History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I, Part 38

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 700

USA > Massachusetts > History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I > Part 38

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HON. CALEB RICE, born in 1792, was a graduate of Wil- liams College, and read law in the office of William Blair, in Westfield. Ile was admitted to the Bar in 1819, and settled in West Springfield. He was sheriff of Hampden county from 1831 to 1850, and, soon after his appointment, removed to Springfield. He also represented his town and county in both branches of the Legislature, and was mayor of Spring- field. To whatever office he was elevated, he brought distin- guished ability and received the approbation of his constitu- ents.

Mr. Bates says of him that " he was a good lawyer, prudent, careful, and sagacious." His death ocenrred in 1873, at the age of eighty-one.

CHARLES F. BATES was a native of Granville, and gradu- ated at Williams College in 1812. He read law with his brother, Elijah Bates, of Westfield, and was admitted to practice in 1815. Looking around for a favorable location, he finally settled himself at Southampton, it being the only considerable village in the region not represented by a member of the legal profession. But a few years satisfied him that its quiet people were not calculated to furnish an attorney with profitable legal employment, and he threw up the business and returned to his paternal aeres. But his parents were dead and all the members of his father's family had removed from the neighborhood, and even his own children eventually found new homes in the flourishing State of Ohio; and thither he followed them, and died among his kindred.

ASA OLMSTEAD was a native of Brimfield, and studied law in the office of IIon. George Bliss, in Springfield. He was admitted to practice in 1819, but did not long continue, hav- ing removed at an early date to Clinton, N. Y., where he died in 1874 .*

ELI B. HAMILTON was a native of Blandford, where he read law with General Knox. He was admitted to the Bar in 1815, and settled in Westfield.

Mr. Bates says of him : " Nothing was wanting to his suc- cess but continued and faithful application. But this was a quality which he had not, and, in the constitution of his na- ture, he could never have : the very intensity of his tempera- ment forbade it. In size and figure he was the very embodi- ment of strength and manly grace. He was over six feet in height, erect and well proportioned, and, with no marks of obesity, his weight was two hundred and sixty-four pounds.

" Mr. Hamilton was an ardent lover of natural seenery. He loved to wander over the country, and particularly into its wildest scenes. With his dog and gun or fishing-tackle, he roamed over the mountains and through the valleys, ford- ing brooks and rivers, and never changed his wet clothing when he returned, because, as he said, it exposed him to a cold. He was born with a constitution for the years of Methusaleh, and with a strength and activity that I never saw equaled ; but exposure and irregularity told their tale, and the strong man yielded himself in the very pride of his years."

IION. JAMES COOLEY was a native of East Granville, a graduate of Williams College, and a brother of Rev. Dr. Timothy M. Cooley. He was admitted to the Bar in 1814, after having read law in the office of John Phelps, in West

* See history of Wilbraham.

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Granville. After his admission he opened an office in his na- tive town. He was a member of the State Senate, and was a useful citizen.

HON. GEORGE BLISS, JR., was the son of George Bliss, Sr., already mentioned in these pages. He read law in his father's office and was entered at Yale College, where he graduated in 1812 with the reputation of a scholar well educated and fitted for the profession of the law. He was admitted in 1816, and at first settled at Monson, but soon removed to Springfield, where he formed a partnership with his father-in-law, Jona- than Dwight, Jr. Mr. Bliss attended to most of the court business and was the active member of the firm. He ae- quired a fine reputation as a thorough, able, and careful attorney.

lle served in both branches of the Legislature, and was speaker of the House and president of the Senate. He was for several years connected with the Western Railroad, and also with railroads in the West. He died in 1873, leaving an un- tarnished reputation and respected and mourned by all who knew him.

NORMAN T. LEONARD was admitted to practice in Berkshire County in 1824, and as an attorney of the Supreme Court in 1827. He was for some years a resident of Feeding Ilills, West Springfield, now in Agawam. Hle finally removed to Westfield in 1830. Ile was town-clerk from 1836 to 1842, and also represented Westfield in the General Court.

AUGUSTUS COLLINS, a native of Connecticut, was admitted to practice in Berkshire County, and afterward settled in Westfield, where he died at the age of sixty-two years. He was an indefatigable student and an excellent office lawyer. He served as the principal eivil magistrate, and was remark- able for his untiring industry and the extreme care with which all his business was condneted.

