USA > Maine > Penobscot County > History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 55
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until 1842, when Hon. Daniel Emery, Chairman; Hons. Gilman M. Burleigh and Amzi Libbey, associates, com- posed the court until 1844, when the Governor ceased to appoint. The Legislature of 1844 amended the law, and provided that the Commissioners should be elected by the people, the Chairman to be designated by the Commissioners. Of the three Commissioners, the one having the highest number of votes was to hold for three years; the one having the next highest number was to hold for two years, the one having the lowest number for one year. After the first election, a commissioner was to be elected each succeeding year. The following Com- missioners have been elected under this act :-
1844-Hon. Rufus Gilmore (for three years), Chairman.
Hon. John Dunning (for one year).
Hon. Jacob W. Stinchfield (for two years).
Hon. Jacob W. Stinchfield, Chairman for 1845. Hon. Rufus Gilmore.
1845-Hon. Noah Barker, Chairman in 1847.
1844-Hon. Rufus Gilmore, Chairman for 1846.
1846-Hon. Thomas C. Burleigh, Chairman for 1848.
1847-Hon. Joseph W. Eaton, Chairman for 1849.
1848- Hon. Luther Wadleigh, Chairman for 1850.
1849-Hon. Joseph Porter, Chairman for 1851. 1850-Hon. Hiram Ruggles, Chairman for 1852. 1851-Hon. Augustus S. French, Chairman for 1853. 1852-Hon. John Dow, Chairman for 1855.
1853-Hon. Alvin Haynes, Chairman for 1854.
1854-Hon. Daniel M. Haskell, Chairman for 1856.
1855-Hon. Lore Alford, Chairman for 1857.
1856-Hon. John H. Hinckley, Chairman for 1858. 1857-Hon. Gorham Davis, Chairman for 1859. 1858-Hon. John H. Patten, Chairman for 1860.
1859-Hon. Jacob L. Barker, Chairman for 1861. 1860-Hon. Solomon Dunning, Chairman for 1862. 1861-Hon. Thomas S. Ranney, Chairman for 1863. 1862-Hon. John S. Patten, Chairman for 1864.
1863-Hon. Campbell Bachelder, Chairman for 1865. 1864-Hon, Lore Alford, Chairman for 1866.
1865-Hon. Asahel W. McMahon, Chairman for 1867 1866-Hon. Simon G. Jerrard, Chairman for 1868. 1867-Hon. Alfred O. Ingersoll, Chairman for 1869. 1868-Hon. Josiah S. Bennoch, Chairman for 1870. 1869-Hon. Israel B. Norcross, Chairman for 1871. 1870-Hon. Francis A. Reed, Chairman for 1872. 1871-Hon. Jesse Hinks, Chairman for 1873. 1872-Hon. Simon G. Jerrard, Chairman for 1874.
1873-Hon. William H. Chesley, Chairman for 1875.
1874-Hon. Benjamin B. Thomas, Chairman for 1876.
1875-Hon. Willard B. Ferguson, Chairman for 1877. 1876-Hon. Hiram Stevens, Chairman for 1878. 1877-Hon. John Kimball, Chairman for 1879.
1878-Hon. George B, Leavitt, Chairman for 1880.
1879-Hon. Joseph W. Eaton, Chairman for 1881.
1880-Hon. Joseph W. Burke.
1880-Hon. Henry W. Briggs.
BANGOR CITY COURTS -- MUNICIPAL.
This court, which had concurrent jurisdiction with the justices courts of the county, was established soon after the adoption of the city charter, in March, 1834. The officers were appointed by the Governor-Hon. Charles Stetson, judge; Reuben S. Prescott, esq., recorder. Judge Stetson held the office nearly three years, when he was appointed clerk of the court. The Governor appointed to succeed him, in February, 1837, Hon. Samuel Farrar, judge, who held the office until October, 1837, when the Governor appointed Hon. John McDonald judge. He held the office until May, 1839, when a court called
1
199
HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.
