Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. III, Part 13

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 876

USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. III > Part 13

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(II) Rev. John Ilale, eldest son and child of Robert and Jane Hale, was graduated from Harvard College in 1657, and was ordained the first minister of the First Church in Beverly, Massachusetts, re- taining that pastorate for the remainder of his life. He was one of the three chaplains of the regiment which was sent to Canada in 1690 and was captured by the French, but shortly afterwards was released. During his Beverly pastorate occurred the famous Salem witchcraft excitement, and he appears to have been a believer in the delusion until an accu- sation was made against his wife, whereupon he renounced his belief, and wrote an able work de- fending with spirit his change of view. For his first wife he married Rebecca Byles, daughter of Henry Byles, of Sarum, England, and she died April 13, 1683, aged forty-five years. March 3, 1684, he married Mrs. Sarah Noyes, of Newbury, whose death occurred May 20, 1695, at the age of forty- one, and on August 8, 1698, he married for his third wife Mrs. Elizabeth Clark, of Newbury, who sur- vived him. His children were: Rebeckah, Robert, Rev. James, Samuel, Joanna and John.

(11I) Samuel, third son and fourth child of Rev. John and Sarah ( Noyes) Hale, was born in Beverly, August 13, 1687. For many years he re- sided in Newburyport, and all of his children were: born in that town. Late in life he removed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and died there about the year 1724. He was married August 26, 1714. to Apphia Moody, who was born June 23. 1693,

and the children of this union were: Joanna, Rich- ard, Samuel. Hannah and John. (N. B. Richard Hale, son of Samuel, was the father of Captain Nathan Hale, whose capture and execution as a spy by the British was one of the most unfortunate episodes of the American Revolution ).

(IV) John, youngest son and child of Samust and Apphia (Moody) Hale, was born in Newbury- port, January 16, 1722. He resided in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and died there about the year 1787. The maiden name of his wife does not appear in the records at hand. It is known, however, that he was the father of Samuel, John, Benjamin, Eben- ezer. Jane, Sally and Hannah.

(V) Samuel, eldest son of John Hale, of Glou- cester, entered the legal profession and was prac- ticing law in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, during the agitation which culminated in the American Revolution. He was loyal to the crown, and just prior to the commencement of hostilities went to England, where he remained until the close of the war. Upon the resumption of diplomatic relations between the mother country and the United States, he was appointed consul at one of the American ports, but died on the passage over. Prior to his departure for England he married Lydia Parker, daughter of Hon. William Parker of Portsmouth. Her grandparents were William and Zerviah ( Stan- ley) Parker, the latter a daughter of the Earl of Derby, and they were married in England, Feb- ruary 26, 1703, against the wishes of the bride's father. They immediately eame to America in order to escape the vengeance of the Earl, who was an arbitrary and vindictive man, and thenceforward lived a secluded life in Portsmouth. William Par- ker was a gentleman of education and refinement. Ilon. William Parker, Lydia Parker's father, was admitted to the bar in 1732; was clerk of the com- missioners who settled the boundary line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1737; was appointed register of probate by Governor Belcher ; afterwards became judge of admiralty and was for many years the only notary public in the province. From 1765 to 1774 he was a member of the general assembly. In August, 1771, he was appointed a judge of the superior court, and held office until the end of British authority. In 1763 the cor- poration of Harvard College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts (honorary). He died April 29. 1781, aged seventy-seven years. His chil- dren were: Zerviah, Stanley, William, John, Eliz- abeth, Mary, Lydia, Catherine, Samuel, Sarah and Matthew Stanley. Lydia married Samuel Hale. as previously stated, and was the mother of one son. She died in September, 1878, at the age of forty- seven years.

(VI) John Parker, only child of Samuel and Lydia ( Parker) Hale, became a lawyer and prae- ticed in Rochester, New Hampshire. He married Lydia O'Brien, of Maehias, Maine, daughter of William O'Brien, who participated in the capture of the British ship "Margaretta" during the Revo- lutionary war. Among their children was Hon.

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Jolin Parker Hale, for sixteen years United States senator from New Hampshire, and afterwards min- ister to Spain.

