Groton historical series. A collection of papers relating to the history of the town of Groton, Massachusetts, Vol III, Part 20

Author: Green, Samuel A. (Samuel Abbott), 1830-1918
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Groton
Number of Pages: 1026


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Groton historical series. A collection of papers relating to the history of the town of Groton, Massachusetts, Vol III > Part 20


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39



230


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


the grave. Most dutifully did he perform every filial duty till he had seen his parents laid in the tomb. Dr. James P. Chaplin, of Cambridge, so successful in the treatment of the insane, was an older brother ; and his grandfather [great-uncle], Col. Prescott, was a commander at the battle of Bunker Hill (ibid., page 15).


For other notices of Mr. Chaplin and his family, see Vol- ume I. of this Historical Series, No. XI. (pages 5, and 19, 20) ; and Volume II. No. XV.


JOHN WRIGHT was a son of Nathan and Elizabeth (Trow- bridge) Wright, and born at Westford, on November 4, 1797. Hle was fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1823. After leav- ing Cambridge he was the Preceptor of Westford Academy for two years, when he came to Groton and studied law in the office of Judge Samuel Dana. Ile was admitted to the bar in March, 1829, and began the practice of law at Groton, where he remained until the year 1833, when he gave up his pro- fession. He then removed to Worcester, and became en- gaged in manufacturing. While a resident of that town he was chosen, on November 11, 1839, a Representative to the General Court to serve for the political year 1840. In 1843 he removed to Lowell in order to take the agency of the Suf- folk Mills, which he held until about a year before his death, when he resigned on account of ill health. He was a Di- rector of the Railroad Bank in that city, and of the Stony Brook Railroad Company ; for many years a Trustee of West- ford Academy, and for several years the President of the Board of Trustees.


Mr. Wright was married, on May 13, 1829, to Susan, daughter of Judge James, Jr., and Hannah (Champney) Pres- cott, of Groton. He died in Lowell, on April 18, 1869, and was buried in the Groton Cemetery. Hle left a widow and three children to mourn his loss, - William Prescott Wright, a graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1853, and two daughters. The two eldest children, Mary Jane and William Prescott, were born at Groton. A notice of the son ap-


231


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


pears later in this Number, among the natives of the town who have studied law and practised elsewhere.


BRADFORD RUSSELL was a son of Abner and Sarah (Hay- ward) Russell, and born at Weston, on November 17, 1795. He began his preparatory studies at Framingham Academy, and completed them under the Reverend Charles Stearns, of Lincoln. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of . 1818, and immediately afterward was engaged as an assistant teacher in Leicester Academy, where he remained for one term. In December, 1818, he entered the office of the Honorable James Prescott, Jr., of Groton, and for nearly three years read law under his instruction. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1821, and at once established himself at Groton in the practice of his profession. His office then was in the northerly end of Mr. Dix's building, though subsequently for many years in the Brick Store. He died at Clinton, on July 8, 1864.


Four of his classmates, Charles Octavius Emerson, Esq., the Reverend James Delap Farnsworth, Dr. Joshua Green, and the Reverend Charles Robinson, were at times residents of this town. The Reverend Edward Grenville Russell, a graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1855, who died in Cambridge, on February 25, 1880, was a son.


On February 21, 1828, Mr. Russell was married in Boston, first, to Mary Ann, eldest daughter of Captain Joshua Nash, who died at Groton, on January 7, 1846, aged 40 years and 19 days; and, in West Boylston, on March 25, 1847, secondly, to Maria Prudence, daughter of Joshua Prouty of that town.


See the second volume of this Historical Series (page 414), for a short notice of Mr. Russell.


ASA FARNSWORTH LAWRENCE was the youngest child of Asa and Lydia (Farnsworth) Lawrence, and born at Groton, on February 7, 1800. He fitted for college at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1824. On August 18, 1824, he was appointed Preceptor of Groton Academy, and served as such during two years; and he then


233


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


entered the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, where he studied his profession, and was admitted to the bar in December, 1828. On July 11, 1837, he was married to Sarah Jane, daughter of Dr. Amos and Sarah (Bass) Bancroft, of Groton; and they had a family of five children, of whom one died in infancy. Ile began the practice of his profession at Pepperell; while a resident of that town he was a member of the State Senate for the years 1841 and 1844; and while a resident of Cambridge, he was a member of the House of Representatives for 1856. He continued to live at Pepperell until May, 1850, when he removed to Cam- bridge, where he remained till June, 1856, in which year he came back to his native town in order to take up a per- manent abode. On June 7, 1848, he was appointed Com- missioner of Insolvency for Middlesex County, a position which he held for seven years.


