History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 10

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 10

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His interest in the Plymouth County Agricultural Society was of years' duration, and as its secretary, and as a trustee, he was active in securing and beauti- fying the present grounds of the society. For many years he held the office of town auditor, and fre- quently was appointed as an auditor or referee by the courts. In all places of public trust he discharged his duties with rare fidelity. One of the last of his numerous benefactions was the preparation of a rec- ord of the ancient burial-grounds of this vicinity, which he had printed in a handsome volume. He was a member of the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, and also of the New England Historico-Genea- logical Society, and was a regular attendant upon

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

their meetings. His familiarity with ancient records rendered him high authority upon the early history of New England, and his home was a museum of in- teresting and valuable material that would enrich thie archives of a historical society. His love of music identified him with musical circles, and his collection of church music embraced nearly all the ancient and modern publications of note. He was a member of the Stoughton Musical Society, and was a regular attendant upon its meetings. Socially he was specially attractive to persons of antiquarian tastes. He was one of the active members of the First Congregational Society, and was liberal in contributions towards erccting its beautiful church. His broad catholic spirit was in sympathy with all true Christian de- nominations, and he often remarked that he would rejoice to see one church that would embrace all the sincere believers of the Christian religion. His piety was not demonstrative, but gave ample proof of its sincerity and power by the benign and excellent fruits that adorned its path. His memory is cherished among the people of " Old Bridgewater," among whom his daily life was passed, and where his sterling character was known and appreciated, and his liberal contributions so often distributed. He was fortunate in his domestic relations. His marriage was a union which proved uncommonly felicitous, and to which, by reason of its sympathies and encouragement, must be attributed no small part of the noble results of his life. One who knew him well writes thus: "Mr. Latham always appeared to be living and working for others, and his loyalty and fealty to his native town Was as strong and enduring as the most zealous par- tisan could desire. He had a real love for horticul- ture without being amateurish, and certainly his love for our native trees was second to none in the State. His work in caring for the many beautiful trees he planted in Bridgewater and elsewhere will gladden the hearts and shelter, if not destroyed, thousands of persons one hundred years from now, while the soft winds chant a perpetual requiem. Mr. Latham learned somewhat carly in life that time and riches were for use, and the best and a greater portion of his life was spent in an effort to rescue from oblivion the few facts now left to us of the ancient settlers of the Old Colony. With the exception of possibly Mr. Ellis Ames, of Canton, he knew more about the history of Plymouth County, and particularly of Bridgewater, than any man then living. Mr. Latham left wealth and a good name ; but the wealth fades, while his labors with the pen will make him one to be always remembered."

JACOB HERSEY LOUD was born in Hingham on

the 5th of February, 1802. He was descended from Francis Loud, who appeared in Sagadehock as early as 1675, and removed to Ipswich, where he had a son Francis, born in the year 1700. The son settled in Weymouth about the year 1720, and married Honor Prince, of Hull, probably either the sister or niece of Thomas Prince, the distinguished annalist of New. England. Honor Prince was probably the daughter of Samuel Prince, of Hull, by his second wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Hinckley, the last Governor of Plymouth Colony before its union with the Massa- chusetts Colony in 1692 ; his first wife having been Martha, daughter of William Barstow, of Scituate. Samuel Prince was the son of John Prince, who ap- peared in Cambridge in 1635, and grandson of Rev. John Prince, of East Shefford, of Berks County, in England. Francis Loud and Honor, his wife, had fourteen children, among whom was one who had a son John, who was the father of Thomas, the father of the subject of this sketch.

