hubbard at 
 Windsor, Vermont, and for a while afterwards was his partner in 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 381 
 
 practice. He came to Claremont in 1835. In 1844 and 1845 he 
 was chosen a representative in the state legislature, and in 1850 a 
 delegate to the convention for revising the Constitution of the 
 State. Upon the establishment of a Police Court in Claremont, 
 he received the appointment of first Justice ; and for many years 
 he was the clerk of the Sullivan Railroad Corporation. 
 
 His business was quite a considerable one, and his abilities 
 were respectable. He was fair-minded and upright, and a pru- 
 dent and safe adviser. His docket contained a good number of 
 actions, but in trials of importance he usually employed the aid of 
 some leading counsel. After the death of his last partner, MUon 
 McClure, Mr. Freeman retired from active practice. 
 
 He was twice married ; first, to Sarah Norton, at Plainfield, 
 April 30, 1838 ; and second, to Martha Smith Norton at Clare- 
 mont, June 4, 1846. His first wife bore him two sons. 
 
 BENJAMIN BROWN FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel and Mercy (Brown) French ; born, Chester, September 
 4, 1800 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Hooksett and Sutton ; died, Washington, 
 District of Columbia, August 12, 1870. • 
 
 Mr. French acquired his education in the public schools of his 
 native town and in the academy at North Yarmouth, Maine, and 
 studied law with his father. He opened his office in Hooksett 
 and then at Sutton, each for a year. Upon being made clerk 
 of tbe courts in the newly constituted county of Sullivan, he 
 changed his residence to Newport. 
 
 He became, in 1829, the editor and proprietor of the " New 
 Hampshire Spectator," published in that place. In 1826 and the 
 two following years he was assistant clerk of the state Senate, 
 and in 1831 and 1832 represented Newport in the legislature. In 
 1833 he received the appointment of assistant clerk of the United 
 States House of Eepresentatives, and removed to Washington, 
 District of Columbia, ever afterwards his home. In 1846 he was 
 promoted to be chief clerk of the House, during the Twenty-Ninth 
 Congress. He was for a number of years president of the Mag- 
 netic Telegraph Company, and at a later period was United 
 States commissioner of public buildings. 
 
 Major French, as he was usually styled, was the author of 
 numerous addresses and poetical compositions, one of the more 
 
382 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 extended of which was published in a volume in 1844, entitled 
 " Fitzelarence." He was a gentleman of much humor and a 
 genial companion, and was extremely popular among the mem- 
 bers of Congress and the people of Washington during the period 
 of his official service and subsequently. He was an enthusiastic 
 Freemason, and as Grand Master officiated at the laying of the 
 corner-stone of the extension of the capitol in 1851, and on that 
 occasion wielded the gavel which George Washington had used in 
 laying the corner-stone of the original edifice. 
 
 Major French's first wife was Elizabeth S., daughter of Chief 
 Justice William M. Richardson of Chester. She bore him two 
 children, of whom one pursued the legal profession. After her 
 death Major French married Mary Ellen Brady of Washington, 
 District of Columbia, who survived him. 
 
 BENJAMIN FREDERIC FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Frederick and Grace (Blanohard) French ; born, Nashua, October 2, 
 1791 ; Dartmouth College, 1812 ; practiced, Nashua ; died, Lowell, Massa- 
 chusetts, May 16, 1853. 
 
 Mr. French prepared himself for admission to the bar in the 
 office of Charles H. Atherton of Amherst, and began to practice 
 in Nashua in 1817. He was representative in the General Court 
 in 1825, 1826, and 1829. When the water power of Nashua 
 began to be utilized for manufacturing purposes, and the Jackson 
 Manufacturing Company was formed, in 1831, Mr. French was 
 selected for its first agent. He had no practical acquaintance 
 with the business, but developed just the qualities needed for the 
 management of the establishment, and the fabrics of the Jackson 
 company became very desirable in the market. He was soon 
 after invited to the growing town of Lowell, Massachusetts, to 
 take charge of the Boott mills. After some years' experience 
 there, he entered into the business of banking, which he pursued 
 for the remainder of his life. 
 
 Mr. French was not without interest in the important political 
 questions of the time, and is said to have been the author of 
 a work entitled " Views of Slavery." 
 
 He married Mary Southgate, daughter of Hon. Joseph Leland 
 of Saco, Maine, November 15, 1819. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 383 
 
 DANIEL FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Gould and Dorothy French ; born, Epping, February 22, 1769 ; 
 admitted, 1796 ; practiced, Deerfield and Chester ; died, Chester, October 15, 
 1840. 
 
 Mr. French was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and 
 at Dover under the instruction of Rev. Robert Gray. He studied 
 law in the office of William K. Atkinson of Dover, and immedi- 
 ately on his admission proceeded to Deerfield and practiced at the 
 " Parade " two years. A favorable opening then occurred at 
 Chester, and Mr. French took advantage of it by removing to 
 that place. In 1808 he was appointed county solicitor, and in 
 February, 1812, attorney-general of the State, which office he re- 
 signed in 1815. He was commissioned postmaster of Chester in 
 1807, and retained the place through all the changes of adminis- 
 tration till 1889. 
 
 Mr. French is described as a lawyer of considerable skill and 
 talent in the management of business, and faithful to his clients. 
 It was charged that he was rather sharp in his practice, a thing 
 not uncommon in his time ; but one who encountered him many 
 times in trials and hearings declares that he always found him 
 fair. He was undoubtedly a lawyer of more than ordinary ability 
 and attainments. 
 
 He owned lands and was interested in cultivating them, but 
 continued to practice his profession and to attend the courts with 
 regularity till within a few years of his death. 
 
 Mr. French's first wife was Mercy, daughter of Benjamin 
 Brown, whom he married September 15, 1799. She died in 
 1802, and he married Betsey V. M., daughter of Josiah Flagg, 
 June 30, 1805. Upon her decease he married her sister, Sarah 
 W. Flagg (BeU), widow of Jonathan Bell, November 6, 1812. 
 By these several marriages he had eleven children, of whom two 
 were of the legal profession. 
 
384 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 EBENEZER FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Josiah and Rhoda (French) French ; born, Kensington, April, 10, 
 1802 ; Dartmouth College, 1824 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Sutton and Sea- 
 brook ; died, Bangor, Maine, January 16, 1868. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, upon taking his collegiate degree, 
 entered the office of Daniel French of Chester, and with him and 
 with Joseph Tilton of Exeter read law until 1827, when he went 
 to Sutton as successor to Benjamin B. French. He remained in 
 Sutton but a few months, and then opened an office in Seabrook, 
 and continued in practice about twelve years. He afterwards 
 lived a few years in Amesbury, and then in Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, where he held an appointment in the custom house eight 
 years. He finally proceeded to Bangor, Maine, and engaged in 
 business there. 
 
 FRAJSrCIS ORMOND FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Benjamin B. and Elizabeth S. (Richardson) French ; born, Chester, 
 September 12, 1837 ; Harvard College, 1857 ; admitted, 1860 ; practiced, 
 Exeter ; died. Tuxedo, New York, February 26, 1893. 
 
 Mr. French was a practicing lawyer only about two years, and 
 all in New Hampshire. He was prepared for college at the Phil- 
 lips Exeter Academy, and took his course of legal study at the 
 Harvard Law School, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 
 1859. In 1860 he became the partner in practice of Amos Tuck 
 at Exeter. Mr. Tuck became naval officer of the port of Boston, 
 Massachusetts, in 1861, and Mr. French was appointed his dep- 
 uty the year following, and deputy collector in 1863. In 1865 
 he entered the banking firm of Samuel A. Way, in the same city. 
 Thence in 1870 he removed to New York and became a partner 
 of Jay Cooke and Company. In 1874 he acquired a valuable 
 interest in the First National Bank of New York, which was 
 largely concerned in the operations of funding the United States 
 loans. This probably laid the foundation of Mr. French's large 
 fortune. He retired from business in 1880, but in 1888 accepted 
 the presidency of the Manhattan Trust Company, for two or three 
 years. 
 
 He was distinguished in college for his mathematical faculty, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY". 385 
 
 to which he probably owed much of his success in his business 
 operations in later life. He was extremely systematic, and always 
 kept thoroughly conversant with all the details of every under- 
 taking with which he was concerned. 
 
 He inherited a taste for literature, and was the poet of his 
 college class. He was liberal, polite, and well-informed ; he had 
 traveled much, and was an accomplished man of the world. 
 
 He was united in marriage, in 1861, to Ellen, daughter of Hon. 
 Amos Tuck of Exeter, and left three children. 
 
 GEORGE ATHERTON FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Kalph H. and Elizabeth W. (Atherton) French ; born, Marblehead, 
 Massachusetts, January 17, 1823 ; practiced, Manchester ; died, Bangor, Maine, 
 October 27, 1886. 
 
 Mr. French, a grandson of Joshua Atherton of Amherst, was 
 educated in the public schools of Salem, Massachusetts, and took 
 his degree of Bachelor of Laws from the Harvard Law School in 
 1843. He practiced three years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 
 then came in 1847 to Manchester. He gave his attention to his 
 profession, there, until about the year 1865, when he abandoned 
 legal business and became a traveling agent and adjuster for 
 various insurance companies. He was remarkably expert and 
 successful, being aided, no doubt, by his familiarity with legal 
 principles. His death occurred while he was absent on a tour of 
 business. 
 
 His wife was Louise M. Fabens. They were married Septem- 
 ber 21, 1853, and had one daughter. 
 
 HENRY FLAGG FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel and Sarah W. (Flagg) Bell French ; bom, Chester, 
 August 14, 1813 ; admitted, 1835 ; practiced, Chester, Portsmouth, and Exe- 
 ter ; died. Concord, Massachusetts, November 29, 1885. 
 
 Mr. French was educated at the academies in Derry and Pem- 
 broke, and at Hingham, Massachusetts. He prepared himself 
 for the bar in his father's office in Chester, and at the Harvard 
 Law School. He practiced law in Chester till 1840, and then 
 removed to Portsmouth, but after a year changed his residence to 
 Exeter. He held the appointment of county solicitor from 1838 
 25 
 
386 DECEASED LAWYEKS 
 
 to 1848, and that of bank commissioner from 1848 to 1852. In 
 1855, on the creation of the state Court of Common Pleas, he was 
 commissioned a Justice thereof, and served until the abolition of 
 the court in 1859. He then removed to Massachusetts. From 
 1862 to 1865 he was assistant district attorney for the county of 
 Suffolk, and then for a year president of the Massachusetts Agri- 
 cultural College. From 1876 to 1885 he was second assistant 
 secretary of the United States Treasury at Washington. 
 
 He returned in impaired health to Concord, Massachusetts, 
 where he remained until his decease. 
 
 Judge French was a man of ability and sense, of great readi- 
 ness, and superior professional attainments. His knowledge was 
 always at his tongue's end. It was said of him that his opinion 
 given at sight was as much to be relied upon as if he had taken 
 days for consideration. He was prompt in all his business meth- 
 ods. While he occupied the bench, he never left questions over 
 to be decided in vacation, but had every transfer drawn out, 
 submitted to counsel, and settled, before the term ended. His 
 sense of humor was keen, and he uttered many a bright saying 
 to enliven the tedium of long trials. He never lost his balance, 
 whatever happened. On one occasion, in a hearing before a jury, 
 his opponent introduced a crushing piece of evidence. With per- 
 fect presence of mind Judge French turned to his associate coun- 
 sel and in a whisper inquired, " Had we better be surprised ? " 
 
 All his life long Judge French manifested his fondness for the 
 cultivation of the soil. He traveled in Europe for a year on an 
 agricultural mission, and communicated the results of his observa- 
 tions in addresses, letters to the " New England Farmer," and in 
 a volume which he published on Farm Drainage. 
 
 He was a man of amiable disposition and even temper, and ful- 
 filled his public and private duties with equal fidelity. 
 
 His first wife was Anne, daughter of Chief Justice Richardson 
 of Chester. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. 
 His second wife was Pamela M., daughter of John Prentiss of 
 Keene. 
 
 PETER FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Moses French ; born, Sandown, 1759 ; Harvard College, 1781 ; prac- 
 ticed, Durham ; died, Berwick, Maine, June 14, 1785. 
 
 Mr. French's father is said to have been one of the leaders of 
 ■the insurrection fomented with the purpose of dragooning the legis- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 387 
 
 lature of New Hampshire into tlie Issue of a legal tender paper 
 currency, while in session in Exeter in September, 1786. His 
 son manifested eccentricity of character while in college, and 
 after taking his degree was in a quandary which of " the three 
 black graces — law, physic, and divinity," he should elect. He 
 chose the last, and it is said even became a preacher, but soon 
 renounced that profession for the law. He studied at Durham, in 
 the office of General John Sullivan, was admitted and practiced 
 for a little time in New Hampshire, and then removed to Maine, 
 where his life terminated. 
 
 It was from Mr. French that Dr. Jeremy Belknap, while he 
 was writing his History of New Hampshire, received the amplified 
 account of "the Devil's den" in Chester, as published in his 
 third volume. This cave is in fact a mere rift or fissure in a 
 rocky hillside, through which a man can barely squeeze himself, 
 and contains none of the lofty apartments which the good doctor 
 was hoaxed into describing. 
 
 Mr. French's character was summed up in the following notice, 
 written by one of his classmates, and published in the " Political 
 Repository and Strafford Recorder," June 30, 1791 : " His tem- 
 per and disposition no man could comprehend. Good and bad 
 were so blended ; the shades of virtue and vice so nicely inter- 
 mixed ; principle and practice so often at war ; possessed as he 
 was of great self-command, he appeared alternately an angel or a 
 demon." 
 
 SCOTT FRENCH. 
 
 Son of Abraham and Frances (Huston) French ; born, Pittsfield, December 
 8, 1838 ; Dartmouth College, 1859 ; practiced, Pittsfield ; died there, October 
 30, 1863. 
 
 This young man, who died at the age of twenty-four, had 
 scarcely set out upon the professional career in which his friends 
 hoped for him a marked success. On leaving college he was the 
 principal of the Pittsfield Academy for above a year, and then 
 studied law with George, Foster, and Sanborn of Concord, and at 
 the Harvard Law School in 1861 and 1862. He was in practice 
 only a little over a year, when the end came. 
 
 He was married, January 15, 1862, to Abbie, daughter of Dr. 
 R. J. P. Tenney of Pittsfield. 
 
388 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 SAMUEL WORCESTER FULLER. 
 
 Son of Francis E. and Martha (Worcester) Fuller ; born, Hardwiok, Ver- 
 mont, April 25, 1822 ; admitted, 1849 ; practiced, Claremont ; died, Chicago, 
 Illinois, October 25, 1873. 
 
 This descendant of Noah Worcester of HoUis was educated at 
 the academy in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and studied his profes- 
 sion with Philander C. Freeman in Claremont. He engaged in 
 practice in that town, immediately after his admission, and spent 
 about three years there, giving decided promise of the prominence 
 which he subsequently attained. From Claremont he proceeded 
 in 1852 to Pekin, Illinois, and from Pekin in 1856 to Chicago in 
 the same State. In the seventeen years which intervened between 
 his arrival in Chicago and his decease, he gained a very large 
 practice both in the Supreme Court of Illinois and in that of the 
 United States. The judges of the latter tribunal bore the highest 
 testimony to his ability and learning. Justice Miller declared 
 that " no abler man came before us," and Justice Field, that " no 
 man instructed the Court more." 
 
 He was a member of the Illinois Senate from 1857 to 1860, but 
 his healtli was so delicate that he had no strength for work or 
 business outside -of his profession. 
 
 The maiden name of his wife was Lavinia Culver. She died 
 childless, September 4, 1889. 
 
 TIMOTHY P. FULLER. 
 
 This gentleman was a resident and presumably a native of 
 Hardwick, Vermont. He was a lawyer of note in that town, had 
 represented it in the legislature in 1823, 1824, and 1834, had 
 been a delegate, to the constitutional convention of Vermont in 
 1828, and an assistant Justice of the court of the county of Cale- 
 donia in 1823, 1826, 1831, and 1834. He came to Hancock, in 
 this State, to reside, not far from the year 1850, and was the last 
 of the three lawyers who have settled in Hancock. He was some- 
 what advanced in years, and probably neither expected nor de- 
 sired much practice. Both he and his wife died there, in 1854. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 389 
 
 LUCIAN GALE. 
 
 Son of Stephen Gale ; born, Meredith, May 25, 1818 ; Dartmouth College, 
 1844 ; practiced, Laconia ; died there, April 13, 1878. 
 
 Adventurous, and probably not easy of control, the subject of 
 this notice, while a lad, ran away from his home and went to sea. 
 His voyage took him to New Orleans, and thence he went up the 
 Mississippi on a steamboat, and returned home after a year's 
 absence. 
 
 He studied diligently in college to make up for the deficiencies 
 of his preparation, and then fitted himself for the bar in the office 
 of Stephen C. Lyford of Meredith. He began his professional 
 life in Boston, Massachusetts. After the delays common to young 
 practitioners, he became interested in one or more suits involving 
 the title to a large amount of real property, and turning upon a 
 nice question which he believed was settled in his favor in the 
 English tribunals. But after long and anxious waiting the court 
 in Massachusetts determined the question against him. His dis- 
 appointment appears to have completely unsettled him. He 
 quitted Boston, and sought for practice in New York city and in 
 Chicago, Illinois, each awhile, but without success, and about 
 1860 returned to New Hampshire, and settled in Laconia. 
 
 The habits that he acquired in his early wandering life grew 
 upon him, and at last stifled his ambition and powers of useful- 
 ness. 
 
 February 10, 1853, he was married to Sarah E., daughter of 
 Alexander S. Chadbourne of Farmingdale, Maine. 
 
 ALEXANDER GARDINER. 
 
 Son of James and Emeline (Grahame) Gardiner ; born, Catskill, New York, 
 July 27, 1833 ; admitted, 1856 ; practiced, Claremont ; died, Winchester, 
 Virginia, October 8, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Gardiner was educated in this State, at the Kimball Union 
 Academy in Plainfield, studied his profession in the city of New 
 York in the office of Shea and Richardson, and was there ad- 
 mitted an attorney. He went soon afterwards to Kansas, then 
 the theatre of bitter strife between the abettors and opponents of 
 negro slavery, and spent two years there. He is said to have 
 
390 
 
 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 taken the first printing-press thither, which was afterwards de- 
 stroyed by the " border ruffians," and he bore an active part in 
 the struggle for human freedom in that Territory. 
 
 In the spring of 1859 he came to Claremont, and engaged in 
 the business of the law in company with Edwin Vaughan. Soon 
 the great Rebellion took his interest from his profession, and in 
 the summer of 1862 he busied himself in recruiting men for the 
 military service. He was commissioned lieutenant and adjutant 
 of the Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteers. He manifested 
 such soldierly qualities that in 1863 he was promoted to the 
 majority, and a year later to the colonelcy of the regiment. The 
 very day after he was mustered under the latter commission 
 occurred the battle of Winchester, in which his command bore a 
 conspicuous part and lost heavily. Among the mortally wounded 
 was the colonel. 
 
 He was an admirable officer, fully conversant with his duties, 
 and holding his command up to the highest condition of efficiency. 
 He never courted popularity, but by his ability, his courage, his 
 careful attention to duty, and his devotion to the welfare of his 
 regiment, he won the respect of all. 
 
 He was married, November 17, 1859, to Mary P., daughter 
 of Hon. Samuel P. Cooper of Croydon. They had a son and a 
 daughter. 
 
 FEANCIS GARDNER. 
 
 Son of Rev. Francis Gardner ; born, Leominster, Massachusetts, December 
 27, 1771 ; Harvard College, 1793 ; practiced, Walpole and Keene ; died, Rox- 
 bury, Massachusetts, June 25, 1835. 
 
 Mr. Gardner was admitted an attorney of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas in Cheshire County in 1796, and went at once to Wal- 
 pole to commence practice. He stayed there twenty years, and 
 then removed to Keene, where he passed about five years, and 
 finally took up his residence near Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 He was a lawyer of prominence, and possessed competent pro- 
 fessional learning, but is said by reason of some eccentricities not 
 to have been very successful in attracting business or popularity. 
 He was elected a member of Congress one term, from 1807 to 
 1809, and though it is stated that he offended his party by his 
 independence, he only shared the fate of the remainder of the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 391 
 
 state delegation in not being reelected. In 1807 he assumed the 
 position of solicitor of Cheshire County, and retained it by suc- 
 cessive appointments until 1820, administering the office with 
 honesty and ability. 
 
 Mr. Gardner was not fortunate in the acquisition of property. 
 At his death he committed his wife and daughters to the care of 
 his son, Francis, who had hoped to follow the profession of his 
 father, but changed his plans of life on assuming this sacred 
 charge, and became afterwards widely known as the master of the 
 Boston Latin School. 
 
 Mr. Gardner married Margaret Leonard of West Springfield, 
 Massachusetts, November 1, 1804. They had four children. 
 
 ISAAC GATES. 
 
 Born, Charlfistown (?), Massachusetts, May 7, 1777 ; Harvard College, 1802 ; 
 admitted, 1808 ; practiced, Concord and GofEstown ; died, Harvard, Massa- 
 chusetts, November 9, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Gates was admitted to the bar in Cumberland County, 
 Maine, and began to practice in Brunswick in that State, in 1808. 
 In 1813 he came to Concord, and remained there till some time 
 in the following year, when he went to Goffstown, for a year or 
 two only. He subsequently practiced in Lynn, and finally in 
 Harvard, Massachusetts. 
 
 In July, 1814, he delivered an oration before the Washington 
 Benevolent Society of Bradford, which was published. 
 
 His wife was Miss BuUen of Concord. 
 
 JAMES MADISON GATES. 
 
 Son of Abel and Mary (Chase) Gates ; born, Cornish, October 30, 1808 ; 
 practiced, Claremont ; died there, April 8, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Gates is understood not to have received a collegiate edu- 
 cation. His profession he studied at Cavendish, Vermont, with 
 Judge Ely, it is believed. In the village of ProctorsviUe, in that 
 town, he passed his first year of practice, and then, about 1835, 
 changed his domicile to Claremont. In 1846 and 1847 he was 
 chosen a representative in the legislature. Though he enjoyed a 
 fair amount of practice, he is said to have been somewhat indo- 
 lent, and not a thorough student of his profession. His habits in 
 
392 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 other respects were unimpeachable, and his native powers were 
 such that, when roused, he manifested no small ability as an 
 advocate. 
 
 He married Lestina Maria Seward, October 10, 1835, and had 
 four children, three of whom are stiU living. 
 
 JOHN HATCH GEORGE. 
 
 Son of John and Mary (Hatch) George ; born, Concord, November 20, 
 1824 ; Dartmouth College, 1844 ; practiced, Concord ; died there, February 
 5, 1888. 
 
 Mr. George's collegiate course was cut short in his junior year 
 on account of the death of his father, but he was afterwards given 
 his degree, as well as that of honorary A. M. He fitted himself 
 for his profession with Franklin Pierce of Concord, whose ex- 
 traordinary success as an advocate probably had no little weight 
 in stimulating his student's ambition to excel in the same direc- 
 tion. He commenced to practice in Concord in 1846, and began 
 to be known as an ardent politician at the same time. He was 
 chosen clerk of the state Senate in 1847, 1848, and 1850, and 
 solicitor of Merrimac County in 1849, for five years. From 1858 
 to 1858 he was United States attorney for the district of New 
 Hampshire. Four years he was chairman of the Democratic com- 
 mittee of the State ; a member of the national Democratic com- 
 mittee from 1852 to 1856 ; a delegate to the Democratic national 
 conventions of 1856 and 1880, and thrice a candidate of his party 
 for Congress. That he did not hold other and higher public 
 offices was due to the fact that his party had fallen into the 
 minority. From the beginning of his professional life he made 
 frequent appearance before the public, in speeches from the plat- 
 form, and in the court-room. His qualifications were peculiarly 
 high. His subject was always well mastered, though he rarely 
 wrote out any part of his discourse. His ideas were so clarified 
 that his words unstudied gave them best expression, and his com- 
 mand of language was varied and abundant. He comprehended 
 human nature, and adapted his utterances to the understanding 
 and feelings of his hearers. He was thoroughly in earnest, and 
 never beat about the bush, but came at once to the heart of his 
 subject. His style was forcible and not seldom brusque. He 
 was logical, humorous, satirical, denunciatory, as each best suited 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 393 
 
 bis end. As a political debater and as a legal advocate, he was 
 one of the most interesting and effective in the State. 
 
 His law pi'actice, especially in the early half of his professional 
 career, consisted very largely in the trial of contested eases, civil 
 and criminal. He had a sufficient acquaintance with legal princi- 
 ples, though he was no great student of books. The constitution 
 of the man would never permit him to apply his mind to ques- 
 tions of executory devises and contingent remainders. He needed 
 living issues to awaken his interest. In the application of the 
 rules of the law to his facts, however, he had remarkable skill and 
 judgment. 
 
 It was in the court-room that he exhibited his best powers. 
 Vigorous in body and mind, every faculty he possessed was at the 
 service of his client. His zeal fairly permeated every fibre of his 
 being, as if it were an electric current. His examination of wit- 
 nesses was searching, and his cross-examination often most effec- 
 tive. By his art — without overstepping the rules of evidence — of 
 coloring the impressions given to the jury, and by his adroitness 
 and alertness in always upholding the equities of his client's cause, 
 it has been estimated that he gained an advantage in jury trials 
 quite equal to five per cent. 
 
 Colonel George (his title was derived from his being chief of 
 the military staff of the governor^began his connection with rail- 
 way matters In 1847. He was clerk and counsel of the Concord 
 Railroad for twenty years. In 1867 he received the appointment 
 of solicitor of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, which terminated 
 only a year before his decease. He thus became familiar not 
 only with the details of railway administration, In the frequent 
 suits that demanded his attention, but also with the broader ques- 
 tions of expediency and public need, which in his later life often 
 formed the subject of his appeals to legislative and municipal com- 
 missions. It may truly be said that upon all points pertaining to 
 the railway system of the section In which he lived, both as to the 
 tactics and the strategy of the subject, no man was better equipped 
 than he. In 1870 he delivered an address upon " Railroads and 
 their Management." 
 
 Several of his speeches were published, all characterized by 
 his direct, incisive style : one before the Bar Association of the 
 Northern Counties ; another on the anniversary of the birth of 
 Daniel Webster ; others, arguments in legal cases. 
 
394 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Colonel George was one of the leading men of the State for 
 more than a quarter of a century, in the bar, in politics, and in 
 railway matters. Perhaps no name in New Hampshire was better 
 known than his. Although he was a hard fighter, always calling 
 things by their plain names, and never sparing an opponent in 
 the open field, yet there was no malice in his composition. All 
 liked him. He was blunt but honest, rough but kind-hearted, 
 and he was incapable of a treacherous or a mean action. Every 
 one had confidence in his integrity and right intentions. He was 
 genial, public-spirited, always ready to help a friend. His death 
 was felt as a serious loss to the community. 
 
 Colonel George was united in marriage, in September, 1849, to 
 Susan Ann, daughter of Captain Levi Brigham of Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts. After her death he married, in July, 1864, Salvadora 
 M., daughter of Colonel James D. Graham, U. S. A. By his 
 first marriage he had four sons and three daughters ; by his sec- 
 ond, a daughter. His eldest son is a lawyer. 
 
 BENJAMIN JOSEPH GILBEET. 
 
 Son of Colonel Joseph and Hannah (Wheat) Gilbert ; born, (North) Brook- 
 field, Massachusetts, October 6, 1764 ; Yale College, 1786 ; admitted, 1789 ; 
 practiced, Hanover ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, December 30, 1849. 
 
 Mr. Gilbert studied his profession with Dwight Foster in his 
 native town. He established himself as a practitioner in Hanover 
 before 1794. He was appointed county solicitor in 1799 ; elected 
 a representative in the state legislature in 1800 and 1801, a mem- 
 ber of the executive council in 1809 and 1810, and representative 
 again in 1817 and 1818. When the controversies respecting 
 Dartmouth College arose, Mr. Gilbert was interested against the 
 Wheelock party, and in behalf of the old college as opposed to 
 the new university. He, in connection with two others, as a com- 
 mittee of the Congregational Church in Hanover, issued, in 1815, 
 a pamphlet entitled, " A True and Concise Narrative of the Origin 
 and Progress of the Church Difficulties in the Vicinity of Dart- 
 mouth College in Hanover." 
 
 An accident which occurred to Mr. Gilbert rendered him nearly 
 deaf, which was a serious obstacle to the pursuit of his profession. 
 He is represented as having been the best lawyer in Hanover, of 
 his time, and was commonly called Baron Gilbert, as well on 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 395 
 
 account of his superior legal knowledge, as of his loud voice and 
 slightly pompous manner. His business fell off in consequence of 
 his difficulty of hearing, and in 1824 his wife inherited a plan- 
 tation and considerable property from her brother who died un- 
 married in Richmond, Virginia. Thereupon Mr. Gilbert removed 
 his residence to Boston, Massachusetts, and employed his time 
 the remainder of his life in looking after the newly acquired 
 property. 
 
 While in the practice of his profession he is said to have gained 
 the popular designation of " the honest lawyer." Among his per- 
 sonal friends and correspondents may be enumerated Daniel 
 Webster, Jeremiah Mason, Jeremiah Smith, and Abiel Foster. 
 In the year 1847, in a speech on occasion of the opening of the 
 Northern Railroad in New Hampshire, Mr. Webster referred to 
 Mr. Gilbert in these terms : " The granting of the charter of the 
 Fourth turnpike, which led from Lebanon to Boscawen, was re- 
 garded as a wonderful era. The champion in the legislature of 
 this great enterprise was Benjamin J. Gilbert, then a lawyer at 
 Hanover, always a most amiable and excellent man, and now 
 enjoying a healthful old age in the city of Boston. I think he is 
 eighty-four years old. He is well known to the elder inhabitants 
 of this county, and I am glad of this opportunity to allude to him 
 as a highly valued friend of long standing." 
 
 Mr. Gilbert married Sally Shepard of Boston, Massachusetts, 
 August 2, 1796, and was the father of five children. 
 
 DANIEL GILBERT. 
 
 Son of Colonel Joseph and Hannah (Wheat) Gilbert ; born, (North) Brook- 
 field, Massachusetts, September 7, 1773 ; Dartmouth College, 1796 ; admitted, 
 
 1799 ; practiced, Enfield and Lebanon ; died, North Brookfield, Massachusetts, 
 March 11, 1851. 
 
 This was a younger brother of Benjamin J. Gilbert of Hanover, 
 with whom he studied his profession. He is said to have first 
 opened his office in Enfield. He could have made but a short 
 stay there before his removal to Lebanon, where he was between 
 
 1800 and 1805. He probably returned to Massachusetts in the 
 latter year, the date of his admission to the bar there, and entered 
 upon the practice of law in (North) Brookfield, together with the 
 management of a large and valuable farm which came to him by 
 
396 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 inheritance. He is represented as a good counselor, and had a 
 respectable standing in the profession. For many years before 
 his decease, he had withdrawn from active engagements in the 
 courts, on account of the infirmity of deafness. 
 
 He married Mary, daughter of Captain Joseph Waters of 
 Salem, Massachusetts, May 6, 1806. 
 
 CHARLES GILMAN. 
 
 Son of Bradbury and Hannah (Gilman) Gilman ; born, Meredith, December 
 14, 1793 ; practiced, Sanbornton ; died, Baltimore, Maryland, September 9, 
 1861. 
 
 This gentleman entered the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1813, 
 and studied law in the office of Matthew Perkins, in Sanbornton. 
 In that town he first established himself as a lawyer, in 1826, and 
 remained about seven years. He made no special figure in his 
 profession, so far as is learned, but was known as " something of 
 a man," and a zealous Freemason. 
 
 In 1833 he removed his residence to Baltimore, Maryland. 
 There he practiced his profession, and was advanced to the office 
 of Grand Master of Masons in Maryland, and Recorder of the 
 Greneral Grand Encampment of the United States. 
 
 In 1849 he became one of the numerous pilgrims to the newly 
 acquired Eldorado of California, and unlike many others of that 
 company, succeeded in the acquisition of a fortune there. In 
 1856 he returned to Baltimore, and afterwards served as General 
 Grand High Priest of the G. G. Chapter of the United States. 
 
 Mr. Gilman was married, first, to Martha Hilliard ; second, to 
 Euth P. Morse, December 1, 1830 ; third, to Catherine Blan- 
 chard, June 3, 1852. His last wife and one daughter survived 
 him. 
 
 SAMUEL TAYLOR GILMAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Nathaniel and Dorothea (Folsom) Gilman ; born, Exeter, May 
 7, 1801 ; Harvard College, 1819 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Exeter ; died 
 there, January 23, 1835. 
 
 From ten to fourteen years of age young Gilman was a student 
 of Phillips Exeter Academy, and at eighteen an instructor therein. 
 He pursued his law studies with Jeremiah Smith and George Sul- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 397 
 
 livan in his native town, and there opened his office in 1823. 
 His superior talents and amiable character gave him' universal 
 popularity. He was chosen to deliver a Fourth of July oration 
 before the inhabitants of the town, and an address before the 
 Eockingham Agricultural Society, both of which gained him 
 much credit. In 1829 he was elected a representative in the 
 General Court. 
 
 In the midst of prospects the most bright and flattering he was 
 attacked by symptoms of pulmonary disease. All was done that 
 affection, and skill, and care could do to stay the progress of the 
 dread malady, but in vain. At the age of thirty-four his earthly 
 life came to an end. He was unmarried. 
 
 IRA GOODALL. 
 
 Sou of Rev. David and Elizabeth (Brigham) Goodall ; born, Halifax, Ver- 
 mont, August 1, 1788 ; admitted, 1814 ; practiced, Bath ; died, Beloit, Wis- 
 consin, March 3, 1868. 
 
 The schools of Littleton furnished young Goodall the means of 
 education, and at the age of twenty-one years he became a law 
 student in the office of Moses P. Payson of Bath. He adopted 
 that town as his home, and practiced law there nearly half a cen- 
 tury. He was not distinguished as an advocate, but rather as a 
 business lawyer. For many years his practice was very extensive, 
 and he is said to have entered more actions in court than any 
 other lawyer in the State. 
 
 Mr. Goodall, however, did not confine himself to the business 
 of the law. He became interested in trade, with various partners 
 and in several places. As might have been expected, he met with 
 many losses, through fires and incapable or dishonest agents. 
 He also took part in railroad schemes, none of which proved suc- 
 cessful. The result was that he dissipated the property which he 
 had acquired by his law practice, and became embarrassed. 
 
 He left the State in 1856, and removed to Beloit, Wisconsin. 
 In his later years his mental powers failed to such an extent that 
 he ended his life in an insane asylum. 
 
 He is said to have been a strong man in his palmy days, and 
 with some defects to have had many excellent qualities. He 
 served as a representative in the legislature, and about 1848 was 
 president of the White Mountain Railroad. 
 
398 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Hannah Hutchins of Bath, and they had several 
 children, one of whom entered the legal profession. 
 
 CHARLES BISHOP GOODRICH, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Josiah and Lucy (Bishop) Goodrich ; born, Enfield, March 26, 1804 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1822 ; practiced, Lebanon and Portsmouth ; died, Boston, 
 Massachusetts, June 17, 1878. 
 
 This distinguished jurist studied his profession with Levi Wood- 
 bury at Portsmouth. Upon his admission he opened an office for 
 a short time in Lebanon, but having an ambition for a wider 
 field, soon betook himself to Portsmouth, where he secured in a 
 short time a good position. In 1832 he was chosen one of the 
 representatives to the state legislature ; and this it is believed was 
 his only political preferment. Though he held well-grounded 
 opinions upon political questions, the law was his first choice, and 
 he had no disposition to give it a mere divided allegiance. 
 
 He resided in Portsmouth ten or twelve years, and won the 
 reputation of being a lawyer of the first class. The only criticism 
 known to have been made upon him by those qualified to judge is 
 that he was somewhat lacking in the ability to apply the law to 
 the facts ; in other words, that his knowledge, which was admit- 
 tedly very extensive, was rather theoretical than practical. He 
 rather avoided the contests of jury trials, for which he had no 
 special inclination, and preferred chamber practice and hearings 
 in banc, where undoubtedly his chief strength lay. 
 
 A large city promised the best and indeed the only adequate 
 employment for talents and acquirements like his, and he quitted 
 Portsmouth for Boston, Massachusetts. There his standing was 
 already well known, and he was welcomed at once into the ranks 
 of the leading members of the bar. He was always a diligent 
 student, and made himself familiar with every branch of juris- 
 prudence. Upon constitutional law he was regarded as a high 
 authority, and in 1853 he was employed to deliver a course of 
 lectures before the Lowell Institute, which he afterwards pub- 
 lished in a volume entitled " The Science of Government as 
 exhibited in the Institutions of the United States of America." 
 
 Though lacking the popular qualities of the forum, he was an 
 able logician, and his arguments by their power and weight com- 
 manded admiration and respect. It has been said that after two 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 399 
 
 or three exceptions, he was regarded as second to none of the 
 eminent lawyers of the Suffolk bar, and that he was the next 
 prominent candidate for a seat upon the Supreme Bench of the 
 United States when Benjamin E. Curtis received the appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 In private life Mr. Goodrich was genial, warm-hearted, and 
 generous. His death was a sore blow to his numerous friends, 
 and a serious loss to the profession which he had done so much to 
 adorn, and no act to discredit. 
 
 He was married, March 19, 1827, to Harriet N., daughter of 
 Chester Shattuck of Portsmouth. She survived him. 
 
 MOSES BRADBURY GOODWIN. 
 
 Son of Nathan and Joanna (Bradbury) Goodwin ; born, Buxton, Maine, 
 April 6, 1819 ; Bowdoiu College, 1845 ; practiced, Meredith and Franklin ; 
 died, Franklin, September 7, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Goodwin throughout his life manifested more liking for 
 literary than for legal pursuits. He studied his profession in 
 Maine, and came to Meredith to practice about 1850, but in two 
 or three years removed to Franklin. There he was for some time 
 employed by Kendall O. Peabody in his business of paper man- 
 ufacturing. About the year 1860 Mr. Goodwin proceeded to 
 Washington, District of Columbia, and occupied a position as 
 assistant librarian. Having a strong proclivity in the direction 
 of journalism, he formed an editorial connection with the " Na- 
 tional Intelligencer," and subsequently became a correspondent of 
 some newspapers in New Hampshire. He was a ready and inter- 
 esting writer. 
 
 For several years he held a clerkship in the War Department. 
 He employed his leisure in compiling a full history of education 
 in the District of Columbia. 
 
 In 1871 he was induced by the illness of his wife to return to 
 Franklin. The succeeding year he was engaged in establishing 
 a new weekly paper there, the " Merrimac Journal." He was 
 connected with it two years, and made it bright and interesting 
 by the various productions of his pen. In 1874 he sold out his 
 interest, and afterwards lived quietly in the town, contributing 
 occasionally to the press, until his life was terminated by con- 
 sumption. 
 
400 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Sarah B., daughter of Kendall O. Peabody of 
 Franklin. They had four daughters. 
 
 WILLIAM FEEDEEICK GOODWIN. 
 
 Son of Nathan and Joanna (Bradbury) Goodwin ; born, Limington, Maine, 
 September 22, 1823 ; Bowdoin College, 1848 ; practiced. Concord ; died there, 
 March 12, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Goodwin was more noted in other fields than in the vo- 
 cation for which he originally prepared himself. After leaving 
 college he was for some time engaged in teaching in Missouri and 
 elsewhere, while at the same time he gave his leisure hours to 
 legal studies. In 1854 he graduated from the Harvard Law 
 School with the degree of LL. B. About 1855 he opened an 
 office in Concord, and after a residence of five years went to La 
 Crosse, Wisconsin, to continue practice there. The opening of the 
 war of the Rebellion brought him back to New England, and he 
 sought and obtained the commission of first lieutenant in the 
 regular army. He performed his duties in the field with credit, 
 and at the battle of Chickamauga received a wound which subse- 
 quently caused him to be placed on the retired list for disability. 
 For his gallant conduct in that engagement he was brevetted 
 captain, and was retired in 1865. 
 
 He was long interested in historical and antiquarian subjects, 
 and was actively connected with the New Hampshire Historical 
 Society as recording secretary from 1859 to 1862, and as librarian 
 from 1860 to 1867. He was a diligent collector of books and 
 manuscripts bearing upon his favorite studies, and gathered a 
 library of no inconsiderable value. He was fond of writing on 
 historical questions, and, entertaining very decided opinions, was 
 apt to express them with much positiveness. He published many 
 articles of a controversial character in newspapers and periodicals, 
 and contributed a good deal for the " Historical Magazine." He 
 also compiled and published in 1871 a volume of " Records of the 
 Proprietors of Narragansett Township No. 1, now the town of 
 Buxton, Maine." 
 
 He was married, September 7, 1854, to Ellen Noyes, daughter 
 of Kendall O. Peabody of Franklin. She bore him one daughter, 
 who died in infancy, and was followed by her mother January 28, 
 1859. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 401 
 
 WILLIAM GORDON. 
 
 Son of Captain William Gordon ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, 1763 ; 
 Harvard College, 1779 ; practiced, Amherst ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 May 8, 1802. 
 
 Of this gentleman, all the accounts received, from whatever 
 source, are most laudatory. He studied his profession with 
 Joshua Atherton of Amherst, and began to practice there in 1787. 
 lu February, 1793, he was appointed register of Probate ; he 
 served as state senator in 1794 and 1795, and as solicitor of the 
 county from 1794 to 1801 ; in 1797 he became a representative 
 in Congress, and retained his seat three years, until his resigna- 
 tion ; and in June, 1801, he was commissioned attorney-general, 
 and so remained up to the time of his death. These continuous 
 and manifold public employments prove his high deserts in the 
 opinion of the people, and of the appointing authorities. 
 
 He was possessed of very superior intellectual powers, of ample 
 legal learning, and of every qualification for holding a leading 
 station at the bar. Of upright and independent spirit, above 
 petty prejudices, correct in his life, warm in his friendships, and 
 true to his convictions, his early death was lamented by all as a 
 real loss to the bar and to the public. 
 
 His wife was Frances, daughter of Hon. Joshua Atherton of 
 Amherst. They had one son, who bore his father's name and 
 followed his profession. 
 
 WILLIAM GORDON. 
 
 Son of Hon. William and Frances (Atherton) Gordon ; born, Amherst, Feb- 
 ruary 25, 1788 ; Harvard College, 1806 ; admitted, 1809 ; practiced, Peter- 
 borough, Keehe, Walpole, and Charlestown ; died, Brattleborough, Vermont, 
 January 12, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Gordon was fitted for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and for the bar in the office of his uncle, Charles H. 
 Atherton of Amherst. He began his professional life in Peter- 
 borough ; removed to Keene about 1812, to Walpole about 1817, 
 and to Charlestown about 1820. With all his advantages of 
 birth and education, a fine person, elegant manners, a good know- 
 ledge of the law and of letters, he made little figure as a prac- 
 26 
 
402 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 titioner. He was thought to be proud and distant, and country 
 clients were shy of approaching him. During the latter half of 
 his life he did not assume to practice. He is remembered as 
 a good converser, familiar with the literature of the day, and 
 interested in current politics, and a courtly gentleman of the old 
 school of manners. 
 
 His pluck and presence of mind at the age of seventy-five 
 deserve mention. A party of young men and girls were skating 
 on the Connecticut on a winter's day, when one of the latter 
 ventured upon a weak spot in the ice, which gave way and in- 
 stantly submerged her. Her companions were powerless to aid 
 her, when Mr. Gordon, who happened to be near, sprang at once 
 to her relief. He plunged without hesitation into the icy stream, 
 dragged out the helpless girl, and landed her safely on the shore. 
 
 In the latter part of his life Mr. Gordon was subject to occa- 
 sional periods of mental disturbance, and was from time to time 
 an inmate of the asylum at Concord, and at Brattleborough, 
 where his death took place. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK GOVE. 
 
 Son of Dr. Jonathan and Polly (Dow) Gove ; born, (ioffstown, May 13> 
 1793 ; Dartmouth College, 1817 ; admitted, 1820 ; practiced, Goffstown and 
 Nashua ; died, Nashua, October 21, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Gove began his law studies with Josiah Forsaith of Goffs- 
 town, and was graduated LL. B. from the Harvard Law School 
 in 1820. He began to practice in Goffstown, and soon gained 
 prominence professionally and politically. In 1829 he was as- 
 sistant clerk of the state House of Representatives ; in 1830 
 and the four following years he was a member of the same body ; 
 in 1835 he was a state senator and president of the Senate ; from 
 1834 to 1837 he was solicitor of Hillsborough County ; from 1837 
 to 1842 attorney-general of the State ; and from 1842 to 1848 
 Circuit Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He removed to 
 Nashua in 1839, and in 1848 he became superintendent of the 
 Nashua and Lowell Railroad, which office he held till his death. 
 
 He was endowed with uncommon intellectual faculties and ex- 
 ecutive force, and was a lawyer of learning and ability, but his 
 physical powers were slender, and he was nervous and irritable to 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 403 
 
 an extent that sometimes impaired his usefulness. While he was 
 holding a court in one of the northern counties, he was much 
 annoyed by the coughing that proceeded from some of the specta- 
 tors. He referred to it again and again, with increasing asperity, 
 until at length he directed the sheriff to remove the next man 
 who coughed from the court-room. As might be expected, this 
 peremptory order had a marvelous effect in stilling the audience. 
 That evening a stranger appeared at the village hotel, afflicted 
 with an incessant cough. " I can tell you how you can cure that," 
 said a bystander ; " you just go down to the court house, and there 
 is a little wizened-faced judge there who '11 put a stop to that 
 cough of yours in less than five minutes, — a sure cure ! " 
 
 Judge Gove joined to his ability and learning, complete honesty 
 and much independence. He was highly conscientious and, sen- 
 sible that his feelings sometimes prompted him to swerve a little 
 from the perpendicular, he strove to correct the variation as best 
 he could. Of two legal firms who frequently appeared in his 
 court, it used to be said that if he leaned in favor of one, at one 
 term, he would endeavor to make it up by befriending the other 
 at the next. On the whole, however, in spite of his idiosyncrasy, 
 it must be admitted that Judge Gove left behind him a most 
 creditable record of efficiency and useful service. 
 
 He married Mary K., daughter of Ziba Gay of Nashua, Septem- 
 ber 22, 1844. He left no children. 
 
 JESSE AUGUSTUS GOVE. 
 
 Son of Squire and Dolly (Atwood) Gove ; born, Weare, December 5, 1824 ; 
 admitted, 1851 ; practiced, Concord ; killed, Gaines' Mill, Virginia, June 27, 
 1862. 
 
 Mr. Gove was educated at the Norwich University, Vermont, 
 and served as a lieutenant in the Ninth Regiment of United States 
 Infantry in the Mexican war. He studied law with Pierce and 
 Minot of Concord, and was admitted to practice in Merrimac 
 County. From 1850 to 1855 he was deputy Secretary of State, 
 and then, having a decidedly military taste, was commissioned a 
 captain in the regular army. He was stationed in Utah until the 
 great civil war opened, when he was put in command of the 
 Twenty-Second Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. He took 
 part in the engagements in Virginia under McClellan, until the 
 battle in which he received his fatal wound. 
 
404 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was a brave and accomplished soldier, and a man greatly 
 esteemed. 
 
 His wife was Maria L., daughter of Robert Sherbiirn of Con- 
 cord, They had two children. 
 
 JOHN GOVE. 
 
 Sob of Dr. Jonathan and Mary (Hubbard) Gove ; born, New Boston, Feb- 
 ruary 17, 1771 ; Dartmouth College, 1793 ; practiced, GofEstown ; died, Chil- 
 licothe, Ohio, 1802. 
 
 Mr. Gove studied his profession with William Gordon of Am- 
 herst, and was admitted an attorney in 1796. He was the first 
 lawyer to settle in Goffstown, and remained there from 1797 till 
 1802, when he left under a cloud, it is said, and removed to 
 'Chillicothe, Ohio. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 GILBERT A. GRANT. 
 
 This gentleman, understood to have been a native and a mem- 
 ber of the bar of Vermont, came to Newmarket in 1842, and 
 practiced there about three years. He was a bright man, full of 
 humor, and famous for his stories, which he told with an inim- 
 itable Yankee drawl and accent. He had no great success in 
 ithe law, and removed soon to Brooklyn, New York, and thence to 
 California, where he was elected to the state Senate, and lived 
 but a few years. 
 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Aiken, died while he lived 
 in Newmarket, leaving him with a young daughter. 
 
 STEPHEN GRANT. 
 
 Son of Michael and Phebe (Wyman) Grant ; bom, Alstead, 1775 ; Dart- 
 mouth College, 1800 ; admitted, 1803 (?) ; practiced, Plymouth, Sandwich, 
 and Sanbornton ; died, Plymouth, August 1, 1845. 
 
 This was one of those eccentrics whom no description can 
 describe ; they must be known to be appreciated. He was " a 
 fellow of infinite humor," whose droll and extravagant sayings 
 raised many a laugh among his contemporaries, though they seem 
 comparatively tame and lifeless when reduced to the chilling 
 medium of print. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 405 
 
 Mr. Grant was in college with Daniel Webster. Occasionally 
 some good-humored banter passed between them, a bit of which 
 has been handed down by tradition. Grant was hopelessly cross- 
 eyed, and Webster's complexion, according to General Stark, 
 could hardly be darkened by gunpowder. " Do you see straight 
 to-day ? " asked Webster of Grant. " Yes ; I believe I can tell a 
 white man from a negro," was the reply. " I think your sight is 
 improving, then," was Webster's retort. 
 
 Years after they left college, they met at some festive gathering 
 of the bar. When the hour for merriment had arrived, Mr. 
 Webster amused the company with an account of the first appear- 
 ance of Grant when on his way to college, tugging up the hill 
 into Hanover, with a saddle on his back that he had stripped 
 from the old horse which his father had furnished him for the 
 journey, but which he had turned loose near Mink Brook to die, 
 though he prudently determined to save the saddle. But the 
 laugh which this picture elicited was not long against Grant, for 
 he retorted with a description of Webster on his entrance into 
 Hanover, dressed in a blue jean jacket and corduroy trousers far 
 too short to reach his stockingless feet, and inquiring if anybody 
 could tell him the way to " Moor's Indian Charity School ! " 
 
 Mr. Grant appears to have practiced at Plymouth from 1806 
 above twenty years ; then at Sandwich several years ; afterwards 
 in Sanbornton for a time, and finally to have returned to Plym- 
 outh. It is said, too, that he went to Wentworth to live at one 
 time, but did not stay there long. Being asked the reason of his 
 leaving the place so soon, he replied that " in fact there was not 
 room, there; the hills came down all around so close together that 
 there was no space to turn round in. A little shoemaker moved 
 in and set up business there, but when he tried to pull out his wax 
 ends, he hit both his elbows against the hills ! " 
 
 This erratic genius, notwithstanding his bright natural parts 
 and his advantages of education, appears never to have attained 
 any distinction in his profession. He probably lacked those hab- 
 its of application which alone insure the highest success to the 
 followers of the stern taskmistress of the law. 
 
 In his later years he met with much domestic affliction, in the 
 death of two daughters, and of his wife. Her maiden name was 
 Mary Parker. 
 
406 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GARDNER GREEN. 
 
 This was one of four brothers who engaged in the profession of 
 the law in this State. He studied with his brother, Peter Grreen 
 of Concord, and went into practice in Loudon before the year 
 1793, but remained there only a short time. He was afterwards 
 heard of in Canada, where he was tried for some infraction of 
 the law. He was drowned in crossing Lake Champlain. 
 
 He married Deborah Boynton, July 25, 1793. 
 
 NATHANIEL GREEN. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel Green ; born, Worcester (?), Massachusetts ; practiced, 
 Boscawen, Warner, and Hopkinton ; died, Virginia, c. 1812. 
 
 Mr. Green was a brother of the preceding. He studied in the 
 office of his brother, Peter Green of Concord, and is supposed to 
 have begun practice in Boscawen as early as 1785. In 1795 he 
 opened an office in Warner, but remained there only a year or two. 
 He engaged also in trade, but without much success, and when in 
 1798 Congress authorized the raising of a provisional army, in 
 anticipation of hostilities with France, he received a commission 
 as captain therein. H^ appears to have had literary pretensions, 
 and published a Fourth of July oration. The later years of his 
 life he was in reduced circumstances, and in 1811 went to Vir- 
 ginia, where his death soon after occurred. 
 
 He married, in 1785, Ruth, daughter of Samuel Fowler of 
 Boscawen. They had at least six children ; of whom two of the 
 sons, Nathaniel and Charles G. Greene, became noted for their 
 literary and journalistic abilities. 
 
 PETER GREEN. 
 
 Sou of Nathaniel Green ; born, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1746 ; practiced, 
 Concord ; died there, March 27, 1798. 
 
 This was the first lawyer of Concord. His father is said to 
 have been a barber. He studied law in Londonderry, under the 
 direction of Samuel Livermore, and opened his office in Concord 
 in 1767. 
 
 Up to the time of the Revolution he is described as very sue- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 407 
 
 cessful in business, but the war naturally put a serious check 
 upon legal proceedings. This may have been in part the occasion 
 of Mr. Green's want of sympathy with the cause of the people. 
 In March, 1777, the inhabitants of Concord passed a vote that 
 Peter Green and other persons named be advertised in the public 
 prints as enemies of the United Btates of America, and that 
 Colonel Gordon Hutchins apply to the Court of Judicature of 
 the State " to dismiss Peter Green," Esq., from all business hence- 
 forth and forever." About the same time Mr. Green narrowly 
 escaped having his house demolished by a concourse of Sons of 
 Liberty. On the 9th of June following he and others were ar- 
 rested by order of the Committee of Safety on suspicion of con- 
 spiring against the liberties of the State, and brought before the 
 legislature then in session. A joint committee of both Houses 
 reported that the prisoners should be committed to close jail for 
 safe keeping. On the 12th of June Mr. Green was liberated from 
 actual confinement on giving bond for " the liberty of the yard," 
 and on the 11th of July he was brought before the Committee of 
 Safety, and voluntarily took the oath of allegiance to the State, 
 and was discharged from custody. 
 
 It is probable that he yielded with tolerable grace to the inev- 
 itable, and that after the surrender of Burgoyne he fully ac- 
 quiesced in the new government ; for apparently he ilever quite 
 lost the confidence of his fellow-citizens, but resumed his law prac- 
 tice after the war, and was chosen representative to the General 
 Court in 1785 and 1789 ; senator in 1787, 1789, and 1790 ; and 
 councilor in 1788. He was also appointed lieutenant-colonel of 
 the Second Regiment of Light-horse in 1785, and colonel of the 
 same in 1787. 
 
 It was said of Mr. Green, with truth, that he was " conspicu- 
 ous in his time ; " he gave the tone to the fashionable society in 
 the place of his residence, and was a liberal and public-spirited 
 citizen. He is recorded in Bouton's history as the proprietor of 
 the second chaise that was introduced into Concord ; and in 1790 
 his name was set down for the sum of $100 on a subscription for 
 erecting a building for the accommodation of the General Court, 
 the whole amount of which was but f 555. 
 
 Toward the close of his life, however, he yielded to that fatal 
 habit of all times, and of his time especially, of too free indul- 
 gence in intoxicating drink. Some time before his death he 
 
408 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 quitted the practice of the law, and went with his family to 
 Boston, where he opened a boarding-house, but returned in a 
 short time to Concord, and died there. 
 
 His standing in his earlier and better days may be inferred 
 from his marriages. He had two wives, both belonging to fami- 
 lies of education and position ; the one, whom he married in 1770, 
 was Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel John Bulkley of Groton, 
 Massachusetts, who was the mother of two children, and lived but 
 a few years ; the other, Rebecca, daughter of Rev. John Mellen 
 of Sterling, Massachusetts, and a sister of Chief Justice Mellen 
 of Maine. She survived her husband about two years, and left 
 five of her six children. 
 
 ELBRIDGE FLAGG GREENOUGH. 
 
 Son of John and Nancy (Foster) Greenough ; born, Canterbury, February 
 3, 1808 ; Dartmouth College, 1828 ; practiced, Salisbury ; died, Nauseon, 
 Ohio, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Greenough studied law with Ezekiel Webster and Richai'd 
 Fletcher at Salisbury, and Ebenezer Greenough at Sudbury, 
 Pennsylvania, where he was admitted, and practiced six years. 
 In 1842 he came to Salisbury, and was in trade there, and in the 
 exercise of his profession, until 1860. In that year he removed 
 to Nauseon, Ohio. He was not particularly distinguished in the 
 law, so far as has been learned. 
 
 He was married, June 14, 1848, to Elizabeth R., daughter of 
 Moses Eastman of Salisbury. 
 
 DAVID AIKEN GREGG. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Susannah (Aiken) Gregg ; born, Londonderry, March 
 12, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, Londonderry and Derry ; 
 died, Derry, May 15, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Gregg studied law with Samuel C. Allen of Northfield, 
 Massachusetts, and was admitted and established himself in an 
 office in Derry in 1814. In 1817 he removed to New Salem, 
 Massachusetts, but probably not finding encouragement there 
 equal to his expectations, he returned in 1820 to Derry. 
 
 He represented Derry in the legislature of 1832, and in 1835 
 was appointed postmaster. In 1840 and 1841 he was chosen a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 409 
 
 member of the state Senate, and in January 1842, obtained the 
 appointment of register of Probate, which he held for five years, 
 meanwhile residing in Exeter. In 1847 he returned to Derry. 
 
 Mr. Gregg was a man of respectable talents and learning, and 
 as a practitioner and in his official capacity gave satisfaction to 
 all concerned. Though possessed of little quickness or readiness, 
 he was by no means deficient in the sense of humor or the power 
 of enjoying it. He was an assiduous gatherer of the dry sayings 
 and pungent repartees with which the traditions of the early 
 inhabitants of Londonderry abounded, and used to repeat them 
 with deliberate unction. 
 
 He was three times married ; first, October 23, 1817, to Martha 
 Hunt, daughter of Samuel C. Allen of Northfield, Massachusetts ; 
 second, March 28, 1844, to Lydia, daughter of Hon. George Sul- 
 livan of Exeter ; and last, June 22, 1852, to Charlotte, daughter 
 of Samuel Butler of Pelham. By his first marriage he had a son 
 who became a lawyer. 
 
 JOSEPH ALLEN GREGG. 
 
 Sou of Hon. David A. and Martha H. (Allen) Gregg ; born, Derry, 1822 ; 
 admitted, 1842 ; practiced, Derry ; died there, September 9, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Gregg was educated in the town of his birth, and studied 
 law there in the office of his father. He was postmaster of 
 Derry, and the youngest member of the state constitutional con- 
 vention of 1850. He was a man of good intellect, and gave every 
 indication of gaining distinction in his profession, had his life 
 been prolonged. 
 
 SOLON GROUT. 
 
 This gentleman is reported to have come to New Hampshire 
 from Brattleborough, Vermont, and to have acquired his profes- 
 sional training under Willis Lyman of Hartford, in that State. 
 He practiced in Lebanon a year or more, and then in 1832 re- 
 moved to Hanover, where he was for a while a partner in practice 
 with Mills Olcott. In 1886 he left Hanover and returned to 
 Vermont, and died in Bellows Falls. 
 
410 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HACKETT. 
 
 Son of Hon. William H. Y. and Olive (Pickering) Hackett ; born, Ports- 
 mouth, December 6, 1827 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, September 
 24, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Hackett fitted himself for the bar in his father's office in 
 Portsmouth. He was a man of many capabilities, and though al- 
 ways retaining his hold upon the law, never was a slave to it. He 
 was twenty years clerk of the United States Circuit Court, and 
 commissioner ; a director in the First National Bank, and clerk of 
 the Concord and Portsmouth, and Eastern (New Hampshire) rail- 
 roads ; a journalist, ready at short notice to meet calls for literary 
 and historical contributions to the press ; a trustee of estates, which 
 he managed with prudence and method. He inherited from his 
 father quickness of apprehension and promptness in action. His 
 wits never went wool-gathering. His legal knowledge was for 
 practical use ; he wanted to " fire and fall back." He had ready 
 speech, and the gift of making his points briefly and forcibly. 
 His cases in the courts were well looked after, and he took care 
 that his clients' executions and his own fees were promptly col- 
 lected. 
 
 During the great Rebellion Mr. Hackett took a somewhat 
 prominent part in politics, and after serving in both branches of 
 the city council of Portsmouth, was a member of the state legisla- 
 ture in 1864 and 1865, and afterwards in 1871. 
 
 His wife was Mary Wells Healey of Hampton Falls. They 
 were married December 4, 1851, and of their two children the 
 son, Wallace Hackett, is a member of the bar. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY YOUNG HACKETT, 
 
 Son of Allen and Mary (Young) Hackett ; born, Grilmanton, September 24, 
 1800 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, August 9, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Hackett when a lad attended the Gilmanton Academy, and 
 presumably prepared himself for entrance to college. He had 
 seen and heard Ichabod Bartlett, and, fascinated by his brilliant 
 talents, fixed upon the law for his calling, and Bartlett for his 
 master. He proceeded to Portsmouth, became his student, and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 411 
 
 supported himself by teaching while he accomplished his five 
 years of legal reading. In 1826 he began practice in Ports- 
 mouth. 
 
 He bought bank stocks as soon as he gained the means, and 
 became in 1827 a director of the Piscataqua Bank, and so contin- 
 ued as long as it existed. By the desire of Secretary Chase he 
 organized the First National Bank of Portsmouth, — the first in 
 the country, it is claimed, — and was its president through life. 
 He was also an officer of two savings banks. 
 
 His law practice was, however, his chief interest. He was 
 punctually in his office. Quick of apprehension, full of resources, 
 conversant with human nature, and of great practical sense, he 
 was a wise counselor. Without being a great student, he was 
 usually right in his law. He held briefs against the best prac- 
 titioners in the state and federal courts, and not to his disad- 
 vantage. He was a ready and fluent speaker, with an apparent 
 fairness, that impressed his audience favorably. He was spon- 
 taneous, witty, and always interesting. 
 
 Until 1850 the state of parties in Portsmouth did not admit 
 of Mr. Hackett's election to political office. In that and the two 
 following years, and in 1857 and 1860, he was chosen a represen- 
 tative in the General Court. In 1861 and 1862 he was a state 
 senator, and in the latter year president of the Senate. In 1867, 
 1868, and 1869 he was again in the House. He was a valuable 
 legislator, and an important adviser and spokesman of his party. 
 
 He was long a member of the State Historical Society, and five 
 years president thereof ; and gave no little attention to historical 
 and antiquarian subjects. He prepared introductory memoirs to 
 the writings of Andrew Halliburton, and to Brewster's " Rambles 
 about Portsmouth ; " and wrote obituary notices of many citizens 
 of note, for the public journals. In the Memoir of Mr. Hackett 
 by his younger son, a few excellent specimens of his composition 
 are included. 
 
 He had always something apposite to say. In the midst of one 
 of his addresses to the jury, the chair of the presiding judge gave 
 way and let his Honor down to the floor. Mr. Hackett remarked 
 that it was fortunate for his client that it was the judge, and not 
 his counsel, who had " broken down." 
 
 He once brought a suit in behalf of a landlord against a de- 
 linquent tenant named Parent. He opened his case to the jury 
 
412 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 by the remark that his client had come to the conclusion that it 
 was high time that the defendant should change his name (pay- 
 rent) or his habits ; but as he had done neither, it only remained 
 to try what the law would do. 
 
 Mr. Hackett's chirography had been very beautiful in his 
 youth, but in later life he wrote rapidly and with less care. A 
 member of the bar whose handwriting was notoriously bad, on 
 being taken to task by Mr. Hackett for its illegibility, declared 
 that it was fully as readable as Mr. Hackett's. " The difference 
 is," replied the latter, "that my hand looks as if I had once 
 learned to write, and yours looks as if you never had ! " 
 
 Mr. Hackett practiced the virtues that our fathers prized, and 
 was rewarded by abundance and a happy old age, with the gen- 
 eral esteem. 
 
 He was joined in marriage, June 21, 1826, to Olive, daughter 
 of Joseph W. Pickering of Portsmouth, and they lived to cele- 
 brate their golden wedding. Of their three children, the two 
 sons became lawyers. 
 
 SAMUEL HAINES. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Hannah (Johnson) Haines ; born, Canterbury, May 
 30, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; practiced, Sanbornton and Portsmouth ; 
 died, Providence, Rhode Island, August 13, 1825. 
 
 Mr. Haines studied law in the office of Fisk and Clegg of New 
 York city, and began to practice in Sanbornton about 1807. In 
 1808 he was commissioned a lieutenant in the army of the United 
 States, and served two or three years. He then appeared in 
 Portsmouth, and made application to be admitted a counselor of 
 the Superior Court. He practiced in Portsmouth for a year or 
 two, and then went to Alabama and pursued his profession there. 
 His death occurred while he was on his way to or from a visit to 
 his friends in New England. 
 
 He delivered an oration on Independence day at Sanbornton 
 in 1808, and another on the 4th of March, 1809, at Portsmouth, 
 both of which were printed. He also published in 1812 a letter 
 in vindication of himself against certain charges of Captain John 
 B. Walbach. 
 
 He was high-spirited and probably contentious, and seems to 
 have been strangely ignorant of the practice of our courts. In a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 413 
 
 cause which he was bringing to trial the clerk reminded him of 
 the jury fee. He inquired what it was, and on being told took 
 out the money and offered it to the foreman of the jury. 
 
 He was married, May 22, 1809, to Eliza, daughter of Nathaniel 
 Gookin of Portsmouth. 
 
 DAVID HALE. 
 
 Son of David and Hannah (Emerson) Hale ; born, Alatead, 1783 ; admitted, 
 1811 ; practiced, Newport ; died there, October, 1822. 
 
 This gentleman was an older brother of Salma Hale of Keene, 
 and possessed a fuU share of the talent which has so often accom- 
 panied the name. Though he had not a collegiate education, his 
 native thirst for knowledge and assiduous application enabled him 
 to take rank with the best informed. He studied his profession 
 with James H. Bingham in his native town, and chose Newport as 
 his residence. There he continued to practice law during the nine 
 remaining years of his life. He was a diligent reader and student 
 of useful books, in company with his wife, who became afterwards 
 known as Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, the distinguished authoress. Mr. 
 Hale made many friends, and especially among the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, of which he was a valued member. 
 
 He was married, October 23, 1813, to Sarah Josepha, daughter 
 of Gordon Buell. They had five children. 
 
 JOHN HALE. 
 
 Son of Major Samuel Hale ; born, Portsmouth, 1762 ; Harvard College, 
 1779 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, July 13, 1796. 
 
 The father of the subject of this sketch, well known as " Master 
 Hale," a classical teacher of high repute, an officer in the expedi- 
 tion against Louisburg in 1745, and later in life a judge of the 
 Court of Common Pleas, directed the studies of his forward son, 
 who completed his collegiate course when he was but seventeen. 
 The college authorities employed him as tutor from 1781 to 1786. 
 Meanwhile he improved his time in the study of the law under 
 John Pickering of Portsmouth, so that he was qualified for admis- 
 sion in 1787. During the reminding nine years of his life he 
 devoted himself assiduously to his profession. He prepared for 
 publication the " Statement of the cause of the McClary owners 
 
414 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 V. Doane et al.," in 1795, wMch was the earliest case of conflict 
 of jurisdiction between the courts of New Hampshire and of the 
 United States. 
 
 His earthly career was terminated before he reached his thirty 
 fourth year. As was justly written by Jonathan Mitchell Sewall 
 in his epitaph on Hale, his talents and virtues 
 
 "A noble harvest gave, yet promised more." 
 He was never married. 
 
 JOHN PARKER HALE. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Lydia (Parker) Hale ; born, Portsmouth, February ] 9, 
 1775 ; practiced, Portsmouth, Barrington, and Rochester ; died, Rochester, 
 October 15, 1819. 
 
 Receiving his early education in the excellent schools of Ports- 
 mouth, and at the expense of his uncle, " Sheriff " John Parker, 
 Mr. Hale went for his legal training into the office of his kins- 
 man, John Hale. He was ready for practice soon after he at- 
 tained his majority, and for a year or two tried his fortune in 
 Portsmouth, then for a short time in Barrington, but settled down 
 about the year 1801 in Rochester. 
 
 It was not in him to be what we call a hard-working lawyer. 
 He was of quick, impulsive feelings, and a ready wit. His 
 powers were all at his immediate command. He was fairly well 
 grounded in the principles of the law, but had no taste for the 
 study of its minutiae. He was the master of a very effective, off- 
 hand oratory. His voice and manner were agreeable, his wit was 
 keen, he knew human nature well, and was able to adapt his 
 appeals to the exact level of his audience. He probably did quite 
 as much business in court as out of it, for he was a favorite leader. 
 It was not uncommon for him to be summoned to the front in a 
 contested cause at the very moment of going to trial. The names 
 of the parties and the nature of the action he learned from the 
 writ as it was read by his junior, the facts he took from the open- 
 ing statement to the jury, and thus he went through the trial 
 with as little hesitation, and perhaps with as much success, as if 
 he had been training for months for the contest. Causes were 
 tried more " upon their merits," as the phrase is, in his day, and 
 depended little upon technicalities. Hence the want of prepara- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 415 
 
 tion was not, to a man quick and fertile of resources like " Jack 
 Hale," as he was called, a matter of so serious moment. 
 
 As might be expected, he had great popularity. No man could 
 resist his hearty and winning ways. He lived in good and rather 
 lavish style, and had no financial capacity, so that he was some- 
 times remiss even in paying over moneys that he had collected for 
 others. It repeatedly happened that those to whom he was thus 
 indebted called on him, brimful of iodignation and threats of 
 legal proceedings. But he always received them so cordially, and 
 smoothed down the ruffled feathers so deftly, that they would 
 eventually leave him in entire good humor, and without having 
 alluded to the real cause of their visit. His politeness and tact 
 were a shield that no ill-nature could penetrate ; and he possessed 
 a fund of anecdotes which he related with a humor that was 
 irresistible. 
 
 Mr. Hale was married in early life to Lydia Clarkson, daugh- 
 ter of Jeremiah O'Brien of Machias, Maine, and had several chil- 
 dren, of whom the eldest son was his namesake, the distinguished 
 lawyer and statesman. 
 
 JOHN PARKER HALE, LL. D. 
 
 Son of John P. and Lydia C. (O'Brien) Hale ; born, Rochester, March 31, 
 1806 ; Bowdoin College, 1827 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, 
 November 19, 1873. 
 
 Being a young man of brilliant parts, Mr. Hale was not too 
 much addicted to study while in college, and, if Mrs. Ann Eoyall 
 is to be credited, was a little inclined to dissipation. But if so, 
 he fully redeemed himself in after life. Not that he ever became 
 a close student : his perceptions were rapid, his memory retentive, 
 and his knowledge was obtained by something like intuition. He 
 read law with Jeremiah H. Woodman of Kochester and Daniel 
 M. Christie of Dover, where he settled in practice. His ability 
 soon brought him into public notice. He was chosen a represen- 
 tative in the state legislature in 1832, and in 1834 was appointed 
 United states District Attorney by President Jackson, and re- 
 appointed in 1838 by Van Buren, but was removed by Tyler in 
 1841. In 1842 he was elected to Congress, and reelected two 
 years later, serving four years. Here began his divergence from 
 his party, which was destined later to bring him into great prom- 
 
416 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 inence. He opposed the admission of Texas into the Union, as 
 an extension of slave territory. For this the Democratic party of 
 New Hampshire struck his name from their ticket of nominees for 
 Congress. He accepted the "issue, and became the candidate of 
 the Free Soil party, to which the Whigs gave their support. He 
 made the tour of the State, and addressed the citizens everywhere 
 with eloquence and power. 
 
 In June, 1845, occurred his celebrated debate with Franklin 
 Pierce, the champion of New Hampshire Democracy, who was put 
 forward to reply to Mr. Hale. It was a memorable passage-at- 
 arms, and Mr. Hale's friends were delighted with his success. He 
 was said to have risen to a height of eloquence that he never 
 reached before. The next year he was a member of the legis- 
 lature, was placed in the chair of the House, and was elected a 
 senator of the United States for six years. In 1855 he was again 
 chosen to the United States Senate to fill out the unexpired term 
 of Charles G. Atherton, and in 1858 was chosen for the third 
 time, and held his seat till the spring of 1865. He was the 
 earliest member of the Senate chosen on the Free Soil issue, and 
 for two years or more the only one. He was no silent member. 
 He took part in the business and debates, never hesitating to 
 utter his views on all questions plainly and firmly. But he had 
 the happy faculty of never giving needless offense. Yet he dealt 
 hard blows sometimes, but in so manly a fashion that it would 
 have seemed cowardly to resent them. Moreover, it was the part 
 of prudence not to come to too close quarters with a man of the 
 courage and wit and eloquence of the New Hampshire senator. 
 He was long a member of the Committee on the Navy, and origi- 
 nated and carried through the Senate two reforms, which were 
 established by law : the abolition of flogging and of the spirit 
 ration in the navy. In securing this desirable legislation he felt 
 an honest pride. 
 
 He was twice nominated by the Free Soil party of the country 
 for the presidency of the United States : in 1848 when he declined 
 in favor of Van Buren, and in 1852 when Franklin Pierce was 
 elected. 
 
 In March, 1865, Mr. Hale was appointed minister to Spain. 
 It was a position for which he had no special adaptation, and in 
 which, by reason of his want of familiarity with the language and 
 customs, he was obliged to repose the utmost confidence in others. 
 
» ALPHABETICALLY. 417 
 
 His friends had no doubt that his confidence was abused, and that 
 certain charges made against him, which were never substantiated, 
 were utterly baseless. Surely it must be admitted that he was 
 the last man to attempt to make petty gains out of his official 
 privileges. He was recalled in 1869, and returned home. The 
 remaining three or four years of his life he was an invalid, his 
 life work all done. 
 
 Mr. Hale was not a learned but he was a ready lawyer. He 
 had unfailing tact, good humor, and natural oratorical skill. 
 The opponent who fancied he had put him in a corner usually 
 found there were unexpected ways out of it. 
 
 In one cause which he was conducting the adverse counsel had 
 attempted to break down his principal witness by presenting the 
 notes of his discrepant testimony on a former trial. Mr. Hale, in 
 his argument, in order to show the liability to error of such notes, 
 read to the jury that part of the inimitable trial of the action of 
 Bardell v. Pickwick, where the little judge inquired of Mr. Win- 
 kle whether his name was Nathaniel Daniel, or Daniel Nathaniel, 
 and on his reply that it was only Nathaniel and not Daniel at 
 all, the judge retorted : " Why did you say Daniel, then ? " "I 
 didn't, my lord." "You did, sir," returned the little judge: 
 " how could I have got it on my notes unless you said it ? " 
 
 A story is related of Mr. Hale's free translation while a student 
 in college of an apothegm of some classical author to the effect 
 that a thing well begun was half done. The student astonished 
 his professor by rendering it : "A man who is well lathered is 
 half shaved." 
 
 The surrender by President Polk of his confident claim of the 
 Territory of Oregon to "fifty-four forty" was characterized by 
 Mr. Hale as an exhibition of Christian meekness, — "but unfortu- 
 nately he did not receive the promised reward of the meek, — he 
 did not inherit the land ! " 
 
 In 1851 Mr. Hale was counsel for the respondents in the " res- 
 cue cases " in Boston, and for Eev. Theodore Parker in a some- 
 what similar case at a later date. The questions involved aroused 
 his deepest feeling, and he acquitted himself on the trials with the 
 highest credit, and won the warm commendation of Richard H. 
 Dana and unstinted praise from Mr. Parker. Dartmouth Col- 
 lege in 1861 conferred upon Mr. Hale the well-merited degree of 
 
 Doctor of Laws. 
 
 27 
 
418 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 At the turning crisis of his career he declared that the inscrip- 
 tion he most desired upon his tombstone was, that he was willing 
 to surrender office rather than bow down to slavery. He kept the 
 faith, and his name will ever stand high on the roll of the cham- 
 pions of freedom. 
 
 He was married to Lucy, daughter of William Lambert, Esq., 
 of South Berwick, Maine. Two daughters were the issue of the 
 marriage, one of whom became the wife of Hon. WiUiam E. 
 Chandler of the New Hampshire bar. 
 
 SALMA HALE. 
 
 Son of David and Hannah (Emerson) Hale ; bora, Alstead, March 7, 1787 ; 
 admitted, 1834 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, November 19, 1866. 
 
 At the age of thirteen Mr. Hale began to learn the trade of a 
 printer in the office of the " Farmer's Museum," a newspaper of 
 note at Walpole, and when he reached eighteen he was the editor 
 of the " Political Observatory," a weekly journal issued in the 
 same town. Not long after this he determined to study law, and 
 pursued that design under the direction of Roger Vose at Wal- 
 pole, of Samuel Dinsmoor and of Phineas Handerson at Keene. 
 His entrance to the bar was postponed by his appointment in 
 1812 to the clerkship of the Court of Common Pleas for the 
 county of Cheshire, to which the clerkship of the Superior Court 
 was added in 1817. These offices he continued to hold, through 
 sundry changes of the court, with the exception of a few years, 
 until 1834. 
 
 In 1816 he was elected a representative in Congress, and 
 served one term from 1817 to 1819, but declined a reelection. In 
 1823 he was chosen a representative, and in 1824 a senator in the 
 state legislature. He was also secretary of the commission for 
 settling the boundary line between the territory of the United 
 States and of the British Provinces, under the treaty of Ghent. 
 
 In 1834 he was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in 
 Keene, with the great advantage of a thorough knowledge of the 
 forms and methods of legal proceedings, and a wide acquaintance. 
 He did not engage much in the trial of causes, but was a studious, 
 prudent, judicious counselor. He was essentially scholarly in his 
 tastes and habits, a great reader, familiar with the French and 
 other modern tongues, and a writer of a correct and elegant style. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 419 
 
 He contributed numerous articles for newspapers and periodicals, 
 and was the author of a school history of the United States which 
 won the prize of f 400 ofEered by the American Academy of Lan- 
 guages and Belles-Lettres for the best work of that character. It 
 long held its place in the schools, and was reprinted several times 
 abroad. He also compiled the " Annals of Keene," which went 
 through two editions. 
 
 Jie was no recluse, and took a deep interest in passing events 
 and the questions of the day. Modest and retiring in his manner, 
 he was regarded as one of the best informed and most interesting 
 men in his section. He was an early member and president of 
 the State Historical Society. He received in 1824 the honorary 
 degree of A. M. from the University of Vermont. 
 
 Mr. Hale's wife was Sarah K. King. They had two children, 
 a son, Hon. George S. Hale, counselor at law in Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, and Sarah K., who became the wife of Harry Hibbard 
 of Bath. 
 
 SAMUEL HALE. 
 
 Sou of John Hale ; bom, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 1745 ; Harvard Col- 
 lege, 1766 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, England, 1787. 
 
 This gentleman was in practice in Portsmouth as early as 1771, 
 and was admitted to the Superior Court the next year. He is 
 desci-ibed as a man of decided intelligence, of enlarged informa- 
 tion, and of an affectionate and honest heart. Moreover, he pos- 
 sessed a ready wit, but was perhaps sometimes no sufficient 
 respecter of persons in the exercise of it. A good clergyman of 
 Portsmouth once observed, in a religious conversation with a 
 friend, that " by the foolishness of preaching " men were brought 
 to the knowledge of the truth and eternal life. Mr. Hale, who 
 was present, exclaimed, " Faith, parson, your congregation will 
 stand a good chance ! " 
 
 In the Court of Common Pleas the clerk, wishing to absent 
 himself, requested John Pickering, afterwards the distinguished 
 judge, to officiate for him. Wyseman Clagett, knowing Mr. 
 Pickering's aversion to taking an oath, objected, unless he were 
 sworn. Pickering said he would not swear, but would give his 
 honor that he would perform the duty faithfully. " Honor ! " 
 said Clagett, " a knave is an honor." " Yes," said Hale, pointing 
 
420 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 to the bench on which sat the four justices of the court, " and 
 there are four in the pack." 
 
 Mr. Hale showed himself to be a decided, as he was a thor- 
 oughly honest, opponent of the American Revolution, and early 
 in its progress quitted his home in Portsmouth and placed himself 
 within the British protection. The legislature of New Hampshire 
 thereupon proscribed him and forbade him to return into the State. 
 
 Mr. Hale went to England toward the close of the war, atnd 
 never again saw his native land, nor the wife and child whom 
 he left when he passed within the enemy's lines. But he wrote 
 affectionately to his wife, and strove to have the obnoxious legis- 
 lation of the State against loyalists repealed. But while he was 
 yet in middle life, death closed his career. 
 
 His wife was Lydia, daughter of Judge William Parker of 
 Portsmouth. His child was John P. Hale, afterwards of Ro- 
 chester. 
 
 OBED HALL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Ebenezer L. and Lydia (Dinsmore) Hall ; born, Conway, Feb- 
 ruary 23, 1795 ; practiced, Bartlett and Tamworth ; died, Tamworth, May 21, 
 1873. 
 
 In the war of 1812 Mr. Hall was in the military service for a 
 short time, in a company of militia at Portsmouth. His early 
 education was imperfect, and he studied law three years with 
 Enoch Lincoln of Fryeburg, Maine, and two years with Lyman 
 B. Walker of Meredith. He first set up in practice at Bartlett, 
 and about 1820 changed his residence to Tamworth. He was 
 representative in the legislature in 1840 and 1841, in which latter 
 year he was appointed register of Probate for the new county of 
 Carroll. That post he occupied ten years. In 1854 and 1856 he 
 was a state senator. 
 
 He was a lawyer of respectable acquirements, but preferred to 
 give his time and attention to politics, which did not conduce 
 to his legal progress nor to his pecuniary profit. He gave much 
 attention to his farm, being partial to agriculture. He was pub- 
 lic-spirited, and in private life benevolent and kindly. 
 
 His first wife was Elizabeth Gilman of Tamworth, who bore 
 him one daughter ; his second was Caroline E., daughter of John 
 Carroll of Maine. She left him a daughter, who outlived her 
 father. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 421 
 
 JOHN HAM. 
 
 Son of Dodriok Ham ; born, Dover, December 30, 1774 ; Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, 1797 ; practiced, Gilmanton ; died there, March 7, 1837. 
 
 This gentleman was fitted for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and studied his profession at Portland, Maine, with 
 William Symmes, and at Durham with Ebenezer Smith. Ad- 
 mitted an attorney in 1800, he fixed his residence the same year 
 in Gilmanton. He represented the town in the legislatures of 
 1813 and the two years next following, and was one of the select- 
 men seven years, beginning in 1823. For more than thirty years 
 he was one of the trustees of the Gilmanton Academy. 
 
 He is described as a pretty good lawyer, though he never ac- 
 quired a very extensive practice. He had a good farm and culti- 
 vated it well, and seems to have had a greater inclination for 
 tilling the soil than for the contentions of the courts. In term 
 time he often acted as assistant to the clerk. He was honest, 
 amiable, and well liked. His countenance wore a smile of good 
 humor, and he was a noted player upon the violin. These pecu- 
 liarities are uncomplimentarily alluded to in a line of Moses L. 
 Neal's verse, — » 
 
 "And simpering John with his long fiddle-bow.'' 
 
 It is to the credit of Mr. Ham that the merciless poetaster of 
 the opposite party, in the times of high political feeling during 
 the war of 1812, could find in him no more vulnerable character- 
 istics for the shafts of his ridicule, than a smiling countenance 
 and a partiality to music. 
 
 Mr. Ham took to wife Wealthy C, daughter of Moses Bing- 
 ham of Hanover, June 9, 1808. They had six children. 
 
 PHINEHAS HANDERSON. 
 
 Son of Gideon and Abigail (Church) Handerson ; bom, Amherst, Massa^ 
 chusetts, December 13, 1778 ; admitted, 1804 ; practiced, Chesterfield and 
 Keene ; died, Keene, March 16, 1853. 
 
 When this gentleman was a child of only a few months old, 
 he was carried in the arms of his mother on horseback to Clare- 
 mont, and there he received his slender early education. He 
 became a faithful reader of books of sterling value, and thus 
 
422 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 supplemented the deficiencies of his school instruction. In 1799 
 he began the study of the law in the office of George B. Upham 
 of Claremont. In 1805 or 1806 he settled in Chesterfield, and 
 pursued his profession there until 1833. He was elected a select- 
 man in 1811; representative in the legislature in 1812, 1813, and 
 1815 ; and state senator in 1816, 1817, 1825, 1831, and 1832. 
 
 In 1833 he removed to Keene. He was elected councilor in 
 1841 and 1842, and representative in 1843 and 1849. From 
 1827 up to the day of his death he was the president of the 
 Cheshire County bar. 
 
 Mr. Handerson was a lawyer of ample learning and intellectual 
 power, but was not ambitious for public distinction. His great 
 aim was to do right. 
 
 He was a genuine peacemaker. Of him it may be said in the 
 language of Pope, in his epitaph upon a barrister : — 
 
 " Many he assisted in the law, 
 More he preserved from it." 
 
 " He was a noble man," was the testimony of James Wilson, Jr., 
 who practiced beside him. 
 
 He was married, in 1818, to Hannah Willard, daughter of Rev. 
 Samuel O. Mead of Walpolg, and had eight children, seven of 
 whom were daughters. One of these was the wife of Francis A. 
 Faulkner of Keene. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS HARPER. 
 
 Son of William and Mary (Lane) Harper ; born, Deerfield, November 2, 
 1779 ; practiced, Sanbornton and Meredith ; died, Meredith, June 18, 1816. 
 
 Mr. Harper obtained his education at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, which he entered in 1794. Thomas W. Thompson of 
 Salisbury was the first director of his law studies, and they were 
 completed in the office of Jeremiah Smith at Exeter. About the 
 year 1802 he commenced practice in Sanbornton. Four years 
 later he moved to Meredith Bridge, now Laconia. From 1805 to 
 1808 he was clerk of the state senate ; and in 1809 and 1810 he 
 represented Meredith in the lower house of the legislature. In 
 1810 he was chosen a representative in Congress, and served 
 from 1811 to 1813. On the question of declaring war against 
 England he cast his vote in the affirmative, and took part in the 
 
* ALPHABETICALLY. 423 
 
 debates. He was tendered the commission of lieutenant-colonel 
 in tlie army, but declined it by reason of his unwillingness to 
 leave his young and dependent family. 
 
 His personal appearance was prepossessing, his manners were 
 engaging, and he was eminently social and popular. His intel- 
 lectual abilities were of a superior order, but he was not proof 
 against the temptations of conviviality, which seriously lessened 
 his power of usefulness, if it did not shorten his life. 
 
 Mr. Harper was the compiler of the " United States Repository 
 and New Hampshire Register for 1801," a useful little annual, of 
 a series which contains a valuable mass of important statistics and 
 local information, not to be found in any other publication. 
 
 His wife was Susan, daughter of Dr. Isaac Thom of London- 
 derry. She, with two children, survived him. 
 
 MATTHEW HARVEY, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Matthew aud Hannah (Sargent) Harvey ; horn, Sutton, June 21, 
 1781 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; admitted, 1809 ; practiced, Hopkinton ; 
 died, Concord, April 7, 1866. 
 
 The main facts in the life of Mr. Harvey are given in his own 
 words, as follows : " My father was a farmer. I was fitted for 
 college in the family of Rev. Samuel Wood, D. D., of Boscawen ; 
 read law in the office of John Harris, Hopkinton, and was ad- 
 mitted in Hillsborough County, and commenced practice in Hop- 
 kinton, where I continued till 1830. Meantime, in 1814, I was 
 chosen representative to the state legislature seven years succes- 
 sively, the last three of which I was Speaker. During the last 
 year I was elected to Congress, and served four years. When I 
 returned home I had been elected to the state senate, and so con- 
 tinued three years, being president all that time; then chosen 
 councilor two years, and then in 1830 elected governor of the 
 State. During that year I received the appointment of Judge of 
 the United States District Court (by General Jackson), and have 
 held that office to the present time (1864), — a period of fifty 
 years of office-holding, not omitting a day. Though often a 
 candidate, I was never defeated." 
 
 Judge Harvey lived two years longer, and died in office. His 
 is a very remarkable, if not an unexampled record, and carries 
 with it, in this case, the assurance of superior understanding. 
 
424 DECEASED LAWYERS t 
 
 fidelity to duty, and a genuine interest in the general welfare. As 
 lawyer and judge his rank was creditable ; as a public officer none 
 was more conscientious ; as a man he was liberal, benevolent, and 
 religious. His modesty and aversion to display led him to for- 
 bid the customary procession at his inauguration as governor. 
 In his message to the legislature he was the first to advocate the 
 abolition of the illogical and cruel practice of imprisonment for 
 debt. It was at his recommendation that inmates of the state 
 prison were, on being discharged, supplied with the means of 
 immediate support, so that they might not have the excuse of 
 want for resuming criminal practices. 
 
 His degree of LL. D. was given him by Dartmouth College in 
 1855. 
 
 Judge Harvey was married in 1811 to Margaret Kowe of New- 
 buryport, Massachusetts. They had two children, both of whom 
 died before their father. 
 
 HAKEISON GRAY HAREIS. 
 
 Son of Deacon Richard and Lydia (Atberton) Harris ; born, Harvard, 
 Massachusetts, July 2, 1790 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Sutton and Warner ; 
 died, Warner, March 8, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Harris was left an orphan at the age of eleven, and went 
 to live with his brother, John Harris, at Hopkinton. Under his 
 tuition, and at the public schools, he obtained his education, and 
 he studied law with Estes Howe of Sutton, with Judge Taft of 
 Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and with John Harris of Hopkinton. 
 On being admitted, he opened an office a few months at Sutton, 
 and then in 1816 established himself in Warner. There he con- 
 tinued in practice until about fifteen years before his decease, 
 when he retired. He had always been fond of agriculture, and 
 given no small part of his time to the cultivation of his land, and 
 in his later years this became his great resource. 
 
 Mr. Harris was a careful, old-school lawyer, "who wrote out 
 everything with exceeding nicety." His attainments in his pro- 
 fession were ample, but he had little of the forth-putting dis- 
 position to push himself into notoriety ; on the contrary, he is said 
 to have been inclined to undervalue his own powers and acquire- 
 ments. He never sought office, but when chosen to positions of 
 trust in the town he performed his duties faithfully. He was 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 425 
 
 one of the originators of a lyceum and a library, and active in 
 the improvement of the schools of his town. His reading was 
 extensive, especially in historical subjects. His nature was social, 
 and he was for sixty years a deeply attached member of the 
 Masonic order. 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Richard Bartlett of Warner, 
 and bore him five children. 
 
 JOEL HARRIS. 
 
 Son of Kichard and Lydia (Atherton) Harris ; born, Harvard, Massachu- 
 setts, September 29, 1781 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; practiced, Hopkinton ; 
 died. Harvard, Massachusetts, December 2, 1817. 
 
 This was the second of three brothers, who came from Massa- 
 chusetts into New Hampshire to pursue the legal profession. He 
 read law in the office of his elder brother, John Harris of Hop- 
 kinton, and on his admission in 1807 began practice there. He 
 remained only two yearS, however, when he returned to the place 
 of his nativity. There he continued to the close of his life. 
 
 His wife, whom he married September 20, 1808, was Mary 
 Blood of Bolton, Massachusetts. They had five children. 
 
 ALBERT RUYTER HATCH. 
 
 Bora, Greenland, October 10, 1817 ; Bowdoin College, 1837 ; admitted, 1841 ; 
 practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, March 6, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Hatch studied law in the office of Ichabod Bartlett in 
 Portsmouth, and there he set up in practice in 1841. He ad- 
 mired Mr. Bartlett greatly, and caught many of his fashions of 
 manner and of speech. Mr. Hatch determined from the start 
 that he would not, unless desired by his client so to do, employ 
 any senior counsel to present his causes to the jury, but would 
 argue them himself. The result of this rule was to give him 
 great familiarity with the role of an advocate, and to make his 
 name and person well and early known to the frequenters of the 
 courts. 
 
 In 1847 and 1848 he was a representative of Portsmouth in the 
 General Court, and in the latter year he was commissioned solici- 
 tor for Rockingham County, and clerk of the United States Court 
 for the district of New Hampshire. The former office he filled 
 
426 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 for eight years, and until a change in party ascendancy ; the lat- 
 ter until his resignation, after twenty-five years' duty. In 1873, 
 and the three following years, he again setved as a representative 
 in the legislature, and in 1874, his party being in the majority, he 
 was Speaker of the House. 
 
 He was a decided but not a violent partisan, and his opinions 
 and advice were always heeded and respected by his party. He 
 was an alderman of the city of Portsmouth, and a member of the 
 High School committee ; a director of the Portsmouth and Dover 
 Railroad, of the Portsmouth Bridge Company, and of the Athe- 
 naeum. He took deep interest in Freemasonry, and was an active 
 member in the various Masonic bodies in Portsmouth, for twenty- 
 five successive years being elected Commander of the Knights 
 Templar there. In the Episcopal Church he was a leading mem- 
 ber ; a vesti-ynian of St. John's, and one of the trustees of the 
 new Christ's Church. 
 
 These, however, were his avocations ; his vocation was that of a 
 lawyer. For this he had many and eminent qualifications. He 
 was calm, prudent, and rather secretive ; studious, untiring, and 
 ambitious. He knew his profession well, but before giving his 
 opinion made sure of his grounds. Whatever he had to do was 
 done promptly. Every pleading and notice was duly filed and 
 served, and it was a rare circumstance for him to have to ask a 
 favor of court or counsel. While the court was occupied with 
 matters in which he had no part, he was engaged in the court- 
 room, penning memoranda in his suits to come, or other business. 
 He was always within reach, however, so long as the sessions 
 lasted. When a case of his was called he was always at his post. 
 The opponent who hoped to catch him napping reckoned without 
 his host. Quick to detect every oversight of an adversary, he 
 made few on his own part. He was always equal to himself ; not 
 strong to-day and weak to-morrow. For years he was one of the 
 very foremost practitioners in his county. 
 
 In private life he was respected as a gentleman of taste, and 
 scholarship, and public spirit, dignified in mien, in every society a 
 pleasant companion, and a true friend. 
 
 In 1848 he mai-ried Margaret K. Harris of Portsmouth. Of 
 their four children, the two sons were bred to their father's 
 calling:. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 427 
 
 ALFRED WOODWARD HAVEN. 
 
 Son of John Haven ; bom, Portsmouth, March 14, 1801 ; Harvard College, 
 1820 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, December 27, 
 1885. 
 
 Mr. Haven prepared himself for the profession of the law in 
 the office of his kinsman, Nathaniel A. Haven, Jr. He was in 
 legal practice only nine years, from 1825 to 1834 ; thenceforth 
 his time was absorbed in the care of his large patrimony, and 
 in other interests. His success at the bar, however, evinced 
 his ability to have takeii a high place, had his circumstances re- 
 quired it. 
 
 He was one of the earliest advocates of the building of the 
 Concord and Portsmouth Railroad, and was chosen the first presi- 
 dent of the corporation, when its prospects of success were least 
 promising, and when constancy and confidence were most needed. 
 He was also a director in the Rockingham Bank and in the Ports- 
 mouth Athenaeum. In 1864 and 1865, and in 1867 and 1868, he 
 was a representative of Portsmouth in the state legislature. 
 
 His first marriage was with Louise, daughter of James Sheafe, 
 Esq., in 1827. She died in 1828, leaving one daughter. His 
 second marriage was with Margaret, daughter of John Houston, 
 Esq., of Exeter, who bore him four children. 
 
 NATHANIEL APPLETON HAVEN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Nathaniel A. and Mary Tufton (Moffat) Haven ; born, Ports- 
 mouth, January 14, 1790 ; Harvard College, 1807 ; admitted, 1811 ; practiced, 
 Portsmouth ; died there, June 3, 1826. 
 
 Though Mr. Haven's health was delicate through most of his 
 life, he was fitted for college at Phillips Exeter Academy at the 
 age of thirteen, and graduated A. B. with honors when he was 
 seventeen. The year following he was an assistant teacher at 
 Exeter, and in 1809 relinquished the idea of preparing himself 
 for the ministry, as he was early inclined. He began the study of 
 the law under Jeremiah Mason in Portsmouth. Notwithstanding 
 his precocious development and his ample patrimony, young Ha- 
 ven possessed habits of systematic industry and self-improvement, 
 and pursued a course of useful reading and study that reached far 
 
428 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 beyond the ordinary limits of legal science. In 1815 he fulfilled 
 a long-cherished design of making a tour in Europe. 
 
 On his return he set himself at work in his profession, not, how- 
 ever, so much for its emoluments, which he did not need, as for a 
 useful pursuit in life. He was the special attorney of the poor 
 and the helpless. He showed in his legal practice, as in all else, 
 his conscientious desire for justice, his thorough training, and his 
 methodical professional habits. 
 
 His efforts for the improvement of his townsmen were many. 
 He superintended a Sunday-school, which brought under instruc- 
 tion great numbers of the ignorant and neglected youth of Ports- 
 mouth ; he took deep interest in the common schools, did much to 
 increase the usefulness of the Athenaeum, and was one of the 
 founders and president of a society of young men formed for the 
 purpose of literary exercise and forensic debate. 
 
 In 1821 he assumed the editorial control of the " Portsmouth 
 Journal," and conducted it for the succeeding four years. His 
 high personal character, his literary culture, and his carefully 
 formed opinions, gave it peculiar weight and influence. Two 
 years he served as a representative in the General Court, where 
 his qualifications as a legislator and his excellence as a public 
 speaker made his services of great value. 
 
 After his death a volume of his literary remains was printed 
 for private circulation by his family, in which his orations on pub- 
 lic occasions, and specimens of his editorial writings, of his poems, 
 and of his correspondence, were included. 
 
 Mr. Haven was married, January 8, 1816, to his cousin, Eliza 
 Wentworth Haven of Portsmouth, and had several children, of 
 whom two, daughters, long survived him. 
 
 CARLOS G. HAWTHORNE. 
 
 Son of Calvin and Rachel (Jackman) Hawthorne ; born, Hopkinton, Sep- 
 tember 19, 1827 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Hopkinton ; died there, March 
 10, 1892. 
 
 Up to the age of eighteen Mr. Hawthorne worked upon a 
 farm. Two years later he qualified himself to teach a school in 
 Concord. He finished his education at the Gilmanton Academy, 
 and then spent about three years as an instructor in Granby, 
 Massachusetts, and Chicago, Illinois. Meantime he had been 
 reading law, and began to practice in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1854. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 429 
 
 He remained in Iowa twelve years, engaged in law business 
 and in real-estate transactions. While there he was two years 
 assistant provost-marshal and four years attorney for the board of 
 enrollment, performing the duties of Judge Advocate. In 1866 
 he returned to Hopkinton, and was in practice, a part of the time 
 as partner of Herman W. Greene, to the time of his death. He 
 was a prominent citizen and a well-known lawyer. 
 
 He was united in marriage, in March, 1850, to Frances P., 
 daughter of Nichols S. Gilman of Gilmanton. They had one 
 daughter. 
 
 ARCHIBALD MONROE HAYES. 
 
 Son of John and Abigail (Adams) Hayes ; born, New London, October 8, 
 1825 ; admitted, 1850 ; practiced, Pittsfield ; died, Hastings, Minnesota, Oc- 
 tober 31, 1868. 
 
 The subject of this notice gained his earlier instruction at the 
 academies in New London and in Lebanon, and Samuel Butter- 
 field of Andover was his law tutor. He commenced practice in 
 Pittsfield in 1851, remained there three years, and then emigrated 
 to Hastings, Minnesota. He was well spoken of, and accounted 
 a good lawyer. In Minnesota he was appointed deputy provost- 
 marshal for Dakota County, and served from 1863 to 1865, and 
 also received the commission of paymaster in the army. From 
 1865 to the day of his death he was postmaster of Hastings. 
 Ignatius Donnelly, who mentioned him by name in one of his books, 
 described Mr. Hayes as " an honest man and a true friend." 
 
 He married Lois A. Sargent of New Loudon, July 12, 1853, 
 and left two daughters. 
 
 JOHN LORD HAYES, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Hon. William A. and Susan (Lord) Hayes ; born, South Berwick, 
 Maine, April 13, 1812 ; Dartmouth College, 1831 ; admitted, 1835 ; practiced, 
 Portsmouth ; died, Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 18, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Hayes was fitted for college at the South Berwick Acad- 
 emy, and studied law in his father's office and a year at the Har- 
 vard Law School. He practiced in Portsmouth from 1835 to 
 1841, and in the latter year was appointed clerk of the United 
 States District Court for New Hampshire. That office he filled 
 five years. 
 
430 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In 1846 lie became general manager of the Katahdln Iron 
 Works Company of Maine for three years ; then went to Wash- 
 ington, District of Columbia, and there practiced his profession 
 from 1851 to 1861, when he was made chief clerk in the United 
 States Patent Office. After four years' service in that capacity 
 he was appointed secretary of the National Association of Wool 
 Manufacturers, and so continued through the remainder of his 
 life. His office was in Boston, his home in Cambridge, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 He was a man of various learning and accomplishments. In 
 college studies a superior scholar, he gave yet more time to botany 
 and mineralogy. He became later an expert in the knowledge 
 of textile fabrics, and was made a judge in group of wools and 
 woolens at the Centennial Exposition of 1876, and president of 
 the Tariff Commission of 1882. On these subjects he was the 
 author of numerous publications. 
 
 Mr. Hayes was one of the earliest supporters of the Free Soil 
 movement in this State. He promoted meetings, and made many 
 addresses in its behalf, but was not himself an aspirant for office. 
 
 As a lawyer he was fairly successful, considering the variety of 
 his occupations, and was retained in some causes of magnitude 
 and importance in Washington. Throughout his life he was a 
 busy worker. Aside from his regular vocation he was a student 
 of many sciences, a contributor to the press, a lecturer on various 
 topics. Among his latest literary works, prosecuted while suffer- 
 ing with a painful malady, was the translation into English verse 
 of several mediaeval hymns, issued under the title of " Corolla 
 Hymnorum Sacrorum." 
 
 His various publications on political, legal, and industrial sub- 
 jects are said to number more than one hundred. He received his 
 degree of LL. D. from Dartmouth College in 1878. 
 
 Mr. Hayes married, May 29, 1839, Caroline S., daughter of 
 Alexander Ladd, Esq., of Portsmouth. They had two sons and 
 three daughters. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 431 
 
 JAMES W. HAZELTINE. 
 
 Born, Dracut, Massachusetts, 1798 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Frances- 
 town ; died there, September 29, 1849. 
 
 Mr. Hazeltine read law under Levi Woodbury of Francestown 
 and Aaron F. Sawyer of Mont Vernon, and commenced practice 
 in Francestown. There he divided his time between law and 
 agriculture the residue of his life. He owned a large farm, and 
 was skillful in the management of it. Never a studious man, he 
 was, of course, not a learned lawyer, but he was quick and 
 sprightly, and understood human nature, and hence was no mean 
 opponent. He also had the advantage of a good personal appear- 
 ance. His usual antagonist was Titus Brown, a much better 
 lawyer, but slower, and with little of the facility and fun that 
 characterized Hazeltine ; so that the latter, according to the tes- 
 timony of one who knew them, was " able to hoe his row pretty 
 well with Brown." Mr. Hazeltine was a peculiar man, and ap- 
 parently had no ambition for public position or notice. 
 
 He was married in 1814 to Frances W., daughter of James 
 Kay of Amherst, and had seven children. 
 
 HORACE LOVEJOY HAZELTON. 
 
 Son of Richard and Kuth (Durgin) Hazelton ; born, Sanbornton, November 
 21, 1808 ; practiced, Meredith and Gilford ; died, Hingham, Massachusetts, 
 October 19, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Hazelton obtained his education at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy and at Dartmouth College, where, however, he only 
 partially finished the regular course. He read law in the office 
 of Stephen C. Lyford of Meredith, and there commenced prac- 
 tice, about the year 1833. In that town and in Gilford he con- 
 tinued to reside until 1847, his office being in the village of 
 Meredith Bridge. He held the position of bank commissioner 
 in 1846. 
 
 He removed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1847, and remained 
 in practice there during the remainder of his active life. He 
 received the appointment of commissioner for New Hampshire, 
 and was much employed in that capacity. He was an excellent 
 business lawyer, careful and accurate, and was probably little 
 engaged in the courts. 
 
432 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Mary A., daughter of Daniel Tucker of Meredith 
 Bridge, and a sister of the wife of Judge George Y. Sawyer, and 
 he had two daughters. 
 
 MOSES KITTREDGE HAZELTON. 
 
 Son of David and Sarah (Colby) Hazelton ; born, Hebron, November 6, 
 1835 ; Dartmouth College, 1857 ; admitted, 1859 ; practiced, Bradford ; died, 
 Memphis, Tennessee, August 3, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Hazelton's preparation for college was at the Kimball 
 Union Academy in Plainfield, and his law study in the offices 
 of J. Everett Sargent at Wentworth, and of John S. Wells at 
 Exeter. On his admission he became a partner in practice with 
 Mason W. Tappan at Bradford. Two years had scarcely passed 
 when the attack on Fort Sumter excited and solidified the Union 
 sentiment at the North. Mr. Tappan, the senior partner, a Re- 
 publican of Free Soil antecedents, was commissioned colonel of 
 the First New Hampshire Volunteers ; and Mr. Hazelton, a de- 
 cided Democrat, enlisted therein, and was appointed paymaster of 
 the regiment, and in that capacity proceeded to the front. 
 
 In June, 1861, he was made additional paymaster of the 
 United States Army, and in September following began his 
 duties with the armies in the field. His labors were arduous and 
 highly responsible, and " he worked until he could work no 
 longer." He died in the military hospital in Memphis, Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 He was never married. 
 
 DAVID HEALD. 
 
 Son of Oliver and Lydia (Spalding) Heald ; born, Temple, March 21, 1768 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1793 ; practiced. Temple and Washington ; died, Wash- 
 ington, January 2, 1841. 
 
 Mr. Heald completed his professional studies in Northampton, 
 Massachusetts, and was in practice in Temple as early as 1797, 
 but remained there only two or three years before he decided 
 to cast his lot in Washington. In the latter town he practiced 
 for the rest of his life, — something over forty years. He held 
 repeatedly positions of trust in the town, and was its represen- 
 tative for twelve consecutive years, beginning in 1802. He is 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 433 
 
 reputed to have been a good scholar, and much interested in edu- 
 cation. His practice was fair and honorable, he was modest and 
 unobtrusive, his integrity was never questioned, and he had the 
 friendship and esteem of his associates at the bar. 
 
 He was married, in 1810, to Phebe, daughter of Jacob Bur- 
 bank of AA^'ashington, and had two daughters and a son. 
 
 WILLIAM TOWNSEND HEYDOCK. 
 
 Sou of William and Abigail Eastman (Webster) Haclduck ; born, Franklin, 
 April 4, 1798 ; Dartmouth College, 1819 ; practiced, Hanover and Con- 
 cord ; died, Hanover, November 6, 1835. 
 
 Mr. Heydock (as he wrote his name) was a nephew of Daniel 
 AYebster, and had a good share of that intellectual force which 
 belonged to the great orator's family. He studied law with his 
 distinguished uncle, and being admitted in 1822, made a begin- 
 ning in practice in Haoover. Two years later he removed to 
 Concord, and lived there about five years, in which time he pre- 
 pared and published, anonymously, the " New Hampshire Probate 
 Directory," a work of real utility and value. His practice was 
 probably not extensive, and having much facility with the pen, he 
 next removed to Boston, and there edited a law journal called 
 " The Jurisprudent." In 1831 he changed his residence to Lowell, 
 Massachusetts, until his death, which took place while he was 
 on a visit to Hanover, the home of his brother, Professor Charles 
 B. Haddock. 
 
 He was weU read in his profession, but seems not to have been 
 of a practical turn. He was ambitious to have a large " docket," 
 and entered and continued a great number of actions that brought 
 him no returns for his services and disbursements. He was bet- 
 ter fitted to be a law writer, or special practitioner, than for the 
 varied labors of a country attorney. 
 
 Mr. Heydoek's wife was Jane Eliza, daughter of Mills Olcott 
 of Hanover. They were married in 1823. 
 
 WILLIAM HEYWOOD. 
 
 Born, Lunenburg, Vermont, October 6, 1804 ; admitted, 1831 ; practiced, 
 Lancaster ; died there, April 22, 1893. 
 
 Vermont has furnished New Hampshire with a goodly proper 
 tion of her lawyers of prominence, especially along the line of the 
 28 
 
434 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Connecticut. Mr. Heywood obtained his early education at the 
 Concord Academy in Vermont, and studied law with Charles 
 Davis of Waterford and Danville in that State, and with William 
 A. Fletcher of Detroit, Michigan. He was admitted in Guildhall, 
 Vermont, and lived there, practicing in the courts of both States, 
 till he came to New Hampshire to reside, in 1856. He was a 
 member of the Vermont Senate in 1837 and 1838, and of the 
 constitutional convention of 1850, and state's attorney for Essex 
 County for fifteen years. 
 
 He removed his home to Lancaster in 1856, and still continued 
 to practice in both States, his record in the judicial reports being 
 at his decease unprecedented, extending from the eighth volume 
 of the Vermont Reports a period of fifty-one years, and in those 
 of this State from the thirteenth volume to the sixty-third. Mr. 
 Heywood's profession was his engrossing interest. He had his 
 fixed political opinions, and was never behind in his knowledge of 
 .current events, but all else was secondary to his legal duties. 
 Like Rufus Choate, he cared less for his fees than for success in 
 his cases. 
 
 He was a quiet, undemonstrative man, of few words, but of 
 matured opinions, based upon sound sense and careful reflection. 
 He was hasty in temper, but bore no malice. He was engaged in 
 trials and hearings almost to the last day of his long life. His 
 style of speech was brief, but his words were pregnant with mean- 
 ing. His manner was grave almost to solemnity, save for an 
 occasional flash of humor, which came as a surprise, to light up 
 his discourse. His countenance, however, retained its fixed, sober 
 expression, reminding one of the sombre lineaments of the " great 
 stone face " of the Profile Mountain. 
 
 He won and ever retained the unqualified respect of the bar 
 and the community by his undoubted ability, his long and honor- 
 able legal career, and his unchallenged high moral and religious 
 standing. At his decease he was the eldest practicing counselor 
 in the State, and had been the president of the Grafton and Coijs 
 Bar Association since its formation in 1882. 
 
 His wife was Susan, daughter of Hon. David Hibbard of Con- 
 cord, Vermont. They had a daughter and three sons, one a 
 lawyer. 
 
ALPHABETICALLr. 435 
 
 HARRY HIBBARD. 
 
 Son of David and Susanna (Streeter) Hibbard ; born, Concord, Vermont, 
 July 1, 1816 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; practiced, Bath ; died there, July 
 28, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Hibbard read law with Isaac Fletcher of Lyndon, Ver- 
 mont, and with Jared W. Williams of Lancaster. He began 
 practice in Bath in 1839. He distinguished himself early. In 
 the case of State, v. Comings, indicted for the murder of his 
 wife, Mr. Hibbard, though only twenty-eight years of age, was 
 intrusted, in the absence of the attorney-general, with the responsi- 
 bility of conducting the prosecution through all its stages. Com- 
 ings was defended by Leonard Wilcox and Josiah Quincy, keen 
 and strong counsel, and the trial in the Superior Court occupied 
 about three weeks. Mr. Hibbard was senior counsel for the 
 State, made the closing argument to the jury, and secured the 
 conviction of the prisoner. His success gave him a sort of patent 
 of precedence in the bar from that day. 
 