SOLOMON LATHROP .- Of this gentleman we have very little information, except that he was admitted in 1816 and resided in West Springfield. Mr. Bates says his business was never extensive, and thinks he emigrated to the West.

SAMUEL JOHNSON .- Mr. Johnson appears to have been ad- mitted to practice in the old county of Hampshire before its subdivision in 1811-12. In early years he practiced in Ches- ter village, now in the town of Huntington, Hampshire Co.

Ile is described as being a large and fine-looking man, of dignified carriage and formal and stately address, but exeeed- ingly eeeentrie in all his ways. Ilis business was not exten- sive, and he devoted much of his time to the study of history and the knowledge to be obtained from the town-libraries. " He was a standing Fourth-of-July and eighth-of-January orator," and was always ready for great or small occasions, as the case might be.

He married an estimable woman somewhat late in life and removed to the West, where he is said to have established a reputation as an able advocate.

WILLIAM KNIGHT .- For notice of this gentleman, see his- tory of the town of Wilbraham, in this work.

ALFRED STEARNS was a native of Hardwick, Woreester County. He was connected with the Westfield Academy for several years as usher, and finally as preceptor. He read law with Elijah Bates, of Westfield, and was admitted to practice in 1820. He was for a few years a partner of Mr. Bates. He afterward removed to Illinois, where he died.

JOHN HOOKER, JR., was the son of Hon. John Hooker, the second judge of Probate for Hampden County .* He was ad- mitted in 1813, but seems to have never opened an office and seldom appeared in court, being mostly engaged in business outside of, and foreign to, his profession.

JOSIAH HOOKER was a younger brother of the last-named, and was admitted in 1829. He is remembered as an excellent

lawyer and valuable citizen, fair and impartial in all his deal- ings, and so thorough and efficient as to be frequently called upon to act as arbitrator, referee, and auditor, in which po- sitions he always sustained the highest reputation.

ERASMUS NORCROSS was a native of Monson, and was ad- mitted to practice in 1823. He opened an office in his native town, and practiced for a brief period. His business was not extensive, and he was never a prominent member of the pro- fession.

JOHN B. COOLEY was admitted to the Bar in 1818,+ and settled in Brimfield. He removed to the State of New York in 1831, but, according to Mr. Bates' statement, has returned to Massachusetts within a few years. He is described as an able man, full of wit and humor, but not altogether given to laborious study or steady practice.

RICHARD D. MORRIS, a brother of Hon. O. B. Morris, was born in Springfield, Mass., in August, 1797. He was admit- ted to the Bar in 1822, and was for a time a law-partner with his brother.

Upon the organization of the Western Railway Company he was employed to settle the damages consequent upon ob- taining the right of way and in attending to other necessary business for the corporation. Upon accepting his position he gave up his regular professional business, and devoted himself exclusively to the interests of the railway company. He was also a representative in the General Court from bis native town. He died in 1870, at the age of seventy-three years.

WILLIAM BLISS was admitted to the Bar in 1822, and began practice in the then village of Springfield, where he formed a partnership with Mr. Justice Willard. His health failing, Mr. Bliss was compelled to abandon practice, and accepted the office of county commissioner, in the hope that out-door ex- ercise and a purer air would restore his wasted energies; but in vain. His death soon followed, and the community lost a valuable eitizen and a man of much promise in his profession.

HON. WILLIAM B. CALHOUN .- This gentleman was prob- ably a student of Ilon. George Bliss, Sr., and was admitted in 1821. Having a strong taste for political life, he did not continue praetiee very long. He was quite successful in the political arena, and represented his district in both branches of the Legislature. In 1828 he was chosen to the responsible office of speaker of the House, which position he filled until 1835, and in 1846-47 he was president of the Senate. He was also for many years a Representative in Congress from the Springfield distriet. The latter years of his life were quietly passed upon his farm.

JAMES STEBBINS was born in Springfield ; studied law and practiced in Palmer for many years. In his old age he re- moved to his native town, where he remained until his death.

JAMES W. CROOKS was a native of Westfield, and a gradu- ate of Yale College in 1818. He taught in the Westfield Academy for several years, and also in Springfield. Ile sub- sequently read law in the office of Hon. George Bliss, and was admitted to practice in 1824. He opened an office on the " Hill," in Springfield, and for some years had a large and lucrative business. His death occurred in 1867.