Mr. Loud received his earlier education in the common schools of his native town, and fitted for col- lege at the Derby Academy in Hingham. He grad- uated at Brown University, in the class of 1822, which included among its members Thomas Kinni- cutt and Isaac Davis, of Worcester, Solomon Lincoln, of Hingham, and Samuel L. Crocker, of Taunton. After reading law in the office of Ebenezer Gay, of Hingham, he was admitted to the bar at the August term of the Court of Common Pleas, held at Plym- outh in 1825, and opened an office in that town. The office occupied by him was in the old building now standing on the gore of land between Summer Street and Mill Lane. On the 5th of May, 1829, he mar- ried Elizabeth Loring Jones, daughter of Solomon and Sarah Jones, of Hingham, and first occupied as a residence after his marriage the house now owned and occupied by Miss Lucy Marcy, on the lower corner of Carver Street and Le Baron's Alley. In 1832, after residing a short time in the house on Middle Street recently occupied by Chandler Holmes, he bought of the heirs of Dr. Nathaniel Lothrop the northerly part of the lot of land ou which the old Lothrop house formerly stood, ncarly opposite the head of North Street, and built the house now owned and occupied by Mrs. Isaac L. Hedge. He occupied this house until 1871, when he bought the house on the easterly side of Court Street, now owned and occu- pied by Dr. Alexander Jackson, which he continued to occupy during either the whole or a part of the year until his death.

The children of Mr. Loud were Sarah Loring, born June 13, 1830 ; Thomas Hersey, born June 15,

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1835; Hersey Jones, born June 24, 1838; and Arthur Jones, born Feb. 12. 1846. The second and third child died in early childhood. and Arthur Jones died in early manhood, after graduating at Har- vard in the class of 1867. Sarah Loring, the oldest child, married Dr. Edward Hammond Clarke, of Boston. Oct. 14, 1851. and died before her father, in 1877. Mr. Loud became a member of her family after the death of his wife, and thus coutinued to retain that sympathy and companionship which his gentle and affectionate nature specially needed.

After the death of Beza Hayward, who for many years had occupied the office of register of probate for Plymouth County. he was appointed to that office in June, 1830, and remained its incumbent until the spring of 1852. For the performance of the duties of this office he possessed rare qualifications. Well grounded in the law, of quick comprehension, and a ready penman, the execution of his official labors was easy, prompt, and always satisfactory. Fidelity to his office and an appreciation of its responsibilities marked his whole career as register; and the facility with which the timid and ill-informed fulfilled their trusts as administrators or guardians was largely due to his ready and generous advice and aid. No man in the county would have received the appointment of judge of the court in which he officiated with more general and deserved approval.

But a wider field of activity and usefulness was opening before him. He had been faithful over a few things ; he was now to be ruler over many. The year after he left the office of register he was chosen by the Legislature State treasurer, and was rechosen in 1854 and 1855, in which latter year, by an amend- ment of the Constitution, the office of treasurer was made elective by the people, and in 1856 he was succeeded by Thomas Marsh, who was chosen in the November preceding. Up to 1855 he had served for a number of years as chairman of the board of selectmen of Plymouth, and never lost the confi- dence of his fellow-citizens in his administration of their affairs. He was upright, prudent, and wise in the management of the finances and the general business of the town; and as moderator of town- meetings, in which capacity he was repeatedly called on to act, he exhibited a familiarity with parliament- ary methods and a marked executive ability. During eleven years, from April, 1855, to January, 1866, he was president of the Old Colony Bank and its suc- cessor, the Old Colony National, and did much to- wards establishing the successful career which has distinguished that institution. During the last few years of his life he was president of the Plymouth

Savings-Bank, and by his well-known integrity and cautious habits inspired the community with con- tinued confidence in that substantial and trustworthy depository. He was also a member of the first board of directors of the Old Colony Railroad Company, and continued in its management from 1845 to 1850. In 1868 he was again chosen a director, and re- mained in the board up to the time of his death. In 1862 he was chosen a member of the House of Representatives, and iu 1863 and 1864 a member of the Massachusetts Senate. In both House and Senate he was an active, intelligent, and useful member, and met the fullest expectations and requirements of his constituents. In 1865, when, at the close of the war, the finances of the State had become compli- cated, he was again selected as the quan eminently fit for their management, and in the autumn of that year he was returned by popular election to his old post of treasurer and receiver-general. He held the office by successive annual elections during the con- stitutional term of five years, and retired in 1871. In that year he was appointed actuary of the newly- organized New England Trust Company, from which position he retired in 1879. The indispensable quali- fications for this office were prudence, discretion, an ability to apply to business methods and measures the principles of law, a courteous deportment, an in- genuous spirit, a conscientious fidelity to every-day duties, and an integrity without a flaw. These Mr. Loud possessed, and to these has been due much of the firmly-grounded success which has marked the career of that organization. After his retirement from the office of actuary he assumed no new respon- sibilities, but continued active in the discharge of the various private trusts which had been confided to his care. After a brief illness, during which he was spared both mental and bodily suffering, he died in Boston, at the house of his granddaughter, on the 2d of February, 1880, at the age of seventy-eight years.

