History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 25

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730

USA > Maine > York County > History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 25

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He married, July 23, 1827, Mary, daughter of Stephen Ambrose, of Concord, N. H. She was born May 12, 1801. In 1836 he removed to Harrison, and in June, 1847, re- moved to Saco, and formed a law partnership with Mr. Bradley, his old classmate, where he remained in the prac- tice of his profession until his death, Aug. 7, 1869. Ile was active, interested, and influential in town, county, and State affairs, and ealled by the citizens where he resided to occupy stations of responsibility and honor.

He was chairman of the county commissioners for Cum- berland County from 1831 to 1837, and Democratie mem- ber of the State Senate in 1840 and 1842. In 1840 he was chairman of the committee on the revision of the stat- utes, and superintended their publication in the winter of 1841.

In 1842 he was appointed chairman of the commissioners on the part of Maine to locate grants to settlers in the ter- ritory which had been claimed by Great Britain in the northerly part of the State, under the provisions of the Treaty of Washington, and was engaged in that business mostly in the Madawaska settlement during that and the following season.

In 1849 he published a digest of the first twenty-six volumes of the Maine Reports. He was a member of the Maine Historical Society, and was for several years a trustee of Bowdoin College.

For six years prior to his deeease he was president of the old Manufacturers' (now Saco National) Bank, and was 13

identified with all the social, religious, and business interests of the city of his residence.

The following quotations are from addresses of members of the York bar :

REMARKS OF HON, MOSES EMERY.

" Philip Eastman was conservative in his character,-seldom, if ever, changed an opinion he had onee formed, and in religion and politics always, to the time of his death, adhered to the associations of his youth. lle read the Bible through many times in the course of his life, and manifested equal reverence for the Old and New Testa- ments. He, I believe, looked to the past as furnishing safe landinarks for the future. Hence we always knew where to find him. This and his fixed moral principles rendered him always reliable. The breath of slander never reached him. In his undertakings I have reason to believe he always sought aid and guidance from above, and serupulously acted according to the light given him. Hence the smonth and even teuor of his life-never ruffled-never disturbed-always the same Philip Eastman-wild and benignant, hut firm as the oak in bis con- victions of duty. He now rests froin his labors, and his ' works do follow him.'"

REMARKS OF JUDGE E. E. HOURNE.

" As a lawyer, he maintained an honorable status, acquired by many years of diligent study. Few members of the har give them- selves so freely as he did to the acquisition of professional knowledge. He was always the diligent student, and, in consequence, became well versed in jurisprudence. Above all deception in his praetiee, and straightforward in the duties of his professioo, he drew to himself a class of clients from the best ranks of society. The public always had confidence in him as a lawyer and as a man. Honorable and courteous in his action io court, and frowning upon all chicanery and every species of low artifice, he ,acquired also the respect of the members of the har. Hle duly appreciated the dignity of the pro- fession, regarding the ministry of the law as one of the highest employments of life. His generous aod liberal spirit would not permit him to say anything which would wouod the feelings of another. He was a man of peace."

Mr. Eastman left two sons and two daughters living, -- Ellen Jane; Ambrose, a graduate of Bowdoin College, a practicing lawyer in Boston ; Edward, a graduate of Bow- doin in the class of 1857, studied law with his father, ad- mitted to the bar in 1860, and has sinee remained in the continuous practice of the law at Saco ; and Mary Searle Eastman.

HON. DANIEL GOODENOW.

Daniel Goodenow was born in Henniker, N. H., Oct. 30, 1793. His parents removed to Brownfield, Me., in 1802. In 1813 he entered the law-office of Hon. John Holmes, at Alfred, and was admitted to the York County bar in 1817. While prosecuting his legal studies in the office of Mr. Holmes he at the same time carried on those of the sciences and elassies so rapidly and successfully that in 1817 he was admitted to the senior class of Dartmouth University, and graduated there the same year.

