USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 1 > Part 52
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Eliab Williams was born at Raynham, this State, in 1803. He was admitted to the bar in this State in 1827, having been previously admitted to the bar in Virginia in 1824. He came to Fall River in 1833, and in the same year formed the partnership with Mr. Battelle, under the firm name of Battelle & Williams, previously referred to. It is worthy of note that Mr. Williams, after his admission to the bar of Virginia, declined to settle there because of his "repugnance to the institution of slavery." After the retirement of Mr. Battelle from the firm, Mr. Williams continued business until almost the time of his death. Upon his death in 1880 the Fall River bar adopted resolutions of respect and appreciation. I knew Mr. Williams well, and wish to add something from my own personal recollection. When I came to the bar in 1876, Mr. Williams occupied an
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office in the southerly part of the second floor of Granite block. As I remember it, his office was sparsely furnished, containing little but books and papers, and a high wall desk at which Mr. Williams did his, writing with a quill pen, as he sat on a high stool. He was tall and thin. His face was colorless and always smooth-shaven, his hair was somewhat long, and his figure bent with age. He always wore a swallow-tail coat, and, I think a dickey collar and a white or black neckerchief. He was slow in speech, but always ready both to file his papers in court and try the case when reached. I don't remember that I ever heard him ask the court or his opponent the favor of a delay or postponement. To me, after I became acquainted with him, he was a typical-yes, an ideal lawyer of a former generation.
Frederick A. Boomer was another of the elder members of our bar. He was born in Tiverton; and he died in Fall River, in 1871. His early life was one of struggle. After he came to Fall River to live, he became greatly interested in educational matters, and was for many years an earnest and valuable member of its school committee. He was twice elected our city solicitor, was one year representative from our city at the General Court, and he was director in the Pocasset National Bank, from its organization until his death. Another member of the bar to whom I simply wish to refer is William P. Sheffield. After practicing in Fall River for some time, he removed to Newport, Rhode Island, and became one of that State's most eminent lawyers and most prominent citizens.
Prominent members of our Fall River bar who are no longer living were: Nicholas Hatheway, a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1843, and one of the leading criminal lawyers of the country. Although admitted to the bar in 1850, he did not come to live at Fall River until about 1870. He was an alderman of the city, and a member of the Legis- lature in 1875. He was for years one of the most prominent Democrats in this section of the State, taking a deep interest in politics. For about twenty years he was a delegate to at least four national Democratic con- ventions. Jonathan M. Wood was one of the older lawyers in active prac- tice, when I came to the bar in 1876. He was a typical Yankee, of marked native shrewdness, and full of witty and humorous stories with which he often captured a verdict from the jury, sometimes to the great surprise of an opposing lawyer. Mr. Wood was one of the greatest presidents of our Fall River Bar Association, organized as a corporation in 1887. David F. Slade, who was admitted to the bar in 1883, and who died in 1914, was a member of one of the most prominent firms of Fall River, Jackson, Slade & Borden. He won the affection of all who knew him. He was a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1880, and was for several years a member of the House of Representatives at Boston. His death proved a loss to the bar, a loss to the public, and a grievous loss to his family and friends. He was for five years a member of the Governor's Council from this district. Many prominent citizens from all over the State paid tribute to his memory, and three ex-governors attended his funeral as honorary pall-bearers. Marcus G. B. Swift was a partner of Henry K. Braley, under the firm name of Braley & Swift, which during its existence was one of the leading law firms of Fall River and of Bristol county.
It is the ambition of many lawyers to be appointed a judge of one of our courts,-the higher the court, the greater the honor. The appoint- ments are made by the Governor of the State, and are generally based upon the character and ability of the appointee, though some of the best lawyers decline a judgeship either on account of financial considerations
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or because they prefer the work of the bar to that of the bench. The courts in which the Fall River bar chiefly practice in the order of their rank, beginning with the lowest, are the Second District Court, the Probate Court, the Superior Court, and the Supreme Judicial Court.