The character of Mr. Loud, in its relation to his public life, has been sufficiently indicated in the nar- rative of the stations he was called on to fill, and the honors which confiding communities and associations bestowed on him. In its relation to his private life it possessed the added graces of uniform courtesy, kindness of heart, and a sympathetic nature which bound him by the dearest ties to his family and friends. In both these relations he was always the same, yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow, an earnest, conscientious, true man. With a caution which was almost timidity in the management of his personal affairs, he was as sure of a gradual accumulation of personal wealth as he was safe from the impairment

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

of his fortunc by the results of bold speculation ; and in the management of larger trusts, in which the in- terests of others were involved, he displayed himself in no brilliant financial exploits, which with a flow of the tide might result in enlarged dividends and an increasing capital, but with an ebb, in embarrassment and ruin. In both public and private station his life afforded an example of rectitude, industry, and devoted affection, which was not without profit to his family, and friends, and the communities in which he lived.

HON. WILLIAM H. WOOD was born in Middle- boro', Mass., Oct. 24, 1811, and was a descendant in the sixth generation from Henry Wood, the first American ancestor, who came from England prior to 1641, and purchased lands in Middleboro', in 1667, where the family has since resided. His father was Judge Wilkes Wood, also judge of probate for Plym- outh County for many years prior to the date of his death. His early education was received in the pub- lic schools of his native town, at Peirce Academy and Brown University, where he was entered at the age of nineteen, and graduated with honors in the class of 1834. After leaving college, and previous to his settling down into his life's work, he taught school about a ycar as principal of Coffin Academy, Nan- tucket. He then pursued the study of law in his father's office and in the Harvard Law-School, where he was under the tuition of that eminent jurist, Judge Story. He also studied under Horace Mann.

Upon his admission to the bar he opened a law- office in Boston in company with John S. Eldridge, afterwards so well known as president of the Hartford and Erie Railroad. Owing to ill health he was com- pelled to give up his practice in Boston and return to his native town, where he opened an office in 1840, and practiced up to the time of his death, March 30, 1883. He was one of the original founders and promoters of the Free-Soil party, and, by his elo- quence, ability, and political sagacity, at once took and maintained a high rank among its acknowledged leaders. In 1848 he was elected to the State Senate, and served on the judiciary committee. In 1849 he was defcated by the Whigs because of his unflinching advocacy of anti-slavery doctrines ; but, in 1850, he was again elected, and became one of the prime movers and supporters of that coalition which sent Charles Sumner to the United States Senate. In 1853 he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and took a conspicuous part in its deliberations. He represented the town in the House of Representatives in 1857, and in 1858 he became a member of the Governor's Council, of which he was a member when commissioned as judge of probate. His successful

administration of the most difficult and varied duties of that office for a period of twenty-five years, where the incumbent must be judge, counsel, and sympa- thizing friend at one and the same time, amply dem- onstrated his mental, professional, and moral fitness for the duties and responsibilities of the office.

Judge Wood was one of those rare men who needed neither the spur of ill-tempered criticism nor of in- dulgent compliment to keep him steady in the per- formance of duty. His mental and moral organization was so evenly balanced and well perfected that censure did not retard nor compliment hasten the pulsations of his heart. As was well said by his pastor in his eloquent tribute to his memory, " His ideal of charac- ter was a grand and exalted one, no less than the character of Him who said, ' Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.'" He was the same William H. Wood through all the years of his private and official life, thoughtful, conscientious, patient of labor, courteous, affable in his relation to others. He was rarely guilty of a foolish act or silly utterance, but moved right on with steady, self-poised, and successful action. As a lawyer in his native town, where he practiced for so many years, we find him no noisy or cunning pettifogger, seeking to profit in pocket or reputation by the disputes of the people, no stirrer-up of strifes, but one who remembered that the peacemakers are blessed.