FRANCIS B. STEBBINS was born in Granville. He studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1826, after which he set- tled in Brimfield, where he opened an office and became a skillful and quite prominent member of the profession.

IIe eventually removed to the State of New York, where he engaged in commercial business, giving up the practice of law. His wife was the sister of Hon. Thomas H. Bond, of New Haven, Conn. His death took place some years ago.

MATTHEW IVES, JR., studied law with William Blair, of Westfield, and was admitted as an attorney of the Common Pleas Court in 1827, but never engaged in practice. He was

* Mr. Bates in his address states that Mr. Hooker was the first judge of Pro- bate, but the records give the name of Saml. Fowler, of Westtiekl.

+ Mr. Bates says in 1822.

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a member of both branches of the State Legislature, and also held the office of postmaster under President Jackson.

FRANCIS DWIGHT was a student at the law-school of Judge Howe, at Northampton, and was admitted to the Bar in 1880. He soon after removed to the State of New York, where he engaged in the cause of education, and died, after a short but useful lite, in the flower of his days.

JOSEPH D. HUNTINGTON .- Mr. Huntington studied law with Angustus Collins, of Westfield, and was admitted in 1831, but never practiced in Ilampden County. Ile removed to Lancaster, Mass., where he died.

GEORGE B. MORRIS, son of Hon. O. B. Morris, and brother of Judge Henry Morris, was born in Springfield, Nov. 12, 1818. He graduated at Amherst College in 1837, and read law in the office of his brother. On the resignation of Richard Bliss as clerk of the courts in 1852, he was appointed to the posi- tion, and continued to fulfill its duties in a most faithful and thorough manner until the time of his death, July 7, 1872.

He was universally respected by the members of the Bar, who were greatly attached to him for his gentlemanly man- ners and social habits. His long term (over twenty years) in the clerk's office leaves honorable testimony to his popularity as a citizen and public officer.

HENRY VOSE was admitted in 1841, and practiced for a few years in Springfield. When the Superior Court was substi- tuted for the old Court of Common Pleas, he was appointed one of the justices ; which office he held until his death, in 1869.

Mr. Vose was a native of Norfolk Co., Mass., and graduated at Harvard, in 1839 .*

ERASMUS D. BEACH was a native of Sandisfield and a nephew of Hon. John Mills, of Southwick, and a student in his office. ]Ie was admitted to practice in 1833, and located in Springfield, where he had a very extensive business. He had at various times as partners James W. Crooks, William G. Bates, Edward B. Gillett, and Ephraim W. Bond. He was a courteous gentleman, and always exercised a strong influence over a jury.

LORENZO NORTON was a student in the office of Messrs. Chapman & Ashmun, and was admitted to practice in 1843. He subsequently formed a partnership with the above firm, which continued until his death, about 1850. Mr. Bates speaks of him as a " diligent and faithful lawyer."

HON. EDWARD DICKINSON was born in the year 1803, and graduated at Yale College in 1823, in the " class with Hon. George Ashmun, with whom he was a room-mate and a life- long friend." He was a diligent and untiring student, of excellent habits, and at college took a high rank among his compeers.

He early exhibited those distinguishing traits which marked his subsequent career. He formed his opinions upon careful examination, and was ever after decided in expressing them. His independence of character, while it possibly stood in the way of his advancement, detracted nothing from the high es- timation in which he was held by the people. In his later years he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he died suddenly, on the same day in which he had been en- gaged upon an important question then before the House.

AMOS W. STOCKWELL was a graduate of Amherst College in 1833. He read law at the school of the Harvard University, and was also a student in the office of Hon. Isaac Davis, in the city of Worcester, and was for a short time a partner with him. Subsequently he removed to Chicopee, and became a promi- nent practitioner at the Hampden Bar.

His health at length became too delicate to withstand the labors of his profession, and he finally died in 1853, regretted and respected both as a member of the legal profession and as a useful citizen.

