USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886 > Part 15
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In 1835 he became an abolitionist, and in 1838 removed to Concord and be- came the editor of The Herald of Freedom, one of the most brilliant and aggres- sive newspapers in the country, and devoted to the anti-slavery cause. From this time till his death he was an earnest, industrious and fearless advocate of woman's rights, temperance and the abolition of human slavery. On the street, in the press, and upon the platform his voice and pen were untiring in sup- port of these causes. He was apposed to war and became an active member of the Non-resistance Society of New England. At a meeting of the society on one occasion the president justified the slaughter of the Canaanites as a mandate from Heaven. Rogers inquired if he would slay human beings with the sword if God commanded, and upon receiving an affirmative answer re- plied "well, I wouldn't." This incident forcibly illustrates the strength of his
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convictions on great public questions. He was deeply interested in history, poetry and general literature, and made valuable contributions in those fields of labor. Although a prolific writer, a single volume of editoral articles is said to be the only work in bound form that preserves the record of his wond- ful pen. He became a member of the Congregational church while at Ply- mouth, and was for a time much interested in church and missionary work. In later years his religious views grew more liberal as the cause of suffering hu- manity engrossed his attention in larger measure.
His ancestors, originally from Dedham, England, had for many generations lived in Massachusetts, and were remarkable, among other things, for pre- senting eight Congregational ministers in almost unbroken succession for as many generations. His father, Dr. John Rogers, who married Betsey Mulliken, of Bradford, Mass., was born in Leominster, Mass., graduated from Harvard college in the class of 1777, went to Plymouth in the extreme youth of that town, and enjoyed a high reputaion as a physician. Mr. Rogers was married, in 1832, to Mary Porter Farrand, of Burlington, Vt., daughter of Hon. Daniel Farrand, who was one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Ver- mont. In 1840 he was sent by the Abolitionists of New Hampshire to the world's anti-slavery convention at London, but the refusal of that body to ad- mit.as members Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other women of the American delegation, decided him to decline the honor for himself and his constituents. Returning home, he found his name at the head of the Anti- Slavery Standard, the organ of the American society, and published in New York city. He declined this honor, as it necessitated his leaving New Hamp- shire, but furnished weekly editorals, however, for about a year. In 1845 the loss of his property through the failure of another, with other grevious afflic- tions, shadowed his last days with sorrow. This christian gentleman, scholar and philanthropist died in October, 1846, and was buried in the old cemetery at Concord. No human hand has reared a tablet to his memory, but some kindly oaks have grown and stand as faithful sentinels over his grave-a constant re- buke to the heedless crowd that so easily forget the benefactors of their kind.
William C. Thompson was a native of New Hampshire and a lawyer of sound learning and great intellectual acuteness. His professional training, habits of close logical study, and aptness in reading human character, made him one of the safest office counsellors and successful practitioners of Grafton county bar. Endowed with large common sense, candid judgment and well balanced faculties, always cool, active and vigilant, he was most efficiently equipped for the legal encounters in which he took so prominent a part dur- ing his long professional career. He practiced in Plymouth from 1826 till 1852, reared an interesting family of intelligent, successful children, and ac- cumulated a respectable fortune. His death, which was of recent date, oc- curred at Worcester, Mass., where he had for several years been living in quiet retirement.
Jonathan Bliss was a graduate of Dartmouth college. He studied law
James 1 Lusten
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with J. Bell, was admitted to the bar and practiced law at Plymouth from 1829 till 1834, a portion of the time being a member of the law firm of Thompson & Bliss. From Plymouth he moved to Gainsville, Ala., where he practiced law until his death, at an advanced age. Originally he was a Whig, but after his removal to the south he became an ardent Democrat.
Joseph Burrows was a native of Maine. He was born in Lebanon, August 26, 1813. His early education was limited to the common district schools. He taught school winters and worked on the farm summers. In the fullest sense he was a self-made man. By private study and instruction he prepared himself for college, but from lack of means was unable to secure a collegiate education. His law education was with Joseph Dearborn, of Effingham, N. H., and at Harvard Law school. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, and began practice in Holderness, N. H. In 1858 he removed to Plymouth where he practiced till his death, April 3, 1883. He was counsel in State vs. Green- wood, Worcester vs. Plymouth, Haines vs. Insurance Company, State vs. Knapp, and many other leading cases at the Grafton county bar. Originally he was a Whig, but for the last twenty-five years an ardent Democrat. He was sent to the legislature five times from Plymouth, and as a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876. He was twice elected as state councilor from the fifth district. For several years prior to his death he was a trustee of the New Hampshire asylum for the insane, and a member of the New Hampshire Historical society. In 1874 he received the honorary degree of A. M., from Dartmouth college. Mr. Burrows was a man of strong feelings and positive convictions, of warm friendship and intense dislikes. He was faithful to his clients, careful in the preparation of cases, and efficient in trials ; a good judge of law, a safe counselor, endowed with common-sense and prac- tical judgment. He was a successful member of the legal profession, and died esteemed and regretted by those who knew him best.