 He entered young into the political arena. His first introduc- 
 tion to the platform is said to have occurred in this wise. He 
 attended a political meeting on one occasion, and with fortunate 
 foresight prepared himself beforehand with a speech, although his 
 chances of being called upon were infinitesimally small. But the 
 unexpected happened ; there was a dearth of orators, and the 
 committee were in a strait for a speaker. Mr. Hibbard let it be 
 known that he was ready, was eagerly invited, and made the audi- 
 ence so good a harangue that his political fortune was secured. 
 His promotion was rapid. Assistant clerk and clerk of the House 
 from 1839 to 1843, he was a representative and Speaker in 1844 
 and 1845 ; a state senator the next three years, and president of 
 the Senate two ; and from 1849 to 1855 a representative in Con- 
 gress. He had no desire for further political honors, and is said 
 to have declined a high foreign appointment offered him by his 
 friend. President Pierce. 
 
 His taste inclined him to literature, and he wrote in his earlier 
 life for the periodical press. Some of his poetical effusions 
 appeared in the "Democratic Review," and one, a descriptive 
 poem entitled the " Franconia Mountain Notch," was especially 
 admired. He was an accomplished and genial man, full of pleas- 
 
436 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ant humor, and a most entertaining companion. He could even 
 make a joke of a political reverse. When his party failed, on one 
 occasion, to maintain their accustomed ascendancy, a political 
 opponent jestingly inquired, " How is Democracy now ? " " Look- 
 ing up," replied Hibbard, " as every one must be when flat on his 
 back." 
 
 He was a thorough lawyer, of quick and keen discrimination, 
 earnest and honest, and with peculiar qualifications for managing 
 jury trials. His treatment of witnesses was especially skillful, 
 and his power of argument felicitous. Much to the regret of all 
 parties, an appointment to the bench of the Supreme Court, 
 offered him in 1871, his health compelled him to decline. 
 
 He married, May 13, 1848, Mrs. Sarah King Bellows, daughter 
 of Hon. Salma Hale of Keene. They had no children. 
 
 FRANK HILAND. 
 
 Born, Langdon, October 10, 1842 ; Dartmouth College, 1869 ; practiced, 
 Manchester ; died there, November 26, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Hiland was fitted for college at the academy in New Lon- 
 don. His law studies he pursued with Morrison and Stanley at 
 Manchester, and upon their completion in 1872 he was admitted 
 a partner in that firm. His talents were brilliant, his habits were 
 studious, and one who practiced beside him says that " he never 
 knew a young man of his age who could try a case as he could." 
 He was universally popular, a member of several social organiza- 
 tions, and was elected a representative in the legislature in 1874 
 and 1875, and in the latter year was the candidate of the minority 
 party for Speaker. About that time his habits became dissipated 
 to such an extent that he was for a while secluded in an asylum, 
 and although partially restored to himself, he never entirely mas- 
 tered the easUy besetting propensity for strong drink which 
 proved his ruin. 
 
 CHARLES FREEMAN HILL. 
 
 Son of Jeremiah and (Libbey) HUl ; born, Limerick, Maine, June, 
 
 1822 ; admitted, c. 1845 ; practiced, Wolfeborough ; died, Newark, New Jer- 
 sey, Febrnary 12, 1889. 
 
 This gentleman was educated at Limerick Academy, and stud- 
 ied his profession with his uncle, Joshua Hill, at Bangor, Maine. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 437 
 
 There he was admitted to the bar. He practiced at Searsport in 
 the same State until 1851, when he came to Wolfeborough. In 
 the fourteen years of his residence there " he acquired a lucrative 
 practice, and was a leading member of the Carroll County bar." 
 He was, in the opinion of Joel Eastman, a strong advocate, and 
 in point of ability and professional and personal character was 
 of high standing. For some years he was postmaster of Wolfe- 
 borough. 
 
 In 1865 he left New Hampshire and removed to Newark, New 
 Jersey, where he had a son established in the law. There he re- 
 sumed practice, and ended his days. 
 
 He married, in 1848, Lavinia Parker, at Newmarket. They 
 had three children. 
 
 DAVID HAMMONDS HILL. 
 
 Son of Oliver and Lueiuda (Hammonds) Hill ; born, North Berwick, Maine, 
 December 12, 1833 ; admitted, 1865 ; practiced, Sandwich ; died there, No- 
 vember 25, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Hill's ancestors were of the denomination of Friends. He 
 prepared himself to enter college, at the academy in Wolfebor- 
 ough, but by reason of ill health was not able to continue his 
 studies. For several years he was a successful teacher of schools 
 in three of the New England States. He then devoted his atten- 
 tion to the study of the law, in the office of Wheeler and Hall in 
 Dover, and afterwards in the Harvard Law School. 
 
 He began to practice in Centre Sandwich in 1865. In 1870 
 and 1871 he was a representative in the legislature, and was 
 placed upon the Committee on the Judiciary. He also served 
 some years as selectman and treasurer of Sandwich. In 1880 he 
 was appointed Judge of Probate for the county of Carroll, a 
 position suited to his inclination, and for which he possessed 
 abundant qualifications. 
 
 Judge Hill was universally held in high esteem. He was a 
 well-read lawyer, a man of sagacity and independent views, and 
 of high personal character. He was successful in his practice 
 at the bar, and as a judge showed in more than one instance that 
 his judicial powers were of a superior order. 
 
 He was distinguished by many engaging personal qualities, by 
 his genial companionship and kindness of heart. His literary 
 
438 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 accomplishments were notable ; he was familiar with the poets, 
 and was himself no mean versifier. He contributed to the " His- 
 tory of Carroll County " a chapter on the courts and lawyers, 
 which showed much investigation and appreciation of character. 
 
 He married, June 4, 1865, Mary, daughter of William E. 
 Moulton of Parsonsfield, Maine, and left a son and a daughter. 
 
 JOHN BOYNTON HILL. 
 
 Son of Rev. Ebenezer and Rebecca (Bancroft) Hill ; born, Mason, Novem- 
 ber 25, 1796 ; Harvard College, 1821 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Dunstable; 
 died. Temple, May 3, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Hill's father was a faithful country clergyman ; his grand- 
 fathers, maternal and paternal, were soldiers of the Revolution, 
 the former an officer of some rank and note. From them he in- 
 herited in a marked degree the qualities of conscientiousness and 
 courage. For a time after he left his alma mater he was em- 
 ployed as the principal of the Garrison-Forest Academy, near 
 Baltimore, Maryland. He then pursued the study of the law at 
 the Harvard Law School, and in the office of Benjamin M. Farley 
 of Hollis. He practiced in Dunstable, now Nashua, two years ; 
 then in Townsend, Massachusetts, about four years ; in Exeter, 
 Maine, five years ; and finally in Bangor, Maine, the scene of his 
 chief legal labors, thirty years. There he was a partner of John 
 Appleton, afterwards Chief Justice of Maine. Their firm was 
 engaged in much of the most important law business of the time. 
 
 Mr. Hill was a born reformer, — an original anti-slavery man, 
 and a prohibitionist. He was repeatedly a member of the state 
 legislature, and had the honor of being the draughtsman of the 
 first Maine liquor law. 
 
 In 1866 he retired from legal practice, and returned to his 
 native place. He was at no loss for occupation, as his love for 
 historical and antiquarian studies never flagged. In 1858 he 
 published a history of his native town, and a memoir of his father. 
 In 1868 he delivered a centennial address in Mason, and brought 
 its history up to that date. Ten years later he furnished much 
 valuable historical matter for a volume printed for Mr. E. H. 
 Spalding of Nashua, upon " Old Dunstable." Besides these pub- 
 lications he prepared several pamphlets and many articles for the 
 newspaper press, all marked by his characteristic thoroughness 
 and accuracy. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 439 
 
 Mr. Hill married, In early life, Mrs. Eachel Parker, but was 
 left a widower in 1832. They had one daughter, who died in 
 infancy. 
 
 ABRAHAM HINDS. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Rebecca Hinds ; born, Shrewsbury (now West Boyl- 
 ston), Massachusetts, c. 1778 ; admitted, 1805 (?) ; practiced, Lancaster and 
 Hinsdale ; died, Hinsdale, January 20, 1832. 
 
 Mr. Hinds studied his profession in the office of Eoger Vose in 
 Walpole. He was, as early as 1806, in practice in Lancaster. 
 The succeeding year he received the appointment of postmaster of 
 the town, and was chosen recorder of deeds for the county of 
 Coos. He continued to fill both offices for about four years. 
 
 In 1820 Mr. Hinds removed his residence to Hinsdale. There 
 he resumed the practice of his profession, and also carried on a 
 farm. From that place he was sent as representative in the legis- 
 latures of 1825, 1826, and 1827. He was not in the leading 
 ranks of his profession, but he must have possessed a respectable 
 position, if we can judge from the action of Williams College, 
 which conferred the honorary degree of A. M. upon him in 1812, 
 and of Harvard College, which paid him the same tribute nine 
 years later. There are indications that he preferred political 
 office to the hard drudgery of the law. 
 
 ELISHA HINDS. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Rebecca Hinds ; born, Shrewsbury (now West Boyl- 
 ston), Massachusetts, February 7, 1784 ; Williams College, 1805 ; admitted, 
 1809 ; practiced, Littleton and Hinsdale ; died, Brooklyn, New York, 1854. 
 
 The first half of Mr. Hinds's college course was passed in Har- 
 vard, and he migrated to Williams for the remainder. Shortly 
 after his graduation he accompanied his older brother, Abraham, 
 on a horseback journey to Kentucky, and took charge of a high 
 school near Lexington for a winter. Returning, he studied law 
 with his brother in Lancaster. The first two years of his profes- 
 sional life he spent in Essex County, Vermont. About 1811 he 
 settled in Littleton. He was the postmaster of the village for a 
 number of years. As a lawyer he was careful, sharp, and untir- 
 ing. He was one of the most exact and particular men in all his- 
 
440 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 business, taking receipts for the most trifling sums of money paid, 
 and noting down when and from whom he received every bank 
 bill that he took. He had accumulated a considerable property, 
 but about the year 1825 he undertook the management of an 
 estate consisting of a farm and mills, without experience ; he 
 incurred debt for the first time, his affairs fell iilto confusion, and 
 his savings were dissipated. He left Littleton about 1834 and 
 removed to Hinsdale, where his brother had died about two years 
 before. Whether he relied upon his profession in his new home 
 is not known, but he became the keeper of a hotel there, in which 
 he was not successful. He left the State about three years after- 
 wards, and resided for brief terms in Troy, New York, and else- 
 where, and at length settled down with his sons in the vicinity of 
 New York city. 
 
 He married Susan, daughter of Samuel Learned of Littleton, 
 and left five children. 
 
 NATHANIEL PIERCE HOAR. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel Hoar ; born, Lincoln, Massachusetts, September 2, 
 1784 ; Harvard College, 1810 ; practiced, Portsmouth and Deerfield ; died, 
 Lincoln, Massachusetts, May 24, 1820. 
 
 This gentleman received his legal training under his brother, 
 Samuel Hoar of Concord, Massachusetts, and Jeremiah Mason of 
 Portsmouth, and was admitted an attorney in Rockingham County, 
 in 1813, and settled at Portsmouth. He remained there till 
 about 1819, when he removed to Deerfield, but stayed there only 
 a little time, and then returned to Massachusetts. 
 
 Little has been learned of his professional qualifications or 
 work, but an obituary notice published in the " Portsmouth Ora- 
 cle " states that he was well read in his profession, was a gentle- 
 man of taste and vivacity, with many attached friends ; that his 
 judgment was sound, and his energy and decision marked ; that 
 in his later years he had to contend with trouble and disappoint- 
 ment which he bore with fortitude, and in which he enjoyed the 
 consolations of religion. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 441 
 
 GEORGE PRANK HOBBS. 
 
 Son of Josiah H. aud Rhoda D. (Chapman) Hobbs ; born, Wakefield, May 
 6, 1841 ; Dartmouth College, 1862 ; practiced, Wakefield and Dover ; died, 
 Somerville, Massachusetts, October 7, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Hobbs obtained his preparatory education at the Phillips 
 Exeter Academy, and read law with Charles Chesley at Wake- 
 field, and with Jordan and Rollins at Somersworth. In Septem- 
 ber, 1864, he thought it his duty to enter the military service of 
 the Union, and enlisting as a private, was at once appointed adju- 
 tant of the Eighteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. 
 He proceeded to the front, but was compelled by illness to resign 
 his commission in April, 1865. He completed his law studies, and 
 began the next year to practice as an attorney in Wakefield. He 
 was at the bar but a little time before he manifested that he had 
 in him the qualities for making a lawyer of the first order. In 
 1870 he removed to Dover. The two years succeeding, he was 
 city solicitor ; also in 1878 and 1879. He was a member of the 
 school board also, a couple of years. 
 
 In the celebrated trial of Joseph B. Buzzell in Carroll County, 
 for murder, he was associated with the attorney-general for the 
 prosecution, and bore a prominent part. His reputation became 
 extended, and his practice grew large and engrossing, until dis- 
 ease, occasioned by exposure while he was in the military service, 
 prostrated his physical powers and at length caused mental aliena- 
 tion, so that he was compelled in 1879 to enter an asylum for 
 the insane. He lived twelve years afterwards, but never recov- 
 ered the light of reason. 
 
 It was said of Mr. Hobbs that he " flashed into distinction 
 like a meteor in the starry midnight." In person and manners 
 he was exceedingly prepossessing. His intellectual powers were 
 strong, clear, discriminating, and ready for instant action. He 
 handled the most intricate questions, and drew the most subtle 
 distinctions, with lucidity and the ease of a master. He was 
 styled "the first lawyer in New Hampshire of his years." 
 
 His amiable disposition, his modesty and generosity, his com- 
 plete uprightness, his high sense of honor, and his lofty profes- 
 sional ideal, endeared him to all who knew him, and invested his 
 fate with a melancholy interest. 
 
442 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Emma J., daughter of Daniel M. Christie, LL. D., 
 of Dover. 
 
 JOSIAH HILTON HOBBS. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Sally (Hilton) Hobbs ; born, Effingham, November 2, 
 1795 ; Bowdoin College, 1820 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Wakefield ; died 
 there, June 18, 1854. 
 
 This gentleman fitted himself for college " mainly at home, and 
 without help from anybody," and entered the sophomore class in 
 Dartmouth University in 1817. On the discontinuance of that 
 institution, in the spring of 1819, he joined the junior class of 
 Bowdoin College. There he is said to have been in the foremost 
 rank. 
 
 He entered the office of William Sawyer of Wakefield as a 
 student, and on being admitted, became his law partner. Wake- 
 field was his home as long as he lived, and the law his profession. 
 He had a liking ior the " black-letter " learning of the law, and 
 was probably more familiar with it than any of his contempo- 
 raries in the State except Peyton R. Freeman. 
 
 He was fond of equity practice, and had much experience in it. 
 He was not of those who would reform the ancient precedents by 
 any change of their antique and redundant phraseology; the 
 sonorous reduplicate diction of the early conveyancers and plead- 
 ers- was music to his ear. His tastes and his favorite sphere of 
 practice gained him the sobriquet of " Chancellor " Hobbs, which 
 was given not in derision, but as a pleasant characteristic designa- 
 tion ; and he accepted the title in good part. 
 
 His friend and classmate, Philip Eastman of Saco, Maine, 
 thus summarized his character : " Professionally he loved and 
 sought the less-traveled paths of legal knowledge. He was inde- 
 fatigable in the investigation of vexed questions and knotty cases. 
 No object engaged his attention which he did not pursue with 
 enthusiastic ardor and perseverance. As a lawyer he had the 
 reputation of being sound and skillful. He was thoroughly read 
 in equity principles and practice, and- as a solicitor in chancery 
 was thought by many to be primus inter pares, the field of his 
 practice extending over the most populous and active business 
 portion of his State. He was impulsive in his feelings and rather 
 eccentric in some respects, but he possessed many generous and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 443 
 
 honorable traits of character, and at his death left many sorrow- 
 ing friends." 
 
 Mr. Hobbs married, July 19, 1825, Ehoda, daughter of A. M. 
 Chapman of Parsonsfield, Maine, and they had a family of ten 
 children, five sons and five daughters. 
 
 ALBERT ELISHA HODGDON. 
 
 Son of Charles and Betsey (Adams) Hodgdon ; born, Barnstead, April 22, 
 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1842 ; practiced, Barnstead ; died there, May 20, 
 1847. 
 
 Mr. Hodgdon studied his profession with Moses Norris at 
 Pittsfield, and with Ira Perley at Concord, and entered into prac- 
 tice at Barnstead in 1846, but lived only a single year afterwards. 
 He never married. 
 
 GEORGE ENOS HODGDON. 
 
 Son of Charles A. and Sophia J. (George) Hodgdon ; born, Barnstead, 
 March 4, 1839 ; Dartmouth College, 1861 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, 
 June 11, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Hodgdon entered the office of John S. H. Frink of Ports- 
 mouth, as a student at law, immediately after leaving college. 
 His patriotic feeling soon impelled him to enter the military ser- 
 vice of his country. He was commissioned lieutenant in Com- 
 pany G of the Tenth Eegiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, 
 August 20, 1862, and a month afterwards proceeded to the field. 
 His health suffered from the exposure of camp life so that he 
 resigned, February 24, 1863. In June, 1864, he was appointed 
 second Keutenant in the Veteran Eeserve Corps, and in Novem- 
 ber was promoted to be captain. A lieutenant-colonelcy of a 
 colored regiment was offered him, which he declined, and resigned 
 from the service, March 29, 1866. 
 
 Returning to Portsmouth, he became a lawyer and a citizen of 
 popularity and prominence. He was chosen city solicitor in 1876 
 and 1876 ; representative in the legislature in 1876, 1887, 1889, 
 and 1891 ; alderman and member of the board of education in 
 1886 ; and mayor of the city in 1888 and 1889. 
 
 He was a fine scholar, particularly in Greek, and became much 
 interested in his later years in history and genealogy. He pub- 
 
444 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 lished in the " Portsmouth Journal " a series of notes and addi- 
 tions to the text of Adams's " Annals of Portsmouth," and had 
 prepared for publication histories of one or more families of early 
 prominence. He was very popular in the ranks of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic, and filled several of the chief offices in the 
 association, state and local. In the law he was said to have been 
 capable of doing more than he did, if he had been ambitious for 
 distinction. 
 
 He was twice married, and by his first wife had two daughters. 
 
 MOSES HODGDON. 
 
 Son of Captain Shadrach Hodgdon ; born, Dover, 1774 ; admitted, 1801 ; 
 practiced, Dover and Exeter ; died, Dover, October 9, 1840. 
 
 Mr. Hodgdon entered Harvard College, and nearly completed 
 his undergraduate course, when for some cause not known, he left 
 without taking his degree. He became a student at law in the 
 office of William K. Atkinson of Dover in 1796, and about 1801 
 began practice in his native town, where, with the exception of a 
 brief experimental residence in Exeter, he spent the remainder of 
 his life. 
 
 He is said to have been a very careful, strong lawyer. He was 
 not an advocate, and made no show in court, but he was sensible, 
 thoroughly upright, and universally trusted. He was one of the 
 few practitioners of this State who have contributed to the litera- 
 ture of the law. In 1806 was published in Dover, under his edi- 
 torial charge, " The Complete Justice of the Peace," conformed to 
 the practice and statutes of New Hampshire. It was a manual of 
 real utility, and creditable to its editor, who with characteristic 
 modesty veiled his identity under the description of " a gentleman 
 of the profession." 
 
 Mr. Hodgdon was a representative of Dover in the General 
 Court, and in 1801, at the invitation of the inhabitants of Dover, 
 delivered a Fourth of July address, which was published. 
 
 He was a confirmed celibate, and by his irreverent juniors was 
 commonly styled " Lord Bacon." As he grew older, he shrank 
 from publicity. Hence, when Henry Mellen, the wit and rhyme- 
 ster of the bar, alluded to him in a poem called " The Old Bache- 
 lors," in these words, — 
 
 " And Moses, Lord Bacon, by Hymen forsaken. 
 Is never mistaken, but firm as an oak," — 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 445 
 
 it is perhaps not to be wondered at that Mr. Hodgdon found little 
 to relish in such a description of himself. 
 
 ARTEMAS LAWRENCE HOLMES. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Sally (Horr) Holmes ; born, Peterborough, July 9, 
 1814 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Peterborough ; 
 died, New York city, November 29, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Holmes studied law in the office of Samuel D. Bell in Con- 
 cord, and practiced only a short time in his native town before 
 taking his final leave of New Hampshire. He went to Galena, 
 Illinois, about 1839, and there engaged in mercantile business. 
 At a later date he removed to St. Louis, Missouri, and subse- 
 quently to New York city. 
 
 He married, first, Eliza Bloomer of Galena, Illinois, and after 
 her decease, Emily Bloomer, her sister. He had three children. 
 Two of them are lawyers in New York. 
 
 ASA HOLTON. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Hannah (Olcott) Holton ; born, Charlestown, Novem- 
 ber, 1786 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Lempster and Claremont ; died, Clare- 
 mont, March 4, 1841. 
 
 Mr. Holton received an academical education in the place of 
 his birth, and studied law there, in the office of Henry Hubbard. 
 Immediately upon his admission as an attorney he proceeded to 
 Lempster, and remained two years. He then removed his home 
 permanently to Claremont. As a lawj'er the evidence is that 
 he ranked well, and was regarded as a safe counselor, though in 
 advocacy he did not specially excel. His practice was good, and 
 he was very much respected as a man. 
 
 He was married in October, 1818, to Orra Evarts, and had 
 eleven children, several of whom are still living. 
 
 JOSIAH HOUGHTON. 
 
 The birthplace and parentage of Mr. Houghton have not been 
 ascertained. He fitted himself for his profession at the Connecti- 
 cut Law School, and in the office of Boswell Stevens of Pembroke. 
 He was admitted an attorney in Rockingham County in 1820, 
 
446 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and a counselor of the Superior Court in February, 1821, and set- 
 tled as a practitioner in Deerfield in 1819 or 1820. As a lawyer 
 and a member of society he appears to have been held in high 
 regard. His life was brought early to a close by a pleuritic fever, 
 caused by fatigue and excitement in the search for and recovery 
 of a child that had wandered away from home. He died at the 
 age of forty-three years. 
 
 He was married to Mary, daughter of Nathaniel White of 
 Deerfield, and left one or more children. 
 
 LUKE HOWE. 
 
 Son of Dr. Adonijah and Sarah (Ripley) Howe ; born, JafPrey, March 28, 
 1787 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, JafErey ; died there, December 
 24, 1841. 
 
 This gentleman's history belongs rather to the medical than to 
 the legal profession, and may be found in Williams's " Biography 
 of American Physicians." He qualified himself for the practice of 
 the law under the instruction of Samuel Dakin of Jaffrey and of 
 Samuel C. Allen and Nathan Dane of Massachusetts, in which 
 State he was probably admitted to the bar in 1814. He began 
 practice in his native town, but could have continued it but a 
 year or two, as he changed his profession and took the degree of 
 M. D. at Dartmouth Medical School in 1818. 
 
 He became^ a distinguished physician, and was chosen presi- 
 dent of the Medical Society of New Hampshire, and an hon- 
 orary member of that of Massachusetts. He published essays on 
 scientific subjects, and introduced many improvements in surgical 
 instruments. 
 
 His wife, whom he married in 1819, was Mary H., daughter of 
 Hon. Peter Woodbury of Francestown, and widow of his brother. 
 Dr. Adonijah Howe. He left a son and a daughter. 
 
 PHINEAS HOWE. 
 
 Son of Deacon Jonathan and Mary (Kimball) Howe ; born, Hopkinton, o. 
 1776 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; admitted, 1805 ; practiced, Weare and 
 Deerfield ; died, Maroellus, New York. 
 
 For five years after his graduation from college, Mr. Howe 
 taught school in Deerfield, and during that time probably com- 
 pleted his legal studies under the direction of Edmund Toppan. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 447 
 
 In the following year, and in 1808, he was a school teacher in 
 Weare, and in that town practiced as a lawyer from 1808 to 
 1811. He thence returned to Deerfield, and there continued prac- 
 tice for three or four years, and then quitted the State. It is said 
 that he went first to Maine, and then to Marcellus, New York, or 
 its vicinity, where he died. 
 
 On the Fourth of July, 1801, he delivered an oration before 
 the inhabitants of Deerfield which was deemed worthy of publica- 
 tion. His history in New Hampshire indicates that he was more 
 successful as a teacher than as a jurist. 
 
 His wife was Jemima Brown. They had one son, born in 
 Weare, February 13, 1807. 
 
 AARON BEEDE HOYT. 
 
 Son of Dr. Moses and Anna (Beede) Hoyt ; born, Ossipee, July 10, 1802 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1822 ; practiced, Sandwich ; died there, July 12, 1880. 
 
 This gentleman prepared himself for the law in the offices of 
 Ira A. Bean of Sandwich, Daniel M. Christie of Dover, and 
 Samuel Emerson of Sandwich. With Mr. Emerson he associated 
 himself in business, and practiced about four years ; but teaching 
 being much more congenial, he became an instructor in the 
 Chauncy Hall school in Boston, Massachusetts, for five years, and 
 director and corresponding secretary of the American Institute of 
 Instruction. Thence he went to Baltimore and established a 
 private academy, which he conducted for ten years, and then 
 returned to Sandwich and settled on a farm, teaching occasionally. 
 
 Mr. Hoyt was a man of marked individuality, a reformer of 
 strong religious convictions, a tenacious memory, and vast Infor- 
 mation, and a born and most successful educator. 
 
 He was twice married ; first, in 1827, to Catharine H., daughter 
 of Augustus Blanchard of Sandwich, who died in 1866 ; second, in 
 1873, to Sarah A., daughter of Augustus Doeg, who survived 
 him. 
 
 HENRY HUBBARD. 
 
 Son of John andJPrudence (Stevens) Hubbard ; born, Charlestown, May 3, 
 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; admitted, 1806 ; practiced, Charlestown ; 
 died there, June 6, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard studied law with Jeremiah Mason of Ports- 
 mouth, and opened his office in his native town in 1806. 
 
448 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 A good measure of success attended him irom the first. His 
 manners were courteous and attractive, his powers were ready at 
 his command, and as a native of the town he was known and 
 trusted. Chosen moderator of the annual town meeting in 1810 
 (an office that he held many times subsequently), he was elected 
 to the legislature in 1812, and ten other years out of the succeed- 
 ing fifteen. The last three of those years, 1825, 1826, and 1827, 
 he filled the Speaker's chair. In 1823 he was appointed solicitor 
 for Cheshire County, and served until he was commissioned Judge 
 of Probate in 1827. Two years after he was elected a represen- 
 tative in Congress, and retained his seat by successive reelections 
 until 1835. In that year he was advanced to the United States 
 Senate, and sat there his full term of six years. In 1842 and 
 1843 he was governor of the State. From 1846 to 1849 he was 
 assistant treasurer of the United States at Boston, after which he 
 returned to his home in Charlestown, and to private life. 
 
 He was highly successful at the bar. He was indefatigable in 
 his profession, and never spared the midnight oil. His temper 
 was mild, and he treated all parties, even in the stress of oppo- 
 sition, with uniform courtesy. His legal knowledge was ample 
 and always available. He was a ready speaker, and adapted his 
 appeals skillfully to the audience he addressed. In law and in 
 politics he made the most of his abilities and his opportunities. 
 
 He was married to Sally Walker Dean of Charlestown, Novem- 
 ber 30, 1813, and had several children. His eldest son was a 
 lawyer, and a daughter was the wife of Chief Justice John J. 
 Gilchrist. 
 
 HENRY HUBBARD, JR. 
 
 Son of Hon. Henry and Sally Walker (Dean) Hubbard ; born, Charlestown, 
 June 21, 1817 ; Harvard College, 1837 ; practiced, Charlestown ; died, Bed- 
 ford County, Virginia, June 11, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard pursued the study of the law in the office of his 
 father in Charlestown, and attended the Harvard Law School, 
 where he took his degree of LL. B. in 1840. He opened his 
 office in Charlestown, and there remained in successful practice 
 for more than a quarter of a century. He was solicitor of Sulli- 
 van County from 1845 to 1848. In 1867 he was compelled by 
 failing health to seek a more moderate climate, and removed with 
 his family to Bedford County in Virginia, where he spent the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 449 
 
 remainder of Ms life. He was highly esteemed as a competent 
 and trustworthy counselor and a public-spirited citizen. 
 
 His wife, to whom he was united June 6, 1850, was Louisa, 
 daughter of Deacon Benjamin West. They had six children. 
 
 AARON P. HUGHES. 
 
 Son of Barnet and Jane (Wilson) Hughes ; born, Windham, May 7, 1815 ; 
 admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Nashua ; died, Worcester, Massachusetts, Febru- 
 ary 23, 1864. 
 
 The father of Mr. Hughes was a carpenter, and sometimes 
 acted as the local auctioneer ; tonguey, witty, and clear headed. 
 The son was bred to his father's trade, and practiced it until by an 
 accident he lost his left arm. He was a member of a debating- 
 society, and, evincing much readiness in public speaking, deter- 
 mined to become a lawyer. For this he prepared himself in the 
 office of Aaron F. Sawyer of Nashua, and on completing his 
 studies, settled in business in that place. 
 
 He was greatly interested in political affairs, and was a member 
 of the national convention which nominated Zachary Taylor for 
 the presidency. He was postmaster of Nashua and Nashville 
 from 1849 to 1853. In 1854 he was an influential member of the 
 state legislature. Being a " Webster Whig," when the Republi- 
 can party was formed in 1856, he took sides vigorously with its 
 opponents. In 1860 he was a delegate to the natiopal Demo- 
 cratic convention, in which he gave his support to Stephen A. 
 Douglas. Two years' service in the legislature, in 1861 and 1862, 
 completed his political career. 
 
 Mr. Hughes was a successful man of business, of probity and 
 good morals, and an excellent public speaker. His strength lay 
 largely in his rhetorical faculty, as he was not remarkable for the 
 depth of his reasoning, nor for profound legal learning. He was 
 a zealous Freemason, and held the office of Grand Master of the 
 State. 
 
 His death occurred while he was absent from his home on a 
 business errand. 
 
 He was joined in marriage, November 17, 1845, to Charlotte 
 Lock, daughter of Aaron F. Sawyer of Nashua, and left two sons. 
 29 
 
450 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 DANIEL HUMPHREYS. 
 
 Son of Rev. Daniel and Sarah Humphreys ; born, Derby, Connecticut, c. 
 1739 ; Yale College, 1757 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, September 30, 
 
 1827. 
 
 Mr. Humphreys was the brother of Colonel David Humphreys, 
 aide to Washington, and like him had various accomplishments, 
 being described as " preacher, j)oet, grammarian, and district 
 attorney." He probably acquired his professional education in 
 Connecticut, and remained in practice there some years before 
 coming to New Hampshire. In 1764 or thereabout he was in 
 Boston, Massachusetts, and a deacon of the newly established 
 religious society of Sandemanians-. Not long afterwards he re- 
 moved to Danbury, Connecticut, and officiated as elder of a simi- 
 lar society in that place. 
 
 He was admitted to the Superior Court of New Hampshire in 
 1774, and settled in Portsmouth. He sat in the convention to 
 revise the Constitution of the State in 1791-92. In 1804 he was 
 given the appointment of United States District Attorney for New 
 Hampshire, and continued in the discharge of its duties until his 
 death. He was a lawyer of respectable learning, faithful and 
 conscientious. For many years he was a principal member and 
 preacher in the Sandemanian society of Portsmouth. One of the 
 tenets of this sect of Christians was not to employ a hired minis- 
 tty. The society was considerable in point of numbers, and was 
 composed in no small part of persons of intelligence. Mr. Hum- 
 phreys carried his feeling against the paid clergy to such an 
 extent that he would not remain in the court-room while the sala- 
 ried minister made the prayer at the opening of the session of the 
 court. 
 
 Most of his published writings were of a polemical character. 
 In 1792 he issued an "American Grammar." His poetical com- 
 positions, if any, are supposed to have appeared in the periodical 
 press. 
 
 Mr. Humphreys's wife was a sister of George King (after- 
 wards George Atkinson), and he had two sons, both of whom died 
 before their father. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 451 
 
 SAMUEL HUNT. 
 
 Son of Colonel Samuel and Esther (Strong) Hunt ; born, Charlestown, July 
 8, 1765 ; admitted, 1790 ; practiced, Alstead and Keene ; died, Gallipolis, 
 Ohio, July 7, 1807. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received a good education for his 
 time and place. He pursued his law studies in the office of Ben- 
 jamin West of Charlestown. He opened an office for a little 
 time in Alstead, but soon removed to Keene, where he remained 
 for about five years, which was the total of his professional life. 
 
 He then returned to Charlestown, and for a while became a con- 
 tributor to " The Farmer's Museum," edited by Joseph Dannie, 
 and supported by a club of young professional men of literary 
 ability. For some cause not known he next went to Europe, and 
 remained away nearly three years, passing most of the time in 
 France. On his return he pursued the occupation of a gentleman 
 farmer, which he mingled to some extent with politics, so that his 
 townsmen sent him to the state legislature, from which he was 
 transferred to a seat in the Congress of the United States in 
 1802. The next year he was reelected, and served through the 
 Eighth Congress, but became disgusted with political life and 
 refused any further candidacy. He had a controversy with Gid- 
 eon Granger while he was in Washington, and sent him a chal- 
 lenge which Granger sensibly declined ; thereupon Hunt posted 
 him as a coward. 
 
 Mr. Hunt possessed good native capacity, and sufficient educa- 
 tion, but he was eccentric, and had little control of his strong 
 passions. 
 
 In politics he agreed with neither party, but held peculiar 
 notions of his own. He formed a project of colonizing a tract of 
 territory in Ohio, and induced a number of his neighbors to join 
 in the enterprise. About the_year 1805 they took their departure. 
 Hunt on horseback, while others were obliged to walk, and all 
 arrived safely at their destination, French Grant, as it was then 
 called, now known as Gallipolis. The place proved unhealthy ; 
 all were attacked by disease, and few ever returned to tell the 
 tale. Hunt was one of the victims. 
 
452 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 NATHANIEL HUNTOON. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Webster) Huntoon ; born, Salisbury, March 
 26, 1785 ; Dartmouth College, 1808 ; practiced, Portsmouth and Newmarket ; 
 died, Portsmouth, July 2, 1816. 
 
 This is one of the numerous cases where early death has made 
 the biographer's task a short one. Mr. Huntoon studied his pro- 
 fession with Samuel Green of Concord, and established himself in 
 Portsmouth about 1812. Two or three years afterwards he went 
 to Newmarket, but his stay there was brief, for his death by a 
 rapid consumption speedily followed. 
 
 JOHN HURD. 
 
 Sou of John and Elizabeth (Mason) Hurd ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 December 9, 1727 ; Harvard College, 1747 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died, Bos- 
 ton, Massachusetts, July 19, 1809. 
 
 This gentleman has been regarded as a lawyer, though it is not 
 known that he was bred to the profession. He appeared in New 
 Hampshire about the time of the last royal governor, of whom he 
 was a favorite. His residence was erelong fixed at Haverhill, 
 which, mainly by his exertions, was made a shire town of Grafton 
 County. In 1772 he was made Chief Justice of the Inferior 
 Court of the county. Friendly though he was to Governor Went- 
 worth, he was a decided Whig when the Revolution began. He 
 was a prominent member of the fourth and fifth provincial Con- 
 gresses, and held high civil and military offices under the peoples' 
 government, among them that of first Justice of the Court of 
 Common Pleas of his county. In fact, he wielded for a time the 
 chief authority in his section of the State. The jealous hostility 
 towards the " Exeter government," which prevailed awhile in the 
 towns along the Connecticut River, disappointed and disgusted 
 him, and about the year 1777 he returned permanently to Boston. 
 
 In 1773 Dartmouth College gave him the degree of A. M. 
 
 His wife, Elizabeth, died in Boston in 1779. He had two 
 sons. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 453 
 
 HENRY HOWARD HUSE. 
 
 Son of Thomas M. aud Elizabeth (Soobey) Huse ; born, West Fairlee, Ver- 
 mont, May 31, 1839 ; admitted, 1864 ; practiced, Pittsfleld and Manchester ; 
 died, Concord, September 7, 1890. 
 
 A graduate of the high school in Lowell, Massachusetts, Mr. 
 Huse studied law with John J. Pillsbury in Pittsfleld. In 1861 
 he was mustered into the military service of the country as a cap- 
 tain in the Eighth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. In 
 July, 1863, he was promoted to the majority, but in September 
 following was compelled to leave the army by illness, and was 
 honorably discharged. He settled in practice in Pittsfleld in 
 1864, and in 1868 removed to Manchester as partner of Lewis 
 W. Clark, and afterwards of James F. Briggs. He was a repre- 
 sentative in the legislature in 1877 and the two succeeding years, 
 in the latter of which he was chosen Speaker. His interest in 
 political matters, and his administrative qualities, led to his ap- 
 pointment to the responsible post of chairman of the Republican 
 State Central Committee, for several years. In 1888 he was 
 appointed state insurance commissioner, and filled that position 
 until his decease. 
 
 He was a man of popular personal qualities, an excellent offi- 
 cer, military and civil, and of much native ability. One of his 
 business associates describes him thus : " He had a good legal 
 mind, managed a witness skillfully, and argued causes well ; and 
 if he had applied himself closely to his profession, and had not 
 allowed his attention to be diverted to politics, he would have 
 been a very successful lawyer." 
 
 He was married, in 1869, to Frances A. Rich of HoUis. She 
 died in 1873, and he married Irene A. Poole of Rockland, Massa- 
 chusetts. He had six children, of whom three survived him. 
 
 ARTHUR EDWIN HUTCHINS. 
 
 Son of Chester C. and Jane (Swan) Hutchins ; born, Bath, September 2, 
 1838 ; Dartmouth College, 1857 ; admitted, 1860 ; practiced, Bath ; died, 
 " Wilderness," Virginia, May 6, 1864 
 
 Mr. Hutchins prepared himself for the bar by study in the 
 office of Alonzo P. Carpenter in Bath, and at the Harvard Law 
 
454 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 School, and opened his office in his native town in 1860. But 
 soon the drums beat to arms the country through, and he quitted 
 his profession and entered the Eleventh Eegiment of New Hamp- 
 shire Volunteers as a first lieutenant. When the bloody battle of 
 the Wilderness was fought in Virginia, May 6, 1864, Lieutenant 
 Hutchins was serving upon the staff of General Simon G. Griffin, 
 and gave the final proof of his devotion to his country by meeting 
 his death bravely in the field. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON HUTCHINS. 
 
 Son of Colonel James Hutchins ; born, Bath, 1809 ; admitted, 1835 ; prac- 
 ticed, Bath ; died there, August 4, 1839. 
 
 Mr. Hutchins was of feeble bodily constitution, and left Dart- 
 mouth College after two years' study there, without completing 
 the course. He read law in the office of Goodall and Woods at 
 Bath, and on his admission, entered into partnership with Jona- 
 than Smith, then in practice in that place. But he lacked the 
 health and vigor to perform the hard work of a country practi- 
 tioner, and succumbed early to disease. 
 
 HAMILTON HUTCHINS. 
 
 Son of Abel and Elizabeth (Partridge) Hutchins ; born. Concord, July 10, 
 1805 ; Dartmouth College, 1827 ; practiced. Concord ; died there, April 6, 
 1851. 
 
 It was with Samuel Fletcher of Concord, and with Eicharpl 
 Fletcher of Boston, Massachusetts, that Mr. Hutchins acquired 
 his preparation for the bar. He began practice in Boston in 
 1830, but returned shortly to Concord as partner of George 
 Kent, for a time. He was not much in the courts, but he per- 
 formed his professional duties with skill and correctness, and was 
 esteemed for his probity and amiable disposition. The last ten 
 years of his life he was the treasurer of the New Hampshire 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Daniel Chandler of Lexing- 
 ton, Massachusetts. They were married October 30, 1835. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 455 
 
 WILLIAM WALLACE HUTCHINS. 
 
 Son of William and Martha (Newell) Vance Hutchins ; born, Bath, July 
 12, 1824 ; Dartmouth College, 1845 ; admitted, 1848 ; practiced, Bath ; died. 
 Concord, November 3, 1 857. 
 
 Mr. Hutchins is remembered as being while in college an ami- 
 able rather than a specially studious young man. He was a 
 student at law in the offices of Samuel Ingham of Essex, Con- 
 necticut, and of Harry Hibbard of Bath. In the latter place 
 he began practice, and with the exception of a short period of 
 service at Haverhill as assistant clerk of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, remained there during the active portion of his life. Be- 
 fore his decease he was removed to Concord on account of mental 
 alienation. 
 
 AARON HUTCHINSON. 
 
 Son of Rev. Aaron and Margaret (Carter) Hutchinson ; born, Connecticut, 
 1755 ; Yale College, 1770 ; admitted, c. 1781 ; practiced, Lebanon ; died 
 there, April 24, 1843. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson was a Bachelor of Arts at the age of about 
 fifteen. He studied for the ministry and preached awhile, among 
 other places at Antrim in 1778 ; but by reason of the failure of 
 his voice, as is said, he gave up the idea of a clerical life, and 
 turned his attention to the law. It is stated that he first prac- 
 ticed a short time in Grafton, Massachusetts, where his father had 
 long been pastor, and afterwards in Norwich, Vermont, before he 
 came to Lebanon in 1783. His name appears among those of the 
 attorneys who attended the Court of Common Pleas in Cheshire 
 County in July, 1782. 
 
 He was at first almost the only lawyer in Grafton County. For 
 some years he regularly attended the courts in Cheshire County, 
 as well as in his own, and also in the adjoining county of Orange, 
 in Vermont. He was appointed the first solicitor of Grafton 
 County in 1789, and represented Lebanon in the legislatures of 
 1802, 1803, and 1805. He was accounted a good lawyer, and had 
 an extensive practice. His method, as was that of his time, was 
 to try causes upon their merits, to make as much as possible of 
 the equities of his clients, without much regard to technicalities. 
 
456 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In fact, few of tlie judges of the courts in which he appeared had 
 any idea of technicalities. 
 
 In addition to his law business Mr. Hutchinson carried on 
 farming, and was successful in accumulating property, so that he 
 lived handsomely, and was enabled to give his sons a collegiate 
 education. When he changed his profession he lost none of his 
 zeal for religious things, but all through life, as was quaintly said, 
 " would have disbursed half his estate to erect the house of the 
 Lord." It is stated of him, too, that he believed in the existence 
 of witches, — a curious fact, considering he was a man of educa- 
 tion, and lived into the nineteenth century. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson was quite a gentleman of the old school, in 
 dress and manners. He was well bred and courtly, and to the 
 last of his life constantly wore knee-breeches and a rufSed shirt. 
 
 He married Eunice Bailey of Lebanon, in 1784. She died a 
 number of years before him, and for some time afterwards he 
 lived alone in his house, like a hermit. 
 
 Two of his sons were of their father's profession. 
 
 EUGENE HUTCHINSON. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Susan (Peabody) Hutchinson ; born, Milford, 1784 ; 
 admitted, 1814 ; practiced, Pelham, Gosben, and Milford ; died, Milford, Feb- 
 ruary 7, 1854. 
 
 Little has survived to be narrated of this gentleman. He was 
 a member of Dartmouth College awhile, but without graduating. 
 He studied his profession with Nathaniel Shattuck of Milford, 
 and practiced first in Pelham, afterwards in Goshen, and finally 
 returned to his native town, and there divided his attention be- 
 tween law and agriculture during the remainder of his life. He 
 is said for some time to have been given to convivial habits. 
 
 His wife was Susan, daughter of David Danforth. They had a 
 son and two daughters. 
 
 HENRY HUTCHINSON. 
 
 Son of Aaron and Eunice (Bailey) Hutchinson ; born, Lebanon, March 20, 
 1786 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, Hanover ; died, 
 New York city, September 15, 1838. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson pursued his legal studies in the office of his 
 father in Lebanon, and was admitted to the bar of Grafton 
 County. He opened an office in Hanover about 1807. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 457 
 
 His business was not large, and he obtained the position of 
 clerk of the state House of Representatives in 1813, 1814, and 
 1815. Some years afterwards he lost his wife by death, and was 
 left with the care of five young children. Somewhere about the 
 year 1826 he removed to the city of New York, in the hope of 
 bettering his condition, and was, for a time, in the office with 
 Charles Walker, a son of Charles Walker, Esq., of Concord. It 
 has been said that he was more successful in his practice in New 
 York, being one of the few lawyers who remained in the city dur- 
 ing the epidemic of cholera in 1836. 
 
 In 1813 he was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of 
 Professor Bezaleel Woodward of Dartmouth College. She bore 
 him five children. 
 
 JAMES HUTCHINSON. 
 
 Son of Aaron and Eunice (Bailey) Hutchinson ; born, Lebanon, December 
 2, 1786 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; practiced, Lebanon ; died, Haverhill, 
 April 25, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson studied law, probably in his father's office, and 
 went into practice about 1809 in the town of his birth. He was 
 handsome, bright, and accomplished, and a great favorite of the 
 ladies. Being the presumptive heir to a good property, he had no 
 ambition to work, and fell into habits of dissipation. Twenty 
 years after his marriage his wife separated from him, presumably 
 on account of his irregular habits. The next year he went to 
 New York city, where his brother Henry was in practice. But 
 his mode of life was never corrected, and at length brought him 
 to actual destitution. Finally he returned to New Hampshire, 
 and was supported at the public expense during the remaining 
 years of his life. 
 
 He married, in September, 1815, Eunice Marsh, daughter of 
 Richard Kimball of Plainfield. 
 
 JOTHAM PATTEN HUTCHINSON. 
 
 Son of David and Lucinda (Patten) Hutchinson ; born, Sidney, Maine, 
 February 29, 1824 ; Waterville College, 1846 ; admitted, 1853 ; practiced, 
 Laconia, Nashua, and Lake Village ; died, Laconia, May 22, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson prepared himself for college at the academy in 
 East Machias, Maine, and read law with Thomas J. Whipple, his 
 
458 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 brother-in-law, at Meredith. On his admission as an attorney he 
 opened an office in Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, and remained 
 there nine years. In 1862 he removed to Nashua, and practiced 
 there until in 1872 he received the appointment of corporation 
 counsel and agent of the Winnepesaukee Lake Cotton and 
 Woolen Manufacturing Company, which controlled a great extent 
 of water power in and about Lake Winnepesaukee, for the use of 
 divers manufacturing companies in this State and Massachusetts. 
 This important and responsible post he administered for ten 
 years, having his residence in Lake Village, now Lakeport, until 
 he was disabled by an attack of paralysis, and resigned in 1883. 
 
 While in the pursuit of his profession, he was fully employed 
 in the various state and United States courts, and acquired an 
 excellent reputation as a jurist and a man of affairs. 
 
 He was actively public-spirited and patriotic. In the early 
 days of the great Eebellion he voluntarily took charge of the 
 recruiting in Gilford, and raised two full companies of volunteers 
 for the army, being prevented from accompanying them in person 
 to the front only by reason of military disability- 
 He was married, in June, 1851, to Abigail E. Hadley of Rum- 
 ney. Their only son is a lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 WILLIAM H. JAMES. 
 
 Son of William and Elizabeth (Huntress) James ; born, Somersworth, 
 1821 ; admitted, c. 1847 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died there, May 15, ]854. 
 
 The subject of this notice was brought up in Great Falls Vil- 
 lage in Somersworth, and educated in its schools. Gifted with a 
 good capacity, he aspired to join the legal profession, prepared 
 himself in the office of Ichabod G. Jordan of Somersworth, and 
 entered into practice there in 1847. He lived but a few years 
 afterwards, and died unmarried. 
 
 THOMAS JAMESON. 
 
 Son of Hugh and Jane (Barr) Jameson ; born, Dunbarton, 1771 ; Dart- 
 mouth College, 1797 ; practiced, Goffstown ; died there, June 10, 1813. 
 
 Mr. Jameson studied his profession with John Harris of Hop- 
 kinton, and was admitted in 1802 or 1803, and settled in Goffs- 
 town in the latter year. He came of Scotch-Irish stock, of a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 459 
 
 family somewhat prominent, and is represented as a brilliant 
 man of large promise. From the few particulars that have been 
 gleaned respecting him we learn that he was successful in the 
 practice of his profession, and was cut off in the midst of his 
 career, leaving a family of young children, for whom he had for- 
 tunately secured a sufficient pecuniary provision, for those days. 
 
 He married Isabella, daughter of Eobert McGaw of New Bos- 
 ton, September 24, 1805, and had five children. 
 
 EUSSELL JARVIS. 
 
 Son of Samuel G. and Prudence (Davis) Jarvis ; born, Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, 1791 ; Dartmouth College, 1810 ; practiced, Claremont ; died, New 
 York city, April 17, 1853. 
 
 This gentleman, whose name was originally Joseph Russell 
 Jarvis, studied his profession with William C. Jarvis in Pittsfield, 
 Massachusetts, and at the law school at Litchfield, Connecticut, 
 and as early as 1818 was in practice in Claremont. He had appar- 
 ently little liking for the law, but preferred journalism, and wrote 
 much for the " New Hampshire Patriot." He left Claremont 
 after four or five years for Boston, Massachusetts, and practiced 
 law about six years in that city ; then went to Washington, Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, and entered into company with Duff Green in 
 the publication and editorship of the " United States Telegraph." 
 In 1836 he was in Philadelphia as the editor of the " Public 
 Ledger," and did much to give it the popular character which it 
 has maintained. In 1839 he established the " World," which 
 had but a short existence. He then took up his residence in New 
 York city, where his principal occupation was journalism. He 
 was the reputed author of the " Biographical Notice of Commo- 
 dore Jesse D. Elliott." 
 
 He was married, in 1820, to Caroline, daughter of Hon. Judah 
 Dana of Chelsea, Vermont. She died within two or three years, 
 leaving an infant daughter. In 1824 he married, in Boston, Eliza, 
 daughter of Thomas Cordis. She with their two children per- 
 ished in the burning of the steamer Lexington in Long Island 
 Sound, January 13, 1840. 
 
460 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JAMES JEFFREY. 
 
 This gentleman appears to have acted as an attorney in the 
 Superior Court of the province from 1717 to 1720. He was an 
 inhabitant of Portsmouth, June 26, 1696, on which day a child 
 of his was killed by a sudden incursion of the Indians. In 1711 
 he was a captain in the expedition against Canada. Five years 
 afterwards he was appointed by the provincial Assembly clerk 
 of the committee appointed to run the dividing line between New 
 Hampshire and Massachusetts. In 1717 he appears to have been 
 the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, and the same year was 
 appointed coroner and notary public for the province. In 1721 
 he was chosen clerk of the Assembly, and continued in the office 
 all or most of the time until January, 1744. It is probable that 
 his death occurred soon after that date. 
 
 His wife, perhaps not his first one, was Anne, widow of 
 Andrew Brock, mariner, of Portsmouth. He married her before 
 1720. 
 
 MOSES NOBLE JENKINS. 
 
 Son of James and Mary Jenkins ; born, Portsmoutli, January, 1846 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1868 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, August 5, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins undoubtedly obtained his education in his native 
 place, studied law with Samuel H. Goodall there, and there 
 opened his office for practice in October, 1868. He is described 
 in an obituary notice as a " most promising young attorney, and 
 a genial and beloved companion and friend." 
 
 JOHN SCRIBNER JENNESS. 
 
 Son of Hon. Richard and Caroline (McClintoek) Jenness ; born, Deerfield, 
 April 6, 1827 ; Harvard College, 1845 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, New 
 Castle, August 10, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Jenness studied his profession at the Harvard Law School 
 in 1847 and 1848, was in practice in Portsmouth the two succeed- 
 ing years, and then removed to New York city. He became a 
 prominent lawyer there, and remained in practice about twenty 
 years, when, being the possessor of a large fortune, he retired from 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 461 
 
 his profession. This he was induced to do by his inclination for 
 literary and historical pursuits. 
 
 His studies in this direction produced their first fruit in a 
 " Historical Sketch of the Isles of Shoals," written about 1873, 
 and afterwards enlarged into a volume of which the second edi- 
 tion was published in 1875. Valuable as correct history, the 
 work secured popularity by the picturesque and interesting style 
 in which it was written. In 1876 he edited a volume of " Tran- 
 scripts of Original Documents relating to the Early History of 
 New Hampshire," containing some new and important papers, 
 which Mr. Jenness had discovered in his researches among the 
 public offices in England. In 1878 he printed a tract on the 
 " First Planting of New Hampshire and on the Piscataqua Pa- 
 tents," and at the time of his decease he had partially completed 
 a historical romance founded on events of the earjy period of 
 Acadia. The value of his contributions to historical literature 
 was recognized by several learned societies, which elected him to 
 membership. 
 
 His fondness for music, poetry, and natural scenery led him to 
 extensive travels in Europe. It was through his instrumentality 
 that a permanent memorial of John Mason, the founder of New 
 Hampshire, was erected, by himself and others, citizens of this 
 State, at Portsmouth in England. 
 
 He left a widow and three young daughters. 
 
 CHARLES D. JOHNSON. 
 
 Son of Marcus J), and Maria (Marshall) Johnson ; born, Stratford, June 13, 
 1835 ; admitted, 1858 ; practiced, Stratford ; died there, October 29, 1860. 
 
 Two years of law practice and one of journalism constituted the 
 adult life work of Charles D. Johnson. Upon his admission to 
 the bar, he immediately started in his profession in (North) Strat- 
 ford. The next year the " Coos County Democrat," a weekly 
 newspaper, was removed from Lancaster to that place, and put 
 under the editorial charge of Mr. Johnson. Before the close of 
 another year consumption had numbered him among her victims. 
 
 CHARLES W. JOHNSON. 
 
 Bedford was the birthplace of this young member of the legal 
 guild. He was not college bred, but he had a fair education, and 
 
462 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 much industry. He became a partner in practice with James U. 
 Parker in Manchester about the year 1859, and is said to have 
 died in that city two or three years afterwards. His professional 
 standing was respectable, and he had acquired a good practice. 
 
 JOSEPH HAINES JOHNSON. 
 
 This person, said to have been a native of Newbury, Vermont, 
 studied law in Keene, and practiced in Lyme five or six years 
 from 1811. He then removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and became a 
 merchant of wealth and standing. A gentleman in manners, 
 with fine intellectual endowments, his death revealed the fact that 
 he led a dual life, and was also a skillful burglar and thief. In 
 the pursuit of plunder, he entered in disguise a wholesale store by 
 night, and fell through an open hatchway, where his dead body 
 was found the next morning, and subsequently recognized. It 
 was discovered on examination that his place of business had been 
 fitted up with every convenience for the concealment of stolen 
 goods. 
 
 HALE ATKINSON JOHNSTON. 
 
 Son of Captain Michael and Sarah (Atkinson) Converse Johnston ; born, 
 Haverhill, June 19, 1801 ; Dartmouth College, 1825 ; admitted, 1829 ; prac- 
 ticed, Haverhill ; died there, January 27, 1831. 
 
 One year after graduating from college, Mr. Johnston taught in 
 an academy in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and then entered, 
 upon the study of the law, first with James McKeen of New 
 York, and finally with Joseph Bell of Haverhill. In the latter 
 place he opened an office, in 1829, after his admission, with en- 
 couraging prospects of success, when his health gave way, and he 
 died of consumption, unmarried. 
 
 DANIEL JONES. 
 
 Son of Colonel Elisha and Mary (Allen) Jones ; born, Weston, Massachu- 
 setts, July 26, 1740 ; Harvard College, 1759 ; practiced, Hinsdale ; died there, 
 1786. 
 
 There is little doubt that Mr. Jones was the first lawyer who 
 settled westerly of the Merrimac Kiver, in New Hampshire. It 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 463 
 
 has uot been ascertained where he was prepared for his profes- 
 sion, but he was taxed rather heavily in Hinsdale in 1764, was 
 town clerk in 1766, and in the commission of the peace in 1768. 
 In 1771 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Inferior Court of 
 Common Pleas for the newly constituted county of Cheshire. 
 From that time to the beginning of the Revolution he was per- 
 haps the leading man in the county. There is evidence that he 
 did not favpr the popular movement for independence, and he 
 lost his judicial office in 1775, and much of his influence, though 
 he was not molested. 
 
 He came somewhat to the front again, when, in 1780, some of 
 the western towns of the State attempted to unite themselves 
 with Vermont. He was a delegate to a convention called for that 
 purpose, and the next year acted as a representative of Hinsdale 
 in the Vermont legislature. He continued in the practice of his 
 profession as long as he lived. The last act of his which appears 
 upon the public records is his subscription to a petition to the 
 General Court for the grant of a right of ferry over the Connecti- 
 cut, in January, 1786. 
 
 He was married, and left four children. 
 
 JOSIAH JONES. 
 
 Son of Colonel Elisha and Mary (Allen) Jones ; born, Weston, Massachu- 
 setts, 1745 ; practiced, Hinsdale ; died, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, 1825. 
 
 This was a brother of Judge Daniel Jones of Hinsdale, and is 
 set down as an attorney practicing at that place in 1775. Their 
 father was a man of wealth and position, and a zealous loyalist. 
 He had fifteen children, of whom but one was a daughter ; and 
 she became the wife of E.ev. Asa Dunbar, afterwards a lawyer in 
 Keene. The father died about the time hostilities commenced, 
 and several of the sons entered the British service. Josiah was 
 one of these, and after the war he settled in Nova Scotia, and 
 was made a Judge there. 
 
 Another son, Simeon Jones, was also at Hinsdale in 1775, and 
 for two or three years previously, and was clerk of the Court of 
 Common Pleas for Cheshire County, of which his brother Daniel 
 was Chief Justice. He became a lieutenant in the king's Ameri- 
 can dragoons ; and after peace was declared received a grant of 
 land in New Brunswick, but subsequently removed to Nova 
 Scotia. 
 
464 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ICHABOD GOODWIN JORDAN. 
 
 Son of Captain Ichabod Jordan ; born, Saco, Maine, October 6, 1806 ; Bow- 
 doin College, 1827 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Milton and Somersworth ; 
 died, Berwick, Maine, February 21, 1873. 
 
 Mr. Jordan was trained for his profession under Judges Shepley 
 and Goodenow in Maine, and soon after his admission proceeded 
 to Milton to begin practice. His stay there was short, and he 
 next established himself in Great Falls Village in Somersworth, 
 until 1864, when he removed across the river to Berwick in Maine 
 for the rest of his life. His practice before and afterwards, how- 
 ever, was divided between that State and New Hampshire, and he 
 attended courts in both. 
 
 In New Hampshire he was a member of the state Senate in 
 1853 and 1854, and in Maine a representative, at a later date. 
 He was a zealous Freemason, and two years presided over the 
 Grand Lodge of this State. As a lawyer he maintained a good 
 standing, was prudent and careful, though not rapid in his mental 
 operations, and had an excellent practice. 
 
 He was married, in 1833, to Sarah, daughter of Hon. Jeremiah 
 Goodwin of Alfred, Maine. Of their six children, two daughters 
 outlived their father. 
 
 JOHN KELLY. 
 
 Son of Rev. William and Lavinia (Bayley) Kelly ; born, Warner, March 7, 
 1786 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; practiced, Henniker and Northwood ; died, 
 Exeter, November 3, I860. 
 
 Jeremiah H. Woodman, of Meredith Bridge was Mr. Kelly's 
 tutor in the law, and Henniker was the place of his earliest prac- 
 tice in 1808. In a short time he migrated to Northwood. Noted 
 in college for his habit of reading, and his facility for composi- 
 tion in prose and verse, he early began to write for the public 
 press, and was induced to take the editorship of the- " Concord 
 Gazette " for a year, but its strong partisan character was not to 
 his taste. In 1826 and 1827 he represented Northwood in the 
 state legislature, and in 1828 was clerk of the House. Though 
 his occupation was the law, and he attended the courts with 
 punctuality, and performed the business of his office with dili- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 465 
 
 gence, his literary and antiquarian proclivity was well understood. 
 Among his writings was a series of valuable sketches of the early 
 clergy of New Hampshire, published in the "Historical Collec- 
 tions " of Farmer and Moore. 
 
 In 1831 he was appointed register of Probate for the county of 
 Rockingham, and changed his residence to Exeter. He never re- 
 sumed legal practice afterwards, but after quitting the Probate 
 office in 1842, was treasurer of the Phillips Exeter Academy 
 until 1855. He was in 1845 a representative from Exeter in the 
 General Court, in 1846 and 1847 a member of the executive 
 council, and in 1850 a delegate to the constitutional convention. 
 A year or two after coming to Exeter he assumed the editorial 
 charge of the " News Letter," a weekly journal, and retained it 
 upwards of fifteen years. Under his management it maintained 
 a high character for accuracy and fairness ; its editorials were at- 
 tractive in style, and abounded in humor ; and its columns were 
 rendered valuable by his " CoUectanea," the fruits of much his- 
 torical and genealogical study and research. The work of the 
 antiquary is apt to be repulsive to the many, but Mr. Kelly had the 
 art to " sugar-coat " it with his genial humor and apt comments. 
 
 After inspecting the tombstones of a country burying-ground, 
 containing generations of persons named " Hogg " and " Calf," 
 he remarked to a neighboring rustic, — "I see that your people 
 still bury their swine and calves in the cemetery ! " 
 
 Mr. Kelly was an original member, and many years an officer, 
 of the New Hampshire Historical Society. 
 
 He married, August 8, 1817, Susan, daughter of Andrew Hil- 
 ton of Northwood, a descendant of Edward Hilton, one of the 
 first settlers of New Hampshire. They had one son and four 
 daughters. 
 
 JOHN KELLY. 
 
 Son of Simeon and Elizabeth (Knight) Kelly ; born, Plaistow, July 22, 
 1796 ; Amherst College, 1826 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Plaistow, Chester, 
 and Atkinson ; died, Atkinson, January 15, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Kelly had the advantage of the early instruction of John 
 
 Vose at Atkinson, and Benjamin Abbot at the Phillips Exeter 
 
 Academy, and became a teacher before and during his college 
 
 course, thus aiding much to defray the expenses of his education. 
 
 30 
 
466 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His instructors in the law were Stephen Minot of Haverhill and 
 Elijah Morse of Boston, Massachusetts. In January, 1829, he 
 (Opened an office in his native town. After about three years he 
 became the principal of the Atkinson Academy, and remained 
 there six years, when in the spring of 1838 he removed to Derry 
 to assume the charge of the Adams Female Academy. In the 
 winter of 1841 he resumed the practice of the law in Chester. 
 He returned to Atkinson in 1845, to spend the rest of his days as 
 an attorney and land surveyor, being particularly noted for his 
 accuracy and skill in the latter capacity. 
 
 With good attainments in his profession, Mr. Kelly had less 
 liking for the practice of it, especially the contentious part. He 
 rarely engaged in the controversies of the courts, but was a care- 
 ful counselor, and was rather extensively employed in probate 
 affairs, where his correctness and trustworthiness brought him 
 much business. 
 
 His fondness for music was a source of profit to him in his 
 youth and of great delight at all times. He was respected for his 
 knowledge and integrity, and liked for his amiable and attractive 
 personal qualities. He had a quick perception of the ludicrous, 
 and excellent powers of imitation. His memory was stored with 
 anecdotes, and he could always produce from it something appro- 
 priate to any occasion. The stories he related came mended from 
 his tongue by his inimitable manner of telling them. 
 
 He married, in 1829, Mary Chase of Plaistow. They had a 
 son and two daughters. 
 
 AMOS KENT. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Jane (Moody) Kent ; born, Newbury, Massachusetts, 
 October 16, 1774 ; Harvard College, 1795 ; admitted, 1798 ; practiced, Ches- 
 ter ; died there, June 18, 1824. 
 
 Mr. Kent received his early education at Dummer Academy in 
 Byfield, Massachusetts, and read law in the office of William 
 Gordon at Amherst. In November, 1799, he settled in Chester. 
 
 He had a vigorous constitution and powerful physique ; nothing 
 pleased him so much as the most fatiguing and athletic exercises 
 and boisterous and mirthful sports. When he had become master 
 of some property by the death of his father, he devoted his 
 energies to agriculture, and purchased lands largely, which he 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 467 
 
 cultivated to his great pecuniary disadvantage. He was an en- 
 thusiastic patron and an officer of agricultural societies, state 
 and county. 
 
 In 1814 and 1815 he was chosen to the state Senate. In 1816 
 Governor Plumer gave him the appointment of Judge of the 
 Court of Common Pleas, but the political feeling engendered by 
 the reorganization of the courts in that year induced him to 
 decline the office. 
 
 He had the reputation of being a well-read lawyer, though he 
 failed as an advocate. His mental powers were naturally strong 
 and discriminating, but the confinement to study and to his ofiice 
 was irksome to him. He was " excellent company." Having a 
 remarkable eye for the weak and ridiculous qualities in others, 
 he could set them out in colors that challenged the gravity of 
 the most sedate. He was of a convivial turn, which unfortunately 
 led him into injurious habits, in the end. His death occurred at 
 the age of forty-nine. 
 
 He was married, in 1799, to Abigail, daughter of Hon. Joshua 
 Atherton of Amherst, and left a large family of children. 
 
 GEORGE KENT. 
 
 Son of William A. and Charlotte (Mellen) Kent ; born, Concord, May 4, 
 1796 ; Dartmouth College, 1814 ; admitted, 1817 ; practiced, Concord ; died. 
 New Bedford, Massachusetts, November 8, 1884. 
 
 The life of this lawyer, cashier, poet, and journalist was a varied 
 one. Studying law with Samuel Green of Concord, and William 
 Sullivan of Boston, Massachusetts, he opened an office, first a 
 brief time in Boston, then in Concord, where he remained till 
 1840 in the practice of law ; he was twenty years also cashier of 
 the Concord Bank, and six years associate editor of the " New 
 Hampshire Statesman." In 1828 and 1838 he was a representative 
 in the state legislature. He next went to Indianapolis, Indiana, 
 and edited the "State Journal" there in 1833-34. Eeturning 
 then to Boston, he remained ten years, as editor, law practitioner, 
 and custom-house officer. In 1854 he went to Bangor, Maine, and 
 was seven years the law partner of his brother, Edward Kent. 
 President Lincoln in 1861 conferred upon him the post of United 
 States consul at Valencia in Spain. Four years after, he returned 
 to B3,ngor, and resumed practice till in 1869 he was given a 
 
468 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 clerkship in the Treasury Department in Washington. When at 
 length he found that his powers were yielding to the infirmities of 
 age, he went to live with a daughter in New Bedford, Massachu- 
 setts, and there tranquilly awaited his end. 
 
 Of the house in which Mr. Kent was reared, Daniel Webster 
 said it was there that he first met intelligent and cultivated 
 society, and that it was always adorned, enlivened, and made 
 agreeable to all its guests by its admirable mistress. Mr. Kent 
 was gifted with brilliant powers of mind, and the art of winning 
 popularity and confidence. If he had concentrated his efforts 
 upon any one of the callings that he undertook, he was capable of 
 becoming eminent in it. But he was a rover from one place and 
 occupation to another, and left little besides the memory of a 
 very able and versatile man. 
 
 He was an early abolitionist, and entertained in his house 
 George Thompson, who was then stigmatized as "the foreign 
 emissary, paid to assail the institutions of our country." His wife 
 was in perfect sympathy with him, was president of the Concord ■ 
 Female Anti-Slavery Society, and took a colored woman to sit 
 beside her in her pew in church. This would be but a mark of 
 eccentric taste at this day, but sixty years ago it was regarded as 
 flat political heresy. 
 
 Mr. Kent was a man of mark in every situation, admired for 
 his talents and excellencies, the friend and associate of scholars 
 and persons of culture. His social qualities made his company 
 most acceptable, and his literary accomplishments graced many 
 public occasions. As early as 1832 he delivered an address be- 
 fore the Phi Beta Kappa society of Dartmouth College. Belong- 
 ing in right of his mother to a family of poets, he may be said 
 almost to have " lisped in numbers." He contributed a poem ^ to 
 the exercises on the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement 
 of New Hampshire ; and to the celebration fifty years later he 
 sent an ode, in no way lacking the vigor and vivacity of youth. 
 From his boyhood to his old age he was ready to pour forth metri- 
 cal eif usions whenever called for, — always neat and appropriate, 
 and often showing the gleam of poetic genius. His contributions 
 to the periodical press in prose and verse must have been suffi- 
 cient to fill volumes. 
 
 1 The title and the date of this poem prove that Philip Carrigain was not 
 the first to apply to New Hampshire the designation of the " Granite State," 
 in 1824. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 469 
 
 Throughout his life he was remarkable for his cheerful temper 
 and kindly heart. The death of his dearly beloved wife and of 
 his only son rendered his life lonely, but never soured his sweet 
 disposition. He was not harassed by ambition ; his life was a 
 well-ordered one, and he accomplished many things well. 
 
 He was united in marriage, November 2, 1820, to Lucia Ann, 
 daughter of Hon. Daniel Farrand of Burlington, Vermont. They 
 had one son and one or more daughters. 
 
 MOODY KENT. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Jane (Moody) Kent ; born, Newbury, Massachusetts, 
 April 22, 1779 ; Harvard College, 1801 ; admitted, 1804 ; practiced, Deerfield 
 and Concord ; died, Pittsfield, February 1, 1866. 
 
 Moody Kent read law in the office of Charles H. Atherton of 
 Amherst, and established himself in practice in Deerfield, at the 
 Parade. He remained there five years. In 1809 he took up his 
 residence in Concord, which he felt to be a more congenial and 
 promising professional field. It was not far from this time that he 
 inherited from his father what was then considered a handsome 
 sum of money, the nucleus of the large fortune that he afterwards 
 accumulated. 
 
 For twenty-three years Mr. Kent continued in the diligent prac- 
 tice of his profession in Concord. He was a thorough lawyer, but 
 had no ambition to make a display. A gentleman who remembers 
 him at this period describes him as an acute, logical practitioner, 
 and recalls a cause which Mr. Kent tried and managed well be- 
 fore a referee, against no less an antagonist than George Sullivan. 
 
 Mr. Kent had a good share of business, and was moderate in 
 his charges. His wants were few and his expenses light, and his 
 gains from his profession, with the income of his patrimony, were 
 gradually making him wealthy. He had money to lend on good 
 security, and made large loans. 
 
 He was never married, nor was he ever a householder. He 
 usually boarded in some quiet family, where his regular habits, 
 moderate wants, and courtesy and good temper made him a wel- 
 come inmate. Being a very Spartan in the simplicity and fru- 
 gality of his habits, he had evidently laid down rules of living, 
 from which he never departed. 
 
 He was fond of reading and writing and conversation. He 
 
470 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 maintained his familiarity with the ancient classics by habitually 
 reviewing them, and regarded this practice as indispensable to a 
 complete literary equipment. 
 
 At the age of fifty-three he retired from the practice of his pro- 
 fession with a competency of property. The later years of his 
 life he passed partly in Concord, but chiefly in Pembroke and 
 Pittsfield. 
 
 His large property of more than two hundred thousand dollars 
 he gave by his will, after legacies of about one third of that 
 amount to his relatives and family friends, to the New Hampshire 
 Asylum for the Insane. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS KILBURN. 
 
 Sou of George T. and Abigail (Tilton) Kilburn ; born, Boscawen, Septem- 
 ber, 1826 ; Williams College, 1852 ; practiced, Alton and Concord (Fisher- 
 ville) ; died, Fisberville, November 20, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Kilburn's professional career was a brief one. He prac- 
 ticed in Alton from 1856 or 1857 to 1859, and then removed to 
 Fisberville on the borders of Concord and Boscawen, where, in 
 the second year of his stay, his earthly life was terminated. 
 
 He married Frances M. Brickett of Fisberville, and had two 
 children, one of whom, a daughter, survived him. 
 
 BENJAMIN KIMBALL. 
 
 Son of Jethro and Mary (Belding) Kimball ; born, Swanzey, March 1, 
 1778 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; practiced, Winchester and Keene ; died, 
 Keene, September 18, 1832. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was admitted a counselor of the Superior Court 
 in 1809, and must by the rules of the bar have already been two 
 years an attorney of the Common Pleas. Beginning practice in 
 Winchester as early as 1808, he remained there nearly or quite 
 twenty years, and then changed his abode to Keene. 
 
 He is described as a good, sound lawyer, and very consci- 
 entious, always counseling his clients to settle their disputes, if 
 possible, without recourse to the courts. Apparently he had little 
 to do with political matters, and was not ambitious to crowd him- 
 self into notice in any capacity. 
 
 His first wife was Lucy Conant, who bore him one son. He 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 471 
 
 married for his second wife Mary, daughter of Dr. Thomas 
 Edwards of Keene. Four sons and a daughter were the issue of 
 his second marriage. 
 
 FRANK KIMBALL. 
 
 Born, Salem, Massachusetts, February 26, 1842 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, 
 Andover ; died. Big Kapids, Michigan, April 27, 1871. 
 
 This lawyer received his education in Massachusetts, and was 
 there admitted to the bar. Soon after he entered the military 
 service of the government, and served as lieutenant and captain 
 of the Third Regiment of United States colored troops. Leaving 
 that position in 1864, he proceeded to Indianapolis, Indiana, and 
 for a year or two acted as assistant clerk of the Supreme Court. 
 His health requiring a change of climate, he then came to New 
 Hampshire, and was associated in practice about two years with 
 John M. Shirley in Andover. In 1868 and 1869 he was ap- 
 pointed engrossing clerk of the legislature, and one of the bank 
 commissioners in 1870. The next year he went to Michigan to 
 prepare himself a new home, when his death took place. 
 
 He married, in 1869, Sarah, daughter of Zenas Clement of 
 Stamford, Connecticut, who survived him. 
 
 GEORGE KIMBALL. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Nancy (Wilder) Kimball ; born. Harvard, Massachu- 
 setts, 1787 ; Dartmouth College, 1809 ; admitted, 1813 ; practiced, Canaan ; 
 died, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1858. 
 
 Mr. Kimball studied his profession with Stephen Moody at 
 Gilmanton. In March, 1813, he opened his office in Union, 
 Maine, but removed the next year to Warren, Maine. He then 
 became a successful school teacher in Concord, in Richmond, 
 Virginia, and in the island of Bermuda, where he went in 
 1815, and probably lived some years. In May, 1824, he came 
 to Concord, and took charge of a weekly newspaper, the " Con- 
 cord Register," as publisher and editor. Being a writer of no 
 mean ability, he might have done well in his new calling but 
 for his lack of industry, and his propensity to dream when he 
 should have been wide awake and at his work. He had some 
 good friends to render him aid, among them the ready and bright 
 
472 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 George Kent, whose pen was often in requisition to complete the 
 vacant columns of the " Register." 
 
 About the year 1826 Mr. Kimball resumed his profession in 
 Canaan. He was not lacking in knowledge, and was a pleas- 
 ant speaker, but he was unacquainted with practice and inapt to 
 learn what is obtainable by plodding industry. He was guilty of 
 mistakes which not only caused him annoyance, but had to be 
 amended " on terms " which were generally costly. He had little 
 turn for bvisiness, and paid the debts he owed, without collecting 
 payment from those who owed him. Naturally he fell into diffi- 
 culties, in which he was fortunate in having the aid and counsel 
 of Nathaniel P. Rogers of Plymouth. They were both anti- 
 slavery men of the most pronounced type, and Rogers, as the 
 stronger and wiser, acted as a second father to Kimball, in giving 
 him advice and assistance. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was a born reformer. He was instrumental in 
 procuring the erection of the Noyes Academy in Canaan, which 
 was open for the reception of colored pupils ; he was a prominent 
 supporter of the temperance movement, new in bis day ; and 
 active in the crusade against Freemasonry. 
 
 About 1838 he went to Alton, Illinois, for the purpose of enter- 
 ing into trade. For that he had little aptitude, and after a short 
 time he returned, without having bettered his fortunes. 
 
 In 1840 he returned to Bermuda, and passed the rest of his 
 life there as a lawyer and a teacher. 
 
 He married in Bermuda, about 1817, a lady of some property. 
 
 JABEZ KIMBALL. 
 
 Born, Hampstead, January, 1772 ; Harvard College, 1797 ; practiced, Ches- 
 terfield ; died, Haverhill, Massachusetts, March 19, 1805. 
 
 Prepared for college under the tutelage of the Rev. Gyles Mer- 
 rill of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Mr. Kimball was a faithful stu- 
 dent and a superior scholar. He applied himself to the study of 
 the law under John Prentice of Londonderry, by whom he was 
 much esteemed. In 1800 he was appointed a tutor in Harvard 
 College, but after a year's performance of the duties proceeded 
 to Chesterfield to enter upon the practice of the law. He re- 
 mained there two years. In this time a great misfortune befell 
 him : the young lady to whom he was tenderly attached, and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 473 
 
 whom he hoped to marry, was taken away by death. To change 
 the scene he quitted Chesterfield and removed to Haverhill, Mas- 
 sachusetts ; but he appears never to have fully recovered from 
 his disappointment. His constitution had, from his youth, been 
 delicate, and his promising life was cut short at the age of thirty- 
 three years. 
 
 JACOB KIMBALL. 
 
 Son of Jacob (?) Kimball ; born, Topsfleld, Massachusetts, February 15, 
 1761 ; Harvard College, 1780 ; admitted, 1795 ; practiced, Rindge ; died, 
 Topsfleld, Massachusetts, July 24, 1826. 
 
 In the practice of music rather than of law, Mr. Kimball gained 
 his reputation. He studied law with William Wetmore of Salem, 
 Massachusetts, and was admitted in Strafford County fifteen years 
 after leaving college. The intervening time he was a teacher and 
 composer of music. There was published in Boston in 1793 a 
 collection of original tunes entitled " Rural Harmony," of which 
 he was the author. His voice was sweet and powerful, and he 
 was an enthusiastic and popular musical instructor, and taught 
 singing-schools in many places. The pieces he composed were 
 many of them in the minor key, with fugue successions, according 
 to the taste of the time, and were much admired. 
 
 He is set down as a lawyer in Rindge in 1797 and 1800, but 
 the profession had no attraction for him, and of course he did little 
 or nothing in it. 
 
 He belonged to a family of more than ordinary intelligence, 
 and was possessed of no mean literary talent. His version of the 
 65th Psalm was of sufficient merit to be included in Belknap's 
 " Collection." The life of a musician is a trying one, and per- 
 haps led him into habits which in later life proved ruinous. It is 
 stated that he died in the almshouse. 
 
 JOHN KIMBALL. 
 
 Son of John and Mehitable (Carlton) Kimball ; born, Haverhill, September 
 30, 1796 ; Dartmouth College, 1822 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Plainfield 
 and Claremont ; died, Putney, Vermont, February 23, 1884. 
 
 Fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, Mr. Kimball 
 prosecuted his legal studies with Moses P. Payson of Bath. In 
 
474 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1828 lie settled in practice in Claremont, and remained there ten 
 years, excepting a short time that he was in Plainfield. In 1838 
 he removed to Putney, Vermont, his home thereafter. He was a 
 representative in the legislature of New Hampshire in 1838, and 
 in that of Vermont three years, as well as state senator from 1847 
 to 1849. From 1843 to 1846 he was state's attorney of Wind- 
 ham County, in Vermont. 
 
 He was a lawyer of superior qualifications, and possessed social 
 attractions that endeared him to a large circle of acquaintances, 
 old and young. 
 
 He married, September 4, 1834, Frances Mary, daughter of 
 Hon. Phineas White of Putney, Vermont. Of their three chil- 
 dren, one son survived him. 
 
 EICHARD KIMBALL. 
 
 Sou of Nathaniel and Mary (Home) Kimball ; born, North Berwick, 
 Maine, March 1, 1798 ; practiced, Dover, Somersworth, and Rochester ; died, 
 Dover, March 2, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Kimball studied at the Phillips Academy in Exeter and 
 entered Harvard College, but afterwards changed from the aca- 
 demical to the law department of the university ; and there and 
 at the Northampton Law School he fitted himself for his admis- 
 sion to the bar. 
 
 In 1828 he was in the practice of his profession in Dover, and 
 also the first editor of the " Enquirer " newspaper established in 
 that year. In 1829 he removed his office to Great Falls Village 
 in Somersworth, and remained until 1836. He then changed 
 his residence to Rochester, to take the agency of the Norway 
 Plains Company, in the manufacture of flannels. He combined 
 with this employment the practice of the law until 1848, when he 
 returned to Dover and resumed his law business, at the same 
 time giving considerable attention to agriculture. In 1856, upon 
 the adoption by Dover of a city charter, he received the appoint- 
 ment of Judge of the Police Court, and performed the duties of 
 the offtce with great acceptance until 1868, when he reached the 
 age of seventy years. He was a representative of Somersworth 
 in the legislature of 1834, and of Rochester in those of 1846 and 
 1847. 
 
 As a lawyer he was a thorough student of his profession. His 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 475 
 
 abilities were excellent, his methods were logical, his judgment 
 was sound, and he was conscientious in his desire to reach correct 
 conclusions. His opinions as a counselor commanded general 
 respect. He was a religious man from conviction. 
 
 He was three times married, first, to Margaret Jane, daughter 
 of George Pendexter of Dover ; second, to Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Moses Hale of Rochester, and last, to Elizabeth W., daughter 
 of Samuel Hale of Portland, Maine. He had six children, five 
 of whom survived him. 
 
 SAMUEL AYER KIMBALL. 
 
 Son of Deacon John and Ann (Ayer) Kimball ; born, Concord, March 3, 
 1782 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; practiced, Dover and Concord ; died, Con- 
 cord, October 16, 1858. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was the preceptor of the Gilmanton Academy a 
 year after his graduation, studied law under the direction of 
 Samuel Green of Concord, and was admitted a counselor of the 
 Superior Court at Portsmouth in 1812, having previously acted 
 two years as an attorney, it is presumed. He began practice in 
 Dover in 1810, and removed to Concord five or six years after- 
 wards. He was deputy Secretary of State in 1813, 1814, and 
 1815 ; clerk of the state Senate in 1813 and 1814, and a repre- 
 sentative in the legislature in 1832. 
 
 He was a careful, prudent practitioner, and his business was 
 mainly a collecting one ; he had little part in litigated causes. 
 For some time he was a partner in the printing-house of Roby, 
 Kimball, and Merrill, by the failure of which he lost much of his 
 property. During the last twenty years of his life he did not 
 keep a regular office, but was somewhat employed in the duties of 
 a magistrate ; his principal occupation being the cultivation of his 
 farm. 
 
 He married Eliza, daughter of John Hazen, at Burton, New 
 Brunswick, October 1, 1822. They had three sons and two 
 daughters. 
 
476 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 WILLIAM AUGUSTUS KIMBALL. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Mary (Home) Kimball ; born, Shapleigh, Maine, 
 1814 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Milton, Sandwich, and Rochester ; died, 
 Rochester, January 9, 1892. 
 
 The large family and limited means of Mr. Kimball's parents 
 forbade his acquiring the liberal education which he coveted. He 
 studied at the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1835, and fitted him- 
 self in the offices of his brother, Increase S. Kimball of Sandford, 
 Maine, and Daniel M. Christie of Dover, for admission as an 
 attorney in York County, Maine. He began practice in Milton 
 in 1840, three or four years later removed to Sandwich, where he 
 continued till 1847, and then became a partner of his brother, 
 Richard Kimball, at Rochester. In the latter place he devoted 
 his attention to his law business until 1854, when he disposed of 
 it to Cyrus K. Sanborn, but retained his residence there as long 
 as he lived. For some years he taught the high school, and never 
 lost his zeal for the cause of. popular education, nor his interest 
 in the young people of the town, whom he attracted to him by 
 his kindness of heart and sympathetic disposition. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was a careful and correct lawyer, of entire 
 integrity. 
 
 He was married, in 1841, to Nancy H. Nutter of Milton, and 
 was the father of three children. 
 
 EDWARD CORNELIUS DELAVAN KITTREDGE. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jonathan and Julia (Balch) Kittredge ; born, Lyme, Decem- 
 ber 29, 1834 ; Dartmouth College, 1857 ; practiced. Concord ; died, Demorest, 
 New Jersey, June 20, 1879. 
 
 Kimball Union Academy gave Mr. Kittredge his preparation 
 for college, and in the office of his father at Concord and that of 
 Cross and ToplifE at Manchester he qualified himself for entrance 
 to the bar. He did not, however, linger long in New Hampshire. 
 After one or two years of practice in Concord he removed to New 
 York city, and in its vicinity spent the rest of his life. 
 
 He is said to have been a stout, easy-going man, and did not 
 obtain much law business in Concord, though he was more suc- 
 cessful afterwards. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 477 
 
 His wife, to whom he was united March 9, 1871, was Rosalie 
 Homans of New York. 
 
 JONATHAN ZITTREDGE, LL. D. 
 
 Sou of Dr. Jonathan and Apphia (Woodman) Kittredge ; born, Canterbury, 
 July 17, 1793 ; Dartmouth College, 1813 ; admitted, 1817 ; practiced, Lyme 
 and Canaan ; died, Concord, April 8, 1864. 
 
 The father of Judge Kittredge was a physician by profession, 
 and, later, an occasional preacher also. The son upon his gradu- 
 ation acquired in Albany, New York, and in the city of New 
 York, his legal preparation for admission to the bar. In the lat- 
 ter city he commenced practice, and though he was quite success- 
 ful there, he fell into habits of dissipation, and returned to New 
 Hampshire in 1823. He lived three years in Canaan, and then 
 moved to Lyme. The habit of strong drink had so fully mas- 
 tered him that clients left him, and his reform seemed hopeless ; 
 but by the exercise of his strong will he was enabled to break 
 the chains of habit and to stand up a free man. In 1827 he 
 published an address upon Temperance, which attracted so much 
 notice by its cogency and power that it was not only widely read 
 in this country, but was republished in England, in France, and in 
 Germany. He followed it by two other powerful pieces on the 
 same subject. 
 
 The State Temperance Society appointed him its agent in 
 1832, and he became the editor of the newspaper which was its 
 organ in 1834. During several years his time was largely given 
 to this work. In 1836 he returned to Canaan and took up his 
 legal practice. He was much interested in political afFairs, and 
 besides holding sundry local offices, was five times elected a rep- 
 resentative in the state legislature, and was the postmaster of 
 the town. 
 
 He was a well-read, strong, and able lawyer. His mind was of 
 a logical cast, and his opinions were accepted with confidence. 
 He was honest and true to his clients, and gave his faithful, con- 
 scientious attention to their interests. An upright and downright 
 man, he was positive in his convictions and emphatic in asserting 
 them. Though his manners were not calculated to win him popu- 
 larity for courtliness or affability, yet none who knew him ever 
 questioned the honesty of his motives, or his entire sincerity. He 
 
478 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 tried his causes with thoroughness and power. Without the 
 graces of oratory, his addresses to the jury were forcible and 
 effective. Upon the establishment of the state Court of Common 
 Pleas in 1856, he was commissioned its Chief Justice, and re- 
 ceived from his Alma Mater the honorary degree of LL. D. 
 The court, however, proved unacceptable for various reasons, and 
 after an existence of only two years was abolished. Judge Kit- 
 tredge after his appointment changed his residence permanently 
 to Concord. 
 
 He was married, in 1829, to Julia Balch of Lyme, who outlived 
 him ; they had several children, one of whom was a lawyer, and 
 in practice for a time in New Hampshire. 
 
 ELIJAH KNIGHT. 
 
 Repeated inquiry has elicited little information respecting this 
 gentleman. It is presumed that he was a practitioner in Essex 
 County, Vermont, in 1803 and 1804, whose residence was said to 
 be in Lunenburg, Vermont, and Lancaster, New Hampshire. He 
 appears as an attorney in Surry from 1821 to 1823, and he was 
 postmaster of that town from 1822 to 1832. He could hardly 
 have been a lawyer of much note. 
 
 THOMAS RICKER LAMBERT. 
 
 Son of William and Abigail (Rioker) Lambert ; born, South Berwick, 
 Maine, July 2, 1809 ; practiced, Somersworth and Portsmouth ; died, Boston, 
 Massachusetts, February 4, 1892. 
 
 A fellow student described young Lambert at the academy in 
 South Berwick, Maine, as full of vivacity, and the master of a 
 facile pen, in which respects the child was truly the father of the 
 man. An appointment as a cadet in the Military Academy at 
 West Point took him for a while to that institution, but he was 
 prevented by ill health from finishing the course there. He ap- 
 plied himself to learn the business of a printer, but relinquished 
 it to enter the law office of Nicholas Emery of Portland, Maine. 
 In that State he gained his admission to the bar, about 1832. 
 He commenced practice in Somersworth, but after a little stay 
 migrated to Portsmouth. The first case he had for trial was an 
 action for a breach of promise of marriage ; he argued it to the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 479 
 
 jury, and obtained a verdict. Promising, however, as were his 
 professional prospects, he was induced by the solicitations of 
 friends, in 1833, to change his calling and study divinity. 
 
 He was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 1836. 
 He had obtained, in 1834, the appointment of a chaplain in the 
 navy, and for the succeeding twenty years he officiated in that 
 capacity. 
 
 In 1855 he resigned the chaplaincy, and became for the suc- 
 ceeding twenty-eight years rector of St. John's Church in Charles- 
 town, Massachusetts. In 1863 he was honored with the degree 
 of S. T. D. from Columbia College. He was a zealous Free- 
 mason, long chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and 
 a recipient of the thirty-third degree. 
 
 Dr. Lambert, as a clergyman and a man, had the friendship 
 and high esteem of the numerous officials and others with whom 
 he was associated in the course of his varied life. He was com- 
 panionable, genial, considerate of the feelings of all, kind and 
 helpful to the poor, in short, a true brother of humanity. 
 
 In 1845 he became the husband of Mrs. Jane Standish Colby, 
 widow of Hon. H. G. O. Colby of New Bedford, Massachusetts, 
 and daughter of Hon. John A. Parker. They had one son. 
 
 GEORGE LAMSON. 
 
 Son of Gideon Lamson ; born, Exeter, 1794 ; Bowdoin College, 1812 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1815 ; practiced, Exeter ; died, New York, August 4, 1826. 
 
 Mr. Lamson entered Phillips Exeter Academy at the age of 
 twelve ; pursued his law studies in the office of George Sullivan, 
 and located himself in his native town. He was " a good scholar, 
 an insatiable reader, and a ready writer." In 1819 he became the 
 publisher of the " Exeter Watchman," a weekly journal, and con- 
 ducted it about two years. He also commenced the publication 
 of law-books at Exeter, but that proved unremunerative. In 
 1823 he bade adieu to his profession, removed to New York city, 
 and undertook the business of bookselling, but met with little 
 success. After three years' struggle with adverse circumstances 
 there, his life was brought to a premature close. 
 
 He left a widow and three children. 
 
480 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 FARNUM FISH LANE. 
 
 Son of Ezekiel and Rachel (Fish) Lane ; born, Swauzey, March 15, 1816, 
 admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Winchester, Walpole, and Keene ; died, Keene, 
 June 18, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Lane attended the academies at New Ipswich and Han- 
 cock, studied his profession with Thomas M. Edwards of Keene, 
 and began practice in Winchester in 1843. In 1846 he removed 
 to Walpole, and in 1849 to Keene. He served in the legislature 
 in 1847 and 1848 from Walpole, and in 1862 and 1863 from 
 Keene ; and also held the office of county treasurer. For ten 
 years he was solicitor for the county of Cheshire. 
 
 He was a careful, studious lawyer, and enjoyed a very con- 
 siderable practice, including many causes of magnitude and diffi- 
 culty. His standing was of the best among his brethren of the 
 bar, and in the community at large. A seat upon the bench is 
 said to have been within his reach, but he did not care to ac- 
 cept it. 
 
 He married, in 1846, Harriet Locke Butler of Winchester, and 
 left two children. 
 
 DAVID RICKER LANG. 
 
 Son of Sherburne and Mehitabel (Ricker) Lang ; born, Bath, May 6, 1830 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1854 ; practiced, Bath and Orford ; died, Orford, August 
 30, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Lang was fitted for college at the academy in Newbury, 
 Vermont ; and prepared himself for admission to the bar in the 
 office of Harry Hibbard at Bath, and at the Albany Law School. 
 He practiced in Bath from 1857 to 1864, and then removed his 
 office to Orford. He was a representative in the state legislature 
 in 1859 and 1860 from Bath, and in 1867, and three years subse- 
 quently, from Orford. In 1870 he was commissioned Judge of 
 Probate for Grafton County, and discharged the duties of the 
 office until 1874. 
 
 Judge Lang was an excellent lawyer, and a man of sterling 
 character. " He filled the office of Judge of Probate with signal 
 ability and propriety. The community lost by his death a good 
 man, and a judicious and influential citizen." He possessed in a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 481 
 
 higli degree the poetic temperament ; in college he was assigned 
 the class poem, and it is understood that throughout life he in- 
 dulged in metrical compositions, but was too modest to allow 
 them to see the light in print. 
 
 He married Josephine E., daughter of Asa P. Smith of Bath, 
 March 24, 1859, and left five children, one of whom is a lawyer 
 in Orford. 
 
 HENRY SHERBURNE LANGDON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Woodbury and Sarah (Sherburne) Langdon ; born, Ports- 
 mouth, 1766 ; Yale College, 1785 ; admitted, 1792 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; 
 died, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 21, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Langdon pursued his course of legal study under John 
 Pickering of Portsmouth, and began to practice in that place in 
 1792. In 1801 he was elected a representative in the state legis- 
 lature. His talents apparently adapted him better to a business 
 position than to the practice of the law. When the New Hamp- 
 shire Union Bank of Portsmouth was chartered in 1802, he be- 
 came its cashier, and continued so until 1815. He then received 
 the appointment of navy agent at Portsmouth. 
 
 It was not long after this that he left New Hampshire, and 
 went into Massachusetts to live. It is not known that he at- 
 tempted to practice his profession afterwards. 
 
 His wife was Ann, sister of Hon. William Eustis of Roxbury, 
 Massachusetts. They had children, one of whom graduated from 
 Harvard College in 1812. 
 
 JOTHAM LAWRENCE. 
 
 Son of David and Lydia (Sias) Lawrence ; born, Epping, February 7, 1777 ; 
 admitted, 1803 ; practiced, Epping, Brentwood, and Exeter ; died, Exeter, 
 November 6, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy, 
 and received his professional training in the office of George Sul- 
 livan of Exeter. He began as a practitioner in Epping in 1804, 
 after a few months opened an office in Brentwood, and thence 
 removed to Exeter in March, 1809, to spend the rest of his days. 
 He was a representative in the legislature in 1831, and a bank 
 commissioner in 1840. 
 31 
 
482 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In point of learning and capacity he was a respectable lawyer, 
 though he did not appear much in the trial of contested causes. 
 In later life he was considerably employed as the trial justice of 
 the town. At his death he was the oldest member of his profes- 
 sion in the county. 
 
 He married, February 21, 1803, Deborah Robinson of Exeter. 
 His second wife, whom he married December 25, 1810, was Car- 
 oline, daughter of Benjamin Conner of Exeter. He had nine 
 children, eight of them by his second marriage. One of his sons, 
 Alexander H. Lawrence, was a lawyer. 
 
 JAMES ALLEN LEACH. 
 
 Son of Lebbeus and Julia A. (Steele) Leach ; born, Hudson, October 9, 
 1861 ; admitted, 1887 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, September 23, 1888. 
 
 This youthful practitioner was educated at the Nashua Literary 
 Institute, and acquired his professional training in the offices of 
 Messrs. W. W. Bailey, Royal D. Barnes, and Henry B. Atherton 
 at Nashua, and at the Law School of the Boston University. 
 His practice was wholly in Nashua, and continued a period of a 
 year and six months. 
 
 He was a young man of good promise. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 HENRY B. LEAVITT. 
 
 Son of Moses Leavitt ; born, Chichester, c. 1825 ; admitted, 1853 ; prac- 
 ticed, Barnstead and Pittsfleld ; died, Charleston, South Carolina, July 22, 
 1863. 
 
 Mr. Leavitt received a good academic education, and taught 
 school some years. He studied law under Charles H. Butters of 
 Pittsfield, and passed the first two years of his practice, 1853 and 
 1854, in Barnstead. He then returned to Pittsfield, and con- 
 tinued there until November, 1861, when, having recruited a 
 company of volunteers for the Seventh New Hampshire Regi- 
 ment, he was commissioned its captain and ordered to the front. 
 He showed himself a competent and brave officer. In the second 
 assault on Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina, he was 
 struck down by a serious wound. Removed to the city, it was 
 found necessary to amputate his leg, and he survived the opera- 
 tion only three or four days. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 483 
 
 Captain Leavitt manifested in his law business a good deal of 
 energy and push, though he was not distinguished for learning or 
 accuracy. He was rather indolent and heavy, and it required 
 some special incentive to rouse him to do his best. But when a 
 sufficient occasion arose he is said to have surprised even his most 
 intimate acquaintances by his latent power in debate or in the 
 line of his profession. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 CHARLES LELAND.^ 
 
 Son of Thomas and Cynthia B. (Hastings) Leland ; born, Windsor, Ver- 
 mont, July 28, 1817 ; practiced, Claremont ; died there, March 28, 1884. 
 
 In the schools of Windsor, Vermont, young Leland received 
 his chief instruction, and in the office of his father in Claremont 
 he prepared himself for the bar. He practiced in Claremont 
 until about the year 1850, but having no particular attachment 
 to his profession, and his law business after the death of his 
 father somewhat dwindling, he decided to make a change. He 
 obtained employment as a salesman for a druggist in New York, 
 and spent the last twenty years of his life in that occupation. 
 
 He married Ellen M. Mills at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Decem- 
 ber 11, 1809. They had one child, who died in infancy. 
 
 THOMAS LELAND. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Lydia (Sherman) Leland ; born, Grafton, Massachu- 
 setts, August 5, 1784 ; Middlebury College, 1809 ; practiced, Claremont ; died 
 there, March 3, 1849. 
 
 Mr. Leland's legal studies were carried on in the office of Hon. 
 J. H. Hubbard, at Windsor, Vermont, and there he received his 
 certificate as attorney, and practiced his profession from 1812 to 
 1834. In the latter year he established himself in Claremont. 
 While residing in Vermont he was a member of the state legisla- 
 ture. He was considered an excellent lawyer, especially in equity 
 cases, though not distinguished as an advocate. He gave careful 
 attention to his business, and had his full proportion of it. He 
 was in his day a leading man in the town. Outside of his profes- 
 sion, his life appears to have been an uneventful one. 
 
484 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was married, October 2, .1816, to Cynthia B. Hastings, at 
 St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Tiiey had two children, of whom the 
 elder became a lawyer. 
 
 WILLIAM LEVERETT. 
 
 Son of John and Elizabeth (Salisbury) Leverett ; born, Windsor, Vermont, 
 July 8, 1813 ; Yale College, 1834 ; admitted, 1839 ; practiced, Plj'mouth ; 
 died there, September 18, 1874. 
 
 This was a descendant of Governor John Leverett of Massa^ 
 chusetts. He studied for the legal profession at the Yale Law 
 School, in New York city, and with William Crafts of Utica, New 
 York, where he was admitted to practice. He came to Plymouth 
 in 1839, and was for a time a partner of Henry W. Blair. He is 
 described as a very respectable and good lawyer. His death was 
 the result of pulmonary consumption. 
 
 October 5, 1851, he was joined in marriage to Catharine R. 
 Spaulding of Eumney. She and one of their three daughters 
 were living at his death. 
 
 DANIEL LEWIS. 
 
 Son of Isaac and Mary (Epps) Lewis ; born, Francestown, September 25, 
 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1797 ; practiced, Francestown ; died there, De- 
 cember 15, 1827. 
 
 Mr. Lewis prepared himself for his profession under the tuition 
 of William Prescott of Salem, Massachusetts, and was admitted 
 in Hillsborough County in March, 1801. From that time for- 
 ward he was a resident and practitioner in Francestown. His life 
 was the uneventful one of a country lawyer of much worth but of 
 no special eminence. 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Samuel Epps of Salem, Mas- 
 sachusetts, and they had three children. 
 
 MATTHEW LIVERMORE. 
 
 Son of Samuel Livermore ; born, Watertown, Massachusetts, January 14> 
 1703 ; Harvard College, 1722 ; admitted, 1731 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died 
 there, February 14, 1776. 
 
 Two years after his graduation from college, Mr. Livermore 
 went to Portsmouth, upon the invitation of the selectmen of the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 485 
 
 town, to teach the grammar school. It was his intention to be- 
 come a lawyer, but he took charge of the school until he quali- 
 fied himself for his profession. 
 
 In 1731 he began to practice in the same town. A few years 
 afterward the royal governor offered him the office of attorney- 
 general, he being the only regularly educated lawyer in the prov- 
 ince. In accepting it he stipulated for the appointment also of 
 king's advocate in the Court of Admiralty, an office which by its 
 avails compensated for the " hard work and poor wages " of the 
 attorney-generalship. The latter office, and probably the former 
 also, he appears to have retained for about twenty-nine years. 
 
 In 1752 he became a member of the legislature, and was chosen 
 clerk thereof, and so continued till 1755. He was evidently a 
 man of high character and influence, and had a prominent part 
 in shaping the legislation and government of his time. 
 
 His legal practice is described as correct, and he was faithful to 
 his clients. In the performance of his functions of attorney- 
 general, it happened on three occasions to be his fortune to con- 
 duct prosecutions for crimes punishable with death, a task which 
 was extremely repugnant to his feelings ; but no intimation has 
 reached us that he failed in any instance to perform his complete 
 official duty. 
 
 His wife was Mary, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Rogers of 
 Portsmouth. Their only child is believed to have been a 
 daughter. 
 
 SOLOMON KIDDER LIVERMORE. 
 
 Son of Rev. Jonathan and Elizabeth (Kidder) Livermore ; born, Wilton, 
 March 2, 1779 ; Harvard College, 1802 ; admitted, 1806 ; practiced, Dover 
 and Milford ; died, Milford, July 10, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Livermore's reputation for scholarship in college was high. 
 He taught the grammar school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for 
 one year, and then commenced the study of the law in the office 
 of Oliver Crosby of Dover, in which town he began practice. 
 After the lapse of a year, however, he changed his residence to 
 Milford. 
 
 His capacity and attainments were ample, but it is said he did 
 not make the mark he might, because of his lack of ambition. 
 He tried causes in court with a good deal of power, and argued 
 
486 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 them forcibly, with no small infusion of wit and sarcasm ; but 
 he was slow, and thus appeared at a disadvantage. He was 
 thoroughly honest, and preferred to effect an amicable adjust- 
 ment of controversies among his neighbors, rather than to benefit 
 his own pocket by encouraging them to litigation. 
 
 He had decided political views, but no political aspirations 
 beyond that of serving his townsmen as their representative in 
 the General Court, which he did in the years 1829, 1830, 1831, 
 and 1838. He was a religious man, and it was said of him that 
 " neither his benevolence nor his public spirit was ever appealed 
 to in vain." 
 
 He married, July 6, 1810, Abigail A., daughter of Nathaniel 
 Jarvis of Cambridge, Massachusetts, by whom he had four sons 
 and four daughters. Two of each, with their mother, sur- 
 vived him. 
 
 PETER LIVIUS. 
 
 Son of Peter Lewis Livius ; born, Bedford, England, 1727 ; died, Bright- 
 helmstone, England, July 23, 1795. 
 
 This gentleman, though not a practicing lawyer, was a Judge of 
 the provincial Court of Common Pleas for several years, up to the 
 year 1771, and so is entitled to notice here. He emigrated to 
 . Portsmouth in 1763, and three years later took his seat in the 
 council. Not being reappointed Judge in 1771, on the division of 
 the province into counties, he proceeded to England, and laid 
 before the Board of Trade a complaint against Governor John 
 Wentworth and the council for mal-administration. Eventually 
 his complaint was dismissed, and Livius was made Chief Justice 
 of Canada. 
 
 In 1775, after the failure of Montgomery's assault on Quebec, 
 he was instrumental in procuring Captain Henry Dearborn's re- 
 lease from prison upon parole. In 1777 he sent a letter through 
 the lines to General John Sullivan, urging him to abandon the 
 American cause and become reconciled to the British govern- 
 ment. 
 
 When he came to this country he had so little knowledge of it 
 that he brought with him an extra set of wheels for his coach, 'in 
 the idea that none could be manufactured by American workmen. 
 
 He was a man of property, shrewd and able, and well educated. 
 
. ALPHABETICALLY. 487 
 
 Harvard College gave him the honorary degree of A. M. in 1767, 
 and he is described on the catalogue as a Fellow of the Eoyal 
 Society. 
 
 His wife was Anna Elizabeth, daughter of John Tufton Mason. 
 
 SAMUEL PIERSE LONG. 
 
 Son of Hon. George and Mercy (Hart) Long ; born, Portsmouth, January 
 6, 1797 ; Harvard College, 1819 ; admitted, 1822 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; 
 died, Boston, Massachusetts, April 24, 1879. 
 
 This was a grandson of Colonel Pierse Long of Revolutionary 
 fame. He studied law in Portsmouth with John Pitman and 
 with Jeremiah Mason. Taking an office in Portsmouth, be spent 
 six years in distasteful practice, for his heart was not in the law, 
 but in art and literature. Then, by the advice of Washington 
 AUston, he bade farewell to Coke and Blackstone, and resolved to 
 become a painter. He passed between three and four years in 
 Europe engaged in the study and practice of his art. While 
 abroad he produced some pictures of admitted merit, but he was 
 not satisfied with them, for he could never realize his ideal. 
 
 He delivered several courses of lectures on painting and kindred 
 topics to appreciative audiences in Boston, Philadelphia, and 
 elsewhere, and published a volume on the principles of art, which 
 elicited much commendation. He was a graceful writer, and in 
 social life won friends by his genuine kindness, his culture, and 
 his genial hixmor. 
 
 He married, in 1851, Hannah W., daughter of Isaac Lyman, 
 formerly of Portsmouth, who survived him. They had no chil- 
 dren. 
 
 JOHN PERKINS LORD. 
 
 Son of General John and Mehitable (Perkins) Lord ; born. South Berwick, 
 Maine, June 29, 1786 ; Harvard College, 1805 ; admitted, 1808 ; practiced, 
 Portsmouth ; died, South Berwick, Maine, December 5, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Lord had his legal training in the office of Jeremiah 
 Mason of Portsmouth, and settled in that town in 1808. After a 
 time he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and about the year 1820 
 removed to South Berwick, Maine. There he became a very use- 
 ful and prominent citizen, serving for many years as an officer of 
 
488 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 the town and as representative in the legislature, and being for 
 over half a century secretary of the trustees of the academy. He 
 was the compiler of a useful handbook, the " Maine Townsman," 
 of which the first edition was issued in 1844. 
 
 About 1845 he became an officer in the custom house in Bos- 
 ton, Massachusetts, and continued there some years. Mr. Lord 
 lived to the age of ninety-three years, and retained his intellectual 
 faculties till near the close of his life. He was a public-spirited, 
 worthy, and much-respected gentleman. 
 
 His first wife was Sophia, daughter of Colonel Eliphalet Ladd 
 of Portsmouth ; his second was Sarah Noble of South Berwick, 
 Maine ; and he was the father of nineteen children. 
 
 SAMUEL DEARBORN LORD. 
 
 Son of Edward D. and Betsey (Osgood) Lord ; born, Epsom, April 30, 
 1826 ; Dartmouth College, 1850 ; admitted, 1852 ; practiced, Manchester ; 
 died there, February 23, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Lord divided his term of legal study between Manchester 
 in the office of Daniel Clark, Boston, Massachusetts, and Khine- 
 beck. New York. He was admitted to the bar in New York city, 
 and began to practice in Manchester in the summer of 1853. 
 
 He was city solicitor from 1855 to 1857 ; assistant clerk of the 
 New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1860 and 1861, and 
 4)rineipal clerk in 1862, 1863, and 1865 ; clerk for various con- 
 gressional committees in Washington, District of Columbia, from 
 1866 to 1875; representative in the legislature in 1857, 1869, 
 1870, and 1889 ; and a member of the city school board in 1855 
 and 1856, and from 1882 to 1889. 
 
 He was held in much esteem for his pleasant disposition, and 
 showed tact, ability, and judgment in the conduct of the variety of 
 affairs that he undertook. Though a good lawyer, he scattered 
 his time and attention too much to become a learned one. In the 
 latter part of his life he became somewhat noted for his studies 
 and writings upon meteorology and kindred subjects, and pub- 
 lished several papers and addresses thereon. He was a member 
 of the New England Meteorological Society. 
 
 He was joined in marriage, August 9, 1852, to Mary Agnes, 
 daughter of Francis A. Calvert of Lowell, Massachusetts, and had 
 two daughters, one of whom survived him. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 489 
 
 ALDIS LOVELL. 
 
 Son of Elijah and Abigail G. Lovell ; born, Rockingham, "Vermont, August 
 2, 1789 ; admitted, 1820 ; practiced, Walpole and Alstead ; died, Alstead, 
 March 12, 1866. 
 
 After laboring upon his father's farm till manhood, Mr. Lovell, 
 at Chester, Vermont, and at Newmarket, prepared himself for 
 entrance to college, and then studied law with Daniel Kellogg of 
 Saxton's River, Vermont, in which State he was admitted. He 
 began practice in his native town, but soon removed to Drewsville 
 in "Walpole, and there, and subsequently in Alstead, remained the 
 rest of his life. He was solicitor of Cheshire County from 1840 
 to 1850, — " an honest lawyer and untiring in the pursuit of jus- 
 tice." He was eminently social, fond of a good story, and could 
 tell one well. Judge Gilchrist used to invite him to his room, in 
 order to hear his amusing recitals and quaint imitations. 
 
 He tried causes to the jury, sometimes in an original fashion. 
 Once, in replying to an argument of James Wilson, he began : 
 " Mr. "Wilson has had a good deal to say about law ; lay the law 
 aside, and do justice for once ! " In another trial one of the 
 adverse witnesses was found to be clad in respectable garments 
 for that occasion only. Lovell referred to him as " the bird in 
 borrowed plumage." 
 
 His wife was Martha, daughter of Paul Willard of Lancaster, 
 Massachusetts. They had five children. 
 
 BOLIVAR LOVELL. 
 
 Son of Aldis and Martha (Willard) Lovell ; born, Walpole, August 30, 
 1826 ; admitted, 1869 ; practiced, Alstead and Walpole ; died, Walpole, June 
 9, 1893. 
 
 Until sixteen years of age Mr. Lovell lived, and attended the 
 schools, at Drewsville in "Walpole ; then he became a clerk in a 
 mercantile house in Providence, Ehode Island, for three years. 
 In 1845 he began to study law in his father's office. When he 
 reached his majority he was appointed a deputy sheriff ; in 1855 
 he was promoted to the office of sheriff of Cheshire County, and 
 acted as such ten years. In 1862 he was made United States 
 assessor of internal revenue, and served about eight years. In 
 
490 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1869, on his admission to the bar, he began practice in Alstead. 
 He was elected to the Executive Council in 1873 and 1874, and 
 ' subsequently was a member of the state board of equalization. 
 About the year 1882 he returned to Drewsville in Walpole, where 
 his death occurred. 
 
 He was a man of good business capacity, and had the public 
 confidence. 
 
 WARREN LOVELL. 
 
 Born, Rockingham, Vermont, December 3, 1802 ; admitted, 1825 ; prac- 
 ticed, Weutworth, Meredith, and Laconia ; died, Gilford, August 18, 1875. 
 
 The education of Mr. Lovell was acquired at the Chester Acad- 
 emy, and in the law office of Daniel Kellogg of Brattleborough 
 in Vermont. He started in practice in Wentworth in 1825, and 
 a year later removed to Meredith village. He was a representa- 
 tive in the legislature six years between 1828 and 1839, and state 
 senator in 1883 and 1834. In 1835 he was appointed solicitor of 
 Strafford County, in 1839 Judge of Probate, and from 1841 
 to 1872 he was Judge of Probate for the newly constituted county 
 of Belknap. He held various other places of trust, public and 
 private, during the later portion of his life. 
 