Having chosen Alfred as his home, he rapidly gained an extensive practice, and soon became a leader at the bar. In 1825, '27, and '30) he represented Alfred in the House of Representatives, and the latter year was Speaker. In 1831, '32, and '33 he was the candidate of the Whig party for Governor; and in 1838 and 1841 he was attor- ney-general of the State. From 1841 to 1848 he was judge of the District Court for the Western District, and from 1855 to 1862 an associate judge of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. In 1860, the honorary degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by Bowdoin College, of

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

which he was for twenty-five years a faithful and devoted trustee. He died at Alfred, Oct. 7, 1863.

At the next term of the Supreme Court, held at Saco, in January, 1864, Judge Kent, one of his associates on the bench, made the following remarks :

"Judge Goodenow has always been a marked and prominent man, and he has ever exerted a decided influence on society. This was the result of talents cultivated and wisely employed, of character unsul- lied, and integrity unquestioned, of that combination of intellectual aod moral qualities which io their development give the world ' as- surance of a man' true.to himself and true to his fellow-man.

" There was something in his character and in his success worthy of examination and imitation. His early life was one of struggle with adverse circumstances ; but this has been the fortune of many. He met and overcame obstacles,-and so have most of the leading men of our country. But it always seemed to me that our deceased friend early formed a plan of life and adhered to it; that in his years of early manhood, without wasting his days in repining, he fixed his aim high, and an earnest ambition to be a man among men-and they among the highest-stimulated him to excel. But he laid the foun- dation on which he hoped to rise not on low cunning, or mean in- trigues, or sycophantic flattery, but on the solid basis of integrity, sin- cerity, and industry ; hoping and straining always for honor and suc- cess, but compassing 'noble ends by noble means,' and spurning everything which would justly lower him in the estimation of good men, and would wound and tarnish his conscientious seuse of right and duty. Tracing the life thus commenced, we find, in its develop- ment and its history, the formation of a character less marked by startling brilliancy than by solid worth and firm principle, and the useful and honorable performance of the duties of daily life. In man- ners courteous and dignified, he was firm in his convictions, and de- cided in avowing and maintaining them.

"Judge Goodenow had great self-respect, which, no doubt, in his ear- lier years, and through his whole life, stood sentinel against low tempta- tions, and degrading or corrupting associations of habits. It never took the form of arrogance or of undue assumption, or of ascetic life, or of aristocratic contempt for those around him. But it was the result of a proper appreciation of his own character and position, of the true dignity of human nature, and of watchful care that, whatever else be- fell, his own self-respect should not be lost ur clouded by misfortune, or by the malevolence or misconstruction of others. It produced in bim a high sense of personal honor, which, whilst it rendered him courte- ous and gentlemanly and genial in social life, could repress inten- tional insults, and check unseemly license, with dignity and effect.

" He was a frank and a sincere man. He meant what he said, and he said what he meant. He was true, not merely in his words, but in his instincts and in his life. He professed nothing that he did not feel, and promised notbing that he did uot intend to perform. His convictions were clear and strong, and held unwaveringly and with few misgivings, and he was ever true to them in word and in deed. But he was not dogmatic or offensive in uttering and maintaining them. What he claimed for himself he yielded to others. His popularity was never the result of that weakness or selfishuess which fears to form a distinct opinion, or to express it when duty calls, but of the conviction, which even those who differed from him felt, that he was sincere and honest and truthful, and that whilst ever true to his friends, he was never false even to au opponent, or to an enemy, if he had one.

" The professional life of our brother was honorable and successful. He seemed to have early formed a right appreciation of its true char- acter and highest dignity. It was never with him a mere trade, by which money was to be gained and a living secured. It was not to him an instrument to be used for chicanery and oppression, or to ex- tort unjustly, by by-paths and indirection, the hard earnings of the unlearned and confiding. It was never with him a cover to conceal, under forms of law, the grasping spirit of avarice, and he never stirred up strife among his neighbors that fees might flow into his coffers. To the just and reasonable and honorable pecuniary rewards of his professional labors he was not indifferent, but he claimed them as rightly paid for laborious and valuable service. But he felt, as every true and high-minded professional man must feel, that there are higher rewards and higher motives than those that are merely mer- cenary, which should move and excite him to action.

