USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Charlestown > History of Charlestown, New-Hampshire, the old No. 4 > Part 60
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Dr. Webber has been a student during his whole life, and has at- tained in many branches of science, to no inconsiderable erudition ; and his learning has been recognized both at home and abroad. Among the honors conferred upon him, I may mention his election to the membership of The Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians, of Copenhagen, Denmark. This recognition of the extent of his knowl- edge, was very grateful to him, as it came entirely unsolicited. He never has been desirous of reputation and has therefore made no show of his acquirements, which are far more profound and extensive than per- sons who have not had familiar intercourse with him. usually suppose.
Dr. Samuel Webber m. Apr. 14th, 1823, Anna Winslow Green (dau. of Francis and Harriet (Matthews) Green) b. July 26th, 1791.
Their children are as follows. I. Samuel Webber, jr., b. Dec. 9th, 1823 ; m. May 15th, 1853, Ellen Evans Oliver, dau. of Nathaniel K. G. Oliver, of Boston. Mr. Webber is a distinguished Mechanical and Civil Engineer, in Manchester, N. H. Ch. 1. Samuel Storrow, b. March 31st, 1854. 2. William Oliver, b. Jan. 4th, 1856. 3. Anna Louise, b. Feb. 1st, 1859. 4. Francis Green, b. Aug. 16th, 1861 ; d. Apr. 8th, 1862. 5. Robert Prince, b. Sept. 13th, 1864. Samuel S. and William O. Webber are educated as practical machinists. II. Mary Green, b. Apr. 19th, 1825; d. March 19th, 1839. III. Anna Caroline, b. Feb. 11th, 1827. IV. Frances West, b. Nov. 29th, 1828. V. Henry Green, b. Dec. 25th, 1830 ; d. Apr. 14th, 1873, in Cincin- nati, Ohio. (See soldiers in War of Rebellion.) VI. Eliza Atkinson, b. Dec. 29th, 1833. Mrs. Harriet Matthews (Green) Webber had a nat- ural taste for painting and drawing, and excelled in these branches of art. In these branches, Henry Green Webber also excelled and in- deed great proficiency has been made in them, by all the members of the family. Anna Caroline and Frances West Webber have each im- proved their taste, by a tour in Europe.
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JOSEPH AND DEBORAH WEBB. Ch. Joseph, b. Feb. 2nd, 1759. DISBRO AND JERUSHA WEBB. Ch. Ruth, b. Jan. 4th, 1761.
HON. BENJAMIN WEST.
At the time of the organization of Cheshire county, in 1771, it con- tained two lawyers, both subsequently distinguished in their profession. One was Simeon Olcott of Charlestown, the other, Daniel Jones, of Hinsdale. Mr. Olcott had been in practise some five or six years, and Mr. Jones nearly the same time. They were both educated men, and probably about the same age, as Mr. Jones graduated at Harvard College in 1759, and Mr. Olcott at Yale College in 1761. Mr. Jones was the first Chief Justice of the court of common Pleas, appointed after the organization of the county, and became a person of extensive influence. Three other members of the profession also settled very soon in the county; John Sprague, and Elijah Williams, at Keene, and Benjamin West, at Charlestown. After a brief residence at Keene, Mr. Sprague removed to Lancaster, in Massachusetts, where he became an eminent lawyer and civilian. Mr. Williams who settled in Keene in 1771, in consequence of his taking sides with England in the Revolutionary war, was also soon obliged to leave. He died in Deer- field, Mass., his native town, in 1784, and was buried by the side of his ancestors. Of Mr. West a more particular account will now be given.
There are some men, whose whole lives become to us subjects of in- terest. We wish to know everything that has related to them; as well, the circumstances and incidents of their early lives, as the acts and fruits of their mature manhood. These are the men of genius, be- fore whom their contemporaries have bowed with a cordial acknowl- edgment, unaccompanied by any jealousies of their superior ability. Such a man was Mr. West, the most distinguished advocate of Chesh- ire Bar in his time, at the head of which he was cheerfully placed by all its members.