(VII) Hon. John Parker Hale (2), second child of Jolin Parker (I) and Lydia (O'Brien) Hale, was born in Rochester, March 31, 1806, and died November 19, 1873, aged sixty-seven years. When but thirteen years of age he was left fatherless, but by the efforts of his mother who was equal to the duty imposed on her, the family was kept together, and the son who was destined to play so prominent a part in his country's history was able to obtain an education commensurate with his mental powers. After receiving the training the schools of his native village afforded, his mother's exertions en- abled him to prepare for college at Phillip's Exeter Academy under Principal Abbot, who remarked years afterwards that he had five of his boys in the United States senate, "and pretty good boys, too," Webster, Cass, Hale, Dix and Field. He en- tered Bowdoin College, passed through the course of study with ease and graduated in 1827, with a high reputation for general scholarship and extem- poraneous oratorical ability. At this time he was twenty-one years of age.

His natural mental trend, his aptness to grasp and manipulate ideas and his manifest fitness for the law, all indicate that profession as his vocation in life. Accordingly on leaving college he entered upon his legal studies. His first reading was in the office of J. H. Woodman, Esq., of Rochester. Later he had an opportunity to complete his course with Daniel M. Christie, Esq., for many years the honored head of the New Hampshire bar. In the three years during which he was preparing himself for his profession, he was developing a breadth and power of mind and character that none who knew him could mistake. As a law student he displayed all his character in his traits of quickness, aptitude, ease of acquisition and tenacity of memory, so that his future eminence was confidently foretold. To natural ability he joined an activity of intellect and a love of literature that led him to read extensively and with great pleasure the classics, in both prose and poetry, and to peruse with marked satisfaction the speeches of the great orators of ancient and modern times. Thus equipped, in 1830, John P. Hale was admitted to the bar, and opened an office at Dover. With his qualifications and already ex- tensive local acquaintance his was not the fate of the patient plodder who must take years to win a clientage; he at once took high rank at the bar, and soon had a profitable practice. In his case lie showed great perspicacity in discerning the point at issue, and adroitness in handling them. In the examinations of witnesses he exhibited consummate skill and tact, and in his addresses to juries he showed that he had inherited from his maternal ancestors that power of eloquence that has made many an Irish lawyer famous. In civil and crim- inal practice he was equally skillful. The class of business to which he was introduced as leading counsel often pitted him against such men as Mr.

Christie, his old preceptor, and other hardly less distinguished men, but equipped as he was with wit and humor, and a consummate master of the art of oratory, he knew his powers and won success second to none of those with whom he contended. Ilis practice was not long confined to Strafford county, but extended into the adjoining counties of Belknap, Carroll and Rockingham.

As a man Mr. Hale felt a sympathy for mankind, for the masses against the classes, as it is now ex- pressed. This sentiment showed itself early and was ever manifest in his action on great public ques- tions. He believed the people have rights, and never faltered in support of them, regardless of whoever or how many opposed him. In the early years of his professional life he had a spirited contest with Chief Justice Porter in the supreme court of New Hampshire over his claim of right of the jury to be judges of the law as well as the facts in criminal cases. In support of his theory on this question, he published a pamphlet which an eminent authority has said "contains well-nigh all the learning on a question of the deepest importance in its day, which has been substantially settled at last by the amel- iorations of the criminal law, the progress of so- ciety, and the growth of institutions of liberty. Al- though Mr. Hale was not distinguished for re- condite learning, this publication exhibited too com- plete a mastery of authorities to be dashed off at a sitting, too profound an argument to have been prepared in a day. This debate is chiefly interest- ing to-day as a proof that Mr. Hale had unquestion- ably devoted time in his early years to the study of the great books of the common law, to the history and development of English liberty, and was deeply grounded in its leading principles." Judge Parker's reply is contained in the report of the case of Peirce and others against the State in volume 13 of the New Hampshire Reports.

