USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century, Volume II > Part 34
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For twenty-six hours they remained shut in their little apartment, discussing their verdict, which they finally found in favor of the plaintiff in the sum of two thousand five hundred and fifty dollars, which was practically the amount found at the former trial. About the time of the Frost case Colonel George had himself brought suit against Concord involving the Legal Tender Acts, and this proceed- ing, together with the willing and earnest espousal of so many high- way cases, somewhat impaired his popularity for the time being, and in a degree diverted business from his firm.
During the seventies the supreme court room underwent certain changes and remodelings having for an end some improvement or convenience, but so rigid and set were the original plans that the innovations did not become permanent. Once, Judge Doe undertook to improve the appearance of its interior arrangement by moving the huge box-like jury seats and unsightly bench, but the result did not invite repetition. Once, Judge Isaac W. Smith came near asking the grand jury to declare the court accommodations a public nuisance, and more than once Attorney-General Tappan, on recovering his breath after climbing the long stairs, gave vent to most uncompli- mentary remarks respecting the building and its manifold defects. Built with an eye to massiveness rather than to utility or beauty, the court house has always been a source of complaint and regret ; and to-day Concord alone of all the shire towns furnishes for its seat of justice the most ill-favored architectural anachronism in all New Hampshire. Once, however, the great barn-like court-room came within a hair's breadth of being the cause of a tragedy whose horror would have shocked the country. Spacious as it is, and inviting to crowds, the room on that occasion packed to the window-sills was all too small for those seeking entrance. It was the occasion of a cele- brated trial involving the paternity of an infant. Attracted by the raciness and pungency of the proceedings, great crowds sought the court house. Never before had the oldest sheriffs seen crowds like these, and never in their experience had their efforts for order been so unavailing. Men, women, and young people as soon as the doors were opened filled the room to overflowing, and once wedged in their places there they remained until adjournment. Those unable to gain admittance surged at the doors and crowded the stairways and halls. The case was called for trial before Judge Sargent at an adjourned term held in January, 1870. Anson S. Marshall and William M. Chase appeared for the prosecution, and Mason W. Tappan and John Y. Mugridge for the respondent. Had the case been an ordinary one the fame of the attorneys might have called forth a large audience, but being so scasoned with scandal and curiosity the trial became almost a publie demonstration.
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The trial was opened on the 20th, and five days later the argu- ments began. Rarely had so many human beings squeezed them- selves into like space as on the occasion of those last arguments. Every seat was occupied, benches and chairs were brought in, yet the cager throng pushed forward towards the actors until the bar enclosure was a living mass, and even the bench itself was invaded. It was about 3 o'clock on the afternoon of the 25th, when Colonel Tappan was in the full flow of his eloquent address, that several sharp cracks suddenly startled the hushed assemblage. Simultane- ously came the sensation of the floor sinking gradually beneath their feet, a fearful instant of breath-taking horror. Everything depended on quick authority, for a stampede might precipitate the crowd to the floor below, and fortunately, John Connell, city marshal, recognizing the peril, called out in stentorian voice to the excited crowd to move quietly out of the room. Examination showed that only the prompt- ness of command and its quick obedience saved Concord from a black day of tragedy. The trial was adjourned to the city hall, and ended by a disagreement of the jury. In the meanwhile the court-room floor was strengthened by iron rods, which remain to this day as grim reminders of that averted horror.
While singularly free from atrocious homicides, Concord has been more than once the scene of famous murder trials. The peculiar atrocity of the Lapage case made it a rare one in the annals of crime, and attracted wide attention. The butchery of the victim, her youth, the neighborhood, the cunning concealment of the murderer, the false arrests, the prevailing suspicions, the strange apprehension of the ignorant wood-chopper, the uncertainty of official action, and finally the perplexing circumstances of convincing proof, gave to the case a mystery and interest equaled only by the horror of its perpetration.