During the latter part of his life Mr. Lawrence was not engaged in the active practice of his profession, but was always ready to give his neighbors the benefit of his wise counsels. No one was ever turned aside by him for the want of the customary fee, and he was accessible equally to the humblest and the highest. Ilis death took place at Groton, on December 27, 1873, and his loss was mourned by a wide circle of friends.


BENJAMIN JAMES PRESCOTT was a son of the Honorable James, Jr., and Hannah (Champney) Prescott, and born at Groton, December 12, 1804. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1824. He studied law under the tuition of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1828. He practised his profession only a short time in his native town, where, owing to intemperate habits, his career was not very successful. His office was over Benjamin F. Lawrence's store. Soon afterward he went to Florida, and died there in September, 1838, unmarried.


0


.


233


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


JAMES DANA was the youngest son of the Honorable Samuel and Rebecca (Barrett) Dana, and born at Charlestown, on November 8, 1811. At that time his father, a native of Groton, was living at Charlestown, but in the year 1815 returned to this town, where the son received his early education. He attended school at Groton Academy for seven years, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1830. He studied law first in the office of his father at Groton, and later in the office of George F. Farley, Esq., and was admitted to the bar in December, 1833. He practised for one or two years at Groton, in connection with his father, and then removed to Charlestown.


An amusing account of the trial of a case, where he and his classmate, Thomas Hopkinson, a fellow law-student, acted as counsel for each other, is given on pages 262-267 of the second volume of this Historical Series. It is entitled " Two Law-Students and their First Case," and was written out by Mr. Dana, several years ago, at my request, after I had heard him relate the story.


Mr. Dana was married, on June 1, 1837, first, to Susan Harriet, daughter of Paul and Susan (Morrill) Moody, of Lowell, who died at Charlestown, on July 18, 1838, aged 22 years, leaving an infant, Susan Moody, born on July 7; on August 4, 1841, secondly, to Margaret Lance, daughter of Colonel Levi and Elizabeth (Cook | Wood) Tower, of New- port, Rhode Island, who died at Newport, on August 6, 1843 ; and, on June 12, 1850, thirdly, to Julia, daughter of William and Mary ( Parks) Hurd, of Charlestown.


Mr. Dana took much interest in the militia, and at different times held commissions of various grades in the service. According to the Massachusetts Register, in 1841 he was Colonel of the Fourth Regiment, First Brigade, Second Division, and during several subsequent years, Brigadier General in command of the Third Brigade. At the Jubilee of Lawrence Academy, on July 12, 1854, General Dana acted as Chief Marshal, and led the procession in its march from the village to the tent where the dinner was given. On December 14, 1857, he was chosen Mayor of the city of


1


234


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


Charlestown, for the municipal year 1858, and re-chosen at the two subsequent elections ; and his service for these three terms met with general approval.


During many years Mr. Dana was associated in professional business at Charlestown with Moses Gill Cobb, under the style of Dana and Cobb ; and their office was in Main Street. As Mr. Cobb's parents were residents of Groton, a notice of him appears later in this Number. About the year 1875 Mr. Dana removed to Dorchester, where he died on June 4, 1890.


JAMES GERRISH was a son of George and Elizabeth Thomp- son (Fuibush) Gerrish, and born at Lebanon, Maine, on May 3, 1813. His father was born in the same town on October 19, 1775 ; and his mother also, on July 10, 1779. He studied his profession partly at South Berwick, Maine, and partly at Great Falls, New Hampshire; and in May, 1841, he entered the Harvard Law School, where he remained one year, when he was admitted to the bar in Lowell. In the Law School catalogue of that period his residence is put down as Somers- worth. He began the practice of his profession in Lowell, but about the year 1848 he removed to Shirley Village, and opened an office at Groton Junction, then just starting as a small settlement. The cause of his removal was due to the state of his health, which was greatly improved by the change. He erected a building on Merchants' Row, where he had his office, which was one of the first buildings put up at the Junction, though a few years later it was destroyed by fire. He had a large law practice in the neighborhood, and on May 12, 1871, was commissioned as Trial Justice for the First Northern Middlesex District Court. At one time he was associated in professional business with Salmon Whitney, when the style of the firm was Gerrish and Whitney. In politics he was a Democrat, and always prominent in the councils of his party ; and also an Odd Fellow of long standing, being a charter member of the Fredonian Lodge at Shirley Village. Occasionally he yielded to the impulses of his poetic fancy ; and a specimen of his verses, entitled " A Prayer for our


1


08 002


235


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


Union," may be found in the "Railroad Mercury " (Groton Junction), June 26, 1861.


