USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Middleborough > History of the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts > Part 19
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Common Farming Labour in the Summer season From the middle of aprel to the middle of october at 2s 6d a Day Common Labour From the middle of octo- ber to the middle of Aprel at 2s a Day mowing and Reaping at 3s 4d a Day Good Indian Corn at 3s 4d a bushel. Good Merchantable Wheat at 6s-4d a Bushel Good Merchantable Rye at 4s-2d a Bushell Good Merchantable Sheeps wool at 2s a Pound Good Merchantable Flax at Is a Pound Good Beef at 2di a Pound Good Fresh Pork at 4d a lb and Salt pork in proportion according to its Good- ness and the price of Salt Raw hides at 3d a lb and Calf Skins at 6d a lb Good Cheese at 6d a lb Good Butter at Iod a lb potatoes at Is : 4d a Bushal Small Tur- nips at Is-8d a bushel mens Best Yarn Stockings at 5s : 4d a pair and so in Pro- portion for a meaner Quality Mens Shoes made of neats Leather of the Best Common Sort at 8s a pair and so in Proportion for a Lesser or Meaner Quality Salted Beef at 3f-12s-od a Barrel oats at Is-8d a Bushel Good tried tallow at 7d} & Good yard wide tow Cloth at 2s a yard and so on in proportion for other tow or Linen Cloth according to its widths and quality Good yard wide flannel Cloth Striped at 35 : 4d a yard and other flannel or woolen Cloth in proportion according to its width and Quality. good oak Wood Delivered at the Door of the Byer at 7s a Cord tanned hids at Is : 3d a lb and Currid Leather in usual Proportion according to the Price of oil home Spun yard wide Cotten and Linnen Cloth at 3s : 4d yeard and other widths and Quallities in Proportion
Mutton & Lamb at 3d : { a lb Veal at 2d : { a lb
Horse Keeping or one Yoke of oxen one night or 24 hours with English hay IS : 2d Good English hay from the meadow at 2f : os : od a Load and in Winter or Spring at 2f : Ios : od a Load and so on in Proportion for a meaner Quality or Sort of hay Teaming Work one yoke of oxen one Day Equal to a man in Com- mon Labour and a Horse one day Two thirds as much as a yoke of oxen Excepting in plowing alone, and then equal to oxen : Horse hire at 2d } a mile for a single man and to Carry Double in proportion Milk in the Winter Season at 2d a quart
223
SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Charcole at Ios : a Load or one third Part of a 100 of Good Bloomd Iron : nail Rods at 2f : 5s : od a 100 allowing an addition Sufficient for the Extraordinary Price of Sea Coal Common Good White pine or pitch pine Merchantable Bords at 2f : 5s : od a 1000 and so in proportion for other Qualities and Sorts : Common Good Board Nails and all other Sorts and Sizes of Nails at a price in Proportion to the price of Nail Rods Now Equal to What nails and nail Rods were in the former Usual proportion Oak Bark for Tanners at 1 3s : 4d a Cord Delivered the tan yard Hemlock Bark in proportion according to Usual Custom a Good Din- ner at a Tavern Is : od and Supper or Breakfast at : 9d : and Lodging at 3d } pr Night Good Sider at the press at : 6s : a Barrel and at other times at : 8s : a bar- rel Drawd off Shoe Making at home at 3s a pair from mans or womans Shoes or Pumps and so on in proportion for Smaller Shoes or Pumps, and Shoe making abroad at two thirds the Price of that at home to be proportioned as above Linen foot Wheals at 13s: 4d a Pair Clover Sead at : 9d : { a lb Hards Grass Seed at IS : 2d a Quart. Shoeing a Horse with plain Shoes all round at 4s : 4d : } and so in Like proportion for Steel Corks Consider the Price of Steel and all other Black Smith Work in Proportion to the above Said Shoeing Comparing The Same with former Smith work and the former prices of Plain Shoeing all Round at : 3s : 4d miling & masons work at 4s a day men Tailors Work abroad at 2s : 4d a Day Carpenters Joiners and other trades men not above mentioned at 3s 4d a Day and the Home Labor machaies and Tradesmen such as wheels plows yokes Carts Bedsteads Chairs and all other necessaries for Common Use not above nientioned are set at a price in proportion to farming Labour Compar- ing the former Price of Each article With the former price of farming Labour and all other Articles of Trade not above mentioned Common or Necessary among us not to be sold at a Greater Price Than in proportion with the present Price of the Articles above Mentioned Compareing the former price of Said articles of Trade with the former price of the Said articles Whereto a Price is now Set
Given at Said Middleborough February ye 20th : 1777
Wishing Love and Unity Peace and Plenty Fortitude Strength and Victory to be Constant Portion of all the Geneuine Friends to America attest ZEBEDEE SPROUT By order of Said Selectmen and Committee
attest ABNER BARROWS Town Clerk
Notwithstanding the act of the legislature fixing the prices of all commodities, the depreciation of the currency issued by the Continental Congress deranged every branch of trade. All pecuniary obligations could be met by this depreciated money, which added to the great financial distress throughout the country. Middleboro, being generally a farming community, did not suffer as much as other towns, and to meet this con- dition, contracts and promissory notes were here often given,
.