It was as judge of probate that Judge Wood more especially endcared himself to the people, for in that position he was brought into more direct and intimate relation with them, so that they could observe and study the rare characteristics of the gentleman, the lawyer, and the judge. Although a lawyer of vast legal knowledge and attainments, and a judge of established reputation and wisdom, he was always a kind and courteous gentleman. No one ever went away from his court feeling aggrieved because they were not fairly hcard. Every one felt in his court-room that it was a place " appropriated to justice, where there was no respect of persons, where there was no high nor low, no strong nor weak, but where all were equal, and all secure before the law" under his administration. He never lowered the character of the great office which he held, but his presence gave it dignity. One well said after his death, " Nearly twenty-four years ago Massachusetts clothed him with the official robe of a judge of probate ; to-day that official ermine is laid at her feet, pure and unsullied, without spot or blemish."

BENJAMIN WINSLOW HARRIS' was born in East Bridgewater, the. 10th of November, 1823. His

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parents were William Harris and Mary Winslow Thomas. William Harris was likewise a native of East Bridgewater, and was a man of remarkable purity of character. He filled the office of town clerk in his town for a period of twenty-five years. He also filled the office of town treasurer for several years, and was a member of the General Court for four years. He died Aug. 4, 1852, at the age of fifty-eight years. Mary, the mother, was a direct descendant of Kenelm Winslow, brother of Governor Winslow, of the Plymouth Colony. She was a woman who typified in her character the virtues of the Pil- grims, with something of their austerity. She was of commanding person, dignified. and deeply religious. She possessed a natural gift of language, and a manner which made her society always attractive. She was very humorous and original in her sayings and de- scriptions of odd characters, and had a keen knowl- edge of human nature. She was blessed with good health and consequent longevity. She lived to see her son (the subject of this notice) attain not only high professional, but political honors. She was hale and hearty when he was first elected to Congress, and spent her eightieth birthday with him in Washing- ton. She died at East Bridgewater on the 20th day of June, 1882, aged eighty-five years.

Mr. Harris, the son, received his education in the public schools of his town, the East Bridgewater Academy, under Mr. Daniel Littlefield, and in the classical department of Phillips Academy, Andover, where he remained about two and a half years. For several years he taught school winters, being com- pelled to do so in order to procure the means of pur- suing his studies. He taught schools in the towns of Halifax, Hanover, Kingston, and East Bridgewater.

In April, 1847, he entered the Harvard Law- School. Among the members of school at that time were Hon. George F. Hoar, Hon. Horace Gray, Hon. Thomas Russell. He graduated at that insti- tution in June, 1848, when he at once entered the law-office of John P. Putnam (late justice of the Superior Court), 19 Court Street, Boston. Mr. Harris remained in Judge Putnam's office till the 12th of April, 1850, when, upon motion of Judge Putnam in the Supreme Judicial Court, he was ad- mitted to practice. He came to East Bridgewater on the 22d of June, and formed a law partnership with Hon. Welcome Young for one year. On the 4th day of June, 1850, he was married to Julia A. Orr, daughter of Robert Orr, Esq., of Boston. At the close of Mr. Harris' engagement with Mr. Young he opened a law-office in the briek store building, where he remained, with the exception of a few years, till