"No man who does not honor his profession can be honored by it.

But the upright lawyer, who bas spent his days and nights in prep- aration, and has mastered his profession in its principles and in its details, and stands up as the advocate of his fellow-man, when his in- terests, his character, or his liberty are in question, always feels that he has assumed a responsibility which mere money can never ade- quately recompense. And when engaged in the conflicts of the forum, earnest and faithful in presenting the cause of bis client, and while true to him and his duty, equally true to the court and to himself, he thinks not an instant of his pecuniary reward, but he exerts his best powers of eloquence and argument in the discussion of great princi- ples or minute details with no other feeling than that of duty, and with no other thought than of the honorable fame which may follow from its performance. As soon would the true soldier, in the hour of the sternest strife on the battle-field, think of his pay and rations.

"Judge Goodenow brought to the bench the learning, the expe- rience, and the maturity of mind and judgment acquired in his many years of laborious industry at the bar. He gave to the State his best powers, and he faithfully strove to administer justice without fear or favor, and, as far as possible, to reconcile the equity of particular cases with the established principles of law. The characteristics to which I have alluded, and which have been spoken of by our brother, were manifested in a marked degree in his judicial career. He was there, as everywhere, independent and firm, impartial and just,- more anxious to do his duty and satisfy his own conscience than to gain temporary applause. He claimed no exemption from error, but he must be convinced of his error before he would yield to the de- cision of a majority. When he left the bench, at the expiration of his term of office, we all felt that the State had lost a faithful, de- voted, and honest servant, and he retired with honor, carrying with him the best wishes of his colleagues and of the whole people.

" It is eheering to contemplate such a life in all its parts until its earthly end. With no adventitious advantages, with no uncommon natural powers, but starting on the voyage of life with good sense and good purposes, and amid difficulties and trials and dangers, and the shoals and rocks, keeping his eye fixed on his polar star, he steers his course, ever 'steady with an upright keel.' never relaxing in his pur- pose, or yielding tu fear or despondency, until his bark is safely moored in its last harbor and resting-place. Well may we-well, especially, may all young men-pause and contemplate and study such an ex- ample.

" Alas! how often is it otherwise ! Where one who can look back through a long vista of years recalls and counts up the multitude of young men who commenced life with him, with fair promise, full of hope and talent, and ambition and joyous anticipation, and with honest and earnest purpose to excel, and then numbers the wrecks caused by want of a steady aim and a fixed plan of life, and remem- bers how many sank by yielding to sensual indulgence, or enervating indolence, or to the syren song of pleasure, luring them on to the rocks, or yielded themselves willing victims to that scourge of our land, intemperance, or fainted under difficulties, or gave up in despair at early failures of extravagant hopes, or hy reason of disappoint- ments which they had not manliness and strength of will enough to make stepping-stones for new efforts and thus surmount them,-when the vast mass of ruin lies before him in his memory, he would fain turn from it and the sorrow which it creates to the contemplation of the life and history of those who, like our deceased brother, have weathered the storms and sailed over the seas in safety and with suc- cess. In the que class the young man may find beacons to warn ; in the other, charts to guide him in the voyage of life.

"Our brother's death was startlingly sudden. And yet it was to him ' no unthought-of hour.' He had fixed his thoughts through life, and especially as it drew towards its close, on the high themes of death and immortality. Ile had the faith, and he lived the life, of a rational Christian. The foundation of all that was estimable and valuable in his character was his devout sense of responsibility to his Maker. The summons did not find him unprepared. His life's work had been done, and well done. He had reached the allotted time for man on earth. He had borne himself honorably through life, and possessed the love of his family and the esteem of his neighbors. With no stain on his character as a citizen, as a Christian, or as a man, but with a high and enviable reputation in all these relations, he has gone down to the grave, in the fullness of his years, without suffering and with- out the wasting pains of protracted sickness.

" Although nature may prompt us, ordinarily, to join in the prayer of the Litauy for deliverance . from sudden death,' yet there are cases

BENCH AND BAR OF YORK COUNTY.

when we can but feel that among the blessings of the good man's life not the least may be the sudden summons which calls him away from suf- fering and sorrow, and from those years of protracted life which have no pleasure in them. 'FELIX-NON TANTUM VITE CLARITATE, SED ETIAM OPPURTUNITATE MORTIS.'"

