USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine, Volume II, 1875-1900 > Part 15
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He is survived by his wife, a daughter, Mary Maud Milliken, and a son, Seth Mellen Milliken, of New York City.
JAMES BOWDOIN MURCH. In 1879, Mr. Murch was appointed Judge of the Belfast Police Court, a tribunal which took the place of the Municipal Court. This position, however, he did not long enjoy, as he died on the 1st day of April, 1880. He was a sound lawyer, of broad mind and large heart; cheerful, and hav- ing a keen sense of humor. At the term of the Supreme Court following his decease, suitable resolutions to his memory were presented, responded to by the Presiding Justice. Judge Murch left two children, Lucius Holcomb Murch, of Belfast, and Char- lotte, now Mrs. Bertram L. Smith, of Patten. His widow, a native of North Carolina, died 11 December, 1896.
WILLIAM MAXFIELD RUST, who had resided in Belfast since 1853, died 14 June, 1888, aged sixty-nine years. Becoming editor of the "Progressive Age" in 1854, he continued as such during the remainder of his life. In 1875, he was appointed Judge of Probate for Waldo County, to fill the unexpired term of Hon. Asa Thurlough, and held that position until January, 1877. He was a State Senator in 1883-84 and during the latter year a delegate at large to the Democratic National Convention.
In politics, Judge Rust was an early member of the Republican party and acted with it until the formation of the Greenback party in this State, which he was largely instrumental in accom- plishing. Subsequently he united with the Democrats, becom- ing prominent in that organization. He was a lawyer of ability; a successful editor, an active politician, a man of original opinions, strong convictions, marked social qualities, and of domestic tastes. He always had courage to promulgate his clearly defined views, whether or not they were favorably received. (See p. 112.)
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GEORGE EDMUND WALLACE. Mr. Wallace represented Belfast in the Legislature of 1879. In 1881, he was chosen County Attorney, and held the position for four years. From November, 1878, to June, 1881, he was in partnership with Franklin Atwood Greer. Impaired health compelled him to leave Maine, and in 1892 he became established in Los Angeles, California, where he now resides.
JOSEPH WILLIAMSON continues in practice in the same loca- tion which he has occupied for forty-six years. He was City Solicitor in 1875, and from 1886 to 1890. In 1877, he published the first volume of the "History of Belfast," and in 1896, a "Bibliography of Maine." An account of both works may be found in another chapter. The honorary degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred upon him by Bowdoin College, in 1896.
The above lines are from the pen of Mr. Williamson himself. To them we append the following resolutions, adopted by the Waldo County Bar Association, the Trustees of the Belfast Free Library. and a committee of the Waldo Club, respectively; and an editorial which appeared in the "Republican Journal " at the time of his death, which occurred in Belfast, 4 December, 1902. On 12 January, 1903, an impressive and largely attended Memorial Service to the late Hon. Joseph Williamson was held in the Supreme Judicial Court. See also the introduction by the Editor, at the beginning of this vol- ume, and the memoir of Joseph Williamson, by his brother, the late William Cross Williamson.
On behalf of the Waldo County Bar Association, we present the following resolutions, and move that they be spread upon the records of this Court: -
.
WHEREAS, We, the members of the Waldo Bar, desire to give expres- sion to, and place on record, our sense of the loss we have sustained in the death of our brother Joseph Williamson, and to express our high appreciation of his character as a lawyer, citizen, and friend, be it
Resolved, That his death removes from our number an honored and distinguished member of the Bar who will long be remembered for his high attainments as a lawyer, his dignified and courteous bearing toward the Court and Bar, his genial nature, his agrecable companionship in social intercourse and his honorable and kindly bearing in all the rela- tions of life.
Resolved, That we extend our sympathy to the family of our deceased brother, and that a copy of these resolutions be sent to the members thereof.
WILLIAM PITT THOMPSON, ROBERT FRANKLIN DUNTON, REUEL WILFORD ROGERS, Committee.
