USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. I > Part 64
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In a period of twenty years or more he has been constantly kept in service by his party as one of the most laborious and trusted members of the State committee and the executive committee.
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History of Littleton.
He has, in his quarter of a century of activity in this field, labored unselfishly for the promotion of many men, many inter- ests, many measures ; and his name and personality are identi- fied with a multitude of substantial and enduring results.
He has given to his party's service without stint time, labor, means, and all resources. As is often the case, he has been ac- corded recognition only in positions of honor and of labor, while others have basked in the sunlight of political luxuries wherein the essential elements are easily earned salaries and ornamental duties. And yet " so much the soldier is he" that he has never halted, hesitated, or questioned when the calls to service or sacrifice for his party have been sounded.
In the eleven years of his service as a member of the Board of Education, large extensions were made to the school equipment of Union District, both in buildings and other utilities.
In a period of service as Selectman from 1892 to 1899 he was intimately identified with the vast extensions of our public utilities which were then affected. Among those works with which his name and efforts are linked are the Town Building and the monumental iron bridge over the Ammonoosuc River.
He held the office of county commissioner three terms, six years, and was the controlling spirit in the administration of county affairs. His quiet but persistent energy moved in that office as it has in all others of which he has been incumbent. The concrete evidence of this is manifest in conspicuous improve- ment of the property, the methods of administration, and the finances of the county in the period of his official service. Specially noteworthy among the material results of Mr. Green's management of county affairs is the steel jail of the most modern construction and appointments at the County Farm, which in his term succeeded the old jail at Haverhill, one that had been for time out of mind a reproach to the system which subjected criminal convicts and criminal suspects alike to incarceration in it.
Mr. Green served as executive counsellor in the administra- tion of Governor Rollins. He was accorded by his chief in that term positions on the most responsible committees, and was cred- ited on the same authority with being an adviser whose judgment and personal usefulness in every line of executive business, in every emergency, in every important consultation and decision on State policy were in constant requisition, and whose services in all these affairs were in fact invaluable.
His last important public service was in the Legislature of
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1901, in which he served as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations.
The strain of conflicting interests, the insidious and desperate efforts of those who seek to raid the treasury for selfish or cor- rupt ends, the importunate demands of the sponsors of visionary and impracticable schemes, all involving unjustifiable and rep- rehensible dissipation of the public funds, besides all the legiti- mate questions involved in judicious appropriation of money from the State treasury, combine to demand of the head of this com- mittee the most consummate tact, the wisest discrimination, and unfailing courage to do the right without fear or favor.
It may well be said in Mr. Green's encomium, as the respon- sible head of that committee in the Legislature of 1901, that he failed before none of the exactions of the office, and he hewed so closely to the line by the rule of judicious economy that no charges of extravagance followed that session, and to-day the administration urges that the limits of appropriation set in 1901 be the standards for 1903.
Mr. Green's extensive service in public executive offices com- mended him for election as a member of the constitutional Convention of 1902, in which he served on the Committee on Executive Department.
He has this year been recalled to local administrative service as member and chairman of the Board of Selectmen and member of the Committee on the Construction of the Carnegie Library.
In the full maturity of well-preserved physical and mental powers, Mr. Green may be expected to make his last years his best years, both in private business and in public affairs.
There is a limited group of men who have been leaders in political affairs since they were young men, and who now in riper years are still to be found at the head of the advancing column. Some of these have not been frequent office-holders, while others have held important public positions of a useful but not particularly powerful political character. The most promi- nent of this class are Albert Stillman Batchellor and William Henry Mitchell.
Among the pioneers of Bethlehem prior to 1800 was Isaac Batchellor. His son Stillman married, in 1820, Pamelia Wheeler, a native of the town, and settled on a farm about midway between the villages of Littleton and Bethlehem, now the summer home of Mr. Glessner. His wife having died, he married, about 1834 or 1835, Mary Jane Smith, widow of the Rev. Stephen H. Cutler. The third and youngest child of this union was Albert Stillman
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Batchellor. His youthful years were passed in acquiring the rudiments of an education in the district school near his home and in assisting his father and brother in work on the farm. His mother was a woman of more than common intelligence, with an ambition to give her children the best education within her means. After the death of her husband, in 1863, she devoted all her re- sources to giving her son Albert Stillman a college education and was successful. He was graduated from Dartmouth College with the class of 1872.
Soon after graduation he entered the office of H. & G. A. Bing- ham as a law student. When George A. Bingham withdrew from the old firm and opened an office in Tilton's Block, he was accom- panied by Mr. Batchellor, who continued with him as a student until his admission to the bar in 1875, and was subsequently em- ployed in his office until the elevation of Mr. Bingham to the bench in 1876. Mr. Batchellor then continued practice alone for a time, and later entered into partnership with Charles W. Bolles. With the exception of these few months he was for nearly a quarter of a century associated with Harry or George A. Bingham. While connected with Harry Bingham, the firm name was Bingham, Mitchell & Batchellor, John M. Mitchell for nearly five years and William H. Mitchell for more than a score of years being of the firm.