Mr. Hale's reputation as a lawyer soon spread beyond the limits of his own state. When Shad- rach, a fugitive slave, was rescued in 1851 from the courthouse in Boston by Lewis, Hayden and others and sent to Canada, great excitement arose all over the country, and when the leaders in the rescue, Hayden and Scott, were brought to trial, Mr. Hale was their leading counsel. The character of the testimony was strongly against the defend- ants, as was also the charge of the presiding judge, but Mr. Hale's masterly speech for his clients, one of the most noted efforts of the times, so influ- enced the jury that they failed to agree, and the de- fendants were discharged. Three years later the case of Anthony Burns in Boston created still greater excitement. Theodore Parker, hearing of thie arrest, with difficulty got access to the man, procured counsel for him and obtained a continu- ance of his case in order to allow him opportunny to make a defense. An immense meeting was held in Faneuil Hall to consider what the crisis required, and while it was in session a party stormed the jail where Burns was confined and attempted his rescue. In doing this one of the assistants of the

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marshal having Burns in charge was killed. Public excitement over this act was at the highest tension ; the President ordered the adjutant general of the army to Boston, and United States troops in New York were kept under marching orders, ready to act in case they were needed to quell further riot- ous disturbances. Theodore Parker and others were indicted, some for murder, and others for assault and riot, mainly for the speeches made at the ineet- ing at Faneuil Hall. Mr. Hale was called to take the place of leading counsel for the defendants, and under his management the indictments broke down, and the case was never called for trial. Theodore Parker prepared a "defense" in the case, and as there was no opportunity to avail himself of it in court, he published it with a dedication to his law- yer, John P. Hale.

It is nsual for young men who possess the gift of oratory and a power to influence their fellowmen to enter the political arena, and John P. Hale was no exception to the rule. His sympathetic nature and his love of justice and a square deal led him to became a candidate for the legislature in 1832, on a workingman's ticket. He was elected, but his position did not permit of his distinguishing him- self at that time. Ile soon afterwards became a supporter of the Democratic party, and in 1834, when twenty-eight years of age, was appointed by President Jackson United States district attorney. This position he filled with distinction until he was removed for political reasons by the Whig ad- ministration in 1841.

Hitherto Mr. Hale had made the practice of law the chief aim of his life, and by his skill had won in the legal forum laurels that might well have been coveted by older and more experienced prac- titioners; but henceforth his time and his efforts were to be devoted to the solution of the great national problems that convulsed the commonwealth. His record to this time as a lawyer justifies the opin- ion that he would have been the peer of any law- yer at the American bar had he continued to prac- tice his profession. But he chose another, and per- haps more useful course. Not only as a lawyer, but also as an orator, Mr. Hale's development had been rapid, and having now identified himself with the Democratic party his ability and his eloquence were called to its aid, and he became one of its most able supporters. In 1843 he was elected to the national house of representatives. In the opening days of the session, he entered freely into the debates, taking a very prominent stand as an advocate of Democratic principles, and attracting wide and ad- miring attention by his oratorical powers. Such was the character 'of his oratorical power that he was referred to as the "Democratic Boanerges," the "Granite State Cataract," and by other like ex- pressions. He proposed measures of retrenchment in regard to West Point, the army and the navy, and advocated the reduction in postage rates, and the, abolition of corporal punishment in the army. June 3, 1844, he moved the abolishment of flogging in the navy, and by his eloquence the measure was car-

ried in the house, but it was lost in the senate. When congress assembled in December an exciting debate arose upon the question of continuing what was termed the gag rule, which required "that every petition, memorial, resolution, proposition or paper touching or relating in any way, or to any extent whatever, to slavery or the abolition thereof shall, on presentation, without any further action thercon, be laid on the table, without being debated, printed or referred." This rule suppressed the right of petition if it in any way touched slavery and during the debate Mr. Hale, with Mr. Hamlin, of Maine, and a few other Democrats, avowed their opposition to it. Here appeared Mr. Hale's dis- position to think for himself, and act, when he saw fit, in opposition to party dictates. This was the be- ginning of his anti-slavery action in congress, his declaration of independence of the rights of any man or set or men to require him to act in opposition to the dictates of his conscience. The pursuit of this course brought him conspicuously before his fellow citizens as a national character.

