History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 58

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100

USA > Maine > Penobscot County > History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 58

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Mr. McGaw was a well-read lawyer, possessed a clear, discriminating mind, and was faithful to all his trusts. He was a genial companion, and, possessing a fund of anecdote and a happy manner, was always entertaining. He had a lively recollection of everything amusing that occurred in his practice, and related incidents having a tinge of the humorous or ridiculous with great glee. In one case in court, where he wanted a continuance and urged as a reason that the depositions on which he relied were not at hand, the opposing counsel remarked that he had some depositions, and his brother could have the benefit of those. McGaw desired to see them, and was permitted to do so. On examining them he said :

"Very well, brother W .; I will take this," holding one up, "and we will go to trial."

It was agreed. Mr. McGaw used his opponent's de- position and won the case. On another occasion before Judge P., where a witness who was a friend to the party to whom Mr. McGaw was opposed, testified somewhat

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

incoherently, the Judge, in instructing the jury, said: "If the witness testified" -so and so - "your ver- dict will be for the defendant."

"That's just it, your Honor," said the witness, jumping up; "that's just what I said !"

The Judge went on without noticing the interruption. There was no remedy. The Judge's hypothesis was made reality, to McGaw's horror, and he of course lost his case.

The Bar passed resolutions of respect, in which they referred to his "honorable professional character as a counselor of the courts; of his integrity as a man; and of his social and generous qualities as a gentleman, a companion, and a friend."

HON. CHARLES STETSON,

Judge of Municipal Court, was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, in November, 1801. His father was Simeon Stetson, who came to Hampden very early in the century. Mr. Stetson, the subject of this sketch, pre- pared for college at the Hampden Academy and gradu- ated at Yale College in 1823. He read law first with Enoch Brown, in Hampden, and in his closing year with John Godfrey, in Bangor. He was admitted to practice as an attorney of the Court of Common Pleas in Bangor, in June, 1826; as an attorney of the Supreme Judicial Court in June, 1828, and as a counsellor of the same court in June, 1830.

He commenced practice in Hampden soon after his admission to the Court of Common Pleas, and acquired quite a large business. He afterwards removed to Ban- gor, and continued in the practice for several years.

After Bangor became a city, in 1834, he was appointed Judge of the Municipal Court, and held that office until 1837, when he was appointed Clerk of the Courts. In 1845, 1846, and 1847 he was a member of the Governor's Council from the Penobscot District. In 1849 and 1850 he was Representative from the Fifth (Penobscot) Dis- trict in the Thirty-first Congress.

Judge Stetson performed the duties of the several of- fices he held ably and faithfully. He retired from the profession several years ago, and, being possessed of an ample competency, "enjoys his ease with dignity."

CHARLES P. STETSON,

son of Hon. Charles Stetson, was born in Bangor ; pre- pared for college under David Worcester, Esq., Principal of the Bangor High School, who said of him that he was one of the best scholars, if not the best scholar, in all the branches that he ever had under him. He graduated at Yale College, the alma mater of his father, in 1855; was admitted to the Bar in 1857, and has practiced law in Bangor ever since. He was County Attorney for Pe- nobscot county from 1862 to 1874-twelve years-and was a very able and successful officer.

Mr. Stetson has a high standing at the Bar, and is con- sidered one of the best lawyers in the State. He has for several years been counsel for the European & North American Railway, of which he is a director, and is em- ployed in many of the most important litigated cases.

HON. SAMUEL F. HUMPHREY,

Judge of Police Court, was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, fitted for college at Pinkerton Academy, in Derry; graduated at Bowdoin College in 1848, subse- quently had charge for four years of Foxcroft Academy, Piscataquis county, studied law with Albert W. Paine, of Bangor, and was admitted to the Bar in 1853. He was elected Judge of the Police Court of the city of Bangor in 1860 and held the position eight years; was a member of the House of Representatives of the State from Bangor in 1870 and 1872 ; was appointed Examiner of the National banks of Maine in 1872, and has held the position ever since. As a teacher, lawyer, legisla- tor, and in whatever other capacity Judge Humphrey has been employed, he has performed his duties intelli- gently, conscientiously, and satisfactorily. As a judge he was firm, judicious, and impartial, and his retirement from the position was much regretted. He is quiet in his habits, and courteous, well-read in the law, and stands high in his profession and as a citizen.