THE POLICE COURT
was established instead of the Municipal Court, which ceased to exist by the repeal of the provision of the city charter establishing it. In 1838, Recorder Prescott was displaced, and Samuel Morison, Esq., was appointed re- corder. In January, 1839, Mr. Prescott was again ap- pointed recorder, and held the office until May, 1839. The judge appointed to the police court was Hon. Gus- tavus G. Cushman. The recorder of this court seems to have been an estray. His name does not appear. A person competent to judge, who examined the records, says: "It would be safe to assert that a more uneven, dis- orderly, uncomely, straggling, bushwhacking set of judi- cial dockets is not to be found in any civilized commu- nity during any seven years of its court history. Evidently the recorder's talent did not lie in his clerical habits and tastes. His penmanship, like the manner of some men when under excitement, partook more of the fortiter in re than of the suaviter in modo."*
On one occasion there were before Judge Cushman, as opposing counsel, those eminent lawyers, Albert G. Jewett and the late Judge Cutting. Mr. Jewett by one of his exasperating ebullitions disturbed the equanimity of Mr. Cutting, who retorted by threatening to kick him down stairs.
"Mr. Cutting! Mr. Cutting!" was the sharp rebuke of the court.
"With your honor's leave," said Mr. Cutting, submis- sively; and the court was mollified.
Judge Cushman held the office of judge seven years, and was succeeded by Hon. Spencer A. Pratt, judge, an undemonstrative but upright magistrate. His term ex- pired in May, 1853, when he was succeeded by Hon. John L. Hodsdon, judge, "who discharged the duties of the office with ability and dispatch" until June, 1855. Then a new court went into operation, established by an act of March 17, 1855, which provided for an appeal to a jury, which might be summoned at the instance of the party appealing, also for four regular jury terms in the course of a year. This court bore the name of
MUNICIPAL COURT,
and the officers appointed by the Governor were Hon. Alpheus Lyon, judge, Benjamin F. Mudgett, Esq., re- corder. This court, "during its short career of nine months, did efficient and satisfactory work." It was pre- sided over with dignity and impartiality, and its juries were remarkable for intelligence and business capacity. This court was not only efficient but was reputed to be self-sustaining, notwithstanding which, on February 28, 1836, by an act of the Legislature it was made to give place to a court called the
POLICE COURT.
By an amendment, March 14, 1856, a recorder was given this court. Under an amendment of the Constitution the office of judge had become elective by the citizens, to hold for four years. At the annual election the citi-
zens gave their suffrages in favor of Hon. Spencer A. Pratt, judge. The Governor appointed Colby A. Jordan, Esq., recorder. He held the office until January, 1857, when Hon. Alpheus Lyon was appointed recorder. Judge Lyon held this office by five successive appointments for twenty years, during which period he performed its duties with eminent success. At the age of eighty-six, when his eye had become dim, but otherwise "his natural force but little abated, he declined to be a candidate for re-ap- pointment." During this period the incumbent of the judge's office by election was Hon. Spencer A. Pratt until 1860, when the people elected Hon. Samuel F. Hum- phrey judge. Judge Humphrey was re-elected in 1864, and held the office until 1868, when the people elected Hon. Whiting S. Clark judge. Judge Clark was re- elected in 1872, and resigned in 1873. He was suc- ceeded in May of that year by Hon. Henry C. Goodenow, judge. During his judgeship the Constitution was again amended, and provided that municipal judges should be appointed by the Governor. At the expiration of four years Judge Goodenow was appointed by the Governor, and held the office until December 22, 1880, when he resigned, and the Governor appointed Hon. Ezra C. Brett judge, and he now holds the position. In Janu- ary, 1877, the Governor appointed to succeed Judge Lyon. Nathan L. Perkins, Esq., recorder, and he is the present incumbent, having been re-appointed.
