USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 37
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Although the professional career of Mr. Porter was compara- tively short, yet it was long enough to establish his character as a sound, successful lawyer. He was endowed with an active mind, a great share of good sense, was untiring in business, and faithfully devoted to the interests of his clients. Scrupulously honest and exact in his dealings, he enjoyed an unusual share of the public confidence; but the laborious duties. of his profes- sion early broke down a constitution already, when he came here, impaired by disease. He died in the midst of business, highly esteemed for his many social, amiable, and domestic vir- tues, and surrounded by every blessing but health to render life desirable.1
1 Reminiscences of Deceased Members of the Bar. Smith's History of Peterboro' says his father removed to that town from Danvers in 1776.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF LAWYERS.
Of JAMES M. SEAMAN, but little is known. His stay in Belfast was short. He afterwards resided for a brief period in Dixmont and Hampden, and then removed " to the Far West.":
WILLIAM WHITE, the son of William White, was born at Ches- ter, N. H., May 13, 1783. He graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1806, with the highest honors of his class, which, among other distinguished members, contained Judge Fletcher of Massachu- setts, Governor Harvey of New Hampshire, and Governor Parris and General Fessenden of our own State. After reading law with the Hon. Amos Kent, of Chester, and the Hon. John Wilson, he began practice at Union in 1809; then removed to Thomaston in 1812, and finally to Belfast, Oct. 14, 1813, where he resided until his decease, June 17, 1831, aged forty-eight. He represented the town in the Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1818. His " His- tory of Belfast," which was published in 1827, is more fully no- ticed elsewhere. He published a funeral oration on the death, while in college, of his classmate, John Lane; also several other orations.
Carrying into practice, as Mr. White did, a thorough legal edu- cation, superadded to his attainments as a scholar, he stood in the front rank of the profession. He was a graceful and eloquent speaker, of fine address and great urbanity of manners. Possess- ing also a brilliant imagination, refined by extensive reading and the best society, together with a rich vein of humor, his conver- sation was always courted and admired. As a writer, his style was easy and glowing, and marked with a classical elegance. 1
RUFUS BRADFORD ALLYN was the eldest son of the Rev. John Allyn, D.D., of Duxbury, Mass., where he was born March 27, 1793, and was the seventh in descent from Governor Bradford, of Plymouth Colony. He graduated at Harvard College in 1810, with distinction, at the early age of seventeen. Having completed his legal studies with the Hon. William Sullivan, of Boston, he removed to Belfast, where he opened an office, July 28, 1815, and resided here until his death, Jan. 25, 1857, at the age of sixty- three. He early acquired an extensive and lucrative practice, and became one of the leaders of the Bar. Some of the wealthy men of Boston were proprietors of large tracts of land in Swanville, Monroe, and Waldo; and at the solicitation of Mr. Sullivan, who was a principal owner, he accepted an agency for their sale, in con-
1 Chapman's Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College, p. 130. Reminiscences of the Bar.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
nection with the practice of his profession. In this trust he con- tinued for over twenty years, when he purchased the remaining interests of the proprietors. He was a scholar of rare attainments, of deep learning, and great refinement of taste. He was thor- oughly versed in the authorities, and of memory so retentive and remarkable as to be able to make a brief upon any given question, referring with accuracy to volume and page without taking the books from their shelves. He was a man of great promptness in business, faithful to his clients, and of unbending integrity, but of great eccentricity of character, - reserved to the very borders of misanthropy, which tended to destroy any ambition to be known or noticed by his fellow-men. He might at one time have removed to Boston, and become the law partner of Daniel Webster; but he preferred a life of absolute seclusion. He was highly respected as a valued and useful citizen. Mr. Allyn married, in 1840, Rebecca P., the daughter of Samuel Upton, of Washington, D.C.1 Five children survived him, the eldest of whom, William Brad- ford, after serving in various positions during the Rebellion, died Aug. 1, 1864, from wounds received at the battle of Petersburgh, Va., while adjutant of the Thirty-first Maine Infantry.2
JOSEPH WILLIAMSON commenced practice at Belfast, Jan. 22, 1816. The following sketch of his life and character is from the pen of Hon. William G. Crosby : -
" Hon. Joseph Williamson died suddenly of ossification of the heart on the evening of Sept. 30, 1854, after having been engaged through the day as counsel in the trial of a case. He was born at Canterbury, Conn., Ang. 17, 1789 ; graduated at the University of Vermont in the class of 1812 ; pursued his professional studies in the offices of Frederic Allen, Esq., at Gardiner, and his brother Hon. William D. Williamson, the historian of Maine, at Bangor ; was admitted to the Bar in January, 1816, and immediately thereafter came here, and commenced the practice of his profes- sion. In 1820, he was appointed County Attorney for the county of Hancock, and held the office until the organization of the county of Waldo, in 1827, when he received the same appoint- ment for the new county, and held it until 1832. He was a mem- ber of the Senate in 1833 and 1834, and for the last year President of that branch of the Legislature. In 1839, he received from Brown