 He was a safe, clear-headed lawyer, and a popular and useful 
 Judge of Probate. He made no great display, but was a prudent, 
 calculating man, fortunate in his investments, and amassed a 
 large property. 
 
 In 1831 he was married to Susan Badger of Meredith, who 
 bore him two daughters. 
 
 OLIVER WOODBURY LULL. 
 
 \ 
 
 Son of Moses and Lucinda (Caldwell) Lull ; horn, Weare, January 14, 
 1826 ; admitted, 1851 ; practiced, Milford ; died near Port Hudson, Louisi- 
 ana, May 27, 1863. 
 
 In the schools of Weare and the high school of Manchester, 
 young Lull was instructed, and then became a teacher for a while. 
 Studying for his profession with Train and Estey in Framingham, 
 Massachusetts, and with David Cross of Manchester, he was ad- 
 mitted in Hillsborough County, and went into practice at Milford. 
 He had good abilities, honesty, independence, resolution, and 
 persevering industry, and was building up a valuable practice 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 491 
 
 when the great Rebellion broke out. He had manifested a liking 
 for military exercises, and his outspoken patriotism and deter- 
 mined character led to his appointment in October, 1861, as 
 lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth Regiment of New Hampshire 
 Volunteers. 
 
 He devoted himself to disciplining and fitting the regiment for 
 the field, and accompanied them to the Southern Department, 
 sharing all their-> hardships and conflicts. At the time of the 
 assault on Port Hudson, lie was serving on the staff of General 
 Emery, and the colonel of his regiment was in command of a 
 brigade. Lieutenant-Colonel Lull, however, voluntarily gave up 
 his staff detail in order to be with his regiment in what he knew 
 to be a most perilous duty. He was shot down at the head of his 
 command, while leading and cheering on his men, and breathed 
 his last expressing his thankfulness that his death was in tbe 
 defense of his country. 
 
 His wife was Mary A., granddaughter of General Stephen 
 Hoyt, and he left one daughter. 
 
 CHARLES CARROLL LUND. 
 
 Son of Joseph S. and Mary (Swett) Lund ; born, Concord, December 9, 
 1832 ; Dartmouth College, 1855 ; admitted, 1857 ; practiced, Concord ; died 
 there, December 4, 1880. 
 
 The law was not the principal profession of Mr. Lund. He 
 had been a student of civil engineering before he entered college. 
 He prepared himself for the bar with Asa Fowler at Concord, 
 and with Sanborn and French at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he 
 was admitted and resided until 1864. He then returned to Con- 
 cord and continued in law practice for five years, after which he 
 gave his entire attention to civil engineering. He was engaged in 
 numerous railroad surveys in this State and in the West, and 
 in the construction of water-works and systems of sewerage for 
 cities, and at the time of his death was engineer of Concord and 
 a trustee of its public library. He was representative In the leg- 
 islature in 1878 and 1879, and was chairman of the important 
 committee on railroads. He was highly esteemed both in his pro- 
 fessional and his personal character. 
 
 He married Lydia, daughter of Captain Theodore French of 
 Concord, June 17, 1860, and was the father of two sons. 
 
492 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 STEPHEN CARR LYFORD. 
 
 Sou of Stephen and Sarah (Laraper) Lyford ; born, Brookfleld, 1787 ; 
 admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Meredith and Laconia ; died, Vineland, New Jer- 
 sey, December 9, 1869. 
 
 Mr. Lyford is said to have entered Dartmouth College at 
 advanced standing, though the catalogue indicates that he was not 
 a graduate. He studied law with William Sawyer of Wakefield, 
 and chose Meredith for his place of settlement. There he re- 
 mained for nearly fifty years, the village of Meredith Bridge, 
 where his place of business was, having in the mean time been 
 incorporated into the new town of Laconia. 
 
 He was an active, stirring, sanguine man, and a lawyer of 
 prominence. He acquired a large practice, and, realizing the 
 value of books to a lawyer, became the owner of an excellent pro- 
 fessional library. Many suits of importance came under his 
 charge, and were faithfully and ably conducted. He made the 
 most of his cases on their own merits, but had little of the arts of 
 finesse and wily management. John M. Shirley, who knew his 
 reputation well, characterized him as " the old real-estate lawyer," 
 on account of his familiarity with that branch of jurisprudence. 
 
 He was of an impulsive temperament, and longed for something 
 beyond the routine of his daily business. He at length engaged in 
 manufacturing and the purchase of real estate, which in the end 
 involved him in litigation and proved unprofitable. 
 
 In 1863 he removed with his family to Vineland, New Jersey, 
 where his death occurred six years later. 
 
 He married, in 1837, Emily Hayward of Orono, Maine. They 
 had five children, of whom one only, a daughter, survives. 
 
 ISAAC LYMAN. 
 
 Son of Dr. Job and Abigail (Moulton) Lyman ; born, York, Maine, October 
 29, 1776 ; admitted, 1800 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, York, Maine, 1824. 
 
 Mr. Lyman was a student in the Phillips Exeter Academy in 
 1796, and read law with Jeremiah Mason of Portsmouth, in which 
 place he entered into practice in 1807. He was secretary of the 
 bar association of Rockingham County in 1809. It was probably 
 within a year after this date that he quitted New Hampshire and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 493 
 
 returned to his native town in Maine, where he passed the rest of 
 his life, devoting much of his time to the cultivation of his farm, 
 though perhaps never absolutely abandoning the law. 
 
 He married, in 1806, Lucretia, daughter of Judge John Picker- 
 ing of Portsmouth. She, with children, outlived him. 
 
 MILON CRAIG McCLURE. 
 
 Sou of Samuel and Anna (Nurse) McClure ; born, Acworth, January 7, 
 1819 ; Dartmouth College, 1846 ; admitted, 1849 ; practiced, Claremont ; died 
 there, September 1, 1860. 
 
 Mr. McClure was fitted for college at the Kimball Union Acad- 
 emy in Plainfield, and after leaving Dartmouth was employed 
 two years as preceptor of the academy at Claremont. During 
 that time and subsequently he was studying law with Philander 
 C. Freeman, with whom, upon his admission to practice, he 
 entered into a partnership which continued during the life of the 
 younger man. Mr. McClure was cbosen a councilor in 1855 and 
 1856, and to a seat in the House of Representatives from Clare- 
 mont, the two years next succeeding. He was a modest, reserved 
 man, but an able and faithful lawyer and servant of the public. 
 It was said of him with justice that " his accurate knowledge of 
 the law always commanded the attention of the Court, while his 
 uniform courtesy won for him the esteem and confidence of his 
 professional brethren." 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 ALONZO McCRILLIS. 
 
 Son of David and Sally McCrillis ; born, Sandwich, April, 1820 ; admitted, 
 1846 ; practiced, Soraersworth ; died, Berwick, Maine, September 18, 1855. 
 
 While Alonzo McCrillis was young his parents moved to Great 
 Falls Village in Somersworth, and there as a lad he worked in 
 the factory and attended the public schools. As he grew to- 
 ward manhood, he became a teacher, and at length entered the 
 Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, but did not 
 graduate. He studied law in the office of Ichabod G. Jordan 
 of Somersworth, and became his partner. His career at the bar 
 covered only the space of about nine years, but in that time he 
 furnished abundant evidence of his abilities, his legal learning, 
 
494 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and his steady application. His health appeared always to be 
 slender, but never perceptibly interfered with the due perform- 
 ance of his work. 
 
 His death was the result of an accident which occurred while 
 he was on his way to attend a town meeting in Berwick, Maine, 
 where he resided. His wife, Lizzie McCrillis, survived him. 
 
 JOHN MoFAELAND. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Martha (Steele) McFarland ; born, Antrim, 1788 ; 
 admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Hillsborough ; died there, July, 1819. 
 
 This gentleman was of Scotch-Irish descent, his father exhibit- 
 ing much of the shrewd wit which characterized that stock in his 
 generation. The son, having availed himself of the educational 
 facilities to be found in a country village at that day, accom- 
 plished the study of the law in the offices of David Starrett and 
 of John Burnham of Hillsborough, and settled in practice in the 
 upper village of that town in 1815. He has been described as a 
 " homespun " man, as was perhaps to be expected from his lim- 
 ited advantages ; but he had never the opportunity to show the 
 extent of his capacity, for in four years after his admission he 
 became a victim of consumption. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 ISAAC McGAW. 
 
 Son of Jacob and Margaret (Orr) McGaw ; born, Bedford, May 25, 1785 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Bedford and Windham ; died, Merri- 
 mac, November 6, 1863. 
 
 It was with Thomas Jameson of Goffstown and Jacob McGaw 
 of Bangor, Maine, that Mr. McGaw pursued his legal studies, 
 and about the year 1811 he opened his office for practice in Bed- 
 ford. After seven years there he moved to Windham, and was 
 the second and last lawyer in that town. He was clerk of Wind- 
 ham nineteen years, and representative in the legislature nine 
 years, beginning in 1829 and ending in 1847. He was an excel- 
 lent representative of the Scotch-Irish character, and was full of 
 anecdotes of the people of that stock, which he related in admira- 
 ble imitation of their brogue. He was a genial man, and had the 
 general regard of his townsmen, but they had little business to 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 496 
 
 give him, and in his later life he removed to Merrimac and lived 
 with his eldest daughter, the wife of Edward P. Parker. 
 
 He married, January 10, 1822, Eliza, daughter of Samuel 
 Armour of Windham. They had one son and four daughters. 
 
 JAMES McMURPHY. 
 
 Son of James and Sarah (Critchet) McMurpliy ; born, Epsom, November 7, 
 1821 ; practiced, Epping ; died there, November 2, 1854. 
 
 At the age of thirteen young McMurphy was placed in a print- 
 ing-office, and after working-hours gave his time to study. He 
 learned Latin, French, and the higher mathematics at a college in 
 Kingston, Canada, and subsequently taught a school in Notting- 
 ham. Having an ambition to become a lawyer, he took advantage 
 of a statute of the State passed in 1842, to be sworn as au attor- 
 ney, upon evidence of good moral character and without any 
 proof of qualification by study. He had, in fact, read law for a 
 time in the office of Enoch Bartlett of Epping, whose partner in 
 practice he became about 1844. He showed much ability, indus- 
 try, and aptitude for his calling, and was favorably regarded by 
 the regular members of the profession, who some time before his 
 decease formally admitted him to the bar with the approbation 
 of all. He secured a good practice, which he managed skillfully 
 and honorably. 
 
 In 1854 he represented Epping in the General Court. 
 
 He married Caroline F., daughter of Israel Norris of Epping, 
 in 1845, and left two sons and three daughters. 
 
 JAMES McQUESTEN. 
 
 Son of James McQuesten ; born, Bedford, 1810 ; admitted, c. 1847; prac- 
 ticed, Plymouth ; died, Chicago, Illinois, May 28, 1875. 
 
 Orphaned in infancy, the subject of this sketch was care- 
 fully brought up by his uncle and guardian, Deacon John Mc- 
 Questen. He attended school in Hanover, and was bred to 
 mercantile life in Concord, and in Boston, Massachusetts. In 
 1837 be settled in Plymouth. By reason of the failure of his 
 health, he retired early from active business, and fitted himself for 
 the practice of the law. He pursued it with success for a quarter 
 of a century, giving his attention largely, if not mainly, to mat- 
 
496 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ters of probate. He was the legal guardian of thirty children, 
 in the course of his life, and performed his duties to them with 
 fidelity, and with almost parental care and counsel. He was 
 highly respected, and accumulated a large estate. 
 
 He married a daughter of Captain John Page of Wentworth. 
 Of their four children, only one was living at his decease. 
 
 JOHN SULLIVAN MAECY. 
 
 Son of Alvin and Polly (Bunce) Maroy ; born, Woodstock, Vermont, March 
 9, 1799 ; practiced, Walpole ; died, Green Island, New York, May 11, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Marcy probably obtained his education in Windsor, Ver- 
 mont, and was not a college graduate. He read law in that 
 town with Asa Aiken, and commenced practice in Walpole about 
 1829. He stayed there two years or thereabouts, and then re- 
 turned to Vermont, first at Hartland, for about six years, then at 
 Eoyalton, where he remained nearly thirty years, and concluded 
 his practice in Windsor. In the year 1874 he took up his resi- 
 dence with his son, H. S. Marcy, at Green Island, New York. 
 
 He had the reputation of being a good lawyer, and stood well 
 in his profession. His stay in New Hampshire was too brief to 
 allow him to become widely known here. In the county of Wind- 
 sor, Vermont, he filled the office of associate judge ; and he was 
 for a number of years a member of the state legislature. He was 
 no money-getter, and is said throughout his long life of labor to 
 have been in moderate circumstances. 
 
 His wife was Eebecca Hubbard, daughter of Hon. Roger Vose 
 of Walpole. They had eight children, of whom four still live. 
 
 ANSON SOUTHARD MARSHALL. 
 
 Son of Micajah and Martha (Southard) Marshall ; born, Lyme, December 
 3, 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1848 ; admitted, 1852 ; practiced, Concord ; 
 died there, July 6, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Marshall prepared himself to enter college, after he was 
 twenty, at the academy in Thetford, Vermont, in eighteen months. 
 After leaving college he employed himself for two years or more 
 in teaching a school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, at the same 
 time reading law under the direction of Messrs. Wood and Torrey 
 of that place. In 1851 he came to Concord, and entered the 
 office of Messrs. Pierce and Minot as a student. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 497 
 
 He first formed a partnership in the law with Henry P. Rolfe, 
 which continued six or seven years ; and at a later date with 
 William M. Chase, which lasted during Mr. Marshall's life. He 
 manifested an interest in political affairs, though not enough to 
 interfere with his professional pursuits. He served as assistant 
 clerk of the House of Representatives in 1854, and received, in 
 1858, the commission of United States District Attorney for New 
 Hampshire, which he held till the incoming of the next admin- 
 istration. He also acted as chairman of the Democratic state 
 committee in 1867. 
 
 He was fond of the contests of his profession, though he was 
 not studious of the law, and liked the hard work of preparation 
 to be done to his kand. He showed his power in the examina- 
 tion of refractory witnesses, and in making appeals to the jury. 
 In the conduct of a trial he had a quick, incisive, telling style, 
 that " kept things lively," and always attracted an audience. At 
 the time of his death he was in the enjoyment of" a large and 
 profitable practice. 
 
 Mr. Marskall was a popular man and a public-spirited citizen. 
 He was frank and generous, ready with a pleasant greeting for 
 every one, and interested in all that concerned the community in 
 which he lived. He bore an active share in the railroad contro- 
 versies of central New Hampshire, and was for several of his 
 later years clerk of the Concord Railroad. 
 
 His sudden death was the result of a wound accidentally in- 
 flicted by a rifle-ball shot at a target, and by some obstacle de- 
 flected from its course. 
 
 His wife was Mary J. Corning of Concord. Their only son is 
 now a practicing lawyer. 
 
 WILLIAM (PITT) MARSHALL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel and Hannah (Brown) Marshall ; born, Derry, May 24, 
 1837 ; Dartmouth College, 1859 ; admitted, 1862 (?) ; practiced, Derry ; died, 
 City Point, Virginia, March 29, 1865. 
 
 At the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, and at the Chandler 
 Scientific School of Dartmouth College, young Marshall was edu- 
 cated, and in the office of Clark and Smith of Manchester he 
 prepared himself for entering the bar. He was for a while a 
 school teacher in Derry, and then associated himself there with 
 32 
 
498 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Greenleaf C. Bartlett as a practitioner of the law. Feeling it to 
 be his duty to join in the defense of the Union, he volunteered, 
 February 28, 1865, in the Eighteenth New Hampshire Regiment. 
 On his way to the front he was attacked by disease, from which 
 he never recovered. 
 
 He had married, October 11, 1864, Mary A. Dearborn of Gil- 
 manton. 
 
 GILMAN MAESTON, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Jeremiah and Theda (Sawyer) Marston, born, Orford, August 20, 
 1811 ; Dartmouth College, 1837 ; admitted, 1841 ; practiced, Exeter ; died 
 there, .July 3, 1890. 
 
 The subject of this notice labored in his youth upon his father's 
 farm, but his ambition induced him to obtain a coUegiate and a 
 legal education. School-teaching enabled him to gain the means 
 to accomplish his object. His mature years and earnest purpose 
 impelled him to seek the highest benefit from his college course. 
 For a year and a half after his graduation he had the charge of 
 an academy in Indianapolis, Indiana, a part of the time reading 
 law. He finished his legal studies with Leonard Wilcox of Or- 
 ford, in the Harvard Law School, and finally in the office of 
 Messrs. Hubbard and Watts in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 He came to Exeter to commence practice, a place where he 
 had scarcely an acquaintance, and in a county where there were 
 already an abundance of able lawyers well established in busi- 
 ness. But he was then thirty years old, with plenty of energy, 
 courage, and resolution, and he speedily made his mark as an 
 aspirant for the highest place. He was no off-hand practitioner ; 
 what he gained he worked for ; but he was willing to work, and 
 his ambition was boundless. He became known as a lawyer who 
 entered with his whole heart and strength into the interest of his 
 clients. No matter what amount of labor and study were need- 
 ful, he made himself master of every question presented to him. 
 His practice increased apace, and in due time he was ranked 
 among the foremost members of the bar of the county and of the 
 State. 
 
 He was a careful counselor, but his forte was in the manage- 
 ment of litigated actions. Once retained, the merits of his cause 
 became with him an article of fundamental conviction. As long 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 499 
 
 as the action was pending, it was ever in his mind. He submitted 
 it in the form of hypothetical propositions to those about him, to 
 learn how his views impressed other minds. He made endless 
 inquiries to ascertain the equities that might be wrought into the 
 substantial fabric of his evidence. If testimony of experts was 
 to be introduced, he studied till he became half an expert himself. 
 His desire to make perfect preparation led him, especially in his 
 later years, to hesitate sometimes on the brink of a trial. He 
 dreaded to lose a verdict. If the result of an action looked doubt- 
 ful, he would strive to compromise or refer or continue it, to put 
 off the evil day ; or if it must be tried, his associate found the 
 burden of it shifted to his shoulders. But when he was once 
 seated before " the twelve," there was an absolute conviction in 
 his mind that his was the right side, and that the Court and jury, 
 not to mention the bystanders, were bound to see it so. 
 
 In forensic speech he was strong and argumentative rather 
 than rhetorical. He rarely appealed to the feelings, except to 
 denounce injustice and falsehood. 
 
 He merited the great success in his profession which he won. 
 Forty-nine years he labored at the bar, and an equal number, at 
 least, of the volumes of the state judicial reports contain the 
 record of his service. He became by universal consent the lead- 
 ing counsel of his county and section, and the equal, at least, of 
 any in the State. The title of Doctor of Laws, which Dartmouth 
 College conferred upon him in 1882, was a deserved recognition of 
 his legal accomplishments. 
 
 He entered into political life as a representative in the state 
 legislature in 1845, and was reelected the two following years. 
 In 1872 and 1873 he was again a member, and was biennially 
 elected afterwards from 1876 to 1888 inclusive, making twelve 
 terms in all. Holding the position of chairman of the committee 
 on the Judiciary during a majority of those terms, he possessed no 
 small influence in shaping legislation. Being no believer in over- 
 much intermeddling with the laws, he exerted himself more to 
 squelch crude projects than to initiate beneficial ones. He was 
 also a delegate to the constitutional conventions of 1850 and 
 1876. 
 
 In 1857 he was chosen a representative in Congress, and re- 
 elected in 1861 and 1865. He was a working member while he 
 was not with the army, and did little in speech-making. Indeed, 
 
500 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 he rarely attempted a political harangue. In 1889 he held for 
 three months, by the governor's appointment, a seat in the United 
 States Senate. 
 
 While he was in Congress, the Southern rebellion developed 
 from words to deeds. He volunteered in defense of the capital, 
 and when that was secure returned home, and was given the 
 colonelcy of the Second Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. 
 In the battle of Bull Run he was badly wounded, but by his 
 inflexible will ^aved the right arm, which the surgeons would have 
 amputated. He served in the principal actions in Virginia under 
 MoClellan, and being promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, 
 led his command at Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, and Peters- 
 burg. His courage was conspicuous, and he was thoughtful of 
 the wants and comfort of the men in the ranks. He was one 
 of the three men of this State who rose from civil life to wear the 
 stars of a general officer. 
 
 General Marston was ambitious of distinction in everything he 
 undertook. With his strong he had also his weak points. He 
 was -open to the flattery of subservience, and had his favorites as 
 long,as they were obsequious. He had never schooled himself to 
 a due government of his passions. Whilst everything went to his 
 liking, he was the pleasantest of men ; but when crossed, he was 
 capable of making himself very disagreeable, even to his best 
 friends. Physically brave, he was morally timid, and never 
 ventured to take the lead of opinion lest he should endanger 
 his popularity. He was pugnacious in action ; he stood by his 
 friends ; he was true to his party and his employers ; he was 
 never accused of political or personal dishonesty. He was kindly, 
 sometimes chivalrous in his impulses ; he was generous of his 
 means, and after a life of profitable labor left but a moderate 
 estate. 
 
 With a character compounded of seemingly opposite qualities, 
 he had warm friends and bitter enemies ; but all agreed that as 
 a lawyer and a soldier he was worthy of his fame. 
 
 He never married. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 601 
 
 WINTHROP ATKINSON MARSTON. 
 
 Sou of John and Nancy (Hill) Marston ; born, Nottingham, June 14, 1804 ; 
 admitted, 1829 (?) ; practiced, Somersworth aud Dover ; died, Somersworth, 
 March 30, 1850. 
 
 The mother of Mr. Marston is said to have liad in her veins 
 the blood of Governors Winthrop and Thomas Dudley ; his 
 father was a well-to-do farmer of very decided convictions. The 
 son, with few early advantages of instruction, determined to enter 
 a learned profession, and later became a pupil and teacher of 
 schools in other places. He wished to be a lawyer; but his 
 father, having the common prejudice against that profession, in- 
 sisted on his studying medicine, which he did for a few months. 
 But it was an uncongenial pursuit, and he changed it, without his 
 father's knowledge, for the law, and entered the office of David 
 Barker, Jr., of Rochester, as a student. His father was oif ended, 
 and for a time refused to furnish him the means of support, but 
 at length relented, on seeing that his son's happiness was involved. 
 A part of his term of study Mr. Marston is understood to have 
 passed iu the office of Stephen Mitchell of Durham. 
 
 He settled in practice in Great Falls Village in Somersworth. 
 In 1833 and 1834 he was chosen clerk of the New Hampshire 
 Senate, and in the latter year was presented with the commission 
 of solicitor for the county of Strafford. He held the office lit- 
 tle over a year and then resigned it. In 1839 he was appointed 
 register of Probate, and took up his residence in Dover during 
 the five years of the office. He then returned to Great Falls, 
 Somersworth. 
 
 Mr. Marston was gifted with superior mental powers, and had 
 cultivated them well. He was an excellent lawyer, an easy 
 speaker, and a strong advocate. Believing that the system of 
 human slavery was sinful, impolitic, and degrading, he was one of 
 the earliest in the State to range himself on the side of "free 
 soil." His political opinions were not based upon mere expedi- 
 ency; they were the outgrowth of conscientious conviction. He 
 was one of the leaders of his party, and with his talents and 
 earnestness he must inevitably have become one of the most con- 
 spicuous representatives of it, had his life been extended. He 
 died in the very acme of his powers. 
 
502 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He married, in February, 1834, Mary E., daughter of Colonel 
 Job C. Waldron of Dover, and left three daughters. He was a 
 most affectionate husband and father. 
 
 GEORGE^' MEANS MASON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jeremiah and Mary (Means) Mason ; born, Portsmouth, Octo- 
 ber 3, 1800 ; Bowdohi College, 1819 ; admitted, 1822 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; 
 died, Boston, Massachusetts, August 16, 1865. 
 
 This, the first-born son of " the giant of the law," after passing 
 through the public schools of Portsmouth, was prepared for col- 
 lege under the private tuition of Dr. Coffin of that town. He 
 was noted at Bowdoin, and later in life, as a great reader and for 
 his " philosophical calmness of demeanor." He read law, and 
 continued some years after his admission in his father's office, 
 assisting him in his practice, though he could not well have been 
 intrusted with the more responsible duties of it. By his father's 
 advice he removed to Boston, Massachusetts ; and later he pro- 
 ceeded to Ohio, with the design of settling there, but in a little 
 time returned to Boston. He found that he had not the self- 
 assertion and push needed in a new country. 
 
 He resumed his place in his father's office, and aided him in 
 the preparation of cases and in general legal work. His abilities 
 and professional attainments rendered him a useful assistant, 
 while his want of ambition and of self-confidence was an obstacle to 
 his success as a principal. In later life he was often to be met 
 with in the public libraries in Boston, and occasionally wrote for 
 the press. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 JEREMIAH MASON, LL. D. 
 
 Sou of Colonel Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Fitch) Mason ; born, Lebanon, 
 Connecticut, April 27, 1768 ; Tale College, 1788 ; admitted, 1791 ; practiced, 
 Westmoreland, Walpole, and Portsmouth ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, Octo- 
 ber 14, 1848. 
 
 Mr. Mason was descended from Captain John Mason, dis- 
 tinguished for his successful expedition against the Pequot In- 
 dians in 1637. His father was an officer of militia, who served 
 in the Revolution. On the maternal side several of his ancestors 
 were men of marked religious character. When past the age of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 503 
 
 fourteen, he was placed in a public school in Lebanon, under the 
 charge of Master Tisdale, a Harvard graduate, and in less than 
 two years prepared himself for admission to college. 
 
 Upon his graduation from Yale, at the age of twenty, he de- 
 termined to adopt the legal profession, and entered the office of 
 Simeon Baldwin of New Haven, Connecticut, as a student. Six 
 months later he went to Westminster, Vermont, and continued his 
 studies under Stephen R. Bradley, a noted practitioner. After 
 an apprenticeship of only two years he was admitted, and bought 
 out the practice and farm of Colonel Alpheus Moore in West- 
 moreland. 
 
 In that place he remained three years. He had the wisdom to 
 keep aloof from the conviviality which his predecessor had in- 
 dulged in to his injury, and gave every spare moment to the dili- 
 gent study of the law. 
 
 In 1794 he removed to Walpole ; and in 1797 he took up his 
 residence in Portsmouth, then the wealthiest and most important 
 town in the State, where a professional opening had just been 
 made by the elevation to the bench of Edward St. Loe Livermore, 
 the leading lawyer of the place. Mr. Mason was now twenty- 
 nine years old, with ample knowledge of his profession, six years' 
 experience in it, and high courage and ambition. His leading 
 position in the State began from this time. 
 
 In 1802 he received the appointment of attorney-general, but 
 resigned it in three or four years. He probably could not afford 
 to hold longer for an insufficient compensation an office which 
 shut him off from a lucrative class of retainers. Moreover, he 
 had a decided preference for the defense rather than the prosecu- 
 tion. His name soon appeared " on the other side of the docket " 
 in most of the important criminal cases. It was in one of these, 
 in 1807, that he was first brought in contact with Daniel Webster, 
 who was conducting the prosecution in the stead of the absent 
 attorney-general. Both Mason and Webster learned to respect 
 each other, from that day forward. For years they were the 
 leading counsel, opposed to each other in most of the causes 
 of magnitude in their section, and contending with their ut- 
 most strength and ardor for the mastery; but it was so noble 
 a strife that it engendered no personal ill-feeling between them. 
 They remained friends and mutual admirers through life. Mr. 
 Webster often acknowledged in later years his indebtedness to 
 his powerful antagonist. 
 
504 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Wedded thougli Mr. Mason was to his profession, in 1813, in 
 the midst of the war with England, he was elected to the Senate 
 of the United States. He continued to attend the sessions with 
 punctuality through four years, and then resigned his seat. 
 
 On the reconstruction of the courts in 1816, Governor Plumer 
 sounded Mr. Mason on the subject of the chief-justiceship of the 
 Superior Court, offering to nominate him for that office, in case 
 he would accept it. Mr. Mason signified his refusal to do so, on 
 the ground of the utter inadequacy of the salary, and because 
 he believed there was a radical defect in the provision which 
 required the presence of a quorum of the judges at every jury 
 trial. 
 
 Mr. Mason returned to a practice which taxed his time and 
 powers to their utmost. He was early at his business each day, 
 saw and listened to every client, drew with his own hand every 
 paper of importance that was needed in his large practice, and 
 allowed nothing to go out of his office without his careful inspec- 
 tion and approval. He dined at midday, and spent the afternoon, 
 like the morning, in his place of business. The evenings he 
 devoted, when he could, to domestic enjoyment. His engage- 
 ments carried him often away from his home, and he was most 
 scrupulous in fulfilling them all, at whatever cost of comfort or 
 exposure. His constitution was vigorous, and his sense of respon- 
 sibility to his clients was imperative. 
 
 He removed, in 1832, from Portsmouth to Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, where he resided ever after. There his great ability and 
 legal erudition were at once recognized, and secured him a posi- 
 tion among the foremost members of the bar of Massachusetts. 
 He had, for a number of years, large employment in cases of 
 importance. One cause celehre, the trial of the Rev. Ephraim 
 K. Avery for murder, in which Mr. Mason's marvelous defense 
 alone saved the respondent from the gallows, made his name 
 widely known throughout New England.^ As he advanced in 
 years he withdrew from the more active duties of his profession, 
 but never entirely put the harness off. And so he Continued, 
 
 ^ In the course of the trial of Avery, one of his adherents hurried into 
 Mr. Mason's room one morning and exclaimed, " An angel from Heaven 
 appeared to me last night and declared that brother Avery is innocent ! " 
 " Have the angel summoned into court to testify," was the lawyer's character- 
 istic answer. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 606 
 
 with scarcely a diminution of his mental powers, until the final 
 mercifully sudden call for him to change the known for the un- 
 known world. 
 
 Mr. Mason was unequaled in cross-examination. There are 
 many traditions of his success in unmasking false witnesses, one 
 of which will suffice. An able lawyer of Salem had brought suit 
 for a respectable merchant on a promissory note which, when pro- 
 duced in court, a witness, to his surprise, swore had been already 
 paid. The plaintiff was not at that time allowed to testify, and 
 the jury had no alternative but to find their verdict against him. 
 He obtained a new trial, and retained Mr. Mason simply to cross- 
 examine the witness. When the second trial came on, Mr. Mason 
 listened to the witiiess' storj^, that he was present when the de- 
 fendant paid the plaintiff the amount due on the note, which for 
 some plausible reason was not then given up to the defendant. 
 Mr. Mason then began to put his questions to the witness in a 
 quiet voice, at first having little relevancy to the case, but follow- 
 ing each other in such close succession that they left no time to 
 the witness to invent explanations. For an hour or more the 
 examination continued, the witness answering readily, till at length 
 he was confronted with a question which he could not answer either 
 way without contradicting what he had already sworn. The perspi- 
 ration gathered on his face, and he was speechless. His falsehood 
 was obvious to all. " I believe I have taken the p'ison out of the 
 witness," said Mr. Mason, in his peculiar intonation ; and the 
 plaintiff was vindicated. 
 
 In this case Mr. Mason apparently based his cross-examination 
 on the theory that no story could be fabricated so ingeniously that 
 when pursued into remote and unlooked-for details it would not 
 disclose inconsistencies. 
 
 The general practice of the bar in New Hampshire in Mr. Ma- 
 son's day was to take advantage of every oversight of an opponent. 
 It was called sharp practice, but it kept every one on the alert. Mr. 
 Mason found the bar of Boston much more indulgent, and there- 
 fore lax. He soon had occasion there to plead in abatement to a 
 faulty writ. The plaintiff's counsel took a high tone, said such 
 errors were never taken advantage of by the Suffolk bar, etc. 
 Mr. Mason listened quietly, twirling his gold-bowed glasses, as 
 was his wont, and then replied, " All this, if the Court please, is 
 no answer to my plea." And the plaintiff had to pay terms for 
 leave to amend. 
 
506 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 The scale of fees for conducting trials used to be so very low 
 that Mr. Mason, while in this State, being applied to, to try a 
 cause in Maine, thought it necessary, before engaging himself, to 
 warn his prospective client that his charge for the business would 
 be one hundred dollars. In Boston he rated his services higher. 
 The treasurer of a manufacturing company once asked his oral 
 opinion on some minor legal point, and at the same time handed 
 him a hundred-dollar bank-bill. Mr. Mason spread it on his 
 knee, and remarked, " Yours is a wealthy corporation, had n't 
 you better make it tew [hundred] ? " The gentleman made it 
 two, and the oracle spoke. 
 
 A very early anecdote, derived from unquestionable authority, 
 gives a picture of the manners of professional men of the best 
 standing, in their hours of relaxation, near a century ago. Mr. 
 Mason, with Daniel Webster and Edward Cutts, drove out from 
 Portsmouth to Weeks's tavern in Greenland one day for a dinner 
 and a frolic. The dinner was good, as was the wine also. Some 
 one of them spoke of the physical strength of a woman named 
 Leathers, a servant of Weeks. Webster and Cutts laid a wager 
 on her ability to " throw " Mason in a wrestling bout. Of course 
 nothing would do but to settle the question by actual experiment. 
 The woman required a good deal of iirging before she would con- 
 sent, but at last, seeing nothing else would suit the mischievous 
 bettors, she seized Mason about the waist, and tried her best to 
 lay him on his back. He laughed so much that he lost the power 
 of resistance, and in two minutes the woman justified her backer 
 by bringing .the redoubted champion of the law fairly to the 
 ground. 
 
 Mr. Mason's rank as a lawyer has been already fixed by the 
 united judgment of the profession beyond reversal or appeal. 
 Rufus Choate said of him, that " as a jurist, he would have filled 
 the seat of Marshall as Marshall filled it." Daniel Webster de- 
 clared, " If you were to ask me who was the greatest lawyer in 
 the country, I should answer John Marshall ; but if you took me 
 by the throat and pinned me to the wall and demanded my real 
 opinion, I should be compelled to say it was Jere. Mason." 
 
 Mr. Mason was in height above six feet and a half ; in his 
 5routh slender, but stouter as he advanced in life. His face was 
 fair and handsome. His voice was small for his bulk, and was 
 never free from the Yankee twang that he learned in childhood ; 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 507 
 
 probably he never attempted to rid himself of it. He made no 
 pretensions to oratory; he addressed the jury in the plainest 
 language and in conversational tones, sometimes standing with 
 one foot on the floor and the other in a chair before him. 
 
 His domestic life was peculiarly happy. He married in No- 
 vember, 1799, Mary, daughter of Eobert Means of Amherst. 
 They had several sons and a daughter. His eldest son was of the 
 legal profession. 
 
 SAMUEL KELLEY MASON. 
 
 Son of David B. and Eunice E. (Kelley) Mason ; born, New Hampton, May 
 17, 1832 ; admitted, 1855 ; practiced, Bristol ; died there, June, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Mason was prepared at the New Hampshire Literary Insti- 
 tute to enter college at one year's advanced standing, but never 
 completed a collegiate course. He studied law at the law school 
 in Poughkeepsie, New York, in the law department of Hamilton 
 College, and in the office of EUery A. Hibbard of Laconia ; and 
 began practice in Bristol in 1855. He was postmaster of that 
 town from 1861 to 1868, and representative in the state legisla- 
 ture from 1868 to 1870. 
 
 In 1873 he was the candidate of the " Libersll Republicans " 
 for the governorship of the State. By a coalition of the leading 
 men of his views with the Democrats, in which he joined, the lat- 
 ter were brought into power, and Mr. Mason was appointed in 
 1874 Judge of Probate for the county of Grafton. This office 
 he held two years, and then, on the success of the opposite party, 
 was removed from it by address. Subsequently he was twice 
 appointed by the Court a commissioner for the county, for nearly 
 four years in all. 
 
 Judge Mason's ability, professional and political, was of a 
 marked character. He built up a successful law business, accu- 
 mulated a handsome estate, and made himself a conspicuous 
 figure in the politics of the State. As a member of the legis- 
 lature he held a position of influence, and was ready and strong 
 in debate. While genial in his manners, he was tenacious of his 
 convictions. Many years an invalid, he courageously kept on in 
 the performance of the duties of life until exhausted nature com- 
 pelled him to succumb. 
 
 He married, in 1858, Helen M. Smith of Bristol, and they had 
 one daughter. 
 
508 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 EDWIN NATHANIEL MATHES. 
 
 Son of Jeremiah M. and Ann E. (Folsom) Mathes ; born, Portsmouth, Sep- 
 tember 4, 1834 ; Dartmouth College, 1854 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, 
 Concord, September 28, 1863. 
 
 The subject of this notice received his legal training at the 
 Harvard Law School, and with Albert R. Hatch in Portsmouth, 
 and Washburn and Marsh in Woodstock, Vermont. He began 
 to practice in Portsmouth about 1858. Prom 1857 to 1861 he 
 was clerk and deputy collector of customs at Portsmouth. In the 
 latter year he went to Boston, Massachusetts. Symptoms of 
 mental disease soon after required his removal to the insane asy- 
 lum at Concord, where his life was terminated. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 WILLIAM MATTOCKS. 
 
 Son of Hon. Samuel and Sarah (Burdell) Mattocks ; born, Hartford, Con- 
 necticut, May, 1773 ; Dartmouth College, 1793 ; practiced, Bath ; died, Dan- 
 ville, Vermont, May 22, 1842. 
 
 This was a brother of Governor John Mattocks of Vermont. 
 After studying his profession with his brother-in-law, Samuel 
 Miller, of Middlebury, Vermont, he settled in Danville in the 
 same State, and practiced there until 1817, when he removed to 
 Bath. He remained in New Hampshire only three years, and 
 then returned to Danville, and spent the residue of his life there. 
 He was state's attorney for the county of Caledonia for four 
 years, 1801-2 and 1813-14, and had the reputation of being a 
 lawyer of respectable learning, though not of brilliant parts. He 
 is said to have been more of a scholar than his brother the gov- 
 ernor, but had not the liveliness and wit which distinguished the 
 latter. 
 
 The wife of Mr. Mattocks was Prudence Deming of Connecti- 
 cut ; they were married October 2, 1801. 
 
 LAEKIN GOLDSMITH MEAD. 
 
 Son of Captain Levi and Betsey (Converse) Mead ; born, Lexington, Mas- 
 sachusetts, October 2, 1795 ; died, Brattleborough, Vermont, July 6, 1869. 
 
 Mr. Mead acquired his literary education at the academy in 
 Chesterfield, and his professional training under Phineas Hander- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 609 
 
 son of the same town. In that place he began practice at about 
 the age of twenty-three. He was an active member of the Che^ 
 shire bar for something over twenty years ; was a man of culture, 
 possessed of rare business qualities, and acquired prominence. 
 He was especially interested in promoting the cause of education 
 and the public schools. He was the author of a " Description 
 of Chesterfield," published in the first volume of Farmer and 
 Moore's " Historical Collections." 
 
 He changed his residence, in 1839, to Brattleborough, Vermont, 
 where he continued to practice the remainder of his life, at the 
 same time holding the position of treasurer of the Vermont Sav- 
 ings Bank, the first institution of the kind in that State. He was 
 a member of the Vermont Senate in 1846. 
 
 He married, in 1829, Mary J., daughter of Hon. John Noyes 
 of Putney, Vermont, by whom he had several children, one of 
 whom was Larkin G. Mead, the distinguished sculptor, born in 
 Chesterfield in 1835. 
 
 ROBERT MEANS. 
 
 Son of Colonel Kobert and Mary (McGregor) Means ; born, Amherst, Jan- 
 uary 23, 1786 ; Bowdoin College, 1807 ; admitted, 1810 ; practiced, Amherst ; 
 died, Lowell, Massachusetts, September 26, 1842. 
 
 Mr. Means had his professional instruction in the offices of 
 Charles H. Atherton of Amherst and of Jeremiah Mason, his 
 brother-in-law, at Portsmouth. In September, 1810, he put up 
 his sign as an attorney in Amherst. He is described as a man of 
 " genial aspect, manners, and temper ; of refined tastes and liberal 
 studies, very methodical and accurate in business." His busi- 
 ness consisted in a great measure in collecting debts and drawing 
 instruments for his father and brother, who were large dealers in 
 merchandise and real estate. 
 
 In 1831 he was called to take the agency of the Suffolk Mills 
 in LoweU, Massachusetts, for which his agreeable manners apd 
 excellent business capacity peculiarly adapted him, and he retained 
 it up to the time of his death. 
 
 In 1823 he was united in marriage to Mary E., daughter of 
 Governor Samuel Dinsmoor of Keene. She died in 1829 ; and 
 five years later he married Abby Atherton, daughter of Hon. 
 Amos Kent of Chester, who outlived him. He had no children. 
 
510 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 HENRY MELLEN. 
 
 Sou of Rev. John and Rebecca (Prentiss) Mellen ; born, Sterling, Massa- 
 chusetts, October 24, 1757 ; Harvard College, 1784 ; admitted, 1786 ; prac- 
 ticed, Dover ; died there, July 31, 1809. 
 
 Mr. Mellen did not quit the farm till he was twenty-two, but 
 then made remarkable progress in his preparatory and collegiate 
 studies. He went into the office of Peter Green of Concord for 
 his legal instruction, and in the autumn of 1786 established him- 
 self as an attorney in Dover. He became a good counselor, but 
 was not distinguished in the trial of causes. He had literary 
 tastes, and composed an oration on Freemasonry in 1798, and sev- 
 eral metrical productions, which appeared in the papers of the 
 day. A Federalist in politics, he was put forward on public 
 occasions as the poetical champion of his party. His most noted 
 production was styled " The Embargo." Much of it consisted of 
 allusions which have now lost their point, but a sample of it is 
 here given : — 
 
 " Our ships all in motion once whitened the ocean, 
 
 They sailed and returned with a cargo, 
 Now doomed to decay, they have fallen a prey 
 
 To Jefferson, worms, and Embargo. 
 Lest Britain should take a few men by mistake 
 
 Who under false colors may dare go. 
 We 're manning their fleet with tars who retreat 
 
 From poverty, sloth, and Embargo. 
 What a fuss we have made about rights and free trade. 
 
 And swore we 'd not let our own share go, 
 Now we can't for our souls bring a hake from the Shoals, 
 
 'T is a breach of the twentieth Embargo." 
 
 Mr. Mellen is reputed to be the author of a poem, " Shut to 
 the door, the school 's begun," which had once much popularity. 
 His poetical gift he shared with others of his family. He has 
 been described as " brilliant, witty, somewhat wayward, but be- 
 loved by all who knew him." 
 
 He was married, first, to Elizabeth Hovey of Berwick, Maine, 
 who died August 1, 1793 ; and second, to Martha Wentworth, 
 daughter of Hon. George Frost of Durham. He left three sons. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 511 
 
 JOHN WENDELL MELLEN. 
 
 Son of Rev. John Mellen ; born, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1794 ; Harvard 
 College, 1814 ; practiced, Dover ; died, New York city, July, 1829. 
 
 Mr. Mellen prepared himself for the practice of the law in the 
 office of his kinsman, Judge Prentiss Mellen of Portland, Maine, 
 and settled for a short time in North Yarmouth, Maine, and after- 
 wards in Dover. When the Dover Bank was chartered in 1823, 
 he was appointed its cashier, and in that position continued four 
 or five years. His lack of business capacity, which resulted in 
 loss to the bank, caused him to leave it, and he opened a law office 
 in the town. He was a man of fine person and unusual literary 
 acquirements, and no one seems to have questioned his entire hon- 
 esty. But his want of success probably preyed upon his sensi- 
 bilities, and he resorted to the deceitful cup to drown care, until 
 his reason was overthrown, and he deliberately put an end to his 
 existence. 
 
 PRENTISS MELLEN, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Rev. John and Rebecca (Prentiss) Mellen ; born, Sterling, Massa- 
 chusetts, October 11, 1764 ; Harvard College, 1784 ; admitted, 1788 ; prac- 
 ticed, Dover ; died, Portland, Maine, December 31, 1840. 
 
 This was a younger brother of Henry Mellen. He studied law 
 with Shearjashub Bourne of Barnstable, Massachusetts, and was 
 duly admitted an attorney in that commonwealth. It was the 
 fashion of the times for a new-fledged member of the bar to 
 treat the judge and all the lawyers copiously with punch, and 
 Mr. Mellen conformed to the custom. He practiced in Sterling 
 and Bridgewater till November, 1791, when he came to Dover, 
 and spent the winter and succeeding spring in practice there with 
 his brother Henry. The following July he removed to Biddeford, 
 Maine, and there and in Portland finished his course. Thus his 
 residence in New Hampshire was for eight months only. 
 
 His subsequent history belongs to and is written in that of 
 Maine. He was among the most distinguished counselors and 
 advocates of that province, and was in 1817 appointed to a seat in 
 the United States Senate, In 1820, when Maine was organized as 
 a separate State, he was appointed Chief Justice of her Supreme 
 Court, and served to the age of seventy years. 
 
Olii DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Sarah, daughter of Barzillai Hudson of Hart- 
 ford, Connecticut. They had six children, two of them sons, 
 who prepared themselves for the legal profession, though neither 
 practiced it. 
 
 CALEB MEREILL. 
 
 Son of James and Molly (Emery) Merrill ; born, Atkinson, May 22, 1783 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1808 ; practiced, Chester, Barnstead, and Pittsfleld ; 
 died, Pittsfleld, December 19, 1841. 
 
 Mr. Merrill was prepared for college at the Atkinson Academy. 
 In college he was a scholar of respectable rank, and upon his 
 graduation he began the study of the law with Baruch Chase of 
 Hopkinton. Later he continued it with Amos Kent of Chester, 
 with whom, after being admitted, in 1812, he was for a time a 
 partner in practice. About 1815 he quitted Chester, and made 
 his home in Barnstead for a couple of years, and then settled in 
 Pittsfield. 
 
 His practice was largely that of collecting claims, which he 
 performed with more than usual skill, industry, and care. He 
 attended the courts in Strafford as well as in Rockingham (and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 613 
 
 promise of future professional eminence. But he was attacked 
 by the scourge of our northern climate, consumption, and returned 
 to his native place to die at the early age of twenty-six. 
 
 JESSE MERRILL. 
 
 Son of James and Molly (Emery) Merrill ; born, Atkinson, July 17, 1778 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1806 ; practiced, Deerfleld ; died, Bradford, Vermont, 
 March 18, IBoi. 
 
 Mr. Merrill prepared himself to act as an attorney in the of- 
 fice of William K. Atkinson of Dover, and was admitted in the 
 Court of Common Pleas in 1810, and in the Superior Court two 
 years later. He settled at once in Deerfield, and remained there 
 five or six years ; then removed to Bradford, Vermont. In his 
 brief term of practice in New Hampshire so many years ago, as 
 might be expected, he left few traces in the memory of our people 
 or in the records of our courts from which his characteristics can 
 now be learned. He was an older brother of Caleb Merrill of 
 Pittsfield. 
 
 RALPH METCALF. 
 
 Sou of John and Roby (Converse) Metcalf ; born, Charlestown, November 
 21, 1798 ; Dartmouth College, 1823 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Newport, 
 Claremout, and Plymouth ; died, Claremont, August 26, 1868. 
 
 The father of Ealph Metcalf was able to furnish him with one 
 hundred dollars a year to accomplish his education, and the young 
 man made ready for college at the academy in Chester, Vermont. 
 He studied law with Henry Hubbard of Charlestown, with Rich- 
 ard Bartlett of Concord, and with George B. Upham of Clare- 
 mont. He took the office in Newport which had recently been 
 occupied by David Hale, and practiced there two years. In 1828 
 he went to Binghamton, New York, and spent two years, and then 
 returned to New Hampshire and began business in Claremont. 
 
 In 1831 he was chosen Secretary of State, which required his 
 residence at Concord, and held the post by repeated elections for 
 seven years. While secretary he was appointed by the executive 
 to the office of attorney-general, but declined to accept it. After 
 testing a clerkship in Washington, District of Columbia, for a 
 short time, he returned to New Hampshire and made a brief stay 
 at Plymouth, but returned to practice in Newport. 
 33 
 
514 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In October, 1845, he was made register of Probate for Sullivan 
 County, and continued in the office till 1851. In 1852 he was 
 chairman of the commission to revise the statutes of the State, 
 and in 1852 and 1853 was a representative in the legislature. 
 Two years afterwards he was chosen to the office of governor 
 by the " Know Nothing " or American party, and in 1856 was 
 reelected by the legislature, on the failure of a choice by the pop- 
 ular vote. After the expiration of his term of office he retired 
 from active employment, and spent the remainder of his life in 
 Claremont. 
 
 Governor Metcalf was of a social disposition, a great reader of 
 •current literature, and a ready writer. His talents were practical 
 rather than showy. Though not distinguished as a public speaker, 
 he possessed popular qualities and made many friends. 
 
 He married, in January, 1835, Lucretia A., daughter of Nathan 
 Bingham of Claremont. She died the following year, and in 
 1843 he married Martha A., daughter of Captain John Gilmore 
 of Newport. They had a son and a daughter. 
 
 JAMES MILLER. 
 
 Son of James and Catharine (Gregg) Miller ; born, Peterborough, April 25, 
 1776 .; admitted, 1803 ; practiced, Greenfield ; died, Temple, July 7, 1851. 
 
 When he had nearly reached adult age, Mr. Miller studied at 
 the academy in Amherst, and was admitted to Williams College, 
 but never finished his course there. At the age of about twenty- 
 two years he began the study of the law with James Wilson of 
 Peterborough, and duly settled in practice in Greenfield. Hav- 
 ing much inclination for military exercises, he was soon placed 
 in command of a company of artillery in a militia regiment. In 
 that capacity he attracted the attention of General Benjamin 
 Pierce, through whose recommendation, it is said, he was ap- 
 pointed major of the Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, 
 in 1808. 
 
 In the war of 1812 he distinguished himself by his gallant con- 
 duct at the battle of Niagara, where he made his celebrated reply 
 to the order to take the enemy's battery, — "I '11 try, sir ; " and at 
 the sortie from Fort Erie, in which he led a division with con- 
 summate courage and judgment. From that war, which was fatal 
 to so many reputations, he emerged a brigadier-general, with the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 515 
 
 highest credit. Congress awarded him a gold medal,^ and the 
 State of New York presented him an elegant sword, in testimony 
 of his bravery and important services in the field. 
 
 In 1819 he was appointed governor of the Territory of Arkan- 
 sas, and resigned his commission in the army, much to his subse- 
 quent regret. The climate of Arkansas disagreed with his health, 
 and in 1823 he returned to Temple. The next year he was elected 
 a representative in Congress, and was appointed collector of cus- 
 toms at the port of Salem, Massachusetts. He accepted the latter 
 office and filled it twenty-four years; then resigned it and retired 
 to his farm in Temple. 
 
 Though General Miller was the most intrepid of men, he was 
 without a particle of bluster or show. His letters to his wife 
 afford a pleasant picture of his fondness for his family and home 
 life. He delighted in finding pets for his children. He preferred 
 to spend his evenings in writing to friends, instead of attending 
 the costliest of entertainments. He was full of pleasantry and of 
 sentiment ; an unspoiled natural man, of genuine feeling and true 
 honor. 
 
 Hawthorne aptly styled him "New England's most distin- 
 guished soldier." 
 
 He was twice married ; first, to Martha, who died young, daugh- 
 ter of Henry Ferguson ; second, to Ruth Flint of Lincoln, Mas- 
 sachusetts. By his first marriage he had two children ; by his 
 second, five. 
 
 LUTHER MILLS. 
 
 Mr. Mills was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 
 1792. He is credited with having held the office of register of 
 Probate for Windsor County, Vermont, from 1801 to 1815, inclu- 
 sive. He made his first appearance in this State in 1805, in which 
 year he was admitted to the bar of the Superior Court in Che- 
 shire County. The New Hampshire Annual Registers contained 
 his name as that .of a practicing [lawyer in Lisbon in 1805 and 
 1806. It may be that he had an office there, and was domiciled 
 
 1 The inscription on the medal included Chippewa, as well as Niagara and 
 Erie. General Miller was not present at the battle of Chippewa. This is not 
 quite so bad as " to be killed in battle and have one's name spelled wrong in 
 the gazette," but is something akin to it. 
 
616 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 still in Vermont. Windsor in that State was subsequently his 
 home, imtil his death in 1829. 
 
 GEORGE MINOT. 
 
 Son of Hon. James and Sally (Wilson) Minot ; bom, New London, August 
 10, 1806 ; Dartmouth College, 1828 ; practiced, Bristol, Gilmanton, and Con- 
 cord ; died, Concord, March 8, 1861. 
 
 After his professional preparation with Nathaniel G. Upham 
 at Concord, Mr. Minot commenced practice in Gilmanton in 
 1832. The next year he moved to Bristol, and in 1834 to Con- 
 cord, on receiving the appointment of cashier of the Mechanics' 
 Bank, of which he afterwards became president. He was also 
 treasurer of Merrimac County, United States pension agent for 
 New Hampshire, and treasurer of the Boston, Concord, and Mon- 
 treal Railroad. In 1850 he was a delegate to the convention to 
 revise the state Constitution. He was better known as a "banker 
 and public officer than as a lawyer. * 
 
 He married, May 1, 1839, Selina W., daughter of George R. 
 Clark of Portsmouth. 
 
 JOSIAH MINOT. 
 
 Son of Hon. James and Sally (Wilson) Minot ; born, Bristol, September 17, 
 1819 ; Dartmouth College, 1837 ; admitted, 1840 ; practiced, Bristol and 
 Concord ; died. Concord, December 14, 1891. 
 
 This was a younger brother of George Minot, and was fitted 
 for college at the New Hampton Institute. He read law with 
 John J. Gilchrist of Charlestown and Samuel D. Bell of Chester, 
 and first went into practice at Bristol in 1840, but four years 
 afterwards moved to Concord, and became the partner of Frank- 
 lin Pierce. Mr. Minot was rather retiring, but was acknowledged 
 to be a lawyer of much learning and of great resources. He did 
 not confine his attention to his profession, but was a leader in 
 his political party, a banker, and a railroad president. Without 
 special ambition for preferment, he was in 1852 made a Circuit 
 Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and after his resignation 
 in 1855, United States commissioner of pensions, and a director 
 and president of the Concord Railroad and the Northern Railroad 
 in New Hampshire. He was also president of the Mechanics' 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 517 
 
 Bank, and later a member of the banking-house of Minot and 
 Company. 
 
 Judge Minot has been described as one of the most astute busi- 
 ness men of his time in the State. His sagacity and judgment, 
 his prudence and foresight, rendered him an invaluable counselor 
 in the great business enterprises with which he was connected. 
 He had no desire to appear on the throne so long as he was the 
 power behind the throne. His opinion controlled boards. Though 
 not a fluent advocate, he had a happy art of explanation and 
 reconciliation. If a stockholders' meeting was to be pacified. 
 Judge Minot with his persuasive tones was the man to bring 
 about unanimity of sentiment. Scarcely any one, for years, 
 exerted so gTeat an influence on the political and railway policy 
 and interests of the State as Judge Minot, in his calm, unobtru- 
 sive way. 
 
 " As a lawyer in the strictest sense of the term, he maintained 
 a standing in the front rank for forty years." 
 
 He was married, August 24, 1843, to Abbie P., daughter of 
 Stephen Haines of Canterbury. One of his three daughters 
 became the wife of George E.. Fowler of the Massachusetts bar. 
 
 STEPHEN MITCHELL. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Martha (Steele) Mitchell ; born, Peterborough, March 
 29, 1780 ; Williams College, 1801 ; practiced, Durham ; died there, February 
 18, 1833. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell studied his profession with his uncle, Jonathan 
 Steele of Durham, and settled in practice in that place in 1805. 
 He was a man of talents and standing, and was esteemed a good 
 lawyer. He is said also to have had a literary and even a poetic 
 turn, and to have often contributed to the newspapers of his day ; 
 but nothing bearing his name has come down to the present time. 
 He was chosen by his townsmen to make an address of welcome 
 to Lafayette when he passed through Durham in the summer of 
 1825, on his way from Concord to Portland, Maine, and we learn 
 that he performed the duty in a " very handsome and appropriate 
 manner." The circumstance that he was an original member of 
 the New Hampshire Historical Society would indicate that his 
 interests extended to matters outside his profession, and that he 
 was recognized as belonging to the better-informed class. He 
 
518 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 was a man of gentlemanly address, and was generally esteemed. 
 His life presents few events for record. 
 
 His wife was Sarah, daughter of Major Joseph Mills of Deer- 
 field, and he left no children. 
 
 BENJAMIN MOODY. 
 
 Son of Caleb and Dorothy (Sargent) Moody ; born (West) Newbury, Mas- 
 sachusetts, November 11, 1777 ; admitted, 1801 ; practiced, Epsom ; died 
 there, February 28, 1820. 
 
 Mr. Moody is said to have been the favorite son of his father, 
 and was permitted to grow up to manhood with rather a scanty 
 education. He entered the office of his brother, Stephen Moody 
 of Gilmanton, as a student, and remained five years. In 1803 
 he established himself in practice in Epsom, which was his home 
 throughout his entire professional life. 
 
 He never distinguished himself as a lawyer, though in the 
 earlier years of his practice he was fairly successful in acquiring 
 business. But as time went on his habits deteriorated, and his 
 business was neglected. He died in middle life. 
 
 He had married, rather early in life, Betsey, daughter of Daniel 
 Cof&n of Newburyport, a sister of the wife of his brother, Stephen 
 Moody. She with one son survived him. 
 
 ISAIAH PREBLE MOODY. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Lydia (Preble) Moody ; born, York, Maine, December 
 3, 1804 ; Bowdoin College, 1827 ; practiced, Hampstead ; died, Newton, Mas- 
 sachusetts, February 1, 1885. 
 
 This gentleman was by both parents connected with families 
 of note in Maine. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy 
 and Bowdoin College, and studied law with Stephen Chase at 
 Fryeburg, Maine. He practiced successfully in Lovell, Maine, 
 in Hampstead from 1835, about two years, and subsequently in 
 his native town ; but afterwards abandoned the profession and 
 adopted agriculture and teaching, as " more congenial to his feel- 
 ings and principles." Such being his attitude towards the legal 
 calling, it is hardly to be supposed that he achieved any great 
 success in it, though, so far as known, he was a respectable 
 practitioner. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 519 
 
 In 1831 he was married to Hannah, daughter of Eev. Moses 
 Dow of York, Maine. After her decease, in 1847, he married 
 Abby A. Talpey of York, Maine. By his first marriage he had 
 three daughters and two sons ; by his second, two daughters. 
 
 STEPHEN MOODY. 
 
 Son of Caleb and Dorothy (Sargent) Moody ; born, West Newbury, Mas- 
 sachusetts, July 21, 1767 ; Harvard College, 1790 ; admitted, 1793 ; practiced, 
 Gilmanton ; died there, April 21, 1842. 
 
 Trained in the law offices of Pliny Merrick of Brookfield, and 
 of Levi Lincoln of Worcester, Massachusetts, Mr. Moody was 
 admitted to the bar of that commonwealth, and at once estab- 
 lished himself in Gilmanton. He was a careful, discreet lawyer, 
 of good principles and correct habits, and speedily gathered 
 friends and business. He was many times chosen moderator of 
 the town meetings, was the postmaster from 1801 to 1829, and 
 the solicitor of the county of Strafford from 1804 to 1819. A 
 decided Federalist in his political opinions, he did not care for 
 public office, except in the line of his profession, being a lawyer 
 first of all. He did not escape the satirical pen of the rhymester 
 of the opposite party, however. Moses L. Neal, in his poem on 
 the Gilmanton convention, in 1812, referred to him as 
 
 " Stephen the penman, who struts like a crow." 
 
 The point of the description consisted in the fact that Mr. Moody's 
 chirography was a horrid scrawl, dreaded by clerks and deputy 
 sheriffs, and that his measured step and manner of tossing his 
 head as he walked were ludicrously corvine. On the other hand, 
 he was an excellent lawyer and an exemplary man. He was 
 diligent, scrupulous in fulfilling every engagement, amiable, benev- 
 olent, and of pleasing manners. If his handwriting was illegi- 
 ble, at least he did not use it to lampoon others ; and if his gait 
 was formal, it was that of an honest and true gentleman. 
 
 In 1797 he was joined in marriage to Frances, daughter of 
 William Coffin of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and they had. 
 three daughters. 
 
520 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ALPHEUS MOORE. 
 
 Son of Major Willard and Elizabeth Moore ; born, Paxton, Massachusetts, 
 August 29, 1765 ; Harvard College, 1783 ; practiced, Keene and Westmore- 
 land ; died, Salisbury, 1803. 
 
 Mr. Moore was in practice in Keene as an attorney in 1787, 
 but removed soon after to Westmoreland. There he purchased a 
 farm and acquired " a considerable run of business." About 1791 
 he sold the farm and business to Jeremiah Mason, with the inten- 
 tion of removing into the district of Maine. Whether he went 
 there is not known, but he is said afterwards to have lived in 
 Walpole, and in Westminster, Vermont. 
 
 Mr. Mason, in his autobiography, says of Colonel Moore (for 
 that, it seems, was his title) : " With much benevolence of dis- 
 position, he was very dissipated and very popular." He was Mas- 
 ter of the Masonic lodge, and fond of a carouse. 
 
 In 1803 Colonel Moore appeared on a journey in Salisbury, 
 and stopped at a tavern kept by one Lunt. On going out he fell 
 dead in the road, near the Merrimac River. Lunt was alarmed 
 lest he should be suspected of some foul play, and went to Judge 
 Ebenezer Webster for advice what steps he ought to take. The 
 judge examined the body, found a little money in the pockets, 
 summoned in a few of the neighbors, and took down and sealed 
 up their sworn statements as' to their knowledge of the affair. 
 When the judge reported to his son Daniel, who was then a law 
 student, what he had done, the latter expressed a fear lest he 
 might have got himself into difficulty by the want of a regular 
 inquest. This troubled the judge, and on meeting Judge Jere- 
 miah Smith a short time afterwards, he told him the story and 
 asked his opinion. 
 
 Judge Smith's reply was characteristic : " Does the public com- 
 plain of what you have done ? " " No, sir." " Do Moore's friends 
 complain ? " " No, sir." " Did Moore himself complain ? " " No, 
 sir." " Then," said Judge Smith, " I think you may go home and 
 rest easy." 
 
 Poor Moore's deterioration and unfortunate end are attributed 
 to a bitter disappointment which he had experienced. He was 
 deeply enamored of a young lady living in the southwestern part 
 of the State, and employed a supposed friend to acquaint her with 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 521 
 
 his feelings. The emissary proved false, and the lady thereby 
 became lost to her admirer. This is supposed to have rendered 
 Moore reckless and tired of life. 
 
 HORACE S. MOORE. 
 
 What has been learned of the brief career of this gentleman 
 may be told in a few words. He was a son of William Moore, 
 and was born in Chelsea, Vermont. He was admitted to the bar 
 in Orange County, Vermont, January 13, 1864, came to Went- 
 worth to practice in 1868, and died there after a residence of 
 about three years. 
 
 LUTHER SULLIVAN MORRILL. 
 
 Son of Luther M. and Louisa M. (Osgood) Morrill ; born, Concord, July 
 13, 1844 ; Dartmoutli College, 1865 ; admitted, 1868 ; practiced. Concord ; 
 died there, March 18, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Morrill's precoUegiate education was gained in the public 
 schools of Concord, and in that city he studied the law in the 
 office of John Y. Mugridge. In 1869 and 1870 he was assistant 
 clerk of the state Senate, and the two succeeding years clerk. 
 From November, 1869, until 1875, he was clerk of the Superior 
 Court of Judicature, and from 1876 to 1882 of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court. Frojn 1877 to 1882 he was the special police 
 justice of Concord. He relinquished the offices in 1882 to give 
 his time to the practice of the law. 
 
 For several years afterwards he was actively concerned in the 
 fire insurance business in the State, as president of the Phenix 
 Mutual Company, as one of the executive committee of the 
 Capital Company, and as vice-president of the Underwriters' 
 Association. In 1886 he served in the lower house of the state 
 legislature. In the several official stations which he occupied he 
 acquitted himself with fidelity and credit. 
 
 He was united in marriage, November 26, 1872, to Agnes, 
 daughter of Dr. Charles P. Gage of Concord. She, with a son 
 and a daughter, survived him. 
 
522 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 LEWIS R. MORRIS. 
 
 Son of Park and Sophia (Morse) Morris ; born, West Eairlee, Vermont, 
 1816 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, Haverhill and Lebanon ; died, Lebanon, 
 1876. 
 
 Educated in the common schools and in the academy at New- 
 bury, Vermont, Mr. Morris read law in the office of J. W. D. 
 Parker of Bradford in the same State, and of Nathan B. Felton of 
 Haverhill. In the latter place he was admitted. He had given 
 much attention to mathematics and was a proficient in surveying. 
 In 1849 he settled in Bradford, Vermont, and practiced there and 
 also in Haverhill to some extent. Being a man of no little public 
 spirit, he undertook in 1852 the publication of a newspaper 
 devoted to agriculture, but for want of support it was suspended 
 before the end of a single year. 
 
 In 1854 he established himself at White Eiver Junction, and 
 there remained, attending to legal business on both sides of the 
 Connecticut, until 1862, when he removed to Lebanon. He is 
 said not to have been a brilliant lawyer, but to have given much 
 attention to current literature, which he read extensively. 
 
 His wife was Lucinda B., daughter of Captain Ellis Bliss of 
 Bradford, Vermont. 
 
 CHARLES ROBERT MORRISON. 
 
 Son of William and Stira (Yonug) Morrison ; born, Bath, January 22, 
 1819 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, Bath, Haverhill, Nashua, Manchester, and 
 Concord ; died. Concord, September 15, 1893. 
 
 At Newbury Seminary, Vermont, young Morrison fitted him- 
 self for college by studying three springs and autumns, while he 
 taught school in the winters, and worked in the hayfield in the 
 summers. In 1839 he was admitted a student in the law office of 
 Goodall and Woods in Bath, and upon receiving his attorney's 
 certificate, became the partner of Mr. Goodall. In 1845 he 
 removed to Haverhill, and practiced there till he was appointed a 
 Judge of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, August 4, 1851. 
 Four years afterwards, by a change of the courts, he lost his office, 
 and resumed practice in Nashua. When the great Civil War 
 opened, he tendered his services to the governor, and received the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 623 
 
 commission of adjutant to the Eleventh Eegiment of New Hamp- 
 shire Volunteers. He was two yeai-s in the military service, and 
 was a faithful and courageous officer, having been repeatedly 
 wounded in battle. In 1864 he resigned, and fixed his residence 
 in Manchester. 
 
 In the course of the following seven years he prepared and 
 issued a Digest of the New Hampshire Eeports, Town Officer, 
 Justice and Sheriff, Probate Directory, and Digest of School 
 Laws ; and later, Proofs of Christ's Eesurrection. At the end 
 of twelve years Judge Morrison left Manchester for Concord. 
 He remained in the exercise of his profession until his death. 
 
 He was an accurate, studious lawyer, better adapted, however, 
 to the desk than to the forum. His Digest and other less pre- 
 tending, but convenient and useful works, indicate bis careful and 
 exact legal knowledge and training. He was industrious and con- 
 scientious, though naturally somewhat critical and captious, which 
 detracted from his usefulness on the bench, and interfered with 
 his employment in the trial of causes. With an abundance of 
 energy and pluck, he was inclined to be " grouty," and was some- 
 times not easy to get on with. But he was honest, true to his 
 trusts, and meant always to do right. His force of character, his 
 professional learning and ability, and his unblemished integrity 
 won him the respect of all thinking men. 
 
 He was married, December 22, 1842, to Susan, daughter of 
 Solomon Fitch of Littleton. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON MORRISON. 
 
 Son of James and Martha (Pelton) Morrison ; born, Fairlee, Vermont, 
 October 16, 1809 ; admitted, 1835 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, De- 
 cember 21, 1888. 
 
 The son of a farmer in nari^ow circumstances, it was in the com- 
 mon schools and the academy at Thetford, Vermont, that Mr. 
 Morrison had his only instruction before entering the office of 
 Simeon Short, with whom and with Presbury West, Jr., both of 
 Thetford, he acquired his preparation for admission to the Orange 
 County bar. He sought through three or four States for a prom- 
 ising place for settling, and chose Manchester, then just entering 
 upon its marvelous growth. From that time forth he was identi- 
 fied with the place. In 1856 a fire destroyed his properfjr, but 
 
524 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 not his energy or confidence. As the business of the town grew, 
 so did his practice, until it reached the front rank in point of 
 extent and importance. For twenty-five years he was at the head 
 of a large law firm, scarcely if at all rivaled in the State, and 
 encountered in court the best jury lawyers in his section, — Frank- 
 lin Pierce, Charles G. Atherton, Benjamin M. Farley, Daniel 
 Clark, and the like. It has been estimated that he tried one 
 third more cases during his career than any other lawyer who 
 ever lived in the State. Of course he was a verdict winner of the 
 highest repute. He did 'not disdain help to influence the jury 
 from any source. Acquaintanceship, political affiliation, cajolery, 
 catering to prejudice, in short, any of the artifices to captivate the 
 sympathy and favor of jurors, it is alleged that he never hesitated 
 to use for their full worth. But these of course were not his chief 
 weapons. He was strong in statement, adroit in explanation, logi- 
 cal in argument, earnest in persuasion. Nothing disturbed his 
 self-possession. The most unexpected and damaging evidence left 
 him as cool as it found him. His smile was confident, while his 
 remarkable judgment rapidly reconstructed his case on new and 
 impregnable lines. 
 
 Mr. Atherton, after an unsuccessful tilt with him in 1850, 
 expressed his opinion of him in these terms : " He began practice 
 under three disadvantages, ill health, defective education, and 
 poverty ; but nothing in the court-room escaped him. He is self- 
 reliant, his examination of witnesses is thorough and exhaustive, 
 his perceptions are clear, his arguments logical and condensed, he 
 has a wonderful faculty of seizing the strong points and putting 
 them to the jury. He now stands at the head of the bar. I have 
 never seen a man I was more afraid of as a lawyer." 
 
 Mr. Morrison was a representative in the legislature five years 
 between 1840 and 1850, an active and influential member, and 
 two years chairman of the committee on the judiciary. The pro- 
 vision in the city charter of Portsmouth making the wards towns 
 was his, and though at first opposed as unconstitutional by a man 
 as able as Daniel M. Christie, was acquiesced in by him after the 
 lucid demonstration of Mr. Morrison. 
 
 He was solicitor of Hillsborough County from 1845 to 1849, 
 and a representative in the Thirty-First and Thirty-Third Con- 
 gresses of the United States. He supported the measures of the 
 Demoaratic party, until the Kansas-Nebraska bill came up. That 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 525 
 
 eucountered his uncompromising opposition. His speech against 
 it was thought the ablest that the question called forth. 
 
 After forty years' experience in the courts, his waning health 
 and strength rendered him not unwilling to lay aside his armor 
 and to retii-e from the arena. He died, not from active disease, 
 but from nature's decay. 
 
 He was married, November 6, 1838, to Maria Louisa Fitch of 
 Thetford, Vermont. 
 
 SAMUEL MORSE. 
 
 Son of Hon. John and Hanuali (Adams) Morse ; born, Dublin, February 7, 
 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Croydon ; died 
 there, January 1, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Morse studied law with Samuel Dakin of Jaffrey, Jonathan 
 Barnes of Tolland, Vermont, and George B. Upham of Clare- 
 mont. He commenced practice in Croydon in 1815. In 1834 
 he represented the town in the legislature, and in 1850 was a 
 delegate to the state constitutional convention. He was well 
 grounded in the elements of the law, was possessed of a well- 
 balanced judgment, and was true to his employers. No prac- 
 titioner in his county in his prime made more entries in court 
 than he ; and his reputation for entire honesty gained him much 
 influence with juries and with the people at large. 
 
 About the year 1830, in order to secure a debt, he took pos- 
 session of a woolen factory, and in attempting to superintend it 
 he was so unfortunate as to lose most of the property that he had 
 gained. Later, however, by inheritance and by professional labor, 
 he regained a moderate competence. For the last thirty years of 
 his life he was a farmer as well as a lawyer. 
 
 He was slow of speech but determined in action. Sometimes 
 he indulged in a dry, quaint humor. In a land suit his opponent 
 boastingly said he cared little for the value of the land, and 
 would give the other party a part of it, if he needed it. Mr. 
 Morse in reply gravely likened the proposal to that of Satan, 
 when he offered to the Saviour all the kingdoms of the earth, 
 and did not own a rod of one of them, I 
 
 Mr. Morse's benevolent disposition cannot better be illustrated 
 than by the statement of the lawyer from whom most of the fore- 
 going particulars were learned : " I remember his kindness to me 
 when I was a barefooted boy, and I always loved him." 
 
526 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He married, September 16, 1827, Chloe C, daughter of Dr. 
 Reuben Carroll of Croydon, and had one daughter. 
 
 WILLIAM SAXTON MORTON. 
 
 Born, Roxbury, Massachusetts, September 22, 1809 ; Harvard College, 
 1831 ; practiced, Amli6rst ; died, Quiney, Massachusetts, September 21, 1871. 
 
 The subject of this notice read law in the office of Sidney Bart- 
 lett of Boston, Massachusetts, and finished his studies with Ham- 
 ilton E. Perkins of Hopkinton in 1839. Admitted as an attorney, 
 he began practice in the office of Perley Dodge of Amherst the 
 same year. 
 
 Mr. Dodge described him as " a young man of brilliant talents, 
 more inclined to practice with the fish-hook and shot-gun than to 
 pore over the musty volumes of Blackstone and Coke." Being 
 born to fortune, and having no liking for the legal vocation, when 
 he left Amherst for Quiney, Massachusetts, after about two years, 
 he sought a different occupation. He became engaged there in 
 fire insurance and other corporations ; he was mainly influential 
 in establishing the Quiney Fire Insurance Company, and the bank 
 at Quiney. He maintained a yacht, and had a lodge on the sea- 
 shore, — luxuries that few lawyers of New Hampshire certainly 
 could afford from the avails of their practice. 
 
 He married, October 30, 1839, Mary J. W. Grimes, a niece of 
 Judge Levi Woodbury, and had six children. 
 
 EDWARD SMITH MOULTON. 
 
 Son of Simon and Lydia (Moulton) Moulton ; born, Moultonborough, June 
 6, 1823 ; practiced, Meredith ; died there, November 4, 1855. 
 
 Mr. Moulton, with no more than a common academical educa- 
 tion, prepared himself for the legal profession in the office of 
 Samuel Emerson of Moultonborough, and in Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, and about 1850 began to practice in the village of Meredith. 
 He was of " more than ordinary ability, level-headed, industrious, 
 painstaking, conscientious." He prepared his cases thoroughly, 
 and tried them well for one of so little experience. He was a 
 man of promise, with a prospect of becoming a leader. He was 
 also active in church work. It was indicative of the standing he 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 527 
 
 had attained in his brief period of practice that he received shortly 
 before his decease the appointment of solicitor of his county. 
 
 His wife, married in 1852, was Sarah Hidden of Tam worth. 
 They had one son, who died in infancy. 
 
 OLIFF CECIL MOULTON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Lewman G. Moulton ; born, Ossipee, o. 1848 ; admitted, 1870 ; 
 practiced, Ossipee ; died there, January 29, 1875. 
 
 With a good education, and the professional knowledge ac- 
 quired during the prescribed course of study completed in the 
 Harvard Law School, where he was graduated LL. B. in 1870, 
 Mr. Moulton started in practice in Ossipee. In 1874 he received 
 the appointment of solicitor of Carroll County, and a prosperous 
 future appeared clear before him, when his career was suddenly 
 cut short by a mortal disease. 
 
 JOHN YOUNG MUGRIDGE. 
 
 Sou of Benning and Nancy (Chase) Mugridge ; born, Meredith (now La- 
 couia), April 16, 1832 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Concord ; died there, 
 April 14, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Mugridge was fitted to enter college at the academy in 
 Gilford, and then began the study of the law with Thomas J. 
 Whipple of Laconia. He completed it with Asa Fowler of Con- 
 cord, and in that place engaged in practice. 
 
 He was city solicitor of Concord from 1861 to 1868 ; represen- 
 tative in the legislature in 1862, 1863, and 1875 ; state senator in 
 1868 and 1869; and in the latter year president of the Senate. 
 
 He had the advantage of a fine personal appearance, a pleas- 
 ant, resonant voice, and a frank, cordial manner. His popularity 
 was universal. He has been described as " one of the best all- 
 round lawyers" of his time, and had a wonderful capacity for 
 work. It is stated that he was engaged in more jury cases in his 
 own and other counties than any other practitioner in the State. 
 In most of the important trials occurring in the central portion of 
 New Hampshire, he took a leading part, and was prominently 
 known as counsel in railroad cases of magnitude. He was held 
 in no less esteem by his brethren of the bar than, by laymen, so 
 honorable were his dealings, and so indisputable was his profes- 
 
528 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 sional eminence. He fought his forensic battles fairly, and met 
 the emergencies of a trial with ready skill and power. And when 
 the contest was over, whether victor or vanquished, he flaunted no 
 triumph and harbored no malice. 
 
 The younger men regarded him as their representative and 
 champion, and rejoiced in his successes. But the prodigious 
 vitality of the man was at length sapped by his untiring labors, 
 and the sudden close of his career brought a shock to the com- 
 munity, to whom he had seemed the embodiment of strength, 
 mental and physical. 
 
 He was married, December 31, 1857, to Maria G., daughter of 
 Dr. Leonard Eaton of Warren. She, with their two children, 
 survived him. 
 
 JOHN MUZZEY. 
 
 Son of John and Hannah Muzzey ; born, Dublin, September 3, 1778 ; prac- 
 ticed, New Ipswich ; died, Middlebury, Vermont, January 28, 1813. 
 
 Very little information respecting this gentleman is accessible. 
 He fitted himself for the legal profession in Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, it is believed, and about the year 1810 or earlier was in 
 practice in New Ipswich, but not for a long time. He is said 
 also to have practiced in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, perhaps before 
 he came to New Ipswich. The tradition also is that his standing 
 as a lawyer was high, for the time when he lived*. 
 
 He married, about the year 1800, Nancy, the youngest daughter 
 of Rev. Stephen Farrar of New Ipswich, and became the father 
 of seven children. 
 
 MOSES LEAVITT NEAL. 
 
 Son of John Neal ; born, Hampton, 1767 ; Harvard College, 1785 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1793 ; practiced, Londonderry, Rochester, and Dover ; died, Dover, 
 November 25, 1829. 
 
 Young Neal was quick to learn, and entered Dartmouth Col- 
 lege at the age of fourteen. At the close of his sophomore year 
 he migrated to Harvard. After his graduation he was engaged 
 for five years in teaching ; then studied law with John Prentice 
 at Londonderry. He practiced in that town three years, in 
 Rochester about ten years, and in 1806 took up his residence in 
 Dover, where for a while he kept a select school. In 1809 he was 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 629 
 
 chosen clevk of the state House of Representatives, and was 
 annually reelected until 1828, with the exception of two years. 
 In 1816 he was appointed register of deeds for Strafford County, 
 and continued to hold the office till his death. He was said to be 
 diffident of his legal abilities, and not sorry to obtain a place 
 which gave him a permanent support. 
 
 Mr. Neal was a keen politician, and favored the war of 1812. 
 Having a knack at versification, he found employment for his 
 pen in ridiculing his pplitical opponents. Some specimens of his 
 style are given in notices of his contemporaries, in this work. 
 He published other poems, also, one under the remarkable title of 
 " Minimaltasperus," in 1786 ; another called " the Presbyteriad," 
 in pamphlet form, in 1797 ; but they are inaccessible at this day. 
 
 He excelled as a classical teacher. He was improvident, and 
 not seldom in pecuniary straits. In his family relations he was 
 affectionate and kind, and in his intercourse with others was 
 affable and obliging. But his ways of life did not tend to foster 
 habits of sincerity and truthfulness. One day, when he was 
 inveighing with much virulence against a brother lawyer, the 
 latter suddenly appeared. Neal's manner changed in an instant. 
 Holding out his hand to the new-comer, he exclaimed in the 
 heartiest manner, " Ah, my good old Christian friend, how glad 
 I am to see you ! " 
 
 He was married, first, in 1793, to a daughter of John Prentice 
 of Londonderry. After her decease he married, in 1820, Sarah 
 Forbish. He had a numerous family of children. 
 
 JOHN NELSON. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Martha (Folsom) Nelson ; born, Exeter, January 4, 
 1778 ; Dartmonth College, 1803 ; admitted, 1806 ; practiced, Haverhill ; 
 died there, May 3, 1838. 
 
 Mr. Nelson qualified himself for the bar under Charles Marsh 
 of Woodstock, Vermont, and Peter O. Thatcher of Boston, Mas- 
 sachusetts, and established himself in Haverhill. From his youth 
 he exhibited superior intellectual powers, but he lacked the physi- 
 cal stamina to bear the exhausting labors of the court-room, nor 
 was his voice adequate to the work. But he has been described 
 as " nearly as good a lawyer as Joseph Bell," who was at the 
 head of the bar in Grafton County. He was a man of few 
 34 
 
630 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 words, but as a counselor was much trusted, and lie held many 
 town offices. Of pure life and character, he was outspoken in 
 his hostility to negro slavery, at a time when the avowal of such 
 sentiments required some moral courage, even in New England. 
 He wore the blue coat and bright buttons which are associated 
 with the memory of more than one man of note, and this dress, 
 together with his measured step, probably gained him the sobri- 
 quet of " Admiral," by which he was commonly designated. 
 
 Mr. Nelson married, in 1810, Susannalv, daughter of General 
 Ebenezer Brewster of Hanover. She lived but a short time, and 
 he took for his second wife Lois B., daughter of John Leverett of 
 Windsor, Vermont. They had sixteen children, of whom eleven 
 reached maturity. One of their sons, Thomas Leverett Nelson, 
 followed the profession of his father, and at least five of the 
 daughters became wives of lawyers. 
 
 SETH NEWCOMB. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel and Sarah (Steams) Newcomb ; born, Keene, October 
 20, 1786 ; Harvard College, 1804 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, October 31, 
 1811. 
 
 This was a son of Judge Newcomb. He probably commenced 
 his law studies with his father immediately after his graduation. 
 As he was admitted to the Superior Court in 1809, he must have 
 been an attorney of the Common Pleas two years before that 
 time. The inscription upon his tombstone declares that his short 
 life was active, but too much devoted to the world, and that 
 severe and long-continued sickness led him to a full conviction 
 of the truth of our holy religion, and to humility and penitence. 
 He was but twenty-five years old. 
 
 CHEISTOPHER G. NEWTON. 
 
 Son of Erastua and Betsey (Beckwith) Newton ; born, Newport, January 
 15, 1803 ; Middlebury College, 1827 ; practiced, Washington ; died, Lawrence, 
 Massachusetts, February 15, 1871. 
 
 The boyhood of Mr. Newton, like that of many of the lawyers 
 of the State, was spent in farming. He prepared himself for the 
 bar with his uncle, Hubbard Newton of Newport, and about the 
 year ,1835 entered into practice in Washington. There he resided 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 531 
 
 twelve or fifteen years, and then removed to Lawrence, Massachu- 
 setts, where he remained until his death. 
 
 He was married, June 9, 1835, to Harriet Hubbard of Wash- 
 ington, and had a son and a daughter. 
 
 HUBBARD NEWTON. 
 
 Son of Christopher aud Marj' (Giles) Newton ; born, Newport, January 1, 
 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; practiced, Newport, Amherst, and Clare- 
 mont ; died, Newport, February 15, 1847. 
 
 Mr. Newton accomplished his law studies in the office of 
 Samuel Bell of Francestown, and began to practice at Newport in 
 1806. After a stay there of thirty years, he removed to Amherst 
 and succeeded to the business of Edmund Parker, who had just 
 changed his residence to Nashua. Amherst remained his home, 
 however, but five years, when he went back to Newport, and 
 resided there the rest of his life, with the exception of two years, 
 when he maintained an office in Claremont as a partner of his 
 son, William F. Newton. 
 
 He enjoyed a fair share of professional business, and for a 
 large part of his life gave considerable time to the pursuit of 
 agriculture also. In 1830 he, in connection with his son, Charles 
 H. E. Newton, established a weekly newspaper in Newport, which 
 had a life of three years. 
 
 Mr. Newton represented Newport in the legislatures of 1814 
 and 1815, and was moderator of the town for seven years. He 
 was deeply interested in the subject of education, acted upon the 
 school committee, and was an originator and trustee of the New- 
 port Academy. He was one of the earliest advocates of total 
 abstinence, and delivered numerous addresses on this and other 
 subjects, and also contributed articles for many years to the news- 
 paper press. He was a member of the Congregational church. 
 
 Mr. Newton was married, in 1802, to Abigail, daughter of 
 David Lyon of Newport. They had eight children, one a lawyer. 
 
 THOMAS NEWTON. 
 
 Mr. Newton is presumed to have been born in England in 1659 
 or 1660, received his education there, and came to this country 
 in 1688, in which year he was sworn as an attorney in Boston, 
 
532 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Massachusetts. First receiving the appointment of comptroller 
 of customs, he was afterwards, in May, 1692, made " attorney of 
 .their majesties " to prosecute the witchcraft cases in the special 
 ^tribunal which was created for that purpose. Some months later 
 he acted as secretary of the province of New Hampshire for less 
 than a year. He practiced somewhat in the courts here, subse- 
 quently, but it is doubtful if he was ever domiciled in this prov- 
 ince. His death occurred in Boston, May 28, 1721, while he 
 was deputy judge of the Court of Admiralty, and attorney-gen- 
 eral of Massachusetts. He was much esteemed for his high 
 professional and personal character. 
 
 ARTHUR FITZROY LIVINGSTON NORRIS. 
 
 Son of Captain True and Olive (Preseott) Norris ; born, Pittsfield, March 
 17, 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1845 ; admitted, 1846 ; practiced, Pittsfield 
 and Concord ; died, Concord, November 1, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Norris pursued his ante-collegiate studies at the academy 
 in Pittsfield, read law with his uncle, Moses Norris, in the same 
 town, and practiced there from 1846 to 1854. In the latter 
 year he went to Lowell, Massachusetts, and there lived till 1861. 
 Tor the next fifteen years he was a part of the time in Boston and 
 a part in Lynn, Massachusetts, engaged assiduously in bis profes- 
 sion. In 1876 he returned to New Hampshire, opened his office 
 in Concord, and continued his residence there as long as he lived, 
 with the exception of a year or two which he spent in Pittsfield. 
 
 He was a tall, muscular man, and in his youth was renowned 
 as a wrestler. While he was in college he was called forth to 
 sustain the honor of the institution in a bout with the champion 
 wrestler of the vicinity, and in five minutes' time despoiled him of 
 his laurels. Among his fellow collegians he was thought worthy 
 from that time forth to be ranked with the athletes of classical 
 story. 
 
 Like most men of great physical powers, he was extremely good- 
 natured. He was one of the most industrious of lawyers, and 
 gave his days and nights to his causes. Politics he cared little 
 for, and never accepted office. He was especially adapted to the 
 work of the court-room, and it is stated that while he was in prac- 
 tice in Massachusetts no member of the bar there for several 
 years was engaged in as large a number of jury trials as he. In 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 533 
 
 this State his practice was scarcely less extensive. As an advo- 
 cate he was eminently successful. 
 
 He was married, in 1846, to Olive Wallace of Dover. They 
 had ten children, nine of whom survived him. His eldest son, 
 Arthur F. Norris, is a lawyer of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 MOSES NORRIS. 
 
 Son of Moses and Comfort (Leavitt) Norris ; born, Pittsiield, September 
 16, 1799 ; Dartmoiitb College, 1828 ; practiced, Barnstead, Pittsiield, and 
 Manchester ; died, Washington, District of Columbia, January 11, 1855. 
 
 This gentleman studied law with Isaac O. Barnes of Barnstead, 
 and began practice and was appointed postmaster in that place in 
 1832. Three years afterward he decided to remove to Pittsfield, 
 and there became prominent in political affairs, which occupied a 
 large share of his attention during his remaining life. 
 
 He was chosen representative in the General Court from Pitts- 
 field from 1837 to 1840, and was honored with the speakership 
 the last two years. In 1838 he was appointed solicitor for the 
 county of Merrimae, and served five years. In 1841 he was a 
 member of the Executive Council. He was elected a representa- 
 tive in Congress in 1843 and in 1845. In 1847 he was again 
 returned to the state legislature, and was a third time chosen 
 Speaker ; and in 1849 he was elected United States senator for 
 the term of six years. He did not live, however, to complete the 
 full period. 
 
 Mr. Norris possessed exceptional abilities, and the power of 
 inspiring confidence in a marked degree. His attractive personal 
 qualities gained hira many and warm friends. Though in early 
 life he was diffident and unambitious, and somewhat slack in his 
 business habits, he acquired a large practice and an influential 
 position at the bar. He was honest and generous in his dealings, 
 and inclined to promote the settlement of disputes rather than to 
 push them to a judicial determination. Had he abstained from 
 political employments, he might have attained even greater emi- 
 nence as a jurist. It was understood, however, that President 
 Pierce, who was acquainted with his qualifications, was intending 
 to give him a judicial appointment, had he lived to complete his 
 senatorial term. 
 
 Mr. Norris was a thorough partisan, and took a leading part in 
 
534 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 the prosecution and trial of Rev. George Storrs for conducting an 
 abolition meeting in Pittsfield in 1835. No doubt this contrib- 
 uted to his popularity with the mass of his own party, at least at 
 that time, difficult as it is for the people of the present day to 
 share or even to comprehend the reason of the feeling. 
 
 He married, about 1834, Abigail, daughter of Captain Walter 
 A. Todd of Portsmouth, and had six children, three of each sex. 
 
 WILLIAM TAYLOR NORRIS. 
 
 Son of William C. and Sallie (Elliott) Norris ; born, Danbury, April 1, 
 1820 ; admitted, 1849 ; practiced, Danbury and Concord ; died, Danbury, 
 March 30, 1889. 
 
 The youth of Mr. Norris was passed upon a farm. At the age 
 of twenty he began preparation for college at Canaan Academy, 
 and took a partial course at Norwich University, Vermont. After 
 some study of theology, he read law with Weeks and Sargent at 
 Canaan, and with Crofoot and Brodhead at Pontiac, Michigan, 
 and was in that State admitted an attorney, and practiced about a 
 year. His wife's health induced him to return to New Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 He then sought his fortune in California, but, failing to find it, 
 came back to his practice in Danbury in 1854. In 1856 and 
 1857 he was a representative in the legislature. He entered into 
 partnership with Samuel B. Page in 1875, their office being in 
 Concord. They were counsel for Joseph Le Page, indicted for 
 the murder of Josie A. Langmaid at Pembroke, and on the sec- 
 ond trial Mr. Norris made the closing argument to the jury. 
 About 1883 he returned to Danbury. 
 
 He is described as a sincere, careful, painstaking counselor, 
 standing well among the members of the profession, and esteemed 
 by the Court. " Rather a brilliant man, but not pushing." Dart- 
 mouth College gave him the degree of A. M. in 1857. 
 
 He was married, and left a son and a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 535 
 
 PARKER NOTES. 
 
 Son of Rev. Nathaniel and Sarah (Noyes) Noyes ; born, South Hampton, 
 November 18, 1776 ; Dartmouth College, 1796 ; admitted, 1801 ; practiced, 
 Warner and Salisbury ; died, Franklin, August 18, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Noyes is described by Moody Kent as in his youth "a 
 staid, sober lad, apt to learn." Such he continued in his man- 
 hood. Upon quitting college he had some experience as a teacher, 
 and then entered the law office of Thomas W. Thompson of Salis- 
 bury as a student. After two years' practice in Warner, he 
 returned as a partner of Mr. Thompson in that part of Salisbury 
 which is now Franklin. He never moved away. 
 
 He had a good mind and plenty of disposition for work. He 
 kept up his familiarity with the Latin and French tongues, and 
 transcribed all of Saunders's Pleadings which were applicable to 
 this country, changing the Norman-French into English ; and also 
 translated a portion of Bracton from the Latin. After he was 
 seventy he read the poems of Horace in the original. Lord Coke 
 was one of his favorite authors. 
 
 He was an accurate and learned lawyer, more distinguished for 
 strength than for quickness. Cool and deliberate under all cir- 
 cumstances, " cantharides," said the witty N. P. Rogers, " would 
 not hurry him." His mere statement of a case was so candid and 
 impressive that it was equal to another man's argument. He was 
 highly successful as an advocate, and not less so because he was 
 known never to advise a suit on doubtful grounds. To one who 
 came to him with a claim against his neighbor for damage just 
 done by his cattle, he wisely replied, " Go home, and at the end 
 of a year present him your bill." The advice was taken, and the 
 bill cheerfully paid. 
 
 In 1812 Mr. Noyes was appointed county solicitor, and pei'- 
 forraed his duties for five years ; but in 1823, when the commis- 
 sion of Judge of the Superior Court was tendered him, he declined 
 it. He served as a representative in the legislature in 1829, but 
 refused to be a candidate a second time. He was essentially 
 modest and retiring, and honestly preferred " the private station." 
 He bade adieu to the law before he became old, and passed the 
 rest of his life in the cultivation of his land, in the companion- 
 ship of his books, and in doing good offices to his neighbors and 
 
536 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 townsmen. Daniel Webster greatly esteemed him, and never 
 visited Elms Farm without seeing him. He valued his old friend 
 no less for his high honorable character than for his superior 
 abilities, his wide learning, and his eminent professional standing. 
 Mr. Noyes's first wife, Ellen, daughter of Deacon Thompson of 
 Newbury, Massachusetts, died in middle life, and he married, in 
 1828, Anne, daughter of Greenleaf Clark of Newburyport. He 
 had three children. 
 
 WILLIAM H. NUTT. 
 
 Born, Nashua, January 8, 1838 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, September 
 19, 1886. 
 
 In the schools of Nashua Mr. Nutt was educated, and there he 
 studied law with Charles R. Morrison, whose partner he became 
 about the year 1860, and continued two years.. He was not par- 
 ticularly successful in the law, and after Mr. Morrison went into 
 the army ceased practice, and afterwards engaged in other busi- 
 ness of various kinds. 
 
 He was twice married. 
 
 FLETCHER ODELL. 
 
 Son of Hon. Richard and Molly Eastman Odell ; born, Conway, April 1, 
 1812 ; practiced, Shelburne ; died there, June 27, 1882. 
 
 The stimulus of need, which contributes so largely to human 
 success, was wanting to Mr. Odell. He read law with Fessenden 
 and Deblois in Portland, Maine, and was probably there admitted 
 an attorney. It is said he was an unusually bright student. He 
 came to Shelburne about the year 1840, and though abundantly 
 qualified for practice, he never made any effort to obtain it, and 
 did nothing beyond some office or justice work. He was eccen- 
 tric, and spent the greater part of his time in fishing and farming. 
 " While at times intemperate, he had an honorable character, was 
 just in his dealings with all, liberal, and honest." 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 537 
 
 LORY ODELL. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Richard and Molly (Eastman) Odell ; born, Conway, Septem- 
 ber 16, 1801 ; Bowdoin College, 1823 ; practiced, Portsmouth and Hampton ; 
 died, Portland, Maine, March 23, 1883. 
 
 The subject of this notice read law one year with Judah Dana 
 of Fryeburg, Maine, and finished his studies in the office of Jere- 
 miah Mason at Portsmouth. In that place he began practice, 
 about 1827, as a partner of Charles W. Cutter, and did a good 
 share of business, especially in writ making, which was then 
 abundant and tolerably profitable. Mr. OdeU became a little 
 affected by the mania for land speculation, and went to Georgia 
 and invested some money there. Perhaps fortunately, he lost his 
 venture and returned. Two or three years he had his office in 
 Hampton, but he never did much in the practice of the law after 
 that, though he attended the courts, and never gave up his profes- 
 sion. He twice held the office of collector of the port of Ports- 
 mouth, first in 1844, less than a year, and again in 1849, nearly 
 four years. In July, 1855, he received the commission of Judge 
 of the Police Court of Portsmouth, and acceptably filled the posi- 
 tion until 1871. His knowledge of the law, his pride in the 
 correct pex'formanee of his duties, and his entire independence 
 made him a model magistrate. It was while he occupied this 
 position that he is said to have judicially decided that the word 
 " damn " is not legally profane. Probably he meant that the 
 question of its profanity was to be determined by the context. 
 
 Judge Odell was a tall, slender, erect man, of prominent 
 features and striking figure. He habitually wore a blue dress- 
 coat with bright buttons, a stiff neck-stock, and gold spectacles, 
 and was altogether a man to attract attention anywhere. A cur- 
 rent but probably exaggerated story represents that after inspect- 
 ing himself in a mirror one day, he pronounced judgment as 
 follows : " Not handsome, but devilish genteel." 
 
 In this connection it is not out of place to quote a scrap from 
 a doggerel rhyme that some wag of Portsmouth composed, in 
 which in allusion to Mr. Odell's facetious qualities, and the slender- 
 ness and uprightness of his figure, he described him as — 
 
 " Lory the joker. 
 Whom some call the tongs and others the poker." 
 
538 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In his later years Judge Odell was a great reader, and passed 
 much of his time in the library of the Portsmouth Athenaeum. 
 There he might be found at almost any hour, with elevated feet 
 and a substantial volume in his hand, poring over the lucubra- 
 tions of some author of the olden time. But he was always ready 
 to lay down his book and bid a friend welcome, in his brisk, 
 decided tones. For he was as fond of social intercourse as he 
 was of reading, and was a most genial companion, full of anecdote 
 and pleasant talk. 
 He never married. 
 
 EDWARD RUrUS OLCOTT. 
 
 Son of Hon. Mills and Sarah (Porter) Olcott ; born, Hanover, August 9, 
 1805 ; Dartmouth College, 1825 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced, Hanover and 
 Haverhill ; died, Louisiana, 1869. 
 
 It was in the office of his brother-in-law, Joseph Bell of Haver- 
 hill, that Mr. Olcott qualified himself for his profession. He 
 began to practice in Hanover in 1828, and moved to Haverhill in 
 1830. His connection with the bar of New Hampshire was soon 
 ended by his removal to the South in 1834. He settled in Lou- 
 isiana, and received the appointment of a Judge in that State. 
 
 He was thrice married ; first, to Charlotte A., daughter of 
 Thomas Burns of Gilmanton, June 17, 1829 ; second, to Lucia, 
 daughter of Rev. Thomas J. Murdock of Canterbury, Connecti- 
 cut; third, to Mrs. Elizabeth Gosman, daughter of John Van 
 Valkenburg of Cincinnati, Ohio, July 13, 1852. 
 
 GEORGE OLCOTT. 
 
 Son of Hon. Simeon and Tryphena (Terry) Olcott ; born, Charlestovifn, 
 November 22, 1785 ; Yale College, 1805 ; admitted, 1808 ; practiced, Charles- 
 town ; died there, February 4, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Olcott was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and prosecuted his law studies in the office of Benjamin 
 West in his native town. It was there that he practiced from 
 1810 to 1824. Then upon the incorporation of the Connecticut 
 Eiver Bank in Charlestown he was chosen its cashier, and filled 
 the situation during forty years, until the day of his death. 
 
 He was a discreet, careful lawyer, with no ambition for display, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 539 
 
 but satisfied to do conscientious service for his clients. His 
 townsmen availed themselves frequently of his services in the per- 
 formance of public duties which did not take him away from his 
 daily vocation. Five years, beginning in 1819, he was town clerk, 
 and four of them a selectman ; three years, beginning in 1842, he 
 was moderator ; and twenty-six years he was treasurer of the 
 town, from 1837 to his decease. But, though urged, he would 
 never consent to serve in the legislature. 
 
 As an officer of a banking institution he was a model for imita- 
 tion, — prudent, careful, thorough, and exact. 
 
 He is said to have been a peculiarly unselfish man. He had a 
 ready sympathy for the joys and sorrows of the young and old ; 
 and as a citizen " was generous and public-spirited, and always 
 lent his influence and used his means in a right direction." 
 
 Mr. Olcott's first marriage, which occurred in 1831, was with 
 Mrs. Charity, widow of Deacon Benjamin West. His second 
 wife was Emily A., daughter of Isaac Silsby of Charlestown, and 
 was the mother of his three children, all sons. 
 
 MILLS OLCOTT. 
 
 Son of Hon. Peter and Sarah (Mills) Olcott ; born, Norwich, Vermont, 
 May 21, 1774 ; Dartmouth College, 1790 ; admitted, 1798 ; practiced, Hano- 
 ver ; died there, July 11, 1845. 
 
 Mills Olcott was a precocious lad, fitted for college at twelve. 
 Four years after his graduation he spent chiefly in his father's 
 service, and then studied law with Stephen Jacob of Windsor, 
 Vermont, and with Benjamin West of Charlestown. He began 
 to practice in Hanover in 1800. His natural gifts, his experience 
 in transacting business under his father's eye, his social position, 
 and his popular qualities, all combined to make his counsel sought 
 and his opinions respected. He was for many years a lawyer of 
 the highest standing and a leading and influential citizen. He 
 was modest, benevolent, and just on principle. He repeatedly 
 represented the town in the legislature ; in 1814 he was sent by 
 his political friends of Grafton County a delegate to the Hartford 
 convention ; in 1816 he was made treasurer of Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, and in 1821 a trustee. He was president of the Grafton 
 Bank and a director more than twenty years, and president of 
 the county Bible Society. On important public occasions his in- 
 
540 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 flueiice, Ms commanding presence, and his personal accomplish- 
 ments designated him as the fitting presiding officer. His leading 
 abtributes have been summarized as "modesty, judgment, integ- 
 rity, benevolence, urbanity, and great moral worth." 
 
 His humor gave a pleasant zest to his conversation. To some 
 one who condoled with him for his loss of the sense of smell,i he 
 replied " I don't look upon it as a misfortune. There are nine bad 
 smells in the world to one good one, and I congratulate myself 
 on having escaped them." 
 
 Mr. Olcott married, in November, 1800, Sarah, daughter of 
 Colonel Asa Porter of Haverhill. Nine children were the issue 
 of the marriage, of whom two sons were lawyers, and the five 
 daughters became the wives respectively of Joseph Bell, Eufus 
 Choate, William T. Heydock, William H. Duncan, and Charles 
 E. Thompson, constituting a family circle perhaps unexampled in 
 point of talents and learning. 
 
 WILLIAM OLCOTT. 
 
 Son of Hon. Mills and Sarah (Porter) Olcott ; born, Hanover, September 
 19, 1806 ; Dartmouth College, 1827 ; admitted, 18.30 ; practiced, Hanover ; 
 died, Shreveport, Louisiana, April 1, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Olcott was prepared for college in Moor's school in Hano- 
 ver. Two years of his collegiate course he was in Yale, and was 
 then transferred to Dartmouth. He carried on his professional 
 studies in the office of his brother-in-law, Joseph Bell of Haver- 
 hill, and began to practice in Hanover in 1830. He was dissatis- 
 fied with the results of the labors of a country lawyer, and in 
 1835 abandoned the profession and engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness in Rochester, New York. In 1843 he proceeded to Buffalo, 
 and in 1846 to Shreveport, Louisiana, but Was never very success- 
 ful in acquiring property. 
 
 His wife was Harriette A., daughter of John Hinsdale of Mid- 
 dletown, Connecticut, and of their five children three survived 
 him. 
 
 1 William Wordsworth lacked the sense of smell also. But on one occasion 
 he is said to have enjoyed it in a remarkable fashion, — " He smelled a bean- 
 fleld, and thought it heaven ! " 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 641 
 
 NATHANIEL KEMBLE GREENWOOD OLIVER. 
 
 Son of Rev. Daniel and Elizabeth (Kemble) Oliver ; born, Beverly, Massa- 
 chusetts, October 5, 1790 ; Harvard College, 1809 ; practiced, Cornish and 
 Rindge ; died on board United States ship Potomac, May 1, 1832. 
 
 Mr. Oliver was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy. On taking his degree of M. A. at Harvard in 1812, 
 he delivered a poem entitled " Ode on Fancy." In the midst of 
 it his classmate, Horace Bigelow, appeared upon the stage, with 
 his head bandaged on account of a wound received by him a few 
 days previously in defending General James M. Lingan and 
 others from the attack of a " war party " mob in Baltimore. 
 Political feeling rati high at that time, and the audience were evi- 
 dently in full sympathy with Bigelow, and applauded him to the 
 echo. Mr. Oliver's exercise was interrupted by it for a moment, 
 but with wonderful readiness and presence of mind he improvised 
 these lines : — 
 
 " Hail, Bigelow ! hail, fair Harvard's worthy son, 
 Thy country greets thee with a warm ' Well done ! ' " 
 
 Mr. Oliver studied law, and opened an office in Cornish in 
 1817 ; but changed his location to Weathersfield, Vermont, soon 
 after, and about 1822 to Rindge. Apparently he did not take to 
 the law, for it was not long before he removed to Boston, and was 
 there employed as a teacher. 
 
 Being appointed secretary of the commodore on the United 
 States ship Potomac, he died on board of her, of consumption. 
 
 He was distinguished as a scholar, and appears to have been 
 valued and beloved by all his associates. On the day following 
 his death, two thousand and eighty dollars were subscribed by the 
 officers and men of the ship for his bereaved family. 
 
 His wife was Ann T. Hunt, and he liad children. 
 
 HENRY HARVEY ORNE. 
 
 Son of Isaiah and Mary (Rust) Orne ; born, Wolfeborough, Febrnary 23, 
 1786 ; Dartmouth College, 1812 ; practiced, Meredith and Wolfeborough ; 
 died, Wolfeborough, December 12, 1861. 
 
 The name of this gentleman's family is said by Farmer to 
 have been originally Horn. He studied his profession with John 
 P. Hale of Rochester, and John Holmes of Alfred, Maine. He 
 
542 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 began to practice in Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, in 1816, 
 and continued there about twenty years, with the exception of 
 four years, from 1819 to 1823, when he was in Wolfeborough. 
 Not far from the year 1836 he again returned to his native town, 
 and settled on a farm, where he did little, if any, law business, 
 and ended his days. 
 
 Mr. Orne was noted for a lively sense of humor, and occasion- 
 ally made amusing remarks. For some years he was treasurer of 
 the old county of Strafford. While he was in office the Court of 
 Sessions was abolished and the Court of Common Pleas established 
 in its place. Still the Court of Sessions continued to sit and to 
 send out orders to the county treasurer. Orne refused to pay the 
 orders. " When these little judges die," said he, " let them find 
 the money for their own funeral ! " Though eccentric, he pos- 
 sessed a good deal of ability ; he was well meaning, and the 
 people had faith in him and liked him. He was something of a 
 writer, though he did not often turn his hand to authorship. 
 
 His wife was Caroline, daughter of Solomon Chaplin of George- 
 town, Massachusetts. She was well known to the readers of the 
 last generation as Mrs. Caroline Orne, the author of many grace- 
 ful and pleasant poems in the magazines and journals of the 
 time. 
 
 HIRAM OSGOOD. 
 
 Born, Loudon, o. 1795 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Epping ; died. Grand- 
 villa, Michigan, November 29, 1840. 
 
 Mr. Osgood studied his profession under the direction of Josiah 
 Butler and Ira St. Clair of Deerfield ; was originally admitted to 
 practice in Pennsylvania, and afterwards in the Superior Court 
 of this State in 1823. He established himself in Epping, and 
 remained in practice there nearly fifteen years, and then removed 
 to Michigan, where he was in extensive business, professional and 
 mercantile. 
 
 He is described as a fair and respectable practitioner. The 
 bar of his county in Michigan, after his decease, passed resolu- 
 tions expressive of their high sense of his worth. 
 
 His wife was a Miss Lawrence of Epping. 
 
• 
 
 ALPHABETICALLY. 543 
 
 DAVID PAGE. 
 
 Sou of Samuel Page ; born, Haverliill, Massachusetts, August 6, 1809 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1845 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died there, July 1, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Page's parents made their home in Benton, when their 
 son was but four years of age. As he grew up to manhood he 
 assisted in doing the farm work, with only the limited advantages 
 of a country district school. When he reached his majority he 
 attended the Haverhill Academy several terms, supporting him- 
 self the while, and thus prepared himself for school-teaching, 
 which he followed for some winters at Grafton and elsewhere. 
 Somewhere about 1840 he took up his residence in Haverhill, and 
 there practiced his profession from 1845, most of the time, to the 
 date of his decease. A few years he was engaged in mercantile 
 business. After the close of the Civil War he was extensively 
 occupied in procuring pensions. 
 
 Mr. Page seems to have been an unassuming man, who at- 
 tended faithfully to business, and had the respect and good 
 opinion of all. He was repeatedly chosen to positions of respon- 
 sibility in the places of his residence. 
 
 His wife was Margaret Taylor of Derry. They were married 
 December 31, 1844, at Groton. Of their five children, Samuel 
 T. Page is a lawyer in Haverhill, and Elvira Page became the 
 wife of Hon. Alvin Burleigh of Plymouth. 
 
 GEORGE PAINE. 
 
 Son of Hon. Elijah and Sarah (Porter) Paine ; born, Williamstowu, Ver- 
 mont, January 2, 1807 ; Dartmouth College, 1827 ; practiced, Northumber- 
 land ; died, Massillon, Ohio, October 3, 1836. 
 
 Young Paine enjoyed the best advantages in social position and 
 in early training. He prepared himself for college in the Phillips 
 Exeter Academy, and pursued his law studies first with Chancel- 
 lor James Kent in New York, and afterwards with Joseph Bell 
 in Haverhill. He was admitted in 1830, and began practice 
 in Northumberland. In 1833 he removed to Providence, Ehode 
 Island, and became the editor and one of the proprietors of the 
 "Journal" newspaper of that city. Continuing there but three 
 years, and having purchased a tract of land in Massillon, Ohio, he 
 
544 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 removed to that place, and opened a law office there. But he sur- 
 vived the change of residence less than five months. He was 
 seized with congestive fever, which terminated his career, after a 
 brief illness. 
 
 Thus at the early age of twenty-nine disappeared from the 
 scenes of active life one of whose future distinction his many 
 friends had formed the most sanguine hopes. Physically, men- 
 tally, and morally he was generously endowed. 
 
 He married. May 12, 1829, Martha Olcott, daughter of Benja- 
 min Porter of Newbury, Vermont, and left her with two sons, one 
 of whom is still living. 
 
 AMOS ANDREW PARKER. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Nahum and Mary (Deeth) Parker ; born, Fitzwilliam, October 
 8, 1791 ; University of Vermont, 1813 ; admitted, 1821 ; practiced, Epping, 
 Concord, Newmarket, Exeter, Kingston, and Fitzwilliam ; died, Fitzwilliam, 
 May 12, 1893. 
 
 This was the Nestor of the bar of New Hampshire. He was a 
 teacher some years before he began the study of the law, which 
 he pursued under James Wilson of Keene, and Levi Chamberlain 
 of Fitzwilliam. He began practice in Epping, and remained 
 there till 1823, when he removed to Concord, and became the 
 editor and proprietor of the " New Hampshire Statesman," to 
 October, 1825. In 1826 he opened a law office in Newmarket, 
 until 1831, and then resided for a year or two in Amesbury, 
 Massachusetts. Exeter became his next place of residence, in 
 1833, and while there he made a tour to " the West and Texas," 
 an account of which, after his return, at the suggestion of Jo- 
 tham Lawrence, he prepared for publication under the foregoing 
 title. It was well received, and ran through two editions in 1836. 
 From Exeter Mr. Parker went to Kingston, and in 1836 returned 
 to practice in Fitzwilliam. There he continued to attend to his 
 business in a quiet and satisfactory way till after he had passed 
 the allotted age of man. His life was prolonged considerably 
 beyond a century, not to a mere negative existence, for he still 
 enjoyed health and reasonable vigor. 
 
