History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 137

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire > Part 137

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The Milford major not only wielded the hammer and the drum-sticks, but he was master of the baton, and skillfully led the village choir.

The old shop has paid its debt to time, and the good old cobbler has been at rest for more than forty years. He left an excellent family. Peace to his dust !

Hops .- For a period of twenty-five or thirty years before the late Civil War there were large quantities of hops raised in Milford. They were cultivated chiefly on the intervales bordering on the Souhegan. The crop was tolerably sure, but the value of it was a matter of great uncertainty. It required care and considerable skill in its culture. Not only was it ne- cessary to watch it in its growth and maturity, but the picking and curing were delicate matters requir- ing judgment and good management.

When the crop was good and mature a hop-yard was a sight novel and handsome. The tall poles, ar- ranged methodically in rows, and standing some six feet apart, covered with the elinging vines and bend- ing under the weight of the beautiful hops, presented a scene not likely to be forgotten, and the fragrance of the precious flowers that filled the air all around was an added charm, greatly increasing the pleasures of the hop-field.

And the picking and gathering of the hops! How delightful it was! Hop-picking! How vividly the hop-times of the past come back to the memory ! The father of the writer, Charles A. Burns, raised hops. His farm was on the north side of the Souhegan, now owned, in part, by Mr. Nonrse. He was one of the heaviest producers in town. It required a large number of pickers to gather the crop. It took from two to three weeks to do it. The pickers were or- dinarily young girls ; now and then, very much to the dissatisfaction of his boys, an old maid was mixed in, just to keep things straight. It frequently happened, however, that the old girl, was as frisky and full of fun as the young one. Everybody liked fun in hop- time. The bins in which the hops were dropped were some ten feet long, four feet wide and three feet high. It took one man to tend each bin. Four or five, and some times half a dozen, pickers arranged themselves around the bin and plied their work. The poles were pulled up and laid across the bin, and the hops were stripped off, and woe to the girl who didn't "pick clean !" When the proprietor was seen coming down the cart-path, it was interesting to see the bright-eyed maidens run their nimble fingers through the heaps in search of stems and leaves, and when they received the merited (?) compliment from the boss, for the nice manner in which they were doing their work, the sly winks that were shot around the bin convinced the writer that girls would bear watching. He has watched them ever since, and he has found out " simply this and nothing more." And when the day's work was done, and the hops were bagged to be carried to the kiln for drying, how often a hop-box would be turned over, and some one made to mount it and make a speech ! The speaker was sure of a good audience. Charles Carkin, of Lynde- borough, a unique character, was sometimes the orator, and he wasa good one. He was a born orator, and if he had been born in Milford, possibly he might have gone to Congress. The writer, although in his teens, was conscripted into the business of speech-making, and many a splurge did he make from the top of a hop-box. The "hops" of the evening were not like the " hops " of the day-time, but in the old kitchen and the front-door yard, by the moon- light and the music of Carkin's fiddle and Betsy's voice, often did we hear the command,

" On with the dance ! Let joy be unconfined !"

When the hops were dried and pressed hard into bales of some two hundred pounds each, they had to be inspected, and the day of inspection was one of considerable anxiety to the hop-raiser. Whether his hops were to be stamped first, second or third sorts was a very material fact to him.

Stephen Peabody, of Amherst, was for many years inspector; but latterly Joseph Tucker, who lived on the south side of the Souhegan, on the farm owned by the late Moses Proctor, acted in that capacity.

573

MILFORD.

Hop-raising is now almost unknown in Milford and in New Hampshire.

CHAPTER VIII.

MILFORD-( Continued).

"The Polished Modern Squires"-The Profession -Livermore, Bainbridge Wadleigh, Lull, Gilbert Wadleigh, Bailey, Bell, Averill, Hutchinson, Wallace, Knight ; Natives : Averill, Ramsdell, Secombes, Pillsbury, Hatch, Hutchinson (Jonas), Hutchinson (Alvaro), Brown, Doyle, Burns-Physicians: Drs. Jonas Hutchinson, Stickney, Eldredge, the Dearborns, Hinds, etc .- Civil List.