1 Necrology of Alumni of Harvard College, p. 121; Boston Daily Advertiser, Feb. 17, 1857.
2 See chapter on Deceased Soldiers from Belfast in the Rebellion.
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University the honorary degree of Master of Arts. The brick buildings on the westerly side of Main Street, from Church to High Streets, the block on High Street long known as the Fire- proof Block, the block on Church Street now occupied by the office of the " Republican Journal," and the dwelling-house on High Street now occupied by Mrs. Timothy Thorndike, were all erected by him.
" Mr. Williamson was one of our most public-spirited men, always among the foremost to aid and encourage, by word and purse, every enterprise which had for its object the promotion of the public welfare. In his daily walk no man among us was more exemplary. His whole professional career was marked by untir- ing fidelity to his clients, -he died with the harness on -by uniform courtesy to his brethren of the Bar, by honorable and upright dealing with his fellow-men. In all his relations, publie and private, he was truly an estimable man ; and his death was sincerely regretted, not only by his immediate friends, but by the community at large.
" His funeral, on the 4th of October, was attended by the mem- bers of the Bar, and Judge Tenney who was holding a term of the Supreme Court at the time, as mourners. The following resolution passed at a meeting of the Bar is an indication of the respeet and esteem entertained for him by his professional breth- ren : ' Resolved, That, in the decease of Hon. Joseph Williamson, the members of this Bar have lost a much valued friend and brother ; one who through a protracted professional life, by faith- ful and indefatigable devotion to his profession, and by unvarying amenity of manners, deservedly enjoyed the fullest confidence of the publie, and the highest esteem and respect of his professional brethren.'"
JAMES WHITE, son of Colonel William White, of Chester, N. H., was born in that town, Sept. 2, 1792. Jonathan and Robert White, who came here before him, were his half-brothers. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1818, and, after reading law with his brother William, began practice here, Sept. 3, 1821. He was cashier of the Waldo Bank from 1833 to 1838, president of the Belfast Bank from 1839 to 1847, and from 1842 to 1847 was Treasurer of State. In 1862, and again in 1864, he was the Democratic candidate for Congress from this district. In 1847, he formed a law partnership with the late Andrew T. Palmer, which continued until the death of the latter in 1858, when he
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
retired from active practice. He died Dec. 24, 1870, aged seventy- eight years. His name was always synonymous with that of unblemished integrity. In all the business and social relations of life, Mr. White was kindly, considerate, and just, and he enjoyed the highest respect from this community where he so long resided. At the time of his death, he was the oldest member of the Bar of Waldo County.1
NATHANIEL PATTERSON, 3d, the son of Robert Patterson, 2d, was born here, Jan. 26, 1798. He was admitted to the Bar at Castine in 1823, and, after practising in Belfast several years, in 1831 established himself at West Prospect, now Searsport. He subsequently returned here, and was town clerk from 1847 to 1850, and clerk of the judicial courts from 1849 to 1859. In 1860, he was chosen judge of the Police Court, a position which he retained by repeated elections until his death, March 17, 1872.
HIRAM ORLANDO ALDEN was born in Claremont, N. H., Feb. 9, 1800; entered Dartmouth College in 1819, but went to Union College two years after, and graduated there in 1823. He read law at the Litchfield Law School, Litchfield, Conn., 1823-24, and was admitted to the Bar at Huntsville, Ala., in 1824, and at Cas- tine in 1826. During the last year, he commenced practice here, having formed a copartnership with Hon. William Crosby. From 1836 to 1849, when he retired, he was in partnership with Hon. William G. Crosby. He edited the " Waldo Democrat," and the "Republican Journal " which succeeded it, from 1827 to 1830; and was postmaster of Belfast from 1830 to 1841. He was the first cashier of the Waldo Bank, established in 1834; first Presi- dent of the Bank of Commerce, in 1854; and of the Belfast Gas Company, which was organized in 1858. He is one of the Vice- Presidents of the American Telegraph Company, and for twenty years has been President of the Maine Telegraph Company, whose first lines were built by James Eddy and himself. For several years, Mr. Alden has been largely concerned in land operations in Illinois.