The case of State against Lapage, the murderer of Josie Langmaid of Pembroke, was called for trial on Tuesday, the 4th of January, 1876, before a special term of the circuit court held in the city hall. In view of the expected attendance, it was deemed expedient to hold the court in this place rather than to tempt the structural uncertain- ties of the room above; consequently the judges' bench and the jury seats were constructed on the Main street side of the hall, the rest of the space being arranged for the spectators. The court was composed of Chief Justice Foster and Associate Justice Edward D. Rand; the prosecuting attorneys were Lewis W. Clark, attorney-general, William W. Flanders, county solicitor, and Charles P. Sanborn, while guard- ing the interests of the prisoner were Samuel B. Page and William T. Norris. High Sheriff Edward Judkins made proclamation, followed by a prayer by Reverend Everett L. Conger. Interpreters were
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appointed, and the accused, an ignorant French-Canadian wood-chop- per, rose and plead not guilty. Aside from the curiosity generally attending murder cases, this case presented elements of peculiar inter- est, both to the profession and to the public. It was at once seen that the evidence for the state must be almost wholly circumstantial, and furthermore that the facts connecting Lapage with the crime must be created by evidence purely scientific. There was no doubt that the state had a most difficult task before it; for, notwithstand- ing popular prejudice against the prisoner, there might be many a slip between surmise and proof absolute. Reasonable doubt, like the ghost in the play, stalked constantly up and down that court-room until the last word was said. For six days the state kept intro- ducing its witnesses, and it was upon some of these that the really absorbing interest and fascination of the whole case centered. For the first time in New Hampshire a man's life depended on the scien- tific revelations of the microscope. Dark and suspicious spots were found on the clothing and boots of the prisoner, and upon the deter- mination as to whether the stains were those of human blood rested largely the state's contention. This feature of the case had been thoroughly prepared by eminent experts, who made repeated experi- ments and tests for the enlightenment of the jury. Those called for the state were S. Dana Hayes, Dr. Horace P. Chase, and Dr. Joshua B. Treadwell, while for the defense was Dr. Babcock, all of Boston. With blackboards and charts these gentlemen exhibited their delicate tests, and showed by magnified sketches the all-important differences in measurement between human blood and the blood of numerous animals. Nothing more engrossingly interesting had ever been seen in a court of justice than that extraordinary elucidation of the won- ders of microscopic science.
Moreover, the case was remarkable as introducing a witness whose testimony was in conflict with the time-honored rule of incompe- tency, and from whom it was sought to show the peculiar propen- sities of the prisoner for committing crimes similar to the one on trial. Lawyers shrugged their shoulders at this perilous departure from precedent, but laymen saw in it the much desired motive neces- sary for the conviction of the human fiend. The arguments by the attorney-general and Mr. Norris having been concluded, the chief justice charged the jury and the case was in their hands. In two hours the tolling of the court house bell announced that the verdict was ready, and by half-past two in the afternoon of Thursday, the 13th, amidst the appalling stillness of an overflowing crowd, the foreman pronounced the word "guilty as charged." Judge Rand then sentenced Lapage to death, performing his duty in a short
22
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address marked by sublimity of thought and felicity of expression, characteristics peculiar to Judge Rand, and the words were immedi- ately translated into French so that the doomed man might learn his fate. The trial was ended, but not so the case, for within a twelve- month the superior court gave the guilty wretch another chance for his life by setting aside the verdict and ordering a new trial.
This second trial, while repeating much of the former proceedings, was on the whole more interesting, both in manner and thorough- ness; and its result, carefully arrived at, satisfied every one that full justice had been done. The personal part of the tribunal had under- gone almost a complete change, for in the meanwhile a new judicial system had been established, and with it came changes that intro- duced new actors.
Supreme Court Justices Allen and Stanley presided, Mason W. Tappan was attorney-general, and with him was Charles P. Sanborn, city solicitor, while for the prisoner were Samuel B. Page, William T. and Herbert F. Norris, and Daniel B. Donovan. Frank S. Dodge was high sheriff, and Adam S. Ballantine, of North- field, foreman of the jury. Again the city hall was the scene of trial, and, as formerly, the crowd tested its capacity to the utmost. The police arrangements were admirable, and the proceedings were marked with order and dignified silence. The trial began on Mon- day, the 26th of February, 1877, and on Wednesday, the 7th of March, the evidence was completed. William T. Norris made a strong argument for Lapage, occupying nearly three hours, when the court adjourned for the day. The next morning people gathered as early as 7 o'clock, and two hours later, when the attorney-general rose to speak, city hall held a mass of men and women such as had never before assembled within its walls. For five hours this elo- quent man spoke, more than onee bringing tears to unwilling eyes ; overcoming his hearers with the pathos of his feelings, then stirring in the softest hearts the stern sentiments of just retribution. Fair towards the wretched man in the dock, but unflinching in his duty, Colonel Tappan made that day one of the great addresses of his varied and eventful career.