IT is the boast of some towns that they have never had a lawyer, and they regard themselves as most for- tunate. Some sixty years ago a lawyer settled in Lyndeborough, but he had no business, and finally turned his attention to making wooden measures. He was good at that and successful. Dr. Herrick, how- ever, in his reminiscences, couldn't let the old fellow rest, and gave him the following notice:

" No lawyer, save one, e'er had the pride To think he safely our yeoman could ride ; And he was thrown off with his ill-gotten treasures To earn his own broth by making peck measures."

From the earliest history of the law and its admin- istration there have been lawyers, and they have al- ways been the lawful targets for satire and wit. Even lawyers themselves are constantly joking or satirizing at their own expense. Thus Erskine, one of the most learned and brilliant of lawyers, once wrote concern- ing an old lawyer's house, which had been sold and was occupied by an ironmonger,-

" This house, where once a lawyer dwelt, Is now a Smith's-alas ! How rapidly the iron age Succeeds the age of brass !"

Ben Jonson, on being told of the death of a dis- tinguished lawyer, who was not only eminent in learn- ing, but of the highest integrity, had the impudence to suggest the following couplet as a proper epitaph for his tomb:

" God works wonders now and then, - Here lies a lawyer, an honest man."

Notwithstanding all these reflections and unjust (?) comments, the craft " still lives."

Whatever may be true of lawyers generally (and the writer has the most profound admiration for the profession), Milford has certainly been fortunate in the men who have in the past practiced, and now practice, law in her midst. They have been, and are, without an exception, strong, sensible, upright citi- zens, and have had much to do in forming a healthy and progressive public sentiment, which has placed the town among the foremost of the intelligent town- ships of the State.

A lawyer who spends his time in fomenting litiga- tion aud strifes among his fellow-men is a terrible

nuisance; but a fair-minded, straightforward reliable attorney, who engages only in legitimate work in his profession and who possesses ability to successfully handle his business,-and there are a great many of them,-is one of the most useful of citizens.

Such has been the character of our lawyers. A brief account of these gentlemen is here given, to- gether with a short biographical sketch of the natives of the town who have become lawyers. Those of the na- tives who have engaged in the other learned professions, with the exception of the few here given, we have not been able to look up, for want of time and facilities. This work, with a vast amount of other work, will fall upon those who give us the history of the town in full at the end of its first century of corporate life.

Solomon Kidder Livermore, the earliest established lawyer in Milford, was the fifth child of Rev. Jon- athan Livermore, the first settled minister of Wilton, where he was born March 2, 1779. He was the sixth generation from John Livermore, who came from England to Watertown, Mass., in 1634, from whom descended several individuals of distinguished fame as jurists and lawyers. Mr. Livermore was taught at home in his early years; but the common school was established before his entire youth passed. In sum- mer he helped in the fields and in winter in the woods ; his love for his native hills and valleys grew with his growth and continued to the end of his life. When advanced enough in his studies, he entered Mr. Pemberton's school for boys, at Billerica, Mass., his mother's native place, where he remained till fitted for college, which he entered in 1799, and graduated from Cambridge in 1802, in a class large for the pe- riod, and numbering among its members many who became eminent and influential citizens of Massa- chusetts.

Mr. Livermore studied law with Oliver Crosby, Esq., of Dover, N. H., was admitted to the bar about 1806, and after practicing a few years in Rockingham County, removed to Hillsborough County, at the earnest soli- citations of relatives and friends, early in the year of 1809. Mr. Livermore wrote to a friend about this time that "the people generally of Hillsborough County are more intelligent and cultivated and law- abiding, than the people of Rockingham County." Law business may not have been so good, but to a lover of peace, who often advised his clients to settle their differences without the aid of the courts, this was no hindrance. Mr. Livermore was eminently a lover of justice, beloved by those for whom he labored, looked first to the public good, was utterly averse to towns or citizens pursuing narrow or selfish ends.

Political partisanship, the most pronounced, pre- vailed during Mr. Livermore's early life; but he could be no partisan. Unmoved by the malevolent invectives of the partisans of France, he saw much more that was good and hopeful and less that was mischievous in the Federal party, which crystallized

574

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

into the Whig party, worked with that party till it was bereft of life, found himself a Free-Soil sympa- thizer, and from that evolved a Republican.

Mr. Livermore was a member of the First Congre- gational Church for nearly twenty-five years, then a member of the First Unitarian Society. IIe married Miss Abigail Adkins Jarvis, of Cambridge, Mass. Six children lived to mature age. A son and a daughter settled in Baltimore, Md .; another son in Galena, III .; the youngest son finally in Cambridge, Mass., on the maternal grandfather's homestead. Two grandsons have been in the navy for years; one grandson, Thomas L. Livermore, rose from the ranks to a colo- nelcy in the war of secession, and, until he recently resigned, was at the head of the largest manufactory in the country.