Judge Goodenow had four brothers, all of whom were lawyers. Two of them-Hon. Rufus K. Goodenow, of Paris, and Hon. Robert Goodenow, of Farmington-were repre- sentatives in Congress from Maine. Two sisters-Mrs. Alpheus Spring, of Fryeburg, Me., and Mrs. Daniel P. Stone, of Malden, Mass .- survive.

Ile was twice married,-first to a daughter of Hon. John Holmes. Of their three children, the eldest is the wife of Rev. William II. Willeox, of Malden, Mass.

The eldest son, John Holmes Goodenow, graduated at Bowdoin College in 1852; was admitted to the bar in Port- land in 1855 ; was a partner of Hon. Nathan D. Appleton, at Alfred; was a member of the House of Representatives in 1859; president of the Maine Senate in 1861-62 ; and from 1865 to 1876 was consul-general at Constantinople, and three times charge d'affairs.

The second son, Henry Clay Goodenow, graduated at Bowdoin College in 1853; was admitted to the bar in 1856; commenced practice at Biddeford; removed to Lewiston, where he was a partner of Hon. Charles W.

NATHAN D. APPLETON.

Hon. Nathan D. Appleton was born in Ipswich, Mass., in May, 1794, where his ancestors had resided since the first of the name, Samuel Appleton, moved there from England in 1635. He graduated at Bowdoin in 1813, and seven years later settled in Alfred, having been admitted to the bar in 1816. His ripe scholarship and gentlemanly deportment soon gave him an extensive practice. In 1829, 1847, and 1848 he was a member of the State Legislature, was president of the Senate in 1830 and in 1837, and in 1838, 1850, and 1852 was the nominee of the Whig party for representative to Congress. From 1857 to 1860 he held the office of attorney-general. During the long period of over forty years in which Mr. Appleton practiced at the York County bar he always maintained an unblemished character and a high position as a lawyer and a man. He married Julia, daughter of Abial Hall, of Alfred.

RUFUS P. TAPLEY.

Rufus P. Tapley, son of Rufus and Rebecca (Josselyn) Tapley, was born in Danvers, Mass., Jan. 2, 1823. In early life he was obliged to depend upon his own resources -willing hands and a resolve to work his own way-for obtaining an education. In this he was successful, and re-

'LITTLE

Rupes P. Japlay

Goddard, and is at present judge of the Police Court in Bangor.

Judge Goodenow's second wife was a daughter of Judge Dana, of Fryeburg, and the widow of Henry B. Osgood, Esq., of Fryeburg. Their only child is the wife of James Hopkins Smith, Esq., of New York.

ceived a liberal preliminary education in the schools of his native town and from private tutors. In 1846 he came to Saco, and began the study of law in the office of Bradley & Haines, and was subsequently a student with Bradley & Eastman. He was admitted to the bar in 1848, and has remained in the continuous practice of the law in Saco

100

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

sinee. In 1858 he was a member of the State Legislature, and the next year was elected county attorney, holding the office for six years. In October, 1862, he was commis- sioned as colonel of the 27th Maine Regiment, which posi- tion he held until February, 1863, when he resigned and returned home. He was in the Legislature for the two following years, and in December, 1865, was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and Ireld the office for seven successive years. Returning to practice, he was (in 1874) again elected to the Legislature. Judge Tapley is by universal confession a gentleman of marked ability and talent, and single-handed and alone, unaided by such accidents of life as wealth, social position, and family connections, has lifted himself by successive stages from a humble estate to a position of usefulness and honor. He is thoroughly identified with the town and county of his adoption, and has taken an active part in local and State legislation while pursuing his profession. As a lawyer, he is noted for the acuteness and discrimination of his mind, for his untiring industry, for the readiness with which he undertakes snits full of labor and difficulty, for thorough preparation of his cases, and a persistent faithfulness to his clients.