I have sometimes thought that the administration of our district court and of the probate court is fully as important to the mass of the people in their respective jurisdiction as is that of the superior and supreme courts. As the judges both in the district and probate courts try cases without a jury, one can readily see how important it is for them not only to be well versed in the law, but also to use great tact, good judgment and honest purpose in applying that law to the facts in each case which comes before them for decision. Our second district court was established in 1874, and superseded the police court of which Louis Lapham had been the presiding judge since 1855. Judge Lapham had worked his way up from small be- ginnings, was an ardent friend of labor, and in his day was considered one of the leading citizens of Fall River. Josiah C. Blaisdell succeeded Judge Lapham as presiding judge of the district court, in 1874, and con- tinued to hold the office until he resigned in 1893. Judge Blaisdell was one of the prominent criminal lawyers of Bristol county, and had a large criminal practice. The knowledge acquired in his practice was undoubtedly of great assistance in properly disposing of the multitude of criminal cases which came before him as judge. Judge Blaisdell was not wholly devoted to his legal profession. He served in both the State Senate and House, and for four years was a member of the State Board of Charities, two years one of the earliest mayors of our city; and also found time to act for many years as superintendent of one of the large mission schools of the First Baptist church, of which he was one of the most active and influential members. John J. McDonough followed Judge Blaisdell, and was presiding judge of our district court from 1893 until his death in 1912. He gave up his outside legal practice, except, I think, probate, and devoted himself to administering the affairs of his court. He impressed me especially with the impartial and fearless manner with which he administered justice, as he saw it, to both high and low.
Judge McDonough was succeeded, in 1912, by Edward F. Hanify, our presiding district court judge, to me, one of the younger members of the bar here, and of whom I wish to speak words of praise. From what I have heard or known of his administration of the office, and of his conduct as a citizen, I feel like congratulating our bar and the city upon having as judge of our local court one who is not only a terror to intentional evil-doers, but one who carries, in his left hand, at least, mercy for the unfortunate. It is well for the city that it has such a judge to deal especially with our juvenile offenders. Augustus B. Leonard, though not a lawyer, was clerk of our local court for fifty-eight years, and he was succeeded in 1914 by our present efficient clerk, Michael J. O'Brien, who is a member of our bar. The probate court of our county has most important functions, for it deals mainly with the distribution of the property of all of us after our death and gives protection to the widows and orphans left behind. In some ways, it comes nearer to the people than any other court. Under the administration of Judges Bennett, Fuller and Alger, and the assistance of Fuller and Alger as registers, covering a period of many years, it attained the reputation not only of being the model court of the State, but it was considered throughout the whole country as an example for similar courts to follow. Guilford C. Hathaway, of our Fall River bar, was elected register of the probate court, to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Alger when the latter was promoted to the judgeship, and since then
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has held the office, having been twice elected by the people of the whole county. May he and the present Judge Hitch continue to keep that court in the future up to that high standard which it maintained for more than a half century. The Superior Court is the great trial court of the Common- wealth. Two worthy members of the Fall River bar have acted as judges of that court -- Henry K. Braley, who was appointed judge in 1891, and promoted to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1902, and Hugo A. Dubuque, appointed in 1911, and still acting as judge of that court. Judge Dubuque, in 1898, as a member of the Legislature, was the author of the so-called "Dubuque Law," an equitable process for the benefit of both debtor and creditor.
The Supreme Judicial Court has within my memory numbered among its justices two members of the Fall River bar, James M. Morton, senior, not only for many years the leader of the Fall River bar but in the later years of his practice was recognized as one of the eminent lawyers of the Commonwealth. He was appointed to the bench in 1890, and, having reached the age limit, resigned in 1913. Henry K. Braley, in 1902, on account of the ability and integrity manifested by him as judge of the Superior Court, was appointed justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. He is still acting as such justice. The Fall River bar is proud of the fact that out of the seven justices constituting the highest court in the State, two of those justices were from the Fall River bar, and each sat upon the bench for over twenty years, and for ten years together. I doubt if any other local bar or city can surpass, still less, equal, that record. John S. Brayton, who died in 1904, for many years one of Fall River's most respected and influential citizens, was clerk of the Supreme and Superior courts from 1856 to 1864. After he ceased to be clerk of courts he was not long engaged in active practive of law, but largely devoted his time to banking and manufacturing interests. He supervised the construction of our magnificent B. M. C. Durfee High School, the gift of his sister, Mrs. Young, to our city; and at one time he represented this section of our State as a member of the Governor's council. Simeon Borden, one of the local bar, was elected clerk of courts in 1864, and held that office continu- ously until his death in 1896, when his son, Simeon Borden, succeeded him, and still holds the office. The Fall River bar has furnished the clerk of courts for this county for more than sixty years. I doubt if that office has ever been filled by a father and son so long and so satisfactorily to the court, the lawyers and the people, in any other jurisdiction within the State.
