USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. I > Part 65
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George Hutchins Bingham comes from a line of men who have been eminent as lawyers. He is a grandson of Chief Justice Woods, a nephew of Harry, and a son of George A. Bingham, three of the brightest names in the modern annals of the New Hamp- shire bar. Upon his admission to practice he formed a partner- ship with his father, and under his wise guidance soon achieved a distinction worthy of his ancestry. His mind is both quick and strong, his reasoning clear and acute, and his power of statement convincing. In argument he is concise, making no effort to reach the sympathies, but appealing to the good sense of the jury.
When the dual courts were established in April, 1901, he was made a member of the law court, and still fills the position to the entire acceptance of litigants, the bar, and his associates on the bench.
Judge Bingham was educated in the schools of Union School District, St. Johnsbury, Vt., Academy, and was graduated from Dartmouth College with the famous class of 1887. Soon after the death of his father, in 1895, he became a member of the firm of Taggart & Bingham, of Manchester, with which he continued until his elevation to the bench.
The youngest of this brilliant trio, Will Parkinson Buckley, was born in Littleton, February 22, 1865, the son of Edward Buckley, a native of Lancashire, England, and Elizabethı McCall Buckley, a native of Glasgow, Scotland. He attended the public schools of Littleton, graduating from the High School and entering Dart-
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mouth College with the class of 1887. After graduation he studied law with Bingham, Mitchell & Batchellor and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1890, a year later becoming a member of the Lancaster firm of Drew, Jordan & Buckley, which ranks among the very first in New England. Since that time he has been ac- tively engaged in the practice of his profession and has won an enviable reputation for ability and worth. Rarely a candidate for office, his personal popularity is so great as to insure his election to every office he has stood for by unprecedented majorities. He has been a Representative of Lancaster in the State Legislature and moderator of that town for several years, and was Judge Advocate General on the staff of Governor Jordan. Starting in life with no advantages, he overcame all obstacles by sheer merit and in- flexible resolution. His charm of manner and magnetic presence have won him countless friends and make him a conspicuous figure in whatever gathering he moves. It would be difficult to name his superior as an after-dinner speaker, and in his more serious oratorical efforts he has given evidence of unusual strength. As an advocate he has shown great power over juries, and his readi- ness and resourcefulness have proven equal to every demand made upon them. Loyal to his friends, and unflinching in his attach- ment to principle, he commands the respect of all.
Other lawyers in this period who were in practice for a short time in Littleton were James Amrum Winslow, son of Rear- Admiral Winslow of the Navy ; he had an office in town less than a year. He was a man of many accomplishments, and well read in his profession. He removed to Elmira, N. Y.
David S. Whitcher was admitted to the bar in 1876. For a year he was employed in the office of Bingham & Mitchell, with whom he had obtained his legal education. He then opened an office, and was making his way successfully, but was prostrated by consumption, and returned to his father's home in Easton, where he died in November, 1881. He was an intelligent and industrious student, and thoroughly grounded in the law.
Edgar Morris Warner came from Plainfield, Conn., where he had practised some years, and formed a partnership with Elbert C. Stevens. He remained but a year, and then returned to his old home in Connecticut. He was well informed in his profession, gentlemanly in his bearing, and made many friends, but concluded that he preferred Connecticut, where he was familiar with the practice, to that of this State, with which he was unacquainted.
John M. Mitchell came to Littleton in 1870. He entered the office of Harry Bingham as a student at that time, having pre-
WILL PARKINSON BUCKLEY.
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viously been a law student in the office of Edwards & Dickerman, at Derby, Vt. He proved to be an apt pupil and diligent student. Admitted to the bar at Haverhill, March 19, 1872, in April, 1873, he entered into partnership with Mr. Bingham, a relation that in some form continued until the death of the senior member. Mr. Mitchell, as was apt to be the case with pupils in this office, soon became interested in local politics and was regarded as a politician of great promise. He was while resident here an aspirant for but one office - that of Selectman - which he desired for the purpose of bringing order out of confusion in the finances of the town. This he successfully accomplished in two years of service. The debt of the town was funded at a low rate of interest, much to the satisfaction of the people. In 1881 he removed to Concord, where he has since resided.
He has a large business, and his reputation as a safe and wise counsellor and skilful advocate has constantly grown, until he stands among the first practitioners of the State. In recent years he has confined his activities to his professional work, taking little interest in political affairs. He still adheres to the party of his youth, and gives it such service as the demands of business will permit.