He is ready and fluent, with a good command of lan- guage, self-possessed, logieal, a keen reasoner, a pleasing speaker, and always has the closest attention of court and jury.

His opinions, as published in Reports, evince the same painstaking labor as is ever noticed at the bar. He thor- oughly investigates, closely digests the law and facts, and clearly states his conclusions. Independence of thought and character cause him to give dissenting opinions when- ever his researches lead to them. With unusual quickness of pereeption, he readily analyzes the ease, and never hesi- tates to present it to the jury as he sees it. Pleasant and courteous in his manners, kind in his feelings, generous in his acts, he has the respect of his community. Ile married, in 1853, Louisa E., daughter of Capt. Robert MeMannus, of Brunswick, Me. The children of this union are Rufus P. Jr., Robert M., and Philip C.

His wife died December, 1871, and in January, 1873, he married Lydia W., daughter of John Merriman, of Brunswick, by whom he has two children,-Edward K. and Linda M.

JOHN M. GOODWIN.

John Monroe Goodwin was born in Baldwin, Me., on the 3d of September, 1822, prepared for college at North Yarmouth, under the instruction of Allen Weld, and grad- uated at Bowdoin in the class of 1845. He studied law with Judge Sewall Wells, at Portland, up to the time of the appointment of the latter to the bench of the Supreme Court (1847 ), and continued with Edward Fox, now judge of the United States District Court, and was admitted to the Cumberland bar in March, 1848. Ile first opened an office at Mechanie Falls, Me., whence he removed in one year to Portland, where he remained till 1850, when he removed to Biddeford, and has continued to practice there ever since. Ile was a member of the State Senate in 1856, a representative in 1863-64, city solicitor of Biddeford, and Democratic candidate for Congress in 1876.

Mr. Goodwin married, in July, 1850, Harriet P. Her- rick, daughter of Benjamin J. Herrick, of All'red, by whom he has had five children. His oldest son, Francis J. Good- win, is a graduate of Amherst College, and engaged in insurance business in Biddeford. His son, George B. Goodwin, is well known as the editor of the Bangor Com- mercial.

ALEXANDER F. CHISHOLM.

Alexander Fraser Chisholm was born in Salem, Mass., Oct. 15, 1813; was a bookseller in Portland from 1832 to 1841 ; studied law at Hollis, with Samuel Bradley, 1841- 42; was a law partner with Mr. Bradley from October, 1842, to August, 1845 ; removed in August, 1851, to Saeo, where he practiced law till his death, Nov. 19, 1871. He was postmaster in Hollis, town agent, and a member of the school committee,-an office in which he also served in Saco, -and at the time of his death was president of the York Institute.

THOMAS M. HAYES.

Thomas M. Hayes was born in Kennebunkport, Aug. 18. 1819, and died in Boston, Feb. 1, 1869. He graduated at Bowdoin College in 1840, studied law, and practiced at Saco from 1843 till about 1864. He was State senator in 1854, and Democratic candidate for Congress in 1860. He removed to Boston, where he practiced his profession from 1864 to 1869, the time of his death.

JOSEPH T. NYE.

Joseph T. Nye was born in Saco, May 19, 1819. He practiced law, and was collector of customs at Saco from 1849 to 1853, and judge of probate from 1854 to 1857. He died June 14, 1859.

SAMUEL V. LORING.

Samuel V. Loring, son of Rev. Levi Loring, born in Freeport, Me., Dec. 6, 1808, studied law with Samuel Bradley ; practiced first at Springvale, then at Saco, and removed to Boston in 1870. He was trial justice prior to 1867, and recorder of the Municipal Court. He now re- sides in Arizona.

JOSEPII DANE.

Joseph Dane was born in Kennebunk, Feb. 21, 1823. He is the son of Joseph Dane, a distinguished lawyer, who settled in that town in 1800, and practiced law there till his death. The subject of this notice graduated at Bow- doin College in 1843 ; studied law with Judge Bourne, of Kennebunk, and Judge Dewey, of Worcester, Mass., and was admitted to the bar in 1846. IIe has practiced law ever since in Kennebunk.