Through his long life Mr. Livermore felt a keen interest in the colleges and schools of the country, in the young and their progress towards right living and good citizenship. He was a judicious friend, a wise counselor and a good citizen. He died in July, 1859, in the eighty-first year of his life.

Gilbert Wadleigh settled in Milford about the same time as Bainbridge Wadleigh and Colonel Lull. He was born in Sutton, N. H. ; fitted for college at New London ; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1847; taught school till 1850, and in that year was admitted to the Merrimack County bar, N. H. Soon after he went to Milford, where he began the practice of law. He was cashier of Souhegan Bank from 1859 to 1864, and treasurer of Milford Five-Cent Savings Institu- tion from 1871 to 1875. He still resides in Milford and still practices his profession in a moderate way. Mr. Wadleigh is a highly esteemed citizen and a very worthy man.

John J. Bell, of Exeter, was born at Exeter, N. H., October 30, 1827 ; educated in the common schools and academies in Concord and Manchester ; studied law with Hon. Samuel D. Bell, Hon. William C. Clarke, and at Dana Law School of Harvard University and graduated in 1846, receiving the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to practice April 7, 1848, in Hills- borough County. He commenced practice in Nashua, in 1848, moved to Milford early in 1849, remained there until July, 1850, and then went to Concord, Me., where he remained until June, 1864, when he removed to Exeter, N. H., where he still is living.

In 1864 Dartmouth gave him the honorary degree of A.M. Mr. Bell was a member of the Constitu- tional Convention in 1876. He was judge of the Police Court of Exeter from the time of its establish- ment, in March, 1877, to March, 1883. He represented Exeter in the House of Representatives in 1883 and is one of its representatives now.

Mr. Bell is in all respects a first-class man, com- manding attention and influence in whatever he en- gages. He comes from as good stock as the State contains, and it is enough to say that he is a worthy representative of a splendid race of men.

Lawrence Dudley Bailey was born at Sutton, N. H., August 26, 1819; followed farming on his father's farm till he was seventeen years old ; was educated in the schools and academies of New Hampshire and Vermont; studied law in the office of W. Tappan, and his son, M. W. Tappan ; admitted to the bar at Newport, N. H., July 9, 1846, Hon. Joel Parker pre- siding. He began practice at East Washington, N. H., and removed to Milford, N. H., in March, 1847, and entered into law partnership with S. K. Livermore and remained there till 1849, selling out his library to Hon. B. Wadleigh. He then went to California. Returning November 1, 1853, he entered into partner- ship with M. W. Tappan, and continued at Bradford till March 23, 1857, then went to Kansas and opened a law-office near Emporia; was elected to the Legislature in 1858 and to the Territorial Legislature in 1859. He was elected one of the judges of the Supreme Court under the new Free State Constitution, and re-elected in 1862 for six years ; was president of Kansas Ag- ricultural Society in 1863 and re-elected four years in succession. In 1869 he was a member of the Legisla- ture for Douglas County, and in 1873 was nominated for State Senator, but declined to take it. He assisted in forming the Historical Society of that State in 1868 and '69. He for a while edited and published a paper called The Cultivator and Herdsman. He is now living on his farm of four hundred and thirty- five acres in that State. Judge Bailey has written a great deal for the press and for New Hampshire pa- pers, as well as others. He was a contributor to the Souhegan Standard, published in Milford in 1848.

One of the early settlers in Kansas, he helped dedi- cate the State to freedom, and the above record shows a life of great activity. Original, with a nervous force and high purpose, he has pushed his way on from an obscure New Hampshire town into the heart of the great West, and his work has told in the up- building of a powerful State, It is a loss to New Hampshire to give up such men as Judge Bailey, but it is a magnificent gain to some other state and to the nation.

The next man who settled in Milford as a lawyer was Bainbridge Wadleigh. Mr. Wadleigh was born at Bradford, N. H., on the 4th of January, 1831. He read law with Hon. M. W. Tappan at Bradford. He was admitted to the New Hampshire bar at Newport, February, 1850, and immediately began practice at Milford, where he continued to work, doing a large law business, until he was elected to the United States Senate, in 1872.