 Mr. Parker had a wide and interesting experience. He was a 
 member of the legislature for thirteen sessions, and for eight 
 years a trustee of the State Asylum for the Insane. Ten years 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 645 
 
 he was moderator of Fitzwilliam, and other years he served his 
 townsmen in various offices. In 1825 and 1826 he was a colonel 
 on the staff of Governor David L. Morril, and as such escorted 
 the Marquis de Lafayette, then the guest of the nation, from the 
 line to the capital of the State. More than half a century after- 
 wards, he published in a small volume an interesting account of his 
 experience and conversations with the distinguished Frenchman. 
 Mr. Parker had much literary facility, and was the author of one 
 or two volumes of metrical compositions. He lived to be the 
 oldest lawyer in the State, and the oldest college graduate in the 
 country, and was highly respected for his useful and estimable 
 character. 
 
 He was three times married ; first, in 1822, to Miranda W., 
 daughter of Rev. Daniel C. Saunders, the first president of the 
 University of Vermont ; second, in 1828, to Mary, daughter of 
 General Michael McClary of Epsom ; and third, in 1879, to Julia 
 E. Smith of Glastonbury, Connecticut, who became known some 
 years ago, with her sisters, as women suffragists, and resisted 
 taxation without representation. She is said to have translated 
 the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew. 
 
 By his first marriage he had three children ; by his second, 
 four. 
 
 EDMUND PARKER. 
 
 Son of Hon. Abel and Edith (Jewett) Parker ; born, JafErey, February 7, 
 1783 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, Amherst ; died, 
 Claremont, September 8, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Parker read law, first with Samuel Dakin of his native 
 town, and finally with David Everett of Amherst, to whose busi- 
 ness he succeeded. He was several years moderator of the town 
 meetings, and was chosen representative to the state legislature 
 eleven years, beginning with 1813 and ending with 1826. In 
 1824 he was elected Speaker, near the close of the fall session, to 
 take the place of Andrew Pierce, who resigned. 
 
 In 1825 he was appointed solicitor of the county of Hills- 
 borough, and continued in office till 1829, when he was given the 
 commission of Judge of Probate, which he held till the latter part 
 of the year 1835. 
 
 He stood high at the bar. He was not eloquent, but was a fair 
 35 
 
546 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 advocate before the jury, and always had his cases well prepared. 
 His office practice was respectable; he was scrupulous in the 
 amount of his fees ; he was not ambitious for business, but tena- 
 cious of what he got. 
 
 In 1836 he removed from Amherst to accept the place of agent 
 of the Jackson Manufacturing Company at Nashua. Here too 
 he was elected representative in the legislature for four or five 
 years between 1849 and 1854, and as a delegate to the constitu- 
 tional convention of 1850. He was also for a time president of 
 the Nashua and Lowell railroad corporation. 
 
 Judge Parker married, first, Susan, daughter of Joseph Cutter 
 of Jaffrey, in 1812. By her he had three children, two oE whom 
 were living at his decease. His second wife was Mrs. Sarah 
 (Leland) Boynton, daughter of Hon. Joseph Leland of Saco, 
 Maine. 
 
 EDWAED PINKERTON PARKER. 
 
 Son of Kev. Edward L. and Mehitabel (Kimball) Parker ; born, London- 
 derry, now Derry, April 18, 1816 ; Dartmouth College, 1836 ; practiced, 
 Derry and Merrimac ; died, Concord, Massachusetts, April 8, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Parker was prepared for college at the Pinkerton Academy 
 in Derry, and, after teaching in the same from 1836 to 1838, he 
 pursued his legal studies two years in the office of Thornton Bet- 
 ton in Derry and one year with Gilman Parker at Haverhill, 
 Massachusetts. He opened an office in Derry in 1839, and prac- 
 ticed law about four years ; then assumed the principalship of the 
 Adams Female Academy in the same town until 1847. In the 
 latter year he removed to Merrimac, to resume his profession in 
 the office just vacated by his kinsman, James U. Parker. After 
 six years of practice he entered into the business of manufacturing 
 furniture, which he found more lucrative than the law. 
 
 In 1862 and the two following years he represented Merrimac 
 in the state legislature. He subsequently removed to Concord in 
 Massachusetts. Mr. Parker possessed good mental parts, but was 
 somewhat self-distrustful, and not adapted to set on foot a law 
 practice in a country neighborhood. 
 
 In 1851 he edited and supervised the publication of the " His- 
 tory of Londonderry," a work of value which his father had pre- 
 pared, but left at his death somewhat incomplete. 
 
 He married, March 13, 1850, Margaret J., daughter of Isaac 
 McGaw-of Merrimac. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 547 
 
 ELIJAH PARKER. 
 
 Son of Stephen and Mary (Morse) Parker ; born, New Ipswich, August 6, 
 1776 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, August 6, 
 1858. 
 
 Mr. Parker's father was an officer of the Revolution, and lost a 
 great part of his property by the depreciation of the continental 
 paper money. His large family of children were brought up to 
 hard work upon the farm. Elijah, being ambitious to obtain an 
 education, succeeded by his own efforts in accomplishing his col- 
 lege course. He studied law with George B. Upham of Clare- 
 mont and Foster Alexander of Keene, and established himself in 
 the latter place. 
 
 His professional life of almost half a century was marked by 
 diligent and useful service. He had a pretty large office business, 
 and attended to collections and the settlement of estates, and sel- 
 dom or never argued causes in the courts. He has been described 
 as " a useful and influential citizen, deeply interested in the cause 
 of education, one of the earliest champions of the temperance 
 movement, first president of the Cheshire County Anti-Slavery 
 Society, and always on the side of all that he thought would be 
 for the benefit of others." 
 
 Mr. Parker, in 1814, took to wife Sally, daughter of Rev. 
 Aaron Hall of Keene. He left five children, one of whom, 
 Horatio G. Parker of Boston, Massachusetts, follows the profes- 
 sion of his father. 
 
 FREDERICK PARKER. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Margaret (Aiken) Parker ; born, Bedford, October 3, 
 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1828 ; practiced, Londonderry ; died, Bangor, 
 Maine, May 19, 1834. 
 
 Mr. Parker read for the bar, and was announced in 1832 and 
 1833 as a practitioner of the law in Londonderry. It is question- 
 able, however, whether he actually engaged to any extent in legal 
 business. In the " Alumni of Dartmouth College " he is de- 
 scribed as a teacher. From Londonderry he went to Bangor, 
 Maine, and spent the brief remainder of his life there. 
 
548 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JAMES PARKER. 
 
 Son of Matthew Parker ; born, Litchfield, 1774 ; admitted, 1801 ; prac- 
 ticed, Litchfield and Bedford ; died, Bedford, March 26, 1822. 
 
 This was a grandson of the Rev. Thomas Parker, the first minis- 
 ter o£ Dracut, Massachusetts. Of his early education nothing has 
 .been learned. He studied law with Clifton Clagett in his native 
 town, and probably remained in Litchfield until 1805, when he 
 settled in Piscataquog Village in Bedford. There he passed the 
 remainder of his life in the practice of his profession. He was a 
 member of the state Senate in 1819. 
 
 His wife was Betsey, daughter of William Parker of Bedford, 
 and he was the father of two children. 
 
 JAMES UNDERWOOD PARKER. 
 
 ' Son of Deacon Matthew and Sally (Underwood) Parker ; born, Litchfield, 
 July 28, 1797 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; practiced, Litchfield and Merrimac ; 
 died, Manchester, March, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Parker prosecuted his law studies with James Parker of 
 Bedford, Artemas Rogers of Henniker, and Benjamin J. Gilbert 
 of Hanover, and opened his office in his native town, but soon 
 after removed to Merrimac. He represented that town in the 
 legislatures of 1844 and 1845, and was a member and president 
 of the state Senate in 1846. He returned to Litchfield in 1847. 
 His law practice was very considerable, he was keen and indus- 
 trious, and excelled as an advocate, meeting the ablest lawyers in 
 his section on equal terms. In connection with his brother, Hon. 
 Nathan Parker, he established the Manchester Bank, and was its 
 president up to the time when it was organized under the national 
 law. He was also the first president of the Manchester and Law- 
 rence Railroad. 
 
 He removed to New York in 1850, and from 1857 to 1859 was 
 a resident of New Jersey. In the latter year he returned to New 
 Hampshire and settled in Manchester, but never did much legal 
 business afterwards. He had a good deal of aptitude for the 
 management of affairs outside of his profession, and in company 
 with a friend entered into some speculations while in New York, 
 but they resulted unfortunately for him. As a lawyer he was 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 649 
 
 bright, ready, and highly successful, and had he devoted himself 
 to his calling alone, would have taken his place among the very 
 best in the State. 
 
 His first wife was Mary Hawkins of Hanover, whom he mar- 
 ried, February 25, 1829. After her decease he was united, in 
 January, 1835, to Eebecca J., daughter of Deacon Augustus 
 Lund of Merrimac, by whom he had several children. 
 
 JOHN PAEKER. 
 
 Son of William and Nabby (Parker) Parker ; born, Bedford, May 7, 
 1803 ; practiced, Pembroke, Hooksett, and Bedford ; died, Bedford. 
 
 This gentleman, after having read law with Jonas B. Bowman 
 of Bedford, opened an office in Pembroke as an attorney in 1832 ; 
 removed the next year to Hooksett, and soon after returned to 
 his native town, where he was announced as a lawyer from 1838 
 to 1840. In the " History of Bedford," issued in 1850, though 
 he was then living in the town, he was not mentioned among 
 the legal practitioners. It is presumed that he abandoned the 
 profession. 
 
 He married, in 1832, Eliza, daughter of Theodore Goffe of 
 Bedford. 
 
 NATHANIEL PARKER. 
 
 Son of Hon. William and Elizabeth (Fogg) Parker ; born, East Kingston, 
 October 22, 1760 ; practiced, Exeter ; died there, April 2, 1812. 
 
 Mr. Parker's father settled in Exeter soon after the birth of 
 this son, who was educated in the schools of that town. Young 
 Parker studied in the office of his father, and was in practice in 
 Exeter before 1790. He was a man of respectable talents and 
 acquirements, but was probably employed more in the clerical 
 duties of his profession than in the active conduct of suits. He 
 possessed good, though probably not extraordinary talents, and 
 was chosen clerk of the state Senate from 1803 to 1805, and rep- 
 resentative in the legislature from 1805 to 1809 inclusive ; and 
 after having been deputy Secretary of State for some years, was 
 elected Secretary in 1809. 
 
 He married, in November, 1793, Catharine, daughter of Dr. 
 Joseph Tilton of Exeter, but left no descendants. 
 
550 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 SAMUEL HANDY PARKER. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Ruthy F. (Brewster) Parker ; born, Portsmouth, July 
 29, 1818 ; admitted, 1842 (?) ; practiced, Dover ; died, San Francisco, Cali- 
 fornia, March 13, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Parker obtained his early education in the schools of 
 South Berwick and Saco, Maine, and of Somersworth, where his 
 mother at one time resided. His legal studies he pursued in the 
 office of John P. Hale of Dover, and was admitted to the bar in 
 Strafford County. He entered into practice in Dover, and re- 
 mained there not far from ten years. His amiable disposition 
 and genial manners rendered him popular, and he had a fair share 
 of the business that usually falls to the junior practitioners. 
 About the time of his stay in Dover, Odd-Fellowship was intro- 
 duced into the State, and Mr. Parker became deeply interested 
 in it, and served in several of the higher offices of the Grand 
 Lodge. 
 
 In 1852 he emigrated to California. Establishing himself in 
 San Francisco, for some years he devoted himself to the law 
 with success. His zeal in behalf of Odd-Fellowship introduced 
 him to a wide circle, and he speedily became a grand officer there. 
 He was the projector and founder of the Odd Fellows' Library 
 Association of San Francisco, which acquired one of the largest 
 and most valuable collections of books in California, and was of 
 extensive usefulness. After representing the county of San Fran- 
 cisco in the Senate of California for a year, Mr. Parker was in 
 1861 appointed postmaster of the city, and administered the office 
 two or three years, whem he relinquished it to accept the position 
 of president of the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. That 
 post he held to the day of his decease. 
 
 He was one of the most popular men there, and his obsequies 
 were observed with every mark of sorrow and respect, such 
 as had never been known in the State before. Business was sus- 
 pended, and the various bodies of the order to which he was 
 devoted attended his funeral with all their insignia and in great 
 numbers. 
 
 He died unmarried. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 551 
 
 WILLIAM PARKER. 
 
 Son of Hon. William and Elizabeth (Grafton) Parker ; born, Portsmouth, 
 1731 ; Harvard College, 1751 ; died, Exeter, June 5, 1813. 
 
 Mr. Parker was educated in the schools of Portsmouth, and was 
 prepared for his profession under the direction of his father, 
 afterwards a distinguished Judge of the Superior Court ; he was 
 admitted to practice as early as' 1755, and established himself in 
 Exeter. 
 
 In 1754 he was keeping a school in Kensington. Notwith- 
 standing his magisterial training, he appears never to have over- 
 come his natural reluctance to open his lips in public. It is 
 alleged that he never argued a cause, and seldom even made a 
 motion in court, during the whole time that he was at the bar. 
 But he was a lawyer of excellent capacity and respectable learn- 
 ing, with a good business as an attorney and a magistrate, and, 
 withal, had a ready, sarcastic wit, which appears to have served 
 him everywhere except in open court. 
 
 When the revolutionary movement in the State took shape, in 
 January, 1776, Mr. Parker's father had held the office of register 
 of Probate for nearly forty years. It was then conferred upon 
 his son, the subject of this sketch, whose tenure of the office 
 lasted until his decease in 1813, when he was in turn succeeded 
 by Ms son, John J. Parker, who performed the duties through his 
 life, which ended in October, 1831. 
 
 Mr. Parker received also the appointment of Judge of the 
 Court of Common Pleas for Rockingham County, January 1, 
 1790, and held it till his resignation in 1807. 
 
 He was prompt and faithful in the discharge of all his official 
 duties, and " upright, honest, and of unbending integrity." His 
 judgment was sound, and he had improved his native powers by 
 reading and study. He never became wealthy, nor did he desire 
 to be so ; he earned much money and lived comfortably, without 
 pressing those who were his debtors. 
 
 Judge Parker married a daughter of Rev. Jeremiah Fogg of 
 Kensington, and had six children, four sons and two daughters. 
 One of his sons, Nathaniel, pursued the profession of his father. 
 
552 DEqEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ROBERT PARKER PARROTT. 
 
 Son of Hon. John F. Parrott ; born, Lee, October 5, 1804 ; West Point 
 Military Academy, 1824 ; admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died. Cold 
 Spring, New York, December 24, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Parrott, on quitting West Point, received an appointment 
 in the artillery. After twelve years' army service, in which he 
 reached the rank of captain, he resigned his commission and 
 returned to civil life. For some years he was superintendent of 
 the West Point Iron and Cannon Foundry, and became the 
 inventor of the well-known " Parrott gun " and projectiles, the 
 fruit of long study and patient experiment. 
 
 While m the army he acquainted himself with the principles of 
 the law, and was admitted an attorney in New York, and was 
 received as a member of the bar here in 1830, being then- an 
 of&cer of the garrison in Portsmouth. His practice in this State 
 was probably very trifling. 
 
 He became the first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 
 Putnam County, New York, 1844 to 1847. 
 
 DANIEL JACOB PARSONS. 
 
 Son of Josiah and Sarah (Badger) Parsons ; born, Gilmanton, April 15, 
 1821 ; admitted, 1842 ; . practiced, Rochester ; died, Snncook, February 24, 
 1893. 
 
 Mr. Parsons, having completed his preliminary course of in- 
 struction at the Gilmanton Academy, and his legal course with 
 Ira A. Eastman of Gilmanton, settled in Rochester in 1843. He 
 remained there in practice forty-four years, until he was disabled 
 by an attack of paralysis in 1887. He was many years a member 
 of the school board, and a representative in the General Court in 
 1850. A man of .amiable character and respectable standing, his 
 life presented few incidents for the biographer. 
 
 His wife was Ella Greenwood of Rochester. They were mar- 
 ried in 1852. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 653 
 
 EDWARD PARSONS. 
 
 Son of Rev. Joseph Parsons ; born, Bradford, Massachusetts, 1747 ; Har- 
 vard College, 1765 ; practiced, Newmarket ; died, while serving in the Revo- 
 lutionary army, 1776. 
 
 Mr. Parsons was an attorney in Newmarket as early as 1773, 
 and, it is believed, practiced also in Berwick, Maine, perhaps 
 before that date. He was a delegate from Newmarket in the 
 fourth provincial Congress in 1775, and had the honor of serving 
 upon the committee who drafted the memorable letter to th.e 
 Continental Congress which is declared by Richard Frothingham, 
 in his " Eise of the Eepublic of the United States," to contain 
 the earliest suggestion on the subject of independence, by an 
 organized body, that he had met with. 
 
 Mr. Parsons was commissioned adjutant of the Continental 
 regiment of Colonel Enoch Poor, probably in the early part of 
 1776, and d.ied of smallpox in the same year, while in the 
 service. 
 
 MOSES PARSONS. 
 
 Son of Rev. Moses Parsons ; born, Newbury, Massachusetts, May 13, 1744 ; 
 Harvard College, 1765 ; practiced, Amherst, Newmarket, and Durham ; died, 
 Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1801. 
 
 Mr. Parsons was a student at law in the office of John Sullivan 
 of Durham. He is said to have settled in Newmarket for a time, 
 and afterwards in Durham. In 1773 he went to Amherst, and 
 stayed there two years. He was a delegate from that place to the 
 third and fourth provincial Congresses, which assembled in 1775. 
 He acted on various committees, some of them of much impor- 
 tance. He is reported to have been of Kingston in 1775, and of 
 Newmarket in 1778. In 1779 Moses Parsons, presumably the 
 same, was a member of the Fire Society of Haverhill, Massachu- 
 setts, and appears to have been practicing there as an attorney of 
 the Supreme Judicial Court in 1787. He was evidently some- 
 thing of a bird of passage. 
 
 While in New Hampshire he was apparently intrusted with no 
 inconsiderable share of business. The files of the courts show a 
 respectable proportion of the writs bearing his indorsement. He 
 
554 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 was a man of education, and certainly did not lack mother-wit. 
 When he was once about to return to Durham from a visit to his 
 father, the latter gave him some seasonable religious advice. 
 " That reminds me," replied the son, rather irreverently, " of my 
 mortality. I have one request to make : If I die at Durham, 
 don't bury me there." His father answered that it was of little 
 consequence where the body was deposited, if the soul was prop- 
 erly fitted for the other world. " True," responded his son, " but 
 the people of Durham are so uncivilized and quarrelsome that I 
 should be ashamed to be seen rising in their company at the 
 last day." 
 
 Mr. Parsons's wife was Sarah Davenport, and they had one 
 child, a daughter. 
 
 WILLIAM COLCOED PATTEN. 
 
 Son of Coloord and Maria (Fletcher) Patten ; born, Kingston, c. 1820 ; 
 practiced, Kingston ; died there, January 5, 1873. 
 
 Mr. Patten received his education at the academy in Kingston, 
 and learned, and for fifteen years carried on, the trade of a wheel- 
 wright. He was popular and ambitious, and, receiving the com- 
 mission of justice of the peace, and having much facility in the 
 drawing of deeds and ■ contracts, he became the magistrate and 
 practically the conveyancer of his town. The statute of the 
 State allowed him easy access to the courts as an attorney, and he 
 siibsequently applied himself to the study of the law, so that he 
 was admitted to the bar. 
 
 He was a representative in the legislature from 1855 to 1858, 
 and in 1872 ; a state senator in 1861 and 1862, and a member of 
 the Executive Council in 1867 and 1868. In 1871 Dartmouth 
 College gave him the honorary degree of A. M. He was a fluent, 
 ready man, with much executive force, and made the utmost of his 
 powers and his position. 
 
 His first wife was Laura Prescott of Kingston ; his second was 
 Sarah Wier of Kensington. He had no children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 655 
 
 WILLIAM ROBIE PATTEN. 
 
 Son of Deacon Francis and Rebecca (Knight) Patten ; born, Candia, 
 August 30, 1837 ; Dartmouth College, 1861 ; admitted, 1867 ; practiced, 
 Manchester ; died, Concord, May 5, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Patten was fitted for college at the academies in Thetford, 
 Vermont, and in Pembroke ; and, after his graduation from col- 
 lege was employed for a year in teaching in Chester. He then 
 entered the military service as captain of Company I in the 
 Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers, and served with credit, 
 retiring in April, 1864. He studied law in the office of David 
 Cross in Manchester, and afterwards established himself in prac- 
 tice m that city. He was quite successful as a lawyer, and showed 
 much readiness and power as an advocate and as a political 
 speaker. In 1866 and 1867 he was assistant clerk, and the two 
 following years clerk, of the New Hampshire House of Eepresen- 
 tatives ; in 1870 and 1871 assistant assessor of internal revenue ; 
 from 1879 to 1883 city solicitor, and a prominent representative 
 in the legislature. 
 
 Captain Patten took great interest in the organization of the 
 Grand Army of the Republic, and served for some years as one of 
 its officers. 
 
 More than a year before his decease he was seized with symp- 
 toms of mental aberration, having its origin, probably, in his 
 experiences in the army, and it was found necessary to seclude 
 him in the Asylum for the Insane at Concord. There he re- 
 mained until his death. 
 
 ISAAC PATTERSON. 
 
 Son of Captain Isaac and Elizabeth (Wadsworth) Patterson ; born, Pier- 
 mont, January 28, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1812 ; practiced Lyme and Bath ; 
 died, Piermont, January 14, 1882. 
 
 To Mr. Patterson the writer of these sketches is indebted for 
 much information respecting the earlier members of the bar in 
 the northern counties. Notwithstanding the weight of nearly 
 ninety years, the little old gentleman was alert and lively, his 
 memory' unimpaired, and his sense of humor as keen as it was in 
 his palmiest days. He struck off men's peculiarities in phrases 
 
556 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 that cling to the memory, they were so odd and so suggestive. 
 One lawyer he described as " a feeble brother ; " another, who 
 prided himself on the number of actions he entered in court, he 
 said " would sue his grandmother, to add to the list ; " and of a 
 third, whose wits were apt to go wool-gathering, he said " he 
 would walk right over a cow, if she happened to be in his way ! " 
 In the little that he said about himself, it appeared that he 
 had thought of reading law in the city of New York, and made 
 application at the office of the celebrated Aaron Burr, whom he 
 described as appearing like " a little old Frenchman, very polite," 
 and at that of Thomas Addis Emmett ; but at length concluded 
 to study with John Eussell of Troy, New York, and Joseph Bell 
 of Haverhill. Mr. Emmett's custom was to require from each 
 student a tuition fee of two hundred and fifty dollars ; and Mr. 
 Bell's the same. 
 
 In 1817 Mr. Patterson established himself in practice at Lyme, 
 but removed in less than two years to Bath, where he formed a 
 copartnership in business with Moses P. Payson, for a year. As 
 Mr. Patterson expressed it, " Payson had got tired of practicing ; 
 I did the work and we divided the profits." He was not distin- 
 guished as an advocate, and made no great figure in the courts ; 
 he was a quiet, industrious, faithful practitioner, confining his 
 labors mostly to office business. He held many town offices ; for 
 ten years he was a member of the board of selectmen ; in 1831, 
 1833, and 1834 he was a representative in the legislature ; and 
 from 1849 he was the town clerk for a continuous period of about 
 thirty years. 
 
 This last office he was peculiarly well fitted for by his legal 
 knowledge, his habits of accuracy, and his neat and elegant hand- 
 writing. On one occasion, a brother lawyer, being about to be 
 married, called on town clerk Patterson for the usual certificate 
 of publication, which was duly furnished, executed in his custom- 
 ary style of exactness and calligraphy. Upon the return of the 
 newly wedded from his bridal trip, Mr. Patterson met him, and, 
 perhaps in the expectation of receiving a compliment for his 
 unimpeachable handiwork, inquired if the certificate of publication 
 was found all right. " Oh, yes," replied the benedict. " Was 
 Mr. ," pursued Patterson (naming a well-known legal marti- 
 net), "at the wedding?" "No, he was out of > town." "That 
 was lucky," returned the veteran; "for if he had been there he 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 657 
 
 might have taken exceptions to the certificate, and carried it 
 up to the Superior Court ! " 
 
 Mr. Patterson continued to live in Bath for almost sixty years. 
 From his long experience as an officer of the town he became 
 thoroughly familiar with all its affairs, and was looked up to as 
 an authority therein. His standing in his profession was deserv- 
 edly high ; he was a well-read, accurate lawyer, of entire integrity 
 and sound judgment. He was one of the examining committee of 
 the bar of his county ; and his genial humor and extraordinary 
 memory and power of imitation made him an interesting and 
 agreeable companion. 
 
 He died among his kindred in Piermont, in the house where he 
 first saw the light. 
 
 ELISHA PAYNE. 
 
 Son of Elisha Payne ; born, Canterbury, Connecticut, February, 1731 ; prac- 
 ticed, Cardigan (now Orange) and Lebanon ; died, Lebanon, July 20, 1807. 
 
 The father of Mr. Payne was a lawyer by profession, who 
 became a preacher in later life, gave his son a careful educa- 
 tion, and took the direction of his legal studies. The son prac- 
 ticed in Canterbury, in Plainfield, Connecticut, and represented 
 the latter place in the legislature. He came to New Hampshire 
 as one of the five original settlers of Cardigan, now Orange, and 
 in August, 1775, was commissioned a lieutenant-colonel in the 
 militia. In January, 1776, he was chosen an assistant Justice of 
 the Court of Common Pleas, and register of Probate for Grafton 
 County. 
 
 When the "Vermont Controversy" was pending in 1778, he 
 was chosen a representative in the legislature of that State ; and 
 in 1781 he was again elected to the same position from Lebanon, 
 of which he had in 1780 become a resident. He was commis- 
 sioned Chief Justice, and appointed lieutenant-governor of Ver- 
 mont, and major-general of her militia. But the New Hampshire 
 towns that adhered to Vermont were on each occasion " left out 
 in the cold " after a brief welcome, and his honors were but short- 
 lived. 
 
 His temporary allegiance to Vermont appears, however, not to 
 have alienated his friends in New Hampshire. In 1786 and 1787 
 he held a seat in the state Senate, and in 1788 he was a delegate 
 
558 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 to the convention to pass upon the Federal Constitution. In 
 1791 he was a member of the constitutional convention of the 
 State. He was also a representative of Lebanon in the legisla- 
 tures of 1784, 1785, 1790, 1793, 1796, 1797, and 1800. 
 
 He was a man of many employments, among which the practice 
 of his profession took, probably, but a small part of his time, 
 especially after the admission of his son to practice. Dartmouth 
 College gave him the honorary degree of A. M. in 1779. 
 
 He was married at the age of twenty-two to Anna Waldo, in 
 Connecticut. She died in 1760, leaving three daughters, and he 
 took for his second wife Elizabeth Spaulding of Plainfield in the 
 same State. The elder of her two sons was a lawyer. 
 
 ELISHA PAYNE, JR. 
 
 Son of Colonel Elisha and Elizabeth (Spaulding) Payne ; born, Plainfield, 
 Connecticut, March 24, 1763 ; Dartmouth College, 1784 ; practiced, Lebanon ; 
 died there, May 20, 1808. 
 
 Little is known of the history of this son and namesake of an 
 educated lawyer, and a stirring man of affairs. He was gradu- 
 ated from Dartmouth College in 1784, and studied the law, prob- 
 ably under his father's direction, establishing himself in Lebanon, 
 his father's home. He is said also to have been a teacher at Shel- 
 ter Island, New York, but when, and for how long, has not been 
 ascertained. From ill health he did not practice his profession to 
 any great extent, but is said to have been a man of character and 
 ability. 
 
 His wife was Lydia Collins of Mansfield, Connecticut. 
 
 MOSES PAUL PAYSON. 
 
 Son of Moses Paul and Deborah (Gage) Payson ; born, Rowley, Massachu- 
 setts, December 9, 1770 ; Dartmouth College, 1793 ; died, Bath, October 30, 
 1828. 
 
 Mr. Payson studied his profession in the office of Alden 
 Sprague of Haverhill, and, after being admitted to the bar, pro- 
 ceeded to the district of Maine, with a view of settling in practice 
 there. But in 1798 he came to Bath, and there fixed his abode. 
 His only property at that time consisted of his horse, a few law 
 books, his professional sign, and one dollar in money. The 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 559 
 
 money he offered to the blacksmith who shod his horse, but the 
 smith declined to take it. 
 
 The young lawyer had what was better than much money, — 
 an astonishing aptitude for the acquisition of property, not only 
 from his profession, but by agriculture and by dealing in mer- 
 chandise of every description. Mr. Patterson, his townsman, said 
 he seemed to possess the power of Fortunatus, — purchased farms, 
 kept stock, loaned money, dealt in produce, and there was scarcely 
 anything that came amiss to him in the way of trade. At the 
 same time he was acquiring money by attention and diligence in 
 his profession. 
 
 The elder Judge Jeremiah Smith said of Mr. Payson that " he 
 was the most ready man in the Grafton bar. No sooner was an 
 action called in a contested case in which he was engaged, than he 
 • was on his feet reading his writ to the jury." He acquired a 
 large and successful practice, and possessed a sufficient share of 
 the learning of his profession, though he was not reckoned as a 
 specially erudite or studious lawyer. 
 
 He was an excellent citizen, and had many qualities to win pop- 
 ularity. His character was unimpeachable, he was polite and 
 affable to all, and an entertaining companion. His fellow-citizens 
 sent him repeatedly as representative to the legislature, and also 
 as state senator for eight years, the last three of which he was 
 chosen president of the Senate. He was moderator of the annual 
 meetings of the town for nearly twenty years ; was often in the 
 Speaker's chair while a representative ; and distinguished himself 
 especially as president of a convention held at "Windsor, Vermont, 
 in 1825, to devise improved facilities for marketing the produce 
 of the country. Here, in a body without rules or regulations, his 
 readiness and tact, his knowledge of human nature, and his power 
 of control had an un equaled field for their exercise, and were 
 long remembered by those present. 
 
 Mr. Payson is described as a perfect model of a gentleman, and 
 as having in his air something which inspired awe, and imposed a 
 certain degree of restraint on others in his presence. Esteemed 
 and honored, he employed his time in the later years of his life in 
 looking after his farming and his stock, and in managing the 
 affairs of the Grafton Bank, of which he was the president. He 
 made also some writs for the collection of debts, and assisted in 
 preparing a few causes for trial. In his family relations he was 
 
560 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 peculiarly happy, though sickness often visited his fine dwelling ; 
 and his hospitality, especially towards the clergy, was such that 
 his house went by the name of " the ministers' tavern." 
 
 Mr. Payson married Hannah Perley of Haverhill, Massachu- 
 setts, and left several children. His only son, bearing his name, 
 studied his father's profession, and one of his daughters became 
 the wife of Jonathan Smith, a lawyer of Bath. 
 
 MOSES PAUL PAYSON, JR. 
 
 Son of Moses P. and Hannah (Perley) Payson ; born, Bath, 1807 ; Dart- 
 mouth College, 1829 ; admitted, 1832 ; practiced, Bath ; died, New York 
 city, March 9, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Payson the younger served his apprenticeship to the law 
 in the office of Joseph Bell of Haverhill, and commenced practice , 
 in Bath in 1832. He was by no means without abilities, but he 
 lacked application and economy, and after remaining about five 
 years in Bath he went to New York city, and for a time obtained 
 some employment in the criminal courts there. At one period 
 of his life he was practicing in Boston, Massachusetts, at another 
 he spent several years in New Orleans, Louisiana. He had in- 
 herited from his father a handsome property for that time, but at 
 length dissipated it, and fell into habits of intemperance, which led 
 to consumption. 
 
 OLIVER PEABODY. 
 
 Son of Oliver and Sarah (Robinson) Peabody ; born, Andover, Massachu- 
 setts, September 2, 1753 ; Harvard College, 1773 ; practiced, Exeter ; died 
 there, August 3, 1831. 
 
 Oliver Peabody was the first student at law of the distinguished 
 Theophilus Parsons, who set up practice at Newburyport, Massa- 
 chusetts, in 1777. After Mr. Peabody's admission to the bar, he 
 spent a short time in Boston, Massachusetts, as an assistant to 
 the clerk of one of the courts, and then established himself in 
 Exeter. 
 
 He had all the requisites of success. His native powers of 
 mind were of a high order, and conscientiously cultivated. Al- 
 though he never was distinguished as a specially learned lawyer 
 yet he was well skilled in his profession, and was punctual and 
 faithful in his practice. Business was not lacking, and political 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 561 
 
 preferment was always at his command. In 1789 he was chosen 
 treasurer of the county, and annually rechosen for a number of 
 years. In 1790 he was made a state senator, hut resigned his seat 
 to accept the appointment of Judge of Probate for the county. 
 After holding that place three years, he was again sent to the 
 state Senate in 1793 and 1794, and the latter year was elected 
 president of that body. He resigned his seat a second time on 
 being appointed treasurer of the State, which he continued to be 
 until 1804. The next year he was confirmed sheriff of the 
 county, and served out his term of five years. The state Senate 
 was always to him a stepping-stone to something more desirable, 
 for on being again chosen to it in 1813, he received the commis- 
 sion of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but in 1816 he 
 quitted the bench, upon the reorganization of the courts. In 
 addition to all these official appointments. Judge Peabody was 
 thrice chosen a presidential elector, in 1796, 1800, and 1808. 
 For thirty-four years he was a member of the board of trustees 
 of Phillips Exeter Academy, twenty-two of which he was also 
 treasurer. 
 
 He was formed for popularity. He was handsome in person, 
 amiable and social in disposition, and the elegance of his manners 
 was proverbial. Much as he held public office, he was not an 
 office-seeker. But he seemed fitted by nature for such trusts, and 
 men instinctively turned to him whenever a candidate was to be 
 selected. He was universally esteemed and respected, and his 
 social position was among the highest in the town in which he 
 resided. 
 
 His wife was Frances, daughter of Hon. William Bourn of 
 Marblehead, Massachusetts. One of his daughters was the wife 
 of Alexander H. Everett ; and the distinguished brothers, O. W. 
 B. and W. B. O. Peabody, were his sons. 
 
 OLIVER WILLIAM BOURN PEABODY. 
 
 Son of Oliver and Frances (Bourn) Peabody ; born, Exeter, July 9, 1799 ; 
 Harvard College, 1816 ; admitted, 1822 ; practiced, Exeter ; died, Burlington, 
 Vermont, July 5, 1848. 
 
 Mr. Peabody finished his legal education at the law school in 
 Cambridge, Massachusetts, receiving the degree of LL. B. in 
 1822. He then entered on practice in his native town. He was 
 36 
 
662 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 thoroughly read in his profession, and was distinguished for his 
 acuteness and readiness in legal dialectics. But there was prob- 
 ably something in the rough encounters of professional practice 
 that was repugnant to his sensitive nature. He was essentially a 
 man of letters. His love for scholarship and his literary taste 
 were early developed, and had been fostered by his surroundings. 
 His commencement part at college was a poem. For some years 
 of his stay at Exeter he edited the " Rockingham Gazette," a 
 weekly paper, made readable largely by his contributions. He 
 also wrote and delivered several addresses in prose and verse on 
 public occasions, among which was the poem on the two hun- 
 dredth anniversary of the settlement of New Hamj)shire by Euro- 
 peans, — a production worthy of the important event which it 
 commemorated. 
 
 In Exeter he was annually chosen a representative in the legis- 
 lature, from 1823 to 1830 inclusive. In the latter year he re- 
 moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He gave assistance to his 
 brother-in-law, Alexander H. Everett, in the management of the 
 " North American Eeview," and for some time took the editorial 
 charge of the Boston " Daily Advertiser." He was chosen a 
 representative to the General Court in 1835, and in 1836 he 
 received the appointment of register of Probate. The duties of 
 the office he diversified with various literary employments. In 
 the hope of restoring his failing health in a milder climate, he 
 accepted the chair of English literature in Jefferson College, 
 Louisiana, in 1842. In a little time he returned to Boston, and 
 there, and at Springfield, Massachusetts, where his brother was 
 settled in the ministry, he studied theology, and in 1844 was 
 licensed by the Unitarian Association to preach. The next year 
 he was installed over a congregation in Burlington, Vermont, 
 where he remained, beloved and respected, to the close of his life. 
 
 Mr. Peabody possessed an amiable, though retiring disposition, 
 and courteous manners, joined to first-rate abilities conscientiously 
 cultivated. His sense of humor was keen, and he was a most 
 entertaining converser in congenial society. His scholarship was 
 elegant and accurate, and he was master of a pure and cultivated 
 style of writing. His fastidious taste did not permit him to pub- 
 lish anything which was not finished with the utmost care. He 
 supervised an edition of Shakespeare in 1844, and furnished the 
 lives of Putnam and Sullivan for Sparks's series of American 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 563 
 
 Biography, besides contributing largely to many of the best peri- 
 odical publications. His last literary work was a biography of 
 his brother William, — a true labor of love, which he did not live 
 to fully conclude. 
 He never married. 
 
 SAMUEL PEABODY. 
 
 Son of Richard and Jemima (SpofEord) Peabody ; born, Boxford, Mas- 
 sachusetts, January 3, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; admitted, 1810 ; 
 practiced, Wolfeborougb, Sandwich, Epsom, and Tamworth ; died, Andover, 
 Massachusetts, October 17, 1859. 
 
 It was the original design of Mr. Peabody to enter the ministry, 
 and to that end he pursued awhile the study of theology. But he 
 afterwards changed his purpose and resolved to qualify himself 
 for the legal profession. He studied law in the offices of David 
 Everett in Amherst, of Sylvanus Backus in Pomfret, Connecticut, 
 and of Oliver Crosby of Dover. 
 
 He first opened an office in Wolfeborougb, but after a stay 
 there of between one and two years, settled in Sandwich, where he 
 remained about ten years. He appears to have possessed the for- 
 tunate gift of making a country practice yield him a support for 
 his numerous family, and a substantial surplus besides. In 1823 
 he exchanged his bouse and business stand for those of Jonathan 
 Steele in Epsom, and went to the latter place to live ; but after 
 remaining a couple of years he again changed his home to Tam- 
 worth, and settled down there upon a farm, still, however, keep- 
 ing up his professional practice. Here he continued till 1842, at 
 which date he removed to Andover, Massachusetts, attracted by 
 the excellent schools for his children, and there spent the residue 
 of his days. 
 
 He was the author of an address delivered before the Washing- 
 ton Benevolent Society in Tamworth, and published in 1814. A 
 specimen of his caustic wit is preserved by Hon. John Kelly. 
 For some reason Mr. Peabody held a very poor opinion of the 
 legislature of 1828. " The only difference," said he, " between 
 the occupants of the two stone houses in Concord (the state 
 prison and the capitol) is this, that the former have had their 
 trials, and the latter have not ! " 
 
 He is mentioned in the Peabody Genealogy as "a gentle- 
 
664 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 man of the highest moral and social qualities, and much general 
 culture and professional attainment." 
 
 In 1813 he was married to Abigail, daughter of Jonathan 
 Wood of Boxford, Massachusetts, and by her was the father of 
 ten children, the eldest of whom, Charles A. Peabody, has been a 
 Judge of the Supreme Court of New York, and Chief Justice of 
 Xiouisiana. 
 
 STEPHEN PEABODY. 
 
 "Son of William and Abigail (Wilkins) Peabody ; born, Milford, October 4, 
 1782 ; Harvard College, 1803 ; admitted, 1811 ; practiced, Exeter, Ports- 
 moutb, Milford, and Amherst ; died, Amherst, January 19, ]847. 
 
 Immediately after his graduation Mr. Peabody entered his 
 name as a student with David Everett of Amherst. In the spring 
 of 1804 he removed to Boston, Massachusetts, and studied in the 
 office of John Phillips for two years. Then for the restoration of 
 his health, which had suffered, he visited South America and 
 traveled in Europe nearly two years, after which he returned to 
 Milford and completed his law studies with Solomon K. Liver- 
 more. The first three years of his professional life he passed in 
 practice partly in Exeter and " partly in Portsmouth. Thence he 
 returned to his native town, and there, in addition to his law 
 business, devoted himself considerably to agriculture. 
 
 He represented Milford in the General Court in 1825 and 1827, 
 and was chosen councilor four years, from 1830 to 1833 inclusive. 
 In 1837 he received the appointment of register of Probate for 
 Hillsborough County, and removed to Amherst, the county-seat, 
 where he continued to reside during the remainder of his life, 
 though he is said never to have resumed the practice of his pro- 
 fession there. 
 
 From this brief resume of his employments, it appears that but 
 few years were devoted strictly to the law, perhaps from his 
 having no special liking for it. The brief biographical notice in 
 the Peabody Genealogy contains the statement that he " left an 
 unsullied reputation as a lawyer, and as a citizen he was much 
 lamented." 
 
 He married, in 1824, Jerusha P., daughter of Rev. Matthew 
 Bolles of Milford, and left four children, the eldest of whom, 
 Francis B. Peabody, now of Chicago, Illinois, studied the profes- 
 sion of his father, and for a time practiced in Concord. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 565 
 
 SAMUEL ATKINSON PEARSON. 
 
 Son of Captain Joseph and Hannali (Atkinson) Pearson ; born, Haverhill, 
 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, Septem- 
 ber 2, 1840. 
 
 This gentleman served his apiJrenticeship to the law under 
 Alden Sprague of Haverhill for one year, and the two remaining 
 years with Jeremiah Mason of Portsmouth. He settled in prac- 
 tice at Lancaster in 1807. The business of collecting demands 
 was at that time an enormous one, and Mr. Pearson obtained a 
 full share of it. He had comparatively little business on the con- 
 tested docket of the courts, however, and did not figure in jury 
 trials, unless sometimes as junior counsel. 
 
 He was a large man, of striking presence, who could not fail to 
 attract attention anywhere ; and in the heyday of his prosperity 
 he exercised a liberal hospitality in his spacious dwelling. He 
 was postmaster twenty years, and deservedly popular. In later 
 life the business which had been so productive fell off and left 
 him in reduced circumstances. 
 
 He was married in May or June, 1816, to Ann, daughter of 
 Benjamin Boardman. 
 
 THOMAS PEARSON. 
 
 » 
 
 Son of Thomas and Esther (Wright) Pearson ; born, Tyngsborough, Massa- 
 chusetts, December 25, 1820 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, 
 1891. 
 
 This gentleman received his education at the Nashua Literary 
 Institute and the academy at Hancock; attended the Harvard 
 Law School in 1840 and 1841, and studied in the office of Daniel 
 Abbott and Charles J. Fox in Nashua. In that town he prac- 
 ticed five years, and two years in Methuen, Massachusetts. He 
 was also the Judge of the Police Court in the city of Nashua, 
 from 1855 to 1861. In 1846 he adopted the profession of a civil 
 engineer, and for a number of years this was his chief employ- 
 ment. He said of himself, " I have made more preliminary sur- 
 veys of railroads than any other engineer in New Hampshire, and 
 pride myself that it was well done, and in every case a good line 
 found." 
 
566 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He held a clerkship in the pension office in Washington, Dis- 
 trict of Qolumbia, from 1861 to 1865, the last two years as the 
 chief clerk. In 1866 he was the special agent of that office in 
 New Mexico on fraudulent claims. 
 
 From Nashua he was representative in the legislature of 1852, 
 and was at various times moderator, selectman, assessor, inspector 
 of check-list of his city ward, and trustee of the State Reform 
 School. 
 
 The social qualities of Judge Pearson made him a universal 
 favorite. His eye was quick to discern everything that was 
 quaint and humorous, and his skill as a raconteur enabled him to 
 paint his stories with the liveliest colors. He was a man to " set 
 the table in a roar" and promote hilarity anywhere. 
 
 He was married, first, January 21, 1843, to Angeline M. Hunt 
 of Nashua ; and second, to Hannah A. Pearson of Medford, Mas- 
 sachusetts, February 6, 1884, and left a daughter and a son. 
 
 EDWIN PEASE. 
 
 Son of Hon. Zebulon Pease ; born, Freedom, April 23, 1827 ; practiced, 
 Freedom and Conway ; died, Conway, August 31, 1879. 
 
 It is believed that Mr. Pease was originally admitted an attor- 
 ney under the statute of 1842, and perhaps later was received as 
 a member of the bar. He commenced practice in Freedom about 
 1859, and remained there near seven years, when he moved to 
 Conway. He represented Freedom in the legislatures of 1857 
 and 1858, and was a state senator in 1868. It is said that his 
 rank as a lawyer was fair, his honesty unquestioned, and that he 
 had the general regard and good-will of those who knew him. 
 
 CHARLES HAZEN PEASLEE. 
 
 Son of William and Hannah (Folsom) Peaslee ; born, Gilmanton, February 
 6, 1804 ; Dartmouth College, 1824 ; admitted, 1828 ; practiced. Concord ; 
 died, St. Paul, Minnesota, September 20, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Peaslee is said to have had an excellent mother, from 
 whom he inherited much of his ability and his better qualities. 
 At the academy in his native town and in college he acquired 
 creditable scholarship, which, by study in Philadelphia and in the 
 office of Stephen Moody of Gilmanton, he supplemented by a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. ■ 567 
 
 respectable knowledge of the law, but he never applied himself to 
 his books much afterwards, except on important occasions. He 
 settled in Concord. He was universally liked, his manners were 
 so genial, and his disposition so amiable ; and his talents were 
 adaiired, especially his gift of speaking in public. He seemed to 
 have a natural eloquence, though in special cases he prepared his 
 speeches with much care. In the trial of State v. Prescott, which 
 was an indictment for murder, Mr. Peaslee was the junior counsel 
 for the prisoner, in whose behalf his feelings were strongly en- 
 listed. The accused was a young man of such limited intelligence 
 that the defense of insanity was very naturally set up in his 
 behalf, though unsuccessfully. Mr. Peaslee's opening of the case 
 was carefully studied, and it is said that he divided the honors of 
 the trial with his senior, the eloquent Ichabod Bartlett. 
 
 He was rather adapted to a political than to a legal career. In 
 1833, and. the three years succeeding, he was a member of the 
 state legislature from Concord. During this period the first 
 movement was made for the establishment of a state asylum for 
 the insane. Mr. Peaslee became deeply interested in the subject, 
 and traveled about the State advocating the scheme with earnest- 
 ness and zeal, and is regarded as one of the principal founders of 
 the institution. He served as a trustee from the time of its estab- 
 lishment until his decease. 
 
 In 1839 he was made adjutant and inspector-general of the 
 militia of the State. In 1847 he was chosen a representative in 
 the Congress of the United States, and was twice reelected. He 
 was a working member, and his speeches were far above medi- 
 ocrity. 
 
 In 1853, General Pierce, on acceding to the presidency, ap- 
 pointed him collector of the port of Boston. After the adminis- 
 tration was changed General Peaslee took up his residence in 
 Portsmouth. His death occurred while he was on a visit to the 
 West. 
 
 He was married, December 9, 1846, to Mrs. Mary A. L. Dana, 
 daughter of Robert Harris of Portsmouth. 
 
568 • DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEORGE CHESLEY PEAVEY. 
 
 Son of Hudson and Hannah (Pitman) Peavey ; born, Barnstead, January 
 16, 1815 ; practiced, Exeter and Strafford ; died, Strafford, May 5, 1876. 
 
 At the age of twenty Mr. Peavey went to the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and qualified himself to enter college in advance, but 
 ill health compelled him to relinquish further study. Later he 
 read law with Bell and Tuck in Exeter, but the weakness of his 
 eyes, caused by an injury to his.spine, prevented him from enter- 
 ing into practice for a considerable time. At length he opened 
 an office in that town, and manifested much energy and capacity 
 for business, in spite of his drawbacks. After some years in 
 Exeter, he removed about 1859 to Strafford, where he attended 
 to a large law practice, and gradually established four country 
 stores and a considerable trade in lumber besides. 
 
 He was a bank commissioner in 1856 and 1857, and a member 
 of the state Senate in 1869 and 1870, and received from Dart- 
 mouth College the honorary testimonial of A. M. in 1870. 
 
 Mr. Peavey was throughout his busy and successful life an 
 invalid, a large part of the time being obliged to cover his eyes 
 from the light with a bandage, and not infrequently compelled to 
 preserve a reclining position, while attending to his business. He 
 could never have accomplished the labor that fell upon him with- 
 out the assistance of his devoted wife, who was eyes and hands to 
 him, at least. 
 
 She was Sarah C, granddaughter of Judge Noah Tibbets of 
 Rochester, and married Mr. Peavey, October 5, 1858. 
 
 GEORGE PEIRCE. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Ann (JafErey) Peirce ; born, Portsmouth, 1760 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1780 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there. May 26, 1788. 
 
 Mr. Peirce studied his profession in the office of John Picker- 
 ing in Portsmouth, and was in practice there as early as 1786. It 
 is said to have been the intention of his uncle, George Jaffrey, the 
 last treasurer of New Hampshire under the joyal government, to 
 make him his heir, though it is to be hoped not on the absurd 
 condition upon which he afterwards devised his estate to George 
 JafErey Jeffries, — that he should never follow any profession ex- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 669 
 
 cept that of "being a gentleman." Mr. Pierce, however, did not 
 survive his uncle, and died unmarried. 
 
 HAMILTON ELLIOT PERKINS. 
 
 Son of Roger E. and Esther (Blancliard) Perkins ; born, Hopkinton, No- 
 vember 23, 1806 ; admitted, 1832 ; practiced, Hopkinton and Concord ; died. 
 Concord, January 6, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Perkins received his educational training at the Phillips 
 Exeter Academy, and at the Military Academy in Norwich, Ver- 
 mont. He studied his profession with Matthew Harvey of Hop- 
 kinton and Samuel Fletcher of Concord, and completed it at the 
 Harvard Law School in 1831. He entered into practice in Hop- 
 kinton, and continued about twenty -two years. In 1849 he was 
 appointed postmaster of Contoocook for one administration. He 
 gave considerable attention to lumbering, and built several mills 
 at Contoocook. Having removed, in 1853, to Concord, he re- 
 ceived in July, 1856, the commission of Judge of Probate for 
 Merrimac County, and held it till 1871. 
 
 Judge Perkins was a lawyer of good talents and competent pro- 
 fessional knowledge, but with no great fancy for the drudgery of 
 the law. He was agreeable in conversation and a genial com- 
 panion. Through his long life he enjoyed good health, up to 
 within a short time before his decease, and he passed away in the 
 order of nature, rather than from the effects of disease. 
 
 He married, in 1833, Clara B., daughter of John George of 
 Concord, who survived him, with their four children. One of his 
 daughters is the wife of Judge William L. Foster of Concord. 
 
 MATTHEW PERKINS. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Hannah (Taylor) Perkins ; born, Sanbornton, June 
 17, 1 788 ; practiced, Sanbornton ; died, New York city, August 17, 1826. 
 
 The information obtained in regard to this gentleman is very 
 limited. He appears to have practiced in Sanbornton Square 
 from about 1812 to near the close of his life, when he removed to 
 the city of New York. It has been said that he lived for a time 
 in the county of Coos, and was quite successful there, but this has 
 not been verified. He is described as a lawyer of decided talent, 
 but of rather limited business while in Sanbornton. In 1818 he 
 
570 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 delivered an oration on the 5th of July before the Washington 
 Benevolent Society. He was a man of handsome appearance, and 
 filled the position of brigade inspector in the militia in 1821. 
 
 He married Jane, daughter of Wallis Little of Shirley, Massa- 
 chusetts, and had two sons, one of whom survived him. 
 
 NATHANIEL GILMAN PERRY. 
 
 Son of Dr. William and Abigail (Gilmau) Perry ; born, Exeter, October 28, 
 1826 ; Harvard College, 1846 ; admitted, 1853; practiced, Exeter ; died at sea, 
 June 2, 1855. 
 
 Mr. Perry had his preparatory instruction at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and studied for his profession at the Harvard Law 
 School, and in the office of Gilman Marston of Exeter. He was 
 a representative of that town in the legislatures of 1852 and 1853. 
 He had made arrangements to become the partner in practice of 
 Mr. Marston, and already entered his office in pursuance thereof, 
 when symptoms of pulmonary disease demanded his removal to a 
 milder climate. He accepted the appointment of clerk to Com- 
 modore John C. Long, and sailed, in 1853, to the Mediterranean. 
 His health, however, continued to fail, and after nearly two years 
 he took passage for home, which he was destined never to reach 
 alive. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 NICHOLAS FERRYMAN. 
 
 Born, Devonshire, England, December 24, 1692 ; practiced, Exeter ; died 
 there, August 9, 1757. 
 
 Mr. Ferryman was the first educated lawyer of Exeter. He 
 came to this country in his youth, after the death of his parents, 
 and made his home in Exeter, where he was a teacher of the 
 grammar school in 1716, 1717, and 1718. 
 
 Little is to be learned of his professional qualifications at this 
 late day, but from the information accessible we may infer that 
 he was an active man of affairs and well trusted. It was at his 
 house in Exeter that a meeting of the proprietors of the township 
 of Chester was held in January, 1722. His name appears upon 
 the dockets of the Court of Common Pleas as an attorney, as 
 early as 1730, and recurs pretty frequently for the next twenty 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 571 
 
 years. He drew many of the conveyances of land in his vicinity, 
 which evinced care and accuracy, and were especially noticeable 
 for the neatness of their chirography. 
 
 Mr. Ferryman was employed by the town in 1744 to defend it 
 against the petition of certain inhabitants to the General Court 
 for exemption from parish taxes ; and in 1747 to oppose a peti- 
 tion for a bridge between Stratham and Newmarket, upon the 
 ground that it would prevent the passage of fish, and impede nav- 
 igation. He was -the only lawyer of Exeter till near the close of 
 Lis life, when his son-iu-law, Noah Emery, who studied with him, 
 succeeded him in business. 
 
 Mr. Ferryman was married, in 1717, to Joanna, daughter 
 of Stephen Dudley, and was the father of four children. His 
 daughter Joanna, the wife of Mr. Emery, alone survived him. 
 
 IRA BROWN PERSON. 
 
 Son of Rev. Ira and Sophia J. (Ballard) Person ; born, Barre, Vermont, 
 June 14, 1817 ; practiced, Sutton ; died, Lowell, Massachusetts, August 23, 
 1858. 
 
 The subject of this notice received his education at schools in 
 Chester and Ludlow, Vermont, and at the academy at New Hamp- 
 ton. His profession he studied at Chester, Vermont, and in part 
 with Edmund Burke of Newport. He was in practice in Sutton 
 about the year 1842 ; after which he was in Chester, Vermont, 
 and removed to Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1848. While in the 
 latter place he edited the " Lowell Gazette," a Democratic paper 
 representing the views of the anti-slavery wing of the party. His 
 writings were said to be marked by terseness of style and clear- 
 ness of logic, and he was regarded as an able and even eloquent 
 debater. His paper was discontinued in 1849, and he afterwards 
 settled in the city of New York. He apparently met with little 
 success there, and gained his subsistence in part by writing visit- 
 ing cards, being a fine penman. He subsequently returned to 
 Lowell. 
 
 He married in New York, and became the father of a son, since 
 deceased. 
 
572 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 THOMAS HALE PETTENGILL. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Lydia (Sleeper) Pettengill ; born, Salisbury, Novem- 
 ber 20, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; admitted, 1808 ; practiced, Canaan 
 and Salisbury ; died, Salisbury, August 8, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Pettengill studied law with John Harris of Hopkinton, 
 established himself first in Canaan, and there did a considerable 
 legal business. He was a good scholar and an honest, upright 
 man, in whom the people had confidence in spite of certain eccen- 
 tricities that he manifested. 
 
 He was in his earlier years something of a politician, at first 
 joining the Federal partj'. The citizens of Canaan made him 
 their representative in the legislature in 1814, and the two years 
 succeeding ; and in 1817 he published a little volume under the 
 title of " The Yankee Traveller, or the Adventures of Hector 
 Wigler," a burlesque upon Jefferson and his friends ; but later in 
 life he changed his political opinions and, being ashamed of his 
 literary venture, endeavored, it is said, to recall it from circulation. 
 
 In 1822 he took up his residence in Salisbury, and, with the 
 exception of two years in the newly organized town of Franklin, 
 made his home there thenceforth. After that he devoted less of 
 his attention to the law. He owned a small farm on the Centre 
 Eoad in Salisbury and carried it on himself. He exhibited sonie 
 interest in the subject of education, and was superintendent of the 
 town schools. If, however, his knowledge is to be measured by 
 his language on occasion of an official visit to his charge, it is per- 
 haps fortunate that his connection with the schools was no closer. 
 While a recitation in geography was going on, in his presence, he 
 remarked, " Some people say the earth is round, but Zknow it is 
 as flat as a board ! " We may charitably hope that his ill health 
 had something to do with the hallucination. 
 
 On one occasion his pluck and muscle stood him in good stead. 
 He had written a letter to a rough fellow against whom he held a 
 note for collection, to call at his office and pay it. The man 
 appeared, asked to see the note, and as soon as he got it in his 
 hands crammed it into his mouth and began to chew it up. Pet- 
 tengill seized him by the throat and compelled him to disgorge 
 the paper, and it is to be hoped made him pay smartly for his 
 attempted rascality. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 573 
 
 While he lived in Canaan he was applied to by an ignoramus 
 to certify to his qualification as a teacher. It took Pettengill 
 not long to produce the following : " The bearer is in my opinion 
 fully competent to teach school in any district where there are no 
 scholars." 
 
 He was really more of a man, more of a lawyer, and more of a 
 scholar than the foregoing details would indicate. With many 
 oddities, he was generally respected and confided in by those who 
 knew him. A letter of his in relation to his two early friends, 
 Daniel and Ezekiel Webster, published in the " Correspondence 
 of Daniel Webster," shows him to have had a practiced pen, a 
 good memory of his classics, and an intelligent discrimination of 
 character. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Aphia Morse of Cornish, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1810. They had one son and two daughters. 
 
 THOMAS PEVERLY. 
 
 Son of Thomas Peverly ; born, Northumberland, 1797 ; Dartmouth College, 
 1818 ; practiced, Northumberland ; died there, April 18, 1829. 
 
 Joseph Bell of Haverhill directed the law studies of Mr. Pev- 
 erly, who began to practice in Northumberland in 1821. In 
 November of the succeeding year he was appointed register of 
 Probate for Coos County. In 1827 and 1828 he was elected to 
 the state legislature to represent Northumberland and the towns 
 classed therewith, and is said to have taken an active part in the 
 business proceedings of the House. His opening professional and 
 political life was of a most promising character, but it closed sud- 
 denly by his unexpected death. He was struck down by apo- 
 plexy in his office, while attending to professional business, and 
 never recovered consciousness. 
 
 His wife was Almira, third daughter of Richard C. Everett. 
 They had a son and a daughter. 
 
574 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEORGE MOEEY PHELPS. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Lydia (Morey) Phelps ; born, Orford, January 2, 1788 ; 
 admitted, 1817 ; practiced, Lyme, New Chester afterwards Hill, and Bristol ; 
 died. Hill, c. 1845. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was a law student in the office of Abiathar G. 
 Britten in his native town, and made his first essay in practice in 
 Lyme, about the year 1819. From that place he removed to New 
 Chester, not far from 1827. In October, 1834, he changed his 
 residence to Bristol, but after a short stay there returned to New 
 Chester, which, in 1837, received the name of HiU, by legislative 
 sanction. 
 
 In 1834, 1837, and the two succeeding years, he was a repre- 
 sentative in the state legislature. He is described as not remark- 
 able for his legal acquirements, but as a pretty good business 
 man, with a fair amount of practice. It is hinted, however, that 
 his standing was not of the highest. 
 
 His first wife was Sarah W. Fitch, who died in March, 1834. 
 For his second he married Lydia Thurston of Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, in the May following. By one marriage, he had six chil- 
 dren, and one child by the other. 
 
 THOMAS PHIPPS. 
 
 This gentleman was probably a native of England. He was 
 employed from 1697 to 1701 by the selectmen of Portsmouth as a 
 schoolmaster. As early as 1704 he was a justice of the peace, 
 and in 1709 he wa9 the provincial high sheriff. He took the oath 
 of an attorney in 1716, and was appointed one of a committee to 
 " supervise the laws and collect them in a body to be printed." 
 In 1727 he appears to have acted in court as attorney-general, — 
 perhaps by a temporary appointment. His name appears for 
 several years after this date as attorney for various petitioners. 
 He was an active man of affairs, but apparently had little ac- 
 quaintance with the law. 
 
 He died in Portsmouth in 1738. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 675 
 
 JOHN PICKERING. 
 
 Son of John Pickering ; born, Portsmoutli, 1640 ; died there, May, 1721. 
 
 The subject of this sketch never had the opportunity of a 
 regular legal education, but qualified himself so far that he was 
 enabled to practice in the courts with success and credit. He was 
 a leading man in the province, reflecting the ideas and feelings 
 of the people. In 1680 he was a deputy from Portsmouth in the 
 first assembly held after New Hampshire was erected into a 
 separate province, and in 1684 was reelected. 
 
 A transaction in which he was a prominent actor was strikingly 
 characteristic of the man. Robert Tufton Mason had, during the 
 governorship of Cranfield, brought a number of suits of ejectment 
 against landholders, to which no defense was made, because, no 
 authority being found for the proceedings in Cranfield's commis- 
 sion, the judgments were considered as coram non judice, and 
 because they were tried by and before judges, sheriffs, and juries 
 prejudiced and interested. Under these circumstances it was 
 determined by the people that the books of records which were the 
 primary evidence of the rendition of the judgments should not 
 be left where they could be used to distress the inhabitants, and 
 Pickering at the head of an armed party went to Richard Cham- 
 berlain, the late secretary of the province, and demanded the 
 books, and when he refused to deliver them up, took them from 
 him by force. They were then carried out of the province to 
 Kittery in Maine ; aind there, probably, the twenty-four leaves on 
 which were extended the judgments of Mason against the land- 
 holders were cut from one of the volumes. Two years afterwards, 
 when a new government was established by the crown for New 
 Hampshire, Pickering was summoned before Lieutenant-Governor 
 Usher, and the books were demanded of him, under threats of 
 imprisonment. He at length was constrained to give them up, 
 and they were delivered over to the new secretary, Henry Penny. 
 
 Pickering's zeal in the peo])le's cause did him no injury in the 
 popular estimation. In 1690 he was chosen a member from 
 Portsmouth of .the Assembly of Massachusetts, and sat therein till 
 December, 1691 ; and in 1692 he was elected to the same position 
 in the Assembly of New Hampshire, and was retained there by 
 
576 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 succeeding elections most, if not all of the time, until 1709. 
 Several of those years he was Speaker of the House, and at all 
 times was one of the foremost members. In February, 1696-97, 
 the president and council of New Hampshire, by a singular coin- 
 cidence, appointed Pickering to take possession of the identical 
 books of records which he had himself illegally seized and put in 
 concealment seven or eight years previously. 
 
 There is no doubt that Pickering fully merited the description 
 given of him by our historian Belknap, — "a man of a rough and 
 adventurous spirit." In 1706, when he had reached an age which 
 ordinarily cools the blood, in an action in the Superior Court, he 
 got into an altercation with the judges about his right to the 
 possession of a paper, which they forbade him to take. But the 
 doughty captain paid small heed to their commands, and pocketed 
 the document in dispute, and marched off with it. " On which 
 contemptuous eai'riage," the Court very properly forbade "his 
 future pleading as an attorney in this court." But before the 
 next term the good sense of the disbarred attorney showed him 
 the follj' of his conduct, and " having beg'd pardon and humbled 
 himself, the Court admit him again to plead." 
 
 Mr. Pickering was appointed king's attorney in 1697 ; in 1702 
 he received a commission as attorney-general, and he was acting 
 as such in August, 1715. The most important suit in which he 
 was employed was that of Allen v. Waldron, tried in 1707. It 
 was a leading case, involving substantially the title to all the soil 
 of New Hampshire. 
 
 Mr. Pickering's wife was Mary, daughter of Anthony Stanyan 
 of Hampton, whom he married January 10, 1665-66. They had 
 five children, of whom some were married and left issue ; but only 
 one was living at the time of her father's death, — Mary, the wife 
 of John Plaisted. 
 
 WILLIAM PICKERING. 
 
 Son of William and Abigail (Fabyan) Pickering ; born, Greenland, 1778 ; 
 Harvard College, 1797 ; practiced, Greenland and Concord ; died, Greenland, 
 July 1, 1850. 
 
 Mr. Pickering was a student in the Phillips Exeter Academy, 
 and read law with William K. Atkinson at Dover. He was pri- 
 vate secretary to Governor John Langdon awhile, and afterwards 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 677 
 
 deputy Secretary of State. In the year 1816 he was chosen state 
 treasurer, and fixed his residence in Concord. In that office he 
 continued until 1828, and was again elected to it in 1829. In the 
 latter year he built a house in Greenland, and on relinquishing 
 the treasurership, removed thither. He was appointed soon after- 
 wards collector of the port of Portsmouth, and acted as such till 
 his resignation in 1833. 
 
 He had qualified himself for the practice of the law, but it is 
 doubtful whether he ever gave any considerable time or attention 
 to it, though his name appeared on the list of the attorneys, both 
 at Greenland and at Concord. 
 
 He is described as " of very stately and dignified mien, tall and 
 slight. He had scholarly tastes, and was a man of far more than 
 ordinary literary attainments, and devoted his latter days very 
 krgely to his books. He had quite a comprehensive library for 
 those days, and was a great reader." 
 
 He married, February 14, 1826, Susan B., daughter of Charles 
 Walker of Concord. Their son, Charles W. Pickering, is of 
 the legal profession, and practiced for a time in Haverhill, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 CHARLES WARREN PIERCE. 
 
 Son of Jerediah and Deborah (Heath) Pierce ; born, Fairlee, Vermont, 
 August 6, 1837 ; admitted, 1863 ; practiced, Orford ; died there, February 1, 
 1881. 
 
 Mr. Pierce received his education mostly in Orford, and read 
 for his profession with David P.. Lang of that place. Entering 
 into practice there in 1863 for a while as the partner of Mr. Lang, 
 he gained a favorable standing with the people, and was much 
 employed as trustee and confidential adviser. He was not so 
 much a court as a business lawyer, and his reputation for integrity 
 and sound judgment was deservedly high. He was repeatedly 
 chosen to the position of treasurer of the town, and was elected 
 representative in the legislatures of 1873 and 1874. 
 
 He was married, first, October 2, 1866, to Sarah C. Dimmick ; 
 and second, December 12, 1876, to Martha A. Howard. By his, 
 first marriage he had two children, and one by his second. 
 37 
 
578 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 FRANKLIN PIEECE, LL. D. 
 
 Son of General Benjamin and Anna (Kendrick) Pierce ; born, Hillsborough, 
 November 23, 1804 ; Bowdoin College, 1824 ; admitted, 1827 ; practiced, 
 Hillsborough and Concord ; died, Concord, October 9, 1869. 
 
 The father of Franklin Pierce was a soldier of the Revolution, 
 who fought his way up from the ranks to the command of a com- 
 pany. The son from his boyhood had the art of winning the 
 strong attachment of his companions. He was prepared for his 
 profession under Levi Woodbury of Portsmouth and Edmund 
 Parker of Amherst, and at the law school in Northampton, Mas- 
 sachusetts. Commencing practice in Hillsborough, he was ex- 
 pected by his admiring associates to carry all before him, without 
 effort. His very first trial, however, resulted in failure. His 
 antagonist counsel was a ponderous, loud pachyderm, who by 
 sheer assumption and bluster overbore all Pierce's fine-spun rea- 
 soning, and carried off the judgment. Ashamed and indignant, the 
 young lawyer returned to his office. His friends condoled with 
 him, and some suggested that there were other lines in the law 
 besides the trial of causes ; but here the ambitious young fellow 
 broke in : "I want you to understand that I will try causes, 
 and I will win them yet. The next case I have I will try, and if 
 I lose it, the next after it, and so on as long as any one will 
 intrust me with their cases, if I lose them every one." Pluck and 
 resolution like this were sure to prevail. He removed to Concord 
 in 1838, and formed a partnership with Asa Fowler, and after- 
 wards with Josiah Minot. True to his determination, he devoted 
 his study, his thought, and his efforts to accomplish himself in 
 the trial of causes. His style of speaking, which had been 
 meagre and costive, he had by assiduous practice and preparation 
 enriched and improved, until lie became in the opinion of one of 
 our foremost lawyers, " probably the most brilliant advocate ever 
 known in New Hampshire. His fascinating grace, eloquence, and 
 power were unequaled, and his success as a jury lawyer was 
 unattained by any other member of the profession." 
 
 He had not the ambition to become an erudite lawyer. He left 
 questions of jurisprudence to his associates, and was content with 
 such a knowledge of principles as would sustain the case in hand. 
 In general he had no disposition to immure himself in his office. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 579 
 
 but during the terms of the court he was there early and late, 
 sedulously employed in preparing his causes for trial. He be- 
 lieved that no person should be called to the stand to testify until 
 his knowledge had been verified by personal examination by coun- 
 sel, and he was in the habit of repeatedly putting his witnesses 
 through their statements, until they were proof against attack or 
 surprise. Though excelled by many others in the knowledge of 
 the law, yet he was quick to seize on the strong points, and could 
 state them clearly. On one occasion he returned home just in 
 season to take part in a hearing upon a petition for partition, in 
 which several legal points were involved, and Ira Perley was his 
 opponent. All that Mr. Pierce knew of the case he gathered 
 from a whispered consultation with his associate in the court-room, 
 and from Mr. Perley's speech ; but he immediately rose and 
 replied with one of his most brilliant and effective harangues. 
 
 He was remarkable for his adroitness, tact, and art in dealing 
 with witnesses and jurors. It was natural for him to seem every 
 one's friend. He was the master of those little attentions, and 
 that deference of manner, which secured good- will towards him- 
 self and his clients. His friends had no half confidence in him. 
 If any of them, and they were many, happened to serve on the 
 jury, his weakest cause could never be lost. The officers of the 
 court, who do so much to create the atmosphere of the court-room, 
 were always his backers. His good temper and suavity were 
 notable. One of his partners states that in their connection of 
 six years no word of disagreement ever passed between them. 
 
 He was strong in the examination of witnesses. He had an 
 intuitive sense of how best to approach them, and how much they 
 would bear. The only law books he gave much study to were 
 treatises on evidence ; with them he was familiar. His great 
 ambition was to win his verdicts, and he made the utmost of 
 every means that would contribute to that end. He prepared his 
 arguments with care, and never pressed a point which he could not 
 hope to completely establish ; what was doubtful he let alone. 
 His forte lay in appealing to the feelings of his hearers, rather 
 than to the cool reason. He could unloose the springs of sympa- 
 thy or indignation, and on them float men far away from the 
 moorings of logic. 
 
 Mr. Pierce's political life began shortly after he went to the 
 bar. He was representative of Hillsborough in the legislatures 
 
580 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 from 1829 to 1832, and the last two of those years occupied the 
 chair of the House. In 1833 he was elected to the lower House 
 f)f Congress, and in 1835 reelected. In 1837 he was chosen a 
 senator of the United States, a position which he resigned in 
 1842. He was soon after appointed district attorney for New 
 Hampshire, and declined a cabinet appointment tendered him by 
 President Polk. In both Houses of Congress he was " an able 
 and much valued member." He was ready and strong in debate, 
 and though outspoken and thorough in his political opinions, he 
 never gave offense to his party opponents. When he quitted the 
 Senate to resume his professional labors, one of his associates 
 declared that " it needed only a few years to give him the front 
 rank for talents, eloquence, and statesmanship." 
 
 It is a well-authenticated fact that Lorenzo Dow, the famous 
 evangelist, predicted of Mr. Pierce, while he was a member of the 
 Senate, that he would become a distinguished soldier, would live 
 in the White House, and would die a preacher. Whether the 
 prophecy had any influence in working out its own partial fulfill- 
 ment is a problem. It may well be that the seer, who was a keen 
 reader of character, discerned in the senator's constitution the 
 germs of the soldier, the president, and even the preacher, for 
 Mr. Pierce is said by nature to have had strong religious instincts. 
 At all events, two of the three articles of the prediction may be 
 said to have been sufficiently verified by his service as a general 
 officer in the Mexican War, and by his occupancy of the office of 
 President of the United States. 
 
 Of his later political life the stern logic of events has pro- 
 nounced its sufficient condemnation. In the critical time when 
 the question of the extension of slavery might have been nega- 
 tived, his influence was cast in its favor. There is reason to 
 believe, however, that his better instincts were sometimes over- 
 ruled by bad counselors, with whom the " peculiar institution " 
 outweighed aU other considerations in the government of the 
 country. 
 
 His friends loved best to remember him as he was in his prime, 
 — " the elegant, genial, courtly " leader of the bar, eloquent, mag- 
 netic, chivalrous, the admired of all admirers. To them his very 
 failings seemed venial, as the weaknesses of a generous nature, 
 and almost as if they " leaned to virtue's side." 
 
 In 1834 he was united in marriage to Jane M., daughter of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 581 
 
 Rev. Dr. Appleton, a former president of Bowdoin College. 
 They had three sons, who all died in childhood. 
 
 LUCIUS D. PIERCE. 
 
 Son of Ezekiel P. and Susanna (Porter) Pierce ; born, Chesterfield, Au- 
 gust 9, 1820 ; Norwich University, 1846 ; admitted, 1850 (?) ; practiced. Mar- 
 low ; died, Winchendon, Massachusetts, May 8, 1858. . 
 
 This gentleman accomplished his professional study in the office 
 of William P. Wheeler of Keene, and was in practice in Marlow 
 from 1850 to 1854. He then removed to Winchendon, Massachu- 
 setts, and there finished the remaining four years of his earthly 
 experience. 
 
 His wife was Lucy C, daughter of John H. Fuller of Keene. 
 
 AUSTIN FRANKLIN PIKE. 
 
 Son of Uriah and Mary (Page) Pike ; born, Hebron, October 16, 1819 ; 
 admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Franklin ; died there, October 8, 1886. 
 
 By his own exertions Mr. Pike obtained the means to prepare 
 himself at the academies in Plymouth, and in Newbury, Vermont, 
 for entering college in the sophomore class, but the breaking 
 down of his health forbade him to go further. When he reached 
 the age of twenty-two, he began the study of the law with George 
 W. Nesmith of Franklin, and in due time became his partner in 
 practice. They did a very extensive business. Mr, Pike was of 
 quick perceptions and sound judgment, of indomitable industry 
 and pluck. He soon took the position of advocate. His methods 
 were direct, logical, and forcible. He won respect for his honesty, 
 his professional attainments, and his high standing. He had a 
 genuine love for his calling. After Judge Nesmith went upon 
 the bench, Mr. Pike formed other connections in practice, and 
 never ceased to retain his close hold upon the law, as long as be 
 lived, notwithstanding the numerous and continued calls of politi- 
 cal office upon his time. 
 
 He was a representative of Franklin in the legislatures of 1850, 
 1851, and 1852, and again in 1865 and 1866, in both which later 
 years he was Speaker. In 1857 and 1858 he was a state senator, 
 and president of the Senate in 1858. He was a delegate to the 
 earliest Republican National Convention, which nominated Fre- 
 
582 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 mont for the presidency. He served as a member of the Forty- 
 third Congress of the United States, and in 1883 was chosen as 
 a compromise candidate to the United States senatorship, for the 
 term of six years. He lived through little more than half of the 
 period. 
 
 Mr. Pike's disposition was amiable, and his bearing dignified 
 and polite. His associates in the bar, and in Congress, had a 
 sincere respect for him, so marked vs^as his uprightness, so diligent 
 his performance of his duties, and so courteous his manner. His 
 clients and his constituents were alike satisfied with his consci- 
 entious labors in their behalf. To the last moment of his life, in 
 spite of weakness and suffering, he neglected no professional or 
 official obligation, but performed the functions of his high station 
 at the bar and in the Senate, faithfully and worthily. 
 
 He was united in marri'age, in 1850, to Caroline, daughter of 
 Thomas E. White of Franklin, and left a son and two daughters, 
 one the wife of Frank N. Parsons, Esq., of Franklin. 
 
 DAVID PILLSBURY. 
 
 Sou of Benjamin and Sally (Eaton) Pillsbury ; born, Kaymond, February 
 17, 1802 ; Dartmouth College, 1827 , admitted, 1830 ; practiced, Chester and 
 Concord ; died. Concord, May 25, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Pillsbury received most of his preparation for college in 
 the academy at Pembroke, under the charge of John Vose, whose 
 assistant he became in 1821. He also taught schools in various 
 places before he entered college, beginning when he was only 
 fourteen years old. Jle studied law with Henry Hubbard of 
 Charlestown, and with Samuel D. Bell of Chester, and in the lat- 
 ter place opened his office in 1830. In 1854 he removed to Con- 
 cord. 
 
 From Chester he was a representative in the legislature in 
 1842 and 1844; in Concord he received the appointment of Jus- 
 tice of the Police Court- in 1857, and retained it until his decease. 
 
 While a resident in Chester he was concerned in military 
 affairs, beginning as adjutant, and rising through the succes- 
 sive grades to the command of a major-general in the militia. 
 
 General Pillsbury was a careful, formal lawyer, and well-read 
 in the books, but his lack of judgment and of acquaintance with 
 human nature were drawbacks to his success. Going to court 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 583 
 
 with a case apparently perfect on paper, his depositions shaped 
 to meet the very language of decided causes, he would be tripped 
 up by some suddenly raised question, or find himself confronted 
 by one of his own deponents in person, whose appearance would 
 render his cunningly drawn depositions a complete boomerang. 
 His military exploits, though bloodless, were sometimes annoying. 
 The " sham fight " of one muster day left him despoiled of his 
 plumage, and the young bloods who served on his staff were sus- 
 pected of awakening an artificial liveliness in his ordinarily sedate 
 charger, which at the first artillery fire landed him, minus wig 
 and chapeau, ingloriously in the dust. 
 
 As a police judge he was competent and respectable. 
 
 He died a bachelor. 
 
 DANIEL CHESLEY PINKHAM. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Esther (Chesley) Pinkham ; born, Jackson, March 29, 
 1820 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, October 
 31, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Pinkham's experience was a diversified one. He was fitted 
 for college at the academy in Lancaster, and after his graduation 
 was the principal of academies in Conway and Lancaster, and an 
 instructor in Beloit, Wisconsin, for two years. Meantime he was 
 preparing himself for the legal profession, under the direction of 
 Jared W. Williams in Lancaster, and afterwards in Wisconsin, 
 where he was admitted, and practiced at Jefferson in 1847, and 
 was clerk of the Circuit Court there in 1848 and 1849. In the 
 latter year he was one of the great colony of emigrants to Califor- 
 nia. There he was a civil engineer and surveyor of El Dorado 
 County from 1851 to 1853. He then returned to Lancaster, and 
 was appointed clerk of the courts in 1856, retaining the office the 
 twelve succeeding years. In addition to his practice as a lawyer 
 in Lancaster, he edited the " Coos Republican " a year, and was 
 for some time concerned in mercantile business. For several 
 years he held the appointment of superintending school committee 
 of the town. Mr. Pinkham evidently gained popularity and good- 
 will wherever he became known, but it may be easily inferred 
 from his various employments that he was not an enthusiast in 
 his profession. 
 
 He married, June 20, 1864, Emily M., daughter of William R. 
 Stockwell of Lancaster, and left a son and two daughters. 
 
584 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JOHN PITMAN, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Rev. John and Rebecca (Cox) Pitman ; born, Providence, Rhode 
 Island, February 23, 1785 ; Brown University, 1799 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; 
 died. Providence, Rhode Island, November 17, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Pitman was the son of a Baptist minister, settled in Rhode 
 Island. He prepared for college under the tuition of Rev. Wil- 
 liam Williams, at Wrentham, Massachusetts ; studied law with 
 David Howell of Providence, Rhode Island ; was admitted an 
 attorney, and after passing some years in Rhode Island, New 
 York, and Massachusetts, came, in 1816, to Portsmouth. His 
 stay there was short, for he went away in 1820. He was chosen 
 a representative to the legislature in 1819. A question of deep 
 importance to the people of the State came up for action, upon 
 the passage of what is known as the "Toleration Act," which 
 exonerated persons from taxation, against their consent, for the 
 support of religious worship. Mr. Pitman was so unlucky as to 
 cast his vote on the unpopular side, while his colleague, Ichabod 
 Bartlett, being more familiar with the feelings and grievances of 
 the people, supported the bill, and met with the approval of his 
 constituents. It was said that Mr. Pitman was so mortified at the 
 disapprobation of his course by the voters of Portsmouth, that he 
 was led to give up his residence there. 
 
 He returned to Providence in 1820, and entered upon a success- 
 ful and distinguished career. In 1821 he was commissioned United 
 States attorney for the district of Rhode Island, and in 1824 Judge 
 of the United States Court for the same district, which office he 
 held until his death. Daniel Webster wrote of him that he was 
 " a learned lawyer, an able judge, and an excellent man." 
 
 He held many positions of trust in Rhode Island, and delivered 
 several able addresses on important public occasions. His alma 
 mater made him a Doctor of Laws in 1842. 
 
 In October, 1812, he was married to Mary, daughter of Benja- 
 min Talbot of Providence. Of their nine children, six were living 
 at the time of his death. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 585 
 
 WILLIAM PLUMER. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Mary (Dole) Plainer ; born, Newbury, Massachusetts, 
 June 25, 1759 ; admitted, 1787 ; practiced, Epping ; died there, December 
 23, 1850. 
 
 The father of Mr. Plumer removed with his family to Epping 
 in 1768, and it was there that the son educated himself. He 
 was of an inquiring mind, and a great reader. At the age of 
 twenty he became a convert of the Eev. Samuel Shepherd, an 
 early minister of the Baptist persuasion, and soon after became a 
 preacher himself, and made a tour of a large part of the State, 
 holding daily meetings, and delivering religious exhortations to 
 the people. In about a year, however, his zeal relaxed, and upon 
 reconsideration of the subject, his convictions were modified to 
 what seemed to him to be " the religion of reason and nature." 
 
 He then began the study of the law with Joshua Atherton of 
 Amherst, but Coke on Littleton repelled him, and the suggested 
 necessity of learning Latin sent him elsewhere. John Prentice 
 of Londonderry made his path easier by putting Blackstone into 
 his hands, and by giving him the opportunity to see and do some 
 practice. 
 
 Two years before he was admitted to the bar, he was sent as 
 representative of Epping to the legislature. He sat in the House 
 eight years in all, and in 1791 and 1797 was chosen Speaker. In 
 1791 he was a delegate to the convention to revise the state con- 
 stitution. He was neither an uninterested nor a silent member of 
 these bodies, but impressed the people with his ability to such 
 purpose that, in 1802, upon the resignation of James Sheafe, he 
 was chosen by the legislature to succeed him in the Senate of the 
 United States, till. 1807. He there supported the measures of the 
 Federalist party in general, and formed a lasting friendship with 
 John Quincy Adams. 
 
 Though he afterwards changed his political affiliation, and 
 became a Republican, or Democrat, and of course made himself 
 obnoxious to his former political associates, yet in 1810 and 1811 
 he was chosen a state senator, and was made president of the 
 Senate both years. In 1812 he was elected governor of the State, 
 and again in 1816, 1817, and 1818, after which he declined a 
 reelection. His last political service was in 1820, when he was 
 
586 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 a presidential elector, and cast the only electoral vote in the 
 Union against James Monroe. It was understood, at the time, 
 that he took this course from respect to the memory of Washing- 
 ton, in order that no other presidential candidate should receive 
 the like honor of a unanimous election.^ 
 
 After this, Governor Plumer retired from active employment. 
 
 In the pursuit of the law, which was his absorbing occupation 
 up to the age of fifty, he was strenuous, untiring, and successful. 
 Writ-making was then abundant, and Mr. Plumer is believed to 
 have entered three or four hundred actions in court each year. 
 Technical learning was not so much in request. To try causes 
 successfully before the jury was the aspiring lawyer's great am- 
 bition. He must be aggressive, ready, fluent. An acquaintance 
 with human nature was better than a knowledge of the scintilla 
 juris. Mr. Plumer knew men, he was shrewd and sagacious, and 
 in argument clear and cogent. He tested the mettle of the ablest 
 jurists in southern New Hampshire, and felt himself in no way 
 their inferior. In his prime he is said to have been engaged in 
 more trials in Rockingham and Strafford counties than any other 
 counsel. 
 
 His independence was visible in his legal practice, as in the per- 
 formance of the duties of his political positions. He meant to be 
 no man's man. A person of such decided character must needs 
 have enemies, especially when, like Mr. Plumer, he was known to 
 have changed his views on political and other subjects somewhat 
 radically. But it is evident that he had warm friends, as well. 
 His diary shows that he strove, however, in performing his public 
 functions, not to yield too much to the calls of party. He ex- 
 pected opposition, and did not allow it to disturb him. When he 
 was about quitting the chair of the state Senate, his friends pre- 
 pared the customary complimentary resolution, which they desired 
 to have adopted unanimously. It attributed to the presiding 
 officer, among other desirable qualities, " integrity." One of the 
 opposition senators, a hard-headed Scotch-Irishman, when shown 
 the resolution, objected to the term. " Just strike out that little 
 word inteegrity" said he, " and I '11 vote for the resolve ; other- 
 
 1 A difEerent motive for this vote is set forth in Plumer's Life of Plumer ; 
 but Jiidge George Y. Sawyer, who remembered the occurrence well, states that 
 he never heard any other motive suggested than that mentioned in the text, 
 and was convinced that it was the true one. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 587 
 
 wise, not." Mr. Plumer was consulted. " Oh, strike it out ! " he 
 said, " nobody will ever know the difference." 
 
 It Is evident that Mr. Plumer was a leader of his time, in his 
 profession, in political affairs, and in freedom of opinion. He 
 has been said to be " a good hater," and doubtless his judgments 
 of men were often colored by party or personal feeling. This may 
 be seen by his manuscript sketches of some of his contemporaries. 
 But it is only charitable to believe that his prejudices were in- 
 voluntary. 
 
 He had a* strong partiality for literary and historical work. 
 After his service in the national Senate, he set systematically 
 about the task of writing a history of the United States, which, 
 however, was never completed. For several years in his later life 
 he wrote and published in the newspapers essays under the signa- 
 ture of " Ciucinnatus," on subjects of every-day, practical interest 
 and importance. They were intended for the instruction of the 
 public, and were widely read. 
 
 He was one of the founders and the first president of the state 
 Historical Society, and contributed to its earlier publications. 
 The materials he had collected for a history of the United States 
 he afterwards made available in part for another work, which he 
 projected and partially accomplished, being sketches of distin- 
 guished Americans, of all times. For this purpose he occupied 
 much of his time for many years in procuring the needed data, 
 from printed publications, from private sources, and from corre- 
 spondence. He prepared manuscript sketches sufficient to make 
 in print seven or eight octavo volumes.^ His biographies indicate 
 great diligence, extensive historical knowledge, and a disposition 
 to treat all men fairly, so far as in him lay. The collection is a 
 mine of useful facts, which will richly reward examination. 
 
 When Mr. Plumer was ninety years old he was invited to 
 attend the festival of the " Sons of New Hampshire " in Boston. 
 He felt compelled to decline the invitation by reason of the in- 
 firmities of age. Daniel Webster, the presiding officer on the 
 occasion, proposed the health of Governor Plumer, " the oldest 
 living member of the Congress of the United States," and pre- 
 faced it with the following tribute : " Governor Plumer is a man 
 of learning and of talent. He has performed important service in 
 
 1 The manuscripts are now in the possession of the New Hampshire Histor- 
 ical Society. 
 
688 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 the Congress of the United States. He has been many years 
 governor of the State of New Hampshire. He has lived a life 
 of study and attainment, and, I suppose, is, among the men now 
 living, one of the best informed in the matters pertaining to the 
 history of his country." 
 
 He married Sally, daughter of Philip Fowler of Newmarket, 
 February 12, 1788. They lived together sixty-three years, and 
 had several children, of whom the eldest son adopted the legal 
 profession. 
 
 WILLIAM PLUMER, JR. 
 
 Sou of Hon. William and Sally (Fowler) Plumer ; born, Epping, February 
 9, 1789 ; Harvard College, 1809 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Epping ; died 
 there, September 18, 1854. 
 
 The life of Mr. Plumer was more that of a scholar and states- 
 man than of a lawyer. He was a student at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and completed his law study under his father's direc- 
 tion. He was nominally a practitioner in Epping for the four 
 years after his admission, but really gave more of his time to 
 political and historical investigation. From 1816 to 1818 he was 
 in Portsmouth, holding a temporary United States appointment. 
 In 1818 he was a representative from Epping in the state legisla- 
 ture, and the next spring was elected to Congress. There he was 
 continued for six years, a prominent member, and held the impor- 
 tant post of chairman of the committee on the Judiciary. In 1827 
 and 1828 he was a member of the state Senate, but declined a 
 further election. Repeated offers of professional preferment that 
 were made him met with refusal. 
 
 He devoted his attention chiefly to study, and to literary com- 
 position, though he maintained through life his interest in public 
 affairs. He issued a few of his metrical compositions in small 
 volumes, chiefly for the use of friends, and prepared a biography 
 of his father, published after his death in 1857. This is a work 
 of peculiar value, dealing with the legal and political history of 
 the State for a long period. Mr. Plumer was modest and .unam- 
 bitious, and had a scholar's reluctance to engage in the struggles 
 for positions which he might well have filled. He preferred a 
 quiet life, where his many engaging qualities gained him influence 
 and esteem among all who knew him. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 589 
 
 He married, in 1820, Margaret F. Mead, and left a son and a 
 daughter. 
 
 JOHN PORTER. 
 
 Born, Boxford, Massachusetts, u. 1745 ; Harvard College, 1767 ; practiced, 
 Plymouth ; died there, February 23, 1813. 
 
 This was the eldest of the three lawyers bearing the same 
 name, who were in practice in the State in the early part of this 
 century. He was first educated as a physician, and was through 
 life usually called " Dr. Porter." It is understood that he was 
 induced to go to Holderness by Samuel Livermore, who was the 
 owner of a large portion of the soil in that township. He was 
 probably wanted there in his medical capacity, and perhaps also 
 as an instructor of youth. 
 
 After a time he prepared himself for the legal profession under 
 the direction of Mr. Livermore, and set up in practice in Plym- 
 outh, being the first lawyer in that place. He was admitted a 
 counselor of the Superior Court in 1784. He was awhile secre- 
 tary of the state Bar Association, and is reputed to have been a 
 man of learning and ability. 
 
 His wife was Sarah Gushing, a lady of literary accomplish- 
 ments, having published in Concord, in 1791, a small volume of 
 vei-se entitled "The Koyal Penitent." Of their children, the 
 oldest daughter became the wife of Hon. Elijah Payne of Wil- 
 liamstown, Vermont, and a son studied law, but died young. 
 
 JOHN PORTER. 
 
 Son of Colonel Asa and Mehitabel (Crocker) Porter ; born, Haverhill, 
 1769 ; Dartmouth College, 1787 ; practiced, Chester and Haverhill ; died, 
 Broome County, Canada. 
 
 There being three contemporaneous John Porters on the roll of 
 attorneys in New Hampshire, this one was commonly distin- 
 guished as John Porter, junior. He was induced to settle in 
 Chester by Tappan Webster, a leading business man there, to do 
 his collecting. He arrived there in April, 1790, and remained 
 three years, and then returned to Haverhill, where, and in New- 
 bury, Vermont, he continued in practice until 1800. He then 
 went to Canada. The time of his death has not been ascertained. 
 
 His wife was a Webster from Chester. 
 
690 DECEASEB LAWYERS 
 
 JOHN PORTER. 
 
 Son of John and Martha (Perkins) Porter ; born, Bridgewater, Massachu- 
 setts, February 26, 1776 ; Dartmouth College, 1803 ; admitted, 1806 ; prac- 
 ticed, Londonderry and Derry ; died, Derry, December 4, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Porter prepared himself for the law in the office of Henry 
 Hutchinson of Lebanon, was admitted in Grafton County, and at 
 once began practice in that part of Londonderry which is now 
 Derry. He was representative of the town thirteen years be- 
 tween 1815 and 1847. He was slow in getting into practice, and 
 the income of his business for the first fifteen years averaged no 
 more than four hundred dollars per year. Indeed, the calls for 
 legal services in Londonderry were so few, and the compensation 
 so small, that he never could have received from that source 
 enough to give himself and his family more than a decent sup- 
 port. For years he was the treasurer of the Pinkerton Academy, 
 which added to his resources. 
 
 He was well learned in the law, and was a "prudent and careful 
 counselor, but was said to refine too much, and lacked facility 
 as a speaker. His matter was good, but his manner was not at- 
 tractive, and he usually procured Mr. Mason, or at a later date 
 some other leading counsel, to present his causes to the court and 
 jury. He was gentlemanly in manner, dignified, and generally 
 respected. 
 
 His marriage took place in 1803, with Nancy, daughter of 
 Colonel Daniel Hough of Lebanon. The elder of their two sons 
 became a lawyer. 
 
 JOHN PORTER, JR. 
 
 Son of John and Nancy (Hough) Porter ; born, Londonderry, July 20, 
 1810 ; practiced, Bedford, Manchester, and Derry ; died, Enfield, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Porter received his chief education at the Pinkerton Acad- 
 emy in his native town. He studied his profession with his father, 
 and went into practice in Bedford in 1835, as a partner of Jonas 
 B. Bowman. Afterwards he was in Merrimac for a time. In 
 1889 he settled in Manchester, but gave up the law in 1842, and 
 went into mercantile business with his brother, George Porter. 
 He was also employed at one time in a machine shop. Some 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 591 
 
 years afterwards he returned to Derry, and resumed practice ; 
 but his habits had become irregular, and he had little business. 
 After some years of this life he disappeared from his home, and 
 nothing was known of him by his old acquaintances for a con- 
 siderable time. It appears that he had the wisdom to apply for 
 admission to the society of the Shakers at Enfield. They re- 
 ceived him kindly ; he was carefully looked after, and with good 
 food, temperate living, and regular employment he lost his appe- 
 tite for strong drink, and became a useful member of the commu- 
 nity. His education and business capacity advanced him to the 
 position of traveling agent. In this friendly society he made his 
 home as long as he lived. 
 He was never married. 
 
 CHANDLER EASTMAN POTTER. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Anna (Drake) Potter ; born, Concord, March 7, 1807 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1831 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Concord and Manches- 
 ter ; died, Flint, Michigan, August 3, 1868. 
 
 At the age of eighteen Mr. Potter began preparation for col- 
 lege under Master Vose of Pembroke. He was engaged in teach- 
 ing several years, first in Concord, and afterwards in charge of 
 the high school in Portsmouth. He then studied law with Ichabod 
 Bartlett in Portsmouth, and with Pierce and Fowler in Concord. 
 He set up practice in (East) Concord for a year, and then moved 
 to Manchester. He had no great liking for the law ; his tastes 
 were literary, journalistic, and historical. At Manchester he took 
 charge of the "Democrat," a weekly political newspaper, till 
 1848, when he received the appointment of Judge of the Police 
 Court. While filling this office he conducted the " Farmers' 
 Monthly Visitor," in 1852 and 1853, to which he contributed 
 many valuable articles upon the history of the State, and in 1854 
 and 1855 edited the " Granite Farmer." 
 
 In 1856 he published a full and elaborate " History of Man- 
 chester," which contained also a large amount of information upon 
 the history of the province, and respecting the aborigines, of 
 whose traditions and language he had made a special study. Ten 
 years later he prepared for publication in the Reports of the 
 Adjutant-General, a military history of New Hampshire, a very 
 useful compilation. Judge Potter was a vice-president of the New 
 
592 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 HampsMre Historical Society three years, and delivered an ad- 
 dress at its annual meeting in 1851. He was instrumental in 
 forming the Amoskeag Veterans, a military corps d^ elite, and was 
 its first commander. 
 
 He was united in marriage, in 1832, to Clara A., daughter of 
 John Underwood of Portsmouth. She died in 1864, leaving him 
 three children ; and he was again married, in 1856, to Frances 
 M., daughter of General John McNeil of Hillsborough. 
 
 JOHN PRAY. 
 
 It is not known that Mr. Pray, who acted many years in the 
 courts as an attorney, had any regular apprenticeship to the law. 
 In the inventory of his effects there are some indications that his 
 original occupation was that of a saddler. But he held various 
 offices in Portsmouth, between 1718 and 1731, and in the latter 
 year his name first appeared on the dockets of the court. He 
 continued in practice from that time well up to the close of his 
 life, which took place about the last of the year 1742. 
 
 THOMAS MOSES PRAY. 
 
 Son of Dr. Thomas J. W. and Sarah E. (Wheeler) Pray ; born, Dover, 
 March 21, 1857 ; Bowdoin College, 1878 ; admitted, 1882 ; practiced, Dover ; 
 died there, September 8, 1887. 
 
 This promising young lawyer was prepared for college in the 
 public schools of Dover, and was a scholar of unusual excellence. 
 He studied law with Frank Hobbs and John Kivel, both of Dover, 
 and at Harvard Law School, and opened his office in his na- 
 tive city. 
 
 He began his political career while still a law student, as a 
 representative in the legislature of 1881, and was reelected in 
 1888. Though the youngest member he made his mark there, as 
 a man of character and force. In 1885 and 1886 he was city 
 solicitor, and performed his duties ably and satisfactorily. 
 
 Well adapted to professional life, popular and successful, he 
 was naturally expected to fill a prominent place in the future, 
 when he was attacked by the disease which terminated his exist- 
 ence on earth. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 593 
 
 JOHN PRENTICE. 
 
 Born, Cambridge, Massachusetts, c. 1747 ; Harvard College, 1766 ; prac- 
 ticed, Londonderry ; died there. May 18, 1808. 
 
 The mother of Mr. Prentice is said to have been a sweeper of 
 the college buildings to earn the means to pay her son's collegi- 
 ate expenses. He studied law with Samuel Livermore at London- 
 derry, and subsequently settled in that town. But before that he 
 lived awhile in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and subscribed the 
 address of the loyalists of that place to Governor Hutchinson, 
 May 25, 1774. The great offense which these addresses gave to 
 the Whigs of the time induced some of the signers to recant ; 
 among them Prentice, who ate his words in the following vigorous 
 style : — 
 
 " Whereas I, the subscriber, signed an address to the late Gov- 
 ernor Hutchinson, I wish the devil had had said address before I 
 had seen it. Marblehead, October 24, 1774. 
 
 • John Prentice.'" 
 
 And on his arrival in Londonderry, in June, 1775, he issued a 
 fuller retraction of the sentiment of the address. 
 
 A tradition exists of his reception by the Scotch-Irish inhab- 
 itants of Londonderry, which is more probably true of his prede- 
 cessor, Samuel Livermore. The people stoutly objected to the 
 introduction of a lawyer into their town, and warned him not to 
 persist in the attempt. He proposed to settle the question by 
 "trial of battle," which seemed to them reasonable, and they 
 produced their champion, a mighty bruiser. But the lawyer took 
 his blows so manfully, and gave him such a pommeling in return^ 
 that all objections were withdrawn, and he was duly admitted to 
 the citizenship of the town. 
 
 During the Revolution, law practice languished, but after the 
 restoration of peace, Mr. Prentice, whose native powers were con- 
 siderable, and whose knowledge of his profession was suflBcient 
 for his day, began to take his place among the lawyers of note. 
 He was chosen a representative in the legislature for thirteen 
 years, beginning in 1785 and ending in 1805. Seven years he 
 occupied the chair of the Speaker. In 1787 he was given the 
 commission of attorney-general, and held it till 1793. In 1798 he 
 38 
 
594 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 was tendered a judgeship of the Superior Court, but declined it. 
 For twenty years he was regarded as a leading and a formidable 
 man in the court-room and in the halls of legislation. He was 
 not, however, a learned lawyer nor a student, and his powers had 
 never been curbed by discipline. He was passionate and extrava- 
 gant in assertion, a creature of impulse. He boasted of raising in 
 his garden a melon as large as a barrel, and of digging out a pine 
 «tump that produced twenty-five cords of wood. He was so angry 
 at a part of his crop of hay being wet by three successive rains 
 before he could get it into his barn, that he ordered his men to 
 burn it in the field. He complained of a stone wall that he had 
 ■employed a man to build for him, that it would never stand a 
 heavy dew. " Why," said he, " I saw a robin alight on it yester- 
 day, and when he flew away he knocked down nineteen rods of it 
 at one kick." 
 
 In an action which he brought, the defendant's counsel caused 
 to be entered a suggestion of the death of the plaintiff. Prentice 
 protested to the court that the entry was not true. The Judge 
 remarked, mischievously, " The records of the court cannot lie." 
 " Can 't they ! " vociferated Prentice. " I teU your Honor that 
 my client is alive and well, and if your Honor's records say that 
 he is dead, they do lie like h — ." 
 
 But in spite of his want of balance, his heart had its tender 
 side. He harbored no malice. After his spleen had first vented 
 itself, he was not vindictive. He was a good neighbor, and was 
 well liked by his Scotch-Irish townsmen. He was a kind parent, 
 almost to the point of over-indulgence of his children. The 
 death of his mother, to whom he owed everything, caused him an 
 illness which kept him for days in his bed. " She was one of the 
 best of mothers," he said, " and I loved her tenderly. No woman 
 ever possessed a sweeter disposition, or discharged the duties of 
 her station with more prudence or greater fidelity." 
 
 In 1775 he married Euth, daughter of Dr. Lemon of Marble- 
 head, Massachusetts, whose dowry enabled him to become the 
 proprietor of a fine house and farm in Londonderry. She died 
 in 1791, and he married Tabitha, daughter of Judge Nathaniel 
 P. Sargent of Haverhill, Massachusetts. By each of his wives he 
 had eight children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 595 
 
 JOHN JAMES PRENTISS. 
 
 Sou of John and Azuba (Towne) Prentiss ; born, Mont Vernou, 1818 ; 
 admitted, 1837 ; prauticed, Merrimao, Henuiker, and Claremont ; died, Chi- 
 cago, Illinois, 1890. 
 
 This gentleman attended the Kimball Union, Academy in 1829 
 and 1830, and was a student in Dartmouth College from 1830 to 
 1833, but did not take his degree. He read law with Edmund 
 Parker of Amherst and Benjamin M. Farley of Hollis, and was 
 apparently admitted an attorney before he reached his majority. 
 In Merrimac, where he first started in practice, he remained but 
 six weeks ; then removing to Henniker, he made his home there 
 about five years, and in 1842 settled in Claremont. He was 
 appointed postmaster in Claremont in 1849, and elected a rep- 
 resentative in the legislature in 1854 and 1855, in the latter of 
 which years he was chosen Speaker of the House. Judge Fowler 
 pronounced him one of the best presiding officers he ever knew. 
 As a lawyer, though respectable, he was entitled to less praise. 
 
 In 1882 he changed his domicile to Chicago, Illinois, and spent 
 the rest of his life there. 
 
 He was married, December 7, 1837, to Mary Ann, daughter of 
 Hon. Edmund Parker of Amherst, and had a son and perhaps 
 other children. 
 
 EZRA PRESCOTT. 
 
 Son of David and Dolly (Wright) Prescott ; born, Westford, Massachusetts, 
 March 17, 1781 ; practiced, Francestown, Greenfield, and Amherst ; died, 
 Amherst, September 28, 1845. 
 
 It is supposed that Mr. Prescott received his literary and legal 
 education in Massachusetts, and that he practiced his profession 
 there before coming to this State. He was admitted to the bar 
 in New Hampshire in October, 1815, and the same year settled in 
 Francestown. Continuing there till 1824, he then removed to 
 Greenfield, and raised his sign over the office which had been 
 occupied by General James Miller. He received the commission 
 of postmaster and held it till 1828. In that year he was elected 
 register of deeds, and removed to Amherst, the county seat. 
 Eotation in office not being the fashion of that day, especially in 
 
596 DECEASED LAWYEKS 
 
 the office which he filled satisfactorily, he remained register until 
 1840. He then resumed the practice of his profession during the 
 remainder of his life. 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth Hardy, and they had no children. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON PRESCOTT. 
 
 Son of Henry and Mary (Newmaroh) Prescott ; born, Kittery, Maine, Janu- 
 ary 8, 1776 ; Dartmouth College, 1795 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, 
 March 17, 1817. 
 
 Mr. Prescott qualified himself for admission to the bar under 
 the instruction of Theophilus Parsons of Newburyport and of 
 William Prescott of Boston. He practiced, first, in HaverhUl, 
 Massachusetts, and afterwards removed to Portsmouth, probably 
 as early as 1805. He delivered an oration in that town, July 4, 
 1808, which was published. 
 
 He is said to have settled in Portsmouth by the desire of Gov- 
 ernor Langdon. Those were high party times, and the leading 
 lawyers of Portsmouth being Federalists, the governor, who was 
 a staunch Republican, wanted a legal adviser of his own political 
 faith. The story goes that Prescott was found hardly a match 
 for Webster and Mason, and that Langdon took his protege to 
 task for suffering his Federal opponents to get the advantage of 
 him. " Why, if I were you," urged the governor, whose notion 
 of the literature of the bar was rather limited, " I 'd study the 
 statutes till I got every word of them by heart, before I would 
 allow those fellows to beat me." Mr. Prescott took part actively 
 in the war of 1812, and as a captain in the armj' was present, 
 under General Harrison, at the battle of Tippecanoe. 
 
 After the war was ended he quitted military life, and returned 
 to his profession in Portsmouth. He was a practitioner of respec- 
 tability. In 1814 he received the appointment of clerk of the 
 United States District Court of New Hampshire, and in 1816 he 
 was made Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and died while 
 holding that office. 
 
 Mr. Prescott was twice married. His first wife was Abigail, 
 daughter of Colonel Pierse Long of Portsmouth. After her death 
 he married Mary Grafton, of Boston, Massachusetts, August 15, 
 1804. By this marriage he had seven children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. ; 597 
 
 SAMUEL PRESCOTT. 
 
 Son of John and Martha (Abbott) Prescott ; born, Westford, Massachu- 
 setts, January 8, 1782 ; Harvard College, 1799 ; practiced, Chesterfield and 
 Keene ; died, Keene, November 13, 1813. 
 
 Mr. Prescott was employed after his graduation as a teacher 
 for about three years, and had charge of the grammar school in 
 Keene in 1801 and 1802. He subsequently prepared himself for 
 the bar and was admitted as an attorney, probably in 1804 ; and 
 as a counselor of the Superior Court in May, 1806. He first set- 
 tled in Chesterfield for a couple of years, and then removed to 
 Keene in 1806 or 1807. Not long afterwards he went in com- 
 pany with his father-in-law, Moses Johnson, to western New York, 
 but returned subsequently to Keene. He was but thirty-one years 
 of age at his decease. 
 
 He was married in 1805 to Frances Johnson of Keene, and left 
 a son and a daughter. 
 
 JOHN PRESTON. 
 
 Son of Dr. John and Elizabeth' (Champney) Preston ; born, Nev? Ipswich, 
 April 12, 1802 ; Harvard College, 1823 ; practiced. New Ipswich ; died there, 
 March 5, 1867. 
 
 The father and paternal grandfather of Mr. Preston were 
 physicians ; his maternal grandfather was a lawyer, and he chose 
 the profession of the latter, studying in the office of George F. 
 Farley of New Ipswich, and in that of Samuel Hubbard of Bos- 
 ton, Massachusetts. He began to practice in Townsend, Massa- 
 chusetts, in 1828, but after three years returned to his native 
 town. The residue of his life he passed there, in the general and 
 successful practice of the law, varied with official duties, of which 
 many fell to his share. He held at different times all the chief 
 offices of the town. He was representative in the legislature from 
 1833 to 1838, from 1843 to 1847, and in 1851 and 1852. He 
 was a state senator in 1848 and 1849. Upon the establishment 
 of the New Ipswich Savings Bank he became its treasurer, and 
 continued so till his decease. He was many years secretary and 
 treasurer of the New Ipswich Academy, and the last twelve years 
 of his life a trustee of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane. 
 
598 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Moreover, he was a progressive farmer, delighting in his choice 
 stock, and a reformer, an original anti-slavery partisan, and an 
 advocate of temperance. 
 
 He had all the courage of his convictions, and, being a fluent 
 and ready speaker, he impressed his views forcibly upon those 
 about him. 
 
 The people of New Ipswich who knew him intimately declared 
 their appreciation of his virtues by recording upon the books of 
 the town resolutions expressive of their grief at his decease, and 
 commending his worthy example to the imitation of the young 
 men who were to succeed him. 
 
 Mr. Preston's wife was Elizabeth Smith French, whom he mar- 
 ried at Townsend, Massachusetts, in October, 1828. They had 
 seven children, of whom one, William A. Preston, belongs to the 
 profession of his father. 
 
 CHARLES LEWIS PUTNAM. 
 
 Son of John and Mary (Converse) Putnam ; born, Chesterfield, September 
 10, 1810 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; admitted, 1833 ; practiced, Claremont 
 and Keene ; died, Worcester, Massachusetts, July 17, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Putnam acquired his preparation for college at the acad- 
 emy in his native town. After his graduation he studied in the 
 offices of Joel Parker at Keene, and George B. Upham at Clare- 
 mont, and was admitted in Cheshire County in 1833. Although 
 he held himself out as a lawyer for a few years, and had a limited 
 amount of practice, yet he never gave close attention to his pro- 
 fession, but was principally engaged in the business of insurance. 
 He resided in Claremont from 1838 to 1840 ; then removed to 
 Keene, where he remained tiU 1846, and held the office of post- 
 master from 1841 to 1845 ; and finally settled in Worcester, Mas- 
 sachusetts. 
 
 There he became successively secretary of the Merchants' and 
 Farmers' Insurance Company ; vice-president of the state United 
 Life Insurance Company, and president of the Bay State Insur- 
 ance Company. He was also commissioner of insurance for 
 Massachusetts, and a representative from Worcester in the legis- 
 lature. He was a gentleman of high standing, and possessed 
 unusually agreeable social qualities. 
 
 His wife was Dorothy, daughter of Samuel Flagg of Worcester, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 599 
 
 and their daughter married Colonel John D. Washburn, a lawyer, 
 of that city. 
 
 JOHN ALVIN PUTNEY. 
 
 Son of John and Sally (Batchelder) Putney ; born, Concord, August 23, 
 1833 ; Dartmouth College, 1856 ; admitted, 1858 ; practiced, Plymouth and 
 Concord ; died, Memphis, Tennessee, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Putney read law partly in Concord and partly in Portland, 
 Maine, with General Samuel Fessenden, and entered into practice 
 in Plymouth in 1858. Remaining there but two years, he re- 
 turned for a short time to Concord, and then removed to Memphis, 
 Tennessee, where he was at the breaking out of the Rebellion. 
 He was loyal to the old flag, and served as quartermaster of a 
 regiment of Kentucky volunteers. At the close of the war he 
 returned to Memphis, and there died soon afterwards. 
 
 He married, in 1856, Lucinda L., daughter of Harrison Roberts 
 of Warner; and second, in 1860, Celia Bowers of Louisville, 
 Kentucky. 
 
 SAMUEL DALTON QUARLES. 
 
 Son of Samuel J. and Sarah S. (Dalton) Quarles ; born, Ossipee, Janu- 
 ary 16, 1833 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, Ossipee ; died there, November 23, 
 1889. 
 
 Mr. Quarles was educated at the Phillips Exeter and other 
 academies, and at the Michigan University, where he pursued a 
 special course of a year. He began the study of the law in the 
 office of Luther D. Sawyer of Ossipee, and while there received 
 the appointment of school commissioner for Carroll County, which 
 he resigned soon after he was admitted an attorney, in order to 
 enter the volunteer army in defense of the Union. 
 
