History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 4

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

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President Pierce died childless. His wife was Mary A. Appleton, who gave him two sons, Benjamin and Frank; the latter died when but a child, and Ben- jamin was killed in a railroad accident near Andover, Mass., soon after his father's election as President. Mrs. Pierce died in 1863, and President Pierce passed away October 9, 1869. The event was a universal cause for mourning ; high honors, local and national, were paid to his memory. The family lie buried in the beautiful new cemetery at Concord, N. H.

HON. CHARLES GORDON ATHERTON1 was born at Amherst, in Hillsborough County, N. H., July 4, 1804. He graduated at Cambridge University, in 1818, with unusual reputation for ability and scholar- ship at an early age. He studied law in the office of his distinguished father, Hon. Charles H. AAtherton, was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one and

established himself in business in the town of Dun- stable (now Nashua), in his native county. In his profession his success was decided and his rise rapid. His mind, clear, logical and strong, with the ballast of excellent common sense, the adornments of a quick, fancy and a cultivated taste, was admirably adapted to the studies and the labors of the law. So far as was permitted by the interruptions of political life, he continued to the last in the active practice of his chosen profession. As a lawyer, it is not too much to say of him that he stood in the front rank of a bar which has always been fruitful of legal strength and acumen ; his place was side by side with such com- peers as Pierce, Woodbury, Parker, Bartlett and Bell -following, but not unworthily, in the path of those earlier "giants of the law," Webster, Mason and Jeremiah Smith.

In 1830 he commenced his public career as a Repre- sentative from Nashua in the New Hampshire Legis- lature, and continued in this office for a period of several years. He was Speaker of the House of Rep- resentatives for the last three of those years. In March, 1837, he was chosen one of the Representatives of New Hampshire in the national Congress, where he remained for three successive terms, At the ex- piration of that period he was transferred to the Senate of the United States for the term of six years ; successor to John P. Hale at being re-elected to the Senate in March, 1853, occupying a seat in that body during the executive session succeeding the inaugura- tion of President Pierce. He was also a member of the Baltimore Convention which nominated General Pierce for the Presidency. Mr. Atherton died Novem- ber 15, 1853.

HON. CHARLES FREDERICK GOVE, A.M.,2 the son of Dr. Jonathan and Polly (Dow) Gove, was born at Goffstown, May 13, 1793. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1817; read law at Harvard Law School, graduating LL.B. in 1820; began practice in Goffs- town; was assistant clerk of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1829; represented Goffs- town there in 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833 and 1834; was in the New Hampshire Senate, and elected its president in June, 1835 ; solicitor of Hillsborough County from 1834 to 1835, when he was appointed attorney-general and served until 1842, and circuit judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1842 to 1848; then became superintendent of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad. He removed from Goffstown to Nashua in 1839; mar- ried Mary Kennedy, daughter of Ziba Gay, of Nashua, September 22, 1844. He died at Nashna, October 21, 1856, aged sixty-three years. He was a man of great energy of mind and character, but unfortunately pos- sessed of a feeble constitution. John Gove, D.C., was his half-brother.

Judge Gove, in private and public life, sustained the character of an upright, honorable man. Ever of

1 By Hon. L. B. Clough.

2 By Hon. L. B. Clough.

THE BENCH AND BAR.

a slender constitution, yet his industry and energy led him to fill the various public offices with which he was honored with credit to himself and to the general acceptation of the public. He was equally firm in his friendship and in his enmity.

HON. SAMUEL H. AYER,1 son of Dr. Ayer, was born in Eastport, Me., in the year 1819. He gradu- ated at Bowdoin College in 1839, and afterwards com- menced the study of law in the office of Messrs. Pierce & Fowler, at Concord. He was admitted to prac- tice in Hillsborough County, and opened an office at Hillsborough in 1842. For five successive years he represented the town of Hillsborough, from 1845 to 1849, the last two years of this time being Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1847 he was ap- pointed solicitor of the county of Hillsborough, and successfully performed the duties of said office until his death.