224
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
payable in so many pounds of pig iron or other articles for which there was a constant demand, instead of money, although all taxes were to be in specie.1 In 1780 pig iron was worth four dollars a pound in continental money.
1 The following bill of items and prices shows the value of the continental money in 1781 :-
CAPTAIN A. M'LANE,
Bo't of W. NICHOLLS,
January 5th, 1781.
I pair boots
$600
6 3/4 yds. calico, at 85 ds.
752
6 yds. chintz, at 150 ds.
900
4 1/2 yds. moreen, at 100 ds.
450
4 hdkfs., at 100 ds.
400
8 yds. quality binding, 4 ds.
32
I skein of silk
IO
$3,144
If paid in specie . £18 IOS.
· Received payment in full,
For WM. NICHOLLS.
Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution, vol. i, p. 319. JONA. JONES.
*
CHAPTER XIV
LAWYERS
A FTER the resettlement of the town, although the purchases of land had included almost the entire township, transfers of the different allotments were very numerous, and questions were continually aris- ing therefrom. There was no one in town who had sufficient knowledge of the necessary forms and requirements of law to enable him to engage in its practice until about the year 1723. While there must have arisen various disputes over the bounds of lands bought and sold and questions of property rights, we have records of only two such controversies between the early settlers.
One of the first cases on record was that of trespass, March 5, 1691, on the cedar swamp owned by the proprietors of the Twenty-six Men's Purchase, and a committee consisting of Lieutenant Tomson, Benjamin Bartlett, John Doggett, Isaac Howland, and Thomas Delano was appointed to prosecute the suit. The trespassers chose John Soule, John Nelson, and Adam Wright to defend them, and the tribunal so constituted decided that the trespassers should pay to the constable for the use of the proprietors :-
The widow Thomas, trespasser by Edward Thomas
4 shillings
William Thomas
3
66
John Miller
2
Phillip Bumpus
I
6 d.
Samuel Eaton
I
66
2 "
James Wood
5
66
John Holmes
2
The proprietors of the South Purchase held a meeting on the 17th of May, 1698. John Soule and Jacob Tomson were chosen agents by the inhabitants and proprietors to defend their
226
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1662
title in Assawampsett Neck, giving them "power to choose one or more attorneys to be helpful to them in the premises."
In January, 1662, Josiah Winslow of Plymouth recovered forty pounds damage in an action of trespass against Nathan- iel Warren for felling timber upon lands included in his pur- chase. 1
These are the only accounts which appear in the early records of disputes between the inhabitants. Whatever ques- tions might have arisen seem usually to have been amicably settled without the aid of attorneys, or by reference to the selectmen, who had authority by statute to act in a judicial capacity. As the business of the various towns increased and necessarily became more complicated, it was found necessary to obtain professional assistance. Soon after the union of the colonies; the need of men learned in the law was recognized, and by statute of 1701 they were regarded as officers of the court, and an oath of office was required when they were ad- mitted to practice ; various enactments were passed regulating their practice, fees, etc. By the province laws of 1708, only two sworn attorneys were allowed to one party in any case.
The distinction between attorneys and barristers recognized by the English courts continued here until after the Revolu- tion.2 Barristers alone could appear and try cases in the highest
1 Records of Plymouth Colony, vol. vii, p. 106.
2 By rule of the Supreme Court of Judicature for Massachusetts Bay in 1761, no one was admitted as a barrister who had not practised three years in the inferior court, and no one but a barrister could appear before that court either in the trial of causes or arguing questions of law. It was the practice for them to wear the black silk gowns, bands, and wigs used by the barristers of England. This prac- tice seems to have been discontinued for a few years, but was resumed at the close of the Revolution and again given up a few years after. In John Adams's diary, this appears : " The bar has at last introduced a regular progress to the gown and seven years must be the state of probation."