The charge to the jury, delivered by Judge Stanley, consumed two hours, after which, attended by sheriffs, carrying wearing apparel and other objects in evidence to be used in their deliberations, tlie twelve men marched solemnly to their room to make up their ver- dict. It was then a little past 6 o'clock, yet the audience, unwill- ing to leave the court-room, remained in their places as if confident of a speedy result.
Public anticipations proved correct, for barely an hour had passed
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when the jangling bell in the dome summoned the judges and coun- sel to hear the verdict. Lapage was not far away, for since his first trial he had occupied a cell in the old state prison, and thither he had been taken as soon as the jury retired. In a few moments he was brought into court and placed in the dock. Meanwhile the jury, led by the foreman, filed in and took their accustomed seats. Dimly lighted and oppressively still, the great room seemed set for some tragedy involving human life, and solemn indeed sounded the voice of the clerk as he called on the jury for their verdict. Judge Aaron W. Sawyer, who had taken the place of Judge Allen, who retired owing to illness, then delivered as strange an address as was ever listened to in a court of justice, a doctrinal appeal for the future life of the murderer, not a word of which conveyed the slightest idea to the blank and brutal mind of the convicted murderer. Nor, indeed, could the interpreter himself translate into comprehensible language the strangely misplaced utterances of the judge. A year later Sheriff Dodge and his deputies carried out the sentence of the outraged law, and the atrocious crime passed into the annals of history. The pub- lic, although satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as to his guilt, felt relieved when it was known that the murderer, a few hours before his execution, had fully confessed his fearful crime and asked for- giveness.
Among the lawyers of Concord noted for business ability was Edgar H. Woodman. Possessed of a positive genius for a business life, with great application and perseverence, Mr. Woodman gained a reputation somewhat unusual in the annals of the bar. His birth- place was Gilmanton, and his birthday the 6th of May, 1847. He prepared for college, but preferring a commercial career he studied to that end, when a serious injury from a shot-gun wound compelled an entire change in his plans. He turned to law, and began its study in the office of Minot, Tappan & Mugridge. In 1873 he was admit- ted to practice, when a position with the treasurer of the Northern Railroad then located at Boston was offered and accepted.
There he remained awhile, and then returned to Concord as treas- urer of the Peterborough & Hillsborough Railroad. In rapid suc- cession offices of trust and financial responsibility were conferred upon him-directorships, treasurerships, trusteeships-until his name seemed a part of nearly every interest in and around Concord. His integrity was as certain as his peculiar ability was pronounced, and every one trusted him. He had a passion for labor, which he per- formed in systematic excellence, giving the same degree of care to the smallest of his tasks as to the greatest, and arranging every detail with methodical accuracy. He had become at the time of his
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death a man literally overwhelmed with the multiplicity of his bur- dens, yet he kept taking on more.
His business was largely of the legal-commercial kind, involving at times immense interests, with ramifications extending in all direc- tions. In the midst of it, the Republicans elected him mayor of Con- cord for the terms embracing 1883-'87. He was a member of the house of representatives in 1879, and of the constitutional conven- tion in 1889. In all he did he strived for perfection, and his success was in every respect deserved. In social life he found much pleasure, for he was always a popular guest. He died, after a short illness, on the 21st of March, 1892.