Benjamin West was the son of Rev. Thomas West, of Rochester, Massachusetts, and was born on the 8th of April, 1746. He was from a large family, being the tenth child, and the sixth son. His parents had previously had one son by the name of Benjamin, who had died only the winter before, and the parents sought to perpetuate the mem- ory of their lost child, by bestowing the same name upon him. Wheth- er this bereavement had any influence upon the subject of this memoir, or not, he is described as having been, from his infancy, a peculiar child,
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with few of the characteristics usually accompanying childhood and youth. His disposition was uncommonly sedate, and serious, and his habits of mind contemplative far beyond what is usual in children of the same age. Nor did his peculiarities end here, but seemed to be almost equally manifest in his whole character. They extended to his modes of thought, and habits of action, his tastes, his attachments, and aversions, indeed in scarcely anything, was the development of his mind in the common order. His attachments were very strong, and very lasting, and might be said to be unchanging, excepting in their growth and strength. His aversions, which also in his youth were strong, he subsequently overcame by the power of Christian principle.
In 1763, he was deprived by death of his amiable and excellent mother. She was one of the mothers of whose piety, no child ever doubts, and who in affectionate effort for the benefit of her children, never wearies. This bereavement affected him deeply, and left its saddening impress upon his mind for years. His grief did not dis- close itself by tears and lamentations, but only by the sadness of his countenance, and profound silence. Yet so deep was it, and so lasting, that for many years, after the event, "if at any time he was by com- pany or conversation, induced to indulge in the most innocent hilarity, it was immediately checked by the recurrence of this painful circum- stance, and appeared to him a kind of profanation of that memory which he held so dear."
On his arriving at an age at which it was suitable that he should be placed at school, a great difficulty seemed to stand in the way. His father was poor, and not only poor, but was involved in debt in conse- quence of the expense which had attended upon the education of his eldest son, afterwards the celebrated Rev. Samuel West, D. D., of the Hollis street Church in Boston. But this debt was not of long contin- uance, but was soon discharged by his son, from his settlement in the ministry. This settlement was not his salary, but was what was com- mon in those times, a gift in advance. Most persons, who entered the ministry in those days, had exhausted what property they had before completing their professions. They had, ordinarily, therefore, no means with which to commence housekeeping. But as Parishes not only appreciated the value of a minister, but also of a minister's wife, they were accustomed to help their young candidates out of their em- barrassment, by a generous gift at the beginning. In this case the set- tlement which the people of Needham bestowed on Mr. West was £ 133, 63, 8d. With one half of this he paid off the debt of his father ; the
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other half he devoted to the education of his brother, between whom and himself there existed the strongest possible attachment.
The practise .of the greatest economy being deemed necessary, Ben- jamin commenced his studies, under the care of his father. But, as his brother soon learned that, at the college at Princeton, New Jersey, then called Nassau Hall, students were admitted with an imperfect preparation, with the privilege of subsequently making good their stand- ing by attending upon the preparatory school, in connection with the college, it was thought best to place him there. As had been antici- pated, he soon caught up with his class and took a good stand in it. But at the end of the year, he took up his relations with this college, and transferred them to Harvard, on account of its being nearer home. At this he graduated in 1768, with an excellent character for scholar- ship and morals, which was his only capital to start with in life.
His first movement, after graduating, was to open a public school in Worcester, in which he continued for two years. From Worcester he went to Needham, and commenced the study of divinity with his broth- er, Rev. Samuel West, and such was his progress in this profession, that in less than a year, he was licensed to preach, and commenced his ministrations at Wrentham, Mass., which parish was then vacant. His discourses were received with great acceptance, and the young min- ister, both for his preaching and deportment, met with much commen- dation. But such was the peculiarity of his disposition that what would have delighted most young men, was not at all agreeable to him. Instead of being pleased with the constant public exposure to which his profession subjected him, his mind revolted against it so strongly and powerfully that he felt it to be unendurable. After preaching, therefore, eight sabbaths, he felt that he could not bear his situation longer, and determined to abandon the ministry, for which others conceived him to be peculiarly fitted. This determination he carried out, and never could be induced to preach again.