A Fall River lawyer also occupies the bench of another important court. James M. Morton, Jr., son of the previously mentioned justice of our highest State court, after several years of legal practice in Fall River, was in 1912 appointed judge of the United States District Court at Boston, and still holds that position, I am told, to the general satisfaction of the bar and their clients. Every city solicitor, as would be expected, has been a member of our local bar. At least three members of our bar have served one or more years in our State Senate, and a larger number in our House of Representatives at Boston. During twenty-seven of the past forty-nine years this city has been represented in that House by twelve different members of the Fall River bar. Three have been district attor- neys, and one an assistant district attorney for southeastern Massachusetts. Many have been special justices of our district court, or served as aldermen of our city. One, an active member of the bar for years, is now a member of our board of police and treasurer of one of our savings banks. Eight have been mayors of our city for two years or more. One has been a member of the State Civil Service Commission, and served four years
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as one of the State board of bar examiners, and one is now a member of that board. The former was also a member of the Pilgrim Tercentenary committee, having charge of the Pilgrim celebration at Plymouth. Many have been members of our school committee. One was for several years chairman of our State Railroad Commission, and has been since 1918 a member of the board of public trustees, of the Boston Elevated Railway, and is its present chairman. One has been attorney-general of the Com- monwealth. One was for three years chairman of the Republican State committee. Besides holding the above offices, the members of the Fall River bar have been and now are officials in many of the important busi- ness, educational, patriotic and religious organizations of the city. The two names in regard to which I have previously made an exception are those of Mary E. Hyde and John W. Cummings.
Mary E. Hyde is the only woman who was ever a member of the Fall River bar. She was admitted to the bar in 1907, and is still a member. She devotes herself to probate and office work. Long before her admis- sion to the bar, she had won the respect and esteem of the community by her fifteen years' service as a member of the school committee and by her welfare and patriotic work as an official and member of numerous organiza- tions. John W. Cummings is now president of the Fall River Bar Associa- tion, incorporated in 1887, and is, in my opinion, one of the most eloquent and successful jury advocates within this Commonwealth. Mr. Cum- mings has held the office of president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, an organization composed of lawyers in all parts of the Commonwealth.
The Bar Association .-- The Fall River Bar Association was incorpo- rated in January, 1887, for the prosecution of literary and educational pur- suits, the establishment and maintenance of a place for a reading room and law library, and for the promotion of the interests of the Fall River bar. The annual meeting of the association is held on the first Saturday of June in each year. Any member of the bar regularly admitted to practise in any State of the United States, or in any foreign country, actively practising law in the city of Fall River for at least one year next preceding the date of his application for membership, whose chief employment during said year is that of an active practising lawyer, or a justice of some State or Federal court in this Commonwealth, or clerk of such court, may become a member of the association. James M. Morton was the first president; John J. McDonough, secretary. The officers in 1923: President, John W. Cummings; vice-president, Richard P. Borden; secretary, Edward T. Mur- phy ; treasurer, Nathan Yamins; executive council : L. Elmer Wood, Richard K. Hawes, H. S. R. Buffinton, Thomas F. Higgins, C. C. Donovan; library committee : Edward F. Hanify, Fernald L. Hanson, Charles L. Baker.
The first session of court was held in Fall River June 27, 1877, Hon. P. Emory Aldrich presiding, the session being held in a large hall in the Borden block. Theretofore, the courts had been held in Taunton and New Bedford. The Superior courthouse was completed in 1892, and the cost of construction was $225,000. On August 8, 1889, the cornerstone was laid with Masonic rites, its site being on that of the birthplace of Colonel Joseph Durfee, where later on. had dwelt Micah H. Ruggles and Colonel Richard Borden. The second district courthouse was completed early in 1911, and the first session of the court was held there January 23, that year. Its situation is on Rock street, where once stood the Exchange House, also known later as the Gunn House, the town's leading hotel from 1830 to 1850.