WILLIAM C. ALLEN.

William Cutter Allen commeneed the practice of law in Alfred, in May, 1822 In 1828 he was appointed register of probate, and held the office, with the exception of one year, till 1841. In 1839, 1844, and 1845 he was a repre- sentative in the Legislature ; a senator in 1846; judge of probate from 1847 to 1854, when he received an appoint- ment in the Post-Office Department at Washington, which he held till his death, Aug. 12, 1859. He married a daugh- ter of Henry Holmes, Esq., of Alfred, and left two sons,

SAMUEL BRADLEY.

The emigrant ancestor of the Bradley family so a lawyer of Saco, attorney for York County from 1856 to 1859, a member of the State Senate in 1863, and now a resident of Boston ; and Robert, born in 1837, died in 1875. prominently identified with New England, Daniel Bradley, according to Savage, came in the " Elizabeth," from London in 1635, at the age of twenty, and settled in Haverhill, Mass., where he was killed by the In- Mr. Bradley graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820; subsequently read law; was admitted to the bar, and from 1824 to 1845 practiced law in Hollis. In the latter year he came to Saco, where he became a law partner with Hon. Wm. P. Haines (Bradley & Haines), and subsequently, dians, Aug. 13, 1689. Daniel, his son, with his wife, Hannah, and daughters, Mary and Hannah, were also killed by the Indians, March 15, 1697. Joseph, who is known to have been the ancestor of Samuel, was surprised in his garrison house at Haverhill, Feb. 8, , in 1847, on the retirement of Mr. HIaines, associated with 1704, and his wife was a second time taken captive and carried away by this relentless enemy. Abraham, son of Joseph, was the first of the name who settled in Penacook. He was one of the pioneers who moved up from the lower towns on the Merrimac to the rich meadows higher up this beautiful river. He died in 1754, leaving ten chil- dren by his wife, Abigail Philbrick. His seventh son, Samuel, was great-grand- father of our subject. He, too, was inhumanly mas- sacred by the Indians in 1746, Icaving by his wife, Mary Folsom, of the Exeter family, a son, John, born Feb. 13, 1742, and a daugh- ter, Mehitabel, born in 1745. John married Hannah Ayer, Samuel Bradley by whom he had nine chil- dren, of whom Robert, born June 17, 1772, married Abigail Bailey, by whom he had four children,-Samuel, the late distinguished law- yer of Saco, subject of this notice; Dr. Israel Bailey Bradley, born June 22, 1805; the late Alexander Ramsey Bradley, of Fryeburg, born Nov. 5, 1809; and Mary Ann Bradley, born June 2, 1814. Alexander R. Bradley graduated at Harvard University in 1831, and died in 1862. Samuel Bradley, born March 29, 1802, married Jane M., daughter of Col. Isaac Lane, of Hollis. She died in Boston, Sept. 27, 1873, aged sixty-eight. He died June, 1849. Their children are Sarah J., wife of Hon. Edwin R. Wiggin, formerly him his old classmate, Hon. Philip Eastman (Bradley & Eastman), with whom he remained in practice until his deccase. Mr. Bradley was a man of keen, quick perceptions, and a ready speaker. When he came to Saco he was in the front rank of his profession, and engaged in a large and lu- crative practice, which was augmented by his connec- tion with Mr. Haines, then regarded as the best coun- selor at the bar. In their business in court the argu- ment of causes before the jury was principally assumed by Mr. Bradley, who was then regarded as one of the ablest advocates in the county. With him his client was always in the right. It was a peculiarity of his that he always made his client's cause his own. He was an ardent Whig in politics. Here the same positive and affirmative elements of character as appeared in his law practice were quite as demonstratively shown. He was no demagogue in any sense. In 1844 he was the Whig candidate for Presidential elector. In 1848 he was a delegate to the convention which nominated Gen. Taylor for the Presidency. To this nomination he was irrecon- ciled until the day before the election, when, feeling that his influence must fall upon one side or the other, he came out in a public speech in support of the nomina- tion. As a friend, no man was truer or more firm and reliable.

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History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 25

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 730

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730