HION. REUBEN ATWATER CHAPMAN .- This distinguished

citizen was born in Russell, Hampden Co., Sept. 20, 1801. His parents being in ordinary circumstances, his means of ed- ucation were limited to the facilities afforded by the common district school, which was open only a few months during the year. His home was in a sequestered portion of the country, and he labored, when not at school, upon the farm of his father.

Books were exceedingly scarce, but young Chapman made such good use of his opportunities that when he became of proper age his services were in demand as a teacher, and at the early age of seventeen years he taught a district school in the neighboring town of Montgomery. "Soon after, he was em- ployed as a clerk in a store at Blandford. It was during his stay at this place that he first distinguished himself as a de- bater in a lyceum, or debating-school, which the young men of the place had established.

Ile subsequently entered the office of Gen. Alanson Knox, of Blandford, as a law-student. During his course of study he was accustomed to attend justices' trials in the neighbor- hood as a practitioner, and even before his admission to the Bar had some considerable reputation.

He was admitted in 1825 at the Court of Common Pleas, and immediately opened an office in Westfield; but owing to the fact that there were already more attorneys in the place than were needed, his success was not flattering. In 1827 he removed to Monson, and again, in 1829, changed his residence to the more thriving town of Ware. There he was regarded as an intruder, and rivalry soon ripened into controversy, during which he won an enviable reputation and distanced his competitors.

In 1830, when his reputation was well established, he was offered a partnership by Hon. George Ashmun, of Springfield, which he accepted, and removed thither the same year, when the firm of Chapman & Ashmun was formed. Subsequently, Mr. Lorenzo Norton was admitted, and continued a member of the firm until his death. In 1850 the firm was dissolved, and Mr. Chapman continued the business for some time alone. In 1854, Mr. Franklin Chamberlain became his partner, and this relation continued until Mr. Chapman was appointed a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, in 1860, when he re- moved to Hartford, Conn. Upon the retirement of Chief- Justice Bigelow, in February, 1868, Mr. Chapman was ap- pointed to succeed him, and held the position till his death, June 28, 1873.

Chief-Justice Chapman ranked high even among the dis- tinguished men who preceded him upon the Bench, among whom were Shaw, Parsons, and Parker,-men whose charac- ters and abilities are recognized wherever the English tongue is understood. He rose by his own exertions from an obscure origin, and, through difficulties wellnigh insurmountable, to one of the most responsible and honorable positions in the commonwealth. It is related of him that in the intervals of his daily routine of duties after he commenced practice, he acquired a thorough knowledge of the Latin language and was a constant reader of the classics. He also successfully cultivated a knowledge of the French and German languages. He gave considerable attention to the natural sciences and entered into many discussions, in which he hore himself with credit and ability. He was an able and impartial administra- tive officer, and possessed the faculty of expediting business in a remarkable degree.

HON. GEORGE ASIIMUN .- This distinguished citizen was the son of Hon. Eli P. Ashmun and a brother of the late Prof. John Hooker Ashmun, of Northampton. He graduated from Yale College in 1823, and was a student in the office of his brother at Northampton, where he was admitted to the Bar of Hampshire County in 1830 as counselor. He first opened an office at Enfield, Hampshire Co., but after a few years removed to Springfield and entered into a law-partner- ship with Reuben A. Chapman, which continued for many years.

* Sce Bar of Franklin County.

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Mr. Ashmun filled many important positions in the gift of the people. He was a member of the State Legislature and speaker of. the House of Representatives, and bore a distin- guished part in its deliberations. He also represented his dis- trict in Congress. He was well known as a leader of the Bar, but his official positions interfered somewhat with the practice of his profession, though he continued it during the intervals in his public life, and always commanded the respect and con- fidence of his brethren of the Bar, as well as of the community generally. He died in Springfield in 1870.

ANSEL PHELPS, JR., was born in Greenfield, Franklin Co., in 1815, and was a student in the office of Wells, Alvord & Davis at Greenfield, where he was admitted to the Bar in 1840.

Hle at first settled in Ware, Hampshire Co., where he con- tinued practice until 1846, when he removed to Springfield and accepted the position of attorney and legal adviser of the Western Railroad Company. In that capacity he attended to its business in the courts, and also before the Legislature. He was a member of both branches of the Legislature, and was always distinguished for his activity, intelligence, and ener- getic business-habits. He also filled the office of mayor of the city of Springfield from 1856 to 1859, in which capacity he fulfilled the highest expectations of his constituents. His death took place in 1860, at the age of forty-five.