Joseph M. Burrows was born in Holderness, N. H. He was the eldest son of Joseph Burrows, Esq., late of Plymouth. He studied law with his father in Plymouth until his admission to the bar in 1864, when he began practice and entered into partnership with him. Not long after he removed to the city of Chicago, where he has since been in the practice of his profes- sion. He inherited from the elder Burrows that independence of character and plainness of speech, the positive likes and dislikes for men and measures, which distinguished the latter in so marked a degree.
Jonathan C. Everett practiced law in Plymouth only two years, beginning with 1827 and closing with 1829.
James McQuesten, for many years a successful practitioner here, was largely consulted, especially in matters of Probate. For a fuller account of this ex- cellent man, see page 587.
William Leverett, like many other successful attorneys of the New Hamp- shire bar, was a son of the Green Mountain State. He was born at Wind- sor, July 8, 1813, graduated from Yale college in 1831, and was elected to
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deliver the class oration on Presentation Day. He studied law in New York city, and at Utica in 1839, and was admitted to the bar at the latter place. In 1839 he began practice at Plymouth, where he continued his professional work until his death, September 18, 1874. He was a member of the Congre- gational church of Plymouth for several years prior to his death. October 6, 1851, he married Catharine R. Spaulding, of Rumney, and after that his home was the Mecca of his affections. With singular directness of purpose he devoted his whole energies to the legal profession. He was a man of scholarly attainments, well versed in the law, of good judgment, and gener- ally successful at the bar. A gentleman of unblemished character, his death was a loss to the profession and to the general public.
Ralph Metcalf was reared upon a farm in Sullivan county. He was born in Charlestown, N. H., November 21, 1798. He prepared for college under private instruction and entered Dartmouth in 1819. In 1821 he left college and became professor in Norwich university. Returning to the same college, he graduated in the class of 1823. His legal studies were pursued with Gov- ernor Hubbard, of Charlestown, Richard Bartlett, of Concord, and George B. Upham, of Claremont, until September, 1826, when he was admitted to the bar. He began the practice of law at Newport, N. H., and there remained until 1828, when he moved to Binghamton, N. Y., and there resided until June, 1831, when he moved to Claremont, N. H. In June, 1831, he was elected secretary of the state and held that office till 1838, living in Concord in the meantime. From 1838 to 1840 he held a clerkship in the United States Treasury department. Returning to New Hampshire he practiced law in Plymouth during a part of 1841-42, and then removed to Newport. In October, 1845, he was appointed judge of Probate for Sullivan county. He was elected representative to the New Hampshire legislature for 1852-53. He was elected governor of the state in 1885-86, and during the former year was one of the trustees of the New Hampshire asylum for the insane. Until 1855 he was a Democrat, but thereafter a Know-Nothing and a Republican. He died at Claremont, N. H., August 26, 1858.
Napoleon B. Bryant, born in Andover, N. H., February 25, 1825, comple- ted his education at Waterville college and graduated at Harvard law school in 1848. At the adjourned term of court in Plymouth, January, 1849, he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law. Soon after this he served as chairman of the county commissioners for two years. In 1853 he was ap- pointed county solicitor, and held the office for one year. He moved from Plymouth to Concord in 1855, and there practiced his profession until 1860, when he removed to Boston, and has since been a prominent member of the Suffolk county bar. While in Concord he was elected to the popular branch of the state legislature in 1857-58-59, and during the last two sessions was speaker of that body. Since his removal to Boston he has had an extensive practice, not only in the state of Massachusetts but in the Federal Courts and those of other states. He was called from Boston to act as leading counsel
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in the important cases, State vs. Greenwood and Wooster vs. Plymouth. Mr. Bryant is a gentleman of fine presence. He possesses unusual tact in the examination of witnesses, and has a good command of choice and forcible language. As a jury advocate his success has been remarkable. Few if any practitioners at the Grafton county bar have been able to equal his forensic efforts.