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The county jail was built in 1898, under legislative act of 1897, its cost having been $150,000. No penitentiary use has ever been found for it.
CHAPTER XI. FALL RIVER DOCTORS
The pride of Fall River in its medical fraternity, and in the knowledge that the doctors of medicine and of dentistry from the first have proven their capabilities and skill, whether at call of neighborhood, city or nation, has been justified, not by the numerical strength of the medical phalanx here, though that is considerable, but by the unswerving application and loyalty of the physicians to their profession at all seasons and at all hours. Whether in the hospital or the home, the Fall River doctor has the high regard of men and women of all professions for the traditions and the practice so firmly established in the community. Fall River does not trace a line of physicians to Colonial times, as other New England cities often do, but as tried and proven a company of doctors as any that can be readily pointed out in New England have made this their home and place of profession. In this city of the representatives of many nationalities, too, there are physicians of quite as many racial origins. Of those earlier doctors who made Fall River their home, none is today more frequently referred to than Dr. Foster Hooper, who was not only a skilful practi- tioner, but also a townsman who became active along many lines, and fore- most in many ways. He was prominent here during the Civil War, and it was he who offered those memorable resolutions, declaring that "the gov- ernment of the Union shall be sustained," and in which the request was made that the city government appropriate $10,000 for the aid of volunteers and their families.
Dr. Hooper was born in Walpole, N. H., April 2, 1805. He was a graduate of Burlington College, Vermont, and came to Fall River in 1826, where he soon acquired an active practice. He was a member of the school committee in 1829; a representative to the Legislature in 1831; county treasurer in 1837-1839; and State Senator in 1840-1842. He was chairman of the board of firewards from 1845 to 1847, and was chief engineer from 1848 to 1850. At the time of his death he was collector of internal revenue' for this district, and he was a member of the constitutional convention of 1853. He died in New York City, October 18, 1870, where he had gone as a delegate to the Unitarian conference, and he was buried in this city Oc- tober 21, that year.
Dr. James M. Aldrich (fifth in descent from George and Catherine Aldrich, who came from Derbyshire, England, in 1631, and settled in the town of Mendon, this State) was born in Smithfield, R. I., October 30, 1817. In 1839 he entered the office and infirmary of Dr. J. A. Brown, of Provi- dence, R. I., and in November, 1840, he came to Fall River temporarily to take the place of Dr. J. B. Woodward. He afterwards attended Harvard and the Botanic Medical college at Cincinnati, where he received his di- ploma. After some months' practice in Woonsocket, R. I., he again re- moved to Fall River, in 1848. For some years he held the office of presi- dent of the Children's Home. In 1852 he was elected a member of the
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school committee. He was married, May 24, 1844, to Mary Allen, of Ded- ham, who died December 18, 1857. He married (second) Louisa G., youngest daughter of Hon. Nathaniel B. Borden. His son, Dr. N. B. Aldrich, died in 1908.
Dr. Thomas Wilbur was also a descendant of an old New England family, his native place having been Hopkinton, Rhode Island. He was of Quaker stock, and for some time held the principalship of the Friends School at Providence, R. I. He was a brother of the late Dr. Amos Wilbur, who was also in practice here for a few years. Dr. Wilbur, after coming from Providence, at first located at Swansea, and then came to Fall River, where he had a large practice. He was a member of the school committee, and was a leader in many of the town's affairs.
Dr. Jerome Dwelly, who for twenty years was a member of the Fall River school board, was a native of Tiverton, where he was born January 21, 1823. His father, Daniel Dwelly, was a descendant of Richard Dwelly, one of the earliest settlers at Scituate. Jerome Dwelly received his educa- tion at Pierce Academy, Middleboro, with the intention of preparing for college, to study law. On account of ill health, he suspended his studies a few years, and then became a student in the office of Dr. Thomas Wilbur, here, and later in the offices of Drs. William E. and Solomon D. Townsend. He graduated from the Harvard Medical College in 1847.
Dr. Ebenezer T. Leonard, one of Fall River's most honored citizens, was born in Gardner, this State, July 19, 1812, and after studying medicine at the offices of leading physicians in Boston, he graduated at Harvard Medical School in 1836. He was a practising physician at Weymouth, this State, for ten years, and he removed to Fall River in 1846. He was presi- dent of the South Massachusetts Medical Society two years, and vice-presi- dent and councillor two years.