He removed to Manchester in 1850, and opened an office in connection with B. F. Ayer. Although of the same name, he was not related by blood to B. F. Ayer. In 1852 he was one of the commission for revising the statutes of the State, and in connection with the late Governor Metcalf and Calvin Ainsworth, in June, 1853, submitted their compilation to the Legislature, known as the "Compiled Statutes." He was a pleas- ing and effective speaker, frank, generous and just, and won the esteem of all who knew him. Hon. S .: H. Ayer died October 4, 1853, aged thirty-four years.

HON. GEORGE W. MORRISON.2-The family of Morrison was originally of Scotland, a branch of which emigrated to the north of Ireland about the middle of the fifteenth century, and settled in Lon- donderry.

"Charter " Samuel, so called because he was one of the grantees of Londonderry, N. H., was among the first settlers of that town. He was there as early as 1721, and signed the petition for a charter.

James Morrison, father of George W., was born in Londonderry, N. H., in 1781, and removed with his father, Samuel, grandson of Charter Samuel, to Fair- lee, Vt., about the year 1791. When quite young he was apprenticed to a carpenter and joiner, served his time faithfully, learned his trade and learned it well, and after his emancipation, followed the business in- dustriously for many years.

With the proceeds of his labor he purchased a farm at Fairlee, to which, during the latter years of his life, he devoted his principal attention. Physically, he was a noble specimen of a man ; had a good figure, very strongly built, and weighed more than two hun- dred pounds. He possessed a well-balanced mind, sound judgment and a vigorous understanding. He died in full strength at sixty, without an infirmity or even a grey hair upon him. In 1802 he married Martha Pelton, daughter of John Pelton, of Lyme, N. H. She was a lady of excellent understanding,

modest and retiring in her manners, managed her household with great discretion and good sense, and bestowed upon her family of nine children all the wealth of a mother's love. She died at Fairlee, July 14, 1870, aged eighty-seven years.

Hon. George W. Morrison, the second son of James and Martha, was born in Fairlee, Vt., October 16, 1809, lived with his parents and worked on their home farm until the fall of 1830, when he entered the Academy of Thetford, and continued there a little more than four months, thus completing his academic course of study. He then entered the office of Judge Simeon Short, of Thetford, as a student-at-law, and read with him and Presburg West, Jr., in all about four years. But while he was pursuing his legal studies in the offices of Judge Short and Mr. West, he was accustomed to return to the farm and assist his father in haying and harvesting. Reaping was his special delight. No man within the circle of his acquaintance, either in Vermont or New Hampshire, could excel him in the use of the sickle. His father was a man of small means ; he had a large family to support ; money was scarce, and George, who was his chief dependence in carrying forward his farm-work, from a sense of filial duty, rendered him all the assist- ance in his power. At the same time he supported himself by teaching school during the winter months, and by hard labor at night in a saw-mill, in the spring of the year. Sawing logs commanded better wages than teaching in the village school.

Mr. Morrison was an ambitious young man, am- bitious for success in all his laudable undertakings, and always took the advantage of every means in his power for improvement. By the laws of Vermont, when he was a student, a justice court was entitled to a jury panel of six. Before such a tribunal he often successfully appeared, even while he was a teacher in the common schools, in the defense of some unlucky yeoman. And so, while he was a teacher one winter in Western New York, he gained quite a reputation as a successful practitioner in the justice courts.

Such were his preparations for the great duties and responsibilities of his professional and political life. His mental endowments were of a high order, among the most apparent of which were his keen perceptions and his self-reliance. As a student-at-law, in the practice of his profession, in his addresses to the jury or the court, on the hustings, in the State Legislature and in the halls of Congress his self-reliance never forsook him.

At the June session of 1835 the Orange County Court was holden at Chelsea, and Mr. Morrison had the sole charge of Mr. West's extensive business, and tried without assistance every case, with one excep- tion. It was at this term he made application for examination, pursuant to admission. He had flatter- ing certificates from both gentlemen with whom he had read, but on their presentation objections were made by some of the young gentlemen of the bar, on

1 By Hon. L. B. Clough.

2 By David P. Perkins.

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

the ground that the applicant had not complied with the rules, having read less than five years. Judge Nutting, anthor of Nutting's Grammar, used exten- sively in the schools, an accomplished scholar and distinguished lawyer, replied that the young man had not asked for admission to the bar, but for examina- tion ; and as Mr. Morrison believed he possessed a sufficient knowledge of the law to justify him in sub- mitting to an examination as to his qualifications, he thought that so reasonable a request ought to be granted.