His legal environment has been of a character to stimulate him to put forth his best efforts in order to win and maintain a lead- ing position at the bar of the State .. One 1 well qualified to ex- press an opinion of his character and qualifications as a lawyer has recently written concerning him : -
" His tastes, habits, and aptitude in advocacy are entirely sub- ordinated to the main purpose of persuasion and of success as the ultimate result. He represents the successful lawyer of this period in prudence and studied adaptation to surrounding facts and conditions. His examination of the history of legal princi- ples and decisions is regarded by the court as specially worthy of respect and consideration. His approach to the decisions is with particular regard to the practical aspects of the subject in hand, but without losing sight of the theoretical and historical point of view. His bent of mind is toward a proper reverence for the legal fathers without making a fetich of that which com- mends itself only for its antiquity. He does not get out of step with the unmistakable current of events, or the inevitable adapta- tion of principles to new and changing conditions in a progressive
1 George B. French, of Nashua.
A. S. BATCHELLOR.
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administration of the law. His efforts in a cause are never in- tentionally directed to the accomplishment of surprising depar- tures and innovations for their own sake. He regards it as a religious duty to compass success in fair and open fight, and by methods that will stand the most exacting tests of legal ethics. He is a diligent investigator, has a practical knowledge of what views the average juror will entertain, appreciates the value of effective methods, never shuts his eyes when he opens the throttle, but clearly grasps the situation and regulates his steam very care- fully to the conditions of the road. He is not swift to get into a contest, but once in it, he is a tenacious stayer and a hard loser. He has an abundant equipment of experience and an unremitting devotion to hard work. His memory being strong and accurate, he maintains a firm mental grasp on controlling decisions and principles. He is conspicuously sound in judgment when the application of legal principles comes in contact with practical affairs."
He excels in drawing briefs. While not forgetful to state the law relied upon to sustain his contention, its cold and rigid outlines are often warmed and softened by a wealth of historic lore so used as to strengthen his reasoning. All his knowledge is rendered available in the trial of causes by a resourcefulness that could not easily be surpassed.
Mr. Batchellor's environment too compelled him to take more than a passing interest in public affairs. While a student of the law he found time to address his fellow-citizens on several occa- sions concerning their duty in the pending contest, as well as to receive instruction in the finer and more fruitful art of practical politics. It was at this time also that he held his first public office, that of assistant clerk of the State Senate. In 1877, 1878, and 1879 he represented the town in the General Court, a position every citizen of the State, it has been said, desires at some time to hold. It is, however, one that honors him only who confers honor upon it. Tried by this standard, Mr. Batchellor was eminently successful. At the opening of his last term he was the Demo- cratic candidate for Speaker of the House, and at the same ses- sion was chairman of the Committee on the State Library, and by his services greatly increased the value of that institution to the people of the State. During his legislative service he was a member of other important committees, where he won recognition as a laborious, careful, and useful legislator.
He was elected a member of the Executive Council in 1887, and re-elected in 1888. Here he brought the same discriminating
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judgment and discernment which enabled him to accomplish much, especially in the direction of preserving and publishing historical papers, - a work in which he was much interested and which he has continued in a wider field of activity.
During his term as a member of the Governor's Council he was appointed a trustee of the State Library. This position gave him an opportunity to advance the work that he had begun as a mem- ber of the Legislature. In the ten years during which he held this office additional legislation, in which he took the initia- tive, was secured, and the State Library soon assumed such di- mensions as to compel the erection of a building for its use. Having accomplished the task contemplated at the outset, in which he had been zealously seconded by his associates on the board of trustees, notably by George C. Gilmore, of Manchester, he tendered his resignation in 1898. During his incumbency of the position of trustee he had seen a library that can hardly be said to have had an organization, with many volumes stored in narrow quarters inaccessible to persons wishing to consult them, occupying an elegant home, where every convenience was given its patrons, all under the management of a thoroughly organized corps of attendants, with its books accessible to all the State through the medium of a system of exchange with local libraries.
Important as his legislative and library achievements have been, it is not through these that his foremost services to the public have been rendered. In October, 1890, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Goodell editor of State papers. He assumed charge of this department at a time when it was generally supposed its work was nearly completed. Mr. Batchellor, however, found new fields for exploration which have yielded abundantly. Since he assumed the office eleven volumes have been issued. These are numbered from nineteen to twenty-nine, and embrace documents relating to legislation, the controversy between Massachusetts and New Hampshire over the adjustment of the Province line, executive rec- ords, records filed in Record Office, London, five volumes of town charters, grants by Masonian Proprietors, Wentworth's grants in Vermont, and a documentary history of the Masonian Patent. A volume now in press and soon to be issued gives the early Prov- ince laws which have been gathered from many sources. The work will be as complete as research, intelligently directed, can produce. Other volumes of the series in process of compilation relate to provincial statutes, " Wills, Administrations, and Probate Records from the Earliest Documentary History of the Province to 1771." Each volume beginning a series contains a preface that is
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a masterpiece of luminous historical writing. These volumes have cleared the way to a correct understanding of several hereto- fore doubtful questions in the early history of the Province.