Mr. Wadleigh represented Milford in the Legisla- ture in 1855 and '56, in 1859 and '60, and in 1869, '70, '71 and '72.

At the close of his term in the United States Sen- ate he began the practice of his profession in Boston, where he still continues doing a large and lucrative law business.

Mr. Wadleigh is a man of talent and integrity.

574

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY NEW HAMPSHIRE

I.K. Livennow

575

MILFORD.

He is a strong, able, fine lawyer, a forcible and at- tractive speaker, with exceedingly agreeable manners and noticeable physique. Energetic and persistent, with an active mind and retentive memory, he makes a powerful opponent in any cause he espouses. Ile took high rank in the Senate, as he does in the law. His career is by no means closed, as he is in the full vigor and strength of manhood.

Mr. Wadleigh still retains his residence in Mil- ford and takes great delight in the town and its people.

Another prominent lawyer of Milford was Lieu- tenant-Colonel Oliver W. Lull. He was born in Weare, N. H., January 14, 1826. His parents were of the highest respectability. They were not able, however, to give Oliver a liberal education, which, quite likely, was fortunate for him. He attended the public schools at Weare and at Manchester, N. H., to which place he removed in 1844. He taught school for a while in Framingham, Mass., and in Milford, N. H. He commenced the study of the law at Framingham, and afterwards completed the course in the law-office of the Hon. David Cross, of Manchester. He was admitted to the bar of Hills- borough County in May, 1851, and then established himself in practice at Milford. He pursued his pro- fession with great zeal and marked success until the commencement of the Civil War, in 1861. As a law- yer, considering his age and experience, he had few, if any, superiors. He infused into his practice the same enlivening energy and strong determination as that which had marked his previous career. Al- though an unflinching and tireless opponent, he was the most considerate and faithful of counselors. He commanded a large share of the business in his vicinity, and his practice was successful to an eminent degree. He was a good citizen, kind and faithful husband, an indulgent parent, a true friend. He possessed the highest social qualities, and no one en- joyed life better than he, and no one was better cal- culated to make those happy about him.

When the war broke upon us, the cause of our country found in Lieutenant-Colonel Lull an able and efficient supporter. Among the first to offer his ser- vices to his native State, his influence was felt far and near in raising recruits, and all, whether friendly or indifferent toward him, were constrained to ac- knowledge the manly and noble course that he pur- sued and the valuable and timely services that he rendered.

He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth New Hampshire Volunteers, and went with his regiment in General Butler's expedition to New Orleans. Before his departure he received many testi- monials from his fellow-citizens of their regard and es -; teem, not the least of which was a beautiful horse pre- sented to him by the citizens of Nashua and vicinity. Many will remember his stirring and patriotic letter in which he handsomely acknowledged the gift, and

the hope that he breathed, that the rider might prove himself worthy of the blood and mettle of his noble steed. Most truly was the prayer answered.

Colonel Lull was every inch a man. His devotion to the land of his birth knew no bounds. He was accustomed to say, in his impassioned appeals to young men to come forward and fill up the ranks of his regiment, that he would not ask them to follow where he was not willing to lead. How true was this! When he received the wound that caused his death he was bravely leading his regiment to attack the works of the enemy. Throwing into the contest more than his accustomed energy, and dis- playing a bravery that cannot be described, raising his sword above his brow, he cried to his trusty fol- lowers to. press on to victory. But in the midst of the wild excitement of the hour he fell from a rifle- ball, which entered his thigh and ranged into the ab- domen. He was shot about ten o'clock in the fore- noon and died about two the same day. When in- formed by the surgeon that he must die, he said, "Thank God, I die for my country !" Thus was added another name to the long roll of heroic Americans who, by their valor, have proved their lives more than sublime,-men who were as true to the cause of their country as the "steel to the star or the stream to the sea."

Colonel Lull for some time was provost-judge at Thibodeaux, where he discharged the duties pertain- ing to the position with great proficiency. He was afterwards appointed upon General Weitzel's staff and received the highest encomiums from that officer, also from Generals Butler, Phelps and Emory. He always proved himself fully competent to fill any position to which he was assigned.

Colonel Lull was a Democrat in politics. He was a patriot. He was a man of brains and power. He had commanding talents. His natural place in any company was at the front. He was a star. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteers October 1, 1861, and at once aided in recruiting the ranks and went with them to the field and remained with them till he died.