A group of five young men, four of whom are Littleton born, have entered the ranks of the profession in recent years. William H. and Charles M. T. Sawyer, sons of Eli D. Sawyer, have won notable positions as practitioners, - one in Concord, the other in Alabama, where he is president of a local bank as well as a suc- cessful attorney. Dexter D. Dow was graduated from Dartmouth and from the office of Bingham, Mitchell & Batchellor. He has for some years held the important and responsible position of Clerk of Courts for this county and discharged its duties with entire acceptability. Marshall D. Cobleigh comes of a family located in the town for more than a century. The blood of the Cobleighs and the Farrs mingles in his veins. He is now a prosperous lawyer at Lebanon. Burns P. Hodgman is a grand- son of Francis Hodgman, who was an influential citizen of the town for many years. He was graduated from Boston University Law School, leading his class, and was then employed by the firm with whom his early legal training was obtained. All these young men except Mr. Cobleigh were students in the office of Bingham, Mitchell & Batchellor. Mr. Hodgman has for a few years been Clerk of the United States Courts for the District of New Hampshire, with his office in Concord. These young lawyers have been exceptionally successful in their profession, are learned and
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practical men, and those in general practice have an ample clientage.
Harry L. Heald, son of Lewis B. Heald, came to Littleton in December, 1890, and commenced the study of the law in the office of his uncle Judge James W. Remick. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1892, and soon after began practice. He was fairly successful, but was persuaded to go West in 1895. He located in Topeka, Kan., where he was a member of the law firm of which the former U. S. Senator Martin was the senior member. In June, 1899, he married Mary E. Mooney, of this town. After this event he continued his residence in Topeka until October, 1901, when he returned and has since been in business in this town. He is well read in his profession, is an entertaining speaker, and has high ideals of duty, both as to his profession and as a citizen.
The insurance business in Littleton is of recent growth. Prior to 1855 the town was occasionally visited by itinerant agents rep- resenting a Mutual Insurance Company located at Concord, Gil- manton, or Meredith Bridge. In 1852 Gen. E. O. Kenney and Marshall D. Cobleigh became agents of stock companies, the former giving much of his time to the interest he represented and doing a considerable business. In 1855 James J. Barrett opened the first office for the transaction of this class of business in Tilton's Building. Since then it has grown to large proportions. Many have engaged in it. Major Farr for a time wrote policies, and since his day his brother Charles A. Farr has been the local agent for several life and fire companies. His interest is now (1903) merged in the real estate business of Tillotson, Smith & Farr, of which firm he is a member.
James J. Barrett conducted a large business until his death, when it was continued by his sons George W. and Allien J. Barrett, who had from youth been employed in their father's office and were well equipped to conduct its affairs. The junior is now the proprietor, having an office in the town clerk's room in the Town Building, he having held that office for some years. The founder of this firm was a man of great business enterprise, having a wide acquaintance and insurance connections throughout the north country.
When the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell Railroad, Benjamin H. Corning was super- intendent of the division north of Woodsville, extending to Grove- ton and Fabyans. Under the operation of the lease, this division was united with that extending from Concord to Woodsville. Mr. Corning then came to Littleton (1883), and opened a general
1
WILLIAM H. SAWYER.
MARSHAL D. COBLEIGH.
DEXTER D. DOW.
CHAS. M. T. SAWYER.
BURNS P. HODGMAN.
LATER LAWYERS.
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insurance office and has been eminently successful. He has fre- quently held public office, having been sheriff of Coos County and of this county. He has been village commissioner, many times moderator of the town, and is at present referee in bankruptcy for the northern district of the State. He is an excellent business man, possessing quickness of apprehension, force, and decisive- ness, with the ability to say yes or no and stand by it. With all his aggressiveness he is a man of generous impulses, quick to aid the unfortunate, and not given to proclaiming his good deeds from the housetop.
Richard Taft was connected with the town by family ties and a brief residence. A man of great executive capacity, he shunned that publicity which engages the attention of the curious, and gave all his skill and energies to his chosen vocation. He accomplished more than others to attract visitors to the mountains by establish- ing and successfully managing a hotel where every comfort was to be had, and all its physical surroundings were in harmony with the charms which nature had thrown around the scene.
Mr. Taft was self-educated in the best sense of that term. His taste for literature was refined, his reading extensive and confined to the writings of the best authors. By narrowing his field to the classics he acquired a knowledge of English literature that would have contrasted favorably with that of many professional scholars.
Both Mr. Taft and his wife were interested in charitable work, and were generous contributors to that cause, Mrs. Taft espe- cially giving funds to aid the church with which she was con- nected. Her contributions to Congregational churches in Nashua, Hancock (her native town), and Littleton were frequent and liberal. Both had high ideals, and their methods were aids to the achieve- ment of a useful and noble life.