HON. HENRY C. GOODENOW,

Judge of Police Court. Henry Clay Goodenow, second son and third child of Judge Daniel Goodenow and Sarah Ann (Holmes) Goodenow, was born in Alfred, Maine, June 23, 1834. He prepared for college in Alfred and North Yarmouth academies, and entered Bowdoin in August, 1849. He graduated in 1853, then taught the high school at Davis' Mills, Newfield, Maine. He began the study of law in Alfred January 7, 1854; taught the Alfred academy one term, in the spring, then resumed the study of law; was admitted to the Bar in York county in September, 1856, and commenced practice in Biddeford in November. In 1858 he removed to Lewis- ton and became a law-partner with Hon. Charles W. Goddard. In 1861 the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Goddard having been appointed Consul-General at Con- stantinople. In 1864 Mr. Goodenow was a member of the Common Council, and in 1865 and 1866 in the Board of Aldermen. In 1866 he removed to Bangor .and engaged in the corn and flour business. In 1869 he resumed the practice of law. In 1870, and for four or five years afterward, he was on the Superintending School Committee. During 1871, 1872, and 1873 he was City Solicitor, until appointed by Governor Perham Police Judge of the city, entering upon the duties of that office April 30. He occupied that position by suc- cessive elections or appointment until December, 1870, when he resigned.

Judge Goodenow is well read in the law, and has had a successful practice. As a judge he gave excellent sat- isfaction, and when a "reform" city government reduced his salary from twelve hundred to six hundred dol- lars a year, he would have been justified in resigning for the reason that the "honor" of the office did not com- pensate him for the loss of the professional business it occasioned him. He resigned for other reasons, how- ever, and resumed the practice of law in December, 1880. Judge Goodenow, in 1860, intermarried with Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Walter and Sarah (Quinby

HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

Brown, of Bangor. They have three sons and three daughters.

HON. ISRAEL WASHBURN,

War Governor of Maine, was born in Livermore, Maine, June 6, 1813. He received a classical education, and after the preparatory reading was admitted to the Bar, in 1834. He established himself in practice in Orono in December, 1834. He had a large business, and was one of the foremost members of the Bar of Penobscot County. In 1842 he was a member of the Legislature from Orono. He was elected Representative to Congress from the Fifth District in 1830, and was a member of the XXXIId, XXXIIId, XXXIVth, XXXVth, and XXXVIth Congresses. Having been elected Governor, he resigned the office of Representative in order to ac- cept that office.

Mr. Washburn was one of the best of the war Gov- ernors. He labored incessantly, and performed his whole duty. He held the office for two years. In 1863 Presi- dent Lincoln appointed him Collector of Portland. This required his removal to that city, and he has since made it his home.

Governor Washburn discontinued practice at the Bar several years since. He has of late interested himself in historical matters, has published a very interesting history of the town of Orono, and is an active member of the Maine Historical Society. A year or two since he read before that society an interesting and valuable paper on the Northeastern Boundary, which is published in the eighth volume of its Collections.

HON. HARRIS M. PLAISTED,

Governor of Maine, is a member of the Penobscot Bar. At the commencement of the war of the Rebellion he was instrumental in raising troops, and became Colonel of the Eleventh Regiment of Maine Infantry. He has the title of General. After the war he returned to the profession, and in 1873 was Attorney-General of the State. The duties of this office he performed with dili- gence and faithfulness, and with such ability as to leave it with eclat. He was elected to the XLIVth Congress from the Fifth District of Maine, and served the last year of the session in place of General Samuel F. Her- sey, deceased. He now occupies the position of Gov- ernor of the State. He is a man of indomitable perse- verance, and generally accomplishes what he undertakes.

HON. ELISHA H. ALLEN,

Minister from the Hawaiian islands, was born in New Salem, Massachusetts, January 28, 1804. He came to Bangor about 1830 ; was admitted as an attorney to the Supreme Judicial Court in June, 1831; was in co-partnership with Judge Appleton several years, and with Mr. Appleton and John B. Hill, the firm name being Allen, Appleton & Hill; was in the City Council of Bangor on its first organization in 1834; was Rep- resentative in the Legislature from 1836 to 1841, and in 1846. In 1838 he was Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives; was Representative in Congress from the Fifth Maine District from 1841 to 1843, serving on the

Committee of Manufactures. In 1847 he removed to Boston, and was elected to the Massachusetts Legisla- ture in 1849. He was afterwards appointed Consul to Honolulu, and has since been connected with the Gov- ernment of the Sandwich Islands. In 1856 he was envoy from the Sandwich Islands to the United States. From 1857 until 1879 he was Chief Justice and Chan- cellor of those islands. He is now Minister Resident at Washington from the Sandwich Islands.