Mr. Gerrish was married, first, to Annah R. Foster, a native of Bristol, Maine, who died at Shirley, on March 5, 1859, aged 37 years ; and, on January 6, 1863, secondly, to Mrs. Sarah (Brooks) Powers, daughter of Benjamin and Betsey (Wallace) Brooks, of Townsend, and widow of Charles Powers of that town.


His death took place at Shirley Village, on July 30, 1 890.


JOIIN SPAULDING is a son of Deacon John and Elinor (Dix) Spaulding, and was born at Townsend, on August 8, 1817. He took his preparatory studies at Phillips Academy, An- dover, and in 1842 entered the Freshman class at Middlebury College, where he remained one year. He then joined the Sophomore class at Yale College, but, owing to ill health, was obliged to leave during the Senior year, before taking his Academic degree. Later he entered the Ilarvard Law School, where he graduated in the Class of 1850; and continuing his professional studies under the tuition of George F. Farley, Esq., of Groton, he was admitted to the bar in the year 1851. Immediately afterward he opened an office at Groton in the building then known as Gerrish's Block, but which has since been moved away ; and here he remained until 1859, when he went to Groton Junction, or South Groton, as it was some- times called, though now known as Ayer. On September 6, 1872, he was appointed second special justice of the First District Court of Northern Middlesex, and he still holds a position on the bench of that Court. In 1882 he removed with his family from Ayer to Boston, where for many years previously he had had an office.


Mr. Spaulding was married, on January 7, 1862, to Charlotte Augusta, daughter of Alpheus, Jr., and Mary Ann Hubbard (Townsend) Bigelow, of Weston, who died in Boston, on June 24, 1889, aged 71 years, 6 months, and 8 days. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon him by Yale College at the Commencement in 1874, and at the same time, by a vote


236


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


of the Corporation, he was transferred as an A. B. to the Class of 1846, of which he was formerly a member.


GEORGE SEWALL BOUTWELL is a son of Sewell and Re- becca (Marshall) Boutwell, and was born at Brookline, on Jan- uary 28, 1818. His birthplace comes now within the grounds of the Country Club at Clyde Park. When he was two years old, his father's family removed to Lunenburg, the former home of his mother, where he was brought up on a farm. During the winter of 1834-35 he taught the Pound Hill District school in Shirley ; and the old building is still standing, though now used as a shed or store-house. On March 5, 1835, he was placed as a clerk in a store at Groton, first, with Benjamin Perkins Dix, with whom he remained for nine months, and then with Henry Woods, whose partner he afterward be- came. On January 15, 1839, Mr. Wood was appointed post- master of the town, and at his death, which occurred two years later, - on January 12, 1841, - Mr. Boutwell followed him in the office; but he kept it only three months, as there had been in the mean time a change in the administration of the Na- tional Government. During the presidential canvass of 1840 he entered politics as a supporter of Van Buren, and, on No- vember 8, 1841, he was first chosen a representative to the General Court for the session of 1842, and also for six subsequent terms, though not in consecutive years. In 1844, 1846, and 1848 he was defeated as a candidate for Congress from the Third District, and in 1849 he was the Democratic nominee for Governor with no better success. He ran again for the same office in 1850, when there was no choice by the people ; and the election was consequently thrown into the General Court, as at that time it required a majority of votes in order to choose a public officer. By a co- alition between the Democrats and Free Soilers in the Legis- lature, on January 11, 1851, he was elected Governor of the Commonwealth ; and, in a similar manner, on January 13, 1852, he was again chosen to the same high office, as there had been no choice by the people at the preceding election. On March 7, 1853, he was defeated as a Democratic candidate


ยท


237


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


in Groton for the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of that year, though he was afterward elected a member from the town of Berlin in Worcester County. From 1853 to 1856 he was an Overseer of Harvard College; and from 1855 to 1861 he was the Secretary of the State Board of Education.