He was now on the world with nothing to do, and with no means to enable him to pursue any course of study, through which he might en- ter upon another profession. His circumstances weighed upon his mind to such a degree that he grew malancholy over them, and in one of his fits of intense despondency he made up his mind that he would go to sea ; a business for which he was probably less fitted than for any other; for noth- ing could have been more out of harmony with his whole education and all his habits, and indeed with the whole routine of his previous life. But as it proved, what seemed almost madness in him at the time, was turn-
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ed through the direction of a beneficent providence to a good that could have been little anticipated, as it resulted in bringing him into a profession for which he was wonderfully adapted by his natural talents, and in which he was destined to make his highest achievements. This was brought about in the following interesting manner. While he was in Boston seeking to carry out his purpose, whom should he meet but his good classmate and room-mate in College, Mr. Andrew Henshaw, who, familiarly acquainted with him, would not let him rest till he had drawn out from him what he was intending to do. On learning his inten- tion Henshaw insisted upon his going home with him to dine, where his father, who was an excellent man, warmly entered into the feelings of his son, and both together succeeded in dissuading young West to relin- guish his purpose of going to sea, with the prospect of entering an office for the study of law, where he would have it in his power to support himself by giving instruction to two or three children in a private fam- ily, and to which Mr. Henshaw engaged to assist him in gaining admis- sion. This led to his return to Needham to the house of his brother, and in a short time to his commencing a clerkship in the office of *Abel Willard, Esq., of Lancaster, Massachusetts, an excellent man, by whom he was treated with the greatest generosity, and with whom he remain- ed till he had acquired his profession.
After he had spent the usual time in the office of Mr. Willard he looked around for a place in which to practice, and having heard that Charlestown would be a good location for his business he determin- ed to visit it. He was kindly received by Mr. Simeon Olcott, who had been in the place a number of years, and who had not long before been appointed Judge of Probate, and was most generously admitted to a co-partnership with him. Mr. West, accordingly, in July, 1773, estab- lished himself in Charlestown as an attorney in the Court of Common Pleas. But he had still another trial to encounter. He had had scarcely time to start in business, and to cement what proved a life long friend- ship with Mr. Olcott, when the Revolutionary War broke out, by which an end was put to all his expectations-for, in consequence of the pecu-
* Abel Willard, b. Jan. 12th, 1732, graduated at Harvard College in 1752-be- came a lawyer and settled in Lancaster, Mass. He was a distinguished man and very much beloved. When the Revolutionary War commenced he adhered to the royal cause and left Lancaster-to which he never returned. He had been an ex- cellent citizen, and his leaving was felt to be a great loss to the town £ He died in England, in 1781. He was in practice in Lancaster from 1755 to 1775. He would
# have been permitted to remain had he not left of his own accord.
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liar excitements of the times, all business in the courts was wholly sus- pended. There was no more filling writs in the name of the king, and a cloud, at that time impervious to any light, rested upon the prospects of the gentlemen of the legal profession. Mr. West felt that he was in a difficult spot. Without property, and without business to bring him any income, his mind was once more in a state of fearful uncertainty. But, just at the time he was falling into a state of almost hopeless despon- dency he received, what appeared to him, under the circumstances, a favor- able offer of business from South Carolina, and determined to go there. In accepting this offer he appears to have had a double motive, 1st, to es- cape the tumults of the war, which, at that time had not reached with any considerable violence that section of the country; he 2nd, that he might improve his mind by what he should see on his journey and gain a livelihood until, at the return of peace, he should be able to establish himself again in Charlestown, for which he had formed a strong predi- lection.
It seems strange for us to read, now, when we can pass over the dis- tance in so brief a time, that he left his New-England home in October and did not arrive in South Carolina until the 14th of the following December. He made the journey on horseback, which was his favorite mode of conveyance. This gave him an excellent opportunity for observation which he did not fail most diligently to improve; and his criticisms on the soil, climate, manners, habits and productions of the several states through which he passed, exhibit not only great clear- ness of perception, but an uncommon soundness of judgment. That he was not charmed with the institutions of the south at that time is evi- dent. He therefore became no apologist for them, but regarded as their legitimate result the demoralization which he saw every where around him.