Luther S. Morrill was a native of Concord, which was his residence to the day of his death, the 18th of March, 1892. Born on the 13th of July, 1844, and educated in the public schools, he entered Dart- mouth, graduating in 1865. He studied law with John Y. Mugridge, and it was through the influence of that gentleman that Mr. Morrill was appointed clerk of the court in 1869, soon after his admission to the bar. This office he held for thirteen years, when he resigned and began practice. In the legislative sessions of 1869 and 1870 he was assistant clerk of the house, and in 1872 and 1873 clerk of the sen- ate. In the famous session of 1887 he was a member of the legisla- ture from Ward four. During the last years of his life Mr. Morrill became actively interested in the management of certain insurance companies recently organized under the well-known valued policy law, and as president, director, and executive manager of various corpora- tions, he gave his time, and withdrew gradually from his profession.
For seventeen years prior to his death, Concord was the residence of Charles R. Morrison. He came here from Manchester, whither he had gone on resigning from the army in 1864. Bath, famous in its day as the home of many distinguished lawyers, was his birthplace, his birthday being the 22d of January, 1819. He studied with Goodall & Woods of that town, remaining there until 1845, when he moved to Haverhill. In 1851 Mr. Morrison was appointed to the circuit court, holding a judgeship until the court was abolished four years later. On the outbreak of the Civil War Mr. Morrison became adju- tant of the Eleventh New Hampshire, and proved himself a sterling and courageous officer. In two respects his career was distinctive, namely, in his military experience and in his legal literary achieve- ments. A great worker, possessed of strong will power, he did every- thing strenuously. His legal publications entitle him to a respectable place among professional authors. Among them are the " Digest," "Town Officer," "Probate Directory," "School Laws," and "Proofs of Christ's Resurrection." He was careful, painstaking, and accurate,
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and his works have withstood the tests of time and criticism. His death occurred at Concord on the 15th of September, 1893.
Arthur W. Silsby, Concord's fourth judge of probate, was born here on the 28th of August, 1851. He attended the city schools, graduating from the high school and entering Phillips (Exeter) to fit for college. Impaired health, however, caused him to give up the plan of further education, and turning to a professional career he entered the office of Minot, Tappan & Mugridge. Admitted to the bar in 1877 he began practice in the office of this last-named lawyer, the well-known firm having, meanwhile, been dissolved. He con- tinued his connection with this office until Mr. Mugridge's decease in 1884. In September, 1883, Governor Hale appointed Mr. Silsby judge of probate, as successor of Nehemiah Butler, who had recently deceased. Judge Silsby held this important position until his death, on the 6th of May, 1899. In the discharge of the duties involved in that responsible office, Judge Silsby achieved well-earned success. During his long tenure he saw the business of this branch of jurispru- dence gradually increase in importance and volume until at the time of his death the Merrimack court stood second only to Hillsborough. Judge Silsby was careful and conservative, he tried no experiments and encouraged no departure from time-honored practice and prece- dent.
William L. Foster, at the time of his death, in August, 1897, had been a resident of Concord for nearly half a century. His native town was Westminster, Vt., where he was born the 1st of June, 1823. Good old Revolutionary stock was his heritance, for both grand- father and great-grandfather bore arms in the war. His youth was passed in Keene, where his father had moved, and it was in the office of Levi Chamberlain that he began the study of law. In 1845 he was graduated from Harvard Law school, and at once began practice in Keene. Mr. Foster soon gained the favorable attention of the public both in a professional and political way, and his ad- vancement was rapid. In early life a Democrat, he won party hon- ors, and was regarded as one of the coming leaders. From 1849 to 1853 he served as clerk of the senate, and at the same time became a colonel on the staff of Governor Dinsmoor. Nor did his honors cease with these offices, for in 1850 his friend, Governor Dins- moor, recognizing his qualifications, appointed him state law reporter. His term lasted six years, during which were issued volumes 18, 19, 21-31 inclusive, the last known as Foster's reports. This work was done with rare intelligence and care, and remains a memorial to his industry.