After the repeal of the Missouri compromise in 1854, Mr. Boutwell was prominent among those who organized the Re- publican party, with which he has since acted, and in which for a long time he was a leader. In 1860 he was a member of the Chicago Convention which nominated Lincoln for the presidency, and in February, 1861, was appointed by the Gov- ernor a delegate to the Peace Convention in Washington. In 1862 he organized the new department of Internal Revenue, under President Lincoln, and served as the first Commis- sioner from July 17, 1862, to April, 1863. On November 4, 1862, he was chosen a member of Congress from the Seventh District, and twice re-elected. On December 5 and 6, 1867, he made a speech in Congress in favor of impeaching Pres- ident Johnson, and, after the impeachment, became one of the seven managers of the trial. On March 11, 1869, he entered President Grant's cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury, where he remained until March 12, 1873, when he took his seat as a United States Senator from Massachusetts, in which capacity he served for four years. In the spring of 1877 he was appointed by President Ilayes to codify and edit the United States Statutes at Large.


Governor Boutwell is still a resident of Groton, though he has a law office in Washington, where he passes a consider- able part of the year. He owns one of the largest farms in Middlesex County, known as the Chestnut Hills Farm, which is well stocked with Ayrshire cattle. He is easily accessible to all classes of people; and his counsels on the every-day affairs of life are often sought, and always freely and readily given. He has filled more distinguished stations than any other citizen of the town, and his neighbors have justly taken a local pride in his political promotion. He began the study of law during the early days of his mercantile service, but was not admitted to the bar until January 16, 1860, when


=


238


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


he fulfilled the necessary requirements before the Supreme Judicial Court in Boston.


On July 8, 1841, Mr. Boutwell was married at Groton to Sarah Adelia, daughter of Nathan and Hannah (Jewett) Thayer, of Hollis, New Hampshire ; and they have had two children, - Francis Marion and Georgianna Adelia. (A sketch of the son is given later in this Number.) Their golden wed- ding was celebrated at home last summer, and drew together a large concourse of friends and neighbors. Distinguished people came from different parts of the Commonwealth, and many despatches of congratulations were received from Washington and other distant cities.


EDWIN COBURN was a son of Pascal Paoli and Lydia (Jones) Coburn, and born at Dracut, on February 2, 1819. He was one of nine children, being the second son as well as the sec- ond child. Fitting for college in part at Phillips Academy, Andover, he graduated at Amherst in the Class of 1841, and soon afterward began the study of law in Mr. Farley's office at Groton. In March, 1844, he was admitted to the Middlesex bar, and established himself at once in practice in connection with Mr. Farley. He was then a young man of much promise, always taking an active interest in local politics and espous- ing the side of the Whig party.


At the town-meeting on November 9, 1846, Mr. Coburn was a candidate for the General Court, and Mr. Boutwell, since then Governor of the Commonwealth, was his oppo- nent ; and the result was a tie vote after each of two ballot- ings. During the evening of that day the excitement ran high, and expresses were sent in different directions, even to Manchester, New Hampshire, to bring home absent voters. On the next day Mr. Boutwell was chosen by five majority, and in consequence there was great rejoicing among the Democrats.


About the year 1848 Mr. Coburn removed from Groton to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he continued in practice about nine years. In 1857 he removed to Chicago, and formed a partnership with the late James A. Mulligan, a young lawyer


-


1


239


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


of Irish parentage. At the breaking out of the Rebellion his partner was commissioned as Colonel of the Twenty-third Illinois Volunteers, and soon afterward gained considerable reputation by his defence of Lexington, Missouri, where the regiment was captured and paroled. After its re-organization Mr. Coburn enlisted in the regiment, on June 10, 1862, and was at once appointed Sergeant Major. On September 1, 1864, he was commissioned as First Lieutenant, and on May 23, 1865, promoted to the rank of Major. On July 24, 1865, he was mustered out with the regiment at Richmond, Virginia, and on July 30 they arrived at Chicago for final payment and discharge.


" The Obituary Record of Graduates of Amherst College for the Academical Year ending July 8, 1875 " (pages 63, 64), says that soon after the War Mr. Coburn joined the Fenians, and was sent, on business connected with their organization, to Ireland, where he was arrested and thrown into prison ; and that there, after a week's illness, he died of pneumonia, about the year 1867. I have tried to learn the exact date of his death as well as fuller particulars of his later life, but with- out success. In answer to inquiries, the late John Boyle O'Reilly wrote me as follows : -


The Pilot Editorial Rooms, BOSTON, June IS, IS90.