In the presidential campaign of 1844 Mr. Hale gave his efforts for the success of his party, and distinguished himself as a political speaker. The extension of slavery was a thing necessary for the continued political supremacy of the South, and the pro-slavery element of the Democratic party in that section led by John C. Calhoun and aided by President Tyler were using every effort to effect the annexation of the young republic of Texas to the United States, as slave territory. When this scheme fully developed it found opposition in the North. All the newspapers of New Hampshire opposed the extension of slavery, and in this they were in- dorsed by the leaders and by the masses of the party. But when, by the election of 1844, the South obtained complete control of the national councils and patronage, its influence was such that the Dem- ocratic newspapers and party leaders in New Hamp- shire obeyed the dictation of the dominant element in the South and ceased their opposition to the measure they so recently had condemned. The domi- nation of the slaveholders was so complete that at their dictation the Democratic party of New Hamp- shire reversed its course, and the legislature in December, 1844, passed resolutions instructing the state's senators and representatives in congress to vote for the annexation of Texas. Mr. llale's op- position to the admission of Texas had been known at the time of his election, but as "obey or resign" had long been the Democratic doctrine in New Hampshire, it was expected he would act in accord- ance with the wishes of his his constituents. Con- gress assembled in December, 1844, and the advo- cates of annexation submitted several schemes for the consummation of their designs. On the 10th of January, 1845, Mr. Hale, evidently with no idea of breaking with his party, proceeded to act in accord- ance with the opinions he had all along entertained, and moved a suspension of the rules to enable him to introduce a proposition to divide Texas into two parts, in one of which slavery should be for-

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ever prohibited, but though this motion was carried by a majority it failed for want of a two-third vote.

Mr. Hale was not following the instruction of his party in New Hampshire, and in order to vin- dicate himself, under date of July 7, 1845, he ad- dressed to his constituents his famous letter in which he justified his course, laid bare in no meas- ured terms the Texas scheme of annexing territory to perpetuate slavery, stigmatizing the reasons given by its advocates in its behalf as "eminently calcu- lated to promote the scorn of earth and the judg- ment of heaven," and thus appealed to the patriotic traditions of the men of the Granite State: "When our forefathers bade a last farewell to the homes of their childhood, the graves of their fathers, and the temples of their God, and ventured upon all the desperate contingencies of wintery seas and a savage coast, that they might in strong faith and ardent hope lay deep the foundations of the temple of liberty, their faith would have become skepti- cism, and their hope despair, could they have fore- seen that the day would ever arrive when their degenerate sons should be found seeking to extend their boundaries and their government, not for the purposes of promoting freedom, but sustaining slavery," and added that if his constituents were favorable to such a measure, they must choose an- other representative to carry out their wishes. Says Hon. Jacob H. Ela in his article on Hale in the Granite Monthly: "It was a great step to take and a less daring spirit would not have ventured it. Poor in property, with a family to support, the most popular man in his party, with power to command and ability to adorn any public position his am- bitions might seek on the one side, with alienation of social and political friends, ostracism in business and politics, by a party which had for sixteen years had unbroken sway and remorselessly cut down every man who dared to oppose its declared will on the others, were the alternatives. Few men have shown such greatness of soul and loyalty to convictions under such temptations. While most men would have yielded, Mr. Hale did not falter, but sent his letter which for a moment paralyzed political movements in New Hampshire, but was soon fol- lowed by a storm of condemnation and denuncia- tion from the party leaders. The Democratic state committee issued a call for the reassembling of the Democratic convention, February 12, 1845, and every Democratic paper that could be influenced to do so joined in denouncing Mr. JIale, and asking the convention to rebuke and silence him. The oppo- sition to him by officials seemed to be almost un- animous. Franklin Pierce, his college companion, and long time political associate and personal friend, toured the state to organize the opposition. At Dover, Portsmouth and Exeter, the Democratic papers and alinost every one of the party leaders renounced all allegiance to John P. Hale and his anti-slavery principles. Mr. Hale had not taken this step without foreseeing the probable conse- quences, and now prepared to enter upon the prac- tice of his profession in New York. The convention