HEZEKIAH WILLIAMS practised law here from March 31 to Nov. 17, 1824, when he removed to Castine, where he resided until his death, Oct. 24, 1856. He was born at Woodstock, Vt., July 28, 1798, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1820. He was Register of Probate for Hancock County from 1824 to. 1828,
1 Chapman's Sketches of Alumni of Dartmouth College.
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County Attorney in 1839, a State Senator from 1839 to 1841, and a Representative in Congress from 1845 to 1849.1
WILLIAM STEVENS began practice here in 1826. For two years he was a partner with John Wilson. Their business connection was dissolved June 10, 1829. Mr. Stevens was born at Andover, Mass., Jan. 21, 1799, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1819. He removed to his native town in 1835, and sub- sequently to Lawrence, where he now resides; and is Judge of the Police Court of that city. He represented Belfast in the Legislature of 1829.2
NATHANIEL M. LOWNEY was born in Monmouth, in this State, in 1798. His father, William Lowney, was a native of Ireland, and a student in Dublin University. He removed to this place in 1804, and pursued his avocation of a school-master. At a later period of life than that at which the acquisition of a profession is usually .commenced, and after teaching school here for several years, the son entered the office of the late Judge Johnson as a law student. Having been admitted to the Bar in 1827, he practised for a few months at Frankfort, and then came to Belfast. As a lawyer, he was less distinguished as an advocate than by bis keen intelli- gence, which grasped the whole bearing of a case, and detected those subterfuges which are too often resorted to in courts. As a politician, he was widely known throughout the State; and his suceess may be inferred from the following brief enumeration of the publie positions which he occupied : from 1827 to 1837 he was Register of Probate, and during a portion of 1838 was Clerk of the Courts ; for nine years Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and in 1848 Representative to the Legislature; under the ad- ministration of President Van Buren, from 1837 to 1841, he was Collector of the District of Belfast, and reappointed in 1845 by President Polk. Mr. Lowney died of pulmonary consumption, May 10, 1855, aged fifty-seven years.8
ALBERT BINGHAM, a graduate of Middlebury College, Vt., in the class of 1820, opened an office at the Head of the Tide, in Febru- ary, 1829, and is the only lawyer who ever resided in that part of our city. He subsequently removed to Unity, and to Belfast in 1836. From 1834 to 1837, he was County Attorney, and was cashier of the Belfast Bank from its organization in 1836 to 1840.
1 Hancock Gazette ; Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College, 204.
2 Maine Farmer, June, 1829 ; Harvard Necrology, 402
8 Town and county records ; Republican Journal, May 18, 1855.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Ho removed from Belfast in 1845, and is now a resident of New- ton, Mass.
ALBERT GALLATIN JEWETT is a native of Pittston, where he was born Nov. 27, 1802.1 Graduating at Waterville College in 1826, he pursued the study of law with Joseph Williamson, and was admitted to the Bar in March, 1829. He immediately established himself at Bangor, where he acquired an extensive practice. For five years he was County Attorney for Penobscot County. In 1845, President Polk appointed him Chargé d'affaires to Peru, where he remained three years. He then resided in France, and in Georgia, and in 1854 made Belfast his permanent place of resi- dence. He resumed the practice of law here Aug. 5, 1858. He was Mayor in 1863, 1864, and 1867.
WILLIAM GEORGE CROSBY, son of Hon. William Crosby, was born here Sept. 10, 1805, and graduated at Bowdoin College in the class of 1823. After completing his legal studies, he practised in Boston from 1826 to October, 1828, when he became established in his native town. He was the first Secretary of the Board of Education, holding that position from 1846 to 1849, and was Gov- ernor of Maine in 1853 and 1854. From 1855 to 1859, he resided and was engaged in literary pursuits in Boston. During the last- named year he returned to Belfast, and continued in extensive practice until his retirement, Jan. 1, 1870. The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on Governor Crosby by his Alma Mater, in 1870.
SOLYMAN HEATH, who practised here from 1831 to 1849, was born at Newport, N. H., Feb. 10, 1805,2 and is an alumnus of Dartmouth College in the class of 1826. He was appointed Clerk of the Courts in 1841 by Governor Kent, and the following year held the office of Commissioner of Bankruptcy. In 1845, he was commissioned Justice of the Court of Trials for the town of Bel- fast. Governor Crosby appointed hin reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court, Feb. 28, 1854, which position he held two years, during which he compiled volumes thirty-six to forty inclusive of the Maine Reports. He removed to Waterville in 1850, where he at present resides.4 Lieutenant-colonel William S. Heath, of the Fifth Maine Regiment, who fell at the battle of Mechanicsville,
1 Hanson's History of Gardiner and Pittston, 158.
2 Sketches of Alumni of Dartmouth College, 231.
8 Since the above was written, Mr. Heath died at Waterville, June 30, 1875, aged seventy years.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF LAWYERS.