COUNTY ATTORNEYS.
Jacob McGaw, Bangor, from 1816 to 1821.
John Godfrey, Bangor, from 1825 to 1832.
Albert G. Jewett, Bangor, from 1832 to 1838.
William H. McCrillis, Bangor, during 1838.
Charles C. Cushman, Bangor, during 1839 and 1840.
George B. Moody, Bangor, during 1841.
Charles C. Cushman, Bangor, during 1841 and 1842.
Gorham Parks, Bangor, in 1843, 1844, and 1845.
Isaiah Waterhouse, Newport, from 1845 to 1852.
Asa Waterhouse, Bangor, during 1852.
John Burnham, Lincoln, from 1852 to 1856.
John H. Hilliard, Oldtown, from 1856 to 1859.
Charles C. Crosby, Bangor, from 1859 to 1862. Charles P. Stetson, Bangor, from 1862 to 1874.
Jasper Hutchings, Brewer, from 1874 to 1880. Benjamin H. Mace, Bangor, from 1880 to this time.
SHERIFFS.
Jedediah Herrick, Hampden, from 1816 to 1822.
Royal Clark, Bangor, to 1826.
John Wilkins, Bangor, to 1829.
Daniel Wilkins, Charleston, to 1836.
Joshua Carpenter, Bangor, to 1837.
Otis Small, Bangor, to 1838.
J. Wingate Carr, Bangor, to 1839.
Hastings Strickland, Bangor, to 1843. Jabez True, Bangor, to 1851.
John S. Chadwick, Bangor, to 1854.
Francis W. Hill, Exeter, to 1855.
Charles D. Gilmore, Bangor, to 1861.
John S. Chadwick, Bangor, to 1865.
John H. Wilson, Bangor, to 1875.
Simon G. Jerrard, Bangor, to 1879.
Lewis F. Stratton, Lincoln, to this time
THE MEMBERS OF THE BAR
of Penobscot County, as nearly as they could be ascer- tained from 1820 up to October, 1881, have been as fol- lows;
* These were simply the docket records. The extended records were n another hand, and are legible, neat, and systematic.
200
HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.
[d indicates dead; r, removed from the county.]
d Abbot, William, Bangor.
d Additon, B. C., Bangor.
Allen, Elisha H., Bangor.
" Andrews, H. H., Bangor. Appleton, John, Bangor. d Appleton, Moses L., Bangor. Bailey, Charles A., Bangor. Barker, Lewis, Bangor. d Bartlett, Ichabod D., Bangor. r Belcher, Samuel, Orono. Benjamin, S. E., Patten. Benson, John L., Newport. Blake, Samuel H., Bangor. a Bond, Francis E., Bangor. Bradbury, Albion P., Eddington. Brett, Victor, Bangor. r Brinley, Francis F., Bangor. Brown, Charles P. Bangor. d Brown, Enoch, Bangor. d Brown, Theodore S., Bangor. Burgess, James H., Corinna. Carr, Joseph, Bangor. d Chandler, Peleg, Bangor. Chapman, A. J., Bangor. " Clark, Whitney S., Bangor. Clergue, F. H., Bangor. d Cooley, George W., Bangor. d Cony, Samuel, Bangor. d Crosby, Charles S., Bangor. d Crosby, William C., Bangor. d Cushman, Charles C., Bangor. d Cutting, Jonas, Bangor. Davis, Daniel F., Bangor. r Dinsmore, Samuel P., Bangor. d Dutton, George P,. Bangor. d Emery, Marcellus, Bangor.
r Evans, W. A., Bangor. r Fessenden, William, Bangor. r Field, Henry C., Lee. Floyd, F. A., Brewer. r Forbes, Kendall P., Bangor.