 He enlisted a company and went to the front as its captain, in 
 the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment. In the battle at Spotsyl- 
 vania, Virginia, he received a severe and painful wound, which 
 kept him five months from the field. On his return to duty he was 
 mustered as major of the regiment, and at a later date was promoted 
 to be lieutenant-colonel. He was a gallant soldier and an exact 
 disciplinarian, but courteous and impartial, and was valued alike 
 by those above and below him in his military rank. 
 
^00 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Upon the termination of the war he returned home to his pro- 
 fession. He was familiar with the principles of the law, and in 
 natural fitness for practice he was excelled by few. Diligent in 
 the preparation of his causes, he exhibited uncommon fertility of 
 resources in every emergency that confronted him. 
 
 From 1869 to 1871 he served as railroad commissioner, and had 
 he been ambitious for public office, might have aspired to almost 
 any position in the gift of the people, but he preferred the prac- 
 tice of his profession and a private station. His upright charac- 
 ter and amiable qualities surrounded him with clients and friends. 
 
 He married S. Augusta, daughter of Moses P. Brown, Novem- 
 ber 26, 1866, and left children. 
 
 JOSIAH QUmCY. 
 
 Son of Samuel and (Hatch) Quincy ; born, Lenox, Massachusetts, 
 
 March 7, 1793 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Rumney ; died there, January 19, 
 1875. 
 
 Mr. Quincy's father was a lawyer, who had been reduced to 
 narrow circumstances, so that the son in his childhood literally 
 ate the bread of poverty. While a boy he underwent a severe 
 attack of scarlet fever, which caused a lameness in one leg, so that 
 he was obliged throughout his life to use a crutch. Being thus 
 unfitted for manual labor, he eagerly sought for an education. 
 By the aid of friends he obtained sufficient means to enable 
 him to study for the legal profession in the office of Samuel Jones 
 of Stockbridge, whence he obtained admission to the bar. He 
 thus early learned the value of money, — a lesson that he never 
 forgot. 
 
 By the invitation of a connection in Rumney, he settled in that 
 town in 1816. His pecuniary success was immediate. In one 
 year he gained enough to enable him to pay a debt of $200 for 
 his law tuition, and to clear f 2,000 in addition to his expenses. 
 By far the largest part of the business which yielded so speedy 
 and ample a return consisted of suits brought on demands that 
 were not contested. The number of his justice writs averaged 
 forty a month ; and his court writs in proportion. 
 
 His indomitable zeal in the pursuit of gain brought him in a 
 few years the reputation of being a hard, grasping man, though it 
 is not known that his methods differed from those of a great pro- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 601 
 
 portion of his professional brethren at that time. He was simply 
 more successful than they. But his success was by no means all 
 in the direction of money-making. He was soon recognized as a 
 shrewd, energetic, laborious, and persistent manager of contested 
 causes, as well as an advocate of no ordinary power. In 1822 he 
 was engaged in conducting the impeachment of Edward Evans, 
 Judge of Probate for Grafton County, before the New Hampshire 
 House of Representatives, and thus had the opportunity to exhibit 
 his talents in a wider field. In 1824 and 1825 he served in the 
 legislature, and acquired the reputation of a ready debater and 
 sagacious partisan. He was again a representative in 1837 and 
 the three succeeding years, in 1850, and in 1859 and 1860. In 
 1841 and 1842 he was a state senator, and was chosen president 
 of the Senate in both years. In his portion of the State he was 
 for many years the leading man of his party. But he was a 
 patriot before all, and when the first gun of the Rebellion was 
 fired, he declared his unyielding adhesion to the Union. 
 
 In religion Mr. Quincy was a member of the Baptist denomina- 
 tion, and was the president of the board of trustees of the New 
 Hampshire Academical and Theological Institution. For a num- 
 ber of years he gave close attention to its affairs, and contributed 
 liberally of his means to its support. 
 
 Of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad he may fairly 
 be called the father. He was from 1844 sixteen years president 
 of the corporation, and he spared no time nor pains to make the 
 project a success. The difficulties were many, but he surmounted 
 them all. The railroad, chiefly through his efforts, was finished 
 to and across the Connecticut River, and the work was complete. 
 
 Mr. Quincy lived to become an old man, and an accident late 
 in life rendered him almost incapable of walking. But he kept 
 up his interest in his business, and attended at the terms of the 
 courts, not in the court-room, but at his rooms in the hotel. He 
 never " lost his grip " mentally, or even physically. His hand- 
 writing is said to have remained to the last as firm and legible as 
 in his middle life. 
 
 He owed his success chiefly to his unceasing diligence. He was 
 not a bookish man, though he kept himself au courant with the 
 principles and decisions of his profession. He was rather a stu- 
 dent of men and affairs. He did not go through life with his 
 eyes shut ; on the contrary, his observation was keen and inclu- 
 
602 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 sive. He knew the feelings and prejudices of the people, and 
 could judge well how juries would be affected by any line of 
 conduct. As he had a great dislike of failure, he would not push 
 his causes to trial unless he felt quite sure of winning them, but 
 brought the parties to some terms of compromise. He was very 
 successful in the accumulation of property. For many years he 
 was a partner in a mercantile business and a bank director, both 
 of which positions were valuable adjuncts to his law practice. In 
 his later years he had many retainers in railroad cases. His pro- 
 fessional practice was the mainstay of his prosperity. 
 
 He was three times married ; first, April 5, 1819, to Mary 
 Grace, daughter of Jabez H. Weld of Plymouth ; second, Octo- 
 ber 20, 1845, to Harriet Tufts of Rumney ; and third, June 11, 
 1868, to Mrs. Mary H. Dix of Woburn, Massachusetts, who 
 survived him. By his first marriage he had two sons and two 
 daughters ; by his last, one daughter. 
 
 IRA ALLEN RAMSAY. 
 
 Son of Robert Ramsay ; born, Wheelock, Vermont, August 14, 1827 ; 
 admitted, 1853 ; practiced, Colebrook ; died, St. Paul, Minnesota, November 
 7, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Ramsay's early education was obtained in the common 
 schools. Up to the age of twenty-three he was employed in 
 various occupations ; then he prepared himself for the law in the 
 office of Jesse Cooper of Irasburg, Vermont, and in Boston, Mas- 
 sachusetts. He began practice at Guildhall, Vermont, in 1853. 
 Two years later he moved to Colebrook, where he continued 
 twelve years, and then emigrated to St. Paul, Minnesota. A man 
 of great energy and with entire confidence in his own powers, he 
 built up a large business in the vicinity where he lived, on both 
 sides of the Connecticut, and tried many causes. When he quitted 
 New Hampshire he took away a very considerable property. 
 
 In his new home, however, he was less successful. He lost his 
 health there, and survived his change of habitation but a few 
 years. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 603 
 
 CHARLES WHITE RAND. 
 
 Son of Hamliu and Harriet (Sprague) Rand ; born, Bath, July 5, 1819 ; 
 Wesleyan University, 1841 ; practiced, Littleton ; died there, August 3, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Rand's preparation for college was acquired at Kimball 
 Union Academy, He was a student at law in the office of Henry 
 A. Bellows of Littleton and at the Harvard Law School, and 
 began to practice at Littleton in 1847. In 1856 he was com- 
 missioned solicitor for the county of Grafton and served as such 
 until 1861, in which year he was appointed district attorney of 
 the United States. The latter office he retained through the ad- 
 ministration of President Lincoln, and nearly through that of his 
 successor. 
 
 During the first year of his practice he was the partner of John 
 Farr of Littleton ; afterwards he was associated in business with 
 his brother, Edward D. Eand. In 1860 Edward changed his 
 place of residence to Lisbon, while Charles continued at Littleton, 
 but their business connection remained unbroken. 
 
 Charles W. Rand was a careful, well-read, painstaking practi- 
 tioner, and looked especially after the pleadings, the briefs, and 
 the strictly legal work of the firm, leaving his brother to do the 
 arguing and manage the trials. Each was the better fitted for the 
 department which he undertook. Charles's remark to a brother 
 member of the bar, that he thought every lawyer should carefully 
 re-read Chitty's Pleadings once every year, indicates his thor- 
 oughness in the fundamentals of his profession. 
 
 But he was not a mere lawyer, in whose veins ran ink and 
 whose skin was parchment. He was fond of literature and of dis- 
 coursing upon his favorite authors, and was a genial companion 
 and a most worthy man. 
 
 He married, in 1847, Jane M., daughter of Otis Batchelder, 
 and left no children. 
 
 EDWARD DEAN RAND. 
 
 Son of Hamlin and Harriet (Sprague) Rand ; born, Bath, December 26, 
 1821 ; Wesleyan University, 1841 ; practiced, Littleton, Lisbon, and Concord ; 
 died, Lisbon, January 14, 1885. 
 
 The Eand brothers had lawyer's blood in their veins, being 
 descended, through their mother, from Alden Sprague of Haver- 
 
604 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 hill, an eminent jurist and advocate. Edward was prepared for 
 college at Kimball Union Academy, and after his graduation he 
 proceeded to New Orleans, Louisiana, and was engaged in in- 
 struction there, and also studied law in the office of the noted 
 Judah P. Benjamin. Admitted in 1846, he spent the succeeding 
 nine years in practice in that city. While there he exhibited his 
 principle and moral courage by refusing to fight a duel to which 
 he was challenged by some enraged fire-eater. It really demanded 
 more boldness to decline an invitation to the field than to incur 
 the risks of the combat, in the state of public feeling which then 
 prevailed in that community. The affair had a strange termina- 
 tion. The challenger afterwards, when in a state of intoxication, 
 wounded Mr. Rand by a shot in the back, but subsequently on 
 his deathbed repented of his violence, and sent him a friendly 
 message. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Rand returned to New. Hampshire, and entered 
 into a law partnership with his brother, Charles W. Rand, at Lit- 
 tleton. In 1860 Edward removed to Lisbon, but without dissolv- 
 ing their business connection. 
 
 In 1874 Edward D. Rand was appointed by Governor Weston, 
 on the reorganization of the judiciary, a Judge of the new Circuit 
 Court. He held his seat only two years, when a political revolu- 
 tion put an end to the tribunal. While upon the bench he was 
 diligent and conscientious in the performance of every official 
 duty, and presided with honesty and fairness and dignity. One 
 noted case which came before him was that of Joseph Le Page, 
 a stoutly contested trial for murder, in which Judge Rand's 
 mastery of the French language, acquired during his residence in 
 New Orleans, was of much service, the accused being unfamiliar 
 with English. 
 
 After quitting the bench he remained in Concord for two or 
 three years, chiefly employed at the law terms before legislative 
 committees and the like. He then returned to Lisbon, and re- 
 sumed his practice there. It rapidly became extended and valu- 
 able. His high personal qualities, his gift of eloquent speech, his 
 fidelity to his engagements, all combined to give him a profes- 
 sional place among the very foremost, and his services were 
 secured in most of the important causes arising in his vicinity. 
 
 Judge Rand was peculiarly skillful and happy in the difficult 
 art of addressing courts and juries. He was a scholar ; his sen- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 605 
 
 tences were well moulded and his words fitly chosen. He made 
 every point clear and each shred of evidence tell for all it was 
 worth. He had, too, no little of that mysterious fire which 
 warms whole masses of men, which makes them listen to feeling 
 rather than to reason, and often carries conviction where logic 
 fails. 
 
 He was frequently called upon to address public assemblies, 
 and was one of the most acceptable and interesting speakers of 
 his section. No man was more felicitous than he in the little 
 speeches of welcome and congratulation and the like, requiring a 
 light touch and educated taste, of which so many are called for in 
 our time. In social life he was a most agreeable companion, with 
 a keen sense of the humorous. He used to tell with much gusto 
 an anecdote of Counselor B., a brother practitioner in a neighbor- 
 ing town, noted for his caustic humor and vigorous expression. 
 Judge Rand was employed against him in a " road case." When 
 the hearing came on before the commissioners, it was found that 
 'the parties and counsel must be taken out several miles for a 
 "view." Judge Kand had his own comfortable carriage, but 
 observed that his opponent was provided by his clients with no 
 better vehicle than a common wagon with unyielding springs and 
 a wooden seat. Counselor B., who was verging on threescore, 
 looked with dismay on his intended conveyance. Judge Rand 
 immediately proposed to him to take a seat beside himself, an 
 offer which was accepted with evident relief. As the counselor 
 settled himself on the comfortably cushioned seat, he remarked 
 apologetically to the Judge: "I find I can't stand being hell- 
 pestled round as I could five and twenty years ago ! " 
 
 Though Judge Rand is said to have had a fondness for the 
 sports of the gun and the fishing-rod,. his chief recreation was in 
 the pursuits of literature. He was a student of belles-lettres and 
 familiar with the works of the best authors, and was himself the 
 author of many compositions in prose and verse, not a few of 
 which appeared in the periodicals of the day. Since his decease 
 the Lisbon Library Association, of which he had been the presi- 
 dent, have issued a beautiful memorial volume of his addresses, 
 essays, and poems. 
 
 Judge Rand was married, November 10, 1856, to Joan H., 
 daughter of Truman Stevens of Littleton. They had one daughter. 
 
606 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 EDWAED RANDOLPH. 
 
 Sou of Dr. Edmund and Deborah (Master) Randolph ; born, Canterbury, Eng- 
 land, July, 1632 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Accomac, Virginia (?), 1703. 
 
 Edward Randolph was admitted a student at law in Gray's Inn, 
 London, November 12, 1650. He was sent to this country by the 
 Lords of Trade in England in 1676, through the influence prob- 
 ably of Robert Tufton Mason, with whom he was connected by 
 marriage, to report upon the state of the colonies ; and visited the 
 towns of New Hampshire, endeavoring to persuade the people to 
 acknowledge Mason's title to the lands. In 1679 he came here 
 again, to bring over the commission of John Cutt as governor of 
 the province. He then received the appointment of collector of 
 customs, surveyor, and searcher for New England. By Governor 
 Cranfield he was made attorney-general of this province, and 
 obsequiously performed his mandates and those of Mason, much 
 to the oppression and indignation of the people. He was a mem- 
 ber of the council of Governor Andros, became one of his chief 
 supporters, and upon his fall in 1689 was imprisoned and sent to 
 England. 
 
 He returned to this country in 1691 with the appointment of 
 collector of general customs in all the English provinces in North 
 America, and held the position till his death. 
 
 He was arbitrary in his methods, and has been styled the " evil 
 genius of New England." He was a faithful servant of his king 
 and of his provincial representatives, a stanch upholder of the 
 claims of his kinsman Mason, and a stout partisan of the English 
 church, all which circumstances brought him the dislike of the 
 colonists. But he successfully exerted his interest with the Earl 
 of Clarendon for the pardon of Edward Gove, sentenced to death 
 for high treason in resisting Cranfield's authority, and during the 
 later years of his stay in this country he administered his authority 
 in a manner which provoked no censure, so far as appears. 
 
 Randolph was three times married ; first, to Jane, daughter of 
 Thomas Gibbon ; she died in 1679, leaving three or four daugh- 
 ters ; second, to Grace Grenville ; and third to Mrs. Sarah Piatt, 
 who bore him one daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 607 
 
 JONATHAN RAWSON. 
 
 Sou of Rev. Griudall aud Desire (Thacher) Rawsou ; born, Yarmouth, 
 Massachusetts, 1759 ; admitted, 1785 (?) ; practiced, Nottingham aud Dover ; 
 died, Dover, May 17, 1794. 
 
 In youth, Mr. Eawson served some time as a subordinate officer 
 in the Eevolutionary army. After the close of the war he studied 
 law with Peter Green of Concord. For a short time he practiced 
 in Nottingham, and then removed to Dover. In 1789 he and 
 Charles Clapham were chosen attorneys for that town, but Raw- 
 son is said to have been fonder of amusement and light reading 
 than of the law. While he lived in Nottingham he delivered an 
 oration commemorating the capture of General Burgoyne and his 
 army, and he was also the author of a number of political essays 
 published in the newspapers. He had a liking for military mat- 
 ters ; served as aid to Governor Sullivan in 1788, and in 1793 
 published in an octavo volume extracts from the writings of emi- 
 nent martial authorities entitled, "A Compendium of Military 
 Duty." Mr. Rawson has been described as a man of genius and 
 of eloquence, but in his habits he was deliberate and " easy- 
 going ; " and it was told that on one occasion, as he was riding on 
 horseback, with John P. Hale of Rochester for his companion, — 
 who was as active and impulsive as Rawson was the opposite, — 
 Rawson's horse fell, bringing his rider's leg under him, and lay 
 upon it. Hale dismounted in a trice and hurried to the rescue. 
 " Don't be hasty, brother Hale," exclaimed the phlegmatic Raw- 
 son ; " your impetuosity, I am afi-aid, will be the ruin of you." 
 
 Mr. Rawson's habits were ill calculated to bring him legal busi- 
 ness ; he had little ambition to shine in his profession or to accu- 
 mulate property. Towards the close of his brief life he fell into 
 intemperance and idleness, and his health became ruined. Upon 
 his death, as a compliment to his military character, he was buried 
 under arms. 
 
 His wife, who survived him, was a daughter of Captain Gage of 
 Dover, and he left one son. 
 
608 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 OSSIAN RAY. 
 
 Son of George and Hannah (Greene) Ray ; born, Hinesburg, Vermont, 
 December 13, 1835 ; admitted, 1857 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, Janu- 
 ary 28, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Ray's boyhood was passed in Irasburg, Vermont. He 
 worked upon the farm in summer, and attended the district school 
 in winter. As he grew older he became a student several terms 
 in the Irasburg Academy, and later in that of Derby, Vermont, 
 where he partially fitted himself for college. By the advice of 
 Jesse Cooper, a leading lawyer of Irasburg, he entered that gentle- 
 man's office as a student. In 1854 he went to Lancaster, to assist 
 in closing up the law business of Saunders W. Cooper, and ap- 
 pears to have made that place his home ever afterwards. He 
 taught school by day and studied law in the evenings, formed a 
 wide acquaintance among the people, and showed his promise by 
 the trial of justice cases. ., 
 
 In January, 1857, he began regularly to practice in Lancaster, 
 and also attended the courts in Essex County, Vermont. ^His 
 diligent study and early acquired experience prepared him to 
 grapple at once with the work of a wide and various practice, and 
 he was successful from the beginning. Before he had been half a 
 dozen years at the bar he was employed in a large part of the 
 cases of importance in both States, and during the whole period of 
 his practice he preserved a leading position. The chief railroad 
 and other corporations of his section secured his services by gen- 
 eral retainers, and he was not seldom called into other counties 
 and into the federal courts to take charge of causes there. For 
 the ten years from 1862 to 1872 he was solicitor of Coos County. 
 
 His political career began with his representation of Lancaster 
 in the state legislature in 1868 and 1869, where his abilities were 
 recognized by his assignment to the head of the principal com- 
 mittees. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conven- 
 tion in 1872, and was appointed 'United States attorney for the 
 district of New Hampshire in 1879. This office he resigned in 
 December, 1880, upon being nominated as a candidate for repre- 
 sentative in Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of 
 Evarts W. Farr. He was elected for the fractional term, and re- 
 elected to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses, and was 
 a diligent, progressive, and influential member. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 609 
 
 After quitting Congress he returned to the practice of the law. 
 He had never learned to spare himself, and did not feel that he 
 had fulfilled his duty so long as aught remained undone that lay 
 within his power. His assiduous application and prolonged men- 
 tal strain at length seriously threatened his health, and he was in- 
 duced to make a trip to Europe for relief. But it was not in his 
 nature to relax his efforts in his professional work. He perse- 
 vered in attending to his trials in the courts as long as he had the 
 physical power to do so. And it was not till the bow too long 
 bent had lost its elasticity, and the last shaft was shot, that he 
 succumbed. 
 
 Mr. Ray's natural endowments adapted him peculiarly for the 
 legal profession. Quick of apprehension, retentive of memory, 
 with a zeal for his adopted cause that never flagged, and a san- 
 guine faith in its justice that never faltered, he was a counselor 
 to hearten the timid suitor and to rejoice the soul of the conten- 
 tious. Work in his calling was play to him. He never shirked 
 the heaviest amount of labor to make a point clearer or stronger. 
 He never would admit a defeat. His resources were endless. If 
 the verdict was against him to-day, to-morrow saw him well on 
 the way to a new hearing. So long as the law afforded him the 
 glimmer of a chance of retrieval, he never relaxed his exertions 
 or lost his hope. 
 
 In the work of the court-room he was dexterous. He im- 
 pressed all with his perfect confidence in the righteousness of his 
 cause. He ever kept the sympathy on his side. His arguments 
 were the spontaneous outpouring of his feelings rather than the 
 elaborations of the midnight oil, and were powerfully effective. 
 
 He was the very impersonation of energy. It shone forth in his 
 every look and movement. There was a ring in his voice and a 
 sparkle in his eye that no amount of labor or discouragement 
 could repress. 
 
 His reading led him far outside of Blackstone and Chitty. His 
 house was well filled with the works of general literature, and he 
 solaced the leisure that his daily duties allowed him by the perusal 
 of books that improve the mind and gratify the taste. 
 
 He was conspicuously single-hearted, free from aU deception or 
 duplicity. His words were not intended to conceal his thoughts ; 
 he was always fair, square, and aboveboard. 
 
 Unselfishness was one of his notable characteristics. Every 
 39 
 
610 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 call, uttered or silent, for help for others, he was quick to heed. 
 Generous of his purse as of his services, he was a true brother to 
 all in want or trouble. No better citizen, neighbor, friend, was 
 left behind, when Ossian Ray quitted the world. 
 
 He was twice married ; first, March 2, 1856,* to Alice A., 
 daughter of Henry Fling of West Stewartstown ; second, to Mrs. 
 Sallie Emery (Small) Burnside, who, with a son and- a daughter 
 by each marriage, survived him. 
 
 JOSEPH RAYN. 
 
 This was a creature of Governor Cranfield, and though not an 
 educated lawyer, served his master's purpose as attorney-general 
 to prosecute, in 1683-84, an information against the Rev. Josiah 
 Moody, for refusing to obey the arbitrary mandate of Cranfield 
 to administer to him and his companions the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper after the manner of the Church of England. 
 Rayn's conduct of the trial was domineering and scandalous. He 
 served the interests of Cranfield and Mason also in the capacity 
 of sheriff and provost marshal, but his subserviency at length 
 excited their contempt, and for some act of negligence the gov- 
 ernor gave him a severe caning, after which his name disappeared 
 from the history of the province. 
 
 TIMOTHY REED. 
 
 Sou of Rey. Samuel and Hannah (Shaw) Reed ; born, Warwick, Massachu- 
 setts, July 10, J.793 ; Williams College, 1812 ; practiced, Winchester ; died, 
 Barnstable, Massachusetts, 1855. 
 
 Mr. Reed studied his profession with his cousin, John Reed of 
 Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and came to Winchester to practice 
 about 1820. In May, 1821, he was admitted in Cheshire County 
 as a counselor of the Superior Court. • He probably did not 
 remain in Winchester more than six or eight years, when he 
 removed to Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and became a partner of 
 his law preceptor there for several years. The appointment of 
 clerk of the courts being conferred upon him, he made his home 
 thenceforth in Barnstable. He held also, at various times after- 
 wards, the offices of register of Deeds, register of Probate, and 
 bank cashier. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 611 
 
 Mr. Eeed is described as a genial, pleasant gentleman, and is 
 understood to have been a lawyer of some ability. 
 
 He was married, about the time of his coming to Winchester, 
 to Susan D. Kinsley of Brattleborough, Vermont, and had two 
 daughters, born in the former town. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS RICHARDSON. 
 
 Son of Captain Joseph and Sarah (Hanson) Richardson ; born, Durham, No- 
 vember 18, 1797 ; Dartmouth College, 1819 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Dur- 
 ham ; died there, August 25, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was a teacher in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 
 1819 and 1820, and read law with John Varnum of that place. 
 He began practice immediately after his admission in his native 
 town, and there passed his life. He was a very social, gentle- 
 manly man, of easy disposition, and with no fondness for the 
 quarrelsome side of his calling. If one of his causes was to be 
 stubbornly contested, he usual! j' called in the aid of Daniel M. 
 Christie to breast the shock of the opposition. But he had a 
 respectable business, which he conducted respectably. He was 
 something of a reader, but in other directions than in the law. 
 In 1846 he was clerk of the state Senate, but by reason of a 
 change in the political complexion of that body was not reelected. 
 In the later years of his life he was president of the Bar Asso- 
 ciation of Strafford County. 
 
 He married, first, in 1829, Marcia A., daughter of Hon. Alex- 
 ander Rice of Kittery, Maine ; and second, in 1835, Mrs. Frances 
 J., daughter of Hon. Daniel Farrand of Burlington, Vermont, and 
 widow of Rev. Thomas J. Murdoch. 
 
 THOMAS RICE. 
 
 About the time when James Thorn quitted Exeter for London- 
 derry, in 1816, Thomas Rice appeared in the town and succeeded 
 to his law office. He may have been the graduate of that name 
 from Yale College in 1803 ; but that has not been ascertained. 
 He had but little practice, and lived in the town only a year or 
 two. He appears to have been an accomplished musician, and 
 opened a singing-school in Exeter, and is said also to have given 
 lessons on the violin. 
 
612 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 When he left Exeter he went to Hampton, where he died, " a 
 poor but honorable man," as it was said. 
 
 SAMUEL RICE. 
 
 Born, c. 1771 ; practiced, Lebanon and Enfield ; died, Lowell, Massachu- 
 .setts, October 10, 1839. 
 
 The birthplace and parentage of this gentleman have not been 
 ;ascertained. He is said to have studied his profession with Fred- 
 .eric A. Sumner of Charlestown, and to have begun practice at 
 Lebanon in 1804. About 1814 he removed to Enfield and re- 
 mained there fifteen years, and then returned to Lebanon. In 
 1836 he left the State and resided in Lowell, Massachusetts, but 
 did not practice there. 
 
 Mr. Rice is represented to have been a man of more than ordi- 
 nary ability, but fleshy and somewhat indolent. He had a fund 
 of humor, and liked to sit and tell stories to his visitors, rather 
 than to put his office in order, and keep it swept clean. 
 
 His wife was a smart woman, and no doubt sometimes took 
 her husband to task for his lax ways. One day after she had 
 been giving him a piece of her mind, a neighbor inquired for 
 Jiis family. "Very well, indeed," was the reply, "except Mrs. 
 liice. She has had a bad breaking out about the mouth this 
 .morning ! " 
 
 Having a case to try in which a man of not the highest reputa- 
 tion was to be an important witness, Mr. Rice interrogated him 
 in advance, and was quite well satisfied with his answers. On the 
 day of the hearing, he called the witness with a confident air, but 
 found that he had experienced a remarkable failure of memory, 
 so that his testimony was wholly for the advantage of the opposite 
 party. 
 
 "How did you come here this morning?" inquired Rice. "I 
 rode down with Squire W." (the opposing counsel), was the 
 answer. " It is all accounted for," observed Rice. 
 
 Mr. Rice died at the age of sixty-eight. He left a son and four 
 daughters. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 613 
 
 AMASA ROBERTS. 
 
 Son of Ephraim and Hannah (Roberts) Roberts ; born, Farmington, March 
 2, 1814 ; Dartmouth College, 1838 ; practiced, Dover ; died there. May 8, 
 1877. 
 
 Mr. Roberts was a student at law in the office of Charles W. 
 Woodman of Dover, and made his home in that place thereafter. 
 He was town clerk from 1853 to 1856, and register of Probate for 
 the county from 1867 to 1870. His practice was chiefly confined 
 to the work of his office, and he appeared seldom in trials in the 
 courts. He had antiquarian tastes, and was familiar with the 
 ancient records of Dover. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JOHN SWIFT ROBY. 
 
 Son of Dr. Joseph and Lucy (Park) Roby ; born, Charlestown, August 31, 
 1808 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, January 16, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Roby was educated at the Kimball Union Academy in 
 Plainfield, remaining there from 1827 to 1829. He was regularly 
 prepared for the legal profession, but is said not to have under- 
 taken the practice of the law until some years after he was ad- 
 mitted, being employed in the mean time in trade. He settled 
 first in Littleton, but afterwards went to Lancaster, and there, 
 for about the last ten years of his life, practiced law, as a partner 
 of Saunders W. Cooper. His work was confined to the office, and 
 he did not apj^ear in court. From 1849 to 1866 he was recorder 
 of deeds for Coos County, and he is said also to have held at 
 some time the appointment of deputy sheriff and various town 
 offices. 
 
 Though not noted as a lawyer, he appears to have been a man 
 of some prominence, and to have stood well in the community 
 where he dwelt. 
 
 ARTEMAS ROGERS. 
 
 Son of Josiah Rogers ; born, Billerioa, Massachusetts, May 12, 1790 ; Har- 
 vard College, 1809 ; admitted, 1814 ; practiced, Henniker ; died, Holyoke, 
 Massachusetts, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Rogers studied his profession with Joseph Locke of Biller- 
 ioa, Massachusetts, and at the Litchfield Law School, Connecticut, 
 
614 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and settled in practice in Henniker as early as 1817. He was 
 representative of the town in the legislature in 1823, 1824, and 
 1826, the first solicitor in the county of Merrimac, and an officer 
 in the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of Free Masons. He 
 caused the defeat of a bill proposed in the legislature for the 
 exemption of certain property from attachment by moving an 
 amendment to exempt also six barrels of cider and a horse and 
 chaise for each debtor. The injudicious friends of the bill eagerly 
 adopted the amendment, which of course killed the proposition. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was a good lawyer and a useful man. He sold out 
 his business and property in 1832 to Samuel Smith, and removed 
 to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where in 1885 he met with a serious 
 loss by the destruction of his office and much of its contents by fire. 
 In 1837 he changed his residence to Holyoke, Massachusetts. 
 
 He married, November 25, 1813, Lydia, daughter of Thomas 
 Richardson of Billerica, Massachusetts, and had ten children. 
 
 AETHUR EOGEES. 
 
 Son of Major Robert and Elizabeth (Browne) Rogers ; born, e. 1770 ; prac- 
 ticed, Concord, Barrington, Pembroke, and Plymouth ; died, Portsmouth, e. 
 1841. 
 
 This son of the famous Ranger was probably quite well edu- 
 cated, and studied for the bar with John Sullivan of Durham, and 
 with his cousin, Edward St. Loe Livermore of Concord, in which 
 town he opened an office in 1793. He removed the next year to 
 Barrington, and in 1797 to Pembroke. About the year 1800 he 
 went to Plymouth for two or three years, and then returned to 
 Pembroke. 
 
 His mother had been divorced from her husband in 1778, and 
 afterwards married John Roche, an Irish shipmaster, who lived 
 with her in her house in Concord till his death in 1811. She sur- 
 vived him about a year, and her son, the subject of this notice, 
 then removed to Concord and occupied the place until 1832, when 
 he went to Portsmouth. The latter part of his life he did not 
 attempt to practice law ; in fact, it is said that he was so exceed- 
 ingly indiscreet and ignorant of his profession that he was unsafe 
 to intrust with business. 
 
 Under the blandest manners he was suspected of concealing a 
 tyrannical disposition. One day a neighbor, while passing his 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 615 
 
 house in Concord, heard a terrible din inside. He knocked at 
 the door, and Rogers appeared. "What's the matter?" inquired 
 the neighbor. " Nothing, sir," replied Rogers, polite as Chester- 
 field. " But I heard a terrible outcry, and loud shouting just now 
 in your house." " Oh," replied Rogers in the smoothest tones, 
 " I was just reading Mrs. Rogers a little Greek ; that 's all." 
 
 His wife was Margaret Furness of Portsmouth, and they had 
 six sons and a daughter. 
 
 CHARLES RAMSAY ROGERS. 
 
 Son of Cbarles and Pamelia (Ramsay) Rogers ; born, Orford, August 25, 
 1823 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, Barnstead ; died, Burlingame, Kansas, No- 
 vember 20, 1883. 
 
 Obtaining his education at the academies in Haverhill and in 
 Bradford, Vermont, this gentleman then entered the office of 
 Josiah Quincy of Rumney, and completed his law studies in 1847. 
 He chose Barnstead as his location for practice, and continued 
 there about three years, in which time he formed a warm friend- 
 ship with Franklin Pierce. Then, in 1850, being invited to Pat- 
 erson, New Jersey, he went thither, first in the capacity of a 
 teacher in the public schools, and afterwards as a legal practi- 
 tioner. In 1854 he removed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and prac- 
 ticed till the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, holding in 
 that period the office of district attorney and other public stations, 
 and delivering lectures upon education. 
 
 He then enlisted and served two years in the Second Wisconsin 
 Cavalry, from which he was discharged for disability ; and in 
 1864 went to Bradford, Vermont, for three years. In 1869 he 
 entered into partnership with his brother, James Rogers, in his 
 law practice in Burlingame, Kansas, and so continued till his 
 death from paralysis. He is described as " a man of good ability, 
 genial in disposition, and a brilliant talker." 
 
 His wife was Fanny Clark of Paterson, New Jersey, and they 
 had one daughter. 
 
616 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 DANIEL ALLEN ROGERS. 
 
 Sou of Rev. Daniel and Phebe (Tibbetts) Rogers ; born, Columbia, Septem- 
 ber 11, 1828 ; admitted, 1863 or 1854 ; practiced, Colebrook ; died, Newbury, 
 Vermont, July 11, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Rogers received a good education at the academy in Farm- 
 ington, Maine, and, while teaching schools in winters in the 
 neighboring towns, prepared himself for the bar in the office of 
 Lyman T. Flint in Colebrook, where he commenced in 1854 to 
 practice with success. He was postmaster of the town for several 
 years, and then, after a year's sojourn in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, 
 settled in Wells Kiver village, in Newbury in that State, where 
 about the year 1861 he became the partner of C. B. Leslie. 
 In 1872 he was chosen a representative from Newbury in the 
 General Assembly of Vermont for two years ; he was also one of 
 the selectmen of the town for a like period, and for several years 
 before his decease one of the prudential committee of the graded 
 school district of Wells River. In 1876 he was elected state's 
 attorney of Orange County, and performed the duties of the office 
 meritoriously, as he did those of the various stations he was 
 called upon to occupy. 
 
 He married, in November, 1855, Sarah A., daughter of Samuel 
 B. Cooper of Beloit, Wisconsin, whom he left with four children. 
 
 JOHN ROGERS. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Eunice (Allen) Rogers ; born, Orford, May 11, 1782 ; 
 admitted, 1810 ; practiced, Orford ; died there, December 28, 1859. 
 
 Having labored upon his father's farm until his majority, Mr. 
 Rogers by his own exertions succeeded in obtaining the instruc- 
 tion needed for entering the legal profession, studied in the office 
 of Jeduthun Wilcox of Orford, and in that town commenced 
 to practice. He was a substantial though not a showy lawyer. 
 The collection of claims constituted the bulk of his business, and 
 he was very successful. After some years that source of income 
 fell off, and his inclination for the cultivation of the soil returned. 
 He abandoned the law and retired upon his farm. His townsmen 
 availed themselves of his abilities and experience by electing him 
 repeatedly to important town offices and as representative in the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 617 
 
 legislature. He also did some business in Probate matters, as 
 guardian, etc. He was exemplary in all the relations of life, and 
 joined the Methodist Church, after a critical examination of the 
 tenets of the various denominations. 
 
 May 8, 1810, he married Lucy Swinnerton. Of their children, 
 one son, William, was a lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 JOHN A. ROGERS. 
 
 This attorney is said to have been a native of Boscawen, and 
 began to practice law in Gilford in 1837, as a partner of Lyman 
 B. Walker. By 1840 he had removed from the county, and in 
 1846 he was said to be in South Hampton. He was not acting as 
 a lawyer there, however, nor has it been learned that he practiced 
 anywhere after he left Gilford. 
 
 NATHAJSriEL PEABODY ROGERS. 
 
 Son of Dr. John and Betsey (MuUiken) Rogers ; born, Plymouth, June 3, 
 1794 ; Dartmouth College, 1816 ; admitted, 1819 ; practiced, Plymouth and 
 Concord ; died, Concord, October 16, 1846. 
 
 The family of Rogers, to which this gentleman belonged, has 
 been a very distinguished one for talents and learning, especially 
 in the early history of this country. Nathaniel P. Eogers inher- 
 ited the talents and acquired the learning which entitled him to 
 scarcely a second place among the best of his name. His three 
 years of legal study he passed in Salisbury, in the offices of Rich- 
 ard Fletcher and of Parker Noyes, and settled in practice in 
 Plymouth. He was a brilliant and successful lawyer, looking 
 jealously after the interests of his employers, leaving no stone 
 unturned to promote their advantage ; a ready and accurate 
 draftsman, a sound pleader, and an eloquent and effective advo- 
 cate. He might have placed himself at the very summit of 
 reasonable legal ambition in the State, had he devoted his life to 
 his profession. But he was born for the role of a philanthropist. 
 The feeling of abhorrence of the cruelty and wickedness of Afri- 
 can slavery began to show itself in the Northern States while he 
 was a young man, and readily found entrance into his tender and 
 chivalrous heart. He became an abolitionist, and was too consci- 
 entious and outspoken a man to hide his convictions. He wrote 
 
618 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 trenchant articles for the press, and was soon in ^mpathetic com- 
 munication with Garrison and the other pioneers in the anti- 
 slavery movement. In 1838 he left his valuable law practice in 
 Plymouth and went to Concord to take the editorial charge of 
 the " Herald of Freedom," a newspaper established there in 1835 
 to advocate the emancipation of the negro slave. To that journal 
 he had been a contributor from its foundation. He wrote with 
 rapidity and ease, and was master of a most pure and natural 
 style. Many of his descriptive articles had appeared in New York 
 and other journals, and were widely copied and admired. His 
 editorials in the " Herald of Freedom " were original, fresh, elo- 
 quent, and logically unanswerable. But the cause he championed 
 was unpopular, the circulation of his paper was small, he was row- 
 ing against the current and made little headway. His reward was 
 to be posthumous. 
 
 Besides his abolition sentiments, he took advanced ground on 
 the subject of temperance, the rights of women, the unjustifiable- 
 ness of war, and personal non-resistance ; none of which doctrines 
 were at that time palatable to the masses. In 1840 he was sent 
 by the abolitionists of the State as a delegate to the World's Anti- 
 Slavery Convention in London, England. Learning that several 
 American women who went as delegates were not to be allowed 
 their seats in the convention, he withdrew, and would have no 
 further part in it. On his return to America he found his name 
 at the head of the " Anti-Slavery Standard " of New York as its 
 editor. He declined the position, though he furnished contribu- 
 tions for a year to its columns. He was also solicited in 1846 to 
 edit the " Pioneer," an anti-slavery paper in Lynn, Massachu- 
 setts, but the condition of his health obliged him to abandon the 
 idea. He had literally worn himself out by unremitting labors, of 
 which he could as yet see but little fruits. As the autumn drew 
 on his life powers decayed, and he sank gradually to his final rest, 
 expressing the wish that no stone should be set up at his grave 
 so long as slavery should continue to exist in the land. He 
 needed no monument, for his memory will live with those of the 
 other pioneers in the great cause of universal freedom with whom 
 he was associated. 
 
 All who knew Mr. Rogers were united in attributing to him 
 the highest ability and the most admirable personal qualities. He 
 was fond of nature, and knew all varieties of trees and birds and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 619 
 
 fishes. He took delight in all manly exercises, as of wrestling 
 and football. He was a great reader of the choicest works in 
 literature. His voice was sweet, and he sang, and played upon 
 the violin delightfully. Before he gave his life to the cause of 
 philanthropy he had written charming articles for the press, de- 
 scriptive of the scenery of his native region. His signature was 
 " The Old Man of the Mountain," a term which he had applied to 
 the Profile, at Franconia. It w^as said of him that he manifested 
 " the genial humor of Lamb, and more wit." Some of his writings 
 are preserved in print in a small volume issued in 1849, with a 
 biographical introduction by Rev. John Pierpont. He was pecu- 
 liarly happy in his domestic relations. His wife was Mary Por- 
 ter, daughter of Hon. Daniel Parrand of Burlington, Vermont. 
 They were married January 31, 1822, and had daughters. 
 
 STEPHEN SEWALL ROGERS. 
 
 Son of Rev. Jolin Rogers ; born, Leominster, Massachusetts, October 6, 
 1760 ; practiced, Loudon (and Dunbarton ?) ; died, Dunbarton, December 23, 
 1794. 
 
 Few particulars have been learned of this gentleman, whose 
 stay in this State was but brief. He was evidently somewhat 
 acquainted with Latin, and probably had taken a classical course 
 of study, though he was not a college graduate. He read for 
 admission to the bar with Peter Green of Concord, and settled in 
 Loudon, probably not far from 1786. The duration of his legal 
 practice could not have been above eight years. 
 
 His wife was Martha, daughter of Dr. Philip Carrigain of 
 Concord. 
 
 EDWARD ASHTON ROLLINS. 
 
 Son of Hon. Daniel G. and Susan B. (Jackson) Rollins ; born, Wakefield) 
 December 8, 1828 ; Dartmouth College, 1851 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, 
 Somersworth ; died, Hanover, September 7, 1885. 
 
 On the recommendation of the president of his college, Mr. 
 Rollins after his graduation became tutor in a private family in 
 Baltimore, Maryland ; and in that city, in the office of Wells and 
 Bell in Somersworth, and at the Harvard Law School, he prepared 
 himself for the bar. He practiced in Great Falls Village in 
 
620 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Somerswortli from 1854 to 1863, except a year or two when he 
 was cashier of the Somersworth Bank. In 1860 and the two fol- 
 lowing years he was a representative in the legislature, and was 
 twice elected to the Speaker's chair. In the spring of 1863 he 
 received the appointment of Cashier of the Internal Eevenue, and 
 took up his abode in Washington, District of Columbia. The 
 next year he was promoted to the office of Deputy Commissioner, 
 and the year following to that of Commissioner of the Internal 
 Revenue, which position he filled till his resignation in 1869. He 
 then removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was appointed 
 vice-president, and afterwards president, of the National Life 
 Insurance Company. He resigned the post in 1874, and spent a 
 year or more in traveling in Europe with his family. On his 
 return he was instrumental in establishing the Centennial Na- 
 tional Bank in Philadelphia, and in 1876 became its president. 
 That position he held up to the close of his life. 
 
 Mr. Rollins performed the multifarious and difficult duties of 
 the various stations which he filled with great efficiency and 
 credit. He had the faculty of turning off his work with little 
 friction. His cheerful disposition endeared him to those associ- 
 ated with him. He was a lover of reading, and surrounded him- 
 self with good books. His home was the abode of well-doing and 
 well-being. His gratitude to the institution in which he was edu- 
 cated was nianifested by his noble gift to Dartmouth College of 
 the beautiful chapel which bears his name. 
 
 His wife was Ellen, daughter of Josiah H. Hobbs, Esquire, of 
 Wakefield. They were married September 26, 1855, and three 
 of their six children survived their father. 
 
 JAMES SAMUEL ROWE. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Olive (Rundlet) Rowe ; born, Exeter, October 20, 1807 ; 
 Bowdoin College, 1826 ; practiced, Dover ; died, Bangor, Maine, March, 1884_ 
 
 Mr. Eowe was a pupil of Dr. Abbot at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and after the completion of his collegiate course studied 
 law with George Sullivan in his native town. He began to prac- 
 tice in Dover as early as 1830, and remained there six or seven 
 years. He then removed to Bangor, Maine, his future home. In 
 the almost half a century that he pursued his profession there he 
 acquired the highest reputati&n, as " one of the best-read lawyers 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 621 
 
 in the State, a fine advocate, of unquestioned integrity and 
 worth." Volumes could scarcely add to these condensed words 
 of high commendation. In social life he was most courteous and 
 affable. 
 
 He was married in 1857 to Miss Goss of Bangor, Maine. 
 
 IRA ST. CLAIR. 
 
 Born, Gilmantou, August 9, 1796 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced. New Hamp- 
 ton and Deerfield ; died, Deerfleld, April 5, 1875. 
 
 Ira St. Clair (or Sinclair, as his name was originally spelt) had 
 not the advantage of a collegiate education. He studied his 
 profession with Stephen Moody of Gilmanton and Stephen C. 
 Lyford of Gilford, and began practice in 1824 in New Hampton. 
 After a few mouths he changed his residence to Deerfield. He 
 was chosen representative in the legislature, and, at a later date, 
 received the appointment of bank commissioner. In 1848 he was 
 commissioned Judge of Probate for the county of Rockingham, 
 and filled the office eight years. 
 
 He was a lawyer of more than average ability and attainments. 
 He laid much stress on technical points, and his administration of 
 probate business was quite in contrast to the loose manner in 
 which it has sometimes been conducted. But he was thoroughly 
 honest, and no complaint was ever heard that his decisions were 
 influenced by improper motives. 
 
 The historian of Deerfield describes him as " a man of upright 
 character and sound judgment, a safe counselor and firm friend." 
 
 His first wife was Anna S., daughter of Thomas Jenness of 
 Deerfield, who died in 1845. In the following year he married 
 Eliza E., daughter of James B. Creighton of Newmarket. He 
 left no children. 
 
 CHARLES PRESCOTT SANBORN. 
 
 Son of James and Lydia N. (Prescott) Sanborn ; born, Concord, September 
 12, 1834 ; admitted, 1860 ; practiced. Concord ; died there, June 3, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Sanborn was three years in Yale College, which he entered 
 in 1852 ; but for some reason he never graduated. For a few 
 years afterwards he was a teacher, and then prepared himself 
 for the bar in the office of Henry A. Bellows of Concord. On 
 
622 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 liis admission he was received at once as a partner of John H. 
 George and William L. Foster, in a practice which became large 
 and remunerative. 
 
 He was elected a representative from Concord in the legisla- 
 tures of 1862 and 1863, and in 1875 and 1876, in both which last- 
 named years he was chosen Speaker of the House. From 1871 
 to 1880 he was city solicitor. Several years he was a member of 
 the board of education, and for a long period and up to his 
 decease held the position of clerk of the Concord and Claremont 
 Railroad. 
 
 He possessed uncommon intellectual powers. His legal learn- 
 ing was sufficient, accurate, and ready to his hand, and in its 
 application he lacked neither sagacity nor judgment. Taking 
 part in many trials, not seldom the leading part, he conducted his 
 cases ably and skillfully. While city solicitor he was employed in 
 the work of codifying the ordinances ; and subsequently he edited 
 a new issue of the " New Hampshire Justice and Sheriff." 
 
 He had numerous warm and constant friends. With the self- 
 command to abstain from stimulants, there was almost no position 
 in the law to which he might not have aspired. 
 
 He was married, May 26, 1862, to Stella L., daughter of Hon. 
 Henry A. Bellows of Concord, who died a few years later ; and 
 May 20, 1872, he married her sister, Frances A. Bellows, and left 
 her a widow with two sons and a daughter. 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM SANBORN. 
 
 Son of Hon. John W. and Almira J. (Chapman) Sanborn ; born, Wakefield, 
 December 19, 1849 ; Dartmouth College, 1872 ; practiced, Wakefield ; died 
 there, January 17, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Sanborn was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and for some years after his graduation was a lumber 
 dealer and surveyor in his native town. He was admitted to the 
 bar in 1880, having studied under the direction of Luther D. 
 Sawyer of Wakefield, George W. Burleigh of Somersworth, and 
 Charles Doe of Dover. He practiced in Wakefield until his 
 decease. Several years he was superintending school committee 
 of the town. In natural endowments and general culture he was 
 excelled by few, and a distinguished career was predicted for him. 
 But he had scarcely begun to show the early fruits of his cultiva- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 623 
 
 tion when he was attacked by consumption, against which no 
 treatment could avail. 
 
 He married, December 29, 1872, Addie E., daughter of Samuel 
 H. Smith of Wakefield, who outlived him. 
 
 CYRUS KING SANBORN. 
 
 Son of Ezekiel and Abigail (Chamberlain) Sanborn ; born, Brookfield, 
 October 30, 1818 ; admitted, 1849 ; practiced, Wakefield and Rochester ; 
 died, Rochester, October 11, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Sanborn obtained a substantial education at the academies 
 in Wakefield and in Limerick, Maine, and became a school 
 teacher in his native town and vicinity until he began the study 
 of the law with Josiah H. Hobbs of Wakefield, about 1846. In 
 1848 and 1849 he continued his studies at the Harvard Law 
 School, and upon his admission began to practice in Wakefield, 
 as a partner of Mr. Hobbs. In about two j'ears he removed to 
 Rochester, his subsequent home. He was chosen in 1846, while a 
 law student, assistant clerk in the state House of Representatives ; 
 from 1858 to 1861 he was a bank commissioner ; and in 1867 
 and 1868 representative from Rochester. Having in his younger 
 days a great interest in military matters, he was advanced to the 
 command of a militia regiment, and bore the title of colonel. 
 
 He was a careful, sagacious, painstaking lawyer. The operations 
 of his mind were not rapid, and he did not move without taking 
 full time for consideration. He was a persistent, tireless worker ; 
 his day was not limited to eight hours, but extended well into 
 the night. His opinions were matured and commanded respect. 
 Though he had the power of clear, strong statement, he was not 
 ambitious to appear as an advocate. He was frank and straight- 
 forward in his intercourse with all, pleasant in his temper, but 
 tenacious of the rights and interests of his clients. In social life 
 he was always ready to contribute his share to the amusements of 
 the hour. For the observances of religion he manifested much 
 respect, and not long before his death united with the church. 
 
 Colonel Sanborn's first marriage took place in 1851, with 
 Sarah H., daughter of Joaiah H. Hobbs of Wakefield. She died 
 in 1879, and he married in 1881 Mrs. Mary S. Sargent, who 
 survived him. By his first marriage he had a son and two 
 daughters. 
 
624 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 AARON FLINT SAWYER. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Jerusha (Flint) Sawyer ; born, Westminster, Massa- 
 chusetts, April 24, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; admitted, 1807 ; prac- 
 ticed, Mont Vernon and Dunstable (Nashua) ; died, Nashua, January 4, 
 1847. 
 
 This was a younger brother of William Sawyer of Wakefield, 
 and endowed with like sound moral and intellectual fibre. He 
 was trained for the law as a clerk of Charles H. Atherton of 
 Amherst, and opened an office in Mont Vernon, where he prac- 
 ticed for near a quarter of a century. He was highly esteemed 
 as a thorough and reliable lawyer and a worthy citizen. He was 
 chosen to represent the town in the legislatures of 1827, 1828, and 
 1829. 
 
 In 1831 he moved to Dunstable, then rising into importance as 
 a manufacturing place. There he fully maintained his leading 
 position, socially and legally. He is described as " a gentleman 
 of the old school, of warm and generous impulses, and a devoted 
 and active Christian." The year before his death he was a repre- 
 sentative in the legislature from Nashua. 
 
 April 20, 1811, he was married to Hannah, daughter of Dr. 
 Samuel Locke of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a woman of very 
 superior traits of character. They had four children, of whom 
 the two sons, Samuel L. and Aaron F. Sawyer, became judges, the 
 one of the highest court in Missouri, the other in that of New 
 Hampshire. 
 
 LUTHER DEARBORN SAWYER. 
 
 Son of Timothy and Sarah (Dearborn) Sawyer ; born, Wakefield, March 
 7, 1803 ; Bowdoin College, 1828 ; admitted, 1832 ; practiced, Ossipee, Sand- 
 wich, Dover, and Wakefield ; died, Wakefield, July 10, 1884. 
 
 At the age of eighteen Mr. Sawyer was admitted to the Phillips 
 Exeter Academy, and remained till 1825, when he entered college 
 at advanced standing. One year he was engaged in teaching the 
 academy in Belfast, Maine, at the same time reading law under 
 the direction of Bohan P. Field ; he then finished his legal studies 
 with Sawyer and Hobbs in Wakefield. His first v^ture in prac- 
 tice was at Ossipee for a few months ; next he took the office of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 625 
 
 Ira A. Bean in Sandwich, while the latter went for a year into 
 the Western country. From 1834 to 1859 he practiced in Ossi- 
 pee ; then in Dover for four years ; afterwards in Massachusetts 
 about the same period ; after which he returned to his native 
 town, and spent the residue of his life there, in the old homestead 
 of his father. 
 
 He was by nature of a brisk, stirring temperament, not averse 
 to change or to new surroundings. His disposition was sanguine, 
 and he preserved his youthful spirits and bodily activity to the 
 end of his long life. 
 
 He held various public positions : was assistant clerk of the 
 state Senate in 1846 ; solicitor of Carroll County from 1857 to 
 1862, and several times by special appointment afterwards ; rep- 
 resentative from Ossipee in 1859 and 1860, and a member of the 
 committee on the Judiciary ; and police justice of Watertown, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer was a shrewd observer of men and character. He 
 was a reader too, and, as his memory was tenacious and ready, was 
 a most entertaining companion. He had seen and known in his 
 prolonged experience many of the ablest men of the New Hamp- 
 shire bar, and had " taken stock " of their peculiarities. Having 
 made up his mind that the happiest were those who wore the har- 
 ness to the last, he adopted that course himself, and attended 
 nearly every term of the courts in the county where he lived, 
 from the time of his admission to the day of his death ; and con- 
 tinued to do such business as offered, to the end. 
 
 He married, in 1843, Lydia Hanson of Sandwich. They had 
 two sons, and she died in 1853. In 1857 he married Miss Cham- 
 berlain of Marblehead, Massachusetts, with whom he lived till her 
 death in 1876. 
 
 THOMAS SAWYER. 
 
 Sou of Thomas and Betsey Sawyer ; born, Reading, Massachusetts, Decem- 
 ber 31, 1781 ; Dartmouth College, 1805 ; admitted, 1809 ; practiced, Dover ; 
 died. North Reading, Massachusetts, March 14, 1826. 
 
 This gentleman was a resident of New Hampshire but a short 
 time after completing his legal education. About 1805 he entered 
 the office of Henry Mellen of Dover as a student, and succeeded 
 to his business in the year 1809. It is probable that he remained 
 there little more than a year, if so long. 
 40 
 
626 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He afterwards practiced his profession in Camden, Maine, and 
 subsequently in North Reading, Massachusetts, where he died. 
 
 THOMAS ELLWOOD SAWYER. 
 
 Son of Stephen and Mary (Varney) Sawyer ; bom, Dover, November 21, 
 1798 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, February 27, 1879. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Sawyer belonged to the Society of Friends. 
 He probably obtained his early education in the schools of Dover, 
 and pursued his legal studies under the direction of Charles 
 Woodman and James Bartlett of that town. His life-long resi- 
 dence was in Dover. 
 
 He began his political life in 1822, while yet a student at law, 
 by serving as assistant clerk of the state House of Representatives. 
 In 1830 and 1831 he was a member of the executive council, and 
 in 1832 a representative in the legislature, to which he was sub- 
 sequently reelected for nine, though not consecutive, years. In 
 
 1850 he was a delegate in the constitutional convention, and in 
 
 1851 and 1852 he was the candidate of the Whig party for the 
 gubernatorial chair. In his own town he was for half a century 
 a member of the superintending school committee, and for many 
 years moderator of the annual town meetings ; and when Dover 
 arrived at the dignity of a city charter, he served as mayor. In 
 1867 he was appointed register in bankruptcy, under the United 
 States statute. 
 
 The chief characteristics of Mr. Sawyer were his honesty, his 
 sound common sense, and his well-balanced judgment. As a pub- 
 lie officer he was the object of no hostility and of little criticism, 
 and as a lawyer his opinions were generally deferred to. He 
 never allowed himself to be hurried or excited, and had a remark- 
 able gift of seeing things as they were. He was diffident, rarely 
 appearing in the higher courts, and blushed like a young girl 
 when called upon to say anything in public. A large part of his 
 legal business was that of auditor or referee, in which his qualifi- 
 cations were of the highest character. He probably presided at 
 a greater number of hearings in those capacities than any other 
 member of the bar in his county. He was universally trusted 
 and respected. 
 
 He left a widow, three sons, and a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 627 
 
 WILLIAM SAWYER. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Jerusha (Flint) Sawyer ; born, Westminster, Mas- 
 sachusetts, October 26, 1774 ; Harvard College, 1800 ; admitted, 1803 ; 
 practiced, Wakefield ; died there, July 5, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer, being the son of a farmer in moderate circum- 
 stauces, taught schools in his vacations to pay his college expenses. 
 He studied law with Henry Mellen of Dover, and made his life- 
 long home in Wakefield, where he was in the active practice of his 
 profession over a quarter of a century. He was well read, saga- 
 cious, and practical; not distinguished as an advocate, but still 
 employed in not a few important contested causes. The business 
 of collecting debts was then the chief reliance of country attor- 
 neys, and the letting of money on note or bond and mortgage their 
 method of investment. Mr. Sawyer was skillful and vigilant, and 
 acquired reputation and property. In his causes that came to 
 trial he usually had the assistance of Daniel Webster or Jeremiah 
 Mason, preferring the former because " he could see through a 
 case more quickly," though considering the latter the greater 
 lawyer. 
 
 He was a man of a high sense of personal dignity. In an alter- 
 cation with a pettifogger in open court, the latter accused him of 
 falsehood. Sawyer instantly seized him by the throat and flung 
 him on the floor. The other, meanwhile, cried lustily for the pro- 
 tection of the court. " No court, short of that of heaven, shall 
 protect a man who insults me with a charge of falsehood! " shouted 
 Sawyer. 
 
 His integrity and moral character were without a blemish. He 
 was known as an " honest lawyer," and he merited the title. For 
 many years he was chosen annually the president of the bar in his 
 county. His kindly feelings and generosity made him abundant 
 and strong friends. It is related of him that a brother lawyer 
 who had become embarrassed in his circumstances was tempted to 
 decamp from his creditors and thus bring ruin upon his reputa- 
 tion. Mr. Sawyer, suspecting his intention, dissuaded him from 
 the step, and lent him money to tide over his difficulties and 
 enable him to recover himself. 
 
 He married, about the year 1804, Mary, daughter of Captain 
 Hopley Yeaton of Portsmouth, who bore him three sons and two 
 daughters. 
 
628 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 STEPHEN SCALES. 
 
 Son of Rev. James Scales ; born, Concord, October 16, 1741 ; Harvard Col- 
 lege, 1763 ; practiced. Concord ; died, Chelmsford, Massachusetts, November 
 5, 1772. 
 
 Mr. Scales was a tutor in Harvard College from 1767 to 1770. 
 Edmund Trowbridge and Francis Dana were his instructors in 
 the law, and he commenced practice in his native town in 1770 or 
 1771, being the second lawyer of Concord, apparently. After a 
 short time he removed his residence to Chelmsford, Massachu- 
 setts, where he seems to have gained the warmest friends. A 
 stone marks the spot of his burial in that town, on which is a 
 Latin inscription, concluding with these lines from Horace : — 
 
 " O, miamioe, 
 Vitse summa brevis ; spem nos vetat inchoare longam ; 
 Jam et premit uox." 
 
 ALBERT SMITH SCOTT. 
 
 Son of William and Phylinda (Crossiield) Scott ; born, Peterborough, May 
 8, 1824 ; admitted, 1659 ; practiced, JafErey and Peterborough ; died, Peter- 
 borough, 1877. 
 
 Fitted for college at the academy in Hancock and at the Phil- 
 lips Exeter Academy, Mr. Scott entered Dartmouth College in 
 1845, but by reason of the death of his father he was obliged to 
 leave it at the end of his sophomore year. For a time afterwards 
 he was employed in teaching, and then returned to his native place 
 and commenced the study of medicine with Professor Albert 
 Smith ; but finding it not to his liking, became a student of the 
 law in the office of Messrs. Dearborn and Cheney of Peterborough. 
 He began to practice law in the East village of Jaffrey in 1861, 
 but returned to Peterborough in a short time, and there built up a 
 valuable practice and acquired a high position in his profession. 
 He continued in the practice of law throughout his life, with the 
 exception of a few years when he was cashier of the First 
 National Bank of Peterborough. 
 
 He was the representative of his town in 1855, 1857, 1866, and 
 1867, and was chosen councilor in 1875 and 1876. Dartmouth 
 College gave him the honorary degree of A. M. in 1868 ; and he 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 629 
 
 was appointed a trustee of the Agricultural College in 1877, the 
 year of his death. 
 
 He was distinguished for his public spirit, being always ready 
 to serve the community, as well as for his kindness of heart, his 
 social virtues, and his sound principles. 
 
 He married Anna, daughter of Abial Sawyer of Peterborough, 
 November 25, 1851, by whom he had three children. 
 
 SAMUEL SELDEN. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Susanna (Smith) Selden ; born, West Hartford, Con- 
 necticut, 1781 (?) ; Dartmouth College, 1805 ; practiced, Lebanon ; died, 
 Liberty, Michigan, 1868. 
 
 This gentleman studied his profession with Aaron Hutchinson 
 of Lebanon, and settled in practice there as early as 1809. He 
 remained twenty years, and then removed to Eoyalton, Vermont, 
 and took charge of a farm. In 1836 he sold his farm and emi- 
 grated to Liberty, Jackson County, Michigan, being one of the 
 earliest settlers in that region. During the remainder of his life 
 he was chiefly engaged in farming. 
 
 While an inhabitant of Lebanon he was selectman in 1815, 
 1816, and 1817, representative in 1816, 1817, and 1824, and mod- 
 erator from 1822 tb 1830. Apparently he was no enthusiast in 
 his profession. He delighted in the open air, and worked in his 
 field bareheaded and barefooted. He was a confirmed disciple 
 of Izaak Walton, and waded the brooks and streams in pursuit of 
 the wary trout. He is described as short and stout in person, and 
 jolly in his disposition, full of fun, and always ready with a good 
 story. 
 
 His first wife, married June, 1811, was Louisa, daughter of 
 Major Jabez Parkhurst of Koyalton, Vermont ; after her death 
 he married Fanny, her sister. 
 
 JONATHAN MITCHELL SEWALL. 
 
 Son of Mitchell and Elizabeth (Price) Sewall ; born, Salem, Massachusetts, 
 1748 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, March 29, 1808. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Sewall died in his childhood, and he was 
 apprenticed to mercantile business. On approaching manhood 
 he was compelled, by the weakness resulting from fever, to visit 
 
630 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Spain, and while there met with such heroic medical treatment 
 that he never fairly recovered from the effects of it. Keturning 
 home, he studied law with his cousin, Jonathan Sewall of Boston, 
 Massachusetts, and with John Pickering of Portsmouth. In 
 1773 he was appointed by Governor Wentworth register of Pro- 
 bate for Grafton County, and major in the militia, but soon re- 
 turned to his profession in Portsmouth. He was probably a fairly 
 well-read lawyer, and his talents and eloquence made amends for 
 all other defects. He was frequently employed in defending 
 criminals, and rarely lost a verdict. In 1778 he might have 
 been attorney-general, but he declined the office, on account of his 
 repugnance to the duties of public prosecutor. His practice 
 was rather productive of reputation than of pecuniary returns, 
 however, so that in later life he was somewhat straitened in his 
 circumstances. 
 
 It is as a poet, however, more than as a lawyer, that Sewall 
 will be remembered. He was the author of the couplet, — 
 
 " No pent-up Utica contracts your powers, 
 But the whole boundless continent is yours," 
 
 which belongs to the household words of our literature. His 
 song of " War and Washington " was heard round the camp- 
 fires of the Revolution. At a later period he produced a versi- 
 fication of Washington's "Farewell Address," and a metrical 
 parody on Elwyn's " Letter to a Federalist." He delivered a 
 Fourth of July address in 1788, a eulogy on Washington in 1800, 
 and published a volume of verse in 1801. It was perhaps the 
 timeliness, as much as the inspiration, of his poems that gave them 
 their popularity. 
 
 Mr. Sewall's health suffered as he increased in years ; and to 
 relieve his nervousness and hypochondria, he resorted to stimu- 
 lating beverages, which of course only afforded temporary allevia- 
 tion, although they fixed upon him habits that he never overcame. 
 But his friends loved him none the less, and appear never to have 
 lost respect for him. The lady who became his second wife, when 
 remonstrated with on her engagement to a man of his habits, re- 
 plied, " I would rather marry Mr. Sewall drunk than any other 
 man sober." One who inspired such sentiments could never have 
 been regarded as a victim of sensuality. 
 
 He had two wives ; the latter of them was Sarah March. He 
 had several daughters, who outlived him. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 631 
 
 CHARLES BURNHAM SHACKFORD. 
 
 Son of Major Samuel B. and Martha (?) (Hale) Shackford ; born, Bar- 
 rington, December, 1840 ; Bowdoin College, 1863 ; practiced, Conway and 
 Dover ; died, Dover, January 2, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Shackford prepared himself for the bar in the office of 
 Samuel M. Wheeler of Dover. In 1864 and 1865 he was the 
 assistant clerk, and in 1866 and 1867 the clerk, of the New 
 Hampshire House of Eepresentatives. He is said also to have 
 held the appointment of clerk of the Municipal Court of Boston, 
 Massachusetts. About 1870 his name appears as a practitioner 
 of the law in Conway, where his father had for many years been 
 living. In 1873 he established himself in Dover. Three years 
 afterwards he was commissioned solicitor for the county of 
 Strafford, and he was elected to the same office in 1878 and in 
 1880. 
 
 In all his business relations, public and private, he is described 
 as diligent, attentive, and trustworthy, — a faithful official, a sound 
 and able- lawyer, and a good citizen and true man. 
 
 It was a singular coincidence, worthy of the attention of psy- 
 chologists, that in his last hours he expressed his conviction that 
 his father, then in Chelsea, Massachusetts, was dying, though he 
 had no information of the fact. It proved that at that very 
 time his father was breathing his last, his death preceding that of 
 his son by about six hours only. 
 
 Mr. Shackford married, in 1868, Caroline, daughter of Moses 
 A. Cartland of Lee, and had two sons and a daughter. 
 
 CUTT SHANNON. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Abigail (Vaughan) Shannon ; born, Portsmouth, Au- 
 gust 17, 1717 ; practiced, Dover and Portsmouth ; died, Portsmouth, December 
 12, 1763. 
 
 Mr. Shannon's maternal grandfather was William Vaughan, a 
 royal councilor, and Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the 
 province. The grandson, after acquiring his education under 
 private instructors in Portsmouth, was admitted an attorney about 
 1739, and for some years practiced his profession in Dover. He 
 was chosen to various town offices in Portsmouth, but filled no 
 
632 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 important official station. He had no liking for his profession, 
 but probably was somewhat employed as counsel, conveyancer, 
 and the like. He was apparently in easy circumstances, and left 
 at his death a gold watch, silver plate, a slave, books appraised 
 at sixty pounds, and the inventory of his estate aggregated 
 jei3,953 old tenor. 
 
 He was married, December 3, 1741, to Mary, daughter of 
 Lieutenant-Governor George Vaughan. They had seven children, 
 of whom the eldest was a lawyer. 
 
 RICHARD CUTTS SHANNON. 
 
 Son of Cutt and Mary (Vaughan) Shannon ; born, Portsmouth, May 9, 
 1743 ; died, Newcastle, April 7, 1821. 
 
 This gentleman was a pupil of the celebrated Master Hale of 
 Portsmouth, and at a suitable age went into a counting-room in 
 Portsmouth, to receive a mercantile training. This was in accord- 
 ance with the desire of his father. But he had a strong liking 
 for the law, and after some years studied that profession with 
 Samuel Livermore in Portsmouth. He was chosen one of the 
 attorneys of the town in 1774, but the next year removed to 
 HoUis. Many of his associates in Portsmouth being loyalists, he 
 did not sympathize with the sons of liberty in the early part of 
 the Revolution, and found himself in 1777 the inmate of the jail 
 at Exeter, with others of like sentiments. In order to procure 
 his enlargement, he was compelled to give bond for his good 
 behavior, etc. There is reason to believe that he experienced a 
 decided change of sentiments after his incarceration, for in 1782 
 and in 1783 he was chosen by the patriotic citizens of Hollis to 
 represent them in the state legislature. 
 
 Governor Plumer relates that in 1784 William Coleman, after- 
 wards the distinguished editor of the New York " Evening Post," 
 went to Hollis with the intention of studying law with Mr. Shan- 
 non, and found him an easy, good-natured man, but not above 
 mediocrity as a scholar and lawyer, and with but a mere apology 
 for a library. 
 
 Mr. Shannon left Hollis for Amherst, where he received a jus- 
 tice's commission in 1785, was living in Raby, now Brookline, in 
 1791, and returned to Portsmouth in 1794. Though he was cer- 
 tainly not remarkable for acuteness, if we may credit tradition. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 633 
 
 yet he obtained a fair share of business, and through Governor 
 Langdon's influence received, in 1804, the appointment of clerk 
 of the Circuit and District Court of the United States. He 
 resigned the office in 1814. 
 
 It seems he was noted as what is called a "good liver." 
 Daniel Webster, while he was a resident of Portsmouth, amus- 
 ingly hit off this peculiarity in a good-natured epitaph which he 
 wrote for Shannon : — 
 
 " Natus eousumere fruges, 
 
 Frugibus consumptis, 
 
 Hie Jacet 
 
 R. C. S." 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth Euggles of Boston, Massachusetts, and 
 he was the father of ten children. 
 
 AMOS BLANCHARD SHATTUCK. 
 
 Son of Brooks and (Peavey) Shattuck ; born, Lowell, Massachusetts, 
 
 June 24, 1834 ; Williams College, 1856 ; admitted, 1857 ; practiced, Manches- 
 ter ; died near Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 17, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Shattuck was fitted for college at the academy in Frances- 
 town. He studied law in the office of Daniel Clark of Manches- 
 ter, and began practice in Manchester with every prospect of 
 success. But when the war of the Eebellion broke out, and call 
 after call was made upon the patriotism of the young men of the 
 North, he could not remain quietly at home, while it was in his 
 power to render service in the field. When the Eleventh Regi- 
 ment of New Hampshire Volunteers was organized, he was mus- 
 tered into the military service of the United States as captain of 
 Company E. Leaving his young wife and child, he proceeded with 
 the regiment to the front. Three months from the time they left 
 New Hampshire, they were confronted with the rebel troops, 
 intrenched on Marye's Heights opposite Fredericksburg, Virginia, 
 and, with a courage and resolution that won them the warmest 
 praise of the commanding general, advanced through the " fire 
 infernal," and for hours held the slope beneath the enemy's line, 
 which was simply impregnable. 
 
 Among the one hundred and ninety casualties of the regiment 
 on that terrible day. Captain Shattuck was wounded ; at first it 
 was thought not fatally, but in four days afterwards he breathed 
 
634 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 his last, — " an excellent officer and much esteemed man," as the 
 record runs. 
 
 He was married, January 26, 1859, to Caroline O., daughter of 
 Elihu Stevens of Manchester, and left one son. 
 
 NATHANIEL SHATTUCK. 
 
 Son of Nathaniel and Catharine (Andrews) Shattuck ; born, Temple, Feb- 
 ruary 27, 1774 ; Dartmouth College, 1801 ; practiced, Milford, Amherst, and 
 Mason ; died, Concord, Massachusetts, September 1, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Shattuck studied law with Benjamin J. Gilbert of Hano- 
 ver and Timothy Bigelow of Groton, Massachusetts, and was 
 admitted to the bar of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1804. 
 The same year he began practice in Milford, and in a few years 
 removed to Amherst, where he lived till 1830 _; after which he 
 made several changes of residence, being at one time in Brookline, 
 afterwards in Mason, then in Lynn, Massachusetts, and, it is 
 believed, in other places. 
 
 He was a man of some capacity, and apparently had a fair 
 share of business and of the confidence of his townsmen at 
 Amherst, until he was so injudicious as to engage in bringing a 
 large number of petty suits against Charles H. Atherton and 
 other stockholders of the suspended Hillsborough bank upon 
 the small bills issued by that institution, claiming that they 
 were personally liable under the law. The actions were regarded 
 as vexatious, and were held to be unfounded ; and the costs, 
 amounting in the aggregate to a very considerable sum, fell upon 
 Shattuck. He was unable to discharge them, and, as the law then 
 was, was committed to jail for non-payment. He obtained the 
 liberty of the yard, which extended to the bounds of the town of 
 Amherst, but for years was unable to go outside of them. It is 
 said, however, that he made the most of his limited opportunities, 
 and kept up his practice while thus nominally a prisoner. 
 
 He was married, in 1806, to Mary, daughter of James Wallace 
 of Temple, and in 1816, after her decease, to Sally, daughter of 
 Samuel Stanley of Amherst. He had seven children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 635 
 
 JOHN LANE SHEAFE. 
 
 Son of Jacob and Mary (Quincy) Sheaf e ; born, Portsmouth, November 28, 
 1791 ; Harvard College, 1810 ; practiced, Portsmouth, Colebrook, and Lancas- 
 ter ; died. New Orleans, Louisiana, January 6, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Sheafe was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and read law with Jeremiah Mason of Portsmouth. 
 Admitted to the bar in the Court of Common Pleas in 1813, he 
 was in practice in Portsmouth until 1820, when he removed to 
 Colebrook. After five years' sojourn there, he went to Lancas- 
 ter and remained three or four years. Then he took up his resi- 
 dence in Lowell, Massachusetts, and lived there till 1838, when 
 he emigrated to Florida, as was understood, but subsequently be- 
 came an inhabitant of New Orleans, Louisiana. 
 
 As a young man Mr. Sheafe was quite diffident, so that the 
 wags of Coos County were at first inclined to make sport of him, 
 but his abilities and education soon gained him respect. In 
 Lowell he was considered an able lawyer, and had a good busi- 
 ness, though he was not distinguished as an advocate. He was 
 there elected in 1833 and 1836 a representative in the General 
 Court. 
 
 In New Orleans he developed the first-rate qualities which he 
 really possessed. There was scope there for the best that was 
 in him, and emulation to bring it out. He became a prominent 
 Whig politician and a " brilliant lawyer," and was appointed a 
 Judge. True to his Northern training, he opposed the pernicious 
 doctrine of secession, and remained a Union man as long as he 
 lived. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JOHN SAMUEL SHERBURNE. 
 
 Son of John and Elizabeth (Moffat) Sherburne ; born, Portsmouth, 1757 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1776 ; died, Portsmouth, August 2, 1830. 
 
 Mr. Sherburne, whose Christian name was originally Samuel 
 only, was descended from some of the oldest families of Ports- 
 mouth. He followed the mercantile profession for a while, but 
 with no success. In 1778 he was a volunteer aid of General Wil- 
 liam Whipple, who commanded a brigade of militia in the expe- 
 
636 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 dition against Rhode Island. One morning while at breakfast 
 in his tent a chance cannon shot fractured the bones of his leg, 
 whicli had to be amputated. 
 
 Shortly after the close of the war he appeared as an attorney 
 at law in Portsmouth, having acquired the needful preparation in 
 the office of John Pickering of that place. 
 
 On the opening of the Federal courts in Portsmouth in 1789, 
 Mr. Sherburne received the appointment of district attorney, 
 which he held until 1793. 
 
 In 1790 he was elected a representative in the legislature, and 
 served two or three years, a part of the time as Speaker. In 
 1793, and again in 1795, he was chosen a member of the lower 
 House of Congress, four years in all. A further term of one year 
 in the state legislature in 1801 completed his political career. 
 
 In 1802 he was a second time appointed district attorney of the 
 United States, and exercised the office until 1804. As a practic- 
 ing lawyer he was lacking in self-control. Above mediocrity as 
 an advocate, he could so ill bear contradiction or interruption, 
 that his anger on such occasions often did mischief to his client's 
 interests. It is said that he sometimes flattered the Court and 
 at other times bullied them, as the humor moved him, or as he 
 thought would best promote his own purposes. 
 
 Mr. Sherburne's agency in bringing about the removal of Judge 
 Pickering, an unmistakably insane man, by impeachment, always 
 remained in the minds of many a black cloud upon his character. 
 He testified strongly against the respondent, but when summoned 
 for further cross-examination, he absented himself so that he 
 could not be found. 
 
 The office of District Judge of the United States, from which 
 Judge Pickering was shamefully ousted, largely through his 
 agency, was bestowed upon him in 1804, and he occupied it dur- 
 ing the remainder of his days. His subsequent life is said not to 
 have been happy. He had little enjoyment of the friendship of 
 others, or of his family even. Several years before his death his 
 faculties failed, and there were not wanting those who looked 
 upon this as a judgment upon him for his course against his 
 predecessor in office. 
 
 His wife was Submit, daughter of George Boyd of Portsmouth. 
 They had three sons and a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 637 
 
 JOHN MAJOR SHIRLEY. 
 
 Son of John and Joanna (Yale) Shirley ; horn, Sanbornton, November 16, 
 1831 ; admitted, 1854 ; practiced, Sanbornton Bridge (Tilton) and Andover ; 
 died, Andover, May 2], 1887. 
 
 The narrow circumstances in which Mr. Shirley's childhood 
 was passed forbade him a systematic education. But he made 
 the utmost of the district schools ; and later, when his own efforts 
 enabled him, he studied in the academy at Sanbornton Bridge, 
 and in the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at Northfield. 
 
 From the time he reached fourteen years of age he worked 
 upon the farm, and later at more lucrative pursuits, to contribute 
 to the support of his parents. His father died in 1851, and he 
 maintained his mother until her death in 1871. It was character- 
 istic of Mr. Shirley that though he furnished the writer with a 
 sketch of his life, he was silent respecting this most honorable 
 incident. 
 
 He entered the office of Asa P. Gate and Benjamin A. Rodgers 
 at Sanbornton Bridge, to qualify himself for the bar. After his 
 admission he was employed by them for a part of the year, and 
 then he settled permanently in practice in Andover. He con- 
 tinued there for the remainder of his life, having at different 
 periods other partners, generally young men who had been his 
 students. He held various positions there : was postmaster from 
 1855 to 1859 ; representative in the legislature in 1859 and 1860 ; 
 superintending school committee, 1858 to 1865 ; agent of the town 
 to pay volunteers and aid their families, 1862 to 1865 ; and dele- 
 gate to the convention to revise the state Constitution in 1876. 
 In 1871 he was appointed state reporter, and performed the 
 duties until 1876. 
 
 Mr. Shirley was above all things a lawyer. He exulted in his 
 profession, in its noble purpose, its interesting history, and its 
 extended scope. He believed that no occupation in life afforded 
 the opportunity for conferring more benefit on society than that 
 of the lawyer. His ideal was the highest. He had no admiration 
 for the subtleties of the law nor for its outgrown and unreason- 
 able rules. He would have them modified till they became really 
 the " perfection of reason " as well as of morals. He was a stu- 
 dent but not a devotee of the black letter ; he was rather a prac- 
 tical reformer. 
 
638 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Though faithful and successful in trials at nisi prius, he was 
 far more at home in discussing questions of pure law before the 
 Court. He ransacked the lore of the past for precedents and 
 analogies, and some of his briefs were marvels of application and 
 ingenuity. He had wonderful fluency of speech, and a humorous 
 fitness of expression that never failed to attract and hold the atten- 
 tion. His law studies were not confined to his eases ; he wrote 
 many articles for the law journals, and delivered several public 
 addresses upon legal topics. The chief of his productions was his 
 " History of the Dartmouth College Causes." This work must 
 have cost him great labor, and his views are wrought out in it 
 with much ingenuity. Whether or not we are prepared to accept 
 his conclusions to the full, we cannot but acknowledge that the 
 production is the work of a thorough lawyer and an honest as 
 well as a very able man. 
 
 Mr. Shirley was an earnest working member of the New Hamp- 
 shire Historical Society and of the American Bar Association, 
 and was elected to the office of vice-president in each. He was 
 long interested in Freemasonrj'^, had taken numerous degrees, and 
 in the Grand Masonic bodies of the State was habitually placed at 
 the head of the committees on jurisprudence and trials. 
 
 It was truly said of Mr. Shirley that he was " honest, able, 
 learned, industrious, and courageous." It may be added that he 
 was courteous, kind, honorable, persistent.' It was necessary to 
 know him well to appreciate him. He had a little of the extrava- 
 gance of expression of Boy thorn, that had to be made allowance 
 for. But beneath his little eccentricities, the man was as true as 
 steel. His health was never strong, and he worked with all his 
 might while his day lasted. He wore himself out, but left behind 
 him a memory fragrant with kind feeling, devotion to duty, and 
 high achievement. 
 
 He was married, February 17, 1870, to Emroy E., daughter of 
 Rev. Thompson Barron, at Newport. They had three children, 
 two sons and a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 639 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK SLACK. 
 
 Son of John and Betsey (Ide) Slack ; born, New London, June, 1789 ; Dart- 
 mouth College, 1811 ; practiced, Andover, Goffstown, Pembroke, and Hill ; 
 died, Loudon County, Virginia, August 2, 1857. 
 
 Having studied law with Moses P. Payson of Bath and John 
 Harris and Baruch Chase of Hopkinton, Mr. Slack was admitted, 
 in 1817, and practiced successively in Andover, Goffstown, Pem- 
 broke, and New Chester (now Hill), and perhaps in other places. 
 The simplicity of his nature and his lack of sound judgment for- 
 bade his gaining the entire confidence of the people in his legal 
 ability, and he eked out his subsistence by teaching. Somewhere 
 about 1830 he was living in Canada, and in 1834 he traveled 
 through a part of the United States, soliciting contributions for 
 a Protestant high school in that province. He was living on 
 the fat of the land, and some of the ministers in Essex County, 
 Massachusetts, investigated his authority to collect money for the 
 purpose, and pronounced that he had unparalleled impudence ! 
 Slack criticised the strictures that were made upon him as un- 
 classical, — the unpardonable fault in his eyes. He did, however, 
 succeed in obtaining the means to establish a classical academy in 
 Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and was engaged in 
 teaching there a number of years ; thence he removed to Fairfax 
 County, Virginia, and at length to Loudon County, where he died. 
 He was an excellent scholar and a successful -instructor. 
 
 While he was practicing in Andover he brought a suit in tres- 
 pass before a justice of the peace, upon this state of facts : A., 
 having set a steel trap on his own premises to catch a fox, caught 
 a wild-cat instead, which, being a powerful animal, dragged the 
 trap off into B.'s grain-field, where B. secured the creature and 
 killed and skinned it. Slack's action was in favor of A. against 
 B. for taking and carrying away his trap and the skin of the wild- 
 cat. Richard Fletcher of Salisbury appeared for the defendant, and 
 contended that the action was misconceived, and should have been 
 trover, which could only be sustained after a demand had been 
 made ; that B. found these articles on his own land, and would no 
 doubt have returned them to the owner on demand, etc. Poor 
 Slack was overawed and silenced, and retired from the field with 
 the remark that " he would rather face the wild-cat than Fletcher." 
 
640 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 While Mr. Slack was a resident of Pembroke, he brought an 
 action in the newly organized county of Merrimac against a 
 delinquent client, for his fees. When the case was called Slack 
 proposed to have it continued ; and the Court inquiring who ap- 
 peared for the defendant, it was found that Slack's name was 
 entered as his attorney. This led to inquii-y, and, the writ being 
 produced, disclosed the fact that Slack was plaintiff, indorser of 
 the writ, and had become bail for the defendant, whose body had 
 been arrested. Judge Richardson, who was more amused than 
 indignant, because he knew the lawyer was weak but not wicked, 
 inquired of Slack why he became bail for the defendant. " No- 
 body else would bail him," was the reply, " and I thought he 
 never would pay me if I sent him to jail." The judge smiled, 
 and directed his appearance for the defendant to be struck off, 
 and the action was defaulted. 
 
 His only published literary production which is known was an 
 oration before the Washington Benevolent Society at Hopkinton, 
 July 5, 1813. 
 
 He was married in 1827 to Lydia, daughter of Levi Hastings 
 of Wilmot. 
 
 JONAS DARIUS SLEEPER. 
 
 Son of Jonas and Sally (Bean) Sleeper ; born, Gilford, April, 1815 ; Brown 
 University, 1840 ; practiced, Hill, Haverhill, and Concord ; died, Plymouth, 
 September 9, 1868. 
 
 Mr. Sleeper was fitted for college at the academy in New 
 Hampton ; and studied law with Josiah Quincy of Rumney, whose 
 son-in-law he became. He set up in practice in Hill in 1843, and 
 remained there five years ; then, receiving the appointment of 
 clerk of the courts for Grafton County, he changed his residence 
 to Haverhill. In 1858 he was made cashier of the state Capital 
 Bank in Concord and removed to that place, but held the position 
 only two years, when he was appointed clerk of the courts for 
 the county of Merrimac, and acted in that capacity to the time 
 of his death. While residing in Haverhill he was elected state 
 senator in 1854 and 1855. 
 
 He was a good, careful, judicious lawyer, and was especially 
 adapted to the duties of the office in which he spent so large a 
 part of his life, the clerkship of the courts, by his habits of exact- 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 641 
 
 ness, his fidelity, and his unquestioned integrity. He was a well- 
 informed man and a great reader ; a genial companion, a good 
 friend, to every good cause, and the best of citizens. 
 
 He was married in 1846 to Martha G., daughter of Josiah 
 Quincy of Rumney. 
 
 DAVID SLOAN. 
 
 Son of David and Elizabeth (Scott) Sloan ; born, Pelham, Massachusetts, 
 January 9, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1806 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died 
 there, June 7, 1860. 
 
 Beginning life with limited means, Mr. Sloan earned the money 
 necessary for his collegiate education, a part of it by writing diplo- 
 mas. George Woodward of Haverhill and William H. Woodward 
 of Hanover were his instructors in the law, and in due time he put 
 up his sign in Haverhill. At first his clients, like those of many 
 another beginner, were not of the most desirable class, but he was 
 keen, shrewd, and determined to make his way, and became for 
 many years a successful practitioner and prudent manager, so that 
 he acquired a handsome property. He is said to have been un- 
 prepossessing in appearance, and of eccentric manners. 
 
 His wife was Hannah, daughter of Captain Thomas Johnson of 
 Newbury, Vermont, and two of his sons chose the profession of 
 the law, but both died young. 
 
 WILLIAM BRADBURY SMALL. 
 
 Son of Isaac Small ; born, Limington, Maine, May 17, 1817 ; admitted, 
 1846 ; practiced, Newmarket ; died there, April 7, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Small prepared himself at Effingham Academy to become 
 a teacher, and was employed as such in Exeter, when he read for 
 his future profession with Bell and Tuck. He succeeded to the 
 office and business of William W. Stickney in Newmarket when 
 the latter removed to Exeter, and being industrious, honest, and 
 clear headed, and having no " small vices," kept a good propor- 
 tion of his predecessor's clients. He attended all the courts dili- 
 gently and was a good deal engaged in trials. His treatment of 
 witnesses was fair, and his addresses to the jury were temperate 
 and persuasive, while tenacious for his client's interests. His 
 position at the bar was among the foremost. 
 41 
 
642 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was elected successively representative and senator in the 
 state legislature, and in 1873 a representative in Congress. He 
 had no liking for party strife, however, and went back to his law 
 practice with real relief. The post of county solicitor was given 
 him in 1866, and he filled it five years. Again appointed in 1876, 
 he continued in the discharge of his duties to the time of his 
 decease. He was an able and conscientious officer. 
 
 His first wife, Olive A. Furber of Newmarket, he married June 
 12, 1851. They had one child. His second wife was the widow 
 of Reuben French. 
 
 DAVID SMILEY. 
 
 Son of Deacon William and Sarah (Robinson) Smiley ; born, JafErey, 
 March 16, 1769 ; Harvard College, [1796 ; practiced, Jaffrey, Bridgewater, 
 and Grafton ; died, Plymouth, May 19, 1845. 
 
 Mr. Smiley as an attorney began to practice in his native town 
 in 1800 ; and was the first lawyer settled in Jaffrey. While 
 there he was chosen town clerk and selectman for two years, but 
 in 1806 or 1807 removed to Bridgewater, now Bristol Village, 
 where he remained in practice for a term of about ten years, and 
 then changed his abode to Grafton. In this place he was a school 
 teacher a part of the time, and served for a long period as super- 
 intendent of schools. He also gave some attention to farming. 
 But he kept up his professional business through his life, enjoyed 
 an extensive country practice, and was considered a careful law- 
 yer. His death occurred suddenly while he was in attendance 
 upon the court in Plymouth. 
 
 Mr. Smiley was an expert player of checkers, and learning 
 that Dr. Renton of Concord was the champion of his section in 
 that game, was so anxious to test his skill that he is said to have 
 walked from Grafton to Concord, a distance of forty miles, to 
 meet him. It was a genuine feat of modern knight errantry. 
 They were so equally matched that while Smiley won the first 
 game, his antagonist carried off the palm in the second. 
 
 Mr. Smiley was married in 1802 to Mary Harkness, at Lunen- 
 burg, Massachusetts. They had five children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 643 
 
 EBENEZER SMITH. 
 
 Son of Deacon Ebenezer and Margaret (Weeks) Smith ; born, Durham, 
 March 13, 1758 ; admitted, 1783 ; practiced, Durham ; died there, Septem- 
 ber 24, 1831. 
 
 Mr. Smith obtained his education at Dummer Academy in 
 Byfiekl, Massachusetts, under the tuition of Master Moody. He 
 studied law with John Sullivan in Durham, and is said to have 
 been secretary to Mr. Sullivan while he was a member of the 
 Continental Congress, in 1780-81. In 1783 Mr. Smith entered 
 upon practice. He was very successful in his profession, and 
 became one of the most prominent lawyers in his section of the 
 State. He is said to have often gone to court with a hundred 
 new engagements. He was not an advocate ; most of the impor- 
 tant causes in his time were argued by a few leaders, who accom- 
 panied the judges on their circuit. The preparation of the law 
 and evidence belonged to the attorneys who originated the suits, 
 and upon their fidelity and ability in doing this the fate of the 
 trials chiefly depended. This work seems to have been the forte 
 of Mr. Smith; here his law knowledge and sound sense were 
 conspicuous. 
 
 He was held in much respect by his townsmen, and was their 
 representative in the General Court six years between 1783 and 
 1793. 
 
 He was elected councilor in 1788, in 1793, 1794, and 1795, and 
 in 1798 was tendered the appointment of Justice of the Superior 
 Court, which he declined. For nearly twenty years before his 
 death he was president of the Bar Association of Strafford County. 
 
 He married, May 5, 1785, Mehitable, daughter of Jacob 
 Sbeafe of Portsmouth. Of their children, a son, Jacob S. Smith, 
 became an attorney. 
 
 EBENEZER SMITH, JR. 
 
 This is given as the name of an attorney of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, in Sanbornton, in 1808. No mention is made of him 
 by the thorough and painstaking historian of the town, nor has 
 his name been found elsewhere. He may have been of kin to 
 Hon. Ebenezer Smith of Meredith. 
 
644 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 EMERY B. SMITH. 
 
 This was a native of New York, born about the year 1835, who 
 came to Orford from Boston, Massachusetts, in March, 1881, for 
 the purpose of practicing his profession. He lived, however, only 
 four months after his arrival. 
 
 FRANCIS PETER SMITH. 
 
 Son of Rev. Isaac and Sarah (Eaton) Smith ; born, Gilmanton, August 22, 
 1795 ; Dartmouth College, 1816 ; practiced, Kingston and Ossipee ; died, 
 Ossipee, November 21, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Smith prosecuted his law studies with Jeremiah H. Wood- 
 man of Rochester, Oliver Crosby of Dover, and Augustus Peabody 
 of Boston, Massachusetts, where he began practice in 1819, but 
 remained but a little time. He tried his fortune successively in 
 Medway, Massachusetts, two years, in Kingston one year, and in 
 Ossipee ten years. At the end of that time he resolved to give 
 up his occupation, and prepared himself for the ministry. 
 
 For years he acquired no permanent settlement, preaching tem- 
 porarily in Gilmanton, Epsom, Wolfeborough, and other places 
 until he reached Sebasticook (now Benton), Maine, where he was 
 the pastor from 1845 to 1859. He returned subsequently to 
 Ossipee. 
 
 Mr. Smith was an amiable man, and had, no doubt, a fair share 
 of learning, but is said not to have possessed that requisite of a 
 good lawyer, the capacity to apply the rules of law to the facts of 
 his cases. It was his want of success that determined him to 
 seek a different calling in life. 
 
 He was married, October 14, 1821, to Elizabeth S., daughter 
 of Rev. Ezra Weld of Braintree, Massachusetts, and had one 
 daughter. 
 
 FREDERIC SMITH. 
 
 Son of Timothy and Mary (Greeley) Smith ; born, Gilmanton, April 29, 
 1799 ; Dartmouth College, 1826 ; practiced, Boscawen ; died, Cambridge, 
 Massachusetts, 1873. 
 
 Mr. Smith was fitted for college at the Gilmanton Academy, 
 and gained his legal preparation in the offices of Stephen Moody 
 
ALPHABETICAULY. 645 
 
 of Gilmanton and Stephen C. Lyford of Meredith. In 1829 he 
 began to practice at Boscawen, but at the end of h'alf a dozen 
 years he abandoned the law, and removed to Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, and engaged in trade. 
 
 His career as a lawyer was not particularly successful. Of tol- 
 erable scholarship, he was eager after gain, and not too particular 
 in his schemes for obtaining it. Legal business in Boscawen was 
 small, and Smith and his deputy sheriff devised a plan for in- 
 creasing it. An old man in that vicinity had taken out a patent 
 on a sort of mantel of sheet iron, for keeping dishes warm, and 
 many persons were using the device without the license of the 
 patentee. They made an arrangement with the latter, who was 
 without means, to bring suits in his name for infringement of the 
 patent, the fruits of which were to be in great part for their bene- 
 fit. A number of actions were commenced, and Judge Nesmith 
 was retained by the parties sued and gave them the benefit of his 
 sagacity and sound sense. He learned upon inquiry that the 
 invention, far from being a novelty, had been in use for years 
 before the patent was granted. This fact being proved left the 
 plaintiff no case, and the defendants had judgment. But as the 
 plaintiff was worthless, their indignation was strong against his 
 attorney, who they doubted not instigated the suits, but evaded 
 liability for the costs. The feeling thus roused against Smith 
 was such that he thought proper to quit the place and the profes- 
 sion as well. 
 
 JAMES SMITH. 
 
 Son of James Smith ; born, Newmarket, c. 1795 ; admitted, 1817 ; prac- 
 ticed, Portsmouth and Newington ; died, Newington, 1869 (?). 
 
 Mr. Smith was a student at law in the office of Edward Cutts 
 in Portsmouth. He held himself out as a law practitioner for 
 fifty years or more in Portsmouth, and for two or three years 
 about 1838 in Newington, where he then had his residence. He 
 never belonged to the more reputable ranks of the profession, 
 either in point of knowledge or of character, but was addicted to 
 practices which tend*to bring reproach upon an honorable calling. 
 
 He married Maria Balfour Spence of Portsmouth, in March, 
 1866, and left no descendants. 
 
646 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JEDEDIAH KILBURN SMITH. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Abigail Smith ; born, Amherst, November 7, 1770 ; 
 admitted, 1798 ; practiced, Amherst ; died there, December 17, 1828. 
 
 Mr. Smith did not receive a liberal education, and acquired his 
 profession under the instruction of Samuel Dana in his native 
 town. His popular qualities introduced him earlj' to public office ; 
 he was moderator of the town in 1799 and repeatedly afterwards, 
 and representative in 1803 and 1804. In the latter year he yvas 
 elected to the state Senate and again in 1805 and 1806. From 
 1807 to 1809 he was a representative in Congress, and in 1809 he 
 was again chosen state senator. After serving in the Executive 
 Council four terms between 1810 and 1815 he was, in 1816, 
 appointed an associate Justice of the District Court of Common 
 Pleas. In 1821, on a change in the organization of the inferior 
 tribunals, he -was made an associate Judge of the county Court of 
 Sessions, and in 1823 promoted to be chief Judge until 1825. 
 
 Judge Smith was a man of undoubted ability, and in his best 
 days a lawyer of respectable attainments. Prior to and during 
 the war of 1812 he was active in supporting the measures of his 
 party, and thus acquired a large degree of popularity, insomuch 
 that in 1810 he is said to have come within a single vote of being 
 elected to the United States Senate. The great foe of men in his 
 position has almost always been indulgence in intoxicating drink, 
 and Judge Smith did not escape its fatal influence. On this 
 account he was in 1826 removed from the office of postmaster, 
 which he had held for seven years. 
 
 He was married, September 30, 1802, to Anna, daughter of 
 Nathaniel Henchman, and had a son and a daughter, both now 
 deceased. 
 
 JOHN HARVEY SMITH. 
 
 Son of John and Betsey Smith ; born, Rochester, 1802 (?) ; admitted, 
 1824 ; practiced, Centre Harbor, Conway, Rochester, and Dover ; died, Mere- 
 dith, October 7, 1852. ^ 
 
 Mr. Smith was well taught in the common branches of learn- 
 ing, and studied law with Jeremiah H. Woodman in his native 
 town, and with James Bartlett of Dover. He settled first in 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 647 
 
 Centre Harbor about 1824, and after three or four years removed 
 to Conway for a short time, and then to Eochester. He repre- 
 sented Rochester in the legislatures of 1832, 1833, and 1834, and 
 in 1837 changed his residence to Dover, where two of his brothers 
 were living. In 1841 he was appointed clerk of the courts for 
 the county of Strafford, and continued in that office to the time 
 of his decease. He received fatal injuries in a collision which 
 occurred between two trains on the Boston, Concord, and Montreal 
 Railroad, in Meredith, October 7, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Smith united with good abilities and a fair acquaintance 
 with the law a kind and generous disposition and honorable feel- 
 ing. It was said of him by a political opponent, "He was a 
 kind, peaceable, generous-hearted man, and if he has left one 
 enemy in Dover I have yet to learn his name." 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JONATHAN SMITH. 
 
 Son of Deacon Jonathan and Nancy (Smith) Smith ; born, Peterborough, 
 August 15, 1797 ; Harvard College, 1819 ; practiced, Lisbon and Bath ; died, 
 Bath, August 10, 1840. 
 
 Jonathan Smith was a nephew of Chief Justice Jeremiah 
 Smith. He studied his profession in the office of Levi Lincoln of 
 Worcester, Massachusetts, and in 1825 opened an office in Lis- 
 bon, but remained there only two years. He then established 
 himself at Bath as the law partner of Moses P. Payson. 
 
 His abilities and scholarship brought him at once into promi- 
 nence. He was a thorough lawyer, as well as a man of discretion 
 and sound sense. Chief Justice Richardson expressed the opinion 
 that he would make an eminent judge. He tried causes in court, 
 made his points with clearness and precision, and was always 
 listened to with attention by the bench. Moreover he is said to 
 have impressed his hearers with the conviction that he believed 
 all that he uttered. His character was so symmetrical and com- 
 plete that it was asserted that he had no quality that one would 
 wish left out. 
 
 Before he reached the age of forty his health began to fail, and 
 he was obliged to relinquish business. After trying other reme- 
 dies in vain, he passed a winter in the West Indies in the futile 
 hope of restoring his shattered constitution. He returned to lay 
 his bones in his native land. 
 
648 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Smith was twice elected a representative from Bath in the 
 state legislature, in 1835 and 1838. 
 
 He married Hannah P., daughter of Hon. Moses P. Payson. 
 They had four children. 
 
 LEWIS SMITH. 
 
 Son of Jabez and Cloa (Richards) Smith ; born, Eastford, Connecticut, June 
 5, 1815 ; admitted, 1840 ; practiced, Newport, Henniker, Fisherville, and 
 Nashua ; died, Helena, Montana, July 5, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Smith was fitted for college at Bennington, Vermont, and 
 studied his profession partly in that State and the last two years 
 with Edmund Burke of Newport. Admitted to the bar in Sulli- 
 van County, he practiced in Newport a short time, and afterwards 
 in Henniker, from 1841 to 1851, a part of that time having an 
 office in Fisherville in Concord ; then at Nashua, until 1856, when 
 he migrated to Hastings, Minnesota. In 1857 he was clerk of 
 'the territorial council there, and was subsequently a member of 
 each legislative House of the State, and auditor of Dakota County. 
 In 1872 he removed to St. Joseph, Missouri. 
 
 While a resident of New Hampshire he was chosen a represen- 
 tative from Henniker in the legislature of 1841, was assistant 
 clerk of the House from 1843 to 1845, clerk from 1847 to 1849, 
 and delegate to the constitutional convention of 1850. He was an 
 active man of affairs and had a wide practice, and was interested 
 quite as much in political matters as in the business of tlie 
 courts. He was one of the earliest to take ground against the Free 
 Soil movement in New Hampshire ; but is said to have sided with 
 the loyal sentiment of the country on the breaking out of the 
 civil war. 
 
 His wife was Sarah Noyes of Henniker. He left three sons. 
 
 SAMUEL SMITH. 
 
 Son of Uriah and Olive (Burton) Smith ; born, Francestown, August 12, 
 1807 ; Dartmouth College, 1827 ; practiced, Francestown and Henniker ; died, 
 Henniker, August 18, 1837. 
 
 Mr. Smith was fitted for college at the Francestown Academy, 
 and studied law, the first year with Titus Brown in his native town, 
 and about two years in the law school in New Haven, Connecticut. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 649 
 
 111 1830 he began practice in Chester, Vermont, and after con- 
 tinuing there a year returned to Francestown, whence after 
 another year he removed to Henniker, to succeed to the practice 
 of Artemas Rogers. 
 
 He was described by one of his friends as a close student of 
 his profession, a thorough judge of law, considering his age, and 
 of strict integrity of character; deeply interested in general 
 education, and helpful of every cause for the benefit of society. 
 He died of consumption, unmarried. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON SMITH. 
 
 Sou of Thomas S. and Lydia P. (Wright) Smith ; born, Dorchester, April 
 18, 1830 ; Dartmouth College, 1852 ; practiced, Wentworth and Dover ; died, 
 Mauasquan, New Jersey, May 1, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Smith was prepared for college at New Hampton Academy. 
 In 1853 he was appointed postmaster of Wentworth, whither he 
 had gone to study law with J. Everett Sargent, and was admitted 
 and began practice in the same town in 1855. He continued to 
 be postmaster until 1861. In that and the succeeding four years 
 he represented Wentworth in the legislature, and in 1866 and 
 
 1867 he was chosen state senator from the twelfth district. In 
 
 1868 he transferred his residence to Dover. While there he 
 served as clerk of the Senate in 1874 and 1875, and as secretary 
 of the state constitutional convention in 1876. 
 
 In 1886 he repaired to Boston, Massachusetts, on receiving the 
 appointment of deputy naval officer at that port, and in the fall 
 of 1887 he was called to Washington, District of Columbia, as 
 solicitor of the United States Internal Revenue Department, which 
 office he continued to fill until the advent of the new administra- 
 tion. Shortly after that time he entered the employ of the New 
 York and Long Island Branch Railroad, in which he was engaged 
 at the time of his decease. 
 
 Mr. Smith was an intelligent and efficient lawyer, and a man of 
 pleasing and popular manners. His interest in education was dis- 
 played by service upon the school committee of Wentworth and of 
 Dover. He was quite distinguished as a public speaker in the 
 legislature and " upon the stump." His political faith was as the 
 breath of his nostrils. He stood by his party faithfully, and his 
 party stood by him. 
 
650 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 His wife was Sarah S., daughter of Daniel D. Kelley of Want- 
 worth. They were married September 17, 1854, and had two 
 daughters and a son. 
 
 WILLIAM SMITH. 
 
 Born Princeton, Massachusetts, 1790 ; admitted, 1813 ; practiced, Lyme 
 and Hanover ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, October 19, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Smith's father was a blacksmith, and moved into New 
 Hampshire while his son was a boy. The father's means being 
 limited, young Smith, ambitious and full of energy, was obliged 
 to rely on his own exertions to procure a professional education. 
 He studied law with Abiathar G. Britton of Orford, and began 
 practice in Lyme in 1814, but after an experience of two or three 
 years removed to Hanover. In that town he remained until the 
 year 1833, when he left the State for Lowell, Massachusetts. 
 Benjamin F. Butler was his student there, and afterwards his 
 partner for a time. After living twenty years in Lowell, Mr. 
 Smith established himself in Boston with his son, Henry F. 
 Durant. 
 
 He was hardly past middle age when he quitted New Hamp- 
 shire, and is remembered here as having a considerable faculty 
 for getting business and originating suits, but was not considered 
 a thorough lawyer. He had a boastful manner of speaking of his 
 business, representing the actions in which he was engaged as of 
 transcendent consequence. Some wag applied to him the name 
 of " Puff " Smith, and it fitted so well that it clung to him. 
 While he lived in Hanover he used to carry ostentatiously a hand 
 trunk between his house and office three times every day, as if it 
 contained papers of great value. He was pompous in his speech, 
 and thought it fine to employ long words. He once inquired, at a 
 public table, of Chief Justice Richardson if he ever cultivated 
 convolvulum tuherosum. The Judge was not daunted by the 
 botanical name of sweet potato ; but having a keen sense of the 
 ridiculous, was intensely amused by the counselor's display of 
 cheap learning. 
 
 Mr. Smith married a Miss Fowle of Watertown, Massachusetts, 
 a sister of the wife of Abiathar G. Britton of Orford. Their 
 son, Henry F. Smith, had his surname changed to Durant, under 
 which designation he was known as one of the most adroit and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 651 
 
 successful lawyers in Boston, and afterwards as the founder of 
 Wellesley College. 
 
 WILLIAM SMITH. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jeremiah and Eliza (Ross) Smith ; born, Exeter, August 31, 
 1799 ; Harvard College, 1817 ; admitted, 1820 ; practiced, Exeter ; died, 
 Centreville, Mississippi, March 29, 1830. 
 
 Mr. Smith received his early education at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy. He went into his father's office as a student, and in 
 1820 became a practicing attorney in Exeter. Born to position 
 and abundance, he lacked some of the most powerful incentives to 
 exertion, and never chained himself to the oar of the law. But 
 he possessed popular and brilliant qualities, and in politics and 
 literature early made himself a position. He was chosen a rep- 
 resentative in the state legislature in 1822, while he was in his 
 twenty-third year, and again in 1823 and 1824. 
 
 He wrote with ability and point. He delivered several ad- 
 dresses on public occasions, and published a pamphlet on the 
 " Toleration Act of 1819," and another on the " Assassination of 
 Julius CsBsar," besides many articles in the journals of the day. 
 His taste for historical study induced him to collect materials for 
 a history of the town of his nativity, which was interrupted by 
 his ill health. Though probably not enamored of the law, he did 
 enough in it to prove that he was no degenerate son of his dis- 
 tinguished father. 
 
 In the spring of 1828 he was attacked by pulmonary disease. 
 The winter of 1829-30 he was ordered to a warmer climate, but 
 for him there was no healing virtue in the Southern breezes. To 
 the great grief of his friends, he never again saw his home. The 
 indiscretions of his youth never for a moment obscured the admi- 
 ration of those who best knew him for his brilliant talents and 
 manly character. He died unmarried. 
 
 TITUS SNELL. 
 
 Mr. Snell was a native of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and studied 
 law in that place with Judge Paddock. Admitted about 1835, he 
 was in practice in Lunenburg and Guildhall, Vermont, and in 
 Northumberland and Lancaster, until his decease in 1848. His 
 
652 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 education was respectable and his ability fair. He died of con- 
 sumption at an early age. 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth Sampson of Lancaster, and he left one 
 
 ALPHEUS FRANKLIN SNOW. 
 
 Son of Alpheus and Salome (Harris) Snow ; born, Chesterfield, May 29, 
 1818 ; admitted, 1841 ; practiced, Claremont ; died, Hartford, Connecticut, 
 November 25, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Snow was educated at the academy in his native town, 
 and made his professional preparation in the office of Hubbard 
 and Gilchrist in Charlestown, and at the Harvard Law School. 
 He began to practice in Claremont in 1841, and became very suc- 
 cessful, as well in conduct of causes in court as in the business 
 of the office. After an experience of twenty-three years, when 
 his intellectual powers were fully matured, the failure of his phy- 
 sical health compelled him to relinquish his profession. He re- 
 moved with his family to Hartford, Connecticut, which was his 
 home during the remaining years of his life. 
 
 He was married in Claremont, November 19, 1845, to Sarah 
 M. Dean. They had five children. 
 
 CHARLES EMERY SOULE. 
 
 Son of Dr. Gideon L. and Elizabeth H. (Emery) Sohle ; born, Exeter, July, 
 1823 ; Bowdoin College, 1842 ; admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Dover ; died. 
 New York city, December 12, 1887. 
 
 The father of Mr. Soule was the distinguished head of the Phil- 
 lips Exeter Academy, in which institution the son was prepared 
 for college. He studied for the bar with James Bell, and with 
 Henry F. French in Exeter, and supplemented his preparation by 
 attending the Harvard Law School in 1845 and 1846. He began 
 to practice in Dover in 1846, as the partner of John P. Hale. 
 After a stay there of seven years he removed to New York city, 
 where during the later years of his life he filled the position of 
 assistant surrogate. He was a fine scholar, and a frank, honor- 
 able man, with none of the arts, however, by which many men of 
 half his capacity acquire notoriety in the city. He was not push- 
 ing, and his practice was not of a character to attract the public 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 653 
 
 notice. He was much liked by those to whom he was best known, 
 and was the president of the Alumni Association of his college in 
 New York. 
 
 He was married, in 1848, to Ariana, daughter of Hon. Daniel 
 French of Chester. She died in 1865, leaving three children. 
 He afterwards married Eliza A. S. Murdock of New York. 
 
 ALFRED BYRON SPALDING. 
 
 Son of Edward P. and Mary (Dodge) Spalding ; born, Lyndeboroiigh, Au- 
 gust 16, 1849 ; practiced, Greenville ; died there (?), November 9, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Spalding entered Dartmouth College as a student in 1868, 
 but did not complete the course. He prepared himself for the 
 profession of the law, and was in practice in Greenville as early 
 as 1875, and remained a year or two at least, and possibly until 
 his early decease. 
 
 HIRAM A. SPEAR. 
 
 Born, West Braintree, Vermont, c. 1826 ; admitted, 1852 ; practiced, Mere- 
 dith and Laconia ; died, Laconia, March 4, 1858. 
 
 Mr. Spear was a student of the law in the office of Jefferson 
 P. Kidder of Vermont, and was admitted to the bar in Orange 
 County. He began to practice in Meredith in 1852, but in a year 
 or two went to California, where he remained a part of 1854 and 
 1855. Then returning to this State, he resumed practice in 
 Laconia. In July, 1856, he was appointed register of Probate 
 for Belknap County, and held the office till his death. 
 
 His wife was a daughter of Judge Kelley of Meredith. 
 
 ALDEN SPRAGUE. 
 
 Son of Noah, Jr., and Sarah (Hammond) Sprague ; born, Rochester, Massa- 
 chusetts, c. 1770 ; admitted, 1792 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died, Barnet, Ver- 
 mont, 1811. 
 
 This gentlem^ derived his Christian name from his ancestor, 
 John Alden, of " old colony " fame. He probably prepared him- 
 self for the bar under the instruction of his half-brother, Peleg 
 Sprague of Keene, and began to practice in Haverhill about 
 1793. In 1796 he was chosen a selectman of the town, but in the 
 
654 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 seventeen years of his residence it does not appear that he held 
 any other office, being absorbed, no doubt, in his professional 
 business. Tradition proves that he was a learned, acute, and elo- 
 quent lawyer. Isaac Patterson said he was the best jury advocate 
 of his day. His practice was extensive, and he was engaged in 
 most of the important trials in his county. He was assigned as 
 counsel of Josiah Burnham, indicted for the murder of Freeman 
 and Starkweather in 1806, and not improbably declined to argue 
 the case in order that Daniel Webster, who was his junior, might 
 have the opportunity of exhibiting on* so conspicuous a stage his 
 great powers, as yet unknown to fame. 
 