Mr. West, on arriving at Charleston, South Carolina, took up his res- idence with Mr. Gibbs, a wealthy planter, with an agreeable family, by whom he had been engaged as a tutor to his children. But it was not long that he was permitted to enjoy the blessings of peace, for the tumults of the war which he had sought to escape followed him to his new home, and partaking of the general patriotism of the country, he became one of sixty or seventy young men of the city, to form a company of light horse who should watch the movements of the enemy, and, by giving timely infor- mation, prevent a surprise. But in this new adventure he was again destined to have experience of the adverse fortune which had so long followed him, for one night a deserter from the company having inform- ¥
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ed the enemy of their whereabouts, they were all taken prisoners. They were, however, treated with great humanity and even with no small de- gree of courtesy, and- in about six weeks were exchanged. It was a great mortification, however, to Mr. West that he lost in this affair his horse, which was a very fine animal, and which he cherished with great affection. But what affected him much more sensibly than its loss was, that he was obliged to see it cruelly abused by the enemy, and finally worked to death.
But he had as yet only seen the beginning of the misfortunes that awaited him. The climate did not agree with him, and although he lived very abstemiously, he soon became sick. This fact reached his brother in New England, and caused him great anxiety ; and soon fol- lowing the report of his sickness, came the tidings of his death. Of course the hope of ever seeing him again, was blotted out. What then must have been his surprise, when one day as he was reading in his parlor, he looked up from his book, and saw the lost one enter, whom he had mourned as dead. All he could do was to utter the involun- tary exclamation, " My brother !" It would be vain to attempt to de- scribe their interview. It must suffice, that Mr. West left Charles- ton, South Carolina, for Philadelphia, by water, January 24th, 1779- that he was at the time very sick ; that they had much bad weather on the way, were dismasted and obliged to put into Wilmington to re- fit, and that in short, after many untoward events, and much suffering from sickness and other causes, he arrived August 13th, 1779, at Phil- adelphia ; and at Charlestown, N. H., on the 31st of the same month, where he was most cordially received and entertained, by his friend Olcott, and again settled down to reside.
Mr. West, after recommencing business in Charlestown, was admit- ted as an attorney at the Supreme Court, at its session in October, 1780. And as his business rapidly increased, he soon conceived him- self to be in a situation to marry. He therefore, on the 8th of June, 1781, was united to Miss Mary, the eldest daughter of Rev. Mr. Mc Carty, of Worcester, Massachusetts, with' whom he had been many years connected by very strong bonds of mutual attachment. After his marriage, he immediately commenced housekeeping, but in a style of as great economy, as was consistent with comfort. The tradition has come down to us, that he did this, that he might not appear to as- sume superiorty over his neighbors, but the true reason might have been that he was not at the time able to live differently without trans- cending his means; which, such were his principles, he probably
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would not have done. But his business rapidly increased, and he soon began to think that he was getting beyond those trying experi- ences, of which he had had so many. But the time had not yet ar- rived, in which it was permitted him to bask uninterruptedly in the smiles of providence. For in the midst of a flourishing business, his office was broken open in the night, in October, 1783, and robbed of property to a very large amount, mostly in specialties which had been conimitted to him for collection, and for which he was responsible. This was a heavy blow, but he bore it with great equanimity, and with- out any endeavor for the detection of the culprit. And, as it proved, this forbearance produced a most favorable result, for in a very short time, the most valuable of the papers were returned in the same pri- vate manner in which they had been abstracted, and he was given to understand that their return was entirely due to his silence and mod- eration. His loss, however, was still considerable, but he very soon rose superior to it, and went on in his business with increasing advan- tage, constantly gaining in reputation and in accessions of influence, till at length he stood forth, the acknowledged head of Cheshire Bar, and as an advocate who had no superior in the State.