d Garnsey, Samuel, Bangor. d Gilman, Allen, Bangor. Gilmore, Otis, Brewer. Godfrey, John E., Bangor. r Gooch, Daniel W., Bangor. r Goodwin, Thomas J., Orono. d Haines, Sullivan L., Bangor. Hall, George W., Bangor. Hamlin, Charles, Bangor. Hamlin, Hannibal, Hampden. d Hathaway, Joshua W., Bangor. r Hersey, Charles N., Bangor. d Hill, Joshua, Hampden. Hilliard, William T., Bangor. d Hobbs, Frederick, Bangor. Hodsdon, John L., Bangor. Humphrey, Samuel F., Bangor. Hutchings, Jasper, Brewer.
r Jewett, Albert G., Bangor. d Kelly, Webster, Bangor. r Kent, George, Bangor. " Knowlton, J. W., Oldtown. " LeBreton, E. L. Bangor. Mace, Benjamin H., Bangor. Mason, John R., Bangor. d McCrillis, David, Bangor. d McDonald, John, Bangor. d McGaw, Jacob, Bangor. d McLellan, Samuel, Dexter. d Moody, George B., Bangor.
" Morrison, H. G. O., Bangor. d Norton, Milford P., Bangor. Paine, Albert W., Bangor.
d Angier, George C., Bangor. d Appleton, John F., Bangor. r Bachelder, George W., Bangor. d Barker, David, Exeter. Barker, Lewis A., Bangor. d Bartlett, Thomas, jr., Bangor. Bell, John I., Carmel. r Bennett, Milo M., Bangor. Blake, Edward A., Bangor. Blanchard, John A., Oldtown. Bonine, -, Bangor. Brett, Ezra C., Bangor. Briggs, Andrew H., Bangor. d Brown, Augustus J., Bangor. d Brown, Enoch E., Bangor.
" Brown, George W., Bangor. r Bryant, Nahum F., Bangor. r Burnham, John, Lincoln. d Chamberlain, Horace B., Bangor. r Chandler, Theophilus P., Bangor. Clark, W. C., Lincoln.
r Clement, H. F., Bangor.
d Cleveland, Jas. B., Passadumkeag. d Coombs, John J., Bangor. r Copeland, Thomas J., Orono.
Crosby, Josiah, Dexter. Cushman, Charles A., Lee. d Cushman, Gustavus G., Bangor. Davis, Charles, Bangor. Davis, Ira W., East Corinth. Donegan, J. W., Bangor. r Dutton, Samuel E., Bangor. Estes, J. E., Winn. Fernald, B. F., Winn. d Fessenden, William Pitt, Bangor. d Flagg, Edmund W., Bangor. d Forbes, Thomas J., Bangor.
d Fuller, Frederick K., Orono. r Garnsey, Thomas H., Bangor. d Gilman, Charles, Bangor. d Godfrey, John, Bangor. r Godfrey, John F., Bangor. Goodenow, Henry C., Bangor. d Haines, Allen, Bangor. d Hale, S. A., Bangor. Hamblen, Frank, Oldtown. d Hamlin, Elijah L., Bangor. d Hatch, Nathaniel, Bangor. Haynes, Henry P., Charleston. r Hill, John B., Bangor. d Hilliard, John H., Oldtown, Hinckley, Bushrod W., Orono. r Hodgdon, John, Bangor. Holmes, James S., Foxcroft. d Hunton, Jona G., Dixmont. d Ingersoll, George W., Bangor. r Jewett, Daniel T., Bangor. d Kent, Edward, Bangor. d Knowles, Abner, Bangor. Laughton, Frederick M., Bangor. d Leonard, Oliver, Bangor. r Matthews, S. W., Hampden. Mayo, H. W., Hampden. McCrillis, William H., Bangor. r McFadden, D. F., Orono. d McGaw, Thornton, Bangor. Mitchell, Henry L., Bangor. Moody, George T., Bangor. d Moor, Wyman B. S., Bangor.
r Mudgett, Benjamin F., Bangor.