Judge Allen, while in practice, stood high at the Bar. He attended carefully to the interests of his clients; was entirely reliable; affable and courteous, he was always popular.

HON. ALBERT G. JEWETT,

ex-Charge d'Affaires to Peru, was born in Pittston, Ken- nebec county, November 27, 1802 ; graduated at Water- ville College in 1826; read law with Joseph Williamson, in Belfast, and was admitted to the Bar in March, 1829. He soon after established himself in the profession in Bangor. The impression he made at his advent was not propitious; but he neglected no opportunity to make himself known. He was a frequent speaker in the Ban- gor Lyceum, and his orations were not esteemed the best specimens of rhetorical art. But he had pluck and persistence. He talked in the lyceum, he talked in the caucus, and whenever and wherever an opportunity offered. If he was aware of a blunder it was no cause of discouragement. Of course such a man must become known, must have admirers, must be employed. Not a great many terms of the court passed before his name was known to the extremes of the county. In about three years after he commenced practice he became County Attorney, and no one could help knowing him then. He had great powers with the jury, and was very successful in his prosecutions. General Hodsdon, the clerk, said that he seldom, if ever, failed of convicting. An anecdote is related of him which should cause him to be remembered, if he could not depend upon many other things for fame, as he can. The grand jury had indicted a fellow for an outrage. Mr. Moody conducted the defense, and introduced law to the effect that unless there was an outcry by the person upon whom the out- rage was committed, there was no crime, and the verdict should be for the defendant; and he argued the point at length that, as there was no outcry proved, the jury must infer consent and acquit his client.

Mr. Jewett in reply said:

"My brother Moody argues that, as the woman made no outcry, her consent must be inferred; and he has brought in a whole armful of old, musty English law- books to satisfy the court and jury that such is the law! What of it, gentlemen; what of it? Suppose it is the law?" Then, raising his naturally penetrating voice to the highest pitch, he cried: "What did she know about the law? She never read those law-books ;- a poor, ignorant, country girl! What did she know about the law? Good God, gentlemen! If she had known what the law was, she would have screamed so as to have been heard ten miles !! "

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

Of course, the rascal was convicted.

One of Mr. Jewett's greatest efforts was in the Rines case, mentioned in the Annals of Bangor, in this volume. A report of his argument is in the Bangor Daily Whig and Courier of February 13, 1837.

Mr. Jewett's practice became large, and it was thought that he acquired a large property in this city. He built the fine residence now owned by Albert Emerson, Esq., on Summer street.

In 1845 he gave up the practice in Bangor, and ac- cepted from President Polk the position of Charge d' Affaires to Peru. After three years' indulgence in the cli- mate of that Republic, he concluded to have some ex- perience of French life, and went to Paris, where he spent much time, and witnessed the French manner at the Bar and in the Forum, and, judging from his own style after his return, he was evidently impressed by it. After he left France he was for a time in Brunswick, Georgia, and then came to Bangor, but not to remain. In 1858 he engaged in the practice of law in Belfast, and has been retained in many important cases since. He has been more or less interested in politics always, and his voice has often been heard in public gatherings, as well as at the Bar, since he established himself at Belfast. The people of that city had such regard for his abilities that they made him their Mayor in 1863, 1864, and 1867. Mr. Jewett was always a busy man, and what his hands found to do he did with his might, and now, at nearly eighty years of age, he cannot be idle.

HON. ALLEN GILMAN.