In thirty years the newspapers of Littleton have passed through successive changes in respect to names, proprietors, form, and character. In this generation we have had the White Mountain Republic, Littleton Argus, Littleton Journal, Littleton Courier, and Republic-Journal.
The proprietors or editors have been Henry H. Metcalf, George C. Furber, Willis H. Colby, Arthur W. Emerson, of the "Republic ;" James S. Peavey, of the " Argus ;" B. F. Robinson and Phineas R. Goold as a firm, Mr. Robinson alone, and John D. Bridge, of the "Journal ;" William F. Andrus, Phineas R. Goold, and Walter S. Noyes, of the " Courier ; " and James M. Cooper, A. F. Sparrow, Thomas J. Walker, John D. Bridge, John Hiscock, and Charles H. Thorpe, of the "Republic-Journal." Originally these news- VOL. I .- 38
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papers were single sheets of four pages each. Until the advent of Mr. Colby the " Republic " was Democratic in its politics ; he made it a Republican organ. It had added, by purchase, the name and list of the "Journal." When Mr. Furber was in control, it received its hyphenated title; the "Argus" was Republican, as was the "Journal." The " Courier," under the management of Mr. Andrus and P. R. Goold, was Democratic ; but when it came into the control of Mr. Noyes it was Independent, with leanings toward Republicanism.
Local newspapers published before 1880 came into being for partisan political purposes. They were naturally devoted to the cause upon which they mainly relied for support. We search the volumes of these early sheets in vain for local information. When Henry H. Metcalf assumed charge of the " White Mountain Re- public," he began to print brief local items and to "write up" prominent men and institutions of the north country. They were found to add to both the circulation and advertising patronage of the paper, and became, to a certain extent, fixtures in the con- duct of the journalism of this section.
As a writer, Mr. Metcalf was direct, strong, fearless, and caustic. He was familiar with the political history of the nation generally, and that of the State was an open book to his inquiring mind. He delighted in personal warfare, and was inclined to believe that no good " could come out of Nazareth," and flayed his opponents with all the vigor born of intense convictions and an ability to express his opinions in language that could not be misunderstood.
The successor of Mr. Metcalf in the proprietorship of this paper was George C. Furber. He was an accomplished printer, careful as to the mechanical appearance of the paper, a close buyer and collector, and an able business manager. Under his control the journal was a pronounced success as a business venture. Its po- litical opinions remained unchanged except in two particulars, those of expression and in regard to the question of temperance. Mr. Furber never exaggerated, and he was violently opposed to the dominant views of his party, which favored license in opposi- tion to the prohibitory laws of the time and he seldom neglected a proper opportunity to publish his opinions regarding this ques- tion. Mr. Furber is publishing a paper in Dexter, Me., at the present time.
Willis H. Colby was an amateur journalist of some experience at the time he became proprietor of this paper. He had strong financial backing, and as the novelty of the position passed away he lost something of his energy and interest in his work. After
Richard Haft
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less than three years' proprietorship he disposed of his interest and retired from the field of journalism. Under his control the paper became a Republican organ.
Mr. Colby was followed by Arthur W. Emerson in the editorial chair. He was an experienced newspaper man, and a writer who has not been surpassed by any of his predecessors or successors as a master of clear and elegant English composition. He had no financial interest in the paper, but conducted it for proprietors who were anxious to advance the welfare of this region of the State as a summer resort.
Thomas J. Walker and James M. Cooper became for a few years the leading spirits in the publication of the "Republic-Journal." Both were journalists of character. Mr. Walker had been prom- inent in Republican politics for some years. He was a fervent writer and an ardent advocate. He had a strong tendency to favor special interests and promote the political fortunes of indi- viduals whose views in respect to party management were in ac- cord with his own. Mr. Cooper was a zealous worker in the local field and did much to promote that interest. Since leaving Littleton he has been a resident of Concord, and has abandoned journalism for politics and baseball. John D. Bridge, who at one time pub- lished the " Journal," was also owner of the " Republic-Journal." He was a successful publisher, but his health was impaired and he deemed it prudent on that account to change his residence. The present proprietor is Charles H. Thorpe, a newspaper publisher of wide and varied experience. He came here in 1902. He has manifested strong Independent tendencies and a disposition to be his own master.
The " Littleton Argus " was started in 1875 by James S. Peavey, a practical printer. This paper was published in this town about two years and a half, when it was removed to Lancaster and con -. solidated with the " Coos Republican," which Mr. Peavey had pur- chased. The dominant notes in the writing of Mr. Peavey were sharpness and bitterness. He seemed out of sorts with the world, and in his efforts to make this condition known he was eminently successful. He was