" Nutter, Charles C., Bangor. " Paine, T. B., Bangor.
d Paine, William, Bangor.
r Parker, Frederick, Bangor.
r Parks, Rufus, Bangor.
r Perkins, Joseph H., Bangor. d Perley, Jeremiah, Orono. Plaisted, Harris M., Bangor. r Piper, Martin V. B., Bangor. d Poor, John A., Bangor. Powers, Don H., Newport. Pratt, Spencer A., Bangor.
" Prentiss, Addison, Lee.
d Preston, Warren, Bangor.
d Rawson, Ebenezer G., Bangor. r Rice, John H., Bangor. Robinson, John F., Bangor. d Rogers, Jonathan P., Bangor. Sanborn, Abraham, Bangor. r Seaman, James M., Hampden. Sewall, George P., Oldtown. r Shaw, Frederick E., Bangor. Simpson, A. L., Bangor. Smith, Bert L., Bangor. Sprague, Volney A., Dexter. d Starrett, George, Bangor. Stetson, Charles, Bangor.
Stetson, Edward, Bangor. Towle, E. B., Winn. Varney, John, Bangor.
Waldron, L. B., Dexter.
Walker, Elliot, Newport.
r Warren, A. S., Hampden. Warren, J. D., Bangor.
d Waterhouse, Asa, Bangor.
d Weeks, Matthias, Orono.
d Warren, Henry, Bangor. r Washburn, Israel, Jr., Orono. d Waterhouse, Isaiah, Bangor. Weston, George M., Bangor.
d Whitney, George W., Newport.
Weston, Nathan, Jr., Bangor. d Whiting, Samuel K., Bangor. d Wilcox, George W., Dixmont.
r Parks, Gorham, Bangor. d Perham, David, Bangor .* Perkins, Nathan L., Bangor. Peters, John A., Bangor. Pierce, T. H. B., Dexter. r Plummer, Stanley, Bangor. r Poor, Henry V., Bangor. r Pratt, George W., Dexter. Preble, Hiram J., Bangor. d Prentiss, Henry E., Bangor. " Randall, A. J., Passadumkeag. Rawson, James F., Bangor. r Roberts, Charles P., Bangor. d Robinson, Silvanus W., Bangor. Rowe, James S., Bangor. Sanborn, Daniel, Bangor. Seavey, W. F., Bangor. Sewall, George T., Oldtown. d Shepley, George F., Bangor. d Smith, Augustus C., Bangor. Smith, Ruel, Bangor. Sprague, M., Dexter. Stearns, Lewis C., Springfield. Stetson, Charles P., Bangor. " Stevens, Thomas H., Bangor. d Upton, Francis H., Bangor. Wakefield, Albert G., Bangor. d Walker, Asa, Bangor. d Walker, William L., Newport.
d Wiggin, Benjamin, Jr., Bangor. r York, Waldo P., Bangor.
[GOVERNOR WASHBURN'S EULOGY.
At the Orono Centennial in 1874, at which Ex- Governor Israel Washburn, formerly a lawyer in that place, pronounced the principal address, he gave the fol- lowing eulogistic remarks to a member of the attorneys in this list :
What a Bar the county of Penobscot could boast thirty or forty years ago ! Some of its members are still in practice in the county; there are upon the bench of our highest court those referred to in the address, and the learned and accomplished Chief Justice Appleton, who, happier than Lord Brougham, knew everything, including law. Of the older lawyers, who were about ready to retire from the courts when I came to this county, and who have since passed away, I re- member the manly form and pleasant features of Jacob McGaw, the early friend and correspondent of Daniel Webster, by whom he was visited in his Bangor home seventy years ago, a lawyer of the old school, patient, faithful, persevering, strong. Allen Gilman, the first Mayor of Bangor, a man of smaller frame than McGaw, but of not less intellectual power; keen, clear, incisive, and indomitable - if sharp of tongue on occasion, warm and generous in heart : William D. Wil- liamson, a lawyer, historian, and politician -like the triune bear he has immortalized, three varieties in one character : William Abbot, tall and angular in body, but of well-proportioned and symmetrical mind, and of incorrigible honesty : John Godfrey, sensible, diligent, and of unspotted integrity : Peleg Chandler, in immense top-boots and with cane in hand, the most noticeable form that walked the Bangor streets for many a year ; his florid eloquence was especially dangerous to de- fendants in actions for breach of promise to marry, and against towns for damages by reason of defective highways; while among those who were then in the bloom and strength of their years, but have since fol- lowed their seniors to the silent land, were Jonathan P. Rogers: .