In 1853 Mr. Foster moved to Concord, and formed a partnership
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with John H. George. Among his gifts was a chaste and persuasive manner of public speaking, a calm eloquence that attracted and charmed his hearers. In the Democratic convention of 1852 Mr. Foster roused the enthusiasmn of the members by his eloquent and fascinating presentation of Franklin Pierce as candidate for the pres- idency, a performance that established his standing as an orator and added to his fame. Frequently during his life, when called upon to address the people, Mr. Foster showed that time had not robbed him of that finished and captivating style of speaking which marked his early manhood. In the occasional address he was at his best, and his services were in popular demand. Among his addresses was one delivered at the dedication of Blossom Hill cemetery, which will never be forgotten by those who heard it. His quiet manner and calm, dig- nified air were admirably suited to his gentle words, for his methods were those of the scholar orator.
The practice of the firm was large and profitable, Mr. Foster act- ing as a complement to Colonel George, the two combining mental and personal qualities of a very remarkable kind. In 1867, when the latter became counsel for the Lowell Railroad, Mr. Foster took as part- ner Charles P. Sanborn, but this relation was of short duration, ending in 1869. In October of that year Governor Stearns appointed Mr. Foster an associate justice of the supreme judicial court, an act that elicited the heartiest commendation. It was soon evident that the bench was peculiarly the place for such a man, for in addition to his accomplishments as a lawyer were his remarkable qualities as a trier of causes. It was in holding terms that his gentleness and culture made friends of all who practised before him. His popularity has become proverbial in the annals of the bench and bar. One of the results of the political overturn in 1874 was the creation of a new judicial system comprising two separate courts, one the superior court, the other the circuit court, each composed of a chief and two jus- tices. To the chiefship of the circuit court Governor Weston appointed Judge Foster.
In 1876 the Republicans coming into power abolished the dual courts and created the supreme court consisting of a chief justice and five associates.1
In October, Governor Cheney commissioned Judge Foster as one of the associate justices, thus conferring upon him the rare distinction of holding a judgeship in three of the state's highest courts in as many years. From this last appointment until his resignation in July, 1881, Judge Foster did much of his best judicial work and added largely to his reputation. His labors in banc may be found in the 1 Abolished 1901.
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reports from forty-nine to sixty inclusive, and embrace two hundred and forty-three opinions, covering more than seven hundred pages. But his labors as a nisi prius justice are attested by a remarkable record of sixty-one trial terms, made up of two thousand two hun- dred and forty-nine days, during which there were three hundred and ninety-six jury trials, including nine murder cases of the first degree. He retired after a service of twelve years, and returning to the bar was soon in full favor of clientage. It was during these years that Judge Foster achieved a most gratifying success, for he had the best of clients and the most lucrative cases, and he was enabled to arrange his work as he pleased. At no period was his practice larger than at the time of his decease, when it extended throughout New Hampshire, and was particularly large in the United States courts. But Judge Foster was much more than a learned lawyer, he was a man of deep cultivation in art and literature. The love of good books was lifelong with him, and their influence had much to do in shaping his career. To a gentle disposition and exqui- site urbanity were joined rich culture and literary appreciations of a high order, thus making him a well-finished man, and withal an ex- ceedingly agreeable one. He was an assiduous reader, and possessed the faculty of intelligent assimilation, which made his conversation bright and interesting. Politically, Judge Foster was not ambitious ; his political services were confined to terms in the legislatures of 1862 and 1863, yet he manifested an active interest in his party, and during the Civil War period spoke frequently on the stump. For the greater part of his life he held the office of a commissioner of the United States. Always a hard and painstaking worker, he seemed never to rest, yet he seemed never to be pushed or perplexed with his tasks ; things went smoothly in his hands, for his splendidly balanced disposition softened the wear of work. Good health at- tended him until almost the end; for his vacations he sought summer idleness at the seashore, and at Rye, amid the charms of the ocean, lie passed away on the 13th of August, 1897.
Concord was honored in the early eighties when Alonzo P. Car- penter, recently appointed an associate justice of the supreme court to succeed Judge Foster, became a resident of the city. Here he resided until his decease in 1898. Taking but slight personal inter- est in public affairs, devoting himself wholly to his judicial duties, Judge Carpenter, unlike other Concord judges, did not leave a deep impress on matters pertaining to the community. His birthplace was Waterford, Vt., and his birthday the 28th of January, 1829. Fitting for college at St. Johnsbury academy, he entered Williams and was graduated in 1849. Forty years later his alma mater con-
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