HON. JOHN WELLS .- This prominent advocate and jurist was born in Rowe, Franklin Co.

He was a graduate of Williams College, and attended the law-school of Harvard University, where he laid the founda- tion for his future eminence under the tutelage of Story and Greenleaf. It is believed that he never practiced as a local attorney in his native county, but opened an office first in Chicopee, Hampden Co., where he practiced for some years.

During his residence at that place he held the position of judge of the Court of Probate and Insolvency from 1858 to 1863. He was also a member of the General Court. From Chicopee he removed to the sister-village of Chicopee Falls, where he continued until his appointment to the Bench of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1866, when he removed to Norfolk County. He presided in the county of Suffolk, and finally died at Salem, in Essex County, Nov. 23, 1875.

At a meeting of the members of the Bar of the common- wealth, held at Boston, Dec. 4, 1875, the attorney-general made a very appropriate and feeling address, from which we take the following extracts :

" I first knew him thirty-four years ago, in the law-school of the university, where, under the guidance of Story and Greenleaf, be laid the foundation of the superstructure which he subsequently reared. From that time to his death I was honored by his friendship, and have watched his progress from young manhood to middle age, and the only change notieed in him, as he advanced through the years, was a con- tinued ripening day by day. Ile was the same John Wells all through those years,-thoughtful, conscientious, patient of labor, making all that could be made out of his opportunities, apparently ambitious only to discharge faithfully his duty in that station of life to which God had called him, and thus procure the approval of his own conscience, which he never intrusted to the keeping of others. Neither then nor since am I aware of his ever saying or doing a brilliant thing, and never, to my knowledge, was he guilty of a foolish act or silly utterance; but he moved right on with that steady, self-poised, and well-determined action which attraets no at- tention until its results are accomplished.

" As a lawyer in the country village which he had selected for his home, you find him no noisy or cunning pettifogger seeking to profit in pocket or reputation by the disputes of the people ; no stirrer-up of strife, but one who remembered that the peacemakers are blessed.

" You find him the diligent student, the safe adviser, the

kind neighbor, the efficient member of the parish, the active and Christian eitizen, rendering cheerfully to the community every good influence, every kind act.

" A few years later he is in the General Court, exerting a commanding influence as a sound, safe, and discreet legis- lator.

" As judge of the Probate Court,-that most difficult office to fill, where the incumbent must be judge, counsel, and sympa- thizing friend at one and the same time,-as well as by his well-earned reputation as a lawyer, he demonstrated his men- tal, professional, and moral fitness for the duties and respon- sibilities of a judge of this the highest judicial tribunal of the State, to which he was appointed, I believe, upon the unani- mous recommendation of the Bar of Western Massachusetts. The wisdom of the recommendation, upon his appointment to the Bench, was conceded at once upon acquaintance by the Bar of the commonwealth, and his judicial course proved that he had no superior where all should be equals.

" In his court-room every one felt that he was in a place 'appropriated to justice, to seeurity, to restraint ; where there is no high nor low, no strong nor weak; where will is nothing and person is nothing and members are nothing, and all are equal and all are secure before the law.'

" The corner-stone upon which the reputation of Judge Wells rested as a man, a lawyer, and a judge was his Chris- tian character, vindicated by his love to God and to his neigh- bor, consistent always, forgetful never."

T. MORTON DEWEY .- This gentlemen was born in Orford, N. H., March 16, 1812. Ile was the son of Abel Dewey, a farmer of the Connecticut Valley. Mr. Dewey read law with Hon. H. G. Parker, of Greenfield, and Burt and Lincoln, of Boston. He was admitted to the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston in October, 1855, commenced practice at Greenfield, Mass., in the same year, and remained until 1860, when he removed to the town of Montague and practiced four years. In 1864 he went to Westfield, where he remained until 1867, when he settled in Springfield, Mass., where he has since re- mained in the successful practice of his profession.

Ile has filled various civil and secular offices, was a mem- ber of the superintending school committee of his native town, and also at Montague, has been a member of the city board of assessors in Springfield, and filled the office of justice of the peace for thirty-five consecutive years.

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History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I, Part 38

Author: L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts Number of Pages: 700

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 700