Mr. Gilman was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, July 16, 1773. He was the third son of John Ward Gilman and Hannah Emery. Major John Gilman, an officer in' the expedition to Louisburg in 1645, and in the French and Indian war, was his paternal grandfather. The Rev. Stephen Emery, of Chatham, Massachusetts, was his maternal grandfather. Allen was a student in Exeter Academy, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1791. He studied law with Judge Oliver Peabody, of Exeter, and established himself in his profession first in Gardiner, Maine, in 1796. While there he married Pamelia Augusta, a rarely attractive lady, a daughter of General Henry Dearborn. In 1798, soon after his marriage, he removed to Hallowell. His wife died in October, 1799, leaving a daughter named for her, who became the wife of Major Dearborn, of the United States Army. Both of these have deceased. After the death of his wife he went to that part of Orrington which is now Brewer, where he remained a year, and the next year (1801) established himself in his profession in Bangor. He was possessed of a quick, discriminating intellect, and bore the reputa- tion of being a "good lawyer." He was quiet in his man- ner and of modest habits. He was of unquestionable in- tegrity, and had the confidence of his fellow-citizens. When Penobscot county was established in 1816, he was appointed Register of Probate, and held the office until Maine became a State. When Bangor was created a city, in 1834, Mr. Gilman was elected its first Mayor, and was re-elected the next year. He possessed great de-

cision of character, and his administration was successful. For the infringement of an ordinance defining the limits within which wooden buildings should not be erected, by Dexter E. Wadleigh, in removing a wooden building from one point to another within the limits, the Mayor caused it to be torn down. Mr. Wadleigh denied that removing the building was erecting it, and carried the question to the Supreme Court, which sustained the Mayor. On one occasion, when he was repairing, or re- building, a bridge which had been a source of trouble by its sides separating, a worker in iron passing by suggested iron rods with clamps as a protection against such casu- alty in future. "Yes," said the Mayor, "and the next that comes along will be a shoemaker, and he will sug- gest shoe-strings."

Mr. Gilman possessed taste, and early in the century, selecting the acknowledged most beautiful site in the city at the time, erected a fine mansion thereon, afterwards remodeled by M. Schwartz, Esq., and now St. Xavier's Convent. In . his contract for the carpenter-work he stipulated that liquor should be no part of the considera- tion. In that day rum was an implied factor in such transactions. He guarded himself by having the full consideration expressed.

Mr. Gilman married a second wife in 1806. She was the daughter of Colonel John Brewer, of Brewer. He had by her five sons and two daughters.

Mr. Gilman was small in stature. In the latter part of his life he was in feeble health, and died April 7, 1846, in the seventy-third year of his age. The Bar of this county made honorable mention of him as a man "known for the quickness of his perceptions, for his legal acu- men and his general acquaintance with legal principles. Highly respectable in all the departments of practice, it is not, perhaps, too much to say that he was not excelled as a skillful, accurate, and accomplished conveyancer. In- to his professional intercourse he brought that urbanity, cheerfulness, intelligence, pleasant conversation, and agreeable manners which all acknowledged to be his distin- guishiug characteristics as a man and gentleman. Remark- able for his strength of will, for his firmness of purpose, and an energy of character little to be expected in a frame of body somewhat fragile, he was always con- spicuous as a member of society and a citizen."

PELEG CHANDLER.

Mr. Chandler came from New Gloucester to Bangor about 1827. He was born about 1773, and was a class- mate in Brown University with the late Chief Justice Whitman, who entered that College in 1791. Mr. Willis, in his "Law and Lawyers of Maine," says that Mr. Chandler told him this story: He was studying with Rev. Mr. Briggs, of Halifax. When he went to Provi- dence to be examined for admittance he was in rather low spirits. "While musing along," Mr. Chandler says, "on my old Rosinante, I saw a person some fifty rods ahead. As he approached I saw he was a young man with a large bundle tied up in a bandanna handkerchief hung over his back on a cane. He had on no coat or jacket or stock; he wore an old pair of nankeen

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

breeches, and I think had his stockings and shoes in one hand, suspended by his garters. When he got within two or three rods he sat down under the shade of an oak. As I approached he saluted me by saying: 'I guess you are going to college; ain't you? You had better get off and take comfort with me under the shade.' This man is now Chief Justice of Maine (1843), and this was the first time I ever saw or heard of him. We lay on the ground under this tree three or four hours. I told him who I was, and all about my diffi- culties and my fears that I should not be able to enter college. He gave me words of courage; gave me the key to his room (as he had been there the freshman year), and we agreed to 'chum' together. . . Whit- man was at that time sixteen, and I almost nineteen."

As may be inferred from the manner in which he re- lates the above anecdote, Mr. Chandler was a man of much humor and capable of entertaining a jury, which he did. He practiced in Bangor quite successfully until 1847, when he died. The Bar passed resolutions of re- spect on the occasion of his death, testifying to his "social virtues and professional courtesy and fidelity."