At that time three years' study in the office of a reputed attorney was required for an admission to the office of attorney at law. After the admission as attorney, two years' practice was required before the practitioner became a counsellor at law, and after two years' practice as a counsellor he attained the rank of barrister.
In 1806 the profession was divided into two ranks, attorneys and counsellors ; but a few years after, all distinction between attorneys and counsellors was abol- ished by the revised statutes.
227
LAWYERS
1723]
court ; the duties of attorneys were to prepare causes for trial, draft the pleadings, advise clients, draw contracts, make deeds and wills, and do other work of lawyers, excepting the trial of cases in the higher courts. The office of barrister was regarded as one of great dignity, and while he might do the work of an attorney, it was rather beneath him. There were no barristers in Middleboro, and only three in the colony. They were James Hovey, Pelham Winslow of Plymouth, and Oakes Angier of Bridgewater. After the Revolution, those who had been known as barristers assumed the title of coun- sellors, and it was not until the early part of the last cen- tury that those admitted to the bar were called attorneys and counsellors at law. Samuel Prince began the practice of the law about the year 1723, but as a counsellor rather than as an advocate. Elkanah Leonard was much employed in the courts until his mental condition forced his retirement.
The following is the list of lawyers who have been, or who are now, in practice in Middleboro : -
George D. Alden
Dennis D. Sullivan
Bert J. Allan
John C. Sullivan
Hercules Cushman
George Fox Tucker,
Zachariah Eddy
Francis M. Vaughan
Elkanah Leonard Eliab Ward
Samuel Prince James Washburn
Everett Robinson Nathan Washburn
George W. Stetson
Wilkes Wood
Isaac Stevens William H. Wood
SAMUEL PRINCE was the first lawyer who ever lived in the town of Middleboro. Before taking up his residence here, he practised law in Sandwich and in Rochester, and in 1723 he Samuel prince moved to Middleboro, where he resided with his son-in-law, Rev. Peter Thacher. While a resident of Sandwich and Rochester, he successively represented these towns in the Gen- eral Court. He was one of his Majesty's justices of the peace, and a man of great ability and influence throughout the colony,
228
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1730
but no record has come down to us of the extent of his practice. He was probably a man of considerable means, and did much to promote the best interest of the colony in different ways.
He was twice married; the second wife was a daughter of Governor Hinckley of Barnstable. He was the father of the Rev. Thomas Prince, the celebrated pastor of the Old South Church of Boston, and the author of Prince's "Chronology," a notable book of the time. Mr. Prince had the reputation of being an eminent scholar, well read in literature, a man of excellent judgment, whose advice was always safe and reliable.
He died July 3, 1728, at the age of eighty years. At his funeral, five of the justices of the county and an ancient cap- tain of the town were bearers.
ELKANAH LEONARD, the second practising lawyer in Mid- dleboro, was born in 1703. The house in the "Tack Factory 8 their at Leon ard Neighborhood," Lake- ville, in which he lived is still standing, and al- though it has seen many changes, it still retains much of its original appearance. Mr. Leonard was a man of unusual ability, and acquired a repu- tation as a successful lawyer in southeastern Massachusetts. The Rev. Dr. Forbes, speaking of him, says : " He possessed strong powers of investigation, a sound judgment, and an uncommon brilliancy of wit, and his inventive powers were not surpassed, if equalled, by any of his time. His assistance in the defence of criminal prosecutions was much sought for, and his abilities were never more conspicuous than in these defences."
He represented the town of Middleboro in the years 1735 to 1743, with the exception of 1738, when the office was filled by John Bennett. He held the office of his Majesty's justice of the peace from 1736 until his death, and was one of the selectmen from 1733 to 1742. He was major of the first regi- ment of Plymouth County militia. In 1740 he was interested in the famous land bank which proved so disastrous to all who
229
LAWYERS
1821]
had invested. Some thirty years before his death, his mind became so impaired that he was obliged to give up all profes- sional labor. He died July 24, 1777, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and was buried in the cemetery of the Taunton and Lakeville Congregational Society, a brown stone marking the place. He was a member of the First Church under the half- way covenant.
JAMES WASHBURN, a practising lawyer in that part of Mid- dleboro now Lakeville, was the son of Amos Washburn, and was born about the year 1767. His house stood not far from the town house in Lakeville. He was the first postmaster in Middleboro, being appointed by President Adams in 1804. He continued in that office and in the practice of his profession until the year 1811, when he moved from Middleboro to New Bedford. While living in New Bedford he was chosen to the House of Representatives. He died November 19, 1815, and was buried in his native town.