Judge Parker, of Bradford, thereupon moved that a committee of three be appointed for such examina- tion. The motion prevailed, and Judge Nutting, Judge Parker and Mr. Ordway were chosen.

The committee held three sessions, of two hours each, and gave Mr. Morrison a most thorough and searching examination, which he passed triumph- antly, and on submitting their report to the bar, he was unanimously admitted.

Before entering upon the practice of his profession he traveled somewhat extensively in New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Maine, and on his way home from the latter State to Vermont, he stopped awhile at Amoskeag Falls, in Manchester. Its immense water-power attracted his attention. In conversation with some of the leading citizens, he was informed that a company of Boston capitalists had recently purchased large tracts of land upon both sides of the river, with the view of building up ex- tensive manufacturing interests. He saw clearly a flourishing manufacturing town springing up in the immediate future, as by magic, holding out singular attractions to a young and ambitious lawyer. Acting upon his own judgment, with reference to its capacity and business prospects, he decided to make Man- chester his permanent residence and grow up with the town. It was in the summer of 1836 that he took up his residence at Amoskeag, and opened an office in an old school-house, near the west end of McGreg- gor's bridge, the only bridge at that time across the Merrimack River within the present limits of Man- chester and about half-way between the two villages of Amoskeag and Piscataquog. At that time there were four lawyers at Squog (so called) of some distinc- tion, and two at Goffstown. One of these old lawyers, who had been in constant practice thirty years, often met Mr. Morrison in the justice courts, and at first treated him with contumely and reproach, called him a beardless boy, who had received his education in the pastures of Vermont, and now presumed to prae- tice law in the courts of New Hampshire; but a few lessons of sarcasm, a weapon Mr. Morrison knew well how to use with terrible effect, silenced his antagonist, and ever after inspired him with the most profound respect.

Mr. Morrison did what little business came in his way during the summer and fall, and in the winter taught the village school. The next spring people

flocked in from all the surrounding country, the town was rapidly built up, and he removed his office from the old school-house to the east side of the river, and has continued to reside in and make Manchester his home till the present time. He was a constant at- tendant when the court was in session, whether he had business or otherwise; this particularly attracted the attention of Hon. Mark Farley, who asked, " Why he was always in court?" "To cure the evils of a defective education," responded Mr. Morrison.

On the 5th of November, 1838, he married Miss Maria L. Fitch, of Thetford, Vt., a lady of culture and refinement, daughter of the Hon. Lyman Fitch, for many years a county judge in Orange County, afterwards, and until his death, a prominent citizen of Lyme, N. H.

Business now poured into his office, and he at once took a front rank among the ablest lawyers of the State at the New Hampshire bar. Early in the practice of his profession he was accustomed to meet as antagonists such men as Franklin Pierce, Charles G. Atherton, Samuel D. Bell, James U. Parker, Mark Farley, Daniel Clark and many others distinguished for their character and ability, and it can safely be said, "It is no disparagement to any of the eminent men whom he met at the bar in the different counties of the State, that, as a jury lawyer, he was one of the most successful practitioners in his time in the courts of New Hampshire."

Among the distinguished men of New Hampshire, Charles G. Atherton stood high, both as a lawyer and statesman. In 1850, at a term of the court for Hillsbor- ough County, holden at Manchester, an important case was tried before the jury, in which Mr. Morrison and Mr. Atherton were engaged as opposing counsel. The trial lasted several days. At last it was concluded ; the arguments were made and the case was submitted to the jury, after which Mr. Atherton invited the writer of this sketch to accompany him to his rooms. Now, Mr. Atherton was an exceedingly gifted con- versationalist. On reaching his chambers at the ho- tel, he asked, "What will be the verdict in this case? Which party, in your judgment, will be likely to win ?" The response was, "I think the chances are in favor of Mr. Morrison." "I am inclined to the same opinion," was Mr. Atherton's reply, and then continned : "When Mr. Morrison commenced prac- tice at the Hillsborough bar I watched him closely, and at first entertained strong doubts as to his success in his profession. He commenced the practice of the law under three great disadvantages,-ill health, a de- fective education and poverty ; but on my first ac- quaintance with him I particularly noticed his self- reliance. Nothing that occurred at the bar escaped his attention, for he was uniformly in attendance. Soon he commeneed the trial of cases ; his examina- tion of witnesses was thorough and exhaustive, his perceptions were clear, his arguments logical and condensed, and he had the wonderful faculty to seize