 Mr. Sprague was a man of wit, brilliant irf conversation, and a 
 great favorite in society. He enjoyed making neighborly calls 
 upon his friends, and they were delighted to receive him in the 
 hospitable fashion of the time. 
 
 His first wife bore him two daughters, one of whom became the 
 wife of James I. Swan of Bath, and the other the mother of 
 Edwin D. and Charles W. Rand of Littleton. His second wife 
 was Eunice Stoddard, who was the mother of two sons and three 
 daughters. One of the sons was the father of Hon. Ebenezer C. 
 Sprague, a lawyer of Buffalo, New York; 
 
 JOHN SPEAGUE. 
 
 Son of Noah Sprague ; born, Rochester, Massachusetts, June 21, 1740 ; 
 Harvard College, 1765 ; admitted, 1768 ; practiced, Keene ; died, Lancaster, 
 Massachusetts, September, 1800. 
 
 This was an uncle of Peleg and Alden Sprague. He studied 
 medicine a short time, and then turned to the law, under the 
 tuition of James Putnam of Worcester, Massachusetts. He first 
 opened his office in Newport, Rhode Island, but came in 1769 to 
 Keene. There he practiced two or three years, and then removed 
 to Lancaster, Massachusetts. He acquired a high standing as a 
 jurist, and was of counsel in the celebrated cases wherein it was 
 determined that human slavery had no longer an existence in that 
 Commonwealth, under the new constitution. C^leb Strong and 
 Levi Lincoln were his opponents. He was a member of each 
 House of t|ie General Court, and died Chief Justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas of Worcester County. 
 
 His first wife was Catherine, daughter of Hon. Richard Foster; 
 his second the widow of Hon. Thomas Ivers. He left one chUd. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 655 
 
 PELEG SPRAGUE. 
 
 Son of Noah, Jr., and Mercy (Dexter) Spragne ; born, Rochester, Massachu- 
 setts, December 10, 1756 ; Dartmouth College, 1783 ; practiced, Keene ; died 
 there, April 20, 1800. 
 
 Mr. Sprague began life as a clerk in a store in Littleton, but 
 his friends induced him to acquire an education. He entered 
 Harvard, but finished his course in Dartmouth, College. He ap- 
 pears to have been chosen to the legislature of Vermont from 
 the town of Acworth in 1781, perhaps through the influence 
 of the college authorities, who were strongly opposed to the 
 " Exeter government," and in favor of a union of the Connecticut 
 valley towns with Vermont. He read law with Benjamin West 
 of Charlestown, and probably became an attorney in 1785. After 
 a short experience in Winchendon and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 
 he settled in Keene, and there acquired a handsome practice and 
 became a citizen of prominence. In 1792 he was appointed by 
 the town a committee to purchase a bell for the new meeting- 
 house, and generously offered to take upon himself, in addition to 
 his own share, the shares of four others of the ten townsmen who 
 were judged least able to pay. In 1794 he was appointed solici- 
 tor for Cheshire County. He was elected in 1797 to the state 
 legislature, and to the Congress of the United States, to fill the 
 vacancy caused by the resignation of Jeremiah Smith. He served 
 two years, and was faithful and efficient. He advocated his views 
 forcibly, and stood in fear of no man. His energy and indepen- 
 dence of character were conspicuous in every position. As a law- 
 yer he was diligent and studious, prompt and faithful. His rank 
 in the profession was deservedly high. 
 
 He married Rosalinda, daughter of Deacon David Taylor of 
 Charlestown, April 28, 1785. 
 
 JOHN EDWARD STANYAN. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Elizabeth C. (Cochran) Stanyan ; born, Pembroke, 
 May 17, 1816 ; Dartmouth College, 1840 ; practiced, Pembroke, Kingston, 
 and Epping ; died, 1870. 
 
 Mr. Stanyan was fitted for college at the academy in Pem- 
 broke. After- teaching two or three years, he read law with 
 
656 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Simeon Short of Thetford, Vermont, and began to practice in 
 Pembroke in 1844. Three years afterwards he went to Kingston, 
 and spent the following eight years there and in Epping. Then he 
 is said to have lived awhile in Haverhill and in Ashby, Massachu- 
 setts. He returned to Pembroke in 1864 or 1865, and continued 
 there till his death. 
 
 Mr. Stanyan was a man of more than ordinary ability, and 
 began life with regular habits and good principles. Later, both 
 deteriorated, and he never found that success in the world which 
 a better use of his powers might have given him. 
 
 He married, first, Laviuia, daughter of John Towle of Mere- 
 dith, in January, 1841 ; second, Mrs. Urana (Coombs) Green of 
 Townsend, Massachusetts. 
 
 CALEB STARK, JR. 
 
 Son of Major Caleb and Sarah (McKinstry) Stark ; born, Dunbarton, No- 
 vember 24, 1804 ; Harvard College, 1823 ; practiced, Concord ; died, Dun- 
 barton, February 1, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Stark attended lectures at the Connecticut Law School for 
 a year, and completed his legal study in the office of Charles 
 Glidden Haines, in New York, where he was admitted as an attor- 
 ney. He then proceeded to Ohio, and opened his office in Cin- 
 cinnati ; but finding the climate unfavorable to his constitution, 
 he made his way back to New Hampshire, and put up his sign in 
 Concord. 
 
 The practice of the law did not suit his taste, and he soon 
 abandoned it, and returned to Dunbarton, where on his ancestral 
 farm he settled down to a retired and studious life. He was a 
 great reader and a classical scholar, and contributed numerous 
 articles of poetry and prose to the literary and political journals 
 of the day. He had an inclination also for historical studies, 
 and was the author of a history of Dunbarton, published in 1860, 
 and of a life of his grandfather. General John Stark of the Rev- , 
 olution. He represented his town in the legislatures of 1834, 
 1835, and 1886. 
 
 In private life he was genial, social, and helpful to his poorer 
 neighbors, who never appealed to him in vain. 
 
 He died unmarried. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 657 
 
 WILLIAM STARK. 
 
 Son of Hon. Frederick G. Stark ; born, Manchester, July 16, 1825 ; Wil- 
 liams College, 1850 ; practiced, Nashua and Manchester ; died, Manchester, 
 October 29, 1873. 
 
 This was a great-grandson of Genera] John Stark of the Rev- 
 olution. He was a member of Phillips Andover Academy from 
 1843 to 1846, studied law in Troy, New York, and was admitted 
 to the bar in that State in 1851. In 1853 he returned to New 
 Hampshire, and maintained an office for some years in Manches- 
 ter, and a short time, it is stated, in Nashua. He was never very 
 successful as a lawyer, however, and at length dropped out of 
 business. His tastes were essentially literary, and his poetical 
 compositions were much admired. He delivered the poem at the 
 centennial celebration at Manchester, October 22, 1851, and 
 another on a public occasion in Philadelphia. 
 
 His fondness for the study of natural history led him to form 
 a large collection of foreign and domestic birds and animals, 
 which he kept in a park, at -all times open for the public gratifi- 
 cation. 
 
 Mr. Stark's talents appear not to have been of the kind that 
 are adapted to practical ends. His mind was unbalanced, and he 
 accomplished but a small part of what his friends had hoped for 
 him. . 
 
 His wife was Miss Cummings of Lowell, Massachusetts. 
 
 DAVID STARRETT. 
 
 Son of William and Abigail (Fisher) Starrett ; born, Francestown, Septem- 
 ber 21, 1774 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Hills- 
 borough ; died. Saline Bayou, Arkansas, June, 1819. 
 
 After studying law with Samuel Bell of Francestown, Mr. 
 Starrett began to practice at Hillsborough. He was regarded as 
 a man of scrupulous integrity, was successful in his profession, 
 prosperous, and apparently happy. 
 
 In March, 1812, he left his home with the avowed intention of 
 
 visiting Boston on business, taking leave of his family as for a 
 
 few days' absence. He proceeded to Charlestown, Massachusetts, 
 
 and took lodgings at a hotel, where he remained for some days. 
 
 42 
 
658 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 One evening he informed his landlord that he was going into 
 Boston on a business errand, and should return the same night. 
 He walked out o£ the house, carrying a small trunk in his hand, 
 and never came back. His non-appearance caused inquiry to be 
 made, and the trunk was found on the Charlestown bridge, empty 
 and apparently broken open, but no tidings could be obtained of 
 the owner. He was supposed to have a considerable sum of 
 money in his possession, and the natural inference was that he 
 had been plundered and murdered. His family mourned him as 
 dead, and his estate was administered accordingly. 
 
 Two or three years passed, and the excitement caused by the 
 affair had subsided, when a letter from the missing man was re- 
 ceived by his brother. In it Mr. Starrett declared that he had 
 quitted his family and country with the deliberate intention never 
 to return, and that he had left the trunk in the place and con- 
 dition it was found in to give the impression that he had been 
 robbed and murdered ; while in fact he had njade his way to 
 Providence, Rhode Island, the same night, on foot. He was, 
 when he wrote, a major in the republican army of Mexico, as it 
 was termed, which was really one of the bands of revolutionists 
 who were then attempting the conquest of that country. 
 
 It was afterwards ascertained that he quitted this rather pre- 
 carious military service, and returned to the United States, 
 establishing himself as a trader in Arkansas, where under the 
 assumed name of William Fisher he lived respectably, and accu- 
 mulated a little property. But in a few years he reached the 
 climax of his unaccountable behavior by committing suicide. No 
 cause can be conjectured for his wild escapade, which involved 
 those nearest and dearest to him in anxiety, grief, and deep mor- 
 tificatiot, and cast suspicion upon the innocent, except mental 
 alienation; a:nd in view of the tragical termination of his ca- 
 reer, that seems the most charitable and reasonable explanation 
 of it. 
 
 He was married in 1803 to Abigail E., daughter of Eev. 
 Joseph Appleton of North Brookfield, Massachusetts, and had 
 three children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 659 
 
 DAVID STEELE. 
 
 Son of General David aud Lucy (Powers) Steele ; born, Peterborough, 
 September 30, 1787 ; Williams College, 1810 ; admitted, 1813 ; practiced, 
 Hillsborough ; died, Hollis, December 10, 1866. 
 
 The subject of this notice was prepared for college at the acad- 
 emy in New Ipswich, and pursued his legal studies with James 
 Walker of Francestown, and Charles H. Atherton of Amherst. 
 He opened an office in Hillsborough, at the " Bridge," and con- 
 tinued in practice there until 1861, when he retired from active 
 employment. 
 
 He was a diffident man, and though in high esteem as a coun- 
 selor, he is said to have had no predilection for the law. He was 
 seldom heard in the court-room ; he was rather a man of affairs. In 
 the first cotton factory at the falls of the Contooeook he was inter- 
 ested, as also in agriculture, and with better fortune than gen- 
 erally falls to the lot of lawyer-farmers. He was the prime 
 mover and chief director of the Contooeook Valley Railroad, and 
 spared no time nor money to bring the enterprise to a successful 
 issue. A man of integrity and usefulness to his church and State, 
 he was universally respected. 
 
 He was married, November 1, 1838, to Catharine, daughter of 
 Nathan Kendall of Amherst. 
 
 DAVID STEELE. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Anu (Moore) Steele ; born, Peterborough, November 
 27, 1793 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, New Durham ; died, Dover, July 6, 
 1882. 
 
 Mr. Steele fitted himself for college, but an accidental injury 
 to his spine put a stop to his collegiate plans and affected his 
 health in later life. He persevered in his design of embracing 
 the legal profession, and studied in the offices of his brother, 
 Jonathan Steele of Epsom, of James Walker of Peterborough, 
 aud of Stephen Mitchell of Durham. He settled in practice in 
 New Durham as early as 1825, and lived there till 1850, when he 
 changed his domicile to Dover. 
 
 He was a lawyer of prominence, successful in his practice, and 
 was chosen to several local offices. For the few later years of his 
 
660 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 life he was a confirmed invalid, and his death took place at the 
 home of one of his sons. 
 
 He married Lydia Burnham, in April, 1832, and had two sons. 
 
 DAVID STEELE. 
 
 Son of General John and Polly (Wilson) Steele ; born, Peterborough, De- 
 cember 2, 1795 ; Dartmouth College, 1815 ; practiced, Deerfleld and GofPs- 
 town ; died, Goffstown, October 1, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Steele studied his profession with James Wilson of Keene, 
 and first practiced at Deerfield in 1819, but after six months 
 settled in Goffstown. He represented that town in the legislature 
 of 1827, and was a state senator the two following years. He was 
 also the first president of the New Hampshire Central Railroad. 
 
 He was a very successful business lawyer, though not a dis- 
 tinguished advocate. He had a great number of cases in the 
 Probate courts, and was a noted adviser in the multifarious ques- 
 tions that arise in the administration of the affairs of towns. His 
 experience in the proceedings in the laying out of highways was 
 so extensive that Charles G. Atherton gave him the sobriquet of 
 the " Colossus of Roads." In the fifty-six years of his residence 
 in Goffstown he missed attending only a single term of the courts 
 in his county, until the last year of his life. 
 
 With decided opinions, he was one of the most genial of men. 
 He was no stirrer up of strife, but a true friend to good morals 
 and worthy purposes. A high-minded, upright, every way repu- 
 table lawyer, he was elected for years the president of the Hills- 
 borough Bar Association. 
 
 He married, October 29, 1821, Sally, daughter of David Adams 
 of Derry. After her decease he was married, October 9, 1838, 
 to Isabella A., daughter of John Nesmith of Derry. He had two 
 sons and a daughter. His son John was of the legal profession. 
 
 JOHN STEELE. 
 
 Son of Hon. David and Isabella A. (Nesmith) Steele ; born, Goffstown, c. 
 1839 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, Goffstown ; died there, 1869. 
 
 Mr. Steele did not, it is believed, enjoy the advantage of a col- 
 legiate education. He acquired his professional instruction in his 
 father's office, and became associated with him in practice. In 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 661 
 
 1864 he joined the First New Hampshire Volunteer Cavalry, as a 
 second lieutenant, and departed for the seat of war. In Febru- 
 ary following he was promoted to be first lieutenant. The regi- 
 ment performed good service in the field, and was mustered out 
 in July, 1865. 
 
 Lieutenant Steele then returned to his home and resumed his 
 profession. In 1868 he was chosen clerk of the town to fill out 
 an unexpired term. The following year saw him in his grave. 
 
 JONATHAN STEELE. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Ann (Moore) Steele ; born, Peterborough, February 8, 
 1792 ; Williams College, 1811 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Epsom and Sand- 
 wich ; died, Epsom, September, 1858. 
 
 This was a nephew of Judge Jonathan Steele of Durham. 
 After studying with Stephen Mitchell of that place and Charles 
 H. Atherton of Amherst, he commenced practice in Epsom. He 
 was said to be one of the most promising young men at the bar. 
 He had a sufficient knowledge of the law and a retentive memory, 
 good common sense, and an accurate judgment of men and 
 things. He argued causes, and his voice was so sweet and well 
 modulated that one of the judges declared that he never heard 
 any music to equal it. He was solicitor of the county of Rock- 
 ingham from 1818 to 1823. 
 
 In process of time his habits degenerated and his business fell 
 off. He exchanged his stand at Epsom with that of Samuel Pea- 
 body at Sandwich, and removed thither, but in a year or two 
 returned. The death of his father-in-law put him in possession 
 of a farm, which he carried on in connection with his law prac- 
 tice. He was an industrious farmer, and a kind and obliging 
 husband and father. 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of General Michael McClary 
 of Epsom, and they had five children, one of whom became a 
 practitioner of the law. 
 
662 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 STEPHEN POWERS STEELE. 
 
 Son of General David and Lucy (Powers) Steele ; born, Peterborough, 
 July 26, 1784 ; Williams College, 1808 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Hancock 
 and Peterborough ; died, Peterborough, July 22, 1857. 
 
 This was an elder brother of David Steele of Hillsborough. 
 He studied his profession with James Wilson of Peterborough, 
 and opened his office for clients in Hancock in 1812. His name 
 appears on the school committee in 1814. In 1815 he returned to' 
 his native town. He probably held a respectable place among the 
 practitioners of his day, but was not particularly noted. In the 
 affairs of the town he was especially interested. He was town 
 clerk from 1823 to 1829; representative in the legislature in 
 1841 and 1842 ; and a delegate to the constitutional convention of 
 1850. 
 
 His wife was Mrs. Jane McCoy, and they had one son. 
 
 TURNER STEPHENSON. 
 
 Son of Captain Briant and Deborah (Turner) Stephenson ; born, Lyme, 
 April 8, 1798 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, January 
 26, 1872. 
 
 Mr. Stephenson was prepared for, and nearly completed the 
 course in, Dartmouth College, but did not graduate. His legal 
 studies were prosecuted in the office of William Farrar of Lan- 
 caster, and in that of William C. Bradley of Westminster, Ver- 
 mont, and he was admitted in Essex County, and commenced 
 practice in the town of Lunenburg in that State. There he 
 remained three years, and then returned to Lancaster for the 
 remainder of his life. 
 
 A modest, unobtrusive man, he seldom, if ever, appeared as an 
 advocate before the jury, but confined himself mainly to the busi- 
 ness of his office. In this department of the profession he was 
 eminently safe and trusted. As a counselor his opinions were 
 received with deserved confidence. Faithful to his client's inter- 
 ests, and of unblemished integrity, he was selected for the office of 
 Judge of Probate in 1855, and continued to occupy it for thirteen 
 years, and until he reached the constitutional limij of age in 1868. 
 
 After his resignation he did not return to professional practice, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 663 
 
 but having acquired a competency, spent the evening of his days 
 in social intercourse and the enjoyments of his home. Judge 
 Stephenson, while at the bar, lacked confidence in himself, and 
 with greater faith in his own capacity might have occupied a more 
 conspicuous place with credit. At his death he left the memory 
 of a sound and judicious legal adviser, a useful citizen, and a 
 worthy man. 
 
 He married, first, Eleuthera Porter of Charlestown, in 1830 ; 
 and second, in 1841, Phebe Hough Oakes of Lancaster, who is 
 stiU living. He left no children. 
 
 THOMAS STERNE, JR. 
 
 This was a son of Dr. Thomas Sterne of Claremont, one of the 
 original members of the medical society of the State. He was of 
 Cornish in 1798, and practiced law in Claremont a few years, 
 between 1790 and 1800, and then went to western New York, 
 where he is supposed to have died. 
 
 AARON FLETCHER STEVENS. 
 
 Sou of Captain John F. and Martha Stevens ; born, Londonderry, August 9, 
 1819 ; admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, May 10, 1887. 
 
 At the age of sixteen the subject of this notice was appren- 
 ticed to the trade of a machinist, and afterwards worked at it for 
 some years as a journeyman, but at every opportunity strove to 
 perfect his education. When he had reached the age of twenty- 
 three, George Y. Sawyer of Nashua, perceiving his ambition and 
 his ability, invited him to enter his office as a student, and Mr. 
 Stevens gladly accepted the offer. Having studied three years he 
 was admitted to practice, and on Mr. Sawyer's proposal became 
 his partner. He found himself at once in the midst of a large 
 and important law practice, in which he had continually to meet 
 the ablest members of the bar in Hillsborough and Merrimac 
 counties. No doubt the arduous competition stimulated his ambi- 
 tion and resolution, and shortened the road to self-confidence and 
 success. He received the appointment of solicitor for Hills- 
 borough County, and performed its duties for five years, and as 
 the criminal business was large and fell mostly upon the solicitor, 
 and as many of the cases were defended by the most astute coun- 
 
664 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 sel, he acquired habits of accuracy, a wider acquaintance, and a 
 more assured position, from this experience. 
 
 Mr. Stevens was a representative from Nashua in the legisla- 
 tures of 1849, 1854, 1856, 1857, and from 1876 to 1883 inclusive. 
 In 1867 he was elected a representative in Congress, and served 
 four years with great credit. 
 
 Before this he had proved his courage and patriotism. He 
 was one of the earliest in the State to tender his services when 
 volunteers were first called for in 1861, and the commission of 
 na^ajor in the First New Hampshire Regiment was awarded him. 
 When the Thirteenth Eegiment was organized he was made its 
 colonel. In 1864, at the siege of Petersburg, while he was in 
 command of a brigade, he led an assault on Fort Harrison, and 
 fell severely wounded near the parapet, while he had the satisfac- 
 tion of seeing his command enter the work and plant their colors 
 upon it. 
 
 For his gallantry and military merit the brevet of brigadier- 
 general was conferred upon him in the following December. The 
 war being ended, General Stevens returned at once to his profes- 
 sional practice, which continued large and lucrative, as long as 
 the condition of his health permitted him to attend to it. The 
 last few years of his life, to avoid the extreme cold of the North, 
 he spent the winters in Florida, where he was the owner of an 
 orange grove. 
 
 General Stevens was amiable, but he lacked not energy ; com- 
 panionable, but maintained due dignity. His ambition never 
 made him, nor did another's good fortune render him, envious. 
 In the fields of law, politics, and war he showed himself to be 
 equally a leader, without provoking jealousy or rivalry. 
 
 He was an admirable lawyer, and treated all with whom he 
 came in contact, or in conflict, with courtesy, never losing the 
 command of his temper or of his faculties. In the court-room 
 and upon the platform he was an interesting, eloquent, and con- 
 vincing speaker. 
 
 General Stevens was married, May 19, 1861, to Adelaide M. 
 Johnson of Nahant, Massachusetts, who accompanied him in his 
 campaigns, and was his nurse in the hospital. He left no chil- 
 dren. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 665 
 
 BOSWELL STEVENS. 
 
 Son of Lemuel and Mary (Pike) Stevens ; born, Pomfret, Connecticut, 
 November 9, 1782 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, 
 Pembroke ; died there, January 15, 1836. 
 
 Mr. Stevens worked at the forge until he was near sixteen, and 
 then attended Moor's Charity School at Hanover until he was 
 ready to enter college. He pursued his professional studies with 
 Amos Kent in Chester, and during the latter part of his stay 
 there performed the greater part of the work of the office. 
 
 In 1807 he located himself at Pembroke, in which not very 
 promising field there was already one legal practitioner, Nathaniel 
 Dearborn. Mr. Stevens found it rather hard to get a foothold, 
 but his ability and character at length asserted themselves, and he 
 obtained clients and friends. 
 
 He filled various offices of the town, and in 1814, and for ten 
 years between that date and 1828, was a representative in the 
 state legislature. He was prominent there. In June, 1828, he re- 
 ceived the appointment of Judge of Probate for Merrimac County. 
 The duties of that office he discharged until 1832, when he was 
 disabled by a paralytic attack. He never entirely recovered from 
 its effects, though he was able to attend to some business at times, 
 afterwards. 
 
 He was a good lawyer, a good citizen, and a good man. He 
 was frequently engaged in the trials of contested cases, before 
 referees and in the courts, though in the latter usually as junior 
 counsel, for he possessed no readiness of speech, and rather shrank 
 from addressing the jury. He was prudent, careful, and accurate 
 in his professional work, and his knowledge was fully equal to all 
 demands upon it. 
 
 In 1810 he married Jane, sister of Amos Kent of Chester. 
 After her death he married, in 1814, Catharine Hale, daughter of 
 Noah Emery of Exeter. He left several children, of whom one at 
 least adopted the legal profession. 
 
666 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON STEVENS. 
 
 Son of Abram G. and Judith (Flanders) Stevens ; born, New Chester (now 
 Hill), November 16, 1814 ; practiced, Laconia ; died. Concord, October 2, 
 
 1877. 
 
 Mr. Stevens completed his academical education at Kimball 
 Union Academy, in 1838, and studied his profession with George 
 W. Nesinith at Franklin. He entered into practice at Meredith 
 Bridge, now Laconia, in 1843. The next year he was appointed 
 solicitor for the county of Belknap, and served out his term of 
 five years. In 1846 and 1847 and again in 1858 he was elected a 
 representative in the legislature. 
 
 Though his temperament appeared sluggish, he was ambitious, 
 shrewd, and energetic. No amount of labor daunted or dis- 
 couraged him. His bodily health enabled him to endure long- 
 continued labor in court, and his interest in his causes increased 
 rather than flagged as time went on. He was concerned in one 
 suit in behalf of a railroad contractor, where the evidence was so 
 voluminous that the hearing occupied no less than three months. 
 
 He had no little skill and power in the advocacy of causes, and 
 was a favorite public speaker, sure to attract a crowd whether he 
 was arguing a cause to the jury, or addressing voters from the 
 platform. He received from Dartmouth College the honorary 
 degree of A. M. in 1868. 
 
 His death occurred in the Insane Hospital in Concord, where 
 he had been placed on account of mental disease. 
 
 He was married in 1845 to Sarah A. Davenport of Meredith, 
 and had one daughter. 
 
 SAMUEL HUBBARD STEVENS. 
 
 Son of John and Ruhamah (Fifleld) Stevens ; born. East Kingston, Novem- 
 ber 20, 1802 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; practiced, Bristol ; died, Concord, 
 March 19, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Stevens read law with Stephen C. Lyford of Meredith, 
 and Daniel M. Christie of Dover. In 1833 he established his 
 office in Bristol, where he lived about twelve years ; thence he 
 removed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, but after a year or two 
 changed his residence to Exeter, to become cashier of the Granite 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 667 
 
 State Bank. After occupying that position about ten years he 
 retired from active pursuits, and made his home in Concord for 
 the remainder of his life. 
 
 He was not specially distinguished as a lawyer, having little 
 taste for controversy ; he was a gentleman of much kindness of 
 heart, courtesy of manner, and excellence of character, and was 
 highly esteemed. 
 
 He was married, July 27, 1840, to Seraphina S., daughter of 
 Moses Sanborn of Kingston, and left one child, a daughter. 
 
 SOLON STEVENS. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Talitha (Bingham) Stevens ; born, Charlestown, Octo- 
 ber 3, 1778 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; died, Charlestown, August 29, 1809. 
 
 This gentleman was a grandson of Captain Phineas Stevens, 
 celebrated for his defense of Number Four from the depredations 
 of the Indians, about the middle of the last century. He studied 
 law with Benjamin West of Charlestown, and John C. Chamber- 
 lain of Alstead. Admitted probably in 1801, he made choice of 
 Exeter for his place of practice. There he remained until 1808, 
 when he removed to Boston, Massachusetts. But his health soon 
 failed, and he returned to the place of his nativity to die, at the 
 early age of thirty. He never married. 
 
 WILLIAM WEIR STICKNIiY. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Sarah (Morse) Stickney ; born, Enfield, June 24, 1801 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1823 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced. Concord, Newmarket, 
 and Exeter ; died, Exeter, March 19, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Stickney prepared himself for college at the Kimball 
 Union Academy in Plainfield, and read law with Henry B. Chase 
 of Warner. His first essay in practice was in Concord, but he 
 stayed there only one year, and in 1827 opened his office in New- 
 market. In that place he practiced twenty years, and then re- 
 moved to Exeter. 
 
 He was a representative in the state legislature from Newmar- 
 ket from 1839 to 1841 inclusive, and from Exeter in 1855. In 
 1849 h6 was commissioned United States attorney for the district 
 of New Hampshire, and served until the advent of the succeeding 
 administration. In 1857 he received the appointment of Judge 
 
668 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 of Probate for Roekingham County, and performed the duties of 
 the office until he reached the age of constitutional disqualifica- 
 tion. He was a director in the Manchester and Lawrence Rail- 
 road, and long a director in the Granite State Bank. 
 
 But it was essentially as a practitioner of the law that his life- 
 work was done. He liked his profession, and meant to succeed 
 in it, and he grudged no labor to accomplish that purpose. He 
 was not a brilliant man, but was emphatically a safe one. He 
 met- the multifarious demands of a country practice with prudence 
 and care. As an adviser, a conveyancer, and a trier of liti- 
 gated causes he was extensively employed. Every question sub- 
 mitted to him received his best study and reflection. His cases 
 were thoroughly prepared, and faithfully submitted. Without 
 eloquence, he was a clear and argumentative speaker. His clients 
 had the utmost confidence in his honesty and his ability. The 
 duties of Judge of Probate were well and satisfactorily performed 
 under his administration, and throughout his long life he had the 
 esteem of the bar of his county, over whom he presided for twenty- 
 eight years. 
 
 He was united in marriage, November 5, 1850, to Frances A., 
 daughter of Clark Hough of Lebanon, and had three daughters. 
 
 EZRA STILES. 
 
 Son of Eev. Ezra Stiles ; born, Newport, Khode Island, 1759 ; Harvard 
 College, 1778 ; practiced, Keene ; died, Edenton, North Carolina, August 22, 
 1784. 
 
 This was a young man of precocious talents and learning. His 
 father, afterwards president of Yale College, superintended his 
 education, and at fifteen he had translated psalms from the 
 Hebrew, and " learned some Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic." He 
 came to Keene to practice law in 1781. The same year he was 
 chosen a representative in the legislature of Vermont, under the 
 temporary union of the towns east of the Connecticut with that 
 State. Governor Chittenden appointed him a commissioner to 
 settle the eastern and western bounds of Vermont, but probably 
 there was no occasion for such action, at that time. 
 
 Before he could have won any enduring place as a lawyer, he 
 was compelled by ill health to leave Keene for the South. There 
 his early death terminated a most promising career. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 669 
 
 JEREMIAH STINSON. 
 
 Son of Archibald and Sarah (Page) Stinson ; born, Dunbarton, April 4, 
 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Dunbarton ; 
 died there, September 24, 1809. 
 
 This gentleman read law with Baruch Chase of Hopkinton, and 
 set up practice in his native town about 1802. The law, however, 
 was not his sole resource. Belonging to a family of independent 
 means, he had agricultural and other business to attend to, and in 
 the seven years that he was at the bar made no figure that pre- 
 served his memory to our time. His death was caused by a pain- 
 ful accident. In sliding down from the hay-mow in his barn, he 
 came upon a pitchfork, which pierced his body and inflicted a 
 fatal wound. 
 
 He married, December 9, 1807, Clarissa, daughter of the Eev. 
 Dr. Walter Harris of Dunbarton. 
 
 CHARLES JAMES FOX STONE. 
 
 Son of Deacon Peter and Ruth (Call) Stone ; born, Boscawen, April 21, 
 1827 ; admitted, 1857 ; practiced, Plymouth ; died there, April 19, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Stone was educated in part at the Military Academy in 
 Norwich, Vermont, and studied law with Austin F. Pike of 
 Franklin, and at the Harvard Law School, in 1854 and 1855. 
 He opened his office in Plymouth in 1857, and became a partner 
 of Joseph Burrows. He is said to have been unfortunate in some 
 business operations, and to have had a controversy with another 
 member of the bar which occasioned much bitterness of feeling. 
 These circumstances, it is supposed, so unhinged his mind as to 
 induce the rash act which caused his death. 
 
 He left a widow, Abby A., daughter of Meshech Weare of 
 Andover, and two sons. 
 
 ABRAHAM BURNHAM STORY. 
 
 Son of David and Thankful Story ; born, Dunbarton, March 22, 1777 ; 
 Brown University, 1799 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Northwood and Wash- 
 ington ; died, Dunbarton, September 16, 1830. 
 
 Mr. Story, having studied law under the direction of Charles 
 H. Atherton of Amherst, began to practice in Northwood in 
 
670 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 1803, but after a short sojourn there settled in Washington. 
 There he lived more than a quarter of a century. He is described 
 as of good address, affable and pleasing in his manners, one of 
 the old-school gentlemen, and a man of culture and refinement. 
 He was not a leader of the bar, though probably a highly respec- 
 table practitioner. He was representative in the legislature from 
 Washington in 1822. 
 
 He returned to his native place shortly before his death. 
 
 In 1804 he was married to Letitia Cochran of New Boston. 
 She dying two years after, he married, December 22, 1808, Theo- 
 dosia Willard of Charlestown. By his first marriage he had a 
 daughter, Letitia, who married, first, Joseph W. White of Ports- 
 mouth, and after his decease, Calvin Ainsworth of Concord, both 
 members of the bar. 
 
 CHARLES STORY. 
 
 Born, England ; practiced, Great Island (now New Castle) ; died there, 
 March, 1716. 
 
 Mr. Story was probably bred to the bar in England, and came 
 to this country in 1697, with the commission of Judge of Admi- 
 ralty for New Hampshire, and was appointed also secretary of the 
 province and clerk of the council. From the two latter offices he 
 was soon afterwards removed, but reappointed secretary by Gov- 
 ernor Bellomont. He was also made register of Probate, and so 
 continued through life. He was counsel in many important suits 
 in New Hampshire, and especially in the great case of Allen v. 
 Waldron in 1707. In the trial of that action the disputed Wheel- 
 wright deed of 1629 was first produced in evidence, and the jury 
 with honorable independence disregarded the illegal instruction to 
 bring in a special yerdict, and rendered a general one, as it was 
 within their province to do. 
 
 He left a wife, Susanna, but no children. 
 
 CHARLES JESSE STUART. 
 
 Son of William and Esther (Ferguson) Stuart ; born, Peterborough, Sep- 
 tember 20, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1809 ; admitted, 1813 ; practiced, 
 Sanbornton and Lancaster ; died, Lancaster, May 17, 1837. 
 
 Mr. Stuart first set up in practice at Sanbornton Square, and 
 continued there about ten years. Little is remembered about his 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 671 
 
 professional business, but he is recalled as the leader of the choir 
 in the old meeting-house there. He was a large man, and with 
 his ample cloak thrown gracefully back, especially on great occa- 
 sions, presented a striking figure in the singing-gallery. 
 
 About the year 1822 he went to Lancaster, and continued 
 in the practice of his profession there as long as he lived. His 
 chances of professional success were unfortunately marred by his 
 habit of indulging in strong drink, the prevailing evil of his time. 
 With more than respectable talents, education, attractive personal 
 qualities, and desirable connections, he was cut off in the prime of 
 life. 
 
 He was married on July 4, 1822, to Eliza, daughter of Daniel 
 Austin of Jefferson, the first lady, it is said, who ever ascended to 
 the summit of Mount Washington. They had two children. 
 
 GEORGE SULLIVAN. 
 
 Son of General John and Lydia (Worcester) Sullivan ; born, Durham, 
 August 29, 1771 ; Harvard College, 1790 ; died, Exeter, April 14, 1838. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, and at 
 Harvard College, from which he and two older brothers graduated 
 in the class of 1790. He prepared himself for his profession 
 under the tuition of his father, and in 1793 or 1794 set up in 
 practice at Exeter. In 1802 he was intrusted with the duties of 
 solicitor of the county. In 1805 he was a representative in the 
 legislature, was selected by the executive for the important post 
 of attorney-general, and officiated as such nearly two years. In 
 1811 he was chosen a member of Congress, for one term, and 
 in 1814 and 1815 he was elected a state senator. In the latter 
 year he was again invested with the office of attorney-general, 
 which he retained by successive appointments for twenty years, 
 and then resigned it because of the passage of a statute which, 
 though it increased the salary, forbade the incumbent to practice 
 in civil causes. He chose to sacrifice his office, congenial as it 
 was, rather than to give up so important and lucrative a part of 
 his professional practice. 
 
 He was a careful, well-rea,d lawyer, and an advocate of power 
 and eloquence. By universal consent he ranked among the half a 
 dozen foremost lawyers of the State. For many years he traveled 
 the circuit with the judges, and found no lack of retainers in the 
 various counties where the court held its sessions. 
 
672 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 One of the notable traits of Mr. Sullivan was his liberality in 
 practice. Mr. Mason and other able lawyers of that time set and 
 maintained the fashion of yielding no advantage. If their oppo- 
 nents blundered, they must take the consequences, however bitter. 
 No indulgence of any sort was granted, except upon the severest 
 terms that the court could be induced to impose. But Mr. Sulli- 
 van offered no objection to any reasonable amendment. But for 
 such as were disposed to take advantage, or were unfaithful to 
 their engagements, he had no mercy. Meanness was an unpar- 
 donable sin, in his eyes. 
 
 His temper was quick and high, but its flame was generally 
 short-lived, and he rarely harbored malice. In the excitement of 
 sharply contested trials, it was not uncommon for men to forget 
 themselves, and say and do what in cooler moments they would 
 condemn. Tradition tells us that on one such occasion Mr. Sulli- 
 van's hot Milesian blood led him to challenge a brother attorney 
 to the field of honor. Fortunately, the intervention of friends led 
 to wiser counsels. 
 
 He cultivated the art of oratory — an art now almost extinct 
 at the bar — with assiduity. His voice was sweet and susceptible 
 of the finest modulations. His harangues were carefully studied, 
 and his sentences beautifully rounded. The elegance of his per- 
 son and dress, his logical skill and weight of personal character, 
 combined with his charming diction and elocution, rendered him 
 the most attractive advocate of his time in the State. He was 
 generous and high-minded. A more honorable and upright man 
 never adorned the bar. His life was worthy of the religion which 
 he professed. 
 
 His first wife, to whom he was united in 1799, was Clarissa 
 Lamson of Exeter. After her decease he was again married. He 
 had children by each marriage, and two of his sons became prac- 
 ticing attorneys in this State. 
 
 GEORGE SAMUEL SULLIVAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. John and Olivia (Rowe) Sullivan ; born, Exeter, June 17, 
 1833 ; admitted, 1856 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 April 29, 1868. 
 
 At the age of twelve young Sullivan entered the Phillips Ex- 
 eter Academy, and there laid the foundations of his education. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 673 
 
 His first intention was to become a merchant, and with that view 
 he spent some time in a counting-room in Keene, but on maturer 
 consideration he fitted himself, in the office of Gilman Marston of 
 Exeter, for the profession which had been exercised so ably by- 
 three generations of his ancestors. He engaged in practice first 
 in Somersworth from 1856 to 1859, and then sought the broader 
 stage of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 He was ready and aspiring, and chose the conflicts of the court- 
 room in preference to the labors of the desk. He showed his 
 mettle in the trial of Coinraonwealth v. George C. Hersey in 
 1860, in which he was the leading counsel for the respondent, in 
 an indictment for murder. He made a spirited and able though 
 unavailing defense, the facts were so incontrovertible. He died 
 before reaching the age of thirty-five. 
 
 He married, February 17, 1866, Annie C. Richards, at Boston, 
 Massachusetts, and left no children. 
 
 JAMES SULLIVAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. George and Clarissa Lamson Sullivan ; born, Exeter, Decem- 
 ber 6, 1811 ; Dartmouth College, 1829 ; admitted, 1832 ; practiced, Pem- 
 broke and Concord ; died, Dowagiac, Michigan, August 19, 1878. 
 
 Prepared for college in the celebrated academy of his native 
 town, Mr. Sullivan was the pupil of his father, in the law. He 
 commenced practice in Pembroke in 1833, but in 1835 removed 
 to Concord, and shared the office of Samuel Pletcher. In the lat- 
 ter part of 1837 he emigrated to Michigan, practicing his profes- 
 sion successively in Niles, Cassopolis, and Dowagiac. He was a 
 member of the Senate of the State, and of the constitutional con- 
 vention in 1850. 
 
 He was a lawyer of ability and knowledge, with many of the 
 characteristics of the distinguished family from which he sprang. 
 His youthful diffidence did not permit him to exhibit his best 
 qualities here, but in his adopted home he held a high position in 
 his profession. 
 
 He was married twice ; first, to Nancy, daughter of Asa Mor- 
 rison of Cassopolis, Michigan. She died in 1848, leaving one 
 daughter. His second wife was Sarah E. Beckwith. 
 43 
 
674 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JOHN SULLIVAN, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Jolin and Margery (Brown) Sullivan ; born, Somersworth, .Pebruary 
 18, 1740 ; practiced, Durham ; died there, January 23, 1795. 
 
 " Master " Sullivan, the father of the future general, was a man 
 of liberal education, and probably was the instructor of his son. 
 The latter is said to have received his training in the law from 
 Samuel Livermore of Portsmouth, and by the year 1774 to have 
 acquired a considerable property as the fruits of his practice in 
 Durham. In reviewing his life we are struck by the multitude of 
 important events which were crowded into the succeeding twenty 
 years. In 1774 he was a delegate to the first Continental Con- 
 gress, and headed a party in the earliest armed resistance to the 
 royal authority, at Fort William and Mary ; in 1775 he was again 
 a delegate to Congress, was appointed a brigadier-general in the 
 American army, and commanded the New Hampshire troops at 
 Winter Hill ; in 1776 he was promoted to major-general, was 
 taken prisoner in the battle of Long Island, exchanged and con- 
 ducted the retreat of the American troops from Canada ; in 1777 
 he distinguished himself by his bravery at the battles of Brandy- 
 wine and Germantown ; in 1778 he commanded the army in the 
 descent on Rhode Island ; in 1779 he was at the head of the dev- 
 astating expedition against the Western Indians, and the same 
 year resigned his military commission. In 1780 and 1781 he was 
 again a member of Congress ; from 1782 to 1785, inclusive, he 
 was attorney-general of the State ; in 1786 and 1787 he was 
 president of New Hampshire ; in 1788 he was Speaker of the state 
 House of Representatives, and president of the convention which 
 ratified the United States Constitution ; in 1789 he was again 
 president of the State, and was commissioned Judge of the Dis- 
 trict Court of the United States, which office he held till his 
 death. 
 
 If he failed of complete success in the field, it must be remem- 
 bered that he had neither military education nor experience, but 
 he abounded in courage, enterprise, and patriotism. His honor- 
 able character was never impugned till he had lain three quarters 
 of a century in his grave, and then on evidence most inconclusive, 
 while the whole tenor of his life, the complete and unfailing con- 
 fidence of Washington and of his fellow-citizens, discredit the 
 charge. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 675 
 
 He was successful as a lawyer, and was noted for his eloquence, 
 which was inherited by his descendants. He rendered invaluable 
 service to the cause of independence and to his State in critical 
 emergencies, and his fame should be guarded as a precious posses- 
 sion by every true son of New Hampshire. 
 
 He was married, about the year 1760, to Lydia Worcester, 
 who outlived him a quarter of a century. They had three sons, 
 of whom the youngest, George, was a lawyer ; as was Jonathan 
 Steele, the husband of their daughter. 
 
 JOHN SULLIVAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. George and Clarissa (Lamson) Sullivan ; born, Exeter, May 
 3, 1800 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Exeter ; died there, November 17, 1862. 
 
 In Phillips Exeter Academy John Sullivan was a student from 
 1813 to 1820 ; then he began the study of the law in his father's 
 ojBfice. His life-long home was in Exeter. Very soon after his 
 admission as an attorney, he was engaged against Oliver W. B. 
 Peabody in the discussion before the court of a point of law, 
 which Edward Cutts of Portsmouth pronounced to be the ablest 
 of the term. When a practitioner of three years' standing, he 
 was made solicitor of the county, and served ten years, after 
 which he was commissioned Judge of Probate. When he had 
 filled that office ten years, the appointment of attorney-general 
 for the State was conferred upon him, and renewed by repeated 
 appointments till the time of his decease. 
 
 In his thirty-four years' tenure of public offices, he was dis- 
 tinguished for faithful and efficient service and uprightness. As 
 a lawyer he was careful, exact, and painstaking. No indictment 
 or other instrument that passed under his official inspection was 
 lacking so much as a letter. He allowed no personal feeling to 
 affect his action. He strove to mete out equal and exact justice 
 to all. His conduct of public prosecutions was so manifestly im- 
 partial that it was subject to almost no criticism. But his feel- 
 ings and sympathies were never hardened towards weakness and 
 inexperience, and more than one reclaimed offender had occasion 
 to remember his clemency with gratitude. 
 
 He had inherited the mellifluous voice and well-rounded peri- 
 ods that distinguished his father. His forte was the presentation 
 of evidence. The logical chain that he riveted for the jury was 
 
676 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 seemingly irrefragable, and it was rendered doubly strong by his 
 earnest manner, his well-chosen language, and his melodious tones. 
 He did nothing by indirection, and had all his father's scorn of 
 a mean action. His word was as good as his bond. He may 
 be said to have been as perfect a prosecuting officer " as the lot 
 of humanity will admit." 
 
 He was married, September 3, 1823, to Olivia, daughter of 
 Samuel Rowe of Exeter. Two of his sons followed the law. 
 
 FREDERIC AUGUSTUS SUMNER. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Prudence (Hubbard) Sumner ; born, Claremont, May 
 1, 1770 ; Harvard College, 1793 ; admitted, 1796 ; practiced, Cbarlestown ; 
 died there, August 13, 1834. 
 
 Mr. Sumner entered Dartmouth College in 1789, but after 
 partially completing the course migrated to Harvard. He read 
 law with Benjamin West in Charlestown, and practiced there. 
 In 1802 he was appointed postmaster ; in 1803 he was chosen 
 town clerk, and was annually rechosen for fifteen years. His 
 period of service as selectman was of about equal duration, be- 
 ginning in 1804. In 1817 he was county treasurer; in 1823 he 
 was appointed register of Probate for Cheshire County, and in 
 1827, on the division of that county, he was appointed to the same 
 office in the new county of Sullivan. Of the latter county he 
 was commissioned Judge of Probate, June 16, 1829. 
 
 He was mainly a business lawyer, and a good one. He had no 
 fluency of speech. But when he prepared himself carefully be- 
 forehand to speak in public, he was capable of acquitting himself 
 handsomely, as he is said to have done in the National Democratic 
 Convention of 1832. As is usual among the better class of law- 
 yers, he was no adviser of litigation. 
 
 Apparently he was somewhat easy-going in his habits, and 
 made no scruple of locking up the post-office in the middle of the 
 day, if his business called him elsewhere. But that was in the 
 early quarter of the century, when time was less valuable and let- 
 ters fewer than now. 
 
 He married. May 6, 1801, Mrs. Abigail (Bailey) Stone, at 
 Charlestown, and had six children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 677 
 
 JAMES INGALLS SWAN. 
 
 Son of Joshua and Mary (Ingalls) Swan ; born, Haverhill, o. 1779 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1803 ; practiced, Bath ; died there, April 8, 1820. 
 
 Mr. Swan received his education at the academy in his native 
 town, then under the charge of Moses P. Payson, who recognized 
 the abilities of his pupil and encouraged him to pursue his stud- 
 ies. He read law in the office of Alden Sprague of Haverhill. 
 After a short stay at Lisbon (then Concord) he established him- 
 self, in 1807, in Bath, where Mr. Payson, his former preceptor, 
 was already in practice. For the remaining thirteen years of Mr. 
 Swan's life they were constantly pitted against each other in pro- 
 fessional encounters, yet " never did an unkind word pass between 
 them," a remarkable fact in those days when personalities were so 
 much in vogue, especially in the lower tribunals. The two Bath 
 lawyers were both superior men, and the difference in their men- 
 tal characteristics was thus described by Mr. Sprague, their law 
 instructor : " Payson," he said, " had more learning and acquired 
 talent, but Swan more brilliancy of imagination and native 
 force." 
 
 Mr. Swan was especially noted as a lawyer for his power with 
 the jury. He seemed to be able to sway them at his pleasure, 
 with very little regard to the law or the evidence. Members of 
 the bar who knew his power have said that if they were to be 
 tried for their lives, they would as soon that he should be their 
 advocate as any man they ever knew. 
 
 Tradition has preserved the memory of some of his signal tri- 
 umphs before " The Twelve." There was a famous series of 
 actions for trespass on certain meadows in Piermont, brought by 
 Joseph Bell of Haverhill, and defended by Swan. Apparently 
 the plaintiff had the strict legal right, but there were equities 
 on the side of the defendants. Mr. Swan called to his aid every 
 circumstance that could teU on the jury. A chief question was 
 whether a right of way across the meadows was one or two rods 
 in width. The plans shown on the trial represented the way, some 
 of them by a dotted line, others by two dotted lines. " These 
 latter," the specious advocate gravely argued, " prove that the way 
 must have been two rods wide — one for each line of dots ! " Several 
 of the actions were tried, and the defendants always gained the 
 
678 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 verdict, though against the able and pertinacious efforts of the 
 plaintiff's learned counsel. The Court, however, would not permit 
 the law to be nullified by the eloquent sophistries of the advocate, 
 and ordered judgment for the plaintiff, non obstante veredicto. 
 
 Like many others of his profession, and of other professions, in 
 his day, Mr. Swan was a boon companion and given to convivi- 
 ality. He made no secret of his preference for " a short life and 
 a merry one." He wanted to enjoy all the good things of this 
 world, and then shuffle off the mortal coil before they palled upon 
 his taste. And he squared his actions with this philosophy. He 
 did not live to be a burden or a reproach to his friends. On a 
 Monday morning he bade his old companions at the tavern a last 
 farewell, went to his home and took his bed, and before the week 
 ended, his mortal life was over. His requests to a neighbor about 
 his funeral were characteristic. He did not wish to burden his 
 bearers with the weight of his heavy body, but desired that it 
 might be drawn to the grave by his horse ; and directed that a 
 bugler should be employed to play a dirge while his funeral pro- 
 cession should move on its way to the burial-ground. His wishes 
 were respected. 
 
 In his person Mr. Swan was large and imposing. He was of 
 amiable disposition and equable temperament. His natural quali- 
 fications for his prof ession- were very great. He was quick to 
 observe, ready to seize every advantage, vehement in declamation, 
 magnetic in speech. He is represented as having certain man- 
 nerisms in the use of language and in his intonations that were 
 peculiarly effective. He had to win his way in a bar of no mean 
 strength, for the circuits were traveled in his time by the leading 
 lawyers of all parts of the State. These he was accustomed to 
 meet, even while he was a young practitioner ; and notwithstand- 
 ing his want of a thorough early training, he is said to have held 
 his own against all comers, and fairly earned the title of a leader 
 of the Grafton County bar. 
 
 He had- many winning traits of character. He was generous 
 and hospitable, and especially attractive to the young. He was 
 styled one of " Nature's noblemen." He was not a religious man ; 
 but by an eloquent speech that he made in the town meeting of 
 Bath, he induced the people to increase the salary of their min- 
 ister by a half. When he died he left behind him no enemies, 
 but many friends. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 679 
 
 His wife was Betsy, daughter of Alden Sprague of Haverhill. 
 They had two or three children, who all died in infancy. 
 
 NATHAN C. SWEAT. 
 
 Born, Canaan, May 11, 1836 ; admitted, 1862 ; practiced, Lebanon ; died 
 there, May 31, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Sweat received an academical education in Malone and 
 Potsdam, New York, and studied for the bar with Lyman D. 
 Stevens in Concord. On his admission he established himself in 
 practice in Lebanon, as a partner of Aaron H. Cragin. A clerk- 
 ship in the Treasury Department attracted him to Washington in 
 1865, and occupied him two years. Thence he went to practice 
 in Toledo, Iowa ; but ill health compelled his return to Lebanon, 
 where he died of consumption. 
 
 On December 28, 1863, he married Lora T. Kingsbury of 
 Hanover. They had no children. 
 
 MASON WEARE TAPPAN. 
 
 Son of Weare and Lucinda (Atkins) Tappan ; born, Newport, October 20, 
 1817 ; admitted, 1841 ; practiced, Bradford ; died there, October 24, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Tappan attended the academies in Hopkinton and in 
 Meriden, but never took a collegiate course. His legal education 
 he obtained in part in his father's office, and afterwards with 
 George W. Nesmith at Franklin. He commenced practice in 
 Bradford in 1841. 
 
 He became warmly interested in politics as early as the cam- 
 paign that resulted in the election of President William H. Har- 
 rison in 1840. Years afterwards he used to sing, in memory of 
 that rousing contest, with great sweetness and unction, " Tippeca- 
 noe and Tyler too," the lilt of which long survived the occasion 
 for which it was composed. His father was an original abolition- 
 ist, and his hatred of slavery descended undiminished to his son, 
 so that when the Free Soil and later the Republican party were 
 formed, both stood naturally in the foremost ranks of each. 
 
 Mr. Tappan represented Bradford in the legislatures of 1853, 
 1854, and 1855, and was a very prominent member. In 1854 he 
 received the nomination of his party for the speakership, and 
 failed of an election by only two votes. In 1855 he was chosen 
 
680 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 a member of Congress, and served six years. He was in the win- 
 ter of 1860-61 a member of the committee, consisting of one from 
 each State, to which was referred that part of the President's 
 message relating to the disturbed condition of the country. Upon 
 the presentation of the reports he made an extraordinarily able 
 and patriotic speech, which was widely circulated. Upon quitting 
 his (Jongressional seat he was commissioned colonel of the Eirst 
 Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, and served three 
 months in the field. 
 
 . He then returned to his law practice, which became very exten- 
 sive. A number of years his office was really in the state capital, 
 to accommodate the demands of his business, though his residence 
 remained in Bradford. His law learning was ample, and his judg- 
 ment and knowledge of men rarely erred. Earnest and deter- 
 mined in behalf of justice, with a native eloquence that made its 
 way to the hearts and consciences of men, he was a powerful 
 advocate. 
 
 In 1876 he accepted the post of attorney-general of the State, 
 and continued to administer the office, under successive appoint- 
 ments, to the time of his decease. There were during that time 
 several important capital cases, which he managed with his ac- 
 customed skill and power. The duties of the place required 
 discretion and acquaintance with the springs of human character, 
 quite as much as legal knowledge and ability. A large propor- 
 tion of the criminal business of late years consists in alleged vio- 
 lations of the prohibitory law and other enactments of a character 
 somewhat similar. An attorney-general unfriendly to such legis- 
 lation, or even one who lacked discrimination, could easily deal 
 with such cases so as to make them a stumbling-block and a rock 
 of offense to the cause of reform. But Colonel Tappan, while 
 never failing to enforce the laws, avoided all unnecessary friction. 
 He performed his duty, but added no needless drop of bitterness 
 to it. His sympathies also often lent a helping hand to those who 
 were reclaimable. 
 
 His temperament was genial, his manner hearty, his disposi- 
 tion generous and public spirited. Every good cause found in 
 him a ready champion ; he never hesitated to defend the true and 
 the right as he understood them. Dartmouth College gave him 
 the honorary degree of A. M. in 1860. 
 
 He was married, first. May 2, 1848, to Emellne M. "Worth of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 681 
 
 Bradford ; second, June 4, 1871, to Mary E. Jenkins of Boston, 
 Massachusetts ; and third, to Imogene B. Atwood of Lisbon. A 
 son and a daughter survived him. 
 
 WEARE TAPPAN. 
 
 Son of John and Abigail (Weare) Tappan ; born, East Kingston, March 3, 
 1790; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; admitted, 1818 ; practiced, Newport and 
 Bradford ; died, Bradford, April 6, 1868. 
 
 Mr. Tappan received his education preparatory to his college 
 course at the Phillips Exeter and Atkinson academies. He read 
 law awhile with Caleb Ellis of Claremont, and then found em- 
 ployment as a teacher two years in Maryland. Two other years 
 he spent in mercantile business, and then resumed his legal 
 studies with Baruch Chase of Hopkinton and with Hubbard 
 Newton of Newport. For some months after his admission he 
 remained in Newport as a partner of Mr. Newton, but in Jan- 
 uary, 1819, he fixed his residence in Bradford. 
 
 As a lawyer Mr. Tappan is described by those who knew him 
 as diligent in his professional work, set in his opinions, and in 
 his cases exhibiting notable " staying " qualities. He was equally 
 decided in his views upon political matters. Early imbued with 
 a hatred of the inhumanity and wrong of human slavery, he was 
 all his life a determined opponent oi the system. His house was 
 always open to the abolitionist lecturers, even when they could 
 hardly find an avowed friend and sympathizer elsewhere. And 
 the slave escaping from bondage was sure of aid and concealment 
 under his roof, notwithstanding the act had the sanction of only 
 " the higher law." 
 
 Mr. Tappan preserved the traditions of the earlier great lights 
 of the law, and maintained much of their high sense of the dig- 
 nity of the profession. He was an especial admirer of Jeremiah 
 Mason, and gave his eldest son his name. He was conscientious 
 and upright, though perhaps a little austere, a sound and careful 
 practitioner, and among the latest of the lawyers bred in the old 
 school. 
 
 He married Lucinda Atkins of Claremont, December 25, 1816. 
 They were the parents of five children, of whom the eldest was of 
 his father's profession. 
 
682 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 NOAH TEBBETS. 
 
 Son of James and Mary (Nutter) Tebbets ; born, Rochester, December 26, 
 1802 ; Bowdoin College, 1822 ; admitted, 1825 ; practiced, Rochester ; died 
 there, September 9, 1844. 
 
 Mr. Tebbets spent two or three years at the academies in 
 Wakefield and in Saco, Maine, and then entered Dartmouth 
 University ; but when that institution was discontinued upon the 
 adverse decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, he 
 finished his course at Bowdoin. Qualified for the law in the office 
 of Jeremiah H. Woodman at Rochester, he was admitted to the 
 bar of York County, Maine. He went into practice in Parsons- 
 field in that county, and remained seven years, his practice 
 extending also into this State. In 1835 he returned to his native 
 town. 
 
 He had no desire for public office, but consented to be a candi- 
 date for state representative in 1842 as a friend of temperance 
 legislation. His effective performance of his duties in the two 
 laborious sessions of that year probably paved the way to his 
 appointment in January, 1843, as a circuit Justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas. He was soon called on to hold the court, in 
 Grafton County, at which WiUiam F. Comings was tried for 
 murder. It was a difficult §nd exhausting case, lasting twenty- 
 one days. Though the junior of the two justices on the bench, he 
 apparently took the onus of the trial, and delivered the charge to 
 the. jury. His conscientious exertions and the confinement and 
 vitiated atmosphere of the court-room combined to sow the seeds 
 of disease in his constitution, from which, though he lingered 
 several months afterwards, he never recovered. 
 
 He was a scholar, and never lost his love for the Latin and the 
 English classics. A thorough lawyer, he uniformly gave his advice 
 in favor of peaceable settlement of disputed questions ; of even 
 temper and modest disposition, he was firm in his convictions of 
 right and wrong. In the temperance reform he was active and 
 earnest, before the time when it had become popular to be so. 
 His chief characteristic has been pronounced to be integrity, so 
 complete as to be absolutely beyond suspicion. 
 
 He married, June 3, 1828, Mary Esther, daughter of Jeremiah 
 H. Woodman of Rochester, and left several children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 683 
 
 SAMUEL TEBBETS. 
 
 Son of Major Ebenezer Tebbets ; born, Dover, 1780 ; Harvard College, 
 1799 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, April 6, 1810. 
 
 Mr. Tebbets entered the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1794, 
 and there remained until he went to college. He studied law in 
 Strafford County, and practiced in Dover until his death, — a 
 period of only eight years. The most that we of this generation 
 know of him comes from a few lines in one of Henry Mellen's 
 poems, " The Old Bachelors of Dover," which ran as follows : — 
 
 " Just entered the list we behold Brother Tebbets, 
 Courteous and neat as a newly made glove. 
 In manner and sentiments still he exhibits 
 A genius for learning the lessons of love.'' 
 
 Mr. Tebbets, however, never married, and died a victim of that 
 insidious disease of Northern climes, — consumption. 
 
 ANDREW GILMAN TEBBETTS. 
 
 Son of David C. and Deborah (Oilman) Tebbetts ; born, Gilmanton, Jan- 
 uary 1, 1843 ; practiced, Dover ; died, Kanawha County, West Virginia, 
 April 29, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Tebbetts obtained his instruction at the academy in Gil- 
 manton, and studied for his profession in the office of Ira A. 
 Eastman of Manchester, who is said to have been the means of 
 his getting an education. He entered the practice in 1864 at 
 Dover, as the partner of Edward B. Knight, and stayed there a 
 year or two. Then he passed a year in Washington, District of 
 Columbia, as librarian in the Navy Department. From there 
 he went to West Virginia, and practiced law in Union, Monroe 
 County, in connection with A. T. Caporton, for nearly twenty 
 years. His last place of residence was Charleston, in Kanawha 
 County. 
 
 He was a good lawyer, but very retiring and unobtrusive, and 
 his practice was largely in office business. His memory of per- 
 sonal history was peculiarly retentive, and in conversation he was 
 very entertaining. He assisted in the preparation of several vol- 
 umes of the state law reports, and was commissioner of school 
 lands for Kanawha County. 
 He never married. 
 
684 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEORGE TENNEY. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Betsey (Taylor) Tenney ; born, Groton, February 12, 
 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1847 ; admitted, 1850 ; practiced, Bristol and 
 Concord ; died. White Kiver Junction, Vermont, April 11, 1880. 
 
 Fitted for college at the academy in Hebron, Mr. Tenney after 
 his graduation chose the profession of the law, and started in prac- 
 tice in Bristol in 1851. About the year 1859 he exchanged that 
 place for Concord, where he remained two or three years, and 
 then removed to Hartford and White Eiver Junction, Vermont. 
 It is said that he was not very successful in his profession. 
 
 He married Eleuthera M., daughter of Isaac Bissell of Hano- 
 ver, June 23, 1852. 
 
 WILLIAM TENNEY. 
 
 Son of Captain William and Phebe (Jewett) Tenney ; born, Hollis, Septem- 
 ber 12, 1785; Dartmouth College, 1808; admitted, 1811; practiced, Salem 
 and Newmarket ; died, Newmarket, September 13, 1838. 
 
 This gentlenfan prepared himself for the legal profession at the 
 Litchfield Law School in Connecticut, and in the offices of Asa 
 Peabody and William Prescott, Boston, Massachusetts, and was 
 there admitted. After two years' experience in practice in Pep- 
 perell, Massachusetts, he came to Salem in 1813 ; and thence to 
 Newmarket in 1815. It was said of him that he was more of a 
 politician than a lawyer. He was assistant clerk of the New 
 Hampshire Senate in 1823, and in 1829 was made postmaster of 
 Lamprey Kiver village in Newmarket. The latter office he held 
 to the time of his death. 
 
 His wife was Phebe Wheeler, and they were the parents of 
 
 ANDREW ELIOT THAYER. 
 
 Son of Andrew E. and Lucy (Flagg) Thayer ; born, Nashua, c. 1820 ; Har- 
 vard College, 1842 ; admitted, 1845 ; practieed; Manchester ; died, San Fran- 
 cisco, California, April 21, 1873. 
 
 Mr. Thayer prepared himself for the law in the offices of Dan- 
 
 ■ iel Clark of Manchester and of George Y. Sawyer of Nashua, 
 
 and at the Harvard Law School, from which he was graduated 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 685 
 
 LL. B. in 1844. The following year he opened an office in Man- 
 chester. But his stay in New Hampshire was short. He went 
 away first to Boston, where he was engaged in commercial busi- 
 ness, and afterwards to California. 
 
 He was married, and left a widow with four children. 
 
 JAMES THOM. 
 
 Son of Dr. Isaac and Persis (Sargent) Thorn ; born, Londonderry, August 
 14, 1785 ; Dartmouth College, 1805 ; admitted, 1808 ; practiced, Exeter and 
 Derry ; died, Derry, November 27, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Thom studied law in the office of George Sullivan of 
 Exeter, and began business in that town, in 1808. He resided 
 there seven years, practicing law and a part of the time editing 
 the " Constitutionalist " newspaper. He was a young man of 
 bright parts and popular manners, sang a good song, and was 
 always the " life of the company." In the war of 1812 he was 
 chosen captain of one of the military companies of Exeter, and 
 was ordered with his command to Portsmouth for the protection 
 of that port against an apprehended invasion of the enemy. 
 Their courage was never put to the proof, however, by any real 
 attack, though a false alarm or two startled some of the weak- 
 nerved militiamen, and gave occasion for some amusing stories by 
 the captain, after his return from the seat of war. 
 
 In 1815 he removed to Derry. He was a lawyer of capacity 
 and legal knowledge above the average, and was engaged in many 
 contested cases. He was also a man of public spirit, was chosen 
 representative in the legislature for five years from 1821 to 1826, 
 and was active in procuring the incorporation of the Derry Bank 
 in 1829. Of this institution he became the cashier and virtual 
 manager. It was a position of no little anxiety, however, though 
 his sunny disposition and habit of " taking things by the smooth 
 handle " enabled him to bear it better than most. The inner 
 door of the bank vault being covered with the best locks of the 
 time, he felt pretty safe against burglars. One day, however, 
 came a man with a brand new bank lock, which he wanted to sell 
 to the bank. Mr. Thom replied that he had locks enough already 
 for his security. " But," said the man, " suppose I should be 
 able to open all your locks without the keys, would you buy 
 mine ? " " Of course I would," answered the cashier. The ex- 
 
686 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 periment was tried, and in half an hour the doors of the vault 
 were wide open. " Then," said Mr. Thorn, relating the circum- 
 stance afterwards, " I did not let the fellow rest till he had put 
 his lock on the door, also. But when I came to think of it, how 
 could I tell that some other man would n't come along the next 
 day, and pick his lock as easily as he had picked the others ! " 
 
 Mr. Thorn married, May 13, 1813, Harriet Coffin of Glouces- 
 ter, Massachusetts, who died in 1873. He left three sons and two 
 daughters. 
 
 CHARLES EDWARD THOMPSON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Thomas W. and Elizabeth C. (Porter) Thompson ; born, Salis- 
 bury, June 19, 1807 ; Dartmouth College, 1828 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, 
 Haverhill ; died, Sehraalenburgh, New Jersey, November 2, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Thompson received his education at the military school of 
 Captain Alden Partridge of Norwich, Vermont, and at Dart- 
 mouth College. After pursuing his law studies for a year in the 
 office of his brother, William C. Thompson, at Plymouth, he trav- 
 eled for three years in South America and elsewhere, and then 
 was engaged for a time in trade in Mobile, Alabama. Conclud- 
 ing finally to adopt the profession of the law, he returned home, 
 and completed his preparation in the office of his brother, and in 
 that of Joseph Bell of Haverhill, in which place he practiced his 
 profession from 1840 until 1854. He was a representative in the 
 state legislature in 1851 and 1852. 
 
 In 1854 he removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and shortly 
 after established himself in Chicago, Illinois, in general and real 
 estate practice. The great fire in that city in 1871 seriously inter- 
 fered with his business, and led to his quitting Chicago, and tak- 
 ing up his residence in the East. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was highly educated, brilliant, of fine presence, 
 and accustomed to the society of superior and cultivated men, 
 with several of whom he was connected by the ties of consanguin- 
 ity and marriage. At any time while he resided in New Hamp- 
 shire it was in his power by steady application to place himself 
 among the foremost lawyers in the State. In the words of the 
 historian of Haverhill, " Nothing stood between him and profes- 
 sional success except the enslavement to appetite." 
 
 Mr. Thompson married. May 20, 1835, Mary Porter, daughter 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 687 
 
 of Hon. Mills Olcott of Hanover, who survived him. Of their 
 five children, two daughters only are living. 
 
 FbANCIS SAMUEL THOMPSON. 
 
 Son of John Thompson ; born, Plymouth (?), c. 1818 ; admitted, 1843 ; 
 practiced, Campton ; died there, June 1, 1849. 
 
 It was in the office of William C. Thompson at Plymouth, and 
 in the Harvard Law School in 1843, that Mr. Thompson prepared 
 himself for the bar. Campton village was the place where he 
 spent the few years of his practice, which were not enough to 
 leave much memory of his work. He was a member of the school 
 committee, and was something of a wit. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1846, he was joined in marriage to 
 Laura Ann Emerson of Campton, and she bore him one son. 
 
 JOHN THOMPSON. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Mary (Pickering) Thompson ; born, Durham, Decem- 
 ber 2, 1801 ; Harvard College, 1822 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Dover, 
 Centre Harbor, and Moultonborough ; died, Centre Harbor, January 22, 
 1854. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, which he entered in 1815. He studied his profession 
 with Samuel Mitchell of Durham, and with Levi Woodbury of 
 Portsmouth. After a sojourn of a few months in Dover, he 
 settled in Centre Harbor, in 1825, and finished his life there. 
 
 He was somewhat eccentric, and not being driven by want, 
 never made great exertions to obtain business, so that his practice 
 was not considerable. He had a pretty house and a fine library, 
 in which he naturally felt pride. The house took fire, and after 
 quitting it safely he returned into it for the purpose of saving a 
 chair which he valued highly, as a gift from his mother, and 
 perished in the flames. 
 
 He never married. 
 
688 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 THOMAS W. THOMPSON.! 
 
 Son of Deacon Thomas and Isabella (White) Thompson ; born, Boston, 
 Massachusetts, March 10, 1766 ; Harvard College, 1786 ; admitted, 1794 ; 
 practiced, Salisbury and Concord ; died. Concord, October 10, 1821. 
 
 Fitted for college at Dummer Academy, Mr. Thompson studied 
 awMle for the ministry, after his graduation, having previously 
 served as aid to General Lincoln in putting down " Shays' Rebel- 
 lion." From 1789 to 1791 he officiated as tutor in Harvard Col- 
 lege, and then studied law under Theophilus Parsons at Newbury- 
 port, Massachusetts. He settled in practice in Salisbury in 
 1794. His agreeable manners, professional ability, and diligence 
 introduced him to an extensive business, which he made the most 
 of till 1805, when upon his election to Congress he ceased to 
 attend the courts, though he kept his office practice as long as he 
 lived. 
 
 He held some years the postmastership of Salisbury ; he was 
 made solicitor of the county in 1802, and in 1805 was elected a 
 term to Congress. In 1807 and 1808 he was a representative of 
 Salisbury in the General Court.- In 1809, on being chosen state 
 treasurer, and afterwards, he made his residence in Concord. In 
 1811, and the three following years, he was a representative of 
 Concord in the legislature, the last two years serving as Speaker. 
 He was chosen to the Senate of the United States in 1814 for the 
 fractional term of three years, and on his return home was again 
 a year in the legislature. Though an ardent partisan, he was 
 courteous to all in language and in conduct. Extremely wary 
 and sagacious, he was a trusted leader of his party, and somewhat 
 of a dread and terror to his political opponents. He is said to 
 have been the father of the caucus system. 
 
 He was a trustee of Dartmouth College from 1801 to 1821, and 
 was active in the movement for deposing John Wheelock from 
 the presidency, and in opposing the pretensions of the Dartmouth 
 University. 
 
 1 He was christened Thomas, without any middle name . It is understood 
 that he assumed the middle initial W. afterwards, as a matter of convenience, 
 but that it stood for no name. But the catalogue of Harvard College gives 
 his name (among the tutors) as Thomas Weston Thompson, and the History of 
 Salisbury as Thomas White Thompson. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 689 
 
 He made his law practice profitable, and acquired money from 
 various sources, so that his unfriends regarded him as hard and 
 grasping. One of these, on being informed that Thompson had 
 just bought a tannery, replied : "Very natural that he should take 
 to tanning, he has been skinning a good many years." But it 
 should be said that by a large portion of the community he was 
 respected and admired. He was a respectable, though not a great 
 lawyer, an influential politician, a supporter of religion and good 
 morals, just, and practically benevolent. 
 
 His last illness was probably caused by his exposure and 
 nervous strain in escaping by night from the burning steamboat 
 Phoenix on Lake Champlain in 1819. 
 
 He married, December 25, 1796, Elizabeth C. Porter, who was 
 born at Haverhill, New Hampshire, June 21, 1775. Of his sons, 
 two became lawyers. 
 
 WILLIAM COOMBS THOMPSON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Thomas W. and Elizabeth C. (Porter) Thompson ; born, Salis- 
 bury, March 17, 1802 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, 
 Concord and Plymouth ; died, Worcester, Massachusetts, April 27, 1877. 
 
 The early education of this gentleman had in all probability 
 the careful supervision of his father, who required him when a 
 lad to write a letter every day, which helped to form his style, 
 and gave him methodical habits. He studied at the law school in 
 Litchfield, Connecticut, with George Blake of Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, and Parker Noyes of Salisbury. In 1824 he opened an 
 office in Concord, and remained there two years. Then he went 
 to Plymouth, and acquired an extensive practice. He was wise 
 enough to confine his attention to his profession, and not to be 
 allured from its pursuit by temptations from without. He lived 
 in Plymouth twenty-six years, when he had accumulated a hand- 
 some competency, and then, in 1852, removed to Worcester, Mas- 
 sachusetts. The remaining quarter century of his life he spent in 
 a retired and quiet manner. 
 
 The chief memorials of the life-work of a lawyer who devotes 
 himself to his profession are to be found in the buried records of 
 the courts and in fleeting tradition. Mr. Thompson is remem- 
 bered for his sagacity and wise application of the principles of 
 jurisprudence rather than as a book-lawyer or a forensic cham- 
 pion. His innate sense of rectitude seldom failed to guide him to 
 44 
 
690 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 the true solution of the problems which lay in doubt. His per- 
 sonal and religious character, his justice and benevolence, won him 
 the respect and esteem of his brethren of the bar, and of the 
 people at large. 
 
 His first marriage was with Martha H., daughter of John Lev- 
 erett of Winds(^r, Vermont, October 15, 1828. She died April 
 26, 1841, and he married, June 21, 1843, Susan B., daughter of 
 John Nelson of Haverhill. He had three sons, and a daughter 
 ■who died in infancy. Two of the sons became lawyers. 
 
 HENKY THORNDIKE. 
 
 Son of Joseph and Sarah Thorndike, born, JafErey, 1781 ; Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, 1809 ; practiced, Fitzwilliam ; died, Thorndike, now Brimfleld, Ohio, 
 March 22, 1831. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike studied his profession with Caleb EUis and 
 George B. Upham of Claremont, and was in practice in 1812 and 
 1813 in Boston, Massachusetts. Then returning to New Hamp- 
 shire, he settled and remained for the following three years in 
 Fitzwilliam ; but attracted by the accounts of the Western coun- 
 try, he emigrated to the then distant State of Ohio. The place of 
 his settlement was first called Thorndike, probably after himself, 
 and subsequently received the name of Brimfield. There he pur- 
 sued his profession, and also the business of an iron founder. 
 
 He married, first, Harriet, daughter of Dr. Moody Dustin of 
 Claremont ; and second, Lucy A., daughter of John H. Sumner 
 of the same place. 
 
 LARKIN THORNDIKE. 
 
 Son of Paul and Olive (Fletcher) Thorndike ; born, Chelmsford, Massachu- 
 setts, October 19, 1786 ; admitted, 1810 ; practiced, Pelham ; died, Salem, 
 Massachusetts, July 5, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike obtained his general and his legal education in 
 Litchfield, Connecticut, and was there admitted an attorney. The 
 year after, he came to Pelham to practice, but stayed only a little 
 time before taking up his abode in Salem, Massachusetts, where 
 he became one of the early counsel of the Eastern Railroad, and 
 passed the residue of his life. 
 
 He married, December 24, 1821, Sarah, daughter of Benjamin 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 691 
 
 Phillips of Lynn, and had five children. Several of his descendants 
 have been of the legal profession. 
 
 THOMAS HENRY THORNDIKE. 
 
 Sou of John L. and Maria (Joy) Thorndike ; born, Pittsfield, January 15, 
 1835 ; Dartmouth College, 1857 ; practiced, Pittsfield ; died there, June 13, 
 1888. 
 
 The subject of this notice was prepared for college in the 
 academies at Pittsfield, Gilmanton, and Mont Vernon. He read 
 law in the office of Lewis "W. Clark of Pittsfield, and practiced 
 there from 1860 to 1874, when failing health obliged him to give 
 up his business. He was a director in the Pittsfield National 
 Bank, and a trustee of the two savings banks in that place, and 
 from 1868 to 1872 was the treasurer of the Pittsfield Savings 
 Bank. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 JAMES BONAPARTE THORNTON. 
 
 Son of James Thornton ; born, Merrimac, 1800 ; admitted, 1823 ; prac- 
 ticed, Merrimac ; died, Callao, Peru, January 25, 1838. 
 
 This was a grandson of Matthew Thornton, the " Signer." He 
 was three years in Yale College, but did not graduate, studied 
 for the bar in Connecticut, and with David A. Gregg of Derry, 
 and Abbott and French of Nashua. He settled in Merrimac. 
 His inclination was strongly for political life, and he was chosen 
 a representative from Merrimac in the legislature in 1827 and 
 the three following years, and Speaker in 1829 and 1830. While 
 in that position he was appointed second comptroller in the de- 
 partment of the United States Treasury, proceeded to Wash- 
 ington, and discharged the duties of the office until 1836, when 
 he was sent as charge, d'affaires to Peru. Sailing without de- 
 lay to Callao, he succeeded in accomplishing the object of his 
 mission, and was about to return when he was struck down by 
 death. 
 
 He was one of the most popular and promising young men of 
 the State, frank, generous, and noble-minded. Though a decided 
 partisan, he had friends in all parties. He has been stated to be 
 the author of a " Digest of the Conveyancing, Testamentary, and 
 
692 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Registry Laws of the United States," published in 1847, and re- 
 published afterwards. 
 
 His wife was Sophia Shepard of Litchfield, Connecticut, and 
 was left with two children. 
 
 MATTHEW THOENTON. 
 
 Son of Hon. Matthew and Hannah (Jackson) Thornton ; born, Merrimac, 
 1771 ; Dartmouth College, 1797 ; admitted, 1800 ; practiced, Merrimac ; died 
 there, December 5, 1804. 
 
 This was an uncle of James B. Thornton. He prepared himself 
 for his profession with William Gordon of Amherst, and returned 
 to Merrimac to practice. In the few years that remained to him 
 he made no special mark in his vocation. 
 
 His wife was Fanny, daughter of Dr. Samuel Curtis of Am- 
 herst. They had two daughters. 
 
 GEORGE TICKNOR. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Plannab (Gardner) Tiekuor ; born, Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, April 14, 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1847 ; practiced, Lebanon, Clare- 
 mont, Marlow, and Keene ; died, Keene, December 25, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Ticknor was a student in Kimball Union Academy at 
 Plainfield until prepared to enter college. With Nesmith and 
 Pike in Franklin he pursued his law studies, and opened his office 
 in Lebanon in 1850. He remained there about one year and a 
 half, and removed to Claremont, where he prepared a Gazetteer of 
 New Hampshire, a work of no small labor and utility, which was 
 published as a part of a volume entitled " New Hampshire as it 
 is," in 1855. In the same year he was appointed to the position 
 of county solicitor, and discharged the duties until 1859. 
 
 In 1860 he took up his residence in Marlow, but tarried there 
 only one year. Keene was his next and last place of abode. 
 There he practiced law for a time, and at length became connected 
 with the " New Hampshire Sentinel," a weekly journal, in an 
 editorial capacity, and finally as the senior proprietor. In 1864 
 he was appointed register of Probate for Cheshire County. 
 
 In view of the fact that he had hardly passed middle life, his 
 success, professional, literary, and political, was most creditable to 
 his ability, his versatility, and his habits of application. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 693 
 
 He was married, November 12, 1850, to Lucy A., daughter of 
 Chester Stone of Franklin. He left two daughters. 
 
 JOHN MORRIS TILLOTSON. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Mary (Sawyer) Tillotson ; born, Orford, April 29, 1772 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1796 ; practiced, Northumberland ; died there, August 
 23, 1822. 
 
 Mr. Tillotson, after his graduation, was a teacher at Haverhill, 
 and studied law under the direction of Alden Sprague of that 
 place. As early as 1799 he was in practice as an attorney in 
 Northumberland. There he was chosen to the office of chairman 
 of the selectmen in 1804 and 1805, and again in 1816 and 1817. 
 He was register of deeds in 1805, and register of Probate from 
 1805 to 1817. In 1822 he represented Northumberland and the 
 places classed with it, in the legislature. He is described as an 
 active man of business, who was extensively known throughout 
 Coos County and Essex, the adjacent county of Vermont. 
 
 His first wife was Mrs. Betsey Cargill ; his second was Maria, 
 daughter of Judge Sabln of Guildhall, Vermont. He had a 
 daughter, born after his decease. 
 
 JOSEPH TILTON. 
 
 Son of Philip Tilton ; born, East Kingston, August 10, 1774 ; Harvard 
 College, 1797 ; admitted, 1801 ; practiced, Wakefield, Rochester, and Exeter ; 
 died, Exeter, March 28, 1856. 
 
 Having accomplished his law studies with Jeremiah Smith at 
 Exeter, Mr. Tilton began practice in Wakefield. After four or 
 five years he removed to Eochester for a short time, and then 
 established himself at Exeter in 1809. He attained a good prac- 
 tice, thousrh he never became a leader in trials. Faithful to 
 clients, he received from Chief Justice Richardson the rare com- 
 mendation of being " always ready " in his cases. To the Chief 
 Justice Mr. Tilton's social qualities and appreciation of the hu- 
 morous constituted a special attraction also. 
 
 A brother attorney, passing a fine farm in company with Til- 
 ton, expressed a wish to own it. " I '11 tell you how you can get 
 half of it," said Tilton. " Bring a suit for the whole, and have it 
 referred out of court. Referees always split the difference be- 
 tween the parties." 
 
694 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Tilton was a good-tempered man, but did not lack spirit. 
 He had a quarrel in court with George Sullivan, who sent a 
 friend to him with a hostile message. Tilton began to explain, 
 but the messenger cut him short with the remark that as Sulli- 
 van's friend he could not hear explanations. " Sullivau's friend," 
 echoed Tilton, "aren't you my friend too?" "Not in this 
 affair," replied the other. " Get out of my office then," retorted 
 Tilton ; " I '11 have no enemy here." Sullivan's friend beat a 
 retreat. The difficulty was settled by the intervention of other 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Tilton was a representative in the legislature nine succes- 
 sive years, beginning with 1814. The correspondence of Daniel 
 Webster shows how highly he was thought of by the leaders of 
 his political party, and tradition avers that he held an equally 
 high place in the estimation of his professional brethren. 
 
 He chose for his wife, in 1806, Nancy, daughter of Colonel 
 Samuel Folsom of Exeter. She died, March 10, 1837. He left 
 no descendants. 
 
 BARNA TISDALE. 
 
 Son of Barna and Tryphena (Tiffany) Tisdale ; born, Lebanon, July 17, 
 1787 ; Dartmouth College, 1809 ; died, Bradford, Massachusetts, 1860. 
 
 This gentleman studied law and settled in Hanover. His name 
 appears in the annual registers as an attorney in that place from 
 1815 to 1818 ; but from the best attainable information it is be- 
 lieved that his practice was little more than nominal. He was 
 a farmer, and continued to live in Hanover till 1856, when he 
 transferred his residence to Bradford, Massachusetts. 
 
 He married Martha, daughter of Dr. Ebenezer Wright, at Han- 
 over, June 2, 1816. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON TODD. 
 
 Son of .George W. and Lucy (Richardson) Todd ; born, Rindge, November 
 19, 1828 ; admitted, 1856 ; practiced, Rindge ; died, Maine, April 18, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Todd received a very thorough academical education, and 
 gave two years to the study of medicine, which he relinquished for 
 the law. For the latter calling he prepared himself in the office 
 of Pierce and Tyler at Winchendon, Massachusetts, in that of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 695 
 
 Edmund L. Gushing at Charlestown, and in the law school at 
 Poughkeepsie, New York. He was awhile in practice in New 
 York and in Vermont, and between 1859 and 1863 in Rindge. 
 He represented that town in the legislature in 1857 and 1858, 
 and was state senator in 1879 and 1880. 
 
 Preferring the occupation of a teacher to that of a lawyer, he 
 spent the greater part of his life as principal of high schools and 
 academies in this and the adjoining States, and was very success- 
 ful and distinguished in that capacity. 
 
 He was married, August 16, 1857, to Mary A. H. Blodgett of 
 JafErey. She died, December 31, 1864, and he married, July 27, 
 1869, Sarah J., daughter of Deacon Hervey Chapin of Holyoke, 
 Massachusetts. He left no children. 
 
 ORESTES R. TOPLIFF. 
 
 This gentleman, a son of Dr. Calvin Topliff of Freedom, was in 
 the practice of the law in that town from 1858 to 1865, which is 
 understood to be the year of his decease. In the history of Car- 
 roll County he is described as having been " a lawyer of very 
 considerable promise, and already attaining local eminence at the 
 time of his death. He had natural abilities of such an order that 
 he might have reached a rank quite above the average lawyer." 
 
 EDMUND TOPPAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Christopher and Sarah (Parker) Toppan ; born, Hampton, 
 September 25, 1777 ; Harvard College, 1796 ; admitted, 1799 ; practiced, 
 Portsmouth, Deerfleld, and Hampton ; died, Hampton, July 29, 1849. 
 
 Mr. Toppan entered the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1788 for 
 his preparation for college. His law tutor was Theophilus Par- 
 sons of Newburyport, who described him as " a promising young 
 man, attentive to study, and well balanced." He first made trial 
 of Portsmouth as his field of practice, but the next year removed 
 to Deerfield as successor to Daniel French. His business, at Deer- 
 field -was at first quite good. The statute of limitations was about 
 going into effect, and a great number of old claims were put in 
 suit. But he did not think fit to remain there long, and in the 
 autumn of 1803 returned to his native place. He was a select- 
 man of Hampton in 1808, and representative in the state legisla- 
 
696 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ture fourteen years between 1809 and 1826, and several years 
 postmaster. In the General Court his professional training, his 
 readiness of speech, and his parliamentary experience combined 
 to give him much influence. 
 
 It was he who, when the question of the location of the state 
 house in Concord was pending in the General Court, and the 
 north end and south end were at loggerheads to secure it, said 
 wittily of the out-of-town legislators, who were taking sides with 
 much zeal, " that they were not representatives of their towns but 
 of their boarding-houses." He had naturally good powers of 
 mind ; his professional and general knowledge was respectable ; he 
 spoke with fluency and grace. But he had a wealthy father, and 
 acquired habits of self-indulgence during his residence in Deer- 
 field, so that in later years he became disinclined to earnest effort, 
 and was rarely present at court. 
 
 He married, June 22, 1799, Mary, daughter of Stephen Chase 
 of Portsmouth. They had six children, — four daughters and 
 two sons. 
 
 GEORGE SULLIVAN TOWLE. 
 
 Son of John and Hannah (Bean) Towle ; born, Meredith, July 3, 1815 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1839 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Haverhill and Lebanon ; 
 died, Boston, Massachusetts, December 19, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Towle fitted himself for legal practice in the office of 
 Daniel M. Christie of Dover. One year he passed in Haverhill, 
 but political journalism was more to his taste than law, and in 
 1844 he removed to Lebanon and assumed charge of the " Gran- 
 ite State Whig," a weekly newspaper, at the same time attending 
 to law practice. He was representative in the legislatures of 
 1850, 1856, and 1857, and state senator in 1859 and 1860, the 
 latter of which years he was president of the Senate. He had a 
 fancy for military affairs, also, and rose to the rank of major- 
 general in the state militia. 
 
 In 1861 he received an appointment as assistant in the naval 
 office in the United States custom house in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 That position he filled eight years, and the remainder of his life 
 he spent in Boston. 
 
 Mr. Towle's forte was political writing and speaking. His 
 editorial work was highly creditable, and his public addresses 
 were forcible and full of enthusiasm. His nature was excitable. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 697 
 
 and it was not easy for him to hold his feelings under control. 
 His foibles were all on the surface, and were far outweighed by 
 his merits which lay beneath. 
 
 His wife was Ann E., daughter of Edward Towle of Haverhill. 
 He left two daughters. 
 
 AMOS TUCK. 
 
 Son of John and Betsy (Fowle) Tuck ; born, Parsonsfield, Maine, August 
 2, 1810 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Exeter ; died 
 there, December 11, 1879. 
 
 Upon leaving college Mr. Tuck spent two or three years in 
 teaching in the Pembroke and Hampton academies, at the same 
 time reading law, and finished his preparation for the bar with 
 James Bell at Exeter, whose partner he then became. They were 
 associated eight years in an extensive practice, much of which 
 was in the trial of causes. Afterwards he had other partners, 
 and appeared in the courts more or less for more than twenty-five 
 years. He was a diligent, sagacious, and faithful lawyer. 
 
 He was chosen a representative in the legislature in 1842, and 
 joined the Free Soil party, which by the aid of the Whigs elected 
 him to Congress in 1847. He served six years with marked 
 ability and credit. In 1856 he was a member of the convention 
 which instituted the Republican party, in 1860 of that which 
 nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. In 1861 he was 
 a prominent delegate to the " Peace Congress." President Lin- 
 coln appointed him naval officer of the port of Boston, from 
 which position he was . removed by President Johnson in 1865. 
 For a number of years afterwards he was engaged in enterprises 
 which took him away from home and from his profession, and 
 twice he made visits to Europe. 
 
 He never lost his interest in education. A trustee of the 
 Phillips Exeter Academy nearly thirty years, and of Dartmouth 
 College about ten, he was one of the most actively influential in 
 giving form and character to the Eobinson Female Seminary of 
 Exeter, drawing the constitution which the town adopted, and 
 acting as trustee and first president of the board. 
 
 His life was an active and honorable one. His public career 
 reflected much credit upon his ability and judgment. He had a 
 high ambition, and was endowed with the qualities of a leader of 
 
698 DECEASED LAWYEKS 
 
 men. His separation from his original party was as creditable to 
 his sense of right as to his political sagacity. His administration 
 of the various positions of honor and trust that were bestowed 
 upon him was able and faithful. An astute man of business, 
 he accumulated a large estate, and was liberal in contributing to 
 public objects, and in private charity. 
 
 He married, first, Sarah A., daughter of David Nudd.of Hamp- 
 ton ; and second, Mrs. Catharine P. (Townsend) Shepard of 
 Salisbury. Of the children of his first marriage, he left a son 
 and two daughters, one of whom became the wife of Francis O. 
 French of the legal profession. 
 
 EBEN FRANKLIN TUCKE. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Martha (Fogg) Tueke ; born, Kensington, February 
 16, 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; admitted, 1846 ; practiced, Exeter ; 
 died there. May 30, 1857. 
 
 The Phillips Exeter Academy furnished Mr. Tucke his prepa- 
 ration for college, and he studied law with Bell and Tuck in 
 Exeter and at the Harvard Law School. He practiced in Exeter. 
 His ability was quite above the common ; he was entertaining and 
 a boon companion. Steadiness and application to study would 
 have insured him business and repute ; but he failed to accom- 
 plish what he might, and died in middle life. 
 
 He married in June, 1850, M. Elizabeth, daughter of Jeremiah 
 L. Robinson of Exeter, and left one daughter. 
 
 BELA TURNER. • 
 
 Son of Captain Bela Turner ; born, Windham, Connecticut, 1765 ; prac- 
 ticed Hanover, Landaff, and Bath ; died, Bath, 1814. 
 
 The subject of this notice acquired his legal preparation in 
 Connecticut, and with Edward St. Loe Livermore in Concord, 
 and settled as an attorney about 1787 in Hanover. After some 
 seven years he sold out and removed to Bath, having perhaps 
 tarried awhile in Landaff on his way. He never did much legal 
 business, but he wrote a beautiful hand and was a popular teacher 
 of penmanship. In his later years he yielded to the temptations 
 of strong drink, and eventually became its victim. 
 
 He was married, in 1791, to Ruth, daughter of Benjamin Hana- 
 ford of Concord. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 699 
 
 JOHN LEIGHTON TUTTLE. 
 
 Born, Littleton, Massachusetts, c. 1773 ; Harvard College, 1796 ; practiced, 
 Walpole ; died, Watertown, New York, July 23, 1813. 
 
 Mr. Tattle's career was chiefly notable for his success as a 
 politician, and afterwards as a soldier. It was soon after his 
 admission to practice that he settled in Walpole, and his stay- 
 there was too brief to identify him with the history of the town ; 
 he came first into note at Concord, Massachusetts, to which place 
 he removed. An active and decided partisan in politics, he was 
 soon appointed postmaster of Concord, and afterwards elected 
 county treasurer from 1808 to 1812, and member of the state 
 Senate during the same period. 
 
 In 1812 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel commandant of 
 the Ninth Regiment of United States Infantry, and proceeded to 
 the field of hostilities, near Sackett's Harbor, New York, where 
 his death occurred. He is described in a contemporary obituary 
 notice as a " distinguished officer." 
 
 STEPHEN TYLER. 
 
 The origin and antecedents of this gentleman are unknown. 
 He was admitted to the bar in 1820, and settled the same year at 
 Drewsville in Walpole. Nothing is recollected of his practice, 
 and he stayed there probably not above a year, when he removed 
 to Louisiana. His death occurred in New Orleans, in that State, 
 in 1823. 
 
 JAMES UNDERWOOD. 
 
 This gentleman is believed to have been the son of a Justice of 
 the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the county of Hills- 
 borough, who bore the same name, and lived in Litchfield. He 
 read law in the office of Wyseman Clagett in his native town, and 
 in that of John Sullivan of Durham. His name appears in the 
 list of those who accompanied Sullivan in December, 1774, in the 
 raid against Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth harbor. The 
 next summer he was a private soldier in the company of Captain 
 Winban Adams in Colonel Enoch Poor's continental regiment ; 
 
700 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 and in 1776 he was commissioned adjutant of Colonel Joshua 
 Wingate's regiment raised for the Canada campaign. 
 
 He is understood to have begun practice as a lawyer in Bed- 
 ford, as early as 1781, and to have continued there for at least six 
 years, and finally to have become mentally deranged. 
 
 GEORGE BAXTER UPHAM. 
 
 Son of Phineas and Susanna (Buckminster) Upham ; born, Brookfield, 
 Massachusetts, December 27, 1768 ; Harvard College, 1789 ; admitted, 1792 ; 
 practiced, Claremont ; died there, February 10, 1848. 
 
 Mr. Upham probably received his legal training in the office 
 of his brother, Jabez Upham, in Claremont, and in that town, on 
 the removal of the latter to Massachusetts in 1792, became his 
 successor. On the 14th of December, 1796, the position of soli- 
 citor for the county of Cheshire was given him, and he retained it 
 until 1804. He was a representative of Claremont in the legisla- 
 ture every year but one from 1804 to 1815, when he was elected 
 to the state Senate, and in 1818, 1821, and 1837 ; and he was 
 chosen Speaker of the House in 1809 and 1815. He was also a 
 representative in the Congress of the United States from 1801 to 
 1803. 
 
 Mr. Upham was an excellent lawyer, and had a large and 
 profitable business. He tried causes in the courts, and was a 
 respectable, though not an eloquent advocate. His opinions upon 
 questions of law were formed with care and deliberation, and 
 were of the highest authority with the people of his vicinity. By 
 excellent management he was enabled to accumulate a very large 
 fortune, acquired not by speculation or by sudden changes of 
 values, but by economy and prudence. He was for years a large 
 money lender, on note and mortgage, but unlike some of the capi- 
 talists of the time, he never took usurious interest. He was 
 strictly honest in his dealings ; but not generous. For twenty 
 years in the latter part of his life, he was president of the Clare- 
 mont Bank. 
 
 Governor Plumer appointed him a Justice of the Superior 
 Court in 1816, but Mr. Upham, by the advice of his political 
 friends it is said, declined the place. The governor, a political 
 opponent, in his .private journal described Mr. Upham as " a 
 good lawyer, and a man of irreproachable moral character." 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 701 
 
 Amasa Edes of Newport, who knew him well, states that he was 
 " a model gentleman of the old school, exact in all his doings and 
 honest in his dealings, of the strictest justice, and a thorough 
 lawyer. He was universally highly respected." 
 
 His wife was Mary Duncan of Concord. They had several sons 
 and daughters. 
 
 JABEZ UPHAM. 
 
 Son of Phineas and Susanna (Buckminster) Upham ; born, Brookfield, 
 Massachusetts, August 23, 1764 ; Harvard College, 1785 ; admitted, 1788 ; 
 practiced, Claremont ; died, Brookfield, Massachusetts, November 8, 1811. 
 
 It was chiefly by his own exertions that Mr. Uphara obtained 
 the means of meeting the expenses of his collegiate education. 
 He studied law with Hon. Dwight Foster in his native town, and 
 after his qualification for practice, went for a short time to Stur- 
 bridge, Massachusetts, but soon left that place for Claremont, 
 where he settled in November, 1789. In the latter town he carried 
 on business as an attorney about three years, and then returned 
 to Brookfield in 1792. 
 
 He was a representative in the General Court of Massachusetts 
 in the years 1804, 1805, 1806, and 1811, and was chosen a mem- 
 ber of the Congress of the United States in 1807 and in 1809, 
 but resigned his seat before completing his second term. He 
 was a man of spirit and determination ; and he evinced it by the 
 position he acquired as a lawyer. He was not naturally an easy 
 speaker, but by study and careful prei^aration he made himself 
 eminent as an advocate. His examination of witnesses was skillful 
 and searching, his legal knowledge was ample, and in all the duties 
 of the profession he proved himself to be equal to the best. For 
 nearly twenty years he was employed against the leading lawyers 
 in his vicinity, in important causes. 
 
 He married, in May, 1796, Lucy Faulkner of Acton, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 JOHN RILEY VARNEY. 
 
 Son of James B. and Sarah B. (Riley) Varney ; born, Dover, March 26, 
 1819 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; admitted, 1863 ; practiced, Dover ; died 
 there, May 2, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Varney prepared himself for college at the Franklin 
 Academy in his native town, and at the Gilmanton Academy. 
 
702 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 While an undergraduate he taught schools in the winters, and 
 after leaving college he had charge of the Franklin Academy two 
 years. His bent was towards mathematics, and the succeeding 
 ten years he was employed as a civil engineer in the preliminary 
 work of laying out railroad lines in New England, New York, and 
 Canada. In 1856 he was appointed clerk of the courts in Straf- 
 ford County, and performed the duties until 1860, when he 
 accepted an invitation to the chair of mathematics in Dartmouth 
 College. There he remained three years, in the mean time reading 
 law Tinder the direction of Daniel Blaisdell of Hanover, as he had 
 previously done, while at Dover, under Eichard KimbaU. The 
 winter of 1862-63 he spent in Washington as clerk of the Senate 
 Committee on Naval Affairs. 
 
 He entered into practice in Dover in March following, with an 
 outspoken interest in political affairs. He was a representative in 
 the legislatures of 1856 and 1857 ; selectman from 1868 to 1871 
 inclusive ; member of the board of education, and postmaster, 
 each four years; register of Probate 1872 to 1874, and from 
 1876, and Justice of the city Police Court from 1877, to his de- 
 cease. He was also one of the editors and proprietors of the 
 " Dover Enquirer " from 1868, and of the " Daily Republican " 
 from 1881 up to the time of his death. 
 
 Mr. Varney's ' intellectual powers were logical and acute ; he 
 was warm-hearted and full of enthusiasm, conscientious and 
 manly. He was strongly religious, and a deacon of the Congre- 
 gational church. 
 
 His first wife, to whom he was imited November 21, 1848, was 
 Susan K., daughter of Amos Kimball of West Boxford, Massachu- 
 /setts. She died in 1851, and he married, December 25, 1860, 
 Isabella G., daughter of Richard Kimball of Dover. 
 
 EDWIN VAUGHAN. 
 
 Born, Chelsea, Vermont, September 14, 1832 ; admitted, 1857 ; practiced 
 Claremont ; died there, December 17, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Vaughan was educated at the Kimball Union Academy in 
 Plainfield, between 1851 and 1855. His legal studies he pur- 
 sued at the law department of the Albany University. In 1856 
 and 1857 he was a teacher at Mott Haven, New York, and in 
 1858 he began to practice in Claremont, in partnership with his 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 703 
 
 former schoolmate, Alexander Gardiner. In 1861 lie enlisted in 
 the First New Hampshire Cavalry and, rising through the sev- 
 eral intermediate grades, was commissioned captain in March, 
 1864. He was discharged in June, 1865, having been assistant 
 provost marshal of the Eighth Army Corps for the six months 
 preceding. 
 
 Keturning to Claremont, he resumed his profession. In 1866 
 and 1867 he was a representative in the state legislature, and 
 was a United States inspector of revenue in 1867 and 1868. In 
 1869 he was named consul of the United States at Coaticook, 
 Province of Quebec, a situation which he occupied three years. 
 June 7, 1883, he was commissioned Judge of Probate for Sulli- 
 van County, and passed the remainder of his life in that position. 
 
 The testimony of those who served in the field with Captain 
 Vaughan shows him to have been a brave, faithful, and efficient 
 officer, and his performance of the duties of provost marshal and 
 later important trusts was creditable to his capacity and his legal 
 training. 
 
 He was married, June 20, 1860, to Elizabeth L., daughter of 
 Eev. S. G. Tenney of Springfield, Vermont. 
 
 ORSINO AUGUSTINE JABEZ VAUGHAN. 
 
 Son of Silas T. and Polly (Ingalls) Vaughan ; born, Hanover, March 11, 
 1819 ; admitted, 1846 ; practiced, Gilmanton and Laconia ; died, Laeonia, 
 April 30, 1876. 
 
 The first year of Mr. Vaughan's law study was accomplished 
 during over-hours and at night, while he was working in a mill at 
 the trade of a dyer. The residue of the period was spent in the 
 office of Jonathan Kittredge of Canaan. He was admitted to 
 the bar in Belknap County, and commenced practice at once in 
 Gilmanton. In 1851 he was made register of Probate for the 
 county until 1857, when he changed his place of residence to La- 
 conia. In 1866 he was chosen to the state Senate, and reelected 
 in 1867. The next year he became the proprietor and editor of 
 the " Laconia Democrat," a weekly political newspaper, and re- 
 tained the charge of it up to the time of his decease. In 1874, 
 upon the reorganization of the judiciary, he accepted the clerkship 
 of the courts of Belknap County, and shortly after was commis- 
 sioned police justice of the town of Laconia. 
 
704 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Mr. Vaughan was able and ready, with a marked talent for 
 business. Amid all his cares and duties he preserved his remark- 
 able activity and his buoyant disposition. He was probably quite 
 as much at home in the columns of his newspaper as in the court- 
 room, but he never ran into the extravagance of partisan quarrels, 
 and was respected in every capacity. In 1866 he received from 
 Dartmouth College the honorary degree of A. M. 
 
 He married, in 1849, Julia, daughter of Hon. Thomas Cogswell 
 of Gilmanton. After her decease, Mary E. Parker of Laconia 
 became his second wife, in 1855. She bore him two sons and two 
 daughters. 
 
 JOEL C. VIEGIN. 
 
 Mr. Virgin was born in Northwood in 1809. In 1828 and 
 1829 he was a student in the Kimball Union Academy at Plain- 
 field. He became a printer, and from 1841 to January, 1843, 
 was a joint proprietor with Samuel W. Moses of the " New 
 Hampshire Gazette " at Portsmouth. In September, 1843, he 
 established a newspaper styled the " Portsmouth Mercury," but 
 in about six months it passed into other hands. Virgin then 
 advertised himself as an attorney at law in Portsmouth, but did 
 little business as such, nor did he possess the confidence of the 
 community. In no long time he quitted the State, and after 
 remaining awhile in Boston, Massachusetts, he went to the West. 
 
 DAVID SANDS VITTUM. 
 
 Son of David and Dolly (Beede) Vittura ; born, Sandwich, October 31, 
 1820 ; Dartmouth College, 1845 ; practiced, Meredith ; died, Baraboo, Wis- 
 consin, April 10, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Vittum, who is recalled as a regular and well-liked student 
 in college, pursued his legal studies with Stephen C. Lyford of 
 Meredith, and about 1850 went into practice in that place. For 
 two years he was in partnership with George W. Stevens, but 
 shortly after severed his connection with New Hampshire, and 
 settled in Wisconsin. He was two years a member of the Wis- 
 consin Senate, and when the war of the Rebellion broke out, 
 entered the military service, and became a captain in the Third 
 Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry. He was in the field from 1861 
 to 1865. Returning to Baraboo, in Wisconsin, he passed the rest 
 of his life there ; in addition to his professional employment. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 706 
 
 holding also the office of president of the First National Bank in 
 that place. 
 
 His first wife was Mary E., daughter of Ebenezer Hall of 
 Concord, whom he married in the spring of 1851. After her 
 death he wedded Amanda Hall, her sister. 
 
 FREDERIC VOSE. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Roger and Rebecca (Bellows) Vose ; born, Walpole, Novem- 
 ber 2, 1801 ; Harvard College, 1822 ; practiced, Walpole ; died, New York 
 city, November, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Vose was bred to the law probably in his father's office, 
 and began to practice in Walpole as early as 1825. In 1833 he 
 was sent to represent the town in the state legislature, and had 
 received the appointment, the preceding year, of solicitor for the 
 county of Cheshire, the duties of which he continued to discharge 
 until 1835, when he was given the commission of Judge of Pro- 
 bate. That office he retained until 1841. In 1847 and 1848 he 
 was a member of the state Senate, and at the same time held the 
 position of bank commissioner. 
 
 He was well skilled in the learning of the law, and was em- 
 ployed in important causes, but rarely argued before the jury, on 
 account of constitutional diffidence, it is said. In the company 
 of others, though a good talker and a good deal of a wit, he left 
 the conversation to the rest. He was retiring in his habits, rarely 
 appearing in society ; but was a great reader. He was charitable 
 and public-spirited, and his death, which occurred while he was 
 absent from home, was deeply lamented by his townsmen. 
 
 ROGER VOSE. 
 
 Son of Robert and Miriam Vose ; born, Milton, Massachusetts, February 
 24, 1763 ; Harvard College, 1790 ; practiced, Walpole ; died there, April 17, 
 1842. 
 
 This able and facetious gentleman settled as a practitioner of 
 the law in Walpole as early as 1794. Soon he made himself 
 prominent. He was a state senator in 1809, 1810, and 1812, and 
 a representative in Congress from 1813 to 1817. In 1818 he was 
 a representative in the state legislature, and received the appoint- 
 ment of Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the 
 45 
 
706 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 second circuit, which he filled till 1820. Then he was given the 
 same office in the Court of Sessions for his county, and held it 
 five years. He was well qualified for the positions which were con- 
 ferred upon him, and, moreover, was what many judges and legis- 
 lators are not, — a wit. His very appearance was mirth-provok- 
 ing. The distinguished Robert G. Harper, after having shaken 
 his sides overnight at Vose's witticisms, was so overcome by the 
 sight of his jolly visage the next morning in the Supreme Court 
 room at Washington, that he quite disgraced himself by an 
 untimely fit of hilarity in presence of the grave and reverend 
 judges of the land. 
 
 A Southern member of Congress pointed to a passing drove 
 of mules one day and said to Mr. Vose, " There goes a company 
 of your constituents." " Yes," replied Vose, " I see ; going South 
 to teach school and run for Congress." 
 
 He was counsel for his town in a suit against a number of per- 
 sons who had summarily taken possession of a cannon alleged to 
 belong to the town. The town failed to show title, and the suit 
 failed. While the court was stiU sitting, the triumphant defend- 
 ants began to discharge the cannon in full hearing. "The case 
 is already reported," remarked Vose. 
 
 Judge Jeremiah Smith, after serving one year as governor, 
 failed of a second election. Some of his friends, meeting him 
 shortly after, addressed him in complimentary terms. Vose, who 
 was present, quoted — " We come to bury Csesar, not to praise 
 him." 
 
 The same judge was a particular friend of Governor Christopher 
 Gore of Massachusetts. In a trial before Judge Smith the ques- 
 tion arose whether there was a gore of land, not covered by the 
 deeds. " The law," said the judge, " abhors gores." " Except Kit 
 Gore, your Honor," interjected Vose. 
 
 Salma Hale was Vose's successful competitor as member of 
 Congress. Both gentlemen being about to leave the court-room 
 one day. Hale, by mistake, took up Vose's hat. " Put down that 
 hat," said Vose. " You 've got my old shoes, and you ought to 
 be contented without my hat, too." 
 
 Meeting a person of not immaculate character, clad in black. 
 Judge Vose asked him for what he was in mourning. " For my 
 sins," answered the man, jocularly. " Have you lost any of 
 them ? " returned Vose. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 707 
 
 Judge Vose was never accused of using his powers of repartee 
 to wound feeling or to give offense. He was of amiable disposition, 
 and slow to anger, though he was fully capable of resenting an 
 intended wrong. 
 
 He was married, in 1801, to Eebecca, daughter of Colonel John 
 Bellows of Walpole. They had four children, one of whom was 
 bred to the law. 
 
 BAINBRIDGE WADLEIGH. 
 
 Son of Evans Wadleigh ; born, Bradford, January 4, 1831 ; admitted, 
 1850 ; practiced, Milford ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, January 24, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Wadleigh was prepared at the Kimball Union Academy in 
 Plainfield to enter college, but his slender health interrupted 
 further study, and for two years he led an outdoor life. Then he 
 entered the office of Mason W. Tappan of Bradford, as a student, 
 and completed his preparation for the bar. He was but little 
 above nineteen years old, but he began at once to practice in Mil- 
 ford. In no long time he made himself known as a lawyer, and 
 as an aspirant of promise in the political field. He was an early 
 and outspoken anti-slavery man, and naturally belonged to the 
 Republican party on its formation. 
 
 He was elected a representative to the state legislature in 1855 
 and 1856, in 1859 and 1860, and from 1869 to 1872, inclusive, 
 and became one of the most popular and influential members of 
 that body. His personal appearance was attractive, his manners 
 were cordial, and his gift of extemporaneous speech never failed 
 to engage the attention. He treated his opponents with courtesy 
 and fairness ; he was ready to do much more for his friends. 
 
 In June, 1872, his friends availed themselves of a peculiarly 
 favorable opportunity to present his name to the legislature for 
 election to the Senate of the United States. He was successful, 
 and took his seat in the December following. His course in that 
 body was such as to fuUy justify the anticipation of his sup- 
 porters. His bonhommie and amiability of character brought 
 him many friends, his service upon committees was assiduous and 
 creditable, and his intellectual strength and ability in the discus- 
 sion of public questions placed him among the strong men of his 
 time. 
 
 Upon the close of his senatorial term, he returned with un- 
 
708 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 diminished energy, his mental resources quickened and invig- 
 orated by his wider experience, to the legal arena. He established 
 his office in Boston, Massachusetts, and during the residue of his 
 life was employed in a large and important professional business 
 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. As a jurist he was much 
 ;above mediocrity, but his forte was in the court-room, and espe- 
 cially in the laying of his cases before a panel of his countrymen. 
 jHis hearty voice and candid address disposed his audience to 
 (hear him without prejudice. His words were not wasted in try- 
 ing .to answer the unanswerable. He spent his force on the real 
 gist of his case. As was said by a contemporary of his own pro- 
 fession, and well towards the head of it, he was " a fine, able, 
 'Strong ilawyer, and a forcible and attractive speaker." 
 
 He was married, January 6, 1853, to Ann Putnam of Milford. 
 She died before him, leaving two daughters, one of whom is the 
 wife of Sauanel Hoar, a lawyer of Massachusetts. 
 
 « 
 .GILBERT WADLEIGH. 
 
 Son oi .Benjawin aod Polly (Marston) Wadleigh ; born, Sutton, May 27, 
 .1821; Dartmouth College, 1847; admitted, 1850; practiced, Milford; died 
 there, March 8, 1886. 
 
 Mr, Wadleigh was prepared for college at the New London 
 Academy, and after his graduation taught the high schools in 
 Bradford and in Concord, each one year, at the same time study- 
 ing law, first with Mason W. Tappan of the former place, and 
 afterwards with Asa Fowler of the latter. He began at once to 
 practice in Milford. In 1859 he was chosen cashier of the Sou- 
 hegan National Bank, and served five years. 
 
 In 1864 and 1865 he was a paymaster of United States Volun- 
 teers. In 1871 he was made treasurer of the Milford Five Cents 
 Savings Institution, and retired from that position in 1875. In 
 1863 and 1874 he was a representative in the legislature of the 
 State. In his later years he combined his legal business with that 
 of an insurance agent, and also dealt in real estate. 
 
 His standing in his profession was excellent, but he preferred the 
 business side of it to the forensic. The sobriquet of "Judge," 
 by which he was familiarly known, points to his possession of 
 legal accuracy and the qualities of moderation and prudence. 
 His genial character surrounded him with friends, and rendered 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 709 
 
 lam a popular member of the Masonic fraternity, to which he was 
 attached. 
 
 He was never married. 
 
 CHARLES WALKER. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Timothy and Esther (Burbeen) Walker ; born, Concord, Sep- 
 tember 25, 1765 ; Harvard College, 1789 ; practiced. Concord ; died there, 
 July 29, 1834. 
 