the fall of 1864. Mr. Harris at once secured a good practice. He was a gifted and fluent debater, and soon acquired a county reputation as an advocate. The first important ease which he argued was an ac- tion against his own town for damages, caused by a defective highway. In 1857 he was junior counsel, with Hon. Charles G. Davis as senior, for Mrs. Gard- ner, of Hingham, who was indicted for the murder of her husband. The case was tried twice. The first trial resulted in a disagreement of the jury, the sec- ond in her conviction of murder in the second degree. She was sentenced to imprisonment for life, and is still living in confinement. On the 1st day of July, 1858, Governor Banks appointed Mr. Harris district attorney for the Southeastern District to fill the va- cancy caused by the resignation of Hon. James M. Keith, of Roxbury. This was a new field of pro- fessional labor, and one that ealled for the exercise of all his talent and industry. There were many able criminal lawyers at the bars of both Norfolk and Plymouth Counties at that time. With these dis- tinguished lawyers he was often opposed, but his popularity with juries and his native tact for manag- ing trials, especially his felicity in handling unwilling and untruthful witnesses, caused him to be very suc- cessful. It came to be remarked by the lawyers, who had often tried their hand in defending eriminals, that " Harris uniformly got everybody convicted, and that the most judicious course was to advise their clients to plead guilty, and then rely on the district attorney's good nature to let them down easy, with a light sentence."

One of the most important criminal trials which took place during his ineumbency of this office was that of George C. Hersey, of Weymouth, for the murder of Betsey F. Tirrill, on the 3d day of May, 1860, at Weymouth. The cvidence for the govern- ment in this case was largely, almost wholly, circum- stantial, and required the highest skill to collect, arrange, and present. There was little else than sus- picion of guilt to start with, but this was supple- mented by untiring and diligent search for evidence by Mr. Harris and the faithful officers under his direction. This culminated in an indictment against Hersey for murder in the Superior Court, held at Dedham, on the fourth Monday of April, 1861. On the 28th of May, 1861, the trial took place before the Supreme Judicial Court, consisting of Chief Justice Bigelow, and Associate Justices Merrick, Dewey, and Chapman. Mr. Harris was associated with Attorney-General Dwight Foster for the com- monwealth, and George S. Sullivan, Esq., and Hon. Elihu C. Baker were for the prisoner. The trial was

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

long and exciting, with many brilliant passages at arms between counsel, and many questions as to ad- missibility of evidence were raised. It was a deter- mined and able effort on the part of the government counsel to convict a man charged with the greatest erime known to our laws, and on the part of the able counsel for the defense to prevent the visitation of the dread penalty upon their elient.

Mr. Harris opened the ease for the government in a very elear and able presentation of the govern- ment's evidence, in which he summed up the princi- ples of law applicable to the case. His opening address fills fourteen elosely-printed octavo pages in the published report of the trial. Some parts of Mr. Harris' speech were eloquent and touching, which we would gladly reproduce but for the limited spaee assigned to his biographical notice. Suffice it to say that this trial resulted in the conviction of the accused, and also in his execution. The death-war- rant, which was signed by Governor Andrew, was executed on the 8th of August, 1862, in the jail at Dedham, and the execution was preceded by a written confession of the deed by Hersey.

As we are about to take leave of Mr. Harris as a lawyer, we desire to say that during all the time he filled the office of district attorney, and up to the time of his entering Congress in 1872, he was actively engaged in the general practice, having a large and lucrative business, and trying many im- portant causes in Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk Counties. During the early winter of 1863-64 he opened a law-office in Barrister's Hall, Court Square, Boston, associating with him as partner soon after Payson E. Tucker, Esq., a learned and able lawyer. In 1866, Mr. Harris removed to Dorchester. June 20th of that year h'e received from President John- son the appointment of collector of internal revenue for the Second Congressional District, whereupon, on July 1, 1866, he resigned the office of district attor- ney. The office of collector was a Incrative and im- portant one, and he continued to hold it till the 1st of January, 1873, then resigning.

In the early summer of 1872, Mr: Harris returned to East Bridgewater, which has ever since been his home. At this time the highest honors of his busy life were awaiting him. Hon. Oakes Ames, who had long and honorably represented the district in Con- gress, declined to be a candidate on account of ill health. The Republican voters seemed almost of one accord to think of Mr. Harris as their standard-bearer. He had been identified with the party since its birth in 1856, taking an active part in its many campaigns, notably in its first and in that which brought Abra-

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History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 10

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1706

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706