THE BENCH AND BAR.

the strong points of his case, and so present them to the jury that he seldom failed to win the verdict. If he happened to make a mistake as to the rules of evi- dence, the law or its application, he was sure not to repeat it. I soon made up my mind that he was no common man, that he was bound to rise, and he did rise rapidly, not alone in my estimation, but in the estimation of the people of the county and of the State. And now he stands at the head of the bar. And I tell you in all sincerity that I have never met the man in our courts, in the Houseof Representatives, or in the Senate of the United States I more fear, or have greater cause to fear as an antagonist, than as such I fear to meet George W. Morrison."

In the practice of his profession he was true to his client ; especially was he the friend of the poor man, and, apparently, would work harder to win the case for his client when he had no reason to expect ade- quate compensation than for the rich client who was abundantly able and willing to pay liberally. Mr. Morrison, in the best sense, was a man of the people,- easy in his manners and simple in his tastes; nnos- tentatious in his intercourse with all, looked down upon no man, but treated every one on terms of equal- ity ; generous to a fault, ever ready to extend the helping hand to those who needed help. It is no wonder that such a man should at once build up and maintain a lucrative business, and become one of the most popular men in his profession. He had been accustomed to athletic sports from his boyhood, and when a young man took peculiar pleasure in a wrest- ling match, in which he often participated. To lay him upon his back required not only well-developed muscle, but generous practice and scientific knowledge. Hon. Moses Norris was a man of powerful physique, and in his prime weighed two hundred and twenty-five pounds, while Mr. Morrison scarcely ever exceeded one hundred and fifty. Though comparatively of slight figure, he was wiry and very elastic. They were warm personal and political friends, and in familiar conver- sation often addressed each other respectively by their given names.

On the 4th of July, 1854, both gentlemen were at Washington, D. C.,-Mr. Norris a United States Sen- ator and Mr. Morrison a member of the House of Representatives. The Fourth was a holiday, and Congress was not in session. The writer was with them at his rooms on Capitol Hill ; no other person was present. The Senator, in course of conversation, hap- pened to speak of a certain occasion upon which he had exhibited his great strength, to the surprise of the bystanders. Mr. Morrison playfully replied, "Moses, I could lay you out so easily that you wouldn't know how it was done." "Nonsense !" responded the Senator; " why, George, I could throw you over my head without an effort." "More easily said than done," replied Mr. Morrison. Then, like two grown-up boys, they took each other at arms- length, and soon commenced to wrestle in good earn-

est. Mr. Morrison, fully on his guard, waited and watched the chances for a certain inside lock, the advantages of which he well understood. By-and-by he had the Senator in the desired position, and in- stantly dropping upon the right knee, he laid Mr. Norris upon his back without any apparent exertion. The Senator sprang to his feet, and said, "That was handsomely done, George. How in the world did you do it? I did not believe there was a man in Washington who could throw me."

Mr. Morrison was elected to the State Legislature, and served during the years of 1840, 1841, 1844, 1849 and 1850. He was one of the most active, useful and efficient members, and his influence was such the last years of his service that he usually carried the House with him on all the more important measures. He served one year as chairman of the committee on incorporations, and four years on the judiciary com-

mittee, two of which he was chairman. In 1849 a bill was pending in the House for the incorporation of the city of Portsmouth. That provision in the charter which constituted each ward a town, for the purpose of elections, excited a good degree of interest and vigorous opposition, on the ground of its sup- posed unconstitutionality. It was well understood that this particular and unique clause in the charter was drafted at the suggestion of Mr. Morrison, and that he would give it all the support in his power. The day when he was to speak upon the question was known beforehand, so that all who might take an in- terest in the measure and desired to hear the discus- sion could do so. The result was that many of the leading politicians of the State repaired to the capital. A full delegation from Manchester, including agents of the corporations and other distinguished citizens, were present. The galleries were crowded, and many of the more favored found seats on the floor of the House.