Such is a brief sketch of the early life of Mr. West, which I have given, partly, because the facts are in themselves interesting, and partly because they help us to gain a proper understanding of his character. But it now remains to give a description of him in his pro- fessional career, and in the various relations, which he occupied with such fidelity, as to render his memory worthy of perpetuation.
Mr. West professed to be a lawyer, and nothing else. Outside of his profession, he had no ambition, except to discharge his duties as a Christian and a citizen. He thus would neither be a candidate for any political office, nor accept of such office, when it came to him. As evi- dence of this, it is only necessary to refer to the numerous appoint- ments, which he received, and which he declined, oftentimes against the most resolute remonstrances of his friends. "He was chosen a mem- ber of Congress, under the old or first confederation-a member of the convention which formed the present constitution, and of the State convention which ratified it-also of the first Congress, after it was put into operation. He was also appointed attorney General, and Judge of Probate." But these offices, whatever attractions they possessed for others, had none for him. The acceptance of them, was not in harmony with the purpose of his life, which was to be a model man in his profession, But it is not to be understood from this, that he
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eschewed politics, or was without political sentiments. For no man, on affairs relating to the State or nation, had clearer or firmer convictions. He would attend political conventions and mingle in them as a dele- gate but he was never known on such occasions to make a speech. The extent to which he ever allowed himself to go was to influence the opinions of the delegates by personal conversation. His course might have arisen partially from his aversion to being made a public spectacle but must be attributed mainly to the purpose he had formed of making the law the chief object of his pursuit.
There was only one instance in the life of Mr. West, when he seemed to desire prominence; and that was not till after the practice of his profession had for some years been laid aside. Allusion is here made to the part which he acted in connection with the Hartford Conven- tion. To this he was elected, not by the legislature, as the delegates were in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but informally, by conven- tions of the people. Gov. Gilman was desirous of calling a special meeting of the legislature, for the purpose of ratifying their election, but was overruled by his Council. New-Hampshire, as a state, was not therefore represented, except informally in that convention.
It is only those who are acquainted with the history of that time, who can understand anything about the virulence of party, at that pe- riod. The Federalists, as they were called, among whom was Mr. West, were looked upon by the Jacobins, which was the common name given to their opponents, as not only opposers of the best welfare of the na- tion, but as actual traitors to its highest interests. They were accused of seeking to separate the north from the south, and of being the ad- herents, instead of the enemies of Great Britain, with which the nation was at war. And the most violent threats were made, not only by the Jacobinic Journals, but by persons high in power, of hanging the Fed- eralistic leaders, as enemies to the country. It was at such a time, and amid such excitements, that Mr. West really appeared for the first time on the arena of political strife ; where, though his feelings were doubtless deeply moved, he preserved the same equanimity as on other occasions ; an equanimity which neither threats nor the ebullition of passion had the power to disturb ; for, being rallied by one of the op- posite party, one day, on the probability of his being hung, he very quietly and modestly replied " that should it come to that, he should consider himself fortunate in the position he occupied, as he should thereby be the means of saving the neck of a better man." But it is unnecessary to say, that the members of the convention were not exe-
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cuted, and that Mr. West was subsequently allowed to die a peaceful death, full of years, and crowned with honor.
It may be difficult for us at this distance of time to form a very ex- act estimate of Mr. West's legal attainments. But the respect and al- most reverence paid him by the members of the bar in his time, and the nearly universal concession that he stood at the head of the legal profession in the State, would seem abundantly sufficient to establish his reputation as a first class lawyer. He in the first place possessed, not only a strong, but an acute intellect. And this had been disciplined not only by a collegiate, but by a Theological education. To this may be added, that the natural adaptation of his mind was to legal studies. There is nothing more certain, than that men, by nature, are sometimes endowed with special gifts which fit them for high attainments in a par- ticular direction. And the divine intention, in respect to them, is thus expressed by the talents given. Mr. West had the disernment to dis- cover the true direction of his powers and the sense to use all the means at his command to cultivate them most diligently in that direction. There is reason to believe, to use a not very elegant, but yet an expres- sive phrase, that he made the most of himself. It is therefore scarcely to be doubted that he occupied justly the position assigned him by con- temporary opinion.
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