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The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Belfast Free Library was held January 2, 1903. Hon. William C. Marshall was elected chairman to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Joseph Williamson. The following resolution was adopted: -
Resolved, That we greatly deplore the death of Judge Williamson, who has been chairman of the Board of Trustees of Belfast Free Library since its foundation and has given it his constant care and supervision during that long period of fifteen years. It is a great loss to the Library.
We desire to place on record our high appreciation of his faithful service.
The board at present consists of William C. Marshall, N. F. Houston, Ben Hazeltine, and Dr. Elmer Small.
At the annual meeting of the Waldo Club, held at their rooms March 20th, 1903, the following resolutions were adopted: -
Resolved, That we greatly miss at our Club the presence and com- panionship of the late Hon. Joseph Williamson, whose recent and sud- den death is mourned by us as a personal bercavement. He was a regular attendant at the Club on evenings when the business of the day was over and enjoyed those hours of recreation with great zest. He was a thorough gentleman, courteous, sympathetic, companionable. He had the respect of every member of the Club.
Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the records of the Club and a copy sent to his relatives.
WILLIAM COLBURN MARSHALL,
GILMAN PINGREE LOMBARD, FRANK LEE FIELD,
Committee on Resolutions.
The following is from an editorial in the "Republican Journal " :-
The death of Hon. Joseph Williamson has taken from us our most widely known citizen. Learned in the law; of a judicial mind that made the title of Judge Williamson most fitting; a wise counselor; loyal in every fibre to his native city, holding dear her fame and ever ready to do aught in his power to promote her welfare, he will be greatly missed in the community in which he has so long been a familiar figure. His literary labors had extended over more than half a century, and aside from his well-known "History of Belfast" and his "Bibliography of Maine " he has embodied in pamphlets and otherwise published much material that must prove of great value to future historians. This work was his recreation; the law his business, and as lawyer or historian his place will be hard to fill.
Since 1875, the following lawyers, formerly in practice in Bel- fast, have died: -
WILLIAM STEVENS, who removed to Andover, Massachusetts, in 1835, died in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 7 January, 1878, aged
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nearly seventy-nine. For twenty-nine years he was Judge of the Police Court of Lawrence.
ALBERT BINGHAM, a resident of Belfast from 1836 to 1845, died in Newton, Massachusetts, 8 August, 1878. He had held positions in the Boston and Portsmouth custom-houses.
HOWARD BROOKS ABBOTT, who gave up practice in 1845, became a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in Waterville, 2 February, 1876, aged sixty-two years.
WALTER BINGHAM ALDEN, who retired from practice in 1853, and engaged in mercantile business in New York, died in Belfast, 9 September, 1893. He was an extensive reader, an entertaining conversationalist, and well informed upon all subjects. An invalid for many years, bodily infirmities withdrew him from active life.
PHILO CHASE, after leaving Belfast in 1868, became a success- ful lawyer in New York, where he died 5 November, 1898, after a long illness.
EMERY SAWYER, who practiced in Belfast for a short time in 1866, and then removed to Searsport, died in that town, 11 July, 1882. He was born in Brooks, 6 March, 1818. For twenty-eight years he held the position of trial justice.
LAWYERS ESTABLISHED OR ADMITTED TO THE BAR IN BELFAST AFTER 1874
FRED WALDO BROWN, son of Silas Dinsmore Brown, of the Head of the Tide, was born there 11 March, 1857. He studied law with George Edwin Johnson and Thompson & Dunton, and was admitted to the Bar in October, 1877. He opened an office in September, 1882. The following year he formed a partnership with the Hon. Albert Gallatin Jewett, which continued until the death of the latter. He was County Attorney in 1891 and 1892. He married Miss Hester M. Pierce, of Ellsworth.
FRED L. BANKS, son of Frank Banks, was admitted to the Bar at the January term, 1887, of the Supreme Court, but did not practice here. He now resides in Boston.