George B. Moody, who was a careful and well-educated lawyer, and no "prentice-hand" at writing political-convention resolutions, and a true gentleman withal, but did not possess the sense of humor that shone so brightly in his brother in the profession - Thornton McGaw, a gentleman whose memory is a benediction, in whom strong and sav- ing common-sense, culture, and exquisite humor were so admirably
d Palmer, Andrew T., Bangor.
d Adams, James, Exeter. d Agry, David, Oldtown.
d Allen, Frederick H., Bangor.
Judge John A. Appleton.
HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.
201
mixed that one could only see that while all these qualities were present in force, no one was crowded by the others; and there was another whom I cannot forget, whom it was always good to see and is now pleasant and profitable to remember for his delightful companionship and his genuine manliness - Elijah Livermore Hamlin.
But these brief reminiscences must not be left without some mention of the Judge in whose court these gentlemen of the green bag were wont to fight their battles and crack their jokes-the Hon. David Per- ham, an industrious man of considerable reading and general informa- tion, slow of speech and impervious to humor; not free, perhaps, from the influence of prejudice, but thoroughly honest. The anecdotes and stories connected with the Court of Common Pleas during the quarter of a century or more that Judge Perham was upon the bench, are in- numerable.
Further and more extended notice of these worthies will be found below, from the pen of Judge Godfrey.
SOME GOOD STORIES.
-
We desire to add here a number of capital anecdotes of the old time Bench and Bar, given by Governor Wash- burn in the course of his centennial address. One not included is related by Judge Godfrey below :
About this time a suit was pending in the Supreme Court of the State, in which the title to the farm of Valentine Page, then occupied by Abram Reed, was involved. It was a suit in equity, John Bennoch, jr., plaintiff, vs. Joseph Whipple, defendant, and, as Mr. Reed, whose testimony in the case was deemed important, was in failing health, his deposition in perpetuam was taken. The counsel employed were Judge Cutting and the late Hon. William Abbot, of Bangor; the justices of the peace and quorum, by whom the deposition was taken, were Hon. Theophilus P. Chandler, then of Bangor and now of Boston, and my- self. The place was the house of Reed. . Opposite each other at the table were seated the lawyers and. the magistrates, one upon a side, as if at whist; Mr. Reed was partly reclining upon a bed, while Mrs. Reed, knitting-work in hand, with eyes and ears open, was sitting demurely in a corner of the room. Many of the questions asked were objected to as leading or otherwise improper, and the answers as illegal and in- admissible, and so earnest discussion on the points was carried on by the lawyers, when, upon one of the justices venturing to make a sug- gestion, the injunction "No talking across the board !" from a shrill, sharp, positive voice in the neighborhood of the knitting needles, brought the contest to a sudden close, and the parties to it to excellent humor. After this the caption proceeded quietly to the end.
It was in 1834 or 1835 that a trial was progressing at Bangor, in the Court of Common Pleas, before Hon. David Perham, judge, in which it became necessary to account for the disappearance of a flock of sheep, and an effort was made to identify them with a large number of carcasses that were found in a neighboring barn. An Orono man, who was on the stand as a witness, was closely interrogatedas to the num- ber of bodies. He said there were "a good many," "But how many?" asked the counsel. "O, a big pile." "How big?" "O, as big as the pen place that fellow sits in up yonder," replied Dudley, pointing to the judge.