Ellery A. Hibbard was born at St. Johnsbury, Vt., July 31, 1826. He was nine years of age when compelled by the death of his father to rely mainly upon his own resources in the matter of support and education. He attended the district schools and finished his education at the Derby (Vt.) academy. He studied law with N. B. Felton and Charles R. Morrison, of Haverhill, N. H., and Hon. Henry F. French, of Exeter, N. H., and was admitted to the bar of Grafton county at Plymouth in July, 1849. He began practice at that town and there remained until July, 1853, when he removed to Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, N. H., where he has ever since resided. He has al- ways been a Democrat. Laconia elected him moderator each year from 1862 till 1873. He was assistant clerk of the New Hampshire House of Represent- atives in 1852, clerk in 1853-54, and member from Laconia in 1865-66. During the latter year he was a conspicuous member of the committee on Na- tional affairs and a prominent member of the House. He was elected and served as a member of the House in the 42d Congress, and was placed on the committee on patents. March 17, 1873, he was commissioned associate justice of the Circuit Court of New Hampshire, and served on the bench till the re-organization of the judiciary in August, 1874, since which time he has been one of the leading attorneys of the Belknap county bar, and has acted as counsel in many leading cases in the state. He has been a trustee for the New Hampshire asylum for the insane since 1871. Mr. Hibbard is an indus- trious, faithful and learned counselor, of modest, quiet deportment, thought- ful and reflective mind, and thoroughly conscientious in the discharge of all duties, political, professional and judicial; of few words and. to the point, aiming at the merits of men and things, honest with the court and his clients, he has gained a deserved and enviable reputation both as a citizen and lawyer of his adopted state.
John A. Putney was a native of Manchester, N. H. He studied law with C. J. F. Stone, of Plymouth, and was admitted to the bar at the May term of the Supreme Court, 1855, and practiced law in Plymouth from 1858 till 1859, when he returned to Manchester.
Joseph Clark was born at Campton, N. H. He graduated at Dartmouth college and practiced law at Plymouth from 1857 to 1868. His political attach- ments were first Republican and finally Democratic. He served for a few months as captain of company A, 6th Regt., N. H. Vols., and then resigned. He retired abruptly from the bar by the summary aid of the court, at the June law term in 1868. Subsequently he engaged in the lumber business at Plym- outh until fire and creditors brought this enterprise to a close. He then
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emigrated to the Pacific coast and was admitted to the bar of San Francisco, from which he withdrew a few years since by the active assistance of the court. He is now engaged in mining operations. It is perhaps too early to decide whether or not he has gravitated to a business congenial to his taste and suited to his varied attainments.
C. J. F. Stone was born in Andover, N. H. After his admission to the bar he moved to Plymouth and practiced his profession from 1857 till 1860, when he suddenly died in the prime of life. In politics he was a Democrat.
Henry W. Blair is of Scotch-Irish descent in the line of his paternal ances- try. He was born in Campton, December 6, 1834. On account of the ac- cidental death of his father and destitute condition of the family his lot was cast among strangers at the early age of eight years. His minority was passed on the farm, and his only educational advantages were the district schools in the winter season and two fall terms in 1851 and 1852 at the Holmes academy in Plymouth. He taught school and studied alternately until he entered the law office of William Leverett, Esq., of Plymouth. In 1859 he was admitted to the bar, and the next year was appointed solicitor of Grafton county. While occupying this office he engaged in some of the most noted criminal cases that have been tried in the county, among which may be mentioned, State vs. Knapp, State vs. Williams, and State vs. Green- wood. In 1862 he volunteered as a private in Co. B, 15th Regt., N. H. Vols., was elected captain of the company, and subsequently appointed lieutenant- colonel of the regiment. He was twice wounded in the assaults on Port Hudson, and led the charging column on that fortification June 14, 1863. He was representative to the legislature from Plymouth in 1866. In 1867 and 1868 he was elected to the state Senate. He was elected representative to the National House in the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses. In 1879 he was elected to the United States Senate and was re-elected in 1885. Dur- ing his first term in the House he introduced a resolution to amend the con- stitution of the United States, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of dis- tilled spirits in the United States, after 1900, and supported it in a speech of remarkable power and statistical data. He is an earnest advocate of tem- perance, free schools, free and well paid labor, and woman suffrage. He be- lieves in a protective tariff and a sound currency. Science, literature and the arts have found him a warm friend and patron. Mr. Blair has been a man of extraordinary industry and application. He is a constant student, an earnest speaker, a forcible and voluminous writer. Some of his best Congressional speeches and written efforts have been on education and labor, free schools, a sound currency, foreign markets and commerce, the Pacific railroad subsi- dies, election frauds in the South, the exodus of colored people, the tariff bill, the public land bill, administration of the pension laws, public aid for common schools, and eulogies upon Henry Wilson, Zachariah Chandler and Evarts W. Farr. He is the author of the Blair educational bill, which has twice passed the Senate of the United States and has given him a national
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reputation. His time is almost entirely devoted to public business. He is rarely absent from his seat in the Senate, and always votes when present. He has held the chairmanship of important Congressional committees, and is an earnest, efficient worker in the discharge of official duty. His rapid and con- tinuous advancement in public life has been remarkable, and fairly indicates the high esteem in which he is held by the people at large.