ROBERT FRANKLIN DUNTON, son of the late Horatio Dunton, of Searsmont, was born in that town, 24 November, 1848. He was admitted to the Bar in October, 1872 at Belfast, and prac- ticed four years at Trinidad, Colorado, before returning to Belfast in 1877. The following year he became the partner of
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Hon. William Pitt Thompson, a relation which continued until 1890. He was chosen City Solicitor from 1879 to 1885, both inclusive, and again in 1891 and 1892; County Attorney, in 1887-88, and Mayor, in 1893 and 1894. In 1899, he became president of the People's National Bank, of which he had been vice-president. Mr. Dunton married, 5 June, 1878, Elizabeth Mabel Farrar, of Searsmont. He was elected president of the Belfast Savings Bank in January, 1906, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Edward Johnson, Esq. This position he resigned some years later, upon being appointed Bank Com- missioner for the State of Maine. He was a Representative to the Legislature in 1907, and Chairman of the State Board of Arbitra- tion and Conciliation, 1909-11. He has been a director in the City National Bank of Belfast. Though his present duties call him to all parts of the State, he continues the practice of the law under the firm name of Dunton & Morse, at Belfast.
JOIN RILEY DUNTON, brother of the foregoing, was born in Searsmont, 9 August, 1859. He fitted for college at the Castine Normal School. During a portion of 1886, he was a Deputy Collector in the Belfast Custom-House. After graduating at Bates College in 1887, he taught in grammar and high schools in Belfast, Lewiston, and Leominster, Massachusetts. He was admitted to the Bar in September, 1898, and entered into part- nership with his brother. He became a member of the Maine Historical Society in 1894. Mr. Dunton was Superintendent of Schools of Belfast from 1901 to 1905; Mayor, in 1906-07, and is at present (1913) a member of the 76th Maine Legislature. He is a partner in the law firm of Dunton & Morse.
W. FRED P. FOGG, formerly of Strong, came to Belfast in November, 1895, as the attorney of the Petit Manan Land and Industrial Company, and remained until the following April, when he removed to Wiscasset.
FRANKLIN ATWOOD GREER, son of Daniel A. Greer, of Bel- mont, where he was born in 1854, studied law with Judge George Edwin Johnson and was admitted to the Bar at the April term, 1875, of the Supreme Court. He commenced practice in Bel- fast in June, 1876. In November, 1878, he formed a copartner- ship with George Edmund Wallace, which continued until June, 1881.
JOHN CALVIN HARKNESS, son of the late Thomas Harkness,
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was born in 1839, and graduated at Bowdoin College in 1864. He was principal of the Camden High School in 1864-66, then pursued legal studies at the Harvard Law School; for five years he was president of the Delaware State Normal School, and afterwards principal of the Harkness Academy, in Wilmington, Delaware. He was admitted to the Waldo Bar, in January, 1884, and soon afterwards returned to Wilmington, Delaware, where he now resides.
GEORGE FRANK HARRIMAN, son of the late Hon. Willard P. Harriman, was born in Waldo, 16 September, 1852. He received the degree of A.B. at Bowdoin College in the class of 1875, and having been admitted to the Bar of Waldo County the same year, took the degree of LL.B. at Boston University in 1876. He practiced in Belfast in connection with his brother, James Sumner, from 1878 to November, 1882, and in 1882 he removed to New York, where he is a member of the legal firm of Harriman & Fessenden.
CHARLES EDMAN JOHNSON, a native of Freedom, studied law with Enoch K. Boyle, and was admitted to the Bar in April term of court, 1872. He practiced in Belfast from May, 1877, to August, 1878, and afterwards removed to Georgia, where he engaged in manufacturing. He now resides at Fairfield, Maine.
WAYLAND KNOWLTON, son of Hon. Joseph W. Knowlton, of Liberty, was admitted to the Bar in April, 1879. He practiced in Liberty two years, when he came to Belfast, where he continues to reside. He was the Democratic candidate for Register of Probate in 1900.