 Mr. Walker was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter 
 Academy, and for a year after he quitted college was the first 
 preceptor of the Aurean Academy at Amherst. He then pursued 
 his course of legal study with John Pickering of Portsmouth, and 
 entered into practice about 1793 in his native town. He was 
 appointed second postmaster in Concord in 1801, and solicitor of 
 the county in 1806, which latter position he held only until 1808. 
 
 He was averse to public office, and chose to lead a quiet life. 
 He was never a pushing or a conspicuous lawyer. Possessed of a 
 sufficiency of means, he spent much of his time in looking after 
 his own affairs, and those of the northern branch of the Concord 
 Bank, of which he was for several 3'ears the president. 
 
 He married, in October or November, 1796, Hannah, daughter 
 of Hon. John Pickering of Portsmouth, who died, November 12, 
 1821, having borne him five children, of whom the eldest was 
 bred to his father's profession, and practiced in New York. One 
 of his daughters became the wife of William Pickering of Con- 
 cord and Greenland. 
 
 JAMES WALKER. 
 
 Son of Captain Joshua and Mary (Whitmore) Walker ; born, Kindge, 
 JMarch 10, 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; practiced, Francestown and Peter- 
 borough ; died, Peterborough, December 31, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Walker, after leaving college, was a teacher for a while, 
 and then turned to the law. He left his home with no other 
 resources than the horse which he rode, and a saddle and bridle, 
 designing to go into the office of some counselor in Groton, Mas- 
 sachusetts; but when he reached Francestown he concluded it 
 would be better for him to study with Samuel Bell at that place. 
 So he sold his horse and equipments, and made so good use of his 
 
710 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 time that when he was admitted in 1808 Mr. Bell received him as 
 a partner. 
 
 After he had practiced there about four years he transferred 
 his office to Peterborough. There he resided and practiced his 
 profession during his life, excepting a few years which he spent 
 in the western country chiefly for the benefit of his health. His 
 powers of mind were far above the average, as was also his 
 professional knowledge, and he was distinguished by his sagacity, 
 his public spirit, and his sterling integrity. He was representa- 
 tive in the legislature in 1833, and again in 1843 and 1844. 
 
 His first wife, married May 31, 1819, was Sally, daughter of 
 James Smith of Cavendish, Vermont, and bore him two sons, one 
 of whom became a lawyer. His second wife, married in February, 
 1844, was Mary A. Tappan, daughter of Rev. Jacob Abbot of 
 Windham. 
 
 LYMAN BEADSTREET WALKER. 
 
 Son of Abram and Jemima (Lovell) Walker ; bora, Brookfleld, Massachu- 
 setts, 1785 ; admitted , 1811 ; practiced, Meredith, Gilford, and Concord ; 
 died, Gilford, June 22, 1857. 
 
 Having duly studied the law with Gordon Newell of Pittsford, 
 Vermont, and with his brother, Phinehas Walker of Plymouth, the 
 subject of this notice, in October, 1811, settled as an attorney in 
 Gilford. In 1819 he was made solicitor for Strafford County, 
 and was kept in the office for fifteen years. In 1828 and 1829 
 he represented Gilford in the state legislature. In 1843 he was 
 appointed attorney-general of the State, and served out his five 
 years' term, meanwhile making his home in Concord. 
 
 He was gifted with popular talents and good powers of mind, 
 and had a ready knack of turning what he disliked into ridicule. 
 He was not malicious, however. His easy temperament indis- 
 posed him to hard work, and inclined him to indolence and self- 
 indulgence. But when he had a purpose to serve he was untiring. 
 Having lost his house and valuable buildings by fire, on which 
 the insurance had expired a few days before, he claimed that an 
 application he had seasonably made for renewal of insurance 
 equally entitled him to indemnification. The directors of the 
 mutual company, however, refused to take his view. Whereupon 
 he resolved to oust them from their office, and by untiring labor 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 711 
 
 succeeded, at the next annual meeting of the insurance company, 
 m procuring a majority of votes for a new board of directors, who 
 acceded to his claim and made good his loss. 
 
 In his palmy days he had a large law business, and managed it 
 well. He tried his causes effectively and entertainingly. In 
 later life he did not attend with equal care to his affairs, his 
 habits deteriorated, and he lost caste. He was witty and always 
 amusing. In a public address he described the fate of incompe- 
 tent office-holders, thus : " When vermin have infested the body 
 politic, the Ides of March never fail to comb them from the polit- 
 ical head." 
 
 In his youth he was connected with the Federal anti-war party. 
 Years afterwards, when he had changed his political affiliation. 
 Governor Pierce refused to appoint him sheriff, on the ground 
 that he had formerly been a " blue-light Hartford Convention 
 Federalist." This Walker thought an indication that the gov- 
 ernor was getting into his dotage. On the following Fourth of 
 July the governor presided at a public dinner, and, according to 
 the programme, called on Walker for a sentiment. The latter was 
 thought to have squared accounts by giving the following : " May 
 the indiscretions of youth and the follies of old age be alike for- 
 given and forgotten." 
 
 While he was attorney-general, the counsel for a convicted 
 prisoner produced to the court an affidavit in mitigation of pun- 
 ishment, to this effect : " I certify that I have known the prisoner 
 many years, and that I never heard anything to the disadvantage 
 of his character." "I suppose he never did, your Honor," re- 
 sponded Walker, " for I am informed that the deponent is so deaf 
 that he cannot hear a small arm ! " 
 
 His wife was Mary Hammond, daughter of Hugh Henry of 
 Chester, Vermont. His only daughter became the wife of Wil- 
 liam L. Avery, a legal practitioner. 
 
 PHINEHAS WALKER. 
 
 Born, Brookfleld, Massachusetts, September 27, 1768 ; Brown University, 
 1790 ; admitted, 1794 ; practiced, Plymouth ; died, Newport, Maine, c. 1842. 
 
 Mr. Walker was admitted an attorney of the Court of Common 
 Pleas in Grafton County, settled in Plymouth, and practiced there 
 nearly forty years. Although he did not try causes in court to 
 
712 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 any great extent, he must have had a pretty large practice, as his 
 entries in 1807 were among the most numerous of those of all the 
 practitioners in the Court of Common Pleas. It is said that he 
 made pretensions to the character of a man of literature and learn- 
 ing, and perhaps with some reason ; but, apparently, he was lack- 
 ing in perception of the fitness of things. In 1823 he was com- 
 missioned Judge of Probate for Grafton County, and assumed no 
 small amount of dignity thereon. 'The wags of the bar used to 
 say that he meant to make his the greatest court in the land ; and 
 that he would hear arguments on constitutional questions for a 
 week, while a poor widow would be waiting to settle her accounts 
 and he could find no time to attend to her. It is certain that his 
 administration of the office was unsatisfactory, and he was dis- 
 placed from it in 1831. 
 
 In 1832 he removed from the State to Newport, Penobscot 
 County, Maine, and resumed the practice of the law for three or 
 four years, when he relinquished his business to his son. 
 
 His wife was Mary Weld, and he had a son, William L. Walker, 
 an attorney in Maine. 
 
 ANDREW WALLACE. 
 
 Son of Deacon John and Polly (Bradford) Wallace ; born, Amherst, now 
 Milford, March 28, 1783 ; practiced, Mont Vernon, Hancoclc, and Amherst ; 
 died, Amherst, September 23, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Wallace is said to have received a private education, and 
 to have entered Dartmouth College, but he did not graduate. 
 Upon attaining the age of twenty-one years he decided upon the 
 profession of the law, and studied with Nathaniel Shattuck of 
 Amherst and with Daniel Abbot of Dunstable. He began prac- 
 tice in 1813 at Mont Vernon, which he represented in the legisla- 
 ture three years later ; removed to Hancock about 1817, and was 
 chosen representative there in 1822, 1823, and 1824, but resigned 
 the trust in the latter year, upon receiving the appointment of 
 clerk of the courts in Hillsborough County, and removed his resi- 
 dence the same year to Amherst, the county seat. The duties of 
 clerk he performed for fifteen years, and in that time was town 
 clerk of Amherst from 1832 to 1836 inclusive. After he ceased 
 to be clerk he resumed practice in Amherst, and was chosen repre- 
 sentative from that town to the General Court in 1840 and 1841, 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 713 
 
 and delegate to the convention to revise the state Constitution in 
 1850. 
 
 The estimates that are put on the professional and personal 
 merits of Mr. Wallace are uniformly favorable. He is described 
 as a correct business man, a good lawyer, of excellent character 
 and highly esteemed by all. He had literary taste and skill also. 
 Some of his compositions in verse are to be found in " The Poets 
 of New Hampshire." 
 
 In December, 1820, he married Hepzibah Cummings of New 
 Ipswich. Of their six children, only one outlived him. 
 
 ELISHA FULLER WALLACE. 
 
 Son of Hon. James and Betsey (Kimball) Wallace ; born, Amherst, March 
 30, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, Amherst ; died, Syracuse, 
 New York, 1870. 
 
 After quitting college this gentleman was a private tutor in 
 Virginia, and afterwards studied his profession with David Cum- 
 mins and Leverett Saltonstall in Salem, Massachusetts. He 
 settled in 1815 in Marblehead in that commonwealth, and in 1820 
 returned to Amherst. There he remained five years, the last two 
 of which he acted as clerk of the Court of Sessions for Hills- 
 borough County. In 1825 he emigrated to Syracuse, New York. 
 In 1861 the appointment of United States consul to Cuba was 
 conferred upon him. 
 
 He married Lydia Wheelwright of Boston, Massachusetts, in 
 November, 1820. 
 
 BENJAMIN WARD. 
 
 Son of Ithamar and Anna (Powers) Ward ; born, Phillipston, Massachu- 
 setts, January 25, 1793 ; practiced, Rindge, ; died there, February 26, 1828. 
 
 This gentleman was a grandson of General Artemas Ward of 
 the Eevolution. He entered Harvard College, but was prevented 
 from finishing the course by the failure of his health. He read 
 law with an uncle in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and came to 
 Kindge to practice in 1822. He is described as a man of talents 
 and an accomplished scholar, of much private and professional 
 worth. Had he possessed physical strength commensurate with 
 his ability 'and attainments, it is thought that he might have car- 
 
714 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ried off the highest honors of the law. But his early death cut 
 short his promising career. 
 
 Linda, daughter of Captain Joel Raymond of Eindge, was his 
 wife and the mother of his only child, a daughter. 
 
 CHARLES COTESWORTH WEBSTER. 
 
 Son of Caleb and Hannah Cook (Crenier) Webster ; born, Salem, Massa- 
 chusetts, November 27, 1810 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; admitted, 1833 ; 
 practiced, Fitzwilliam, Chesterfield, and Keene ; died, Keene, September 7, 
 1884. 
 
 Mr. "Webster was fitted for college at the academy in Bradford 
 and the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He 
 studied his profession in Salem, Massachusetts, and at the Har- 
 vard Law School in 1831, and was admitted to the bar in Che- 
 shire County. 
 
 His first essay in practice was at Fitzwilliam, where he was 
 from 1833 to 1839. Eemoving then to Chesterfield, he remained 
 there till January, 1846, when he took up his final residence in 
 Keene. His natural powers were above the average, and with the 
 experience of more than half a century of practice he was not 
 only well up in the knowledge of his profession, but his retentive 
 memory was filled with reminiscences of the men and occurrences 
 of other days, which he related with pungency and enjoyment. 
 
 His wife was Lavernie, daughter of Joseph Clark of Chester- 
 field. They were married October 22, 1833, and had six children. 
 Only three survived him, of whom one is a lawyer in Keene. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Hon. Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster ; borh, Salisbury, 
 January 18, 1782 ; Dartmouth College, 1801 ; admitted, 1805 ; practiced, 
 Boscaweu and Portsmouth ; died, Marshfield, Massachusetts, October 24, 
 1852. 
 
 The rapid intellectual growth of Daniel Webster was amazing. 
 Passing his youth mostly in a frontier hamlet, with the fewest 
 facilities for instruction, he was able at the age of nineteen to 
 lead his college class, not merely in the recitation-room, but in 
 maturity of thought and in ease and elegance of literary expression. 
 In 1804 his law-tutor, Christopher Gore, dissuaded him from 
 accepting the office of clerk, as unworthy of him ; in 1805 he 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 715 
 
 entered on the docket of his county twenty-two suits, and tried 
 before the jury two cases, of which he gained one ; in 1806 he was 
 pronounced by Jeremiah Smith, on listening-to his mere statement 
 of a case, the most remarkable young man he had ever met, was 
 assigned as counsel to defend Burnham for murder, and made an 
 argument against capital punishment fuUy worthy of his prime. 
 He removed to Portsmouth in 1807, and within a year or two was 
 declared by Jeremiah Mason to be his most formidable opponent 
 before a jury. 
 
 He continued to reside in New Hampshire upwards of eleven 
 years after he commenced the practice of his profession, and had 
 in that period acquired the highest standing as a leading coun- 
 selor and advocate at the bar, as a political writer and speaker, 
 and as a member of the natioiial legislature. When he removed 
 in 1816 to Massachusetts, he may be said to have reached the 
 very acme of his powers, as it was within four years of that 
 event that he made his celebrated argument in the Dartmouth 
 College case before the Supreme Court of the United States, his 
 scarcely less able vindication of the Kennistons in the Supreme 
 Court of Massachusetts, took a leading part in the constitutional 
 convention of that commonwealth, and delivered his oration at 
 Plymouth, " which placed him on the list of the world's greatest 
 orators." 
 
 It is the opinion of those well able to judge that Mr. Webster's 
 earlier oratorical efforts much exceeded those of his later life in 
 brilliancy and eloquence. After years of appearing before the 
 puWic, the attraction of novelty ceased to incite him to effort, and 
 some special motive or occasion was needed to spur him up to 
 his best. It is not strange that he was " dull," when called on to 
 speak of trite topics, or to argue every-day questions of insurance 
 or general average. He could not bring his masterly powers to 
 their highest exercise on petty themes. As well expect a scientific 
 horoloEcer to become enthusiastic over the mechanism of a Watei'- 
 bury watch. 
 
 He was eminent alike as a jury advocate, a constitutional law- 
 yer, a statesman, and a patriotic orator. It is unnecessary to par- 
 ticularize to American readers his great achievements in each of 
 these fields, — they are written in the history of the country. 
 
 He was a rapid worker, and brought his best powers to bear 
 on his tasks. When they were done he needed recreation. His 
 
716 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 farms at Marslifield and at Franklin were his great sources of 
 refreshment. In one he could commune with the ocean, in the 
 other with the mountains. Each afforded him the sport of the 
 gun and the fishing-rod, in which he delighted. There, too, he 
 loved to feed out nubbins of corn to his great oxen, and declared 
 with a smile that bared his white teeth, that they were " better 
 company than the United States Senate." 
 
 Princeton, Dartmouth, and Harvard colleges inscribed his name 
 upon their rolls of Doctors of Law. 
 
 He married, June 24, 1808, Grace, daughter of Eev. Elijah 
 Fletcher of Hopkinton. After her death he married, December 
 12, 1829, Caroline Bayard, daughter of Herman Le Eoy of New 
 York. By his first wife he had five children, of whom the eldest 
 son, Fletcher, studied the law. 
 
 EZEKIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Ehenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster ; born, Salisbury, 
 April 11, 1780 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, Salis- 
 bury ; died, Concord, April 10, 1829. 
 
 This, the elder brother of Daniel Webster, obtained much of 
 his preparation for college in the home of Rev. Samuel Wood, who 
 furnished him board and instruction for the moderate compen- 
 sation of one dollar a week. While an undergraduate he taught 
 schools in country towns and in Boston, Massachusetts, at the 
 same time keeping by private study fully abreast of his class- 
 mates in all the college exercises. He read for bis profession 
 with James Sullivan of Boston and with Parker Noyes of Salis- 
 bury, and when admitted set up his office in Boscawen, as succes- 
 sor to his brother, Daniel, who removed to Portsmouth. 
 
 Ezekiel Webster manifested industry, a remarkably well-bal- 
 anced judgment, and determination to succeed, and he did succeed 
 in acquiring an extensive legal practice and great weight and 
 influence in and out of his profession. At first he had a reluc- 
 tance to address a court or jury, and used to settle or refer to 
 arbitration cases which involved serious contests ; but as his abili- 
 ties became better known he received retainers that compelled 
 him to exhibit his powers of advocacy, in which scarcely a lawyer 
 of the State surpassed him. 
 
 He became a leader of the Federal party in New Hampshire, 
 and was a representative in the General Court eleven years 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 717 
 
 between 1811 and 1828, and a senator in 1815. A generous 
 and public-spirited citizen, he did much to encourage improved 
 methods of husbandry, and to build up the academy in his town. 
 He was a main pillar of the Congregational church, and a trustee 
 of Dartmouth College ten years. He maintained his acquaint- 
 ance with the ancient languages, and was a great reader, espe- 
 cially of the classical English authors. 
 
 Judge Pingry of Vermont, while a law student in Salisbury, 
 was overtaken by Mr. Webster in the road one winter day, and 
 was by him invited to ride in his sleigh. He accepted, and as 
 they drove along, Mr. Webster volunteered to give him three 
 pieces of advice : " First, never walk when you can ride ; second, 
 never do anything yourself that you can get another to do for 
 you ; third, never do to-day what you can put off till to-morrow." 
 These precepts, especially the last two, were so totally opposed to 
 Mr. Webster's practice that the young man was shrewd enoiigh 
 to take them " by contraries," as they were meant. 
 
 Mr. Webster possessed great bodily strength, which he had 
 once occasion to use to the utmost. He called on a rough fellow 
 one day to collect an execution he held against him. The debtor, 
 with the assistance of another man he had called in, attempted to 
 take the execution from Webster by force. The latter mastered 
 them both, but the effect was the rupture of some large blood-ves- 
 sel. His heart was afterwards affected, and his death was prob- 
 ably occasioned by his great exertion on the occasion. Some time 
 after, he tried a cause in the court in Concord, closing the 
 evidence in the forenoon session. After dinner he took a walk 
 with a companion, and was recalled to the court-room very hastily. 
 He began his argument to the jury and partially completed it in 
 his usual voice and manner. He had just finished the sentence 
 "This, gentlemen, you have in evidence," when he fell to the 
 floor a corpse. 
 
 In personal appearance Mr. Webster differed in one respect 
 from his more distinguished brother : his complexion was light ; 
 but he had the same majestic form, penetrating eyes, and the same 
 " princely head " that crowned the figure of the " great expounder." 
 
 He was first married, January 13, 1809, to Alice Bridge of Bil- 
 lerica, Massachusetts, who bore him two daughters. His second 
 wife was Achsa, daughter of Samuel Pollard of Dunstable. Her 
 he married August 12, 1825. 
 
718 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 SAMUEL CUMMINGS WEBSTER. 
 
 Son of Captain David and Lydia (Cummings) Webster ; born, Plymouth, 
 June 28, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1808 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Swan- 
 zey , Plymouth, and Haverhill ; died, Haverhill, July 21, 1835. 
 
 Mr. Webster prepared himself with George Woodward of 
 Haverhill for the bar, and opened an office for a short time in 
 Swanzey. In 1816 he returned to his native town, and practiced 
 there for some eighteen years. He is said not to have been spe- 
 cially industrious or ambitious in his profession, though he did a 
 fair business in collections. His inclination led him rather into 
 political life. He was a representative in the legislatures of 1822, 
 1826, 1827, 1829, 1830, 1832, and 1833. On the resignation of 
 James B. Thornton of the speakership of the House in 1830, Mr. 
 Webster was chosen in his place. In 1831 he was elected a 
 member of the Executive Council, and in 1833 he received the 
 appointment of sheriff of the county of Grafton. The succeeding 
 year he removed to Haverhill, and lived there till his death. 
 
 While in Plymouth he is represented to have been on not the 
 best terms with Judge Arthur Livermore. The latter preferred a 
 charge against him for not entering an appeal upon the docket 
 of the court; but upon full investigation the charge was not 
 sustained. 
 
 Mr. Webster married, in 1816, Catharine, daughter of Hon. 
 Moore Russell of Plymouth, by whom he had children, who sur- 
 vived him. 
 
 WILLIAM GORDON WEBSTER. 
 
 Son of Colonel William and Sarah (Gordon) Webster ; born, Plymouth, 
 August 20, 1800 ; Dartmouth College, 1822 ; practiced, Rochester, New 
 Hampton, and Concord ; died, Plymouth, June 14, 1839. 
 
 Mr. Webster studied in the office of Samuel Fletcher of Con- 
 cord, and commenced practice in Rochester in 1827. He could 
 have made but a short stay there, for he is found in New Hamp- 
 ton within two or three years afterwards, and removed thence to 
 Concord in 1832. Little is remembered of his life or his work. 
 
 He was married, June 8, 1829, to Susan, daughter of Stephen 
 Ambrose of Concord. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 719 
 
 WILLIAM McGAFFEY WEED. 
 
 Son of William and Rebecca (Foss) Weed ; born, Sandwich, July 29, 1814 ; 
 admitted, 1874 ; practiced, Sandwich ; died there, March 9, 1892. 
 
 Sandwich was the life-long home of Mr. Weed ; and his con- 
 nection with the law was more through his service as clerk of the 
 courts than as a practicing attorney, which he became late in 
 life. He was educated at the academies iu Giltnanton and New 
 Hampton, and for the first fifteen years of his active life was 
 engaged in trade. In 1848 he began the study of the law with 
 Samuel Emerson of Moultonborough, but did not then complete 
 his course. In the legislative sessions of 1846 and 1847 he was 
 engrossing clerk, and between 1854 and 1877 he was a represen- 
 tative ten years. 
 
 He was clerk of the judicial courts eighteen years from 1856, 
 and often chosen moderator, selectman, and agent of his town, of 
 which he was a leading citizen. A delegate to the convention 
 which nominated Fremont for the presidency in 1856, he was a 
 member of the Republican state committee above thirty years. 
 
 He married, in 1850, Eliza N., daughter of Elisha Hanson of 
 Sandwich, and had a son and a daughter. 
 
 JOSEPH DOE WEEKS. 
 
 Son of Hon. William P. and Mary E. (Doe) Weeks ; born, Canaan, Octo- 
 ber 23, 1837 ; Dartmouth College, 1861 ; admitted, 1864 ; practiced, Canaan ; 
 died there, December 1, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Weeks was prepared for college in the academies at Plain- 
 field, at South Berwick, Maine, and in his native town. On his 
 graduation he began his legal studies in the office of Messrs. 
 Wheeler and Hall in Dover, and completed them in the Harvard 
 Law School, and in the office of Isaac N. Blodgett of Canaan. 
 He first made trial of his fortunes in Janesville, Wisconsin, for a 
 year or more ; but in the spring of 1866 returned to his native 
 place. He practiced there successfully some years, confining him- 
 self chiefly to office business and the preparation of causes for trial. 
 His father's death in. 1870 threw upon him the management of a 
 considerable estate, which thereafter absorbed much of his atten- 
 tion, and together with his interest in politics, left him compara- 
 tively little time to give to the law. 
 
720 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He was a representative in the state legislatures of 1869, 1870, 
 and 1881, and a senator in those of 1875 and 1878, as well as a 
 delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876. He occupied a 
 responsible place in each of these bodies, and did his full share in 
 shaping their policy. He was a genial companion, a courteous 
 and able member of the profession, a good citizen, interested in 
 the affairs of his town, a devoted son and brother. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 WILLIAM PICKERING WEEKS. 
 
 Son of Brackett and Sarah (Pickering) Weeks ; born, Greenland, February 
 22, 1803 ; Dartmouth College, 1826 ; admitted, 1829 ; practiced, Canaan ; 
 died there, January 8, 1870. 
 
 Mr. Weeks was prepared at Gilmanton Academy to enter col- 
 lege, and studied his profession with William A. Hayes and 
 Christopher N. Cogswell at South Berwick, Maine. Admitted an 
 attorney in the county of York in that State, he opened his office 
 in November, 1829, in Canaan, the place of his life residence after- 
 wards. He was postmaster for some years, and represented the 
 town in the legislatures of 1839, 1840, 1852 and 1854, and as a 
 delegate in the constitutional convention of 1850. He was a 
 member of the state Senate in 1848 and 1849, and president of 
 that body the latter year. 
 
 Mr. Weeks was a sagacious and successful lawyer, had a 
 large business, which he managed with skill and prudence, and 
 accumulated a handsome estate. He was a leading citizen in his 
 town and vicinity, of marked character and very decided opinions. 
 In his private intercourse he was genial and social, and liked to 
 tell a good story. He understood human nature well, especially 
 the selfish side of it, such as his professional experience had often 
 presented to him. One day an old mail carrier brought to him 
 for collection a quantity of bills against the government for trans- 
 porting the mails for several preceding years. " Have n't you 
 been paid for this ? " inquired Mr. Weeks in surprise. " No," 
 answered the man, rather hesitatingly. In an instant it darted 
 into the lawyer's mind that there had lately occurred a fire in the 
 Post Office Department in Washington, by which it was said that 
 a great quantity of j)apers had been destroyed. He looked his 
 man in the eye, and said to him, meaningly, " The vouchers in the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 721 
 
 Post Office Department were not burned, as was at first reported. 
 Shall I collect these bills ? " The other gathered up his papers, 
 and saying, " You need n't do anything about it till I see you 
 again," disappeared, and never returned. 
 
 After 1861, when he relinquished legal practice, he lived upon 
 his large farm outside the village of Canaan, and interested him- 
 self in its cultivation, and was especially proud of his nice flocks 
 of sheep. 
 
 He married Mary E., daughter of Joseph Doe of Derry, July 
 28, 1833, and left five children. Two of his sons were members 
 of the bar. 
 
 JOHN SULLIVAN WELLS. 
 
 Son of Edward and Margery (Hardy) Wells ; born, Durham, October 18, 
 1803 ; practiced, Lancaster and Exeter ; died, Exeter, August 1, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Wells was a grand-nephew of General John Sullivan of 
 the Revolution. In early life he learned the trade of a cabinet- 
 maker. But he was ambitious, and attended the academy at 
 Pembroke for a time, in order to qualify himself to undertake 
 the study of the law. He then entered the office of Daniel C. At- 
 kinson at Sanbornton Bridge, at the same time teaching in the 
 academy there to procure means of support. He finished his legal 
 studies with William Mattocks of Peacham, Vermont, was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in 1828, and established himself in practice in 
 Guildhall, Vermont. He remained there seven years, and then 
 proceeded to Bangor, Maine, for a year ; but not finding the place 
 to his mind, he returned in 1836, and opened his office in Lan- 
 caster. Soon after his settlement there, he was made solicitor of 
 the county of Coos, and acted in that capacity for two terms. He 
 was chosen representative from Lancaster to the state legislature 
 for three consecutive years, beginning in 1839, and in 1841 he 
 was Speaker of the House. 
 
 In 1846 he quitted Lancaster and took up his residence under 
 peculiarly favorable circumstances in Exeter, where he soon 
 acquired a large and remunerative practice. He received the 
 appointment of attorney-general, January 17, 1847, but it was not 
 a position to his liking, and he resigned it after a few months. In 
 1851 and 1852 he was elected a state senator, and both years 
 was made president. In January, 1855, he was appointed by the 
 46 
 
722 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 governor a senator of the United States to fill out the unex- 
 pired term of Moses Norris, deceased, and occupied his seat until 
 March 4. Mr. Wells had been a candidate for the United 
 States Senate two years before, and had failed of his election by 
 only the narrowest margin ; and though he was the candidate of 
 his party for governor in 1856 and 1857, the political revolution 
 which the State had undergone in 1854 left him in the minor- 
 ity. He held no public office after 1855, and was deeply disap- 
 pointed in his political aspirations. He made no secret of this, 
 but avowed that he had expended a large sum in politics, and had 
 failed to realize his hopes. 
 
 As a lawyer, however, Mr. Wells was highly successful in ob- 
 taining money and reputation. He was a keen business man, and 
 looked well after his fees. His professional knowledge was far 
 above mediocrity, but he was not what would be called a dili- 
 gent student. His engagements often called on him for strenuous 
 and long-continued exertion, and he was always equal to the de- 
 mand ; but he liked the work of the jury trial, in which he was 
 especially distinguished, better than that of consulting and com- 
 paring authorities. 
 
 Dartmouth College bestowed upon him the honorary degree of 
 Master of Arts in 1857. He was happy in his domestic relations, 
 a fond parent, and most interested in the welfare and happiness 
 of his children. 
 
 His wife, to whom he was united in 1832, was Rebecca E., 
 daughter of Josiah Bellows 2d of Lancaster. Three of their five 
 or six children outlived him. 
 
 NATHANIEL WELLS. 
 
 Son of Rev. Nathaniel and Eunice (Hemmenway) Wells ; born, Wells, 
 Maine, February 28, 1805 ; practiced, Somers worth ; died there, August 16, 
 
 1878. 
 
 Mr. Wells was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy, his 
 father having removed to Deerfield in 1812. Completing his 
 academic course in 1826, he proceeded to Brunswick, Maine, 
 where he engaged in trade, and for a while edited a weekly news- 
 paper. In 1833 he went to Great Falls Village in Somersworth, 
 then rising into importance, and pursued the study of the law 
 with Winthrop A. Marston, while at the same time he taught 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 723 
 
 schools in that place and in Dover. On his admission, he began 
 the practice of the law in Somersworth, as a partner of Mr. Mars- 
 ton. He was well grounded in the principles of jurisprudence, 
 and as an office lawyer, particularly, he was a model. His faculty 
 of comprehending complicated statements of facts, and of giving 
 to each its due share of importance, was extraordinary. The 
 facility and accuracy with which he drew contracts and instru- 
 ments of every kind, however multifarious the provisions and 
 qualifications, was a source of wonder to less accomplished drafts- 
 men. He seemed to take pleasure in disentangling knotty ques- 
 tions, as some men enjoy chess and other scientific games. His 
 advice was uniformly shrewd, sensible, and well founded. He 
 was the confidential counsel of the Great Falls and Conway Rail- 
 road, of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company, and of other 
 corporations, and of many leading business concerns in his own 
 and neighboring places. He did not often take an active part in 
 the trials of their suits, being averse, by reason of natural diffi- 
 dence and sensitiveness to criticism, to making his appearance in 
 public. But he had a very important part in preparing their 
 causes for trial. 
 
 Mr. Wells's intercourse with all was marked by courtesy and 
 kindness. His character for integrity and honor was unblem- 
 ished. With decided political convictions, he was no mere parti- 
 san. He once nominally held the office of postmaster, but the 
 emoluments went to a friend. He was a member of the consti- 
 tutional convention of 1850, but he never cared to undertake po- 
 litical office. In 1871 he received from Dartmouth College the 
 honorary degree of Master of Arts. 
 
 His life was uneventful, but diligent, useful, and in every way 
 worthy of respect. 
 
 He was married twice ; first, to N. A. Wyman of Woburn, 
 Massachusetts; second, to Harriet, daughter of James Thom, 
 Esq.. of Derry. By his first marriage he had one son ; by his 
 second, two daughters and two sons, one of whom is a lawyer in 
 Somersworth. 
 
724 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 SAMUEL ISRAEL WELLS. 
 
 Son of Israel and Lucy (Lyon) Wells ; born, Shelburne, Massachusetts, c. 
 1790 ; Dartmouth College, 1814 ; admitted, 1819 ; practiced, Salisbury ; died, 
 Portland, Maine, 1846 or 1847. 
 
 Mr. Wells graduated from college with a high standing as a 
 scholar, and was at once engaged as preceptor of the academy at 
 Salisbury, then a flourishing institution. In that position he re- 
 mained two years, showing a rare faculty of imbuing his pupils 
 with an enthusiasm for study. Then he entered the office of 
 Richard Fletcher of the same town as a student of the law. In 
 September, 1819, he took the office of his preceptor, who removed 
 that year to Boston, Massachusetts. From that time to 1836 
 Mr. Wells continued to practice in Salisbury, and until the last 
 two or three years thereof was regular in his habits and attentive 
 to his business. In his office some of the most promising young 
 men of the time were students, and to them he left the care of 
 his " justice business," while he was himself diligently perusing 
 the authorities of his profession and attending to clients, whom 
 he heard courteously and fully, but never encouraged them to 
 stay after their business was done. A lawyer of learning, he 
 tried causes somewhat in the higher courts, but was diffident, 
 impatient of opposition, and lacked readiness and self-possession. 
 He aspired to a seat upon the bench, and about 1833 was en- 
 couraged to believe that he should receive it, but to his great 
 mortification it went to another. He became disheartened and 
 fell into habits of intemperance, from which friends induced him 
 to amend, and he removed, in 1836, to Windham, Maine, to prac- 
 tice his profession, and later to Alabama as a teacher. 
 
 He was married in February, 1824, to Lucy, daughter of Rev. 
 Mr. Kellogg of Windham, Maine, and was the father of five 
 children. 
 
 JOHN WENTWORTH, JE. 
 
 Son of Hon. John and Joanna (Gilmau) Wentworth ; born, Somersworth, 
 July 14, 1745 ; Harvard College, 1768 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, Janu- 
 ary 10, 1787. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth was the son of a judge of the Superior Court. 
 He studied law with William Parker of Portsmouth, and in 1771 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 725 
 
 commenced practice in Dover, his only legal competitor at that 
 time residing in the county being John Sullivan of Durham. 
 The office of register of Probate was one of the prizes sought for 
 a century ago by young lawyers, and Mr. Wentworth, on the first 
 organization of the Probate Court in Strafford County, in 1773, 
 secured that, and held it to the time of his decease. 
 
 In the revolutionary movements which began to exhibit them- 
 selves overtly in 1774, he took no passive part. He was chosen 
 one of the Committee of Correspondence of his town, and in 
 1776 took his seat in the legislature. He served there as a repre- 
 sentative up to 1781 ; then in the council till December, 1783, 
 and in the Seriate from June, 1784, to 1786. The last ten years 
 of his life he was chosen moderator at nearly every annual meet- 
 ing of Dover. 
 
 March 14, 1778, he was chosen a delegate to the Continental 
 Congress for one year. He reached Yorktown, to which place 
 Congress had adjourned, on the following 28th of May. On the 
 way from his home thither he had deemed it prudent to be inocu- 
 lated with the small-pox. The disease apparently left injurious 
 effects upon his constitution. He was able to attend to his duties 
 in Congress until the succeeding September, and then returned to 
 his home. His connection with Congress was signalized by one 
 act which will keep his name permanently in remembrance ; he 
 affixed his signature to the original Articles of Confederation of 
 the United States in August, 1778. But though he was twice re- 
 elected to Congress, first in 1778 and again in 1781, the feeble 
 state of his health never allowed him to return thither. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth was of an amiable disposition and even temper, 
 affable, and well liked. He was the farthest possible from en- 
 couraging resort to the law on account of the fees he should gain 
 from it ; he had no longing for the acquisition of property. He 
 was a respectable but not a brilliant lawyer, and had no oratorical 
 gifts. His influence came chiefly from his honesty, his sound 
 sense, and his sincere patriotism. 
 
 He was married, in 1771, to Margaret, daughter of Joseph 
 Frost of New Castle. They had four sons and three daughters. 
 One of the daughters married Daniel M. Durell of Dover, and 
 became the mother of Edward H. Durell, both of the legal pro- 
 fession. Paul, the youngest son of John Wentworth, Jr., was the 
 father of " long " John Wentworth of Chicago, Illinois, and of 
 Samuel H. Wentworth of Boston, Massachusetts, also lawyers. 
 
726 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JOHN WENTWOKTH. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Anne (Tasker) Wentworth ; born, Portsmouth, 1768 ; 
 practiced, Portsmouth ; died, Paris, France. 
 
 This gentleman, who for some unknown reason was often styled 
 Sir John, was while young taken to England by his mother upon 
 her second marriage, and became a barrister at law of the Inner 
 Temple, London. Between the years 1797 and 1799 he published 
 a'" Complete System of Pleading," in ten octavo volumes. About 
 the same time he received the appointment of attorney-general 
 of Prince Edward's Island. He made his appearance in Ports- 
 mouth not far from the year 1800. On the Fourth of July, 1804, 
 he delivered an oration before the citizens of Portsmouth, which 
 was published. 
 
 He probably gained credit for the production of his voluminous 
 work on pleading, but upon examination it was found to be of 
 small value. Lord Abinger pronounced it to be of " no authority 
 at all; a vast collection of pleadings obtained from Mr. Lawes 
 and one or two gentlemen, which he (Wentworth) threw together, 
 and which I have found in a very long career of professional life 
 to be in a great manner extremely incorrect." Mr. Wentworth 
 had little business, and attained no considerable rank as a lawyer 
 in New Hampshire. His habits were irregular, and he fell into 
 reduced circumstances. The death of a relative of his wife in' 
 England brought her a handsome legacy, upon which, about the 
 year 1816, she with her husband proceeded to London, and never 
 returned to this country. His death occurred while he was on a 
 visit to France. 
 
 He married, January 7, 18C12, Martha, daughter of Colonel 
 Michael Wentworth. 
 
 TAPPAN WENTWORTH. 
 
 Sou of Isaac and Eleanor (Goudy) Wentworth ; born, Dover, February 24, 
 1802 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died, Lowell, Massachusetts, 
 June 12, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth received his early education in the public 
 schools of Dover. He became a clerk in a store, first in Ports- 
 mouth, and afterwards in South Berwick, Maine. There he 
 attracted the notice of William Burleigh, a lawyer and member 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 727 
 
 of Congress, by a clever article which he wrote in favor of the 
 latter's reelection. By Mr. Burleigh's invitation he entered his 
 office as a student until he was admitted to the bar. He then 
 began practice in Somersworth, and continued there seven years ; 
 and the fact that his gains amounted to a thousand dollars per 
 year during that period tells well for his prudence and business 
 capacity. 
 
 The rising manufacturing town of Lowell, Massachusetts, then 
 offering a tempting opening, he removed there in 1833. Under 
 the city charter of Lowell he was elected in 1836, and the four 
 succeeding years, a member of her common council, and the last 
 of those years was chosen its president. In 1851, 1859, 1863, 
 and 1864 he was a representative from Lowell in the General 
 Court, and in 1848, 1849, 1865, and 1866 was a state senator. 
 In 1852 he was a member of the Thirty-third Congress of the 
 United States. He was also a commissioner on the part of Mas- 
 sachusetts to settle the boundary line between that State and 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 He held a prominent position at the Middlesex bar, and was 
 very successful in the management of business for his clients, as 
 well as for himself. He accumulated a large property, and as his 
 only child died before him, he devised the bulk of it, after pro- 
 viding for his wife and some relatives, to Dartmouth College, 
 as soon as it should, with accumulated interest, amount to half 
 a million of dollars. 
 
 He married, January 20, 1842, Ann, daughter of General 
 Solomon McNeil of Hillsborough. Their only child died at the 
 age of ten years, in 1853. 
 
 BENJAMIN WEST. 
 
 Son of Rev. Thomas West ; born, Rochester, Massachusetts, April 8, 1746 ; 
 Harvard College, 1768 ; admitted, 1773 ; practiced, Charlestowu ; died there, 
 July 27, 1817. 
 
 A sedate and even disposition distinguished Mr. West from his 
 childhood up. By the help of his brother, Rev. Samuel West, 
 he was enabled to enter Nassau Hall, whence after one year he 
 migrated to Harvard College. He was a teacher two years, and 
 then studied for the ministry with his brother. But a brief expe- 
 rience determined him to abandon the pulpit, and he began legal 
 
728 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 study with Abel Willard of Lancaster, Massachusetts. Simeon 
 Olcott then received him as his partner in practice in Charles- 
 town. Soon the Revolution interrupted all law business, and Mr. 
 West, who desired to avoid the scenes of hostilities, accepted an 
 invitation to visit South Carolina. But before long a British 
 expedition was sent there, and Mr. West, who volunteered into a 
 corps of home guards, was taken prisoner. Released after a short 
 detention, he returned to Charlestown, .and to law practice, which 
 soon began to revive. 
 
 He now began to enjoy a business of much extent, which 
 brought him money and reputation. It is probable that his legal 
 learning was none too thorough, owing, as he himself said, to his 
 discontinuance of study when he began to practice. But he had 
 great discernment and sagacity, a wonderful gift of clear and 
 lucid statement and of persuasion, and the art of succeeding. 
 Jeremiah Mason, who admired him greatly, said : " In arguing 
 cases of complicated and doubtful evidence before a jury, I have 
 seldom, if ever, heard his superior." Daniel Webster affirmed 
 that Mr. West was " one of the most successful advocates, if not 
 the most successful, that ever practiced in the courts of New 
 Hampshire ; a person who, to singular powers of popular logic 
 and persuasion, added the weight of the utmost purity and respec- 
 tability of private character, and one who, if he had not always 
 refused public office, could not have failed to make a figure in the 
 national councils." Jeremiah Smith's biographer said " there 
 was no man whom Mr. Smith remembered with a more affec- 
 tionate respect than Mr. West. He excelled at the bar, particu- 
 larly in the narration of facts." 
 
 Mr. West's retiring disposition induced him to decline public 
 offices which were often urged upon him. In 1781 he was 
 chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress ; in 1786 he was 
 appointed attorney-general of the State ; in 1787 he was elected a 
 member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the 
 United States ; in 1789 he was chosen a representative in Con- 
 gress, and in 1802 he was appointed Judge of Probate, but he 
 accepted neither of the positions. On being elected delegate to 
 the convention to ratify the United States Constitution, however, 
 he considered the occasion so important that he did not refuse 
 the office, though he was a silent member, and on being urged to 
 speak, to gratify the expectations of those who had heard of his 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 729 
 
 oratorical reputation, he modestly answered : " If people who 
 never heard me now think well of me I am unwilling by my own 
 act to destroy that opinion." It is said that he never arose to 
 speak in public without a nervous tremor, and would willingly 
 have given thrice the amount of his fees to be excused from argu- 
 ing an important cause in court. 
 
 In 1814, when he was selected by delegates from twenty towns 
 to attend the " Hartford Convention," he accepted the position 
 from the highest motives of patriotism. A friend attempted to 
 dissuade him from taking part in it by suggesting that he might 
 incur the risk of the punishment for treason ; to which Mr. West 
 with sincerity replied: "If that be so, I shall consider myself 
 fortunate that I, who am old and useless, shall be the means of 
 saving the neck of a younger and better man." 
 
 Mr. West in the trial of causes never wrangled nor descended 
 to abuse. He systematically avoided quarrels and enmities with 
 opponents, parties, witnesses, and counsel. " In social intercourse 
 his manners were simple, but always courteous and urbane. He 
 had a delicate and refined wit, and was fond of it in others ; his 
 manner of living was simple, exceedingly neat, and approaching 
 to elegance ; he indulged in a liberal hospitality entirely free 
 from ostentation. In short, he was a gentleman in the true and 
 best sense of the term." He never wished for riches, but retired 
 from practice when he had acquired a sufficient property, and 
 lived afterwards in tranquillity. 
 
 His first wife, whom he married about the year 1780, was a 
 daughter of Kev. Thaddeus Maccarty of Worcester, Massachu- 
 setts. She died in 1803, and three years later he married Fanny, 
 daughter of Joshua Atherton and widow of William Gordon of 
 Amherst, a lady on whom Jeremiah Smith passed the eulogy that 
 " she loved to wait on others." 
 
 He had no children. 
 
730 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 EDWAKD BAEKER WEST. 
 
 Son of William and Mary (Barker) West ; born, Concord, April 1, 1822 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1844 ; practiced, Warner and Nashua ; died, Portsmouth, 
 July 18, 1887. 
 
 The subject of this sketch -was fitted for college at the academy 
 in Plainfield. Soon after his graduation from college he was 
 applied to by Governor Isaac Hill, to whom President Andrew 
 Jackson had written to recommend a suitable person to be private 
 tutor in his family, to take that situation ; and Mr. West pro- 
 ceeded to Tennessee and resided a year in the " Hermitage " in 
 that capacity. Returning then to New England, he studied law 
 in the office of Marcus Morton, Jr., in Boston, Massachusetts, and 
 was admitted in 1848. 
 
 He established himself in Warner for four years, and in 1853 
 removed to Nashua. He practiced there till 1843, and then 
 removed to Portsmouth to take the place of paymaster's clerk at 
 the navy yard. He continued to discharge the duties of that 
 office till a few years prior to his decease. 
 
 Mr. West is remembered as a bright, pleasant boy, of quick 
 parts and full of quaint conceits. In college he was popular, and 
 maintained a creditable stand in scholarship, though it was felt 
 by those who knew him that he was capable of accomplishing 
 more by greater exertion. It is doubtful if he found himself at 
 home in the law, since he relinquished it' for employment requir- 
 ing merely clerical qualifications. 
 
 He married, October 14, 1857, Louisa J., daughter of William 
 D. Beasom of Nashua. She with one of their three children 
 survived him. 
 
 PRESBURY WEST, JR. 
 
 Son of Hon. Presbury West ; born, St. Johnsbury, Vermont, o. 1795 ; 
 admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Manchester and Amherst ; died, Jefferson (?), 
 May, 1858. 
 
 Mr. West studied his profession with Isaac Fletcher of Lyn- 
 don, Vermont, was admitted an attorney in Caledonia County, 
 and from 1825 to 1837 practiced in Thetford in the same State. 
 There he had quite an extensive business, the justice part of which 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 731 
 
 was for a time attended to by his student, George W. Morrison, 
 afterwards of Manchester; and when Mr. West came to New 
 Hampshire about 1844, he became associated in practice with Mr. 
 Morrison. For a short time in 1845 he sojourned in Amherst, 
 but soon returned to Manchester. 
 
 Mr. West was a quiet, unobtrusive man, and attended especially 
 to the office business of the firm, drawing instruments and the 
 like, and rarely if ever appearing in court ; while Mr. Morrison 
 tried the causes. After a stay of some five or six years in Man- 
 chester, Mr. West moved to Jefferson, and was employed in lum- 
 bering, and never, it is believed, engaged in law business after- 
 wards. 
 
 His wife was Mercy, daughter of Eev. Asa Barton, D. D., of 
 Thetford, Vermont. 
 
 SAMUEL WEST. 
 
 Son of Kev. Samuel West ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, 1771 ; Harvard 
 College, 1788 ; admitted, 1792 ; practiced, Walpole, Cliarlestown, and Keeue ; 
 died, Keeue, January 30, 1810. 
 
 This brilliant young lawyer was probably a clerk in the office 
 of his uncle, Benjamin West of Charlestown, through his prepa- 
 ration for the bar, and set up in practice in Walpole in 1793. 
 About 1799 he removed to Keene, and made his home there 
 afterwards, with the exception, perhaps, of a short stay at Charles- 
 town. On the 22d of February, 1800, at the request of the 
 inhabitants of Keene, he pronounced a eulogy upon George 
 Washington. " From the well-known abilities of the orator," 
 it was remarked in a contemporary journal, " the public expec- 
 tation was raised, and it was not disappointed." 
 
 Mr. West was one of the coterie of youthful literary spirits 
 who aided Joseph Dennie in conducting the " Farmer's Museum " 
 at Walpole, in its palmy days. He has been pronounced "a 
 most brilliant advocate and eloquent lawyer." 
 
 NATHANIEL WAITE WESTGATE. 
 
 Son of Earl and Elizabeth (Waite) Westgate ; born, Plainfield, January 26, 
 1801 ; admitted, 1827 ; practiced, Enfield and Haverhill ; died, Haverhill, 
 December 16, 1890. 
 
 At the age of fifteen young Westgate was attacked by a serious 
 illness, which left him permanently lame. He then went through 
 
732 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 the course of study prescribed for entrance to college, at the Kim- 
 ball Union Academy in Plainfield. By teaching schools in the 
 winter, and reading law at the other seasons of the year under the 
 direction of Charles Flanders in his native town, he qualified him- 
 self to enter the bar when he was twenty-six years of age, and 
 established himself in Enfield Centre, where he acquired a prac- 
 tice of considerable extent in Grafton and Sullivan counties. 
 After remaining there twenty-nine years, and holding several 
 town offices of trust, he received in 1856 the appointment of reg- 
 ister of Probate for the county of Grafton, which I'equired his 
 removal to Haverhill. 
 
 Nathaniel S. Berry was then the Judge of Probate, and five 
 years afterwards was elected governor of the State, upon which 
 Mr. Westgate was promoted to the office of judge. Such he re- 
 mained, to universal acceptance, until 1871, when he reached the 
 constitutional limit of age. For nearly ten years longer, however, 
 he continued in the practice of his profession, and then withdrew 
 from active life to the retirement of his home. He long enjoyed, 
 a large and profitable practice, and in addition to bringing up and 
 educating his considerable family, he accumulated a handsome 
 property. 
 
 His first wife was Lydia J., daughter of Dr. Prentiss of Spring- 
 field. She died childless after five years of married life. No- 
 vember 14, 1842, he married Louise, daughter of Austin Tyler 
 of Claremont, who was the mother of his six children, and sur- 
 vived him. Two of his sons have held the offices in the Probate 
 Court of Grafton County which he successively filled, — Tyler 
 Westgate that of judge, and William F. Westgate that of register. 
 The latter is a lawyer by profession. 
 
 GEORGE WHEELER. 
 
 Son of Moses and Pamela (Putnam) Wheeler ; born, Charlestown, Novem- 
 ber 2, 1782 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Hanover ; died, Troy, 
 New York, 1870. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler studied his profession with Stephen Ross of Troy, 
 New York, and began practice there in 1810, but soon removed 
 to Elizabethtown, New Jersey. In 1815 he came to Hanover, and 
 was for a while the partner of Mills Olcott. In 1821 he was com- 
 missioned postmaster, and so continued until 1829. He returned 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 733 
 
 to Troy in 1830, and pursued his profession so long as his health 
 and strength permitted. 
 
 His wife, whom he married July 6, 1816, was Mary, daughter 
 of James Wheelock of Hanover. 
 
 SAMUEL METCALF WHEELER. 
 
 Son of Albira and Melita (Metcalf) Wheeler ; born, Newport, May H, 
 1823 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, Newport, Concord, and Dover ; died, Dover, 
 January 21, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler's early education was obtained at the seminaries 
 in Claremont and in Newbury, Vermont, and at the military 
 academy in "Windsor, Vermont. He studied law with Walker 
 and Slade in Royalton, with Tracy and Converse in Woodstock, 
 Vermont, and with Ralph Metcalf in Newport ; and commenced 
 practice in 1847 in the town last named. After a year he re- 
 moved to Fisherville in Concord, and practiced there four or five 
 years. He then went in 1853 to Dover, and formed a business 
 connection with John H. Wiggins, and at once entered into a 
 large practice. This he retained for a quarter of a century, hav- 
 ing for a time Joshua G. Hall as his partner, and afterwards 
 alone. He was a leading member of the bar, an efficient bank 
 officer, and a prominent politician. He was a representative in 
 the General Court in 1864 and 1865, and again in 1868, 1869, 
 and 1870. The last two years he was chosen Speaker. In 1876 
 he was a delegate to the convention to revise the state Constitu- 
 tion. In these several bodies he occupied a prominent position as 
 a debater and in committee. He was president of the Dover 
 National Bank, and the State Bank which was merged in it, from 
 1858 to 1874. In 1866 the trustees of Dartmouth College 
 granted him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler was a well-read lawyer, and studied his cases 
 with care and fidelity. He was consulted and retained in a large 
 proportion of the most important suits arising in his county and 
 vicinity, and was the general attorney of several corporations. 
 His business in the law courts was carefully prepared, and ably 
 presented, but he was at his best in trials before the jury. He 
 had a thorough acquaintance with the points of view and modes 
 of judgment of the mass of the people. He could adapt him- 
 self to their prejudices, and understood well how to make the 
 
734 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 most of tlie accidents of a trial, a word indiscreetly dropped, the 
 refusal of the adverse party to grant an accommodation, and the 
 like. A distinguished judge remarked that no other lawyer in 
 New Hampshire understood a jury so well as Mr. Wheeler. His 
 political aspirations were never fully realized. He was again and 
 again a candidate for a congressional nomination, and twice 
 believed that he had the prize within his grasp, but on each 
 occasion was defeated by a majority of a single vote. He was 
 undoubtedly soured by his want of success, and perhaps was in 
 part led by it into an irregularity of habits which grew upon 
 him toward the close of his life. 
 
 He married, December 31, 1848, Priscilla E., daughter of 
 Joseph W. Clement of Franklin. His wife and a daughter out- 
 lived him. 
 
 "WILLIAM PLDMER WHEELER, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Colonel Natlianiel and Huldah (Whipple) Wheeler ; born, Croydon, 
 July 31, 1812 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, Keene ; died, Brooklyn, New 
 York, May 10, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler learned, and for several years practiced, the trade 
 of a harness maker ; but feeling that the law would be a more 
 congenial calling, he resolved to educate himself for that profes- 
 sion. He studied in the academy at Newport, and at the Kimball 
 Union Academy at Plainfield, some three or four years, and then 
 went into an office at Keene, and attended lectures at the Harvard 
 Law School, where he had the degree of LL. B. in 1842. 
 
 He established himself in practice at Keene. When he had 
 been at the bar but three years, he was complimented with the 
 office of solicitor of Cheshire County, and at the end of his five 
 years' term was reappointed. In 1851 he was named one of the 
 justices of the state Court of Common Pleas, but declined the 
 appointment, as at a later date he did also the offer of a seat 
 upon the bench of the Superior Court. In 1855 and 1857 he 
 was the candidate of his political party for representative in Con- 
 gress, but his party being in the minority, he was not elected. 
 
 In 1849 he received as a partner Francis A. Faulkner. The 
 two gentlemen were peculiarly fitted for this connection. Mr. 
 Faulkner preferred to take charge of the office business, and act 
 as junior in trials in court, — a department which his faithful and 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 735 
 
 accurate habits and professional knowledge enabled him to ad- 
 minister with complete success. Mr. Wheeler was equally pains- 
 taking and attentive to business, and was a learned lawyer, the 
 ablest advocate in his county, and one of the first in the State. 
 For nearly thirty years the firm enjoyed a remarkably extensive 
 and successful practice, and were engaged in nearly every case 
 of importance tried in Cheshire, if not also in Sullivan, County. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler was of quiet manners, and averse to display. 
 His excellent judgment and business capacity called him to many 
 positions of trust, private and public. He was particularly inter- 
 ested in the State Agricultural College, served as one of its trus- 
 tees, and obtained for it valuable donations. 
 
 From Dartmouth College he received the degree of A. M. in 
 1850, and that of LL. D. in 1872. His death occurred while he 
 was absent from his home on business. 
 
 He was married, November 19, 1849, to Sarah D. Moulton of 
 Randolph, Vermont. They had two children. 
 
 JAMES RIPLEY WHEELOCK. 
 
 Son of James and Abigail (Kinsman) Wheelook ; born, Hanover, March 30, 
 1790 ; Dartmouth College, 1807 ; practiced, Hanover ; died, Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, November 24, 1841. 
 
 This grandson of the first president of Dartmouth College re- 
 ceived his preliminary education, doubtless, in Moor's Charity 
 School, and after he left college studied law and settled, first, in 
 Royalton, Vermont. In 1813 he was admitted to the bar of 
 Grafton County, and opened an office in Hanover. There he re- 
 mained until 1817, and then decided to change his profession. 
 He studied divinity under Rev. Thomas A. Merrill at Middle- 
 bury, Vermont, and was settled as a minister in several places in 
 this and other States until 1839, when he went to Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, in the hope to restore his shattered health, a hope which 
 was never realized. 
 
 He married, first, Delia, daughter of Dr. William Boss of Mid- 
 dlebury, Vermont, February 11, 1819 ; and, second, Laura Hale 
 of Norwich, Vermont. 
 
736 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 GEORGE ALBERT WHEELWRIGHT. 
 
 Born, Bangor, Maine, January 3, 1818 ; Bowdoin College, 1837 ; practiced, 
 Seabrook ; died, Wells, Maine, September 8, 1882. 
 
 This gentleman, after leaving college, was employed as a 
 teacher in Hampden, Maine, and in South Carolina. He spent 
 some years in the Southern States, beginning the study of the 
 law in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is said to have been ad- 
 mitted in the highest court in Kentucky. But his infirm health 
 interfered seriously with his practice. 
 
 He came to Seabrook from Wells, Maine, about the year 1844, 
 and/was admitted to the bar in Rockingham County. He did 
 little legal business, however, but was chiefly employed in teach- 
 ing while in Seabrook, being particularly successful therein. He 
 was also the superintendent of schools. 
 
 On leaving Seabrook, after two or three years' stay, he returned 
 to Maine. A plan of establishing a private school in Portland he 
 was obliged to relinquish on account of his uncertain health. He 
 retired upon a farm in Wells, and there spent his later years. 
 
 His wife was Katharine McKay, and he had no children. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON WHIPPLE. 
 
 Son of Dr. Thomas and Mary (Tabor) Whipple ; born, Wentworth, January 
 30, 1816 ; Norwich University, 1839 ; admitted, 1840 ; practiced, Wentworth 
 and Laconia ; died, Laconia, Decejnber 21, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Whipple was educated in the academies of New Hampton 
 and Bradford, and at Norwich University, where he imbibed the 
 military taste and knowledge which he exhibited in later life. It 
 was characteristic of him that when he went into a neighboring 
 town, after the fashion of New England youth, to earn a little 
 money by teaching, he advertised for pupils in fencing and pen- 
 manship. He began to read law when he was eighteen, with 
 Josiah Quiney of Rumney, and finished his studies some years 
 later with Salmon P. Wiers of Johnson, Vermont. The first five 
 years of his practice he passed in Wentworth, and then removed 
 to Gilford, afterwards Laconia, his subsequent home. 
 
 Five j'ears afterward the Mexican war broke out, and young 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 737 
 
 Whipple's soldierly predilections naturally carried him into the 
 corps of volunteers. He was commissioned adjutant of the Niuth 
 Regiment, commanded by Colonel Ransom. He had scarcely 
 arrived in Mexico, when he was made prisoner by a party of 
 guerrillas. He was treated kindly, and soon exchanged. He dis- 
 tinguished himself in action, and was made assistant adjutant- 
 general on the stafE of General Lewis. 
 
 In the early part of 1848 he resigned from the army, and re- 
 turned home to the practice of the law.- He was assistant clerk 
 of the New Hampshire House of Representatives four years, be- 
 ginning with 1848, and was chosen clerk in 1852, but declined 
 the office. Of the constitutional convention of 1850 he was the 
 secretary, and in that of 1876 he sat as a delegate. But he was 
 no office-seeker, upon principle. 
 
 The second opportunity for him to serve his country in a mili- 
 tary capacity came with President Lincoln's first call for volun- 
 teers in defense of the Union, in 1861. In the First Regiment of 
 New Hampshire he served as lieutenant-colonel. When his term 
 of three months was over, he was immediately promoted to the 
 colonelcy of the Fourth Regiment. After some months' service 
 in the field he resigned that position, and was tendered the com- 
 mand of the Twelfth Regiment, which, however, he did not 
 accept. He was every inch a soldier, brave, even to rashness, a 
 strict disciplinarian, but ever attentive to the needs of the men of 
 his command, all of whom held him in admiration and regard. 
 
 In Colonel Whipple's practice at the bar, the qualities he had 
 inherited from his father, an eloquent member of Congress, of 
 much independence of character, and a principal supporter in the 
 legislature of the Toleration Act of 1819, were conspicuous. He 
 had the same freedom of opinions, the same, and even greater, 
 originality, power of illustration, and fluency and skill in public 
 speaking. After his return from Mexico he served two or three 
 years as county solicitor, and his facility in the conduct of cases 
 in court brought him retainers in important suits, and for years 
 he was a leading lawyer in his county, engaged in the trial of the 
 principal matters in litigation, and being the general counsel of 
 wealthy corporations, as of the Concord and Montreal Railroad, 
 and the Winnepesaukee Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing Com- 
 pany. He was a good lawyer and a judicious adviser, but his 
 greatest successes were won in the encounters of the forum. 
 47 
 
738 DECEASED LAWTEKS 
 
 There his peculiar powers had full play. He was rapid, acute, 
 adroit, with an exuberance of wit, and a power of marshaling 
 epithets that was simply unsurpassable. At his humorous sallies 
 the whole court-room, from the judge on the bench to the mes- 
 senger at the door, sometimes lost their gravity and laughed in 
 concert. 
 
 In an action of trespass qu. cl., where the question was con- 
 cerning a boundary line. Colonel Whipple's client put in evidence 
 a plan drawn by a common country surveyor. His sharp oppo- 
 nent had employed to make Ms plan a civil engineer then engaged 
 in laying out a railroad line in the neighborhood, and fancied he 
 had scored an advantage by the operation. But Colonel Whip- 
 ple stood up for his surveyor. " In cities," said he, " where land 
 is very valuable, it may be important to use new-fangled instru- 
 ments, theodolites and verniers, to locate the lines; but in the 
 country, where land is plenty and cheap, a common iox-trap with 
 a spindle in it is just as good as anything ! " 
 
 Abundance of anecdotes illustrating Colonel Whipple's quaint 
 humor have gone the rpunds of the bar, but they cannot do him 
 justice, separated from their original setting, and lacking the pe- 
 culiar personality, the flash of the keen blue eye, and the meaning 
 intonation that gave them so much of their flavor. 
 
 With all his readiness and offhand wit, he was said to be a 
 painstaking attorney, and he managed a large practice for many 
 years with great success. At all gatherings, legal, political, and 
 social, he was a marked and well-known character. He was usu- 
 ally the centre of a circle of admirers, loth to lose any of the keen 
 and original expressions that fell from his lips. 
 
 Colonel Whipple was possessed of wide information, conversed 
 interestingly, and was a most genial comrade. Indeed, his failings 
 were on the side of his boon companionship and conviviality. 
 His friends would gladly forget his frailties in view of the many 
 manly and lovable qualities which adorned his character. He 
 was strictly upright in his dealings, he was honest and truthful, a 
 good and generous friend and neighbor. With a wide acquaint- 
 ance, he had few enemies, and a great many sincere admirers and 
 well-wishers. 
 
 He took to wife, in 1842, Belinda Hadley of Rumney. They 
 had one child, a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 739 
 
 JOHN WHIPPLE. 
 
 Son of Benjamin and Sarah (Tuttle) Whipple ; horn, Hamilton, Massachu- 
 setts, January 21, 1789 ; Dartmouth College, 1812 ; practiced, Dunbarton, 
 Hooksett, Hopkinton, and Concord ; died. Concord, August 28, 1857. 
 
 Mr. Whipple was a teacher in Gloucester, Massachusetts, for 
 a year and a half, and then studied law with Baruch Chase at 
 Hopkinton. He made his first essay in practice in that part of 
 Dunbarton which is now Hooksett, in 1817, and continued there, 
 holding the office of postmaster, a year after Hooksett was incor- 
 porated, and then removed to Hopkinton. While there he was 
 chosen assistant clerk of the state Senate from 1829 to 1832. In 
 1833 he went to Concord to live, being elected register of deeds 
 for Merrimac County. That position he filled till 1836. In 1834 
 he received the appointment of county solicitor and served through- 
 out his term of five years. He was also for a time Secretary of 
 State, was for several years treasurer of the New England Fire 
 Insurance Company, and at the time of his death had been justice 
 of the Police Court about two years. 
 
 His office practice was considerable, but he probably did not 
 attempt to deal with legal questions of difficulty. His library 
 contained few volumes beyond the statutes of the State and the 
 usual handbooks of practice. 
 
 He married, October 1, 1818, Hannah R., daughter of Ithamar 
 Chase of Keene, and sister of Salmon P. Chase. She died, leav- 
 ing him two daughters. He again married in November, 1856, 
 Mrs. Means of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 OLIVER WHIPPLE. 
 
 Bom, Ehode Island, c. 1743 ; Harvard College, 1766 ; practiced, Ports- 
 mouth and Hampton ; died, Georgetown, Maryland, April, 1813. 
 
 When Mr. Whipple was proposed for admission in Portsmouth, 
 the other lawyers of the town, it is said, made him promise that 
 he would not begin practice there, for fear, doubtless, that there 
 was not sufficient business to support another member of the pro- 
 fession. But once admitted, he gave notice in the newspaper to 
 "the gentlemen of Portsmouth" that he would open an office 
 there for the transaction of law business, etc. At the instance of 
 
740 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 Major Hale, Wyseman Clagett answered his advertisement in the 
 next issue of the paper, in the following strain : — 
 
 " ' Your advertisement won't prevail, 
 Friend Oliver,' quoth Major Hale, 
 
 ' Though worded nice as may be, i 
 
 You advertise that now and then 
 You do law jobs for " gentlemen," 
 
 But not a word of " lady." 
 
 " ' Like me extend your generous aid 
 From Mother Hicks to Joan her maid. 
 
 And set it down in print, sir. 
 The ladies then will you surround. 
 In business you will soon abound. 
 And thank me for the hint, sir.' " 
 
 Mr. Whipple received employment as attorney of Dr. Sylvester 
 Gardiner of Boston, in connection with his extensive landed 
 property in Maine. The handsome young lawyer was taken cap- 
 tive by the charms of his client's daughter Abigail, and an attach- 
 ment quickly grew up between them. Shortly before the Revolu- 
 tion they were married. Dr. Gardiner's family was one of wealth 
 and position, and distinguished for intense loyalty to the crown of 
 England, and the newly wedded pair received calls from Admiral 
 Graves, Secretary Flucker, General Gage, Mr., afterwards Sir, 
 William Pepperell, and various other persons of the highest social 
 standing in Boston, all identified with the royal cause. 
 
 When hostilities opened, and the lines began to be strictly drawn 
 between the friends and the opponents of the popular movement, 
 Mr. Whipple was naturally suspected of belonging to the latter 
 class. It appears that he and fourteen others, residents of Ports- 
 mouth, were apprehended by order of the committee of safety of 
 that town as notoriously disaffected to the American cause, and 
 were escorted by a squad of Colonel Langdon's light infantry, 
 under the command of a sergeant, to the provincial committee of 
 safety at Exeter, by whom they were examined and required to 
 give bonds to remain good and peaceable subjects of the State, 
 and not to do anything in opposition to the cause of America. 
 
 Notwithstanding that his father-in-law cast his fortunes with 
 the mother country so that he lost by confiscation his extensive 
 estates, ^ it does not appear that Mr. Whipple was ever again 
 
 1 His heirs, however, by reason of some informality in the proceedings, re- 
 covered them. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 741 
 
 suspected of want of attachment to his country's cause. It is 
 possible, however, that bis wife and himself did not entertain like 
 feelings in regard to the change of government, for they were 
 divorced, and for a time lived apart. But as they were strongly 
 attached to one another, the cause of their estrangement, what- 
 ever it was, afterwards passed away, and they were remarried. 
 
 On this event a well-known wit and versifier of that day, Jon- 
 athan M. Sewall, produced these lines : — 
 
 " Divorced, like scissors rent in twain, 
 Both mourned the rivet out ; 
 Now whet and riveted again, 
 
 You '11 make the old shears cut." 
 
 Mr. Whipple resided in Portsmouth above twenty years, and 
 then removed to Hampton, where he made his home for about 
 twelve years more. He represented the latter town in the legis- 
 lature five years, and during his stay there published two poems 
 in pamphlet form, entitled " The Confessional Tears of a Louis 
 d'Or," 1794, and " The Historic Progress of Liberty," 1802. 
 
 He was well educated, with more than usual literary taste, 
 and was a lawyer of considerable practice. He was courteous, 
 agreeable, and interesting. When he quitted Hampton he is 
 understood to have taken up his abode in Washington, District 
 of Columbia, or its vicinity. He left descendants. 
 
 DAVID S. WHITCHER. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Emily (Quimby) Whitcher ; born, Landaff (now 
 Easton), November 30, 1846 ; admitted, 1876 ; practiced, Littleton ; died 
 there, March 14, 1881. 
 
 The time of the subject of this sketch was given until the age 
 of nineteen to the work of the farm and the mill. Then, with 
 only the instruction of the district school, he attended the New 
 Hampshire Conference Seminary at Tilton, and the New Hamp- 
 ton Literary Institution till his graduation in 1871. In the 
 offices of the brothers Rand and of Bingham and Mitchell of Lit- 
 tleton he 'completed his law studies, and in that town he began 
 practice. He was at the bar only five years. His health had 
 suffered from overwork as a student, but he pursued his profes- 
 sion undauntedly to the last. He was a growing lawyer, with no 
 large business, but what he had was well done. Only time and 
 strength were wanting to him. 
 He was unmarried. 
 
742 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 JOHN HUBBARD WHITE. 
 
 Son of Amos and Sarah White ; born, Dover, November 30, 1802 ; Bow- 
 doin College, 1822 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, September 7, 1882. 
 
 At Wakefield. Academy Mr. White completed his preparation 
 for college ; and with James Bartlett and Charles W. Cutter, at 
 Dover, he fitted himself for admission to the bar, which was 
 effected in 1826. He then commenced in Dover his practice of 
 fifty-six years. In 1828 he was appointed postmaster, but was 
 removed the next year for political reasons. In 1833 and 1834 
 he was a representative in the legislature. He was appointed 
 register of Probate in 1849, and so continued till 1857 ; and for 
 the last five years of that time he filled also the office of judge of 
 the Police Court. He was for many years a trustee of the Frank- 
 lin Academy and librarian of the Dover public library. 
 
 Judge White was a wise and prudent counselor, though his re- 
 tiring disposition held him aloof from the conflicts of the court- 
 room. He was a well-read lawyer, and, especially in the depart- 
 ment of probate law, with which long experience had given him 
 special familiarity, had few superiors. 
 
 He was a great reader, and no little of an antiquary. His 
 appreciation of all that was quaint and humorous in conduct or 
 character was keen, and his memory was tenacious and exact 
 up to the close of his life. The writer is indebted to him for 
 reminiscences of several of the lawyers of his early acquaintance, 
 whose memory had otherwise almost passed into oblivion. He was 
 a thoroughly upright man, and led a life of honor and usefulness. 
 
 He was married, April 30, 1828, to Eebecca E. W., daughter 
 of Hon. Andrew Pierce of Dover. They had six children. 
 
 JOSEPH WARREN WHITE. 
 
 Son of Rev. Broughton and Ruth (Sabin) White ; bornj Chesterfield, Octo- 
 ber 18, 1799 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Portsmouth. 
 
 The father of this gentleman became somewhat noted as a 
 revivalist, and was at the time of his son's birth the preceptor 
 of the academy in Chesterfield. The son studied law with Abra- 
 ham B. Story in Washington, where his father was at that time 
 the settled minister, and completed his preparation for the bar 
 with Levi Woodbury of Portsmouth, whose partner he afterwards 
 became. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 743 
 
 Mr. White had been in Portsmouth only two years after his 
 admission when he sailed for England, as agent to recover an 
 estate which, for want of nearer heirs, was thought to devolve on 
 the Slade family of Portsmouth. 
 
 Prom this time forward his history is enveloped in obscurity. 
 Rumors that he had committed some crime for which he had suf- 
 fered the severest penalty of the law were at one time in circula- 
 tion, but were apparently disproved by authority when inquired 
 into. The latest opinion appears to be that his habits had become 
 extravagant and dissipated, and that he deserted his wife and 
 family. 
 
 He was married, August 29, 1826, to Letitia, daughter of 
 Abraham B. Story of Washington. They had a son and a 
 daughter. 
 
 SAMUEL WHITING. 
 
 Son of Samuel and Anstress (Barker) Whiting ; born, Amherst, 1797 ; 
 Dartmouth University, 1818 ; admitted, 1821 ; practiced, Mason ; died there, 
 September 24, 1829. 
 
 Mr. Whiting was a descendant in the seventh generation from 
 Rev. Samuel Whiting of Lynn, Massachusetts. His father was a 
 trader in Amherst who died when this son was about eight years 
 old. He completed his law education in the office of Aaron F. 
 Sawyer at Mont Vernon, and set up practice in Mason, but lived 
 only a few years afterward. 
 
 He married, July 3, 1827, Hannah, daughter of Hubbard Rus- 
 sell of Mason, who outlived her husband several years. 
 
 ZACHARIAH GARDNER WHITMAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Benjamin Whitman ; born, Providence, Rhode Island, Febru- 
 ary 10, 1789 ; Harvard College, 1807 ; practiced, Boscawen ; died there, 1840. 
 
 The father of Mr. Whitman was a lawyer in practice in Boston, 
 Massachusetts, where probably the son's preliminary education 
 was obtained. He studied law under his father's direction, and 
 for a number of years practiced with him in Boston. In 1831 he 
 came into New Hampshire and established himself in the west 
 parish of Boscawen as the successor of Francis Cogswell. 
 
 He possessed respectable talents and a good education, and 
 
744 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 had seen cultivated society. He had a fair practice, though he 
 usually employed some other counsel to assist him in the trial of 
 contested cases. In one important action, however, for the flow- 
 age of land, which he brought, and which was long and sharply 
 contested, the brief and written argument which he furnished the 
 law court are said by tradition to have been particularly creditable. 
 He was chosen a member of the New Hampshire Historical Soci- 
 ety in 1838. 
 
 Had his habits been those of sobriety, there is no doubt that he 
 had qualities which would have raised him to some distinction at 
 the bar ; but it is said that be was inclined to dissipation. 
 
 He was married in Boscawen. 
 
 AARON WHITTEMORE, JR. 
 
 Son of Hon. Aaron and Ariauah S. (Barstow) Whittemore ; born, Pem- 
 broke, January 18, 1849 ; admitted, 1870 ; practiced, Pittsfield ; died there, 
 May 4, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Whittemore obtained his education at Pembroke in the 
 Blanchard Academy, and read law with John' M. Shirley of 
 Andover and at the Harvard Law School. He opened his office 
 in Pittsfield in 1870, and in the fifteen years of his residence 
 there, acquired an extensive practice. His inclination for military 
 exercises led him to join a company of the National Guard, of 
 which he was chosen captain and was in command for five years. 
 He was then appointed a major on the staff of the brigadier- 
 general. Entering actively into political affairs, he was elected in 
 1883 a member of the state Senate, and made himself prominent 
 there. 
 
 He joined to his legal training sound discretion and business 
 sagacity, and his integrity commanded no less confidence than his 
 judgment and clear-sightedness. He was a trustee of the Farm- 
 ers' Savings Bank and of the Aqueduct Company of Pittsfield. 
 He possessed qualities that gave him much popularity with the 
 large circle of his acquaintance. 
 
 He was married, and left a widow, two sons, and a daughter. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. T45 
 
 BERNARD BEMIS WHITTEMORE. 
 
 Son of Bernard and Jane (Holmes) Whittemore ; born, Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, May 15, 1817 ; Harvard College, 1839 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced 
 Amherst ; died, Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 5, 1893. 
 
 It was at the Phillips Exeter Academy that Mr. Whittemore 
 was prepared for college. He studied for the bar with Charles 
 G. Atherton and with George Y. Sawyer at Nashua, and at the 
 Harvard Law School. His professional practice was substantially 
 begun and ended at Amherst, between 1842 and 1846. In the 
 latter year he moved to Nashua to take the charge, in connection 
 with his brother, F. P. Whittemore, of the " Nashua Gazette," a 
 political weekly journal. In the conduct of this paper, which was 
 subsequently enlarged, improved, and issued also in a daily edi- 
 tion, he spent the succeeding forty-three years. This was really 
 the work of his life, and to it he devoted his best powers. He 
 was a pleasant and forcible writer, an uncompromising exponent 
 of the principles of his party, and an upright and honorable 
 man. He served as a member of the state Senate in 1852 and 
 1863, as an alderman of Nashua in 1860, as city treasurer in 
 1861, and as a trustee of the public library from its foundation 
 till his decease. 
 
 He was a diligent reader, and had a prodigious fund of infor- 
 mation upon all subjects, especially those connected with political 
 history. He never lost his acquaintance with his original calling, 
 and his opinions upon legal questions were much relied on. By 
 all classes he was highly respected. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JAMES WHITTLE. 
 
 Son of William and Rachel (Parker) Whittle ; born, Weare, July 18, 1800 ; 
 Dartmouth College, 1823 ; admitted, 1827 ; practiced, Bradford and Concord ; 
 died. Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 1837. 
 
 The sum of this gentleman's practice in New Hampshire was 
 not above two or three years. He studied law with Samuel 
 Fletcher of Concord, and Richard Fletcher of Boston, Massachu- 
 setts, where he was admitted and began practice in 1827. The 
 
746 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 next year he returned to New Hampshire, and went into practice 
 at Bradford, Concord, and perhaps elsewhere, but about 1830 
 emigrated to Missouri, where he was an editor, and died at the 
 age of thirty-seven. 
 
 DAVID FOLSOM WHITTLE. 
 
 Son of Thomas and Mary (Folsom) Whittle ; bom, Deering, 1824 ; prac- 
 ticed, Manchester and Nashua ; died, Medford, Massachusetts, January 27, 
 1887. 
 
 Mr. Whittle obtained his education at Henniker Academy, and 
 was fitted for his profession at the Harvard Law School, and in 
 the office of George Barstow at Manchester. He commenced 
 practice at Manchester. After remaining there four years, he 
 removed to Nashua. He took a fair stand as a lawyer, being 
 sufficiently versed in the law, but was said to have lacked con- 
 fidence in himself. Having continued in Nashua eight years, he 
 determined to adopt farming as his future occupation, and re- 
 moved to Deering in 1860. While there, in addition to his agri- 
 cultural employment, he performed for a time the duties of 
 assistant assessor of internal revenue. 
 
 He was married, in 1850, to Charlotte T. Nichols of Concord. 
 They had three children. 
 
 ANDREW WIGGIN. 
 
 Son of Zebulon and Mary (Odell) Wiggin ; born, Stratham, October 9, 
 1826 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, Exeter ; died, Stratham, February 5, 
 1893. 
 
 Mr. Wiggin^ probably received his education in the town of his 
 nativity, and prosecuted his professional studies in the office of 
 William W. Stickney at Exeter. In this place he commenced to 
 practice in 1861, and remained five years, after which he opened 
 his office in Boston, Massachusetts, and practiced there for the 
 remaining twenty-two years of his life. He was said to be a 
 lawyer of good attainments, and stood well in his profession. 
 
 He was married, in Boston, to Elvira L. Hamlin, in March, 
 1866. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 747 
 
 JOHN H. WIGGINS. 
 Born, Pleasant Valley, New York, 1820 ; practiced, Dover ; died abroad. 
 
 This gentleman began to practice in Dover about the year 
 1844. Energetic, active, and acquainted with human nature, as 
 well as sufficiently educated in the law, he secured a practice of 
 some extent. In 1849 and 1852 he was a representative in the 
 legislature, and in 1850 a delegate to the constitutional conven- 
 tion. He appeared a good deal in the courts, and was rather a 
 forcible advocate ; and at one time was associated with John P. 
 Hale. Subsequently he was engaged in business schemes which 
 required him to give up his residence in Dover. For some time 
 he lived in Boston, Massachusetts ; in 1877 he was in practice 
 as an attorney in London, England, and it is believed that his 
 death took place in Paris, France. 
 
 His wife was Nancy D., daughter of Benjamin Wiggin of Dover. 
 They had one daughter. 
 
 JEDUTHUN WILCOX. 
 
 Son of John and Eunice (Norton) Wilcox ; born, Middletown, Connecticnt, 
 1769 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Orford ; died there, July 18, 1838. 
 
 The family tradition is that the paternal ancestors of Mr. Wil- 
 cox were sturdy Quakers. He spent his youth in the town of his 
 birth, and learned the trade of a saddler. At the age of nearly 
 thirty he pursued the study of the law under the direction of 
 Benjamin J. Gilbert at Hanover, and established himself in prac- 
 tice in Orford. 
 
 He was thoroughly read in his profession, and was especially 
 noted for his knowledge of pleading, a study then pursued with 
 more assiduity than now, when a " brief statement " does away 
 with the whole beautiful structure of plea, replication, rejoinder, 
 and so forth, and when the liberality of the law in granting 
 amendments puts the tyro nearly on a level with the most accom- 
 plished follower of Chitty. A good pleader was necessarily a 
 good lawyer, and such was Mr. Wilcox. He possessed a logical 
 mind, great readiness of speech, and an agreeable voice. For a 
 number of years he was the leading lawyer of his town and 
 vicinity. 
 
748 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He had likewise an inclination towards political life, and was 
 elected in 1809, 1810, and 1811 to the legislature of the State, 
 and in 1813 to the Congress of the United States, where he was 
 retained till 1817. 
 
 His career, legal and political, was checked by the failure of his 
 sense of hearing. He retired to his farm, on which he labored 
 with his men, and rarely appeared in public, except on town-meet- 
 ing days, when he took part in the discussion of any matters of 
 importance that came up for consideration, with his former vigor 
 and fluency, it is said. 
 
 He was married, at the age of about twenty-five, to Sarah Fisk 
 of Braintree, Massachusetts. After her death he was united to 
 Elizabeth Todd of Orford. By the former he had one son, who 
 became a lawyer and a judge ; by the latter six daughters. 
 
 JAMES McKEAN WILKINS. 
 
 Son of Jonathan and Siisannali (Towne) Wilkins ; born, Amherst, Decem- 
 ber 15, 1784 ; Dartmouth College, 1812 ; practiced, Bedford and Manchester; 
 died, Manchester, January 18, 1855. 
 
 James Wilkins was apprenticed at an early age to George 
 McKean of Amherst, from whom he took his middle name. 
 With him he removed into Maine, where he had no suitable 
 opportunity for instruction, so that at the age of nineteen he was 
 unable to write or read. Mortified by his ignorance, he formed 
 the resolution to acquire an education, and applied himself to 
 study. By perseverance and careful economy he succeeded in 
 obtaining a collegiate degree. He then taught schools for a few 
 years, and accomplished his term of legal study with Daniel 
 Abbott of Nashua, and Asahel Stearns of Massachusetts. 
 
 He commenced practice in Piscataquog village in Bedford in 
 1819, and remained there twenty years. He was representative 
 in 1836 and 1837 ; senator in 1838 and 1839, and president of 
 the Senate in the latter year ; and councilor in 1842 and 1843. 
 In 1840 he removed to Manchester. 
 
 He was a lawyer of very respectable talents and attainments, 
 and acquired a large business, chiefly of the " office " character, 
 which he made very profitable. At his death he bequeathed a 
 liberal sum for establishing a reformatory for juvenile offenders, 
 which, being supplemented by the needful appropriations on the 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 749 
 
 part of the State, resulted in the formation of the present State 
 Industrial School, a most useful and beneficial institution. 
 He never married. 
 
 ELIJAH WILLIAMS. 
 
 Son of Major Elisha Williams ; boru, Deerfield, Massachusetts, 1746 ; Har- 
 vard College, 1764 ; practiced, Keeiie ; died there, 1793. 
 
 This gentleman practiced in Deei-field, and in Mendon, Massa- 
 chusetts, before he came, about the year 1771, to Keene. Shortly 
 afterwards he received from Governor Wentworth the appoint- 
 ment of justice of the peace, and in 1773 Dartmouth College 
 conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts, which 
 was not improbably done at the suggestion of the same politic 
 governor. 
 
 As the political ferment which preceded the Revolution in- 
 creased, Mr. Williams's predilections all inclined to the royalist 
 side. In the winter of 1774 he brought an action against a citi- 
 zen of Keene, the writ running in the name of " George III., 
 by the grace of God king," etc. This was looked upon by the 
 liberty boys as an act of hostility to their cause, and a large body 
 of the people of Keene and vicinity immediately assembled, seized 
 Williams-, and conveyed him to a solitary barn in the fields, where 
 they compelled him to abandon the suit, and to promise that he 
 would issue no more writs in the king's name. 
 
 Early in 1775 he took refuge within the British lines, and is 
 stated to have become soon after the battle of Lexington an 
 officer in the royal army. He was afterwards proscribed, and his 
 estate confiscated by the legislature. 
 
 In the year 1784 he came back to Keene to settle his affairs. 
 Some zealous Whigs, exasperated at his return, and not improb- 
 ably instigated by his debtors, seized him and took him before a 
 justice, who ordered him to recognize for his appearance at the 
 next Court of Sessions. He was committed to the custody of the 
 sheriff, who had some difficulty, even with the aid of the orderly 
 citizens, in protecting him from violence. His opponents after- 
 wards got him into their power, and barely refrained from admin- 
 istering to him corporal chastisement with a couple of bundles of 
 birch rods. Poor Williams, after a pretty severe hustling, man- 
 aged to make his escape through the hostile crowd, on horseback. 
 
750 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 When he appeared at court, an order was made that he should 
 remain in the keeping of the sheriff until he had transacted his 
 business, and then " be permitted to leave the State on his good 
 behavior, without further molestation." Having no desire to pro- 
 long his stay here, he soon adjusted his affairs, and repaired to 
 Nova Scotia. Shortly afterwards, his health failing, he returned 
 to Deerfield, Massachusetts, and there died, a bachelor. 
 
 GEORGE CANNING WILLIAMS. 
 
 Sou of Hon. Jared W. and Sarah H. (Bacon) Williams ; born, Lancaster, 
 August 7, 1827 ; Dartmouth College, 1844 ; admitted, 1848 ; practiced, Lan- 
 caster ; died there, December 10, 1865. 
 
 The youngest of his class in college, and as a scholar among the 
 best third of it, Mr. Williams had everything in his favor for 
 success in the world. He studied law in his father's office, and 
 commenced practice in Lancaster. He was thoroughly qualified 
 for his vocation, and served some years as solicitor of the county ; 
 was well started in political life as clerk of the state Senate, as 
 representative from Lancaster in 1859 and 1860, and as commis- 
 sioner of state lands in 1858. He was a trustee of Lancaster 
 Academy, Grand Master of the Odd Fellows of the State , and a 
 prominent Freemason ; was popular, and apparently had the ball 
 at his feet. But the very qualities which gave him his popularity 
 led him into temptation, and he yielded to convivial habits which 
 but too surely in later life degenerated into intemperance. 
 
 He never married. 
 
 JAEED WARNER WILLIAMS, LL. D. 
 
 Son of Captain Andrew Williams ; born, Woodstock, Connecticut, Decem- 
 ber 22, 1796 ; Brown University, 1818 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, 
 September 29, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Williams studied law with Governor Stoddard and at the 
 Litchfield Law School in Connecticut, and went into practice in 
 Guildhall, Vermont, in 1822. Two years later he removed to 
 Lancaster. He early evinced an inclination for political life. He 
 was a register of Probate from 1829 to 1837, representative in the 
 legislature from Lancaster in 1830 and 1831, and in 1836 and 
 1837 ; state senator in 1832, 1833, and 1834, and the last two of 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 751 
 
 those years president of the Senate; member of Congress two 
 terms, serving from 1837 to 1841 ; governor of the State in 1847 
 and 1848 ; Judge of Probate, 1852-53 ; senator of the United 
 States by appointaient of the governor, 1853-54. 
 
 Though he was not impelled by necessity to slave at the law, as 
 he inherited property, yet he was a persistent, painstaking prac- 
 titioner. He had peculiar skill in drawing affidavits, so that he 
 rarely failed to obtain a continuance of a case that was not ready 
 for trial. One of the wits of the bar, when the Miller infatuation 
 of the immediate coming of the end of the world was at its height, 
 remarked that if Mr. Williams were employed to attend to it, he 
 would be sure to get a continuance of it ! 
 
 Governor Williams was possessed of very marked abilities, and 
 of rare qualifications for a political career. His personal charac- 
 ter was unblemished, his social qualities were winning, and he was 
 an adroit manager. In his long course of public service he made 
 few mistakes and few enemies. The honorary degree of A. M. 
 was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College in 1825, and that 
 of LL. D. by his Alma Mater in 1852. He accepted the honors, 
 official and literary, which time brought him, without ostentation 
 and without vanity. 
 
 He was married, in 1824, to Sarah Howes Bacon, of Wood- 
 stock, Connecticut, and had two sons, both bred to the law. 
 
 ALONZO BOWMAN WILLIAMSON. 
 
 Son of Frederic and Mary (Darling) Williamson ; born, Woodstock, Ver- 
 mont, December 20, 1815 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Claremont and Cor- 
 nish ; died, Claremont, March 19, 1860. 
 
 Mr. Williamson was educated at the academy in his native 
 town, and studied law under the direction of Philander C. Free- 
 man in Claremont. He practiced in Claremont from 1842 to 
 1844, and tben transferred his office to Cornish ; but a year after- 
 wards, upon receiving the appointment of postmaster at Clare- 
 mont, he returned there, and administered the office four years. 
 In 1850 he was commissioned solicitor for Sullivan County, and 
 served his term of five years. He was elected a member of the 
 state Senate in 1852 and 1853. 
 
 He was a person of good ability and a respectable advocate, 
 but of intemperate habits, it is said. He was quite a politician. 
 
762 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 thougli not to the neglect of his business. He appeared not in- 
 frequently in the courts, but had rather a preference for the man- 
 agement of " justice cases." 
 
 He married Sarah Ann Blake of Bellows Falls, Vermont, in 
 1844, and had three children. 
 
 ARCHELAUS WILSON. 
 
 Son of Captain Asa (?) Wilson ; born, Nelson, May 18, 1817 ; Yale College, 
 1844 ; practiced, Manchester ; died, Jifew Britain, Connecticut, February 26, 
 1862. 
 
 Kimball Union Academy furnished Mr. Wilson his preparation 
 for college. He fitted himself for his profession in the Harvard 
 Law School and that at Hartford, Connecticut, and practiced in 
 Manchester from 1847 to 1852. From that city he proceeded to 
 Boston, Massachusetts, for some six years, and then to New York, 
 where he was in practice to near the time of his decease. He is 
 remembered in New Hampshire as a highly respectable practi- 
 tioner, with a moderate business. 
 
 He married Julia H. Andrews, at New Britain, Connecticut, 
 October 9, 1848. 
 
 HUBBARD WILSON. 
 
 Son of Colonel Stephen Wilson ; born, Lancaster, e. 1790 ; Middlebury Col- 
 lege, 1813 ; admitted, 1817 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, o. 1820. 
 
 Mr. Wilson qualified himself for entrance to the bar in the 
 office of Samuel A. Pearson of Lancaster, and settled in that 
 town in practice about 1817. He lived but a few years after- 
 wards, adding another to the many victims of that scourge of 
 northern climates, — consumption. 
 
 He was unmarried. 
 
 JAMES WILSON. 
 
 Son of Major Robert and Mary (Hodge) Wilson ; born, Peterborough, 
 August 16, 1766 ; Harvard College, 1789 ; admitted, 1792 ; practiced, Peter- 
 borough and Keene ; died, Keene, January 4, 1839. 
 
 Scotch-Irish blood filled the veins of James Wilson. He owed 
 his education to his mother, a superior woman, it is said. At 
 Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, he pursued his 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 753 
 
 preparatory studies, and he qualified himself for the har in the 
 office of Levi Lincoln of Worcester, Massachusetts, and that of 
 Jeremiah Smith in Peterborough. Beginning to practice in that 
 town in 1792, he remained till 1815, when he removed to Keene, 
 having an office also at Stoddard for a little time. 
 
 He had some experience in political life, serving as representa- 
 tive in the state legislature from Peterborough between 1803 and 
 1814, nine, years, and as representative in Congress from 1809 to 
 1811. He cared little for office, however ; he looked out, first 
 of all, for his own interests. He was particularly fortunate in the 
 acquisition of property. He was sometimes styled the " Earl of 
 Stoddard," he owned so large a part of the land in that township. 
 But he was capable of generosity. When Amasa Edes was a lad 
 in his office, Wilson urged him to get a collegiate education, offer- 
 ing to lend him the necessary means for it. " But what if I 
 should never be able to repay you ? " inquired Edes. " I don't 
 care," replied Wilson, " I 'm able to lose it." 
 
 He was a very able lawyer, and an eloquent advocate. His 
 preparation of his cases was thorough, and he was sometimes 
 charged with " drilling " his witnesses. John C. Chamberlain 
 was his frequent opponent. On one occasion Chamberlain was 
 fairly sworn out of a case by testimony unexpectedly produced 
 by Wils,on. " Your witnesses swore well," said Chamberlain, 
 " can't I hire them for my next case ? " " Can't spare them 
 myself," was Wilson's reply. 
 
 He used to tilt with Jeremiah Smith occasionally. Once while 
 they were journeying together, on horseback, Wilson rode on 
 ahead, and meeting a stranger passed himself off to him as Smith, 
 then a member of Congress. When the two attorneys stopped 
 for the night, Wilson related, in the presence of some friends, 
 what a great dignitary he had been mistaken for. " Oh, no," 
 said Smith. " The man knew better ; he said, ' You Jerry Smith ? 
 Why, he 's a respectable man ! ' " 
 
 A man of the name of Smith being arraigned in court for a 
 criminal offense, Wilson asked Smith how it was that so many 
 offenders happened to have his name. " Easily explained," re- 
 plied the other. " They want an honest name to be tried by, and 
 so give the name of Smith, but on inquiry it will generally turn 
 out that their true name is Wilson ! " 
 
 Mr. Wilson's perception was quick and keen, and his feelings 
 43 
 
754 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 were easily moved. He is said to have had the art of exciting 
 the emotions of his auditors and swaj'ing them at pleasure ; he 
 could make them laugh, and at a turn of his hand he could move 
 them to tears. It was through this gift that he was most success- 
 ful in his appeals to the jury. John C. Chamberlain inquired of 
 him why he did not address the reason instead of the feelings of 
 jurors. " Too small a mark," replied Wilson, — " too small a 
 mark for me to hit ! " 
 
 His wife was Elizabeth Steele, who became the mother of sev- 
 eral children, the eldest of whom followed his father's calling. 
 
 JAMES WILSON, JE. 
 
 Son of Hon. James and Elizabeth (Steele) Wilson ; born, Peterborough, 
 March 18, 1797 ; Middlebury College, 1820 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, 
 Keene ; died there. May 29, 1881. 
 
 Young Wilson was sent from home to study at various acade- 
 mies, from the age of nine to sixteen. He then longed to enter 
 the military service, in the war of 1812, but could not obtain his 
 father's consent. Disappointed, he began to work in the cotton 
 factory at Peterborough. On his father's removal to Keene in 
 1815, he resumed his studies and completed his education. He 
 read law with his father. Being vigorous, bodily and mentally, 
 his father was soon ready to resign to him the chief of his law 
 practice. He attended the courts of Sullivan, Grafton, and Coos 
 counties, as well as Cheshire, tried causes and carried on a large 
 business ten or twelve years, till the failing strength of his father 
 required his presence at home. After that he confined his busi- 
 ness to Cheshire County alone. 
 
 He was fond of military pursuits, and rose from the rank of 
 the captain of the Keene Light Infantry to that of major-general 
 of militia. Politics presented a strong attraction to him. He 
 was chosen representative in the legislature every year from 1825 
 to 1832, and from 1834 to 1837, and four years at later dates. In 
 1828 he was Speaker of the House, and in 1838 and 1839 he was 
 the unsuccessful candidate for the governorship. In 1840 he was 
 a delegate to the convention which nominated William H. Har- 
 rison for the presidency, and during the succeeding political cam- 
 paign proved himself to be one of the most eloquent and effective 
 popular speakers of his time. His qualifications for this were 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 755 
 
 unequaled. His physique was on a majestic scale ; his voice was 
 sonorous ; his language was the purest vernacular ; his logic had 
 the grip of a vise ; he was always prodigiously in earnest. His 
 illustrations and witty sallies were irresistible, and he often broke 
 out in strains of bold and moving eloquence. The common peo- 
 ple like a pet name for their favorites ; they called him " Long 
 Jim." Throughout New England and the Middle States he was 
 known and welcomed with enthusiasm " on the stump." 
 
 In the Harrison campaign, as he was about to begin an outdoor 
 harangue, a shower came up and threatened to disperse the audi- 
 ence. He deliberately pulled off his coat (as usual) and began : 
 " The only rain that I have any fear of is the reign of Martin 
 Van Buren ! " He had hearers enough after that. In some of 
 the States farther west it was the fashion for both parties to hold 
 public meetings on the same day, and to have their speakers' 
 stands not far apart ; but this 'was found bad for his opponents, 
 for he captivated the entire crowd, and on one occasion left not 
 a solitary listener for the other side. 
 
 He was elected a representative in Congress in 1847 and 1849, 
 and resigned his seat in 1850 to emigrate to California, in the 
 hope of finding his fortune there, but returned in 1861 no richer 
 pecuniarily than when he went away. President Lincoln offered 
 him a brigadier-general's commission, but he was then sixty-seven, 
 and he wisely determined that he could aid the cause of the Union 
 more with his voice and influence than with the sword. His re- 
 ception by the new generation of his native State was marked by 
 the highest enthusiasm, and he rendered yeoman service to the 
 country in filling her armies with young men of character and 
 intelligence. 
 
 Again he visited California, and then returned to pass the 
 evening of life among his family, in the home of his youth. He 
 is remembered less as a lawyer than as a popular orator. Yet for 
 years he was at the head of the bar in his section of the State. 
 In the court-room, on the hustings, before any assembly, he could 
 always touch the feelings of his audience. At the first festival of 
 the Sons of New Hampshire in Boston in 1849, he was assigned 
 to respond to the sentiment, — " The families which we left be- 
 hind." The speeches, thus far, were excellent, but rather formal. 
 But when General Wilson rose to speak, the tones of his hearty, 
 sympathetic voice roused the feelings of his audience, and his 
 
756 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 touching picture of the " old folks at home " stirred every heart 
 to its depths. " We will go back," said he, " and tell the mothers 
 and sisters how well the boys behave when they go away from 
 home ! " It was like the notes of the " Kanz des vaches " to the 
 exiled Switzer, — it was the speech which gave voice to the genu- 
 ine feeling of all hearts, and was welcomed with cheering, earnest, 
 prolonged, and again and again renewed. 
 
 General Wilson was united in marriage, November 26, 1823, to 
 Mary L. Richardson of Montpelier, Vermont. She died in 1848. 
 They were the parents of eight children, of whom a son and three 
 daughters survived him. One of the daughters is the wife of 
 Francis S. Fiske, who was bred to the legal profession. 
 
 JOHN MoNEIL WILSON. 
 
 Son of James and Mary (McNeil) Wilson ; bom, Francestown, Novemter 
 12, 1802 ; practiced, Bedford ; died, Chicago, Illinois, December 7, 1883. 
 
 This gentleman, after preparatory study at the Francestown 
 Academy, entered Dartmouth College in 1819, and left it in a year 
 on account of ill health. After a short interval he was persuaded 
 to spend awhile in Bowdoin College, but with a like result. He 
 then tried trade, which he found irksome, and he qualified himself 
 for the bar in the office of Edmund Parker at Amherst, and at 
 the law school in New Haven, Connecticut. Two years he prac- 
 ticed in Bedford, 1829 and 1830, and then removed to Lowell, 
 Massachusetts, to become a partner in practice with John A. 
 Knowles for about four years. Thence he went to Illinois, first 
 to Joliet, with the design of following some active employment, 
 but his talents for the law inevitably carried him to Chicago. 
 There he became a noted counsel of a few railroad corporations ; 
 and in 1853 was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for 
 Cook County, and six years later. Chief Justice of the Superior 
 Court of Chicago. He retired from active business in 1868. He 
 was regarded as a lawyer of the highest ability ; and it was said 
 that he had no superior, if an equal, on any bench in Illinois. 
 
 He married, in 1838, Martha A. Appleton of Lowell, Massachu- 
 setts. Of their five children, one is a member of the Chicago bar. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 757 
 
 JOHN WINGATE. 
 
 Born, Ossipee, October, 1831 ; Bowdoin College, 1855 ; practiced, Wolfe- 
 borough ; died, St. Louis, Missouri, November, 1881. 
 
 After his graduation Mr. Wingate was for a time a teacher in 
 Wolfeborough, and then turned his attention to legal study. He 
 was in the practice in Wolfeborough from about 1862 to 1866, and 
 then proceeded to Washington, District of Columbia," where he 
 was appointed to a clerkship in one of the departments. He after- 
 wards removed to St. Louis, Missouri, to resume the practice of 
 his profession. He is said to have been prominent in Free- 
 masonry. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. WINKLEY. 
 
 Son of Benjamin Winkley ; born, Barnstead ; practiced, Barnstead and 
 Strafford ; died, Strafford, c. 1869. 
 
 This gentleman was a legal practitioner in the adjoining towns 
 of Barnstead and Strafford for several years between 1843 and 
 1849, after which he appears to have confined himself to Strafford, 
 until his decease, about 1869. His business was not large, nor 
 was he a lawyer of note. 
 
 JAMES ANCRUM WINSLOW. 
 
 Son of Admiral John A. Winslow ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, April 29, 
 1839 ; Harvard College, 1859 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, Littleton ; died, 
 Binghamton, New York, June 27, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Winslow was fitted for college at the Boston and the Rox- 
 bury Latin schools, and studied law in the Virginia Law School. 
 He enlisted in a Massachusetts volunteer regiment in 1862, and in 
 1864 and 1865 served as a first lieutenant in the Second Massa- 
 chusetts Volunteers. After some experience in his calling in 
 Massachusetts, he came to Littleton in 1867, practiced there less 
 than a year, and was then admitted to the bar of New York. He 
 was a bright political speaker, of rather irregular habits. 
 
 He never married. 
 
758 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 ELIJAH WOLLAGE. 
 
 Born, Bernardstoii, Massachusetts, 1769 ; Dartmouth College, 1791 ; ad- 
 mitted, 1803 ; practiced, Westmoreland ; died, Starkey, New York, July 18, 
 1847. 
 
 Mr. Wollage first studied divinity, and was ordained pastor of 
 the Congregational church in Guilford, Vermont, in 1793, and 
 dismissed "in 1797. He next settled in Cambridge, Vermont, but 
 about this time determined to change his profession for that of the 
 law. He was practicing in Westmoreland in 1802, stayed there a 
 few years, and was somewhat influential in town affairs, but re- 
 sumed his pastoral connection in 1811 at Guilford. In 1818 he 
 was minister of Rockingham, Vermont ; then of Pulteney, New 
 York, and finally was stated supply at Wheeler and Starkey, New 
 York, until his death. 
 
 He was married. 
 
 ALVA WOOD. 
 
 Son of John and Eunice (Stickney) Wood ; born, Georgetown, Massachu- 
 setts, August 18, 1821 ; practiced, Exeter ; died there, February 17, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Wood was educated in the public schools of his native 
 town, and at the academy in Pembroke. He studied law in the 
 office of James Bell and Amos Tuck of Exeter, and commenced 
 to practice in that town about 1848. Though he had to contend 
 with the disadvantage of an imperfect early training, he enjoyed 
 vigorous health, and high courage. Few of the lawyers of his 
 county had a larger docket of cases in the courts than his, for a 
 considerable series of years. He was remarkable for his tenacity 
 of purpose. Every rebuff he bore good-naturedly, and with a 
 soft answer that. turned away wrath. 
 
 It may be truly said that he made the most of himself and of 
 his opportunities, and among his assopiates he left none but pleas- 
 ant memories. 
 
 He married Mary F., daughter of John C. Gerrish of Exeter, 
 November 30, 1854, and left a son and two daughters. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 759 
 
 CHARLES HOWE WOODBURY. 
 
 Son of Dr. Peter P. and Eliza B. (Gordon) Woodbury ; born, Bedford, 
 March 10, 1840 ; admitted, 1863 ; practiced, Manchester ; died, Bedford, 
 September 12, 1893. 
 
 This was a nephew of Judge Levi Woodbury. Eeceiving an 
 academical education, and with some experience as a teacher, he 
 pursued his legal studies at the Harvard Law School and with Her- 
 man Foster of Manchester, whose partner he became, for about a 
 year. Then he removed to New York city, and became a member 
 of the law firm of Churchill and Woodbury, and led the life of an 
 active and successful lav>nyrer for the succeeding thirty years. He 
 sustained a high rank in his profession, as well as in political and 
 social life, but declined judicial and congressional honors which 
 were within his reach. His moral and religious character was 
 unblemished. 
 
 Dartmouth College in 1879 gave him the degree of A. M. 
 
 He was joined in marriage in April, 1863, to Frances, daughter 
 of John A. McGaw of New York. 
 
 JAMES TRASK WOODBURY. 
 
 Son of Hon. Peter and Mary (Woodbury) Woodbury ; born, Francestown, 
 May 9, 1803 ; Harvard College, 1823 ; practiced, Bath ; died, Milford, Mas- 
 sachusetts, January 16, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Woodbury received his college preparation at the academies 
 at Francestown and Exeter, studied law with his brother, Levi 
 Woodbury, in Portsmouth, and went to Bath to begin practice. 
 About three years after his settlement in Bath his attention was 
 strongly directed to religious subjects, and this together with his 
 distaste for a legal life induced him to change his profession for 
 that of the ministry. He accordingly studied divinity, and, being 
 ordained August 29, 1832, was settled as pastor over the church 
 in Acton, Massachusetts. 
 
 In 1851 and 1852 he represented that town in the General 
 .Court of the commonwealth, with special reference to the pro- 
 curing of an appropriation for the erection of a monument in 
 Acton to commemorate the services of Captain Isaac Davis, one 
 of its citizens who fell in the fight at Concord bridge, at the 
 
760 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 opening of the Revolution. The chief credit of carrying the 
 measure through the legislature is attributed to Mr. Woodbury. 
 He exhibited the trappings which the early martyr for liberty had 
 worn, and the marks made by the fatal bullet, and in a speech of 
 two hours' length — the only speech he ever made in a legislative 
 assembly — he carried his hearers with him, and the appropriation 
 of two thousand dollars was voted by a large majority. 
 
 He is said to have possessed a genial nature, with fine social 
 feelings, which endeared him to a large circle of friends. His 
 labors in the ministry were also earnest and successful. 
 
 He" was married in 1826 to Augusta, daughter of Jonathan 
 Porter of Medford, Massachusetts. They had three children. 
 
 LUKE WOODBURY. 
 
 Son of Mark and Alice (Boyd) Woodbury ; born, Antrim, December 25, 
 1800 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Hancock and 
 Antrim ; died, Antrim, August 27, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Woodbury read law in the office of Edmund Parker at 
 Amherst. In 1824 he began to practice in Hancock, but after a 
 year or two returned to Antrim. In 1833 and 1835 he repre- 
 sented that town in the legislature, and in December of the latter 
 year he received the appointment of Judge of Probate for Hills- 
 borough County, and administered the office to the time of his 
 death. 
 
 Judge Woodbury was noted as singularly honest and truthful ; 
 his schoolmates said of him, — " You can't trust any deviltry with 
 Luke ! " He was quiet and unobtrusive, as well as diffident and 
 self-distrustful, but his abilities were said to have been equal to 
 almost any position. As a lawyer he was quite above mediocrity, 
 and he gave pntire satisfaction as Judge of Probate. Though 
 not an active politician, he possessed the confidence of his party 
 in a high degree, and had received the nomination for the of- 
 fice of governor of the State ; but he did not live to witness the 
 election. 
 
 June 10, 1834, he was married to Mary E. Wallace of An- 
 trim. He left no children. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 761 
 
 SAMUEL WOODBURY. 
 
 Son of William and Hannah (Kelley) Woodbury ; born, Salem, December 
 21, ITSi ; Dartmouth College, 1811 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died in Groton, 
 Massachusetts, July 6, 1819. 
 
 After his graduation Mr. Woodbury became the preceptor of 
 Lawreuce Academy, in Groton, Massachusetts, for a year, and 
 then pursued his law studies in the office of William M. Richard- 
 son, then of Groton, and of Luther Lawrence of Lowell, Massa- 
 chusetts, and went into practice in Portsmouth. 
 
 Soon afterwards he resolved to change his profession, and 
 began the study of divinity with his cousin. Rev. Francis Brown, 
 and succeeded him, November 6, 1817, in the ministry of North 
 Yarmouth, Maine. Before two years had elapsed, his health began 
 to fail, and he was obliged to leave his pastoral charge. He 
 made a journey in the hope of regaining his health, but to no 
 purpose. 
 
 He married Mary, daughter of Samuel Lawrence of Groton, 
 July 28, 1818, who survived him. They had one daughter. 
 
 EDWARD WHITESIDE WOODDELL. 
 
 Born, Granville, New York, October 6, 1817 ; practiced, Claremont and 
 Unity ; died. Unity, October 20, 1889. 
 
 This gentleman received his elementary and legal education 
 in the State of New York, and there practiced in Washington 
 County some years before he came to New Hampshire. In 1849 
 he settled in Claremont, and continued in the practice of his pro- 
 fession in that town twenty years. A pulmonary disease and loss 
 of voice obliged him to quit the active duties of the law, and in 
 1869 he removed to a farm in Unity, and devoted some part of his 
 time to literary pursuits. His talent as a versifier was above 
 mediocrity, as may be seen in his " Christmas Eve," published in 
 the " Poets of New Hampshire." 
 
 He had a good deal of natural ability, was a ready talker, and 
 could make a very effective speech. He was more inclined to 
 farming than to the law, however, and did not have much practice 
 in his profession. 
 
 In 1863 and 1864 he was a representative from Claremont in 
 the legislature, and became well known in the State. 
 
762 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 He married Maiy A. Nelson in 1846, who died, with their two 
 daughters ; and in 1886 he was again married to Hattie A. Leslie 
 of Plymouth, Vermont, who bore him one daughter. 
 
 CHARLES WOODMAN. 
 
 Son of Rev. Joseph and Esther (Whittemore) Hall Woodman ; born, San- 
 bornton, January 9, 1792 ; Dartmouth College, 1813 ; admitted, 1816 ; prac- 
 ticed, Dover ; died there, October 31, 1822. 
 
 When a lad of five years, young Woodman lost his right hand. - 
 This accident incapacitated him for manual occupations, but 
 perhaps determined for him the course in life which was most con- 
 genial to him. He obtained his legal education with his brother, 
 Jeremiah H. Woodman, at Rochester, and with Governor Christo- 
 pher Gore at Boston. In 1816 he commenced practice at Dover. 
 He was a stirring, shrewd, generous man, of marked ability, and 
 soon brought himself into notice and popularity. He developed 
 a taste for politics, and was a representative in the legislature 
 from Dover in 1820, 1821, and 1822, in which last year he 
 was chosen Speaker of the House. At the same time he was 
 a candidate for the office of representative in Congress with a 
 moral certainty of being elected ; when in the midst of his bright 
 prospects, his career was suddenly terminated by death. All 
 accounts represent him as a man of much capacity and high 
 promise, and his premature decease was regarded as a serious loss 
 to the community. 
 
 He was married, first, to Mary W., daughter of Joseph Gage 
 of Dover, in June, 1818. She lived but a single year, and 
 November 5, 1821, he was united to Dorothy Dix, daughter of 
 Hon. John Wheeler of Dover. The latter survived him, with one 
 son. 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM WOODMAN. 
 
 Sou of Jeremiah H. and Sarah (Chase) Woodman ; born, Rochester, De- 
 cember 7, 1809 ; Dartmouth College, 1829 ; admitted, 1833 ; practiced, Som- 
 ersworth and Dover ; died, Dover, January 24, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Woodman was fitted for the bar in the offices of his father, 
 of Ichabod Bartlett in Portsmouth, and of Richard Bartlett in 
 Boston, Massachusetts. In 1833 he went to Great Falls Village 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 763 
 
 in Somersworth to practice, but the next year moved to Dover, 
 where for more than half a century he kept his office open for 
 clients. In 1839 he received the commissioia of solicitor for 
 Strafford County. Two years after its expiration he was ap- 
 pointed Judge of Probate, and performed the duties of the office 
 until 1853. The succeeding year he was made a Justice of the 
 Circuit Court of Common Pleas, and remained upon the bench 
 until that court was abolished. He was a commissioner of the 
 Circuit Court of the United States, it is stated, for over thirty 
 years. He was also a representative in the state legislature in 
 1861 and 1862, and again in 1878 and 1879. In 1862 he was 
 commissioned a paymaster of United States Volunteers, and re- 
 signed in 1863. 
 