WILKES WOOD, a descendant of Henry Wood, always lived in the house of the late Joseph T. Wood. He was graduated from Brown University in 1793, and forty years after he was elected a fellow of the corporation. He studied law with Judge Thomas at Plymouth, and was admitted to the bar of that county in 1796. He began the practice of his profes- sion in Middleboro, where he continued until his appointment as judge of probate, and later was elected president of the Bar Association of the county. He was a state senator for two years, and a member of the Electoral College which cast its vote for William H. Harrison. Upon the death of Judge Thomas in 1821, he was appointed his successor as judge of probate for Plymouth County, an office he held at the time of his death.
As a lawyer he was respected throughout the county, having the reputation of adjusting differences between those who should be friends, never resorting to litigation unless the best interests of his clients demanded it. He was an able judge,
230
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1799
well read in his profession, a man of sterling integrity, and conscientious in the discharge of all his public duties. He died October 1, 1843, in the seventy-third year of his age.
When he commenced practice, the lawyers were scattered over the country and were sought out by clients, who often made long journeys in order to obtain advice and counsel upon matters of inter- est to them. The sessions of court were generally attended. It was the custom of lawyers in town to go to Plym- outh at the open- ing of the session and remain there until the court adjourned. With the change which has come over the country, this cus- tom has passed WILKES WOOD away, and the sessions of court have nothing of the interest, wit, and humor in which both judge and attorneys participated a century ago. Many men 1 commenced their professional studies with Judge Wood while in practice in Middleboro.
ZACHARIAH EDDY, one of the most prominent lawyers in southeastern Massachusetts, was born in 1780. He was grad- uated from Brown University in 1799 with the second honors
1 Among them were Alexander Wood of Hanover, Thomas and Harry Stur- tevant, sons of Dr. Sturtevant, Hercules Cushman, Isaac Stevens, Seth Miller, William R. P. Washburn, Abram G. Randall, and William H. Wood, his son, who afterwards occupied the position held by his father as judge of probate.
231
LAWYERS
1833]
of his class, and taught school before he commenced the study of law in the office of Joshua Thomas, one of the leading law- yers in Plymouth. He was admitted to the Plymouth bar in 1806, and as a counsellor in 1810. He was noted for his stu- dious habits, and early showed remarkable powers of memory. Such were his talents that soon after his admission as coun- sellor he was acknowledged the leader of the bar in southeast- ern Massachusetts, and in the intricacies of special pleading, he had no equal in the state. He was a personal friend of Daniel Webster, and was often associated with him in differ- ent cases. The late Chief Justice Shaw said he was one of the ablest lawyers in the state. Among his intimate friends were John Quincy Adams, Judge Hubbard, Timothy G. Coffin, William Bayles, Marcus Morton, and other prominent men. Not a few of the briefs used by Mr. Choate were prepared by Mr. Eddy. Something of the extent of his practice may be inferred from the fact that more than three hundred cases which he argued in the Supreme Court are given in the Massachusetts Reports. In a letter to a friend in 1833 he casually remarked that he had just returned from Plymouth, where he found that he had seventy-one cases on the docket of the court. His active practice continued for a period of forty years, and such were his ability and reputation that, although his office remained in the small village of Eddyville, clients and lawyers from all parts of the state were fre- quently there for advice or consultation. It used to be said of him that by his judicious counsel he settled many more cases outside than in court. At the height of his practice he was offered a place in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, but declined.
He was a lover of literature, a great reader, and owned a well-selected library. His ready memory and knowledge of books supplied him with argument and precedent in illustra- tion which made him a difficult man to defeat. He was author- ity on the history and polity of the church of the pilgrims of Plymouth, was often consulted by clergymen in ecclesiastical matters, and his opinions were taken without question. In the
232
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1850
latter part of his life, he was a frequent contributor to religious and historical journals ; his extensive knowledge made the articles of great value, and added not a little to our present knowledge of the early history of Plymouth Colony. The notes to the edition of the "New England Memorial " issued by the Congregational Publishing Society in 1855 were largely from his pen. He was the author of the "History of the First Church of Middleboro," published in 1852. While he was in practice, more than twenty men, who afterwards became promi- nent lawyers, were students in his office.1
He retired from the practice of law about 1850, and ZACHARIAH EDDY the remainder of his years were spent in the quiet of his country home and in the enjoyment of his large circle of friends. He died February 14, 1860.