June 26, 1862, and Colonel Francis E. Heath, colonel of the Nineteenth Regiment, his sons, were both born in Belfast.
WEBSTER KELLEY first opened an office in Frankfort, now Win- terport, in 1832. In 1837, he came here, and was a law partner of the late Alfred Johnson. Receiving the appointment of Deputy Collector under the administration of President Harrison in 1841, he returned to Frankfort, where he remained four years, and then removed to Bangor, and resided there until 1851, when he settled in Boston. Mr. Kelley was born at Salisbury, N. H., Jan. 1, 1804, graduated at Dartmouth in 1825, and died suddenly of pleurisy, at Henniker, N. H., July 5, 1855, at the age of fifty-one. For twenty years he occupied a prominent position in the Bars of Waldo and Penobscot Counties, where he was highly regarded for his integrity and professional ability. In the language of another, "he was a man singularly modest in the estimation of his own power, which fact prevented his becoming more known to the public. It was only in the circle of his immediate friends and clients that he could be properly known and appreciated. They knew his purity of heart, his warm attachment and fidelity to those he regarded, his capacity and calm ability in advising and leading them through the intricate difficulties of business. He was a fine scholar, well read in his profession, and a man who, when aroused by the consciousness of the justice of an oppressed client's claim, would address a jury in his behalf with wonderful clearness, power, and eloquence."
JOHN FRANCIS HOWARD ANGIER was a son of John Angier. He was born Nov. 27, 1807, graduated at Waterville College in 1827, and was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court at the July term, 1830. He practised at Montville, Searsmont, and Bel- fast, and died at the latter place, June 17, 1856, aged forty-eight.
WILLIAM HENRY BURRILL was born in China, Me., Dec. 14, 1812, and graduated at Waterville College in 1830. He studied law, and commenced practice here in 1833, but removed to West Prospect, now Searsport, the following year. In July, 1837, he was appointed Register of Probate, and returned to Belfast. Two years after, he received the appointment of Clerk of the Courts, a position which he occupied with the exception of one year, until 1849. In 1872, he represented Belfast in the Legislature.
BOHAN PRENTICE FIELD, son of the first lawyer in Belfast, was born here Sept. 11, 1815, and was admitted to the Bar in 1836. He practised a short time at Lincoln, and afterwards in
26
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Searsmont, and established himself here in 1840, being appointed Register of Probate. He was chosen to the same office in 1856, and continues in it at the present time.
ANDREW THATCHER PALMER, the sixth son of Benjamin Pal- mer, was born here in 1812. When a young man, he learned the trade of harness-making, and his earlier acquirements of law and of books were made during hours snatched from the duties of his apprenticeship. Having completed a course of legal study with Edward Kent and Jonathan P. Rogers, of Bangor, he was ad- mitted to the Penobscot Bar in 1835. After practising in Bangor for four years, he removed to West Prospect, now Searsport, and thence to Belfast, where he soon attained eminence in his profes- sion. Acnte, quick, impetnous action, and a certain careless con- tempt for objections and obstacles, were the characteristics of his professional manner. Sometimes his pertinacity of opinion drove him directly across the track of other men, but he never lacked at least a defensible basis for his belief. He was a searcher for the principles that underlie things, and in practice frequently clung to an ingenious theory to the detriment of a cause, which less subtle argument might have saved. In the celebrated case of Joseph J. Brown, who was convicted of murder in 1856, Mr. Palmer con- ducted the defence, having George Evans, the Attorney-General, as his antagonist, and elaborated the theory of insanity with such skill as almost to obtain an acquittal.1
As a citizen, Mr. Palmer was always ready to alleviate the dis- tress of others, efficient to those who needed the offices of friend- ship or advice, and ambitious of the good standing of his native place and its inhabitants. For many years he occupied an im- portant position in our local affairs. His exertions aided in secur- ing the acceptance of our city charter, and as a member of the first board of municipal officers he was influential in perfecting the new organization.
During the Mexican war, Mr. Palmer commanded a company of infantry from this section which participated in several engage- ments. He died June 25, 1858, aged forty-six years.