1
It was in the same court, and before the same judge, that Henri Van Meter, who lived for many years in the Dudley neighborhood, was ter- ribly badgered by the counsel while he was being examined as a wit- ness. He had got so badly mixed up that the judge thought he would help the poor African out of his trouble. "R, r, Mr. Van Buren, was, it r-r -. " "Don't you say a word," expostulated Van Meter, turning to the Court with an expression mildly but earnestly deprecatory, "I have' as much as I can attend to with these gentlemen down here."
I remember the trial of some one whose name I am unable to recall, before a justice of the peace-Colonel Buffum, probably-for stealing corn from the grist-mill in the village, at which a witness, by the name of Smith, was examined by the counsel for the State. A light snow had fallen during the night of the larceny, and the tracks of a man, leading from the mill were seen in it. Smith had carefully examined the tracks to find out if they were made by the prisoner, whose shoes had also been examined, and he said they appeared to him as if they were made by a "man who had about two bushels of corn on his back."
While the Bangor Lower Stillwater Mill Company was in the full tide of life -- in the summer of 1836-a son of a Boston merchant and jarge shareholder in the company, a rather wild boy, was sent down to
Orono to be kept out of harm. One day he came into my office, under extreme excitement. "I want to know, " said he, "if there is any law in this State? I have been most shamefully abused, and I won't stand it. I was in a shoemaker's shop in Mill street, and they all set upon me, and old Johnson called me a- (using an adjective of most distinct blasphemy) fool, and now I want to know if I can't make him prove his words."]
HON. JOHN APPLETON, LL. D.,
Chief Justice Supreme Judicial Court, was the only son of John and Elizabeth (Peabody) Appleton, born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, July 12, 1804. In his fourth year his mother died, leaving, with himself, a daughter, who married George Gibson and died, leaving one child, Charles A. Gibson, now of Bangor. He attended the schools in New Ipswich, and fitted for college in the academy of that town. He graduated at Bowdoin Col- lege, in the class of 1822, studied law in the office of Charles F. Farley, Esq., of Groton, Massachusetts, and in the office of Nathan Dane Appleton, in Alfred, Maine. In 1826 he was admitted to practice in Amherst, New Hampshire. After admission he came to Dixmont, in this county, where he remained a few months; then went to Sebec (at that time also in this county), where he practiced his profession until 1832, when he came to Bangor. Soon after he came to this city he formed a connection in business with Elisha H. Allen. The style of the firm was Allen & Appleton. This connection continued until Mr. Allen was elected to Congress in 1840. The business of this firm was very large-too large to be profitable, strange as it may seem. For a pe- riod their entry was one hundred and more actions a term, one or other of the parties in each of which was supposed to be good, but proved, in many cases, to be worthless. The prosperity of the community had been fallacious; the fortunes made fictitious; and when the law put its grasp upon them, they were so many puff-balls. Court fees and sheriffs must be paid, and neither creditor nor debtor was disposed or able to respond. But, not- withstanding the unprofitableness of this part of their practice, the part involving questions of law was much more satisfactory. The investigation they stimulated placed both members in the front rank of the profession. In 1841 Mr. Appleton was made Reporter of Decisions, and the nineteenth and twentieth volumes of the Maine Reports bear testimony to the ability with which he per- formed his labor:
After Mr. Allen withdrew from the firm, Mr. Appleton was in copartnership successively with John B. Hill and Moses L. Appleton; and his business was always large.
In 1852 the District Court had been abolished, and all the business of that tribunal was transferred to the Su- preme Judicial Court, provision having been made for it by the addition of three more justices to that court. The justices appointed by the Governor were Hon. Richard D. Rice, of Augusta, and Hon. Joshua W. Hathaway and Hon. John Appleton, of Bangor.
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