Mr. Christie, of Dover, one of the ablest lawyers in the State, having been selected by the opponents of the measure to reply to Mr. Morrison, took his seat, pen and paper in hand, near, and at the right of the Speaker's desk. At length Mr. Morrison arose, look- ing pale and feeble, for he had been quite ill all the session, but his mind was never clearer. As he went on with his argument with reference to the constitu- tionality of the bill, Mr. Christie at first took a few notes, then dropped his pen and listened attentively to the elose of the argument. Mr. Morrison sat down ; the House was perfectly still; not a sound was heard ; all eyes were turned expectantly towards Mr. Christie. He did not arise. He declined to speak. The writer was assistant clerk of the House at that time, and asked another distinguished lawyer, a personal and political friend of Mr. Christie, why he declined to answer Mr. Morrison. His reply was, "Mr. Morrison's argument was unanswerable-he was clearly right. And Mr. Christie, upon being con- vinced that he was right as to the constitutional

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

question, declined to reply." Though the charters of the cities of the State have frequently been amended, particularly the charter of the city of Manchester, that provision, constituting each ward a town for the purpose of elections, still remains.

In 1845, Mr. Morrison was appointed solicitor of Hillsborough County, discharged the duties of the office nearly four years and resigned. He was a member of the House of Representative in the Thirty-first, and was re-elected and served in the Thirty-third Congress. Mr. Morrison's personal and political relations with President Pierce had been for many years of the most intimate and confidential character, and as he was regarded as one of the ablest members of the New Hampshire delegation, the Pres- ident, whose Congressional district he represented, expressed the desire that he support the Kansas-Ne- braska Bill, which he had made one of the leading measures of his administration. He knew very well he could rely upon Mr. Morrison to support every measure of his administration which he deemed would be consistent with his constitutional obligations and for the promotion of the best interests of his country. In a personal interview with the President, Mr. Mor- rison told him his present convictions were against the bill, particularly that clause in it repealing the Missouri Compromise ; that he would make a careful examination of the measure, and would support it if, in his judgment, the interests of the country would demand its becoming a law. He did examine the bill, and examined it thoroughly, after which he in- formed the President that he regarded it as a most dangerous measure, fraught with evils, which, should it become a law, would lead to the most elisastrous re- sults, and, painful as it was to him to differ with the administration upon one of its leading measures, still he must oppose it with all the energies of his mind.

Among the reasons assigned at this interview as the ground of his opposition to the measure were that the slavery question had but recently been settled by the compromise measures of 1850, and to reopen the subject now, would, in his judgment, be a most dan- gerous experiment, would be disastrous to the Demo- cratic party and to the best interests of the North, and, in his belief, would endanger the perpetuity of the republic itself.

In his speech, made a few weeks after this inter- view with the President, Mr. Morrison said,-

"On a great question like this-one which will seriously affect the free laborers of the North, will determine the institutions of a vast ter- ritory; ono fraught with fearful elements of discord, which ultimately may endanger the perpetuity of the I'nion itself-I can follow but one guide : the convictions of my own judgment. I regret that the friends of this bill had not read and woll considered the patriotic denunciation by Jefferson, with reference to sectional parties, before they sprang this question upon Congress and the country. This is the first attempt in our political history to repeal a great compromise of conflicting interests and opinions between the different sections of the country. This meae- nre contains more elements of danger and sectional discord than any po- litical question of the age. If this bill should become a law, I fear the spirit of concession and compromise will have passed away forever. The

Union has, in the judgment of intelligent and patriotic statesmen, been twice preserved from dissolution by concession and compromise. When similar questions again arise, as come they may and will, I ask, Can other compromises be made if this is stricken down? if this shall not be sacredly kept and faithfully abided by ? Sir, any man conversant with the prejudices which are enlisted and the obstacles to be overcome in the accomplishment of such compromises must feel and know the danger ; and here let me say, if this Union shall ever be dissolved, history will surely point to this as the first stride, the entering wedge which led to dissolution and all its fearful consequences. I have neither time nor in- clination to pursue this thought further. All can see the danger, all must feel it."

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 4

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