 He was an excellent " all round " lawyer, and acquitted himself 
 creditably in all the positions he held. Well balanced, with good 
 legal learning, courteous, patient, and judicious, his demeanor and 
 his decisions gave general satisfaction. Though not brilliant, he 
 was discriminating and sensible. His impartiality and upright- 
 ness and honorable intentions impressed every one with respect. 
 
 His first marriage occurred October 6, 1840, to Charlotte A., 
 daughter of Stephen Pearse of Portsmouth ; his second, June 6, 
 1866, to Frances J., daughter of John J. Soren of Roxbury, Mas- 
 sachusetts. By his first marriage he had four children, of whom 
 only two daughters outlived him. 
 
 DANIEL CARLTON WOODMAN. 
 
 Son of Daniel and Eunice (Crockett) Woodman ; born, Laeonia, December 
 13, 1830 ; admitted, 1859 ; practiced, Laeonia ; died there, March 19, 1866. 
 
 This gentleman received his education at Gilford Academy in 
 Laeonia, and studied law with Stephen C. Lyford, and with 
 Elkins and Stevens in the same place. Commencing practice 
 there in 1859, he became and remained for three or four years 
 a partner with William L. Avery. In 1863 he enlisted in the 
 First Eegiment of New Hampshire Heavy Artillery, and served 
 until he was discharged, October 19, 1864, to accept promotion as 
 first lieutenant of the Thirteenth United States Colored Troops, 
 which office he resigned June 12, 1865. 
 
 During Mr. Woodman's short connection with the bar he did 
 not give his whole attention to his profession, but was a farmer 
 
764 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 also. He is represented as possessed of quite average ability, and 
 was interested in education, serving as superintending school com- 
 mittee of his town. 
 
 He was married, October 8, 1853, to Betsey L. Peabody, at 
 Laconia, and had four children. 
 
 EDGAR HOEACE WOODMAN. 
 
 Son of Join K. and Mary J. (Drew) Woodman ; born, Gilmanton, May 6, 
 1847 ; admitted, 1873 ; practiced, Concord ; died there, March 21, 1892. 
 
 Fitted for college at the academies in Gilmanton andBoscawen, 
 Mr. Woodman afterwards prepared himself for a business life at 
 a commercial institution, and for several years occupied positions 
 of responsibility of that character. Then he studied the law with 
 Minot, Toppan, and Mugridge at Concord, and began practice in 
 that city. He was chosen mayor of Concord in 1883 and 1884, 
 and his record in that position was satisfactory to all parties, in 
 respect to his honesty, fidelity, and efficiency. He was treasurer 
 of the Peterborough and Hillsborough and of the Franklin rail- 
 roads ; director and treasurer of the Concord Gas-Light Company ; 
 director of the First National and president of the Mechanics' 
 National banks, and held other trusts indicative of the confidence 
 reposed in his business capacity and uprightness. 
 
 He is said to have had the qualities which would have made 
 him an able advocate, but preferred the biisiness side of the law, 
 and his sound judgment, discretion, and industry gave him great 
 facility and success therein. He was honorable, public-spirited, 
 generous, and at his death left no enemy behind him. 
 
 His first wife, married May 6, 1878, was Georgiana Hodges 
 of Boston, Massachusetts, who died within a year ; his second was 
 Elizabeth B., daughter of Hon. William L. Foster of Concord, 
 whom he married April 20, 1886, and who bore him one daughter. 
 
 JEREMIAH HALL WOODMAN. 
 
 Son of Rev. Joseph and Esther (Whittemore) Hall Woodman ; born, San- 
 bornton, April 15, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; admitted, 1799 ; prac- 
 ticed, Warner, Meredith, and Rochester ; died, Rochester, May 8, 1854. 
 
 Mr. Woodman is said to have been the second scholar of his 
 college class. He taught the academy at Hallowell, Maine, for 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 765 
 
 two years, and then studied law in the offices of Thomas W. 
 Thompson of Salisbury and of Jeremiah Smith of Ejfeter. He 
 opened his own office, first, in Warner in 1799, then in Meredith 
 in 1800, where he remained six years, and at length in Rochester, 
 his final home. 
 
 In the half century of his active life he carried on an extensive 
 legal business w^ith diligence, skill, and success, he contributed 
 largely to the promotion of education and agriculture in his 
 vicinity, and in private life was a model parent, rearing a large 
 family to usefulness and respectability, and dispensing a bountiful 
 hospitality. It was largely through his efforts that the schools of 
 Rochester were provided vs^ith the most competent instructors ; he 
 aided in establishing the academy at Wolfeborough, and was the 
 first president of its board of trustees. He took an active part in 
 organizing the earliest agricultural society in Strafford County, of 
 which he became president, and he was for a long time an active 
 director of the old StrafFord Bank. 
 
 Instead of encouraging litigation among his neighbors, he strove 
 to adjust their differences by amicable settlement. In 1823 and 
 1824, though a staunch Federalist, he was chosen a representative 
 in the legislature from- a Democratic town. 
 
 Mr. Woodman was united in marriage, in 1806, to Sarah 
 Chase of Portsmouth. They had nine children who lived to 
 maturity, two of whom became lawyers of New Hampshire. 
 
 • 
 
 JOHN SMITH WOODMAN. 
 
 Son of Nathan and Abigail H. (Chesley) Woodman ; born, Durham, Sep- 
 tember 6, 1819 ; Dartmouth College, 1842 ; admitted, 1848 ; practiced, Dover 
 and Rollinsford ; died, Durham, May 9, 1871. 
 
 From the academy at South Berwick, Maine, Mr. Woodman 
 made his entrance into college, from which he graduated with 
 high marks for scholarship, particularly in mathematics. He was 
 four years a teacher in Charleston, South Carolina, and thence 
 made an extended tour in Europe, returning to New Hampshire 
 to complete the law studies which he had already begun, with 
 John A. Richardson of Durham and Daniel M. Christie of Dover. 
 He entered the practice in Dover, but after a few months mofed 
 to Salmon Falls village in Rollinsford. His business was not 
 extensive, but gave promise of his future prominence. 
 
766 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 In January, 1871, the chair of mathematics in Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, to which was afterwards added the professorship of civil 
 engineering in the Chandler Scientific School, tempted him to 
 quit the law, and he never afterwards resumed it in this State. He 
 was an admirable professor, and labored with zeal to elevate the 
 standard of scholarship in the institutions with which be was con- 
 nected, and to secure pecuniary benefactions therefor. At his 
 decease he bequeathed the reversion of twenty thousand dollars 
 to the object. He was moreover of great advantage to the State 
 in the office of commissioner of education, which he held some 
 years, and in which he labored with assiduity and success. 
 
 He married, December 10, 1848, Mary Ann Pendexter, daugh- 
 ter of Stephen P. Chesley of Durham. They had one daughter, 
 who died in childhood. 
 
 THEODOEE CHASE WOODMAN. 
 
 Son of Hon. Jeremiah Hall and Sarah (Chase) Woodman ; born, Rochester, 
 April 10, 1815 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Haver- 
 hill ; died, Bucksport, Maine, June 13, 1886. 
 
 Prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy, Mr.. 
 Woodman was fitted for the legal profession under Noah Tebbets 
 of Rochester, and Daniel M. Christie of Dover. He went first 
 to Haverhill to practice, but remained only two years, and then 
 removed to Bucksport, Maine, wljpre his principal life-work was 
 done. He was a lawyer of note and of high character, was a 
 representative in the legislature of the State three years, and 
 Speaker in 1868, and a member of the executive council in 1854. 
 
 He took to wife. May 16, 1843, Mary J., daughter of Deacon 
 Henry Darling of Bucksport, Maine, and had a son and three 
 daughters. 
 
 GEORGE WOODWARD. 
 
 Son of Professor Bezaleel and Mary (Wheelock) Woodward ; born, Han- 
 over, August 20, 1776 ; Dartmouth College, 1793 ; practiced, Haverhill ; 
 died, Lowell, Massachusetts, December 5, 1836. 
 
 Taking his bachelor's degree at the age of seventeen, Mr. 
 Woodward first engaged in trade. He was treasurer of Dart- 
 mouth College from 1803 to 1805, in which latter year he removed 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 767 
 
 to Haverhill to practice the law which he had studied, probably in 
 Hanover. He was there given the place of cashier of the Coos 
 Bank, which brought him little advantage, as he was afterwards 
 sued by the bank. He employed Jeremiah Mason as his counsel. 
 As the court was about to come on in which the suit was to be 
 tried, Mason visited his client to make the requisite preparation. 
 He found him engaged in singing sacred< music. This was not 
 altogether to the great lawyer's mind. " Come," said he ; " we 
 must go over your evidence." " Let 's sing another psalm," was 
 Woodward's reply. He was a deeply religious man, and devoted 
 to psalmody. 
 
 He was a successful collecting lawyer, but his practice in the 
 courts was somewhat limited. In 1828 he removed from New 
 Hampshire to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he was made clerk 
 of the city council. The historian of Haverhill terms him " a 
 man of prominence and high character." 
 
 He was married, first, to Elizabeth, daughter of Captain David 
 Webster of Plymouth ; second, to Lydia her sister ; and third, 
 to Elizabeth, daughter of William Leverett of Windsor, Vermont, 
 January, 1816. He left several children. 
 
 WILLIAM H. WOODWARD. 
 
 Son of Professor Bezaleel and Mary (Wheelock) Woodward ; born, Han- 
 over, September 17, 1774 ; Dartmouth College, 1792 ; practiced, Hanover ; 
 died there, August 9, 1818. 
 
 This was a grandson of the founder of Dartmouth College, and 
 was the first male child born on Hanover Plain. He was au 
 attornej' in Hanover as early as 1793, and was an able man and a 
 good lawyer, though somewhat given to technicalities. In 1805 
 he was made treasurer of the college, and secretary of the board of 
 trustees. In 1813 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas for the western circuit, and on a modification 
 of the judiciary in 1816, Chief Justice of the same court for the 
 second district. His name came into special prominence in the 
 " Dartmouth College cases." The college was chartered under 
 the authority of the British crown in 1769, and the legislature of 
 the State in 1816 assumed to amend the charter so as practically 
 to put the institution out of the power of the old trustees into 
 that of a new board. The old trustees refused to accept the 
 
768 DECEASED LAWYERS 
 
 amendment, and suits were brought to test its legality, ia the 
 principal one of which Woodward's name appeared as a party. 
 The question was stoutly contested, the Superior Court of the 
 State pronouncing in favor of the power of the legislature to 
 make the amendment, and the Supreme Court of the United 
 States reversing that decision, upon the ground that it conflicted 
 with the constitutional provision against the passage of laws im- 
 pairing the obligation of contracts. 
 
 Judge Woodward's position in this acrimonious controversy, 
 socially and politically, was a delicate and difficult one, but his 
 honesty and right intentions were, it is believed, never questioned. 
 He died before the final decision. 
 
 He was married in 1802, to Betsey, daughter of Dr. Benjamin 
 Curtis of Boston, Massachusetts, and had two children. 
 
 SAMUEL THOMAS WORCESTER. 
 
 Sou of Captain Jesse and Sarah (Parker) Worcester ; born, HoUis, August 
 30, 1804 ; Harvard College, 1830 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, Detember 
 6, 1882. 
 
 Judge Worcester belonged to a distinguished family ; the cele- 
 brated Noah Worcester was his uncle, and Joseph E. Worcester, 
 the lexicographer, was his brother. Samuel was prepared for 
 college at the academies in Pembroke, and in Andover, Massachu- 
 setts, was a student at law in the office of Benjamin M. Farley in 
 HoUis and at the Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and 
 settled in his profession in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1835. There he 
 remained for thirty-two years, and acquired prominence and influ- 
 ence. He was a member of the Ohio Senate in 1849 and 1850 ; 
 and in 1859 was elected judge of the tenth judicial district of the 
 State. While holding this office in the spring of 1861, he was 
 chosen a representative in Congress. 
 
 In 1867 he returned to New Hampshire, and established him- 
 self in Nashua, where he kept his office during his life, still cling- 
 ing to his profession, though he no longer leaned upon it, having 
 acquired a competency. 
 
 Before he was thirty he was the author of two juvenile spelling- 
 books, and after his return to this State he published not a little 
 on educational and historical subjects. He arranged the scattered 
 early records of HoUis, and then prepared and issued, in 1879, a 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 769 
 
 valuable history of the town. He was a zealous and useful mem- 
 ber of the state Historical Society, and read before it a paper of 
 much interest and importance on the part taken by New Hamp- 
 shire soldiers in the battle of Bunker Hill. 
 
 His public and private character were alike admirable. He 
 stood ever for the right as he saw it, he tolerated uo compromise 
 of principle, and bore about him a genuine atmosphere of purity. 
 After the death of his wife in 1874, who with himself was a dis- 
 ciple of Swedenborg, he still had her chair placed regularly at his 
 table, and derived great comfort from his faith in her spiritual 
 conipauiouship and communications. 
 
 He married. May 13, 1835, Mary F. C, daughter of Samuel 
 Wales of Stoughton, Massachusetts. They had no children. 
 
 IRA YOUNG. 
 
 Son of Major Samuel and Abigail (Thompson) Young ; born, Lisbon, May 
 17, 1794 ; admitted, 1817 ; practiced, Bath, Colebrook, and Lancaster ; died, 
 Havana, Cuba, November 15, 1846. 
 
 The common schools of Lisbon, and afterwards the academy at 
 Haverhill, afforded General Young his early instruction. At the 
 age of eighteen he began the study of the law with James I. 
 Swan of Bath, and in 1817 he entered into practice there. For 
 the succeeding six years he remained in Bath, the first three with 
 Mr. Swan, who deceased in 1820, bequeathing to him his fine law 
 library. Losing his office and books and papers by fire, three 
 years later, he removed to Colebrook, where he enjoyed a success- 
 ful practice for sixteen years. Lancaster then became his home, 
 and he was a leading lawyer there until his health began to fail in 
 1845. In the hope of arresting the disease which was upon him, 
 he sailed for the West Indies, but the desired relief was not 
 experienced, and he died there after a few months. 
 
 He was a sound lawyer and an honest man ; well read in the 
 learning of his profession, and successful in the management and 
 trial of causes. He was universally popular, and enjoyed the 
 confidence of all. Judge Morrison speaks of him as a " lawyer 
 of celebrity." The inscription upon his tombstone, placed there 
 by his professional contemporaries, was as follows : — 
 
 " This stone is erected to his memory as a token of respect by 
 his brethren of the bar, among whom he stood eminent both for 
 49 
 
T70 DECEASED LAWYERS. 
 
 his courtesy and ability as a lawyer, and his high character for 
 honesty and integrity as a man." 
 
 In his earlier life he fell, like many another young man of 
 popular qualities, into habits of dissipation, but he had the firm- 
 ness and self-command to abandon them, and reform. There was 
 fighting blood in his veins. His father and two of his uncles 
 served In the Revolutionary army, and he himself entered the 
 militia and rose to the rank of major-general. No opportunity 
 was given him for active service, except in the " Indian Stream " 
 difficulties in 1835, when he was chosen by the governor to com- 
 mand the detachment ordered out to quell the insurrectionary 
 movement, a duty which he performed satisfactorily. 
 
 He was married, in 1837, to Mrs. Sarah M. (De Forest) Smith, 
 daughter of Judge Mills De Forest of Lemington, Vermont. 
 They had three children, a daughter and two sons, both of whom 
 fought bravely, and one lost his life in the Union army in the 
 great civil war. 
 
ADDENDUM. 
 
 DECEASED LAWYERS OMITTED. 
 
 JOHN JAMES BELL. 
 
 Sou of Hod. Samuel D. and Mary H. (Healey) Bell ; born, Cbester, October 
 30, 1827 ; admitted, 1848 ; practiced, Nashua, Milford, Carmel, and Exe- 
 ter ; died, Manchester, August 22, 1893. 
 
 While the foregoing sheets were passing through the press, Mr. Bell 
 was numbered with the dead. 
 
 He received a thorough academical education in Concord and Manches- 
 ter, and prepared himself for the bar in the office of William C. Clarke 
 of Manchester, and at the Harvard Law School, from which he graduated 
 LL. B. in 1847. The next two years he was in practice in Nashua, and 
 a short time in Milford, it is believed, when he decided to remove to 
 Carmel, Maine, where his father was the owner of lands of value. He 
 lived there, or in that vicinity, fourteen years, in the exercise of his pro- 
 fession and the superintendence of the clearing and improvement of the 
 lands, and in 1864 returned to this State, and established himself in 
 Exeter. There he continued in practice some years, and in 1876 accepted 
 the appointment of Judge of the Police Court, and discharged its duties 
 till 1883. 
 
 From the time of his coming to Exeter, he had, as he did in his Maine 
 home, identified himself with its interests, and taken a prominent part in 
 its affairs. He was chosen to many town offices. The uncompensated 
 positions, especially, often onerous, and generally shunned, but important 
 to the welfare of the people, he was never reluctant to undertake. He 
 was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876, and representa- 
 tive in the legislatures of 1883, 1885, 1887, and 1891. In all those 
 bodies he was a prominent, working, useful member, occupying the chief 
 positions on committees, and not seldom expressing his views in public 
 with clearness and force. He was often in the Speaker's chair. He 
 served the State on the commission to examine into the condition of the 
 
772 DECEASED LAWYERS. 
 
 insane poor, on that foi" the establishment of the boundary line with 
 Massachusetts, and on the library commission. 
 
 On the decease of his brother, Samuel N. Bell of Manchester, he in- 
 herited a large estate, chiefly in lands and railway property. He had 
 previously been much the master of his own time, and had lived a com- 
 paratively quiet life, in the enjoyment of his books and his home. He 
 was now compelled to change his habits and to spend much time in vari- 
 ous places where his new interests required attention, and to take upon 
 himself the responsibilities and labors of the offices of president of the 
 Suncook Valley, and Suncook Valley Extension Railroad, the Pemige- 
 wasset Valley Railroad and others, director of two insurance companies, 
 president of the Exeter and New Hampshire Boards of Trade, and 
 president of the Exeter Manufacturing Company. 
 
 He was deeply interested in temperance, and a member of the order of 
 the Good Templars. Mr. Bell became a Freemason in 1849, and was 
 through life an attentive and deeply interested member of the fraternity. 
 He rose to be Grand Master, Grand High Priest, and Grand Commander 
 of the various associations in the State, and received the 33d degree in Ma- 
 sonry. He was a leading member of the Second Congregational parish 
 in Exeter, and a deacon of the church. Well learned in the law, he had 
 all needed qualifications for conducting large court business, but he had no 
 fondness for contention or display. He had many books, and was always 
 a great reader, with an eye to utility. Like his father and brother he 
 was a student of natural science, and succeeded to the former in his love 
 for history and antiquarian pursuits. He delivered the address at the 
 260th anniversary of the settlement of Hampton, and was a member of 
 the American Antiquarian Society, and other historical associations. He 
 was president of the New Hampshire Historical Society two years. Mr. 
 Bell was conscientious and earnest in all his doings, aiming to make the 
 most of his powers in every station. Always faithful, he was ready to 
 take up the burdens that were put upon him, and to carry them to their 
 destination. Men were accustomed to look to him for aid and counsel, 
 and were not often disappointed. The general esteem he had won was 
 manifested in the great attendance from all parts of the State at his 
 funeral, and by the closing of the places of business in his home. 
 
 Dartmouth College gave him the degree of A. M. 
 
 He was married, April 13, 1881, to Cora L., daughter of Hervey 
 Kent of Exeter, and was the father of two sons. 
 
ALPHABETICALLY. 773 
 
 JOHN W. CLARK. 
 
 Sou of Hiram and Jane (Wentworth) Clark ; born, Berwick, Maine, 1844 ; 
 practiced, Somersworth ; died, Berwick, Maine, 1874. 
 
 This gentleman acriuired his education at the West Lebanon and South 
 Berwick academies in ]\Iaine, and fitted himself for admission as an 
 attorney in the office of William J. Copeland in Somersworth. Begin- 
 ning practice in the village of Great Falls, in that town, in 1872, he re- 
 mained there little more than a year, when a pulmonary disease com- 
 pelled him to relinquish his profession, and he returned to his native 
 town to die. 
 
 A. M. HOLBROOK. 
 
 Born, Winchester, 1822 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, Salem and Frances- 
 town ; died, c. 1853. 
 
 The information obtained piecemeal in regard to Mr. Holbrook repre- 
 sents him to have been three years a student in Dartmouth College, then 
 to have studied law with Atherton and Gove in Nashua and in Vermont, 
 to have practiced in Lowell, Massachusetts, a year before coming to 
 Salem, where he was probably two or three years. His stay in Frances- 
 town was not over a year, and he died not long after leaving that place. 
 
THE SUPKEME COURT. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Charles Doe. 
 Isaac W. Smith. 
 Lewis W. Clark. 
 Isaac N. Blodgett. 
 
 LIVING 
 
 Jeremiah Smith. 
 Ellbry a. Hibbard. 
 
 Alonzo p. Carpenter. 
 William M. Chase. 
 Egbert M. Wallace. 
 
 EX-JUDGES. 
 
 William L. Foster. 
 George A. Bingham. 
 
 REPORTER. 
 
 Erank N. Parsons. 
 
 ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 Edwin G. Eastman. 
 
 COUNTY SOLICITORS. 
 
 William B. Fellows . 
 Arthur L. Footb . 
 Charles H. Hersey . 
 Jesse F. Silsby 
 William H. Mitchell 
 James P. Tuttlb . 
 Daniel B. Donovan . 
 Louis G. Hoyt 
 William F. Nason . 
 Burt Chkllis 
 
 Belknap Co. 
 Carroll Co. 
 Cheshire Co. 
 Coos Co. 
 Grafton Co. 
 Hillsborough Co. 
 Merrimack Co. 
 Rockingham Co. 
 StrafEord Co. 
 Sullivan Co. 
 
 CLERKS OF THE COURT. 
 
 Edwin P. Thompson Belknap Co. 
 
 Aldo M. Rumery Carroll Co. 
 
 Lewis W. Holmes Cheshire Co. 
 
 Moses A. Hastings .... Coos Co. 
 
 Dexter D. Dow Grafton Co. 
 
 Thomas D. Luce Hillsborough Co. 
 
 Amos J. Shurtleff Merrimack Co. 
 
 Charles G. Conner .... Rockingham Co. 
 
 George E. Durgin Strafford Co. 
 
 John McCeillis Sullivan Co. 
 
A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS 
 
 DISTEIBUTED UNDER THE TOWNS IN WHICH THEY ONCE WERE 
 OR ARE NOW IN PRACTICE. 
 
 This list is meant to include all lawyers now living who at any time have been settled 
 in practice in New Hampshire. The names of those who have retired from practice, and 
 of those who have moved out of the State, and of those who have moved from the city or 
 town under which their names appear to some other city or town in New Hampshire are 
 marked with an asterisk (*). The names without an asterisk are of those now in practice 
 in the city or town named. 
 
 BELKNAP COUNTY. 
 
 A lion. 
 *Jefferson M. Moody. 
 Amos Rollins. 
 *Samuel W. Eollins. 
 
 Bamsiead. 
 Charles S. George. 
 
 Belmont. 
 *Edwin P. Thompson. 
 
 Gilford. 
 
 Samuel C. Clark. 
 *Benjamin C. Dean. 
 *Orestes H. Key. 
 *Woodbury L. Meleher. 
 
 Gibnanton. 
 
 Thomas Cogswell. 
 *Arthur L. Livermore, Jr. 
 *Alfred Prescott. 
 *Benjamin R. Rogers. 
 *Edwin H. Shannon. 
 *Edwin P. Thompson. 
 
 Laconia. 
 
 *John W. Ashman. 
 
 Frank M. Beckford. 
 
 Sumner E. Blackstone. 
 *Samuel C. Clark. 
 
 Samuel C. Clark (Lakeport). 
 
 George B. Cox. 
 
 Napoleon J. Dyer. 
 
 Charles B. Hibbard. 
 
 Ellery A. Hibbard. 
 
 Erastus P. Jewell. 
 
 Stephen S. Jewett. 
 
 Samuel H. Martin. 
 *Woodbury L. Meleher. 
 
 Stanton J. Owens (Lakeport). 
 
 Walter S. Peaslee. 
 William A. Plummer. 
 Edwin H. Shannon. 
 *Silas B. Smith. 
 Charles F. Stone. 
 
 Meredith, 
 
 *John W. Ela. 
 *Ellery A. Hibbard. 
 *George S. Hilton. 
 Samuel W. Rollins. 
 
 Sanhornton. 
 
 *J. Ware Butterfleld. 
 •Elijah D. Hastings. 
 
 Tiltm. 
 
 William B. Fellows. 
 *Walter D. Hardy. 
 *James O. Lyford. 
 
 Charles C. R,ogers. 
 
 CARROLL COUNTY. 
 
 Bartlett. 
 George W. M. Pitman. 
 
 Conway. 
 Nathaniel F. Barnes- 
 D. C. Bartlett. 
 Charles Coffin. 
 John B. Nash. 
 Fred B. Osgood. 
 John C. L. Wood. 
 
 Effingham. 
 Samuel Q. Dearborn. 
 C. J. Leavitt. 
 
 Madison. 
 Josiah H. Hobbs. 
 
776 
 
 A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 Moullonhorough. 
 *George P. Davis. 
 *Hayes Lougee. 
 
 O^tipee. 
 E. B. Smith. 
 Frank Weeks. 
 
 Sandwich. 
 *G. P. Davis. 
 A. Binney Tasker. 
 Paul Wentworth. 
 
 Tamworth. 
 *Levi W. Folsom. 
 '^Henry Heywood. 
 
 Wakefield. 
 
 »John K. Bodwell. 
 *Charles Chesley. 
 Artliur L. Foote. 
 ■'Joshua G. Hall. 
 *Josiah H. Hobbs. 
 
 WolfborougTi. 
 Sewall W. Abbott. 
 E. F. Cate. 
 William C. Fox. 
 
 CHESHIRE COUNTT. 
 
 Alstead. 
 *George Davis. 
 *Charles M. Foster. 
 Ezra M. Smith. 
 *Albert L. Wait. 
 
 Fitzwilliam. 
 Amos J. Blake. 
 *Charles H. Woods. 
 
 Hinsdale. 
 *George Howe. 
 E. J. Temple. 
 
 Jaffrey. 
 *Fred. W.Bailey. 
 *Clarenee A. Parks. 
 *Frank B. Spalter. 
 *Jesse B. Twiss. 
 *C. Fred Webster. 
 
 Keene. 
 
 John T. Abbott. 
 
 Alfred T. Batehelder. 
 
 Hiram Blake. 
 *Harvey Carleton. 
 *Horatio Colony. 
 *E. P. Dole. 
 
 *John Henry Elliot. 
 
 William H. Elliot. 
 
 Francis C. Faulkner 
 *Francis S. Fiske. 
 *William L. Foster. 
 
 Silas Hardy. 
 
 Daniel K. Healey. 
 
 Charles H. Hersey. 
 *Frank H. Hills. 
 *Levfis W. Holmes. 
 
 Joseph Madden. 
 
 C. Fred Webster. 
 
 Leonard Wellington. 
 *George A. Wheeloek. 
 
 Don H. Woodward. 
 
 Walpole. 
 Josiah G. Bellows. 
 
 B. LoveU. 
 
 Winchester. 
 «Ellery Albee. 
 
 Hosea W. Bingham. 
 
 Edmund M. Forbes. 
 *W. S. Myers. 
 
 COOS COUNTY. 
 
 Berlin. 
 Robert N. Chamberlin. 
 David J. Daley. 
 Hubert I. Goss. 
 *P. Webster Locke. 
 
 C. E. Niles. 
 
 I. Howard Wight. 
 
 Colebrook. 
 *Edgar Aldrieh. 
 
 Albert Barker. 
 
 Jason H. Dudley. 
 
 T. F. Johnson. 
 *Max J. Madden. 
 
 James I. Parsons. 
 *Orman P. Ray. 
 *Dauiel C. Remick. 
 *James W. Remick. 
 *F. M. Rhodes. 
 *William H. Shurtleff. 
 
 Gorham. 
 *Carl Abbott. 
 *James B. Chaffin. 
 
 Alfred R. Evans. 
 *Hubert I. Goss. 
 *Moses A. Hastings. 
 
 J. F. Libbey. 
 *Edward F. Philbrook. 
 
 Albert S. TwitcheU. 
 
A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 77T 
 
 Lancaster. 
 *Josiah H. Benton, Jr. 
 George A. Cossitt. 
 Irving W. Drew. 
 Everett Fletcher. 
 Henry Heywood. 
 F. D. Hutohings. 
 Chester B. Jordan. 
 Henry O. Kent. 
 Benjamin F. Whidden. 
 Jared I. Williams. 
 
 Whitejield. 
 P. J. T. Kellogg. 
 C. Edward Wright. 
 
 GRAFTON COUNTY. 
 
 Ashland. 
 
 Asa W. Drew. 
 *William B. Fellows. 
 James L. Wilson. 
 
 Bath. 
 
 *George A. Bingham. 
 
 John L. Carleton. 
 *Alonzo P. Carpenter. 
 *Philip Carpenter. 
 *Samuel H. Goodall. 
 *Arthur Livermore. 
 *Frank S. Streeter. 
 
 Edward Woods. 
 
 Bristol. 
 *Frederie Bartlett. 
 *Napoleon B. Bryant. 
 *George B. Burns. 
 
 Ira A. Chase. 
 
 Keuson E. Dearborn. 
 
 George A. Emerson. 
 
 Lems W. Fling. 
 *Samuel E. Holden. 
 *Benjamin F. Weeks. 
 
 Canaan. 
 
 *Isaac N. Blodgett. 
 
 Frank D. Currier. 
 
 Irving T. George. 
 
 George W. Murray. 
 *William B. Weeks. 
 
 Banbury. 
 Stillman Clark. 
 
 Enfield. 
 *SamueI Davis, Jr. 
 
 Hanover. 
 *Augustus O. Brewster. 
 James F. Colby. 
 
 Haverhill. 
 
 George W. Chapman. 
 *Charles A. Dole. 
 *William S. Franklin. 
 *C. E. George. 
 
 Charles S. Griswold. 
 *Jaraes G. Harvey. 
 *Luther C. Morse. 
 
 Samuel B. Page. 
 *Samuel T. Page. 
 *George F. Putnam. 
 *William H. Shurtleff. 
 
 Scott Sloane. 
 
 Edward W. Smith. 
 
 William F. Westgate. 
 
 Lebanon. 
 
 William H. Cotton. 
 *Aaron H. Cragin. 
 
 Charles A. Dole. 
 *Edwin B. Gould. 
 *Rodney Lund. 
 *James I. Parsons. 
 ♦Arthur L. Spring. 
 
 John L. Spring. 
 *William B. Weeks. 
 
 Lisbon. 
 
 George F. Morris. 
 *Harry M. Morse., 
 
 Littleton. 
 *Edgar Aldrioh. 
 
 Albert S. Batchellor. 
 *William J. Bellows. 
 
 George A. Bingham. 
 
 George H. Bingham. 
 
 Harry Bingham. 
 *Charles W. Bolles. 
 *Dexter D. Dow. 
 *Charles S. Griswold. 
 
 yarry L. Heald. 
 
 James K. Jackson. 
 *John M. Mitchell. 
 
 William H. Mitchell. 
 *Daniel C. Remick. 
 
 James W. Remick. 
 *Elbert C. Stevens. 
 *Edgar M. Warner. 
 
 Monroe. 
 Charles H. Hosford. 
 *N. R. Sterling. 
 
 Orford. 
 Paul Lang. 
 *Thomas B. Mann. 
 *Samuel M. Wilcox. 
 
778 
 
 A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 Plymouth. 
 
 George H. Adams. 
 *Henry W. Blair. 
 *Napoleon B. Bryant. 
 
 Alvin Burleigh. 
 *Benjaniiu Clark. 
 *Josepli Clark. 
 *Asa W. Drew. 
 *Jolm W. Ela. 
 *Ellery A. Hibbard. 
 *C. A. Jewell. 
 
 Joseph C. Story. 
 
 Alvin F. Wentworth. 
 
 Rumney. 
 *John Herbert. 
 Samuel Herbert. 
 
 Warren. 
 
 *Joseph W. Armington. 
 *Joseph B. Hill. 
 *Samuel B. Page. 
 *George F. Putnam. 
 
 Wentworth. 
 *Charles H. Bartlett. 
 *Charles A. Dole. 
 
 William A. Flanders. 
 *Lewis W. Fling. 
 *Samuel Herbert. 
 ♦Benjamin Poole. 
 
 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. 
 
 Amherst. 
 *Edward S. Cutter. 
 
 Antrim. 
 Lemuel D. Cole. 
 *John McNeil. 
 *Brooks K. Webber. 
 
 Goffstown. 
 David A. Taggart. 
 Samuel Upton. 
 
 Greenville. 
 *Joseph C. Mason. 
 Herbert J. Taft. 
 
 Hillsborough. 
 
 *James F. Briggs. 
 
 Jay C. Browne. 
 *Charles A. Hamden. 
 
 Samuel W. Holman. 
 *Francis B. Peabody. 
 
 Frank H. Pierce. 
 
 Kirk D. Pierce. 
 *J. Oscar Teele. 
 
 Brooks K. Webber. 
 
 Manchester. 
 
 John H. Andrews. 
 *Benjamin F. Ayer. 
 *Asa W. Bartlett. 
 
 Charles H. Bartlett. 
 
 John P. Bartlett. 
 «WiUiam P. Bartlett. 
 
 John C. Bickford. 
 
 A. F. Bisson. 
 
 Henry W. Blair. 
 *Eugene M. Bowman. 
 
 Oliver E. Branch. 
 
 James F. Briggs. 
 
 Albert O. Brown. 
 *Benjamin B. Bunker. 
 
 Henry E. Burnham. 
 
 John W. Center. 
 
 Benjamin F. Clark. 
 *Henry S. Clark. 
 *Lewis W. Clark. 
 ♦Stephen G. Clarke. 
 
 Wallace B. Clement. 
 
 Lucien B. Clough. 
 
 Charles E. Cochran. 
 
 John G. Crawford. 
 
 David Cross. 
 *Moody Currier. 
 *Edward S. Cutter. 
 
 Josikh G. Dearborn. 
 ♦Arthur P. Dodge. 
 ♦James E. Dodge. 
 
 WUliam H. Drury. 
 
 Joseph W. Fellows. 
 ♦George M. Flanders. 
 ♦James L. Foote. 
 
 John Foster. 
 
 W. S. Franklin. 
 
 John Gage. 
 ♦Christopher A. Gallagher. 
 ♦Lewis Goodale. 
 
 Arthur H. Hale. 
 ♦J. M. Harrington. 
 ♦Elijah B. Hazzen. 
 ♦Michael J. Healey. 
 
 Isaac L. Heath. 
 
 Timothy J. Howard. 
 
 Nathan P. Hunt. 
 
 Edwin F. Jones. 
 ♦Thomas O. Knowlton. 
 
 Joseph LeBoeuf. 
 ♦George A. Little. 
 
 William Little. 
 
 Frank C. Livingston. 
 
 Harry E. Loveren. 
 ♦Thomas D. Luce. 
 
 Alvin J. Lucier. 
 
 George I. McAllister. 
 ♦John B. Mills. 
 
 John T. Moore. 
 ♦Thomas J. Morrison. 
 
A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 779 
 
 *rrank J. Murray. 
 *Johu P. Newell. 
 
 Charles A. O'Connor. 
 
 Denis F. O'Connor. 
 
 Thomas J. O'Donnell. 
 
 Alpheus C. Osgood. 
 
 Jesse B. Pattee. 
 
 Robert J. Peaslee. 
 
 David L. Perkins. 
 *DaTid P. Perkins. 
 
 Rosecrans W. Pillsbury. 
 
 George W. Prescott. 
 
 John H. Riedell. 
 ♦Dudley Roberts. 
 ♦Roland C. RoweU. 
 
 John J. Shea. 
 *Albion R. Simmons. 
 *Isaac W. Smith. 
 ♦Jonathan Smith. 
 
 James B. Straw. 
 
 Patrick H. Sullivan. 
 
 Cyrus A. SuUoway. 
 
 David A. Taggart. 
 ♦Henry W. Tewksbury. 
 
 Elijah M. ToplifE. 
 
 James P. Tuttle. 
 ♦Samuel Upton. 
 ♦George H. Warren. 
 ♦Newton H. Wilson. 
 
 Gordon Woodbury. 
 
 Milfard. 
 ♦Fred S. Hatch. 
 Carl E. Knight. 
 ♦Thomas L. Livermore. 
 ♦John L. Spring. 
 ♦Robert M. Wallace. 
 
 Nashua. 
 
 ♦John H. Andrews. 
 
 Henry B. Atherton. 
 
 William W. Bailey. 
 ♦Leonard F. Burbank. 
 
 Charles H. Burns. 
 ♦William L. Carter. 
 ♦Lyman D. Cook. 
 
 Edward S. Cutter. 
 
 Henry A. Cutter. 
 ♦Edward A. Dana. 
 
 Jeremiah J. Doyle. 
 ♦Fabius E. Elder. 
 
 George B. French. 
 
 Edwin B. Gould. 
 
 Stephen L. Hallinan. 
 
 Charles J. Hamblett. 
 
 Charles W. Hoitt. 
 ♦John W. Johnson. 
 
 Walter E. Kittredge. 
 ♦J. F. J. Ottorson. 
 
 Charles D. Parker. 
 
 Edward E. Parker. 
 
 Joseph B. Parker. 
 
 B. A. Pease. 
 
 George A. Ramsdell. 
 ♦George Y. Sawyer. 
 ♦J. C. Bates Smith. 
 ♦C. B. Tilden. 
 ♦Jesse B. Twiss. 
 ♦Robert M. WaUace. 
 
 Edward H. Wason. 
 ♦Samuel M. Wilcox. 
 
 New Boston. 
 Thomas O. Knowlton. 
 James P. Tuttle. 
 
 New Ipswich. 
 
 William A. Preston. 
 ♦John Q. A. Ward. 
 
 Peterborough. 
 
 James F. Brennan. 
 
 Frank G. Clarke. 
 ♦Edward S. Cutter. 
 
 Riley B. Hatch. 
 ♦William E. Knight. 
 ♦Eugene Lewis. 
 ♦George A. Ramsdell. 
 
 Ezra M. Smith. 
 
 Daniel M. White. 
 
 Weare. 
 Oliver E. Branch. 
 
 Wiltmi. 
 George E. Bales. 
 ♦Charles H. Burns. 
 ♦William H. Grant. 
 ♦John L. Spring. 
 
 MERRIMACK COUNTY. 
 
 Allenstown. 
 John B. Hazelton, 
 ♦C. B. Hildreth. 
 
 Andover. 
 
 Clarence E. Carr. 
 ♦Silas M. Ellis. 
 ♦Wolcott Hamlin. 
 
 Frank W. Proctor. 
 ♦Henry M. Putney. 
 
 George W. Stone. 
 
 Bradford. 
 
 Fred H. Gould. 
 ♦Edward B. S. Sanborn. 
 ♦Robert M. Wallace. 
 
 Concord. 
 John H. Albin. 
 Benjamin E. Badger. 
 
780 
 
 A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 *George H. Blanchard. 
 *Frank N. Brown. 
 *Napoleon B. Bryant. 
 *William P. Buckley. 
 *Philip Carpenter. 
 *Harry M. Cavis. 
 *WJlliam E. Chandler. 
 
 Arthur H. Chase. 
 *Perley S. Chase. 
 *William M. Chase. 
 *Cornelius E. Clifford. 
 *Charles R. Corning. 
 *David S. Cowen. 
 
 Sylvester Dana. 
 
 Daniel B. Donovan. 
 
 David F. Dudley. 
 
 Samuel C. Eastman. 
 
 George M. Fletcher. 
 
 William W. Flint. 
 
 WiUiam L. Foster. 
 
 Frank A. Fowler. 
 *George R. Fowler. 
 
 John P. George. 
 
 William A. J. Giles. 
 
 Fred H. Gould. 
 *Amos Hadley. 
 
 Napoleon B. Hale. 
 
 Walter D. Hardy. 
 
 Henry F. Hollis. 
 *Benjamin T. Hutehins. 
 
 Arthur K. Kimball. 
 *Edward A. Lane. 
 
 Samuel G. Lane. 
 
 Edward G. Leach. 
 *James O. Lyford. 
 
 Anson S. Marshall. 
 
 Nathaniel E. Martin. 
 
 Joseph S. Matthews. 
 
 John M. Mitchell. 
 
 James H. Morris. 
 *Herbert L. Norris. 
 *True L. Norris. 
 *Alpheus C. Osgood. 
 *Samuel B. Page. 
 *Francis B. Peabody. 
 *Frank H. Pierce. 
 *Alvah K. Potter. 
 *Benjamin F. Prescott. 
 *William C. Prescott. 
 *Robert A. Ray. 
 
 Henry Robinson. 
 
 Henry P. Rolfe. 
 *Frank W. Rollins. 
 
 Harry G. Sargent. 
 
 William H. Sawyer. 
 *Amos J. Shurtleff. 
 
 Arthur W. Silsby. 
 
 Henry W. Stevens. 
 
 Lyman D. Stevens. 
 
 Frank S. Streeter. 
 
 James B. Thurston. 
 
 *William B. Tebbetts. 
 *Joseph B. Walker. 
 Reuben E. Walker. 
 *Joseph C. A. Wingate. 
 *Aaron Woodman. 
 
 Danhury. 
 W. T. Morris. 
 
 Epsom. 
 *Thomas L. Steele. 
 
 Franklin. 
 
 James E. Barnard. 
 
 Robert W. Bennett. 
 *Isaac N. Blodgett. 
 *George B. Burns. 
 *James A. Clark. 
 *01iver L. Cross. 
 »Fabius E. Elder. 
 *Rufus S. Hadley. 
 
 W. D. Hardy. 
 
 Edward G. Leach. 
 
 Frank N. Parsons. 
 
 E. B. S. Sanborn. 
 
 George R. Stone. 
 
 Henniker. 
 Jay C. Browne. 
 *E. B. S. Sanborn. 
 
 Hopkinton. 
 Herman W. Greene. 
 C. G. Hawthorn. 
 
 Northfield. 
 Oliver L. Cross. 
 *Beniamin A. Rogers. 
 
 Pembroke. 
 
 George S. Blanchard. 
 
 Almon F. Burbank. 
 *Edwin B. Gould. 
 *John B. Hazelton. 
 *EliTah B. Hazzen. 
 *G. E. Smith. 
 
 Penacook. 
 WilUs G. Buxton. 
 David F. Dudley. 
 
 Pittsfield. 
 
 Asa W. Bartlett. 
 ♦Lewis W. Clark. 
 *Fabius E. Elder. 
 
 AndreV J. Gunnison. 
 
 Richard Hayes. 
 
 Edward A. Lane. 
 
 John J. Pillsbury. 
 
A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 781 
 
 Warner. 
 Albert P. Davis. 
 Samuel Davis, Jr. 
 *John George. 
 Samuel K. Paige. 
 
 Wilmot. 
 W. W. Flanders. 
 
 ROCKINGHAM COUNTY. 
 
 Chester. 
 *Perley S. Chase. 
 * Joseph C. A. Wingate. 
 
 Derry. 
 Greenleaf K. Bartlett. 
 John G. Crawford. 
 Rosecrans W. Pillsbury. 
 
 Ej^ping. 
 
 *Horace C. Bacon. 
 
 William H. Drury. 
 *John S. H. Frink. 
 *Eliiah B. Hazzen. 
 *Henry F. Hopkins. 
 *George Stiekney. 
 *J. Warren Towle. 
 *Joseph F. Wiggin. 
 
 Exeter. 
 *Benjamin F. Ayer. 
 *Horaee C. Baeon. 
 *Hendriek D. Batchelder. 
 *Charles U. Bell. 
 *Albert C. BuzeU. 
 *John W. Clark. 
 *Horaoe S. Cummings. 
 
 Edwin G. Eastman. 
 *B. Marvin Femald. 
 *Edward Ford. 
 
 Arthur O. Fuller. 
 *Nathaniel Gordon. 
 *Fred S. Hatch. 
 *Louis G. Hoyt. 
 
 Charles H. Knight. 
 
 Thomas Leavitt. 
 *P. Webster Locke. 
 
 John O'Neill. 
 *J. Hamilton Shapley. 
 
 Henry A. Shute. 
 
 J. Warren Towle. 
 ♦Joseph F. Wiggin. 
 *Samuel M. Wilcox. 
 
 John E. Young. 
 
 Greenland. 
 
 John S. H. Frink. 
 John Hatch, 
 *Charles W. Pickering. 
 
 Kingston. 
 Louis G. Hoyt. 
 Orestes H. Key. 
 
 Newmarket. 
 *Greenleaf K. Bartlett. 
 *John Gage. 
 *Irving T. George. 
 *Elisha A. Keep. 
 
 Aaron L. Mellows. 
 
 William H. Paine. 
 
 Charles H. Smith. 
 *Hezekiah B. Stevens. 
 *Amos Towle. 
 
 Plaistow. 
 *Charles C. Cheney. 
 William H. Hills. 
 
 Portsmouth. 
 
 Charles E. Batchelder. 
 *Howe Call. 
 
 Samuel W. Emery. 
 
 John S. H. Frink. 
 *Samuel H. Goodall. " 
 
 Ernest L. Guptill. 
 *Frank W. Haekett. 
 ♦Wallace Haekett. 
 ♦Walter C. Harriman. 
 ♦Francis M. Hatch. 
 
 John Hatch. 
 ♦George W. Haven. 
 ♦Alfred F. Howard. 
 ♦Albert H. Hoyt. 
 
 Thomas E. O. Marvin. 
 ♦J. Downing Murphy. 
 
 Calvin Page. 
 ♦William H. Rollins. 
 ♦J. Hamilton Shapley. 
 ♦Samuel Storer. 
 ♦J. Warren Towle. 
 
 Raymond. 
 
 John T. Bartlett. 
 ♦Elijah B. Hazzen. 
 
 Sedbrook. 
 ♦Alfred Dutton. 
 ♦Warren H. Mace. 
 
 STRAFFORD COUNTY. 
 
 Dover. 
 ♦Charles W. Bartlett. 
 *G. W. Chamberlain. 
 ♦William H. Dodge. 
 ♦Charles Doe. 
 
 George S. Frost. 
 
 Daniel Hall. 
 
782 
 
 A LIST OF LIVING LAWYERS. 
 
 Joshua G. Hall. 
 *Wolcott Hamlin. 
 *Henry H. Hart. 
 *John W. Kingman. 
 
 John Kivel. 
 *Edward B. Knight. 
 *Charles S. MeLane. 
 
 William F. Nason. 
 
 Samuel S. Parker. 
 *William S. Pierce. 
 
 Robert G. Pike. 
 
 William H. Roberts. 
 
 James Ryan, Jr. 
 *Calvin Sanders. 
 *Jeremiah Smith. 
 *George W. Stevens. 
 
 Charles W. Tibbetts. 
 
 Edgar Weeks. 
 
 Arthur G. Whittemore. 
 *Heury T. Wiswall. 
 *Henry D. Yeaton. 
 
 Durham. 
 *John W. Kingman. 
 *Calvin Sanders. 
 
 Farmington. 
 
 *George E. Cochrane. 
 *Albert O. Delano. 
 *rrank Emerson. 
 *Charles J. Leavitt. 
 Samuel S. Parker. 
 *Isaae E. Pearl. 
 *Samuel W. Rollins. 
 *Edwin H. Shannon. 
 *Charles W. Tibbetts. 
 *Arthnr H. Wiggin. 
 
 Milton. 
 *Frank Wells. 
 
 Rochester. 
 
 George E. Cochrane. 
 
 Samuel D. Felker. 
 
 Charles B. Gafney. 
 *Fremont Goodwin. 
 
 Henry Kimball. 
 
 Isaac E. Pearl. 
 
 Elmer J. Smart. 
 
 Leslie P. Snow. 
 *Noah Tebbets. 
 
 Joseph H. Worcester. 
 
 Somersworth. 
 
 Edmund S. Boyer. 
 
 Oliver H. Bragdon. 
 * William R. Burleigh. 
 *Samuel Clark. 
 *01iver P. Cormier. 
 
 *John P. Cram. 
 
 James A. Edgerly. 
 *Joshua Getchell. 
 *Cyrus Jones. 
 
 William D. Knapp. 
 
 William S. Matthews. 
 *Rnfus W. Nason. 
 
 David R. Pierce. 
 *William S. Pierce. 
 
 William F. Russell. 
 *Samuel B. Shapleigh. 
 ♦Charles W. Tibbetts. 
 ♦Christopher H. Wells. 
 *Alonzo B. Wentworth. 
 
 Arthur H. Wiggin. 
 *James G. Youug. 
 
 SULLIVAN COUNTY. 
 
 Charlestown. 
 ♦Charles H. Chapin. 
 ♦Elijah D. Hastings. 
 
 Claremont. 
 
 Edward D. Baker. 
 ♦Alfred T. Batchelder. 
 ♦Lyman J. Brooks. 
 
 Frank H. Brown. 
 ♦G. W. Chamberlain. 
 
 Burt Chellis. 
 
 Ira Colby. 
 ♦George Davis. 
 ♦Samuel W. Fuller. 
 
 Herman Holt. 
 
 Hosea W. Parker. 
 ♦Charles Parkhurst. 
 
 E. J. Tenney. 
 
 P. T. Vaughan. 
 
 Newport. 
 
 Levi W. Barton. 
 
 Shepherd L. Bowers. 
 
 Arthur C. Bradley. 
 ♦Lyman J. Brooks. 
 
 George R. Brown. 
 ♦F. O. Chellis. 
 
 Austin Corbin. 
 ♦George Dodge. 
 ♦Samuel H. Edes. 
 
 John McCrillis. 
 ♦Henry H. Metcalf. 
 ♦William F. Newton. 
 ♦Nathan E. Reed. 
 
 Albert S. Wait. 
 
 Sunapee. 
 
 George Dodge. 
 William C. Sturoc. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbot, Daniel, 135. 
 
 Abbot, Joseph B., 136. 
 
 Abbot, Samuel, 136. 
 
 Abbott, Carl, 776. 
 
 Abbott, John T., 776. 
 
 Abbott, Sewall W., 776. 
 
 Adams, George H., 778. 
 
 Adams, John Frink, 137. 
 
 Adams, Nathaniel, 138. 
 
 Aiken, Jonathan, 139. 
 
 Ainsworth, Calvin, 140. 
 
 Ainsworth, William, 141. 
 
 Albee, Ellery, 776. 
 
 Albin, John H., 779. 
 
 Alcock, Job, 6. 
 
 Alden, William George, 141. 
 
 Aldrieh, Edgar, 776, 777. 
 
 Alexander, Amos S., 142. 
 
 Alexander, Foster, 143. 
 
 Allen, David, Jr., 144. 
 
 Allen, William Henry Harrison, 131. 
 
 Andrews, John H., 778, 779. 
 
 Armington, Joseph W., 778. 
 
 Ashman, John W., 775. 
 
 Atherton, Booz Moore, 144. 
 
 Atherton, Charles Gordon, 145. 
 
 Atherton, Charles Humphrey, 147. 
 
 Atherton, Henry B., 779. 
 
 Atherton, Joshua, 149. 
 
 Atkinson, Daniel Clark, 152. 
 
 Atkinson, Theodore, 23, 153. 
 
 Atkinson, William King, 64. 
 
 Averill, Clinton Spalding, 154. 
 
 Avery, William L., 155. 
 
 Ayer, Benjamin F., 778, 781. 
 
 Ayer, Samuel Hazen, 156. 
 
 Babbitt, Nathan Godfrey, 157. 
 Bacon, Horace C, 781. 
 Badger, Benjamin E., 779. 
 Badger, Stephen Colby, 158. 
 Bailey, David H., 159. 
 BaUey, Fred W., 776. 
 Bailey, Frederic William, 159. 
 Bailey, Lawrence Dudley, 160. 
 Bailey, William W., 779. 
 Baker, Albert, 161. 
 
 Baker, Edward D., 782. 
 Baker, Nathaniel Bradley, 162. 
 Bales, George E., 779. 
 Bancroft, Thomas, 163. 
 Banfield, Everett Colby, 164. 
 Barker, Albert, 776, 782. 
 Barker, David, 164. 
 Barnard, Daniel, 165. 
 Barnard, James E., 780. 
 Barnard, Levi, 167. 
 Barnard, William Morse, 167. 
 Barnes, Isaac Orr, 168. 
 Barnes, Nathaniel F., 775. 
 Barnes, Royal Dexter, 169. 
 Barrett, William, 170. 
 Barstow, George, 171. 
 Bartlett, Asa W., 778, 780. 
 Bartlett, Charles H., 778. 
 Bartlett, Charles W., 781. 
 Bartlett, D. C, 775. 
 Bartlett, Enoch, 172. 
 Bartlett, Frederic, 777. 
 Bartlett, Greenleaf Cilley, 172. 
 Bartlett, Greenleaf K., 781. 
 Bartlett, Ichabod, 173. 
 Bartlett, James, 178. 
 Bartlett, John P., 778. 
 Bartlett, John T., 781. 
 Bartlett, Joseph, 178. 
 Bartlett, Joseph K., 182. 
 Bartlett, Josiah, 32. 
 Bartlett, Richard, 182. 
 Bartlett, William Henry, 121. 
 Bartlett, William P., 778. 
 Barton, George Sullivan, 184. 
 Barton, Ira McLaughlin, 184. 
 Bai-ton, Levi W., 782. 
 Batchelder, Alfred T., 776, 782. 
 Batchelder, Charles E., 781. 
 Batchelder, Hendrick D., 781. 
 Batchelder, Zachariah, 185. 
 Batchellor, Albert S., 777. 
 Beacham, George Edwin, 186. 
 Bean, Ira Allen, 186. 
 Beard, Ithamar Warren, 187. 
 Beckford, Frank M., 775. 
 Bedel, John, 188. 
 
784 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bell, Charles U., 781. 
 
 Bell, George, 189. 
 
 Bell, James, 190. 
 
 Bell, John James, 771. 
 
 Bell, Joseph, 192. 
 
 Bell, Louis, 196. 
 
 Bell, Samuel, 79. 
 
 Bell, Samuel Dana, 101. 
 
 Bell, Samuel Newell, 198. 
 
 Bellows, Abel Herbert, 200. 
 
 Bellows, Henry Adams, 113. 
 
 Bellows, Josiah G., 776, 782. 
 
 Bellows, William J., 777. 
 
 Bennett, Asahel Hicks, 201. 
 
 Bennett, Robert W., 780. 
 
 Benton, Jacob, 202. 
 
 Benton, Josiah, Jr., 777. 
 
 Berry, John Maodonough, 203. 
 
 Betton, George Onslow, 204. 
 
 Betton, Ninian Clark, 204. 
 
 Betton, Silas, 205. 
 
 Betton, Thornton, 206, 
 
 Bickford, John C, 778. 
 
 Bingham, Elijah, 207. 
 
 Bingham, George A., 134, 774, 777. 
 
 Bingham, George H., 777. 
 
 Bingham, Harry, 777. 
 
 Bingham, Hosea W., 776, 782. 
 
 Bingham, James Hervey, 208. 
 
 Bisson, A. F., 778. 
 
 Blaekstone, Sumner E., 775. 
 
 Blair, Henry W., 778, 780. 
 
 Blair, William Noyes, 208. 
 
 Blaisdell, Daniel, 209. 
 
 Blaisdell, Elijah, 210. 
 
 Blaisdell, Nicholas, 211. 
 
 Blake, Amos J., 776. 
 
 Blake, Hiram, 776, 782. 
 
 Blanohard, George H., 780. 
 
 Blanchard, George S., 780. 
 
 Blanchard, Joseph, 22. 
 
 Blazo, Robert Tibbetts, 211. 
 
 Bliss, Jonathan, 212. 
 
 Blodgett, Isaac N., 134, 774, 777, 780. 
 
 Blood, Francis Newton, 213. 
 
 Boardmau, William, 214. 
 
 Boardman, William Rice, 214. 
 
 Bodwell, John R., 776. 
 
 Bolles, Charles W., 777. 
 
 Bordman, Benjamin, 215. 
 
 Bowers, Shepherd L., 782. 
 
 Bowman, Eugene M., 778. 
 
 Bowman, Jonas Bapson, 216. 
 
 Boyer, Edmund S., 782. 
 
 Bradley, Arthur C, 782. 
 
 Bradley, Moses Hazen, 217. 
 
 Bragdon, Oliver H., 782. 
 
 Branch, Oliver E., 778, 779. 
 
 Brennan, James F., 779. 
 
 Brewster, Augustus O., 777. 
 
 Briggs, James F., 778. 
 
 Briggs, William, 218. 
 
 Britton, Abiathar G., 219. 
 
 Brooks, Lyman J., 782. 
 
 Brown, Albert O., 778. 
 
 Brown, Frank H., 782. 
 
 Brown, Frank N., 780. 
 
 Brown, George R., 782. 
 
 Brown, Titus, 220. 
 
 Browne, Jay C, 778, 780. 
 
 Bryant, Napoleon B., 777, 778, 780. 
 
 Buckingham, Joseph Huntington, 221. 
 
 Buckley, William P., 780. 
 
 BufEum, Joseph, 222. 
 
 Bunker, Benjamin B., 778. 
 
 Burbank, Almon F., 780. 
 
 Burbank, Leonard F., 779. 
 
 Burke, Edmund, 222. 
 
 Burleigh, Alvin, 778. 
 Burleigh, George William, 224. 
 Burleigh, John Adams, 225. 
 
 Burleigh, William R., 782. 
 Burnham, Henry E., 778. 
 Burnham, John, 226. 
 Burns, Charles H., 779. 
 Burns, George B., 777, 780. 
 Burns, William, 227. 
 Burrows, Joseph, 228. 
 Burt, Charles W., 229. 
 Butler, James Dearborn, 230. 
 Butler, Josiah, 230. 
 Butler, Nehemiah, 232. 
 Butterfield, Erasmus, 233. 
 Butterfleld, J. Ware, 775. 
 Butterfield, Samuel, 233. 
 Butterfleld, William, 234. 
 Butters, Charles Hutchins, 235. 
 Buxton, Willis G., 780. 
 Buzell, Albert C, 781. 
 
 Call, Howe, 781. 
 
 Call, Timothy, 236. 
 
 Carleton, Edmund, 237. 
 
 Carleton, Harvey, 776. 
 
 Carleton, Harvey, 237. 
 
 Carleton, John L., 777. 
 
 Carpenter, Alonzo P., 134, 774, 777. 
 
 Carpenter, Philip, 777, 780. 
 
 Carr, Clarence E., 779. 
 
 Carr, John P., Jr., 238. 
 
 Carrigain, Philip, 238. 
 
 Carter, Buel Clinton, 241. 
 
 Carter, Sanborn Blake, 242. 
 
 Carter, William L., 779. 
 
 Cartland, Samuel, 242. 
 
 Cate, Asa Piper, 244. 
 
 Cate, E. F., 776. 
 
 Caverly, John Colby, 245. 
 
 Cavis, Henry M., 780. 
 
 Center, John W., 778. 
 
 Chafan, James B., 776. 
 
 Chamberlain, G. W., 781, 782. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 785 
 
 Chamberlain, John Curtis, 245. 
 Chamberlain, Levi, 247. 
 Chamberlain, Richard, 249. 
 Chamberlin, Robert N., 77G. 
 Champney, Benjamin, 249. 
 Champney, Ebenezer, 250. 
 Chandler, William E., 780. 
 Chapin, Charles H., 782. 
 Chapman, George W., 777. 
 Chapman, Luther, 251. 
 Chase, Arthur, 252. 
 Chase, Arthur H., 780. 
 Chase, Barueh, 253. 
 Chase, Francis Russell, 2M. 
 Chase, Frederick, 254. 
 Chase, Harvey, 255. 
 Chase, Henry Bright, 266. 
 Chase, Horace, 257. 
 Chase, Ira A., 777. 
 Chase, Perley S., 780, 781. 
 Chase, Thaddeus S., 258. 
 Chase, William M., 134, 774, 780. 
 Chellis, Burt, 774, 782. 
 Chellis, F. O., 782. 
 Cheney, Charles C, 781. 
 Cheney, Charles Gilman, 258. 
 Chesley, Charles, 776. 
 Christie, Daniel Miltimore, 258. 
 Cilley, Bartlett Gershom, 262. 
 Cilley, Bradbury Poor, 263. 
 Cilley, Horatio Gates, 263. 
 Clagett, Clifton, 71. 
 Clagett, Wyseman, 264. 
 Claggett, Ichabod Bartlett, 267. 
 Claggett, William, 268. 
 Clapham, Charles, 269. 
 Clark, Benjamin, 778. 
 Clark, Benjamin F., 778. 
 Clark, Daniel, 269. 
 Clark, David French, 272. 
 Clark, David Joseph, 272. 
 Clark, Henry S., 778. 
 Clark, James A., 780. 
 Clark, John Lewis, 273. 
 Clark, John W., 773, 781. 
 Clark, Joseph, 273, 778. 
 Clark, Joseph Bond, 274. 
 Clark, Lewis W., 134, 774, 778, 780. 
 Clark, Peter, 275. 
 Clark, Samuel, 782. 
 Clark, Samuel C, 775. 
 Clark, Stillman, 777. 
 Clark, Warren, 275. 
 Clarke, Frank G., 779. 
 Clarke, John Badger, 276. 
 Chirke, Samuel Greeley, 277. 
 Clarke, Stephen G., 778. 
 Clarke, William Cogswell, 278. 
 Clay, Augustus Baxter, 279. 
 Cleaveland, James Bowdoin, 280. 
 Clement, Wallace B., 778. 
 49 
 
 Clifford, Cornelius E., 780. 
 
 Clough, Lucien B., 778. 
 
 Cloutmau, Edwin Franklin, 280. 
 
 Cochran, Charles E., 778. 
 
 Cochrane, George E., 782. 
 
 CofQn, Charles, 775. 
 
 Coffin, Peter, 6. 
 
 Cogswell, Francis, 280. 
 
 Cogswell, Francis, 281. 
 
 Cogswell, Nathaniel, 282. 
 
 Cogswell, Thomas, 775. 
 
 Colby, Benjamin Marion, 282. 
 
 Colby, Ira, 782. 
 
 Colby, James F., 777. 
 
 Colby, Jeremiah Hall Woodman, 283. 
 
 Cole, Lemuel D., 778. 
 
 Collins, David Haynes, 283. 
 
 Collins, Moses Norris, 284. 
 
 Colony, Horatio, 776. 
 
 Conant, Abel, 285. 
 
 Conner, Charles G., 774. 
 
 Cook, Lyman D., 779. 
 
 Cooke, Noah, 285. 
 
 Cooke, Noah Rockwood, 287. 
 
 Cooper, Saunders Welch, 287. 
 
 Copeland, William J., 288. 
 
 Copp, Amasa, 290. 
 
 Copp, David, Jr., 290. 
 
 Corhin, Austin, 782. 
 
 Cormier, Oliver P., 782. 
 
 Corning, Charles R., 780. 
 
 Cossitt, George A., 777. 
 
 Cotton, William H., 777. 
 
 Cowen, David S., 780. 
 
 Cox, George B., 776. 
 
 Cragin, Aaron H., 777. 
 
 Cram, John P., 782. 
 
 Crawford, Henry, 291. 
 
 Crawford, John G., 778, 781. 
 
 Crooker, Jabez, 291. 
 
 Crooker, Stephen, 291. 
 
 Crosby, Albert Harrison, 292. 
 
 Crosby, Daniel Avery, 293. 
 
 Crosby, Nathan, 293. 
 
 Crosby, Oliver, 294. 
 
 Cross, David, 778. 
 
 Cross, Oliver L., 780. 
 
 Cummings, Horace S., 781. 
 
 Currier, Frank D., 777. 
 
 Currier, John Wesley, 295. 
 
 Currier, Moody, 778. 
 
 Currier, Thomas, 296. 
 
 Cushing, Edmund Henry, 296. 
 
 Gushing, Edmund Lambert, 126. 
 
 Cushman, Samuel, 297. 
 
 Cutler, Zara, 298. 
 
 Cutter, Charles William, 298. 
 
 Cutter, Edward S., 778, 779. 
 
 Cutter, Henry A., 779. 
 
 Cutter, Moody, 299. 
 
 Cutts, Charles, 300. 
 
786 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cutts, Edward, 301. 
 Cutis, Hampden, 302. 
 
 Dakin, Samuel, 303. 
 
 Daley, David J., 776. 
 
 Dana, Edward A., 779. 
 
 Dana, Samuel, 303. 
 
 Dana, Sylvester, 780. 
 
 Danforth, Josiah, 305. 
 
 Darling, Benjamin, 305. 
 
 Darling-, Timothy, 306. 
 
 Davidson, Loammi, 306. 
 
 Davis, Albert P., 781. 
 
 Davis, Frederic Hersey, 307. 
 
 Davis, George, 776, 782. 
 
 Davis, George P., 776. 
 
 Davis, Samuel, Jr., 777, 781. 
 
 Dean, Benjamin C, 775. 
 
 Dearborn, Cornelius Van Ness, 307. 
 
 Dearborn, Josiah, 308. 
 
 Dearborn, Josiah G., 778. 
 
 Dearborn, Kenson E., 777. 
 
 Dearborn, Nathaniel, 309. 
 
 Dearborn, Samuel Q., 775. 
 
 Delano, Albert O., 782. 
 
 DenisOn, Bailey, 309. 
 
 Denison, Thomas, 310. 
 
 Dennie, Joseph, 310. 
 
 Devens, Arthur Lithgow, 313. 
 
 Dickey, David, 314. 
 
 Dickey, David Woodburn, 314. 
 
 Dinsmoor, Daniel Stark, 315. 
 
 Dinsmoor, Samuel, 315. 
 
 Dinsmoor, Samuel, Jr., 317. 
 
 Dodge, Arthur P., 778. 
 
 Dodge, George, 782. 
 
 Dodge, James E., 778. 
 
 Dodge, Oliver A., 318. 
 
 Dodge, Perley, 319. 
 
 Dodge, William H., 781. 
 
 Doe, Charles, 134, 774, 781. 
 
 Doe, John Philbriek, 320. 
 
 Dole, Charles A., 777, 778. 
 
 Dole, E. P., 776. 
 
 Donovan, Daniel B., 774, 780. 
 
 Dow, Dexter D., 774, 777. 
 
 Dow, Joseph Emerson, 320. 
 
 Dow, Moses, 321. 
 
 Dow, Moses, Jr., 322. 
 
 Doyle, Jeremiah J., 779. 
 
 Drew, Asa W., 777, 778. 
 
 Drew, Irving W., 777. 
 
 Drury, William H., 778, 781. 
 
 Dudley, Allen Pratt, 323. 
 
 Dudley, David F., 780. 
 
 Dudley, Jason H., 776. 
 
 Dudley, John, 39. 
 
 Dunbar, Asa, 323. 
 
 Dunbar, Elijah, 324. 
 
 Duncan, William Henry, 325. 
 
 Durell, Daniel Meserve, 326. 
 
 Durell, John Samuel Hayes, 327. 
 Durgin, Charles Augustus, 327. 
 Durgin, George E., 774. 
 Dutton, Alfred, 781. 
 Dwight, Daniel, 328. 
 Dyer, Napoleon J., 775. 
 
 Eastman, Edwin G., 774, 781. 
 
 Eastman, George Nehemiah, 328. 
 
 Eastman, Ira Allen, 99. . 
 
 Eastman, Joel, 329. 
 
 Eastman, Moses, 331. 
 
 Eastman, Nehemiah, 332. 
 
 Eastman, Royal, 333. 
 
 Eastman, Samuel C, 780. 
 
 Eaton, Ephraim, 334. 
 
 Edes, Amasa, 334. 
 
 Edes, Samuel H., 782. 
 
 Edgerly, James A., 782. 
 
 Edwards, Thomas M'Kay, 335. 
 
 Ela, Charles Sumner, 336. 
 
 Ela, John W., 776, 778. 
 
 Ela, Richard, 337. 
 
 Elder, Fabius E., 779, 780. 
 
 Eldridge, Melburn Francillo, 337. 
 
 Elkins, Jeremiah, 338. 
 
 Elliot, John Henry, 776. 
 
 Elliot, William H., 776. 
 
 Ellis, Caleb, 77. 
 
 Ellis, Silas M., 779. 
 
 Elwyn, Thomas Langdon, 338. 
 
 Emerson, Benjamin, 339. 
 
 Emerson, Benjamin Frothingham, 340. 
 
 Emerson, Frank, 782. 
 
 Emerson, George A., 777. 
 
 Emerson, Samuel, 340. 
 
 Emery, James Woodward, 341. 
 
 Emery, Noah, 342. 
 
 Emery, Samuel W., 781. 
 
 Estabrook, Turner, 343. 
 
 Evans, Alfred R., 776. 
 
 Evans, Estwick, 343. 
 
 Evans, Richard, 66. 
 
 Evans, Richard Stuart, 344. 
 
 Everett, David, 345. 
 
 Everett, George Washington, 346. 
 
 Everett, Jonathan C, 346. 
 
 Everett, Richard Clair, 347. 
 
 Fales, Stephen, Jr., 348. 
 Farley, Benjamin Francis, 349. 
 Farley, Benjamin Mark, 349, 
 Farley, George Frederic, 351. 
 Farr, Evarts Worcester, 352. 
 Farr, John, 353. 
 Farrar, Edward, 354. 
 Farrar, Humphrey, 355. 
 Farrar, Joseph, 355. 
 Farrar, Timothy, 47, 356. 
 Farrar, William, 357. 
 Fassett, James Boutelle, 357. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 787 
 
 Faulkner, Francis Augustus, 358. 
 
 Faulkner, Francis C, 776. 
 
 Faulkner, M'illiam Emerson, 359. 
 
 Feloh, Fred B,., 359. 
 
 Felker, Samuel T>., 782. 
 
 Fellowes, Jeremiah, 360. 
 
 Fellows, Joseph W., 778. 
 
 Fellows, William B., 774, 775, 777. 
 
 Feltou, Nathan Buckman, 360. 
 
 Fernald, B. Marvin, 781. 
 
 Field, William Goodell, 361. 
 
 Fiske, Francis S., 776. 
 
 Fitch, John Langdon, 361. 
 
 Flanders, Charles, 362. 
 
 Flanders, George M., 778. 
 
 Flanders, Walter Powers, 363. 
 
 Flanders, William A., 778. 
 
 Flanders, William-W., 363. 
 
 Flanders, W. W., 781. 
 
 Fletcher, Arthur, 364. 
 
 Fletcher, Charles B , 364. 
 
 Fletcher, Everett, 777. 
 
 Fletcher, George M., 780. 
 
 Fletcher, Hiram Adams, 365. 
 
 Fletcher, Richard, 367. 
 
 Fletcher, Samuel, 369. 
 
 Fling, Lewis W., 777, 778. 
 
 Flint, Lyman Thomas, 370. 
 
 Flint, William W., 780. 
 
 Fogg, George Gilman, 371. 
 
 Folsom, Henry Asa, 371. 
 
 Folsom, Ira Freeman, 372. 
 
 Folsom, Levi W., 776. 
 
 Foote, Arthur L., 774, 776. 
 
 Foote, Elijah, 372. 
 
 Foote, James hi, 778. 
 
 Forbes, David, 373. 
 
 Forbes, Edmund M., 776. 
 
 Ford, Edward, 781. 
 
 Forsaith, Josiah, 373. 
 
 Foster, Charles M., 776. 
 
 Foster, Herman, 374. 
 
 Foster, John, 778. 
 
 Foster, John Luther, 374. 
 
 Foster, John Mather, 375. 
 
 Foster, William L., 134, 774, 776, 780. 
 
 Foster, William Russell, 375. 
 
 Fowler, Asa, 111. 
 
 Fowler, Frank A., 780. 
 
 Fowler, George R., 780. 
 
 Fox, Charles James, S76. 
 
 Fox, John Howe, 377. 
 
 Fox, WUliam C, 776. 
 
 Franklin, William S., 777, 778. 
 
 Freeman, Asa, 378. 
 
 Freeman, Edward, Jr., 378. 
 
 Freeman, Francis Atkinson, 379. 
 
 Freeman, James Otis, 379. 
 
 Freeman, Peyton Randolph, 380. 
 
 Freeman, Philander Chase, 380. 
 
 French, Benjamin Brown, 381. 
 
 French, Benjamin Frederic, 382. 
 French, Daniel, 383. 
 French, Ebenezer, 384. 
 French, Francis Ormond, 384. 
 French, George Atherton, 385. 
 French, George B., 779. 
 French, Henry Flagg, 385. 
 French, Peter, 386. 
 French, Scott, 387. 
 Frink, John S. H., 781. 
 Frost, George S., 781. 
 Frost, John, 15. 
 Fuller, Arthur O., 781. 
 Fuller, Samuel W., 782. 
 Fuller, Samuel Worcester, 388. 
 Fuller, Timothy P., 388. 
 
 Gafney, Charles B., 782. 
 
 Gage, John, 778, 781. 
 
 Gale, Lucian, 389. 
 
 Gallagher, Christopher A., 778. 
 
 Gambling, Benjamin, 17. 
 
 Gardiner, Alexander, 389. 
 
 Gardner, Francis, 390. 
 
 Gates, Isaac, 391. 
 
 Gates, James Madison, 391. 
 
 George, C. E., 777. 
 
 George, Charles S., 775. 
 
 George, Irving T., 777, 781. 
 
 George, John, 781. 
 
 George, John Hatch, 392. 
 
 George, John P., 780. 
 
 Gerrish, John, 7. 
 
 Getchell, Joshua, 782. 
 
 Gilbert, Benjamin Joseph, 394. 
 
 Gilbert, Daniel, 395. 
 
 Gilchrist, John James, 94. 
 
 Giles, William A. J., 780. 
 
 Gilman, Charles, 396. 
 
 Gilman, Nicholas, 16. 
 
 Gilman, Samuel, 19. 
 
 GUman, Samuel Taylor, 396. 
 
 Goodale, Lewis, 778. 
 
 Goodall, Ira, 397. 
 
 Goodall, Samuel H., 777, 781. 
 
 Goodrich, Charles Bishop, 398. 
 
 Goodwin, Fremont, 782. 
 
 Goodwin, Moses Bradbury, 399. 
 
 Goodwin, William Frederick, 400. 
 
 Gordon, Nathaniel, 781. 
 
 Gordon, William, 401. 
 
 Goss, Hubert I., 776. 
 
 Gould, Edwin B., 777, 779, 780. 
 
 Gould, Fred H., 779, 780. 
 
 Gove, Charles Frederick, 402. 
 
 Gove, Jesse Augustus, 403. 
 
 Gove, John, 404. 
 
 Grant, Gilbert A., 404. 
 
 Grant, Stephen, 404. 
 
 Grant, William H., 779. 
 
 Green, Gardner, 406. 
 
788 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Green, Nathaniel, 406. 
 Green, Peter, 406. 
 Green, Samuel, 84. 
 Greene, Herman W., 780. 
 Greenough, Elbridge Flagg, 408. 
 Gregg, David Aiken, 408. 
 Gregg, Joseph Allen, 409. 
 Griswold, Charles S., 777. 
 Grout, Solon, 409. 
 Gurfnison, Andrew J., 780. 
 Guptill, Ernest L., 781. 
 
 Haekett, Frank W., 781. 
 
 Hackett, Wallace, 781. 
 
 Haekett, William Henry, 410. 
 
 Haekett, William Henry Young, 410. 
 
 Hadley, Amos, 780. 
 
 Hadley, fiufus S., 780. 
 
 Haines, Samuel, 412. 
 
 Hale, Arthur H., 778. < 
 
 Hale, David, 413. 
 
 Hale, John, 413. 
 
 Hale, John Parker, 414. 
 
 Hale, John Parker, 415. 
 
 Hale, Napoleon B., 780. 
 
 Hale, Sabna, 418. 
 
 Hale, Samuel, 419. 
 
 Hall, Daniel, 781. 
 
 Hall, Joshua G., 776, 782. 
 
 Hall, Kinsley, 7. 
 
 Hall, Obed, 420. 
 
 Hallinan, Stephen L., 779. 
 
 Ham, John, 421. 
 
 Hamblett, Charles J., 779. 
 
 Hamden, Charles A., 778. 
 
 Hamlin, Wolcott, 779, 782. 
 
 Handerson, Phinehas, 421. 
 
 Hardy, Silas, 776. 
 
 Hardy, Walter D., 775, 780. 
 
 Harper, John Adams, 422. 
 
 Harriman, Walter C, 781. 
 
 Harrington, J. M., 778. 
 
 Harris, Harrison Gray, 424. 
 
 Harris, Joel, 425. 
 
 Harris, John, 85. 
 
 Hart, Henry H., 782. 
 
 Harvey, James G., 777. 
 
 Harvey, Matthew, 423. 
 
 Hastings, Elijah D., 775, 782. 
 
 Hastings, Moses A., 774, 776. 
 
 Hatch, Albert Ruyter, 425. 
 
 Hatch, Francis M., 781. 
 
 Hatch, Fred S., 779, 781. 
 
 Hatch, John, 781. 
 
 Hatch, Riley B., 779. 
 
 Haven, Alfred Woodward, 427. 
 
 Haven, George W., 781. 
 
 Haven, Nathaniel Appleton, 427. 
 
 Hawthorn, C. G., 780. 
 
 Hawthorne, Carlos G., 428. 
 
 Hayes, Archibald Monroe, 429. 
 
 Hayes, John Lord, 429. 
 
 Hayes, Richard, 780. 
 
 Hazeltine, James W., 431; 
 
 Hazelton, Jolm B., 779, 780. 
 
 Hazelton, Horace Lovejoy, 431. 
 
 Hazelton, Moses Kittredge, 432. 
 
 Hazzen, Elijah B., 778, 780, 781. 
 
 Heald, David, 432. 
 
 Heald, Harry L., 777. 
 
 Healey, Daniel K., 776. 
 
 Healey, Michael J., 778. 
 
 Heath, Isaac L., 778. 
 
 Herbert, John, 778. 
 
 Herbert, Samuel, 778. 
 
 Hersey, Charles H., 774, 776. 
 
 Heydock, William Townsend, 433. 
 
 Heywood, Henry, 776, 777. 
 
 Heywood, William, 433. 
 
 Hibbard, Charles B., 775. 
 
 Hibbard, Ellery A., 134, 774, 775, 778. 
 
 Hibbard, Harry, 435. 
 
 Hiland, Frank, 436. 
 
 Hildreth, C. B., 779. 
 
 Hill, Charles Freeman, 436. 
 
 Hill, David Hammonds, 437. 
 
 Hill, John Boynton, 438. 
 
 Hill, Joseph B., 778. 
 
 Hills, Frank H., 776. 
 
 Hills, William H., 781. 
 
 Hilton, George S., 775. 
 
 Hilton, Richard, 8. 
 
 Hinckes, John, 9. 
 
 Hinds, Abraham, 439. 
 
 Hinds, Elisha, 439. 
 
 Hoar, Nathaniel Pierce, 440. 
 
 Hobbs, George Frank, 441. 
 
 Hobbs, Josiah Hilton, 442. 
 
 Hobbs, Josiah H., 775, 776. 
 
 Hodgdon, Albert Elisha, 443. 
 
 Hodgdou, George Enos, 443. 
 
 Hodgdon, Moses, 444. 
 
 Hoitt, Charles W., 779. 
 
 Holbrook, A. M., 773. 
 
 Holden, Samuel E., 777. 
 
 Hollis, Henry F., 780. 
 
 Holman, Samuel W., 778. 
 
 Holmes, Artemas Lawrence, 445. 
 
 Holmes, Lewis W., 774, 776. 
 
 Holt, Herman, 782. 
 
 Holton, Asa, 445. 
 
 Hopkins, Henry F., 781. 
 
 Hosford, Charles H., 777. 
 
 Houghton, Josiah, 445. 
 
 Howard, Alfred F., 781. 
 
 Howard, Timothy J., 778. 
 
 Howe, George, 776. 
 
 Howe, Luke, 446. 
 
 Howe, Phineas, 446. 
 
 Hoyt, Aaron Beede, 447. 
 
 Hoyt, Albert H., 781. 
 
 Hoyt, Louis G., 774, 781. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 789 
 
 Hubbard, Henry, 447. 
 Hubbard, Henry, Jr., 448. 
 Hubbard, Leverett, 25. 
 Hughes, Aaron P., 449. 
 Humphreys, Daniel, 460. 
 Huukinff, Mark, 11. 
 Hunt, Nathan P., 778. 
 Hunt, Samuel, 451. 
 Huntoon, Nathaniel, 452. 
 Hurd, John, 452. 
 Huse, Henry Howard, 453. 
 Huske, Ellis, 18. 
 Hutchings, F. D., 777. 
 Hutehins, Arthur Edwin, 453. 
 Hutchins, Benjamin T., 780. 
 Hutching, George Washington, 454. 
 Hutehins, Hamilton, 464. 
 Hutchins, William Wallace, 455. 
 Hutchinson, Aaron, 455. 
 Hutchinson, Eugene, 456. 
 Hutchinson, Henry, 456. 
 Hutchinson, James, 457. 
 Hutchinson, Jotham Patten, 457. 
 
 Jackson,James R., 777. 
 Jaffrey, George, 13. 
 James, William H., 458. 
 Jameson, Thomas, 458. 
 Jarvis, Russell, 459. 
 Jeffrey, James, 460. 
 Jenkins, Moses Noble, 460. 
 Jenness, John Scribner, 460. 
 Jewell, C. A., 778. 
 Jewell, Erastus P., 775. 
 Jewett, Stephen S., 775. 
 Johnson, Charles D., 461. 
 Johnson, Charles W., 461. 
 Johnson, John W., 779. 
 Johnson, Joseph Haines, 462. 
 Johnson, T. F., 776. 
 Johnston, Hale Atkinson, 462. 
 Jones, Cyrus, 782. 
 Jones, Daniel, 462. 
 Jones, Edwin F., 778. 
 Jones, Josiah, 463. 
 Jordan, Chester B., 777. 
 Jordan, Ichabod Goodwin, 464. 
 
 Keep, Elisha A., 781. 
 Kellogg, P. J. T., 777. 
 Kelly, John, 464. 
 Kelly, John, 465. 
 Kent, Amos, 466. 
 Kent, George, 467. 
 Kent, Henry O., 777. 
 Kent, Moody, 469. 
 Key, Orestes H., 775, 781. 
 Kilburn, John Adams, 470. 
 Kimball, Arthur R., 780. 
 Kimball, Benjamin, 470. 
 Kimball, Frank, 471. 
 
 Kimball, George, 471. 
 
 Kimball, Henry, 782. ,, 
 
 Kimball, JabSz, 472. 
 
 Kimball, Jacob, 473. 
 
 Kimball, John, 473. 
 
 Kimball, Richard, 474. 
 
 Kimball, Samuel Ayer, 476. 
 
 Kimball, William Augustus, 476. 
 
 Kingman, John W., 782. 
 
 Kittredge, Edward Cornelius Dela- 
 
 van, 476. 
 Kittredge, Jonathan, 477. 
 Kittredge, Walter E., 779. 
 Kivel, John, 782. 
 Knapp, William D., 782. 
 Knight, Carl E., 779. 
 Knight, Charles H., 781. 
 Knight, Edward B., 782. 
 Knight, Elijah, 478. 
 Knight, William E., 779. 
 Knowlton, Thomas O., 778, 779. 
 
 Ladd, William Spencer, 124. 
 Lambert, Thomas Ricker, 478. 
 Lamson, George, 479. 
 Lane, Edward A., 780. 
 Lane, Farnnm Fish, 480. 
 Lane, Samuel G., 780. 
 Lang, David Ricker, 480. 
 Lang, Paul, 777. 
 Langdon, Henry Sherburne, 481. 
 Langdon, Woodbury, 31. 
 Lawrence, Jotham, 481. 
 Leach, Edward G., 780. 
 Leach, James Allen, 482. 
 Leavitt, Charles J., 775, 782. 
 Leavitt, Henry B., 482. 
 Leavitt, Thomas, 781. 
 Le Boeuf, Joseph, 778. 
 Leland, Charles, 483. 
 Leland, Thomas, 483. 
 Leverett, William, 484. 
 Lewis, Daniel, 484. 
 Lewis, Eugene, 779. 
 Libbey, J. F., 776. 
 Little, George A., 778. 
 Little, William, 778. 
 Livermore, Arthur, 55, 777. 
 Livermore, Arthur L., Jr., 775. 
 Livermore, Edward St. Loe, 52. 
 Livermore, Matthew, 484. 
 Livermore, Samuel, 34. 
 Livermore, Solomon Kidder, 485. 
 Livermore, Thomas L., 779. 
 Livingston, Frank C, 778. 
 Livius, Peter, 486. 
 Locke, P. Webster, 776, 781. 
 Long, Samuel Pierse, 487. 
 Lord, John Perkins, 487. 
 Lord, Samuel Dearborn, 488. 
 Lougee, Hayes, 776. 
 
790 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lovell, Aldis, 489. 
 Lof ell, B., 776. 
 Lovell, Bolivar, 489. 
 Lovell, Warren, 490. 
 Loveren, Harry E., 778. 
 Luce, Thomas D., 774, 778. 
 Lucier, Alvin J., 778. 
 Lull, Oliver Woodbury, 490. 
 Lund, Charles Carroll, 491. 
 Lund, Rodney, 777. 
 Lyford, James O., 775, 780. 
 Lyford, Stephen Carr, 492. 
 Lyman, Isaac, 492. 
 
 McAllister, George I., 778. 
 
 McClure, Milon Craig, 493. 
 
 MoCrillis, Alonzo, 493. 
 
 McCrillis, John, 774, 782. 
 
 McFarland, John, 494. 
 
 McGaw, Isaac, 494. 
 
 McLaue, Charles S., 782. 
 
 McMurphy, James, 495. 
 
 McNeil, John, 778. 
 
 McQuesten, James, 495. 
 
 Mace, Warren H., 781. 
 
 Madden, Joseph, 776. 
 
 Madden, Max J., 776. 
 
 Mann, Thomas B., 777. 
 
 Marcy, John Sullivan, 496. , 
 
 Marshall, Anson S., 780. 
 
 Marshall, Anson Southard, 496. 
 
 Marshall, William (Pitt), 497. 
 
 Marston, Gilman, 498. 
 
 Marston, Winthrop Atkinson, 501. 
 
 Martin, Nathaniel E., 780. 
 
 Martin, Samuel H., 775. 
 
 Martyn, Richard, 1. 
 
 Marvin, Thomas E. O., 781. 
 
 Mason, George Means, 502. 
 
 Mason, Jeremiah, 502. 
 
 Mason, Joseph C, 778. 
 
 Mason, Samuel Kelley, 507. 
 
 Mathes, Edwin Nathaniel, 508. 
 
 Matthews, Joseph S., 780. 
 
 Matthews, William S., 782. 
 
 Mattocks, William, 508. 
 
 Mead, Larkin Goldsmith, 508. 
 
 Means, Robert, 509. 
 
 Melcher, Woodbury M., 775. 
 
 Mellen, Henry, 510. 
 
 Mellen, John Wendell, 511. 
 
 Mellen, Prentiss, 511. 
 
 Mellows, Aaron L., 781. 
 
 Merrill, Caleb, 512. 
 
 Merrill, James Alfred Emery, 512. 
 
 Merrill, Jesse, 513. 
 
 Metcalf, Henry H., 782. 
 
 Metcalf, Ralph, 513. 
 
 Miller, James, 514. 
 
 Millet, Thomas, 19. 
 
 Mills, John B., 778. 
 
 Mills, Luther, 515. 
 Minot, George, 516. 
 Minot, Josiah, 516. 
 Mitchell, John M., 777, 780. 
 Mitchell, Stephen, 517. 
 Mitchell, William H., 774, 777. 
 Moody, Benjamin, 518. 
 Moody, Isaiah Preble, 518. 
 Moody, Jefferson M., 775. 
 Moody, Stephen, 519. 
 Moore, Alpheus, 520. 
 Moore, Horace S., 521. 
 Moore, John T., 778. 
 Morrill, Luther Sullivan, 521. 
 Morris, George F., 777. 
 Morris, James H., 780. 
 Morris, Lewis R., 522. 
 Morris, W. T., 780. 
 Morrison, Charles Robert, 522. 
 Morrison, George Washington, 523. 
 Morrison, Thomas J., 778. 
 Morse, Harry M., 777. 
 Morse, Luther C, 777. 
 Morse, Samuel, 525. 
 Morton, William Saxton, 526. 
 Moulton, Edward Smith, 526. 
 Moulton, Oliff Cecil, 527. 
 Mugridge, John Young, 527. 
 Murphy, J. Downing, 781. 
 Murray, Frank J., 779. 
 Murray, George W., 777. 
 Muzzey, John, 528. 
 Myers, W. S., 776. 
 
 Nash, John B., 775. 
 
 Nason, Rufus W., 782. 
 
 Nason, William F., 774, 782. 
 
 Neal, Moses Leavitt, 628. 
 
 Nelson, John, 529. 
 
 Nesmith, George Washington, 119. 
 
 Newcomb, Daniel, 50. 
 
 Newcomb, Seth, 530. 
 
 Newell, John P., 779. 
 
 Newton, Christopher G., 530. 
 
 Newton, Hubbard, 531. 
 
 Newton, Thomas, 531. 
 
 Newton, William F., 782. 
 
 Niles, C. B., 776. 
 
 Norris, Arthur Fitzroy Livingston, 
 
 532. 
 Norris, Herbert L., 780. 
 Norris, Moses, 533. 
 Norris, True L., 780. 
 Norris, William Taylor, 534. 
 Noyes, Parker, 535. 
 Nutt, William H., 536. 
 
 O'Connor, Charles A., 779. 
 O'Connor, Denis F., 779. 
 Odell, Fletcher, 536. 
 Odell, Lory, 537. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 791 
 
 Odiorne, Jotham, 20. 
 
 O'Donnell, Thomas J., 779. 
 
 Olcott, Edward Kuf us, 538. 
 
 Olcott, George, 538. 
 
 Olcott, Mills, 539. 
 
 Olcott, Simeon, 41. 
 
 Olcott, William, 640. 
 
 Oliver, Nathaniel Kemble Greenwood, 
 
 541. 
 O'Neill, John, 781. 
 Orne, Henry Harvey, 541. 
 Osgood, Alpheus C, 779, 780. 
 Osgood, Fred B., 775. 
 Osgood, Hiram, 542. 
 Ottorson, J. F. J., 779. 
 Owens, Stanton J., 775. 
 
 Packer, Thomas, 13. 
 Page, Calvin, 781. 
 Page, David, 543. 
 Page, Samuel B., 777, 778, 780. 
 Page, Samuel T., 777. 
 Paige, Samuel K., 781. 
 Paine, George, 543. 
 Paine, William H., 781. 
 Parker, Amos Andrew, 644. 
 Parker, Charles D., 779. 
 Parker, Edmund, 545. 
 Parker, Edward E., 779. 
 Parker, Edward Piukerton, 546. 
 Parker, Elijah, 547. 
 Parker, Frederick, 547. 
 Parker, Hosea W., 782. 
 Parker, James, 548. 
 Parker, James Underwood, 548. 
 Parker, Joel, 86. 
 Parker, John, 549. 
 Parker, Joseph B., 779. 
 Parker, Nathaniel, 549. 
 Parker, Samuel Handy, 550. 
 Parker, Samuel S., 782. 
 Parker, William, 26, 651. 
 Parkhurst, Charles, 782. 
 Parks, Clarence A., 776. 
 Parrott, Robert Parker, 552. 
 Parsons, Daniel Jacob, 652. 
 Parsons, Edward, 553. 
 Parsons, Frank N., 774, 780. 
 Parsons, James I., 776, 777. 
 Parsons, Moses, 563. 
 Partridge, William, 3. 
 Pattee, Jesse B., 779. 
 Patten, William Colcord, 654. 
 Patten, William Kobie, 556. 
 Patterson, Isaac, 556. 
 Payne, Elisha, 557. 
 Payne, Elisha, Jr., 568. 
 Payson, Moses Paul, 658. 
 Payson, Moses Paul, Jr., 560. 
 Peabody, Francis B., 778, 780. 
 Peabody, Oliver, 560. 
 
 Peabody, Oliver William Bourn, 561. 
 
 Peabody, Samuel, 663. 
 
 Peabody, Stephen, 664. 
 
 Pearl, Isaac E., 782. 
 
 Pearson, Samuel Atkinson, 566. 
 
 Pearson, Thomas, 665. 
 
 Pease, B. A., 779. 
 
 Pease, Edwin, 566. 
 
 Peaslee, Charles Hazen, 566. 
 
 Peaslee, Robert J., 779. 
 
 Peaslee, Walter S., 775. 
 
 Peavey, George Chesley, 668. 
 
 Peirce, George, 568. 
 
 Penhallow, Samuel, 12. 
 
 Perkins, David L., 779. 
 
 Perkins, David P., 779. 
 
 Perkins, Hamilton Elliot, 669. 
 
 Perkins, Matthew, 569. 
 
 Perley, Ira, 105. 
 
 Perry, Nathaniel Oilman, 670. 
 
 Perryman, Nicholas, 570. 
 
 Person, Ira Brown, 571. 
 
 Pettengill, Thomas Hale, 572. 
 
 Beverly, Thomas, 573. 
 
 Phelps, George Morey, 574. 
 
 Philbrook, Edward F., 776. 
 
 Phipps, Thomas, 674. 
 
 Pickering, Charles W., 781. 
 
 Pickering, John, 44, 675. 
 
 Pickering, William, 576. 
 
 Pierce, Charles Warren, 577. 
 
 Pierce, David R., 782. 
 
 Pierce, Frank H., 778, 780. 
 
 Pierce, Franklin, 578. 
 
 Pierce, Kirk D., 778. 
 
 Pierce, Lucius D., 581. 
 
 Pierce, Williams., 782. 
 
 Pike, Austin Franklin, 681. 
 
 Pike, Robert G., 782. 
 
 PiUsbury, David, 582. 
 
 Pillsbury, John J., 780. 
 
 PiUsbury, Roseerans W., 779, 781. 
 
 Pinkham, Daniel Chesley, 583. 
 
 Pitman, George W. M., 776. 
 
 Pitman, John, 684. 
 
 Plaisted, John, 10. 
 
 Plumer, William, 685. 
 
 Plumer, William, Jr., 688. 
 
 Plummer, William A., 775. 
 
 Poole, Benjamin, 778. 
 
 Porter, John, 589. 
 
 Porter, John, 589. 
 
 Porter, John, 590. 
 
 Porter, John, Jr., 590. 
 
 Potter, Alvah K., 780. 
 
 Potter, Chandler Eastman, 591. 
 
 Pray, John, 692. 
 
 Pray, Thomas Moses, 592. 
 
 Prentice, John, 593. 
 
 Prentiss, John James, 695. 
 
 Prescott, Alfred, 775. 
 
792 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Prescott, Benjamin F., 780. 
 Prescott, Ezra, 595. 
 Prescott, George W., 779. 
 Prescott, George Washington, 596. 
 Prescott, Samuel, 597. 
 Prescott, William C, 780. 
 Preston, John, 597. 
 Preston, William A., 779. 
 Proctor, Frank W., 779. 
 Putnam, Charles Lewis, 598. 
 Putnam, George F., 777, 778. 
 Putney, Henry M., 779. 
 Putney, John Alvin, 599. 
 
 Quarles, Samuel Dalton,'599. 
 Quincy, Josiah, 600. 
 
 Ramsay, Ira Allen, 602, 675. 
 
 Ramsdell, George A., 779. 
 
 Rand, Charles White, 603. 
 
 Rand, Edward Dean, 603. 
 
 Randolph, Edward, 606. 
 
 Rawson, Jonathan, 607. 
 
 Ray, Orman P., 776. 
 
 Ray, Ossian, 608. 
 
 Ray, Robert A., 780. 
 
 Rayn, Joseph, 610. 
 
 Reed, Nathan E., 782. 
 
 Reed, Timothy, 610. 
 
 Remick, Daniel C, 776, 777. 
 
 Remiek, James W., 776, 777. 
 
 Rhodes, F. M., 776. 
 
 Rice, Samuel, 612. 
 
 Rice, Thomas, 611. 
 
 Richardson, John Adams, 611. 
 
 Richardson, William Merchant, 72. 
 
 Riedell, John H., 779. 
 
 Roberts, Amasa, 613. 
 
 Roberts, Dudley, 779. 
 
 Roberts, William H., 782. 
 
 Robinson, Henry, 780. 
 
 Roby, John Swift, 613. 
 
 Rogers, Artemas, 613. 
 
 Rogers, Arthur, 614. 
 
 Rogers, Benjamin A., 780. 
 
 Rogers, Benjamin R., 775. 
 
 Rogers, Charles C, 775. 
 
 Rogers, Charles Ramsay, 615. 
 
 Rogers, Daniel Allen, 616. 
 
 Rogers, John, 616. 
 
 Rogers, John A., 617. 
 
 Rogers, Nathaniel Peabody, 617. 
 
 Rogers, Stephen Sewall, 619. 
 
 Rolfe, Henry P., 780. 
 
 Rollins, Amos, 775. 
 
 Rollins, Edward Ashton, 619. 
 
 Rollins, Frank W., 780. 
 
 Rollins, Samuel W., 775, 782. 
 
 Rollins, William H., 781. 
 
 Rowe, James Samuel, 620. ' 
 
 Rowell, Roland C, 779. 
 
 Rumery, Aldo M., 774. 
 RusseU, William F., 782. 
 Ryan, James, Jr., 782. 
 
 St. Clair, Ira, 621. 
 Sanborn, Charles Prescott, 621. 
 Sanborn, Charles William, 622. 
 Sanborn, Cyrus King, 623. 
 Sanborn, E. B. S., 780. 
 Sanborn, Edward B. S., 779. 
 Sanders, Calvin, 782. 
 Sargent, Harry G., 780. 
 Sargent, Jonathan Everett, 117. 
 Sawyer, Aaron Flint, 624. 
 Sawyer, Aaron Worcester, 130. 
 Sawyer, George Y., 779. 
 Sawyer, George Yeaton, 108. 
 Sawyer, Luther Dearborn, 624. 
 Sawyer, Thomas, 625. 
 Sawyer, Thomas Ellwood, 626. 
 Sawyer, William, 627. 
 Sawyer, William H., 780. 
 Scales, Stephen, 628. 
 Scott, Albert Smith, 628. 
 Selden, Samuel, 629. 
 Sewall, Jonathan Mitchell, 629. 
 Shackford, Charles Burnham, 631. 
 Shannon, Cutt, 631. 
 Shannon, Edwin H., 775, 782. 
 Shannon, Richard Cutts, 632. 
 Sbapleigh, Samuel B., 782. 
 Shapley, J. Hamilton, 781. 
 Shattuck, Amos Blanchard, 633. 
 Shattuck, Nathaniel, 634. 
 Shea, John J., 779. 
 Sheafe, John Lane, 635. 
 Sherburne, Henry, 17. 
 Sherburne, John Samuel, 635. 
 Sherburne, Joseph, 18. 
 Shirley, John Major, 637. 
 Shurtleff, Amos J., 774, 780. 
 ShurtlefE, William H., 776, 777. 
 Shute, Henry A., 781. 
 Silsby, Arthur W., 780. 
 Silsby, Jesse F., 774. 
 Slack, John Hancock, 639. 
 Simmons, Albion R., 779. 
 Sleeper, Jonas Darius, 640. 
 Sloan, David, 641. 
 Sloane, Scott, 777. 
 Small, William Bradbury, 641. 
 Smart, Elmer J., 782. 
 Smiley, David, 642. 
 Smith, Charles H., 781. 
 Smith, E. B., 776. 
 Smith, Ebenezer, 643. 
 Smith, Ebenezer, Jr., 643. 
 Smith, Edward W., 777. 
 Smith, Emery B., 644. 
 Smith, Ezra M., 776, 779. 
 Smith, Francis Peter, 644. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 793 
 
 Smith, Frederic, 644. 
 
 Smith, G. E., 780. 
 
 Smith, Isaac W., 134, 774, 779. 
 
 Smith, J.C.Bates, 779. 
 
 Smith, James, 645. 
 
 Smith, Jedediah Kilburn, 646. 
 
 Smith, Jeremiah, 58, 134, 774, 782. 
 
 Smith, John Harvey, 646. 
 
 Smith, Jonathan, 647, 779. 
 
 Smith, Joseph, 3. 
 
 Smith, Lewis, 648. 
 
 Smith, Samuel, 648. 
 
 Smith, Silas B., 775. 
 
 Smith, Thomas Jefferson, 649. 
 
 Smith, William, 650. 
 
 Smith, William, 651. 
 
 Snell, Titus, 651. 
 
 Snow, Alpheus Franklin, 652. 
 
 Snow, Leslie P., 782. 
 
 Soule, Charles Emery, 652. 
 
 Spalding, Alfred Byron, 653. 
 
 Spalter, Frank B., 776. 
 
 Spear, Hiram A., 653. 
 
 Sprague, Alden, 653. 
 
 Sprague, John, 654. 
 
 Sprague, Peleg, 655. 
 
 Spring, Arthur L., 777. 
 
 Spring, John L., 777, 779. 
 
 Stanley, Clinton Warrington, 128. 
 
 Stanyan, John Edward, 655. 
 
 Stark, Caleb, Jr., 656. 
 
 Stark, William, 657. 
 
 Starrett, David, 657. 
 
 Steele, David, 659. 
 
 Steele, David, 059. 
 
 Steele, David, 660. 
 
 Steele, John, 660. 
 
 Steele, Jonathan, 69, 661. 
 
 Steele, Stephen Powers, 662. 
 
 Steele, Thomas L., 780. 
 
 Stephenson, Turner, 662. 
 
 Sterling, N. R., 777. 
 
 Sterne, Thomas, Jr., 663. 
 
 Stevens, Aaron Fletcher, 663. 
 
 Stevens, Boswell, 665. 
 
 Stevens, Elbert C, 777. 
 
 Stevens, George W., 782. 
 
 Stevens, George Washington, 666. 
 
 Stevens, Henry W., 780. 
 
 Stevens, Hezekiah B., 781. 
 
 Stevens, Lyman D., 780. 
 
 Stevens, Samuel Hubbard, 666. 
 
 Stevens, Solon, 667. 
 
 Stickney, George, 781. 
 
 Stickney, William Weir, 667. 
 
 Stiles, Ezra, 668. 
 
 Stinson, Jeremiah, 669. 
 
 Stone, Charles James Fox, 669. 
 
 Stone, Charles F., 775. 
 
 Stone, George R., 780. 
 
 Stone, George W., 779. 
 
 Storer, Samuel, 781. 
 Story, Abraham Burnham, 669. 
 Story, Charles, 670. 
 Story, Joseph C, 778. 
 Straw, James B., 779. 
 Streeter, Frank S., 777, 780. 
 Stuart, Charles Jesse, 670. 
 Sturoc, William C, 782. 
 Sullivan, George, 671. 
 Sullivan, George Samuel, 672. 
 Sullivan, James, 673. 
 Sullivan, John, 674. 
 Sullivan, John, 675. 
 Sullivan, Patrick H., 779. 
 Sulloway, Cyrus A., 779. 
 Sumner, Frederic Augustus, 676. 
 Swan, James Ingalls, 677. 
 Sweat, Nathan C, 679. 
 
 Taft, Herbert J., 778. 
 Taggart, David A., 778, 779. 
 Tappan, Mason Weare, 679. 
 Tappan, Weare, 681. 
 Tasker, A. Biimey, 776. 
 Tebbets, Noah, 682, 782. 
 Tebbets, Samuel, 683. 
 Tebbetts, Andrew Gilman, 683. 
 Tebbetts, William B., 780. 
 Teele, J. Oscar, 778. 
 Temple, E. J., 776. 
 Tenney, E. J., 782. 
 Tenney, George, 684. 
 Tenney, William, 684. 
 Tewksbury, Henry W., 779. 
 Thayer, Andrew Eliot, 684. 
 Thorn, James, 685. 
 Thompson, Charles Edward, 686. 
 Thompson, Ebenezer, 48. 
 Thompson, Edwin P., 774, 775. 
 Thompson, Francis Samuel, 687. 
 Thompson, John, 687. 
 Thompson, Thomas W., 688. 
 Thompson, William Coombs, 689. 
 Thorndike, Henry, 690. 
 Thorndike, Larkin, 690. 
 Thorndike, Thomas Henry, 691. 
 Thornton, .James Bonaparte, 691. 
 Thornton, Matthew, 28, 692. 
 Thurston, James B., 780. 
 Tibbetts, Charles W., 782. 
 Ticknor, George, 692. 
 Tilden, C. B., 779. 
 Tillotson, John Morris, 693. 
 Tilton, Joseph, 693. 
 Tisdale, Barna, 694. 
 Todd, George Washington, 694. 
 ToplifE, Elijah M., 779. 
 Toplife, Orestes R., 695. 
 Toppan, Edmund, 695. 
 Towle, Amos, 781. 
 Towle, George Sullivan, 696. 
 
794 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Towle, J. Warren, 781. 
 Tuck, Amos, 697. 
 Tucke, Eben Franklin, 698. 
 Turner, Bela, 698. 
 Tuttle, James P., 774, 779. 
 Tuttle, John Leighton, 699. 
 Twiss, Jesse B., 776, 779. 
 Twitchell, Albert 8., 776. 
 Tyler, Stephen, 699. 
 
 Underwood, James, 699. 
 Upham, George Baxter, 700. 
 Upham, Jabez, 701. 
 Upham, Nathaniel Gookin, 91. 
 Upton, Samuel, 778, 779. 
 
 Varney, John Riley, 701. 
 
 Vauglian, Edwin, 702. 
 
 Vaughan, F. T., 782. 
 
 Vaughan, Orsino Augustine Jabez, 703. 
 
 Vaughan, William, 10. 
 
 Virgin, Joel G., 704. 
 
 Vittum, David Sands, 704. 
 
 Vose, Frederic, 705. 
 
 Vose, Koger, 705. 
 
 Wadleigh, Baiubridge, 707. 
 Wadleigh, Gilbert, 708. 
 Wadleigh, Robert, 2. 
 Wait, Albert L., 776. 
 Wait, Albert S., 782. 
 Walker, Charles, 709. 
 Walker, James, 709. 
 Walker, Joseph B., 780. 
 Walker, Lyman Bradstreet, 710. 
 Walker, Phinehas, 711. 
 Walker, Reuben E., 780. 
 Wallace, Andrew, 712. 
 Wallace, Elisha Fuller, 713. 
 Wallace, Robert M., 134, 774, 779. 
 Wallingford, Thomas, 20. 
 Walton, Shadrach, 8. 
 Ward, Benjamin, 713. 
 Ward, John Q. A., 779. 
 Warner, Edgar M., 777. 
 Warren, George H., 779. 
 Wason, Edward H., 779. 
 Weare, Meshech, 21. 
 Weare, Nathaniel, 4, 16. 
 Weare, Peter, 14. 
 Webber, Brooks K., 778. 
 Webster, Charles Cotesworth, 714. 
 Webster, C. Fred, 776. 
 Webster, Daniel, 714. 
 Webster, Ezekiel, 716. 
 Webster, Samuel Cummings, 718. 
 Webster, William Gordon, 718. 
 Weed, William McGafEey, 719. 
 Weeks, Benjamin F., 777. 
 Weeks, Edgar, 782. 
 Weeks, Frank, 776. 
 
 Weeks, Joseph Doe, 719. 
 Weeks, William B., 777. 
 Weeks, William Pickering, 720. 
 Wellington, Leonard, 776. 
 Wells, Christopher H., 782. 
 WeUs, Frank, 782. 
 Wells, John Sullivan, 721. 
 Wells, Nathaniel, 722. 
 Wells, Samuel Israel, 724. 
 Wentworth, Alonzo B., 782. 
 Wentworth, Alvin F., 778. 
 Wentworth, John, 30, 726. 
 Wentworth, John, Jr., 724. 
 Wentworth, Paul, 776. 
 Wentworth, Tappau, 726. 
 West, Benjamin, 727. 
 West, Edward Barker, 730. 
 West, Presbury, Jr., 730. 
 West, Samuel, 731. 
 Westgate, Nathaniel Waite, 731. 
 Westgate, William F., 777. 
 Wheeler, George, 732. 
 Wheeler, Samuel Metealf, 733. 
 Wheeler, William Plumer, 734. 
 Wheelock, George A., 776. 
 Wheelpck, James Ripley, 735. 
 Wheelwright, George Albert, 736. 
 Whidden, Benjamin F., 777. 
 Whipple, Thomas Jefferson, 736. 
 Whipple, John, 739. 
 Whipple, Oliver, 739. 
 Whipple, WiUiam, 38. 
 Whitcher, David S., 741. 
 White, Daniel M., 779. 
 White, John Hubbard, 742. 
 White, Joseph Warren, 742. 
 Whiting, Samuel, 743. 
 Whitman, Zachariah Gardner, 743. 
 Whittemore, Aaron, Jr., 744. 
 Whittemore, Arthur G., 782. 
 Whittemore, Bernard Bemis, 745. 
 Whittle, James, 745. 
 Whittle, David Folsom, 746. 
 Wiggiu, Andrew, 15, 746. 
 Wiggin, Arthur H., 782. 
 Wiggin, Joseph F., 781. 
 Wiggins, John H., 747. 
 Wight, I. Howard, 776. 
 Wilcox, Jeduthun, 747. 
 Wilcox, Leonard, 93. 
 Wileox, Samuel M., 777, 779, 781. 
 Wilkins, James McKean, 748. 
 Williams, Elijah, 749. 
 Williams, George Canning, 760. 
 Williams, Jared I., 777. 
 Williams, Jared Warner, 750. 
 Williamson, Alonzo Bowman, 751. 
 Wilson, Arehelaus, 752. 
 Wilson, Hubbard, 752. 
 Wilson, James, 752. 
 Wilson, James, Jr., 754. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 795 
 
 Wilson, James L., 777. 
 Wilson, John McNeil, 750. 
 Wilson, Newton H., 779. 
 Wingate, John, 757. 
 Wingate, Joseph C. A., 780, 781. 
 Wingate, Paine, -54. 
 Winkley, Benjamin F., 757. 
 Winslow, James Anorum, 757. 
 Wiswall, Henry T., 782. 
 WoUage, Elijah, 758. 
 Wood, Alva, 758. 
 Wood, John C. L., 775. 
 Woodbury, Charles Howe, 750. 
 Woodbury, Gordon, 779. 
 Woodbury, James Trask, 759. 
 Woodbury, Levi, 81. 
 Woodbury, Luke, 760. 
 Woodbury, Samuel, 761. 
 Wooddell, Edward Whiteside, 7C1. 
 W^oodman, Aaron, 780. 
 Woodman, Charles, 702. 
 
 Woodman, Charles William, 762. 
 Woodman, Daniel Carlton, 763. 
 Woodman, Edgar Horace, 764. 
 Woodman, Jeremiah Hall, 764. 
 Woodman, John Smith, 765. 
 Woodman, Theodore Chase, 766. 
 Woods, Andrew Salter, 97. 
 Woods, Charles H., 776. 
 Woods, Edward, 777. 
 Woodward, Don H., 776. 
 Woodward, George, 766. 
 Woodward, William H., 767. 
 Worcester, Joseph H., 782. 
 Worcester, Samuel Thomas, 768. 
 Wright, C. Edward, 777. 
 
 Yeaton, Henry D., 782. 
 Young, Ira, 769. 
 Young, James G., 782. 
 Young, John E., 781. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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