" At the time of the terrible assault upon the fortifications of Port Hudson, on the 27th of May, 1863, Lieutenant-Colonel Lull was tem- porarily serving on the staff of General Emory ; but Colonel Fearing being in the charge of a brigade, he voluntarily returned and took command of his own men. The Eighth Regiment was among the forces at the head of the column when the advance was ordered, and with unequaled heroism, the brave men charged directly upon the Rebel forces. The conflict was desperate, but at length the enemy began to retreat with heavy loss. Lieutenant-Colonel Lull was constantly at the head of his command, and the fourth Rebel line had just been passed when, in the act of cheering his men, he fell, pierced with a Rebel rifle-ball. The wound, though very severe, was not instantly fatal. He was immediately carried to the rear, where, after a few hours of intense suffering, he ex- pired. His body was carried to New Orleans, placed in a receiving tomb and there remained until the following autumn, when it was brought home to Milford for burial. His funeral services were held November 17th, in the church where the deceased had been accustomed to worship, the building being filled to the utmost capacity with sorrowing kindred and friends. A detachment of the Governor's Horse Guards was present

576

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

and performed military honors. Hon. David Cross, of Manchester, made an address, and related many incidents in the life of the deceased. The remains were deposited in the village cemetery, and his grave will long be remembered and honored as that of a man who nobly sacrificed his life for his country."

The above paragraph is from Waite's work on "New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion," and is quoted as giving an excellent epitome of the critical moments in the life of our distinguished friend. If he had chosen to have done at this supreme hour what he most properly might, and remained with General Emory, the result would have been very different ; but he deliberately exchanged a post of comparative safety for one of extreme danger. The spirit which impelled this heroic act is seen in the memorable and patriotic words of our hero written in his diary on the morning preceding his death, before the battle opened,-

" In one hour we commence the storming of Port Hudson. Many of us will not see another day. If I should be one of that number, I shall have done my duty."

He was one who did not see another day, but his deeds of heroism are seen. His unselfish patriotism is brought to the light of the endless day, and the crown of immortal approbation is his. Verily,-

"'Tis sweet and decorous to die for one's country."

John L. Spring practiced law in Milford from 1860 to 1870. He was born at Newport, N. H., January 14, 1830, educated in the common schools, studied law at Dover and Salmon Falls, admitted to the bar in 1860, began practice at Wilton, remaining there about one year, then removed to Milford. In 1870 he located at Lebanon, N. H., where he still lives. In 1876 he was a member of the Constitutional Con- vention. Mr. Spring is a very enterprising man, and has been successful.

Dr. Albert H. Crosby, now of Concord, first struck out as a lawyer, and located for a time in Milford ; but he soon drifted into his proper place, and is now a distinguished physician, thus keeping up the pres- tige of his family. A Mr. Trombly also located here for a few months, but where he is now does not ap- pear.

Milford has given its share of young men to the so-called learned professions. Among them may be mentioned the following gentlemen, who are lawyers : Clinton S. Averill, George A. Ramsdell, David and Charles Secombe, Fred. Hatch, Jonas Hutchinson, Albert E. Pillsbury, Alvaro Hutchinson, Edward Brown, Jeremiah Doyle and the writer.

A brief sketch of Mr. Averill is given elsewhere in this volume. He is a polished gentleman and one of the first citizens of the town. With fine attain- ments, had he given his attention to the law exclu- sively, he could have easily won prominence and distinction. As treasurer of one of the most success- ful savings-banks of the State, and as a wise and careful counsellor, his life is one of great usefulness to his fellow-men.

George A. Ramsdell is a son of William Ramsdell. He was born at Milford, March 11, 1834; educated at Mont Vernon, entered Amherst College but did not graduate. In 1871 received honorary degree of M.A. from Dartmouth, studied law with ex-Senator Wad- leigh and Hon. Daniel Clark; admitted to the bar in 1857 ; practiced law at Peterborough, N. H., six years, until 1864, and was then appointed Clerk of Supreme Court of Hillsborough County, a position which he now holds. He was a member of the Legislature from his ward in Nashua in 1869-70-71, and member of the Constitutional Convention in 1876; president of the board of trustees of State Industrial School from 1881 to 1883; is now president of the First National Bank of Nashua.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 137

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168