Other of the physicians of note during the century past included such men as Dr. Phineas W. Leland, who was collector of the port as well as editor of the "Fall River Patriot" and a State Senator; and Dr. Jason W. Archer, who was the first president of the Massasoit Bank.
The Medical Society .- The following history of the Fall River Medical Society was written for this publication by A. C. Peckham, M. D.
About the year 1885, the physicians of Fall River were called together by Dr. Geo. S. Eddy at his home, for the purpose of uniting as a society to discuss medical subjects. Dr. Eddy presided at this meeting, and was probably its first president. From this period until 1889, the society met at the homes of its members, but there are no records to show who were its officers or when and where the meetings were held. I recall meetings held at the residences of Drs. R. J. Thompson, Wm. A. Dolan, D. E. Cone, and J. H. Jackson, also at my home, July 14, 1887, when the subject of "Croup" was discussed. I think meetings were held at other members' homes, but they have gone from my memory. January 9, 1889, at its annual meeting, Dr. Dwight E. Cone was elected president, Dr. William A. Dolan, vice-president, and Dr. A. C. Peckham, secretary and treasurer. A dinner was served at the Wilbur House, at which Dr. A. M. Jackson gave a very interesting talk on his experience as a member of the school committee; Dr. Geo. S. Eddy spoke upon the "Past, Present and Future of the Society," and Dr. J. H. Jackson of its relations to the citizens of Fall River and of the effects of its influence relative to the observance of sanitary laws. A partial
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report of the committee to secure permanent quarters was submitted at this meeting. Our membership at this time was about twenty-six, and meet- ings were held for the most part in the parlors of the Wilbur House, but occasionally at the residence of one of its members. May 1, 1893, the so- ciety had its first permanent home in rooms in the Fall River National Bank building, and on June 14, our first librarian, Dr. H. G. Wilbur, was elected. Later in the year the society was largely instrumental in obtain- ing from the city authorities a renumbering of all the houses, a task com- pleted in 1894. July 11, 1896, the society lost by death its first member, Dr. John M. McKensie, at the age of forty-one.
In November, 1897, the society moved into the A. D. Borden building, South Main street, where it had more spacious quarters, and Dr. George L. Richards was elected librarian, with Dr. Mary Marvell as his assistant. Dr. Richards served as librarian continuously for a period of twenty-three years, and too much praise cannot be given him for the work he did in keeping our library up to date and its reading matter so accessible. July 26, 1898, the society lost by death one of its youngest and most promising members. I refer to Dr. E. H. Kidder, who passed away in his thirtieth year, leaving his library to the society. January, 1905, fire destroyed our library and most of our records, and we took temporary rooms in the Hor- ton building, and later bought new furniture and returned to our previous rooms in the Borden building.
December 10, 1905, the society was incorporated, with the following names upon the charter: Drs. W. T. Learned, W. A. Dolan, S. V. Merritt, D. E. Cone, A. I. Connell, J. Gilbert, H. G. Wilbur, and G. L. Richards. December 6, 1907, the society received a legacy of ten shares of. Arkwright Mill stock from Dr. Robert T. Davis, who died the year previous, at the age of 83 years. December, 1915, a room was leased in the Odd Fellows' build- ing, Rock street, and retained for a period of five years. In January, 1920, both the Union and the City Hospital (now the Fall River General Hospi- tal) kindly offered the society rooms in their buildings without expense, and it was voted to accept the hospitality of the former, and our meetings are now held in the Stevens Clinic, on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, except during July and August. Annual dinners are held, usually in August or September, to which, as a rule, all physicians in the city are invited. In public affairs, four of our members have been elected mayor of our city; nine, as members of the Board of Health; sixteen as city physicians ; four as city bacteriologists; seven as members of the school committee ; six as medical examiners or associates; six as U. S. examining surgeons for pensions and one on the State board of registration in medicine. Members are now living who took part in the war activities of '61, the Spanish War, and many in the World War, whose good deeds I hope will never be forgotten. The various staffs of our different hospitals are made up largely of our members. Four are now living who were appointed upon the first staff of what was then called the Fall River, now the Union Hos- pital. This staff was appointed March 10, 1888, the members to serve one year.
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