Mr. Batchellor has held many minor public offices in which the rewards were small but the opportunities to discharge an important public service were many ; as police justice, member of the Board of Education, trustee of the Public Library, and of various com- mittees to execute town or district enterprises, he has performed work of this character which has been of material benefit to the public.1
W. H. Mitchell was born in Wheelock, Vt., September 18, 1856.2 He was educated at the Derby, Vt., Academy, and at the Littleton High School. In 1877 he began the study of the law with Bing- ham & Mitchell, the senior member of the firm being Harry Bingham, for years the acknowledged leader of the New Hamp- shire Bar, the younger John M. Mitchell, brother of William, now a resident of Concord, N. H., and a successful co-operative lawyer. He was one of the first of the class of applicants under the new rule to be examined by the board appointed by the court, and was admitted in the spring of 1880. For the succeeding year he was employed by the firm at a salary. At the end of the first year so valuable had his services become to the firm that he was offered and accepted a partnership. From that time till the present he has been connected as a partner with the old Bingham office.
Since Mr. Bingham's death he has been associated with A. S. Batchellor, the firm having a large and constantly increasing business throughout the State. Mr. Mitchell long ago acquired the reputation of being a safe and conservative counsellor and ad- viser and a remarkable facility in the marshalling of evidence and preparation of cases for trial. This work has seemed to possess a peculiar fascination for him, and to a limited extent he has made it a specialty.
Mr. Mitchell has always taken a keen interest in politics, and while never an office-seeker, he has not infrequently responded to the imperative call of his constituents. Almost immediately upon becoming a resident, he became by election the head of the School Board, which office he held for years, till the increasing demands upon his time and strength compelled him to resign. Upon the occasion of the acceptance of his resignation, the new
1 For a full list of his official positions and publications, see vol. iii. pp. 39-41, and Pierce's History of the Batchellor Family, p. 561.
2 This sketch was prepared by Harry M. Morse.
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school building on the south side was, by a unanimous and enthusiastic vote, named the Mitchell School, in recognition of the value and efficiency of his services.
The demand for his services has been by no means local. He was urged by his friends throughout his district to accept a nomi- nation for the Senate in 1888, was elected, and served as a member of that body in 1889 and 1890. Among the most important acts of legislation during that period was the Free Text-book Bill. This bill, from the preliminary discussions, drafts, and re-drafts, through all its changing fortunes, till it finally received the Governor's signature, found in Mr. Mitchell its stanchest supporter. It may be safely asserted that this beneficent law would never have reached the Public Statutes but for the sturdy, persistent, effective fight Mr. Mitchell made in its behalf.
The Normal School and Soldiers' Home have always found him doing yeoman service for them, and the veterans all over the State upon all possible occasions eagerly and gratefully acknowl- edge their obligations to him, though always met with a disclaimer from Mr. Mitchell.
Before the expiration of his senatorial term he was appointed solicitor of the county by the court, and was elected to two fol- lowing terms. He discharged the difficult and delicate duties of the office in an able, impartial manner. Liquor-sellers were brought within the operation of the old prohibitory law, and under Mr. Mitchell's incumbency of the office they were made to under- stand that the law had not fallen into "innocuous desuetude," and this without reference to party, place, position, or influence.
The most important matter falling to his hand was the capture, trial, and conviction of the notorious Frank C. Almy for the hor- rifying murder of Christie Warden at Hanover. His manage- ment of the case called into play not only his legal attainments, but the strong business sense and good judgment that characterize him under all conditions, and perhaps most markedly under these circumstances. His personal courage was put to the supreme test when he faced Almy, who held two loaded revolvers, and arranged the terms for his surrender. He was constantly admonished by his friends of his danger, and reminded of it by the murderer, who several times declared that he held Mr. Mitchell's life in his hands, and would sacrifice it unless his demands were complied with. No concessions were made, because of the firm stand Mr. Mitchell took.
His most recent service for the public was as a member of the
WM. H. MITCHELL.
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Legislature of 1902. Before the close of the session of 1900 Mr. Mitchell's name was very generally mentioned in connection with this office, but he declined to allow his name to be so considered. However, as election day approached, it became evident that in this instance Mr. Mitchell's wishes were to be disregarded - as indeed they were - for his nomination in caucus was unanimous ; the call was so imperative that Mr. Mitchell felt it a duty to yield his personal preference to the behest of his constituents. The vote he received at the polls was convincing proof of the esteem in which he is held by his townsmen.