John W. Ela was born in Meredith, N. H., September 26, 1837. He was educated at the New Hampton and Northfield academies, and the Dover high school. He studied law with Judge S. W. Rollins, of Meredith village, was admitted to the bar of Belknap county, in 1859, and practiced there until 1860, when he removed to Plymouth, and there followed his profession till 1862. He then enlisted in Co. B, 15th N. H. Vols., and was soon after com- missioned captain of the company. For a time he was provost marshall of the military district of Carrollton, La. Returning to Plymouth in 1863, he resumed practice, and lived there till 1864, when he moved to Chicago, Ill., and has since continued his legal pursuits in that city, and in Washington, before the city, state and federal courts. His practice has been remunerative and extensive, and his legal ability, good judgment and learned counsel have been much sought after in cases of great magnitude. Mr. Ela is well informed in the advanced fields of liberal thought, and is an advocate of broad and progressive views respecting the leading problems of modern civilization. He is a good writer and forcible advocate, not only in his professional work, but in all fields of intellectual effort to which his attention has been directed.
Benjamin Clark was born in Campton, N. H., and reared upon his father's farm. After his admission to the bar, he practiced law in Plymouth from 1861 till 1863, when he removed to the state of Minnesota, and engaged for several years in the grain and flour business. He is now occupied in profes- sional work.
Alvin Burleigh .*- The war of the Rebellion did not call many members of the Grafton county bar into the service. Henry W. Blair, of Plymouth, became a lieutenant-colonel of one of the regiments. General Marston, of Exeter, a native of Orford; Colonel Bedel, of Bath; and Colonel Whipple, of Laconia, who had been former Grafton county practitioners, were among the most distinguished soldiers of the state. Several young men abandoned their law studies for the army. Major A. B. Thompson and Captain George Farr were of the number. Mr. Arthur E. Hutchins, of Bath, was one of the most promising of these, and he gave his life to the cause. Others returned from the war to the law in this county. Among these there were Major E. W. Farr, and Lieutenant John A. Winslow (son of Admiral Winslow, of Kear- sarge fame,) and Alvin Burleigh, who served in Co. B, 15th N. H. Vol. In- fantry, and John W. Ela, who went out in the same company and regiment. Colonel Blair became United States senator ; Major Farr, congressman, and Winslow is a prominent politician at Binghamton, N. Y. Undoubtedly the
*By A. S. Batchellor.
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southern lawyers were more generally found in the army than were those of the north. It is in accordance with the principle developed in his lectures on Reconstruction, by Judge Joel Parker, that the military men should come to the front in political matters. It is illustrated by the careers of the gentlemen named. Mr. Burleigh has not come fairly before the people as a candidate for purely political office. His possibilities are held in reserve.