WILLIAM HENRY MCLELLAN, JR., son of Hon. William Henry MeLellan, received an education at Geneva, Switzerland, and Stuttgart, Germany. He returned to this country in 1884, studied law with his father in Kansas City, Missouri, two years, and at the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Maine Bar at the January term of the Supreme Court in 1890, practiced in Belfast a year, and then formed a partnership with Hon. Thomas W. Vose, of Bangor, which continued until 1893. He then removed to Toledo, Ohio, where he is still in practice.
HUGH DEAN MCLELLAN, son of Hon. William Henry MeLellan, and younger brother of the foregoing, was born in Belfast, 10 September, 1876. He graduated at Colby College in 1895, studied law with his father, and was admitted to the Bar in April,
-
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1897. During the two following years he was principal of the Belfast High School. In 1898, he received the Democratic nomination for County Attorney. In the same year Judge Webb appointed him Referee in Bankruptcy under the new law, a position which he held until October, 1899, when he resigned and went to New York to continue his legal studies at the Law School of Columbia University, receiving the degree of LL.B. at that institution in 1902. He was admitted to the Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Bar in 1902, and has since been engaged in the general practice of law, in Boston, with offices at 10 Tremont Street.
REUEL WILFORD ROGERS, son of Cyrus W. and Jane (Estes) Rogers, was born in Troy, 20 August, 1846. He graduated at Bates College in 1874, studied law with James Libby, Jr., of Unity, and was admitted to the Bar in April, 1877. He practiced in Burnham until August, 1878, and then removed to Belfast. In 1881, he became a partner of Hon. George Edwin Johnson. During 1882-83, he was Deputy Collector of Customs; County Attorney, 1885-86; and in April, 1888, was appointed Judge of the Police Court, a position which he now occupies. He married Miss Angie E. Libby, of Burnham, in 1881.
WILLIAM PITT THOMPSON, a native of Troy, removed to Unity, when three years old. In early life he worked upon a farm, and followed the sea. Later, he attended the East Maine Confer- ence and Readfield Seminaries, and during his vacations taught thirty-three terms of school in Waldo and other counties. After reading law with Judge George Edwin Johnson and the late Enoch K. Boyle, he was admitted to the Waldo Bar in October, 1870. He commenced practice in North Vassalboro, and was chosen representative from that town in 1875. He removed here in April, 1876. In 1877, he formed a copartnership with Hon. Robert Franklin Dunton, which continued until June, 1890. He was City Solicitor in 1878; Alderman, 1882-85; Democratic candidate for Governor in 1890, and for Congress two years later; Mayor of Belfast, 1891-92, and Collector of Cus- toms, 1893-96. From 1894 to March, 1897, he was in partner- ship with Norman Wardwell, Esq. In 1899, Mr. Thompson received the appointment of Register in Bankruptcy. In 1900, as a candidate for County Attorney, he ran largely ahead of the rest of the ticket.
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He resides (1912) in Bangor, where he is engaged in the prac- tice of the law.
NORMAN WARDWELL, a native of Brooksville, studied law with Hon. George M. Warren, of Castine, and was admitted to the Bar in Belfast at the January term of the Supreme Court in 1894. Shortly after, he became associated with Hon. William Pitt Thompson, and so remained until March, 1897, when he removed to Bangor. He was City Solicitor of Belfast, in 1895-96, and in 1896 a member of the School Committee.
TILESTON WADLIN, was born in Northport, 19 January, 1851. He has been Clerk of the Courts since October, 1886, first by appointment in the place of William Berry, deceased, and subse- quently by repeated elections. He was admitted to the Bar in Oxford County, in May, 1899, but has never been in active prac- tice. He married Miss Almatia Aubine Brown, of Morrill, 17 January, 1882.
FREDERICK STEVENS WALLS, a native of Searsmont, was Sheriff from 1877 to 1879, and in April of the last-named year was admitted to the Bar, but did not practice in Belfast. Subse- quently he acted as Deputy Collector of the Customs. In 1890, he removed to Vinalhaven, where he continues to reside. He has since been Senator, and Representative to the Legislature.
JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, JR., born in Belfast, 14 February, 1869, graduated at Bowdoin College in 1888, studied law at Boston University, and with his father. His admission to the Bar was in October, 1891. He formed a partnership with the latter, which existed until June, 1893. He then removed to Augusta, where he continued to practice, as a member of the firm of Williamson & Burleigh. Before leaving Belfast, he served on the School Com- mittee. He is at present (1912) County Attorney for Kennebec County, and a member of the firm of Williamson, Burleigh & McLean.
WALTER FRANK FREDERICK, was born in Belfast, 27 Novem- ber, 1868, son of Frank Bartlett and Georgianna (Boardman) Frederick. He attended the local schools, and when about eigh- teen years of age removed to Boston with his mother and bro- thers, George and Frank, all of whom have since died. His legal education was acquired in the practical experience of twenty- five years' employment in the Massachusetts courts. He entered such employment almost immediately after leaving Belfast, and
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began his studies under the direction of those in charge of the various departments with which he was connected, and with private tutors. He was admitted as an attorney, in 1902, to the Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Bar, and was afterwards appointed by the judges of the respective courts as Assistant Clerk of the Superior Court, Assistant Clerk, and later Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court. He was elected Clerk of the Su- preme Judicial Court for one term, but was defeated for reëlec- tion, after a hard-fought contest, which excited widespread interest. His defeat was a matter of much regret to the better element of Boston's voters, as well as to his legal colleagues, to whom his long familiarity with the workings of the courts had made his official services invaluable. He is at present engaged in the general practice of the Law in Boston, as a member of the firm of Ham, Frederick & Yont.
CARLOS COOLIDGE ALDEN. (The following biographical sketch is taken from the publication entitled "Who's Who in America," Vol. VII, 1912-13, by permission:)
Lawyer; b. Wilmington, Ill., June 4, 1866; s. Edward A. and Adelaide (Cousens) A .; ed. Bangor, Me .; LL.B. New York U., 1892, LL.M. 1893 (hon. J.D., 1904); m. Suzanne Wiesmer of Unadilla, N. Y., 1898. Admitted to bar, 1893, and practiced at New York, 1893-1904; asso. prof. law, 1896-98, prof. 1898-1904, New York U .; dean Buffalo Law Sch., since 1904. Legal adviser to Governor Hughes of N. Y., 1909; N. Y. State commr. on uniform state laws, 1910. Author: Abbott's Forms of Pleading (2 vols.), 1898-1900; Handbook of Code of Civil Procedure, 1901; Abbott's Practice and Forms (2 vols.), 2d edit., 1907. Home: 27 Ashland Ave. Offices: 60 Wall St., New York, and 933 Ellicott Sq., Buffalo, N. Y.
The above is a grandson of the late Hon. Hiram Orlando Alden, of Belfast, and a son of Edward Alden, Esq., now of New York. His mother, Adelaide Cousens, was a daughter of Captain John Cousens, of Belfast.
CLARENCE FREEMAN FRENCH, was born in Belfast, 20 August, 1864, son of Allen Drinkwater and Mary Elizabeth (Yates) French. He was a student at the Harvard Law School in 1888- 89 and was admitted to the Bar in Middlesex County, Massa- chusetts, in 1889. He practiced at Fort Paine, Alabama, 1889- 90; in Waltham, Massachusetts, 1890-1900; and in Boston since 1900, now having his office at 16 State Street. His practice is
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mostly in real estate, probate, and corporation matters. He has been special counsel for the City of Waltham in some import- ant cases. He has held the following publie offices in Waltham: Alderman for two years; Chairman of License Commissioners for one year; and member of the School Committee for the last eight years.
BORDMAN HALL was born in Bangor, 18 April, 1856, son of Colonel Joseph F. and Mary M. Hall, who moved to Belfast in 1860. Mr. Hall attended the Waterville Classical Institute and Colby University. After studying law with the late Attorney- General William Henry Mclellan, he took his degree of LL.B. at Boston University, and began the practice of law in Boston. He has served on the School Board and the Board of Aldermen of that city, and for three years was Assistant United States Attorney during the Cleveland administration. Mr. Hall has served as a newspaper correspondent, and has from time to time written on law subjects. He married Mary E. Hamlin, of Water- ville, Maine.