GEORGE CHRISTOPHER ANGIER, son of John Angier, was born March 10, 1812. He graduated at Bowdoin College in 1832, and afterwards pursued his legal studies at the Cambridge Law School. He was admitted to the Bar in 1837, and, after practising a short time at Bangor, came to Belfast, where he remained until a few
1 Journal.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF LAWYERS.
years before his death, which occurred in Bridgewater, Mass., May 14, 1852, at the age of forty.
NEHEMIAH ABBOTT is a native of Sidney, and was born March 29, 1804. He studied law at the Litchfield, Conn., Law School, and, having been admitted to the Bar in 1836 at Bangor, practised three years at Calais, and then one year in Columbus, Miss. He commenced practice here in August, 1840, and has continued to the present time. In 1842 and 1843, he represented Belfast in the Legislature, and from 1857 to 1859 was a member of Congress from this district. He was Mayor during the years 1865 and 1866.
JONATHAN GARLAND DICKERSON, born at New Chester, N. H., Nov. 5, 1815, graduated at Waterville College in 1836. He studied law with Benjamin Randall, of Bath, and W. B. S. Moor, of Waterville, and was admitted to the Bar of Lincoln County in 1839. After practising a few months at Thomaston, he removed to West Prospect, now Searsport, and from thence, in 1845, to Frankfort, having been appointed Deputy Collector of the customs. In 1849, he came to Belfast, where he has since resided. He was a member of the Legislature from Prospect, in 1842. The same year, he received the appointment of County Attorney; and in 1841, when the office was made elective, he was chosen by a large majority. Under President Buchanan, he was Collector of the District from 1858 to 1861. The following year Governor Wash- burn appointed him an Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, which appointment was repeated by Governor Chamber- lain in 1869. The honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was con- ferred upon Judge Dickerson by Colby University, in 1865.
HOWARD BROOKS ABBOTT, a graduate at Bowdoin in the class of 1836, practised here in partnership with his brother, Nehemiah Abbott, from 1842 to 1845, when he commenced studying for the ministry, and is now located over the Methodist Episcopal Church at Lewiston.
ISAAC NEWTON FELCH was admitted to the Bar in 1843. He graduated at Bowdoin in 1838. For several years prior to 1848, he edited the " Waldo Signal." During the Taylor and Filmore administration, from 1849 to 1853, he was Deputy Collector. In 1855, he removed to Portland, where he conducted the "Evening Courier." He afterwards resided at Gorham, and died at Hollis, April 21, 1870, aged fifty-four.
WOODBURY DAVIS, a native of Standish, studied law with Hon. Nehemiah Abbott, was admitted to the Bar in 1847, and practised
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here from 1848 to 1855, when, having been chosen State Treas- urer, he removed to Portland. The same year, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, removed in 1856 for his construc- tion of a constitutional question, and reinstated in 1857. He performed the duties of his office so satisfactorily as to be com- missioned, in 1864, for a second term, with the concurrence of the members of the bar of all political parties. He resigned the fol- lowing year, and resumed the practice of his profession. Judge Davis was a man of strong mental powers, clear, logical, con- vincing, and an able lawyer. He was a man of literary taste, and contributed many able articles to the literature of the country. In private life, Judge Davis bore an unblemished reputation. Kindly, considerate, and sympathizing, his memory is cherished by many who dissented from his extreme political views. He died in Portland, Aug. 13, 1871, aged fifty-three years. His remains were interred in Brooks, where the earlier portion of his life was passed. At the following October term of the Supreme Court in this city, appropriate notice of his death was taken.
LEWIS WASHINGTON HOWES was born in Sidney in 1821, was admitted to the Bar in 1847, and for several years practised here as a partner with his uncle, Hon. N. Abbott. He removed to Rockland in 1855, and thence in 1867 to Boston, where he remains. From 1861 to 1867, he was attorney for Knox County, first by executive appointment, and afterwards by two successive elections.
ALFRED WALDO JOHNSON, son of Judge Alfred Johnson, was born here Dec. 20, 1824, and graduated at Bowdoin College in 1845. After studying law with his father, he was admitted to the Bar in 1848, and continued in practice eight years, when he engaged in business pursuits more congenial to his tastes and active habits. His acquaintance with parties concerned in the construction of Western railroads led him to investigate, and finally to become connected with, those enterprises which proved eminently successful. A Whig in politics, he was ardently de- voted to the success of that party, and in 1853 and 1854 repre- sented his native town in the State Legislature, being the chief supporter in the House of the administration of Governor Crosby. The military title of colonel, by which he was familiarly known, was derived from holding the office of aide to the Commander-in- chief. When the Whig party ceased to exist, Colonel Johnson joined the Democratic party, and ever after acted with it. He
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