He was born at Plymouth, December 19, 1842, and was descended from Revolutionary stock. Three of his brothers, like himself. were in the Union army. At the age of fourteen he was thrown upon his own resources. He learned the tanner's trade, and by devoting himself to his' occupation and teaching at intervals, he paid his own way through Kimball Union academy and Dartmouth college, graduating in 1871. The following year he taught
the Woodstock (Vt.) high school. He read law with H. W. Blair and be- came his partner upon coming to the bar in 1874. Subsequently Mr. Blair retired from practice and Mr. George H. Adams became a member of the firm of Burleigh & Adams. Mr. Burleigh is a Free-Mason, member of the G. A. R., and an attendent at the Methodist church. His first vote was cast for Lincoln, and he has always been a staunch Republican. He is a positive and practical temperance man of the total abstinence division. He is a sound lawyer, and usually has one side of the contested cases in the eastern district of the county, as well as a large docket as referee in other parts of the state. He married Miss Elvira Page, of Haverhill, January 6, 1873, and they have two sons. Mr. Burleigh is a man of genial manners and social instincts, and is interested in all matters that concern the public welfare.
Charles Adams Jewell was born in Campton, N. H., November 10, 1844, graduated at Kimball Union academy in 1868 and from Dartmonth college in the class of 1872. He was principal of Franklin high school in 1874, stud- ied law with Pike & Blodgett, of Franklin, and Joseph Burrows, of Plymouth, and was admitted to the Grafton county bar in 1875. He has practiced law at Plymouth ever since, first in company with Joseph Burrows, and since the death of his partner in his own name. In politics a Democrat, he was elected to the New Hampshire legislature from Plymouth in 1875 and '76, was assist- ant clerk of the New Hampshire Senate in 1874, solicitor of Grafton county in 1883-84, and has been a trustee of the State Normal school since 1876, and for the last four years has acted as secretary and treasurer of the board of trustees. He is also president of the board of education in the town of Plymouth, and has a good practice in his profession.
Joseph C. Story was born in Sutton, N. H., August 30, 1856. He attended Phillips academy, at Exeter, and graduated at Kimball Union academy in 1875. For two years he was principal of Canaan Union academy. He studied law with Pike & Barnard and E. B. S. Sanborn, of Franklin, and George W. Murray, of Canaan, and completed his legal education at the Boston law school. In 1880 he was admitted to the New Hampshire bar, and directly after began practice at Wentworth, where he remained till September, 1883,
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when he removed to Plymouth, and has continued his professional work in the latter place to the present time. In politics he is a Republican. Though not a member of any church his denominational preference is toward Uni- tarianism.
George H. Adams was born in Campton, N. H., May 18, 1851. His father, Isaac L. Adams, is a thrifty farmer, and has held some prominent offi- cial positions in that town. His mother, Louisa C. Adams, is a daughter of the late Walter Blair, who was state senator for 1835-36, and subsequently judge of probate for Grafton county. He completed his preparatory studies at Kimball Union academy, and graduated at Dartmouth college in the class of 1873. In politics he has always been a stalwart Republican, in 1876 he represented the town of Campton in the state constitutional convention, and was elected a member of the legislature of 1883 from the town of Plymouth. He served as chairman of the committee on insurance during that session. He studied law with Blair & Burleigh, of Plymouth, and was admitted to the Grafton county bar at the September term of the Supreme court in 1876, and has since practiced his profession in Plymouth. Since 1879 he has been a member of the firm of Burleigh & Adams.
RUMNEY .- Hon. Josiah Quincy* was a native of Lenox, Mass., and his birth occurred March 7, 1793. His father, Samuel Quincy, was a lawyer in Roxbury, Mass., and died many years ago. The son fitted for the sopho- more year of college at the Lenox academy, but concluded to forego a col- legiate course, and at once entered upon the study of law with Samuel Jones, of Stockbridge, Mass. After his admission to the bar he practiced his profession a few months at Stockbridge, and removed from there to Shef- field, Mass., where he remained a short time, and then came to Rumney, which place was ever afterward his home. The young lawyer, by indus- try and perseverance, soon gained a high rank in his profession, and his prac- tice extended many miles from Rumney in all directions. Not many years elapsed before he was known as one of the most eminent lawyers of the state, and when he retired from active practice in 1864, his professional business was said to have been as large as that of any legal gentleman in New Hamp- shire. He was an able and successful criminal lawyer, being retained for the defence in more criminal cases for many years than any other lawyer in the state. He was also for many years engaged as a partner in the mercantile business, but that never took his attention from his chosen profession, the law. Mr. Quincy was a prominent Democrat, and filled many public offices. He was several years a member of the House of Representatives, and was twice elected to the State Senate, both years being president of that body. He was also a member of the first board of trustees of the state asylum for the insane. In financial matters he was favorably known, and for many years he was an officer of the Pemigewasset bank at Plymouth. He was one of
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