EDGAR GILMAN PRATT, son of Captain Nichols and Abbie (Veazie) Pratt, was born in Shanghai, China, 2 May, 1874. He was educated in the public schools at Belfast; was graduated from the Belfast High School in 1892; from Bowdoin College with the degree of A.B. in 1897, and from the New York Law School with the degree of LL.B. in 1899. He was admitted to practice at the New York Bar in the same year and immediately began the exercise of his profession in New York City. In 1905, he settled in Redlands, California, and has ever since been a resident of that city, - engaged in business and in the practice of his pro- fession. In 1905, he married Alice, the daughter of Ebed L. and Elizabeth Ripley, of Hingham Centre, Massachusetts. They have one child, Nichols Pratt.
ALBERT BOYD OTIS. (The following sketch, by Hon. Joseph Williamson, is reprinted from the "N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg." of January, 1898. At the suggestion of the Otis family slight corrections have been made in the genealogical data:)
The subject of this biographical sketch was born on the 24th day of June, 1839, in Belfast, Maine, where he died on the 17th day of January, 1897.
His father, Samuel Otis, born in Wiscasset, Maine, May 25, 1805, was for over half a century a merchant in Belfast, until his death
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October 19, 1884. His mother, whose maiden name was Eliza M. Nickerson, born in Belfast, July 28, 1812, was married December 27, 1832, and died March 16, 1889.
His paternal grandfather, David Otis, was born in Bristol, Maine, October 22, 1766. Thirty years later he moved to Wiscasset, where he married Jane, daughter of Colonel Samuel Boyd, of that town. David Otis was a master mariner of ability and enterprise. He died in 1849, having survived his wife eleven years. Samuel Otis, father of David, first resided in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1761, and lived in the township now called Yarmouth. His name appears in the membership of a committee appointed to divide the forfeited lands of that township, under the act of August, 1761. Returning to New England about 1765, he settled on Katherine Island,
now Rutherford Island, in Bristol, Maine, which he afterwards pur- chased. In 1775, he became chairman of the Committee of Safety, and in that capacity addressed a letter to the Provincial Congress, which is preserved among its records. His death occurred in 1805. There is little doubt that the family descends in a direct line from John Otis, - Ottis, or Outtis, - who came to Hingham, in 1632, from Glastonbury, near Wells, in Somersetshire, England.
On his mother's side, Mr. Otis had a like honorable line of ancestry. Her father, Salathiel Nickerson, born in Chatham, Massachusetts, November 1, 1789, died in Belfast, February 13, 1868. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and a successful merchant. His wife, Martha Rogers McClure, was a daughter of James McClure, a Revolutionary officer, whose father came from the north of Ireland in 1727, and with two others made the first settlement of Hillsboro, New Hampshire.
The father of Salathiel Nickerson also lived in Chatham. He was a Revolutionary soldier, a representative to the General Court of Massa- chusetts, and a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1820. He lived to the age of eighty-seven. His ancestor, William Nickerson, was an early immigrant to Massachusetts. The Admiralty Records of London show the examination of William Nickerson, of Norwich, in Norfolk County, weaver, aged 33, and Anne, aged 28, with four chil- dren, all intending, April 8, 1637, to go to Boston, New England, "to inhabit." It is said that he first went to Watertown. He subsequently settled in Chatham, having bought land there of the Indians. On his mother's side through the Nickersons, Mr. Otis was also descended from Elder William Brewster and from Stephen Hopkins, both signers of the Mayflower compact in 1620. The ancestry of Mr. Otis, therefore, embraces two of the Pilgrim Fathers. He always took more pride, however, in his connection with the sturdy Scotch-Irish families of Boyd and Nesmith, than in his Plymouth progenitors.
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