met, the nomination of Jolin P. Hale was rescinded, his name struck from the ticket and another sub- stituted. But his friends, of whom there were still a few among the leaders of the party, organized the first successful revolt against the slave power. While the election was pending Texas was annexed as slave territory, not in the usual manner by a treaty of annexation, the ratification of which would have required a two-thirds majority of the houses of congress, which the slave-holding element knew could not be got, but by joint resolution, which re- quired only a majority of votes, and was carried in the house by a vote of one hundred and thirty- four to seventy-seven, John P. Hale and Hannibal Hamlin alone among the Northern Democracy re- fusing to support the measure. This proceeding had a grave and sobering influence upon the minds of many of the more thoughtful and far-seeing Democrats of New Hampshire. and when the elec- tion was held, John Woodbury, who had been sub- stituted on the ticket for Mr. Hale, failed of elec- tion. Another clection was necessary to fill the vacancy, and it was called. During the campaign just closed Mr. Hale had remained at his post in Washington. When the second canvass was opened, he appeared on the scene and by his magnetic pre- sence and convincing oratory infused a vigor and excitement into the contest that was felt in every hamlet throughout the state. The last election had come off March II, 1845; this campaign opened at Concord, in June following, on the week for the assembling of the legislature in the old North Church. An unusual assemblage of people was in town in attendance upon various religious and benevolent anniversaries. The Democrats, fearful of Hale's eloquence upon an audience so intelligent and conscientious, decided that he must be answered on the spot and selected Franklin Pierce as the only man at all fitted for such an encounter. The size of the audience taxed the capacity of the church to the utmost."

The eloquent Colonel Hall in describing this event in his oration at the unveiling of the statue of Hale at Concord, August 3, 1892, said: "Mr. Hale spoke two hours, making a calm, dignified and effective vindication of his principles and conduct. Occasionally rudely interrupted, he never lost his temper, nor that splendid equanimity which availed him on so many occasions in debate. Hle rose to surprising eloquence in denunciation of slavery, and at the end it was manifest that whether they agreed with his conclusions or not, all were convinced that he had been actuated by pure motives and a high sense of public duty. Mr. Pierce was himself a nervous, energetic and brilliant orator, but, for the task set before him, he was handicapped by the in- consistencies of the Democratic record, and by Hale's glowing appeal to the nobler sentiments of humanity, lifting the plane of discussion entirely above the ordinary dead level. He replied to Mr. Hale in a passionate and imperious, not to say in- solent manner, accusing him of ambitious motives, and defending, as he only could, the party in power

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for its efforts to extend the area of the republic by bringing the vast territory of Texas under its sway. The advantage in temper was very manifest, and when Mr. Hale had rejoined with a triumphant vindication of his own motives and purposes, he closed with this magnificent appeal: 'I expected to be called ambitious; to have iny name cast out as evil. I have not been disappointed. But, if things have come to this condition, that conscience and a sacred regard for truth and duty are to be publicly held up to ridicule, and scouted at without rebuke, as has just been done here, it matters little whether we are annexed to Texas or Texas is annexed to us. I may be permitted to say that the measure of my ambition will be full if, when my earthly career shall be finished and my bones be laid beneath the soil of New Hampshire, when my wife and children shall repair to my grave to drop a tear of affection to my memory, they may read on my tombstone, "He who lies beneath surrendered office, place and power, rather than bow down and worship slavery."' In the opinion of Mr. Hale's friends, his victory was indisputable. No debate in New Hampshire ever had such interest, and none results at all com- parable with it in importance. Beyond all doubt Mr. Pierce's efforts that day made him president of the United States, and Mr. Hlale's led to the triumph of his party, whereby he became the first anti- slavery senator and the recognized pioneer cham- pion of the Free Soil movement. On the 23rd of September, 1845, the third trial was held for the representatives in congress, resulting in a Demo- cratic defeat by about the same vote as before, the Hale men holding the balance of power between them and the Whigs. November 29, 1845, a fourth trial left the Democrats in a still more decisive minority, and then the final struggle for mastery in the state was postponed to the annual election, March 10, 1846. During the winter, Mr. Hale can- vassed the state again, everywhere the admired champion of a cause now manifestly advancing to certain triumph. The result was a complete over- throw of the party in power in New Hampshire, the Whigs and Independent Democrats together having both branches of the legislature, and a con- siderable majority of the popular vote, though there was no election of governor or congressman by the people. Mr. Hale was chosen a representative from Dover, and, by a coalition of Hale men and Whigs, was made speaker of the house, and on the yth of June. 1846, was chosen United States senator for the full term of six years, commencing March 4. 1847."

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Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. III, Part 13

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 876

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 876