Mr. Chandler married a sister of Chief Justice Par- sons, and was the father of those two eminent lawyers, Theophilus P. Chandler and Peleg W. Chandler, of Boston.

HON. WILLIAM ABBOT.

This sterling man did not become a resident of Penob- scot county until after he had been a member of the Bar for twenty-nine years. He established himself in Bangor in 1829, and made his home there until he died, in 1849. He was the sixth in descent from George Abbot, who emigrated from Yorkshire, England, in 1644, and settled on a farm in Andover, Massachusetts. His father, Wil- liam Abbot, was born in Andover, and when young settled in Wilton, where he resided until he died in 1793, at the age of forty-six. He was a member of the State Conven- tion in New Hampshire which adopted the Constitution of the United States, and was a highly respected citizen.

Upon his father's farm the subject of this notice ac- quired a taste for horticulture, which he never lost. He prepared for college. in a town school in Wilton, under Jonathan Fisher, who afterward became the minister of Blue Hill, Maine. Harvard College was his alma mater. He graduated in 1797, with a high character for industry and moral worth. He read law with William Gordon, of Amherst, New Hampshire, a lawyer of eminence; was ad- mitted to the Bar in 1800, and commenced the prac- tice of law in Castine, in the county of Hancock, in 1801. In 1802 he married Rebecca, daughter of Dr. Israel Atherton, a physician of eminence in Lancaster, Massa- chusetts.

Mr. Abbot was one of those men whose personal ap- pearance inspires confidence. The business men of the town soon learned that his appearance did not deceive them, and they intrusted their affairs in his hands. He was a sound lawyer, and gave diligent attention to the calls of his profession. In 1803 he was appointed Regis- ter of Probate for Hancock county, and held the office

for eighteen years, until Maine became an independent State. In 1816 he was one of the Presidential Electors. He was also in that year chosen a member of the con- vention at Brunswick, on the question of the separation of the State from Massachusetts, and represented his town in opposing the measure. He was a member of the convention at Portland, in 1819, that framed the Constitution of the State, and was on the committee to report a name for it. He was afterwards a member of the Legislature, in 1821, 1823, 1826, and 1827.

On his removal to Bangor, Mr. Abbot entered imme- diately into practice. His reputation was known, and important matters were put into his charge. His personal appearance inspired the same respect and confidence that it did in Castine. The town very soon placed him upon the Board of Selectmen. He was chairman of the Board when Bangor became a city, and was chairman of the committee that prepared the city charter; was chairman of the school committee of the city for several years; was instrumental in establishing the grade of schools; and was Mayor of the city from March, 1848, to August, 1849, when he died.

Mr. Abbot had a taste for music, as well as for horti- culture. His family must have been musical. His brother, Dr. John Abbot, who practiced in Hampden and Bangor during the greater part of his professional life, was a noted musician. William taught music in his early life in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and when he graduated delivered a poem on the subject.

The Penobscot Bar passed resolutions, reported by Elijah L. Hamlin, Albert W. Paine, and Charles Stetson, Esqrs., which bore cordial "testimony to his many estima- ble qualities, his patient industry, his fidelity, truthful- ness, and honest zeal for his client, and for the constant exhibition of those kindly feelings which have endeared him to us in his social as well as business relations."

HON. HANNIBAL HAMLIN,

United States Minister to Spain. Mr. Hamlin was born born in Paris, Maine, August 27, 1809; read law in Portland with Messrs. Fessenden & Deblois, the head of which was Samuel Fessenden, father of the Senator and of the late United States Consul at St. John, while at the same time he paid due regard to the famous suggestion of Pope-

The proper study of mankind is man.

After being admitted to the Bar, he came to Hampden about 1833, where he commenced practice. He had as extensive a business in Hampden as could be had there ; and upon the site of the office of his predecessor in the profession, John Godfrey, Esq., he erected a substantial brick dwelling-house (an unusual thing in that town), as if he intended to stay.

He, however, found Hampden a better field for pol- itics than for law. The men who were fond of law there were few: those who were fond of politics were many, and when a better politician came among them, they ap- preciated him. Mr. Hamlin's study of man proved of great advantage to him. The people soon found that the "better politician" had come. They presently sent him

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History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 58

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co. Number of Pages: 1100

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100