It is quite within bounds to say that, while Mr. Mitchell was not one of the " talking members," no member of the House ex- erted a more potent influence upon legislation than he. His fear- lessness, his loyalty to his friends and his convictions, his rare faculty for organization, his executive ability, and his capacity for hard work (which Carlyle describes as genius), make an equip- ment that numbers alone cannot defeat.
Harry M. Morse has been a resident of Littleton since 1891. He was the descendant in the fourth generation of Capt. Stephen Morse of Newbury, Mass., whose wife, Sarah Bayley, was a relative of Gen. Jacob Bayley. The father of Harry M. was a prosperous farmer of Haverhill. The son taught school several years, and having decided upon the law as a profession, he entered the office of John L. Foster of Lisbon, where he remained one year. He then became a student in the office of E. D. Rand. He came to the bar in 1880, and soon after formed a partnership with Mr. Rand under the firm-name of Rand & Morse. This relation continued until the death of Judge Rand. Subsequently he was associated with George F. Morris!
Mr. Morse is well read in the law, and has pronounced literary tastes. His knowledge of general literature is extensive, but he is especially versed in history and the biography of prominent Americans. His articles in legal biography are among the best of that class of literature. His matter is well chosen, covering the salient features of the life of the subject. He is the master of a fluent, clear, and captivating style.
Mr. Morse is an agriculturist who possesses more than the amateur's love for farming. Combining both scientific and prac- tical knowledge of the art, he has found pleasure and profit in cultivating a small farm with more than ordinary success.
Politically Mr. Morse is a Republican who believes that organi- zation is essential to party success, but has no aspirations to become a leader, willingly and gratefully leaving that position
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to those who have, or think they have, the required qualifications for a successful discharge of its duties. He is equally willing that others should possess the honors and rewards of party success. He has, however, held for some years the position of Special Justice of the Police Court of Littleton, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1902. He has also served as a trustee of the Public Library for some years.
The most recent addition to the legal fraternity is Everett C. Howe. He was born in Marlborough, Mass., educated at Harvard University, but did not graduate. He pursued his legal studies in his native State for a time, but, having concluded to practise in New Hampshire, entered the office of Albert S. Wait in Newport. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1901, and came to Littleton soon after. He married Louisa C. Barrett, of Newport, September 19, 1902. He is said to be learned in the law, a diligent student, and is possessed of an ambition to succeed which will doubtless lead to a successful practice in his new home.
Of the younger members of the legal profession, Littleton has been the home of three who have attained eminence in the State and whose past achievements are but the adumbration of a more splendid future. Two of these, George H. Bingham and Will P. Buckley, are natives of Littleton, and the third, James W. Remick, came to the town in early life, and his home was here so long, and through the period in which so much of his high reputation was gained, that he may well be accorded the appella- tion of a " son of Littleton."
James Waldron Remick was born in Hardwick, Vt., October 30, 1860. His preparatory education was received in the academies at St. Johnsbury and Colebrook, and he graduated from the Law Department of the University of Michigan in 1882, being admitted to the bar in the same year. For two years he practised alone in Colebrook, and later was in the employ of Aldrich & Remich at Littleton. In 1885 he formed a partnership with Hon. Ossian Ray in Littleton, under the firm name of Ray & Remick, and in 1889 entered into partnership with his brother Daniel C. under the firm name of Remich & Remick. The same year he was appointed United States District Attorney for New Hampshire, being at that time but twenty-eight years of age, the youngest man ever to hold the office. After the retirement of his brother from active practice, Mr. Remick was alone until his appointment to the Supreme Bench of the State, April 1, 1901. January 1, 1904, he resigned to enter the firm since known as Sargent, Remick & Niles of Concord. Judge Remick served the town as a member
GEORGE H. BINGHAM.
JAMES W. REMICK.
٠
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and president of the Board of Education many years, and also served upon the Board of Health.
In 1903 he was appointed one of the receivers of the White Mountain Paper Company, a corporation with an office in Ports- mouth, and adjusted its tangled affairs with such skill and judg- ment as greatly to enhance his reputation as a man of affairs.
While a resident of Littleton he was interested in many local improvements that were projected at the time. A Republican, he was an eloquent advocate on the stump of the principles of that party. He has not held, nor sought, official positions other than such as were in line with his profession. He has been a diligent student of the science of the law and early mastered its principles. Thoroughness has marked his course as a practitioner. The law, the facts, and the argument in all their bearings commanded his time and ability. He is regarded as one of the most eloquent and logical advocates in the State. While a justice of the Supreme Court lie won the respect and the confidence of the bar, and his early retirement from that august body was mnuch regretted.
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