DEAR DR. GREEN,


Never heard of Coburn. I shall inquire from some old Fenians, and let you know.


Very truly yours,


J. B. O'REILLY.


By Mr. O'Reilly's lamented death less than two months later, on August 10, I was prevented from getting the de- sired information through that source. Major Coburn came of sturdy New-England stock, and of a race of Revolutionary patriots. He was a man of brilliant talents, well read in his profession, and died unmarried.


JAMES LAWRENCE was the eldest son of the Honorable Abbott and Katherine (Bigelow) Lawrence, and born in Bos-


240


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


ton, on December 6, 1821. He graduated at Harvard Col- lege in the Class of 1840, and immediately afterward entered the Harvard Law School, where he remained two terms, though he never was admitted to the bar. For many years he was a partner in his father's firm of A. and A. Lawrence and Company, Boston, and in 1871 became a resident of Groton, where he owned and occupied the Lawrence home- stead on Farmers' Row. His death took place at Tunbridge Wells, England, on February 10, 1875.


On March 16, 1852, Mr. Lawrence was married, first, to Elizabeth, daughter of William Hickling and Susan (Amory) Prescott, who died in Boston, on May 24, 1864; and at West Roxbury, on December 4, 1865, secondly, to Anna Lothrop, daughter of Thomas and Maria (Bussey) Motley. His widow afterward married Thomas Lindall Winthrop, Esq., of Boston.


DANIEL NEEDHAM is a son of James and Lydia (Breed) Needham, and was born in Salem, on May 24, 1822. He was educated partly at the Friends' School in Providence, and partly at Groton Academy. His father's family was of Quaker stock, and they removed to Groton in the year 1840. His mother died at Lynn, - where she was residing with a married daughter, - on June 27, 1890, at the advanced age of 95 years, 5 months, and I day. She was born there on January 26, 1795. In 1845 the son began the study of law in the office of David Roberts, Esq., of Salem, and, after a brief interruption, continued it in the office of Bradford Russell, Esq., of Groton. He was admitted to the Middle- sex bar in April, 1850.


Mr. Needham was an aide on the staff of Governor Bout- well during the two years of his administration. In 1853 he was chairman of the Democratic State Committee, and in 1854 the Democratic candidate for Congress from the Seventh District, but was defeated by the Know Nothings, - a po- litical party that had then just risen into power, which it held for two or three years in this Commonwealth. He was town treasurer during 1853 and 1854. In the spring of 1855 he removed to Quechee, a village in the town of Hartford,


241


THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.


Vermont, where he carried on a farm. While a resident of that town he was chosen a member of the House of Repre- sentatives in 1858 and 1859, and a member of the Senate from Windsor County in 1860 and 1861. He returned to Massa- chusetts in 1863, and settled again at Groton, where he soon became interested in the welfare of the town. On November 7, 1866, he was chosen to the House of Representatives for the session of 1867 ; and on November 5, 1867, he was cho- sen to the Senate for the session of 1868, and re-chosen to the same body during the next year. The instances are very rare where a man has served in both legislative branches of two different States ; and particularly so where the term of service in the several branches occurred within a period of ten years, which was the experience that fell to his lot.


Colonel Needham has been much interested in the schools of the town and in the subject of public education generally. At different times he has served as a member of the School Committee for seventeen years, and during this period, with the exception of one year, he was chairman of the Board. On June 25, 1874, he was chosen a Trustee of Lawrence Academy, and since June 27, 1889, has been President of the Board. He has been for many years Secretary of the New England Agricultural Society, and an officer since its organi- zation in the year 1864.


Colonel Needham was married, on July 17, 1842, first, to Caroline Augusta, daughter of Benjamin and Caroline Au- gusta (Bancroft) Hall, of Groton, who died on June 30, 1878; and, on October 6, 1880, secondly, to Ellen Mary, daughter of George Dexter and Mary Jane (Kilburn) Brigham, of Groton. By the first marriage there were four children, of whom only one (Mrs. Hartwell) is now living ; and by the second there are three children.


SAMUEL PARKER LEWIS was a son of the Honorable James and Harriet (l'arker) Lewis, and born at Pepperell, on No- vember 16, 1824. lle fitted for college at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1844. On November S of the next autumn he entered the Law School




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.