HERCULES CUSHMAN was, in the early part of his life, the principal of Peirce Academy. After leaving the academy, he
1 The following is a list of students who studied law in the office of Zachariah Eddy :-
Samuel Atkinson, Samuel Briggs, Benjamin F. Hallet, Mr. Wright, Boston. Joseph Clark, Charleston, South Carolina. William Miller, Milton. Charles C. Burleigh, Conn. Jacob Atkinson, Amesbury. William A. Latham, David Perkins, Bridgewater. Southard Bryant, William H. Eddy, Samuel Eddy, John Eddy, A. H. Tinkham, Everett Robinson, Windsor Briggs, - all of Middleboro. Russell Hathaway, Ephraim Ward, Lakeville. John S. Holmes, New Bedford. Samuel S. Chase, Thomas F. Anthony, Fall River.
233
LAWYERS
1830]
entered the office of the Hon. Wilkes Wood as a student of law, and was admitted to the Plymouth bar. In 1810 and 18II he was elected as a representative to the General Court. He was appointed justice of the peace in 1811, and from 181I to 1813 served as clerk of the courts in Plymouth. In 1814 he moved his residence to Assonet Village in Freetown, and while residing there represented the town in the General Court, was a member of the governor's council, and a collector of the customs when Assonet was a place of considerable business activity. He returned to Middleboro about the year 1828, and was elected representative to the General Court in 1830 and 1831. He married Mary, daughter of General Abiel Washburn. At the time of his death in 1832 he was a storekeeper in the building which stood upon the present site of the American Hall.
ISAAC STEVENS was born in Wareham in 1792, and admitted to the bar in 1818. After practising law for a few years in Middleboro, where he built a one-story house,1 he moved to Athol, Mass. He was captain of one of the companies of light infantry in Middleboro.
ELIAB WARD, the son of General Ephraim Ward, was born in Carver, July I, 1805, and moved to Middleboro, now Lake- ville, in 1806. He entered Amherst College, and soon after his graduation studied in the office of Jacob H. Loud of Plym- outh, a well-known lawyer, and was admitted to the county bar in 1836. He at once opened an office in Middleboro, where he commenced practice. He had the confidence of a large clientele, but the active duties of his profession were distaste- ful to him, and he preferred to serve his clients in matters of advice and counsel rather than to appear often in court. In the local militia he rose from one office to another until he reached that of brigadier-general, which he held from April 8, 1850, to 1855. As a prominent member of the Democratic
1 This was later raised to two stories, and here Mr. Joseph Jackson recently lived.
234
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1850
party he was representative to the General Court in 1838- 42 and 1852, and was elected to the state Sen- ate in 1843. He wastrus- tee of Peirce Academy from 1843 until his death. About 1855 he retired from active prac- tice and from politics, spending his last days with family and friends. He was a gentleman of the old school, was much interested in the early history of the town and Plymouth Colony, and had a large circle of friends in southeastern Massachusetts, where he ELIAB WARD was widely known and revered. He married, October 17, 1852, Prudence K., daugh- ter of John Holmes of Middleboro. He died May 12, 1885.
WILLIAM H. WOOD was born October 24, 181I, and died March 30, 1883. He was a son of Wilkes Wood, and at the time of his death held the same office that his father had filled for twenty years. He fitted for college at Peirce Acad- emy, and at the age of nineteen years entered Brown Univer- sity, from which he was graduated with honor. After leaving college, he was principal of the Coffin School at Nantucket for one year, when he resigned for the purpose of entering the Harvard Law School. After pursuing his studies there for three years, he was graduated with honor, and immediately afterward formed a copartnership with John T. Eldridge, who, at that time, was president of the Hartford and Erie Railroad. They commenced practice in Boston, but in 1840 the copart- nership was dissolved, and Mr. Wood moved to Middleboro,
235
LAWYERS
1850]
where he opened an office. He filled many positions of trust in town with great credit. He was one of the original found- ers and ablest advocates of the Free Soil party, and by his abil- ity and political sagacity maintained a high rank among its lead- ers ; such were his eloquence and popularity that he was much sought after at political gatherings. In 1848 he was a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and served on the judiciary com- mittee in that body. He was an able and effective debater, and most of his speeches were reported in full in the Boston papers. In 1849 he was defeated because of his fearless and unflinch- ing advocacy of the doctrines of his party. In 1850 he was reelected, and by his influence did much towards securing the election of Charles Sumner to the United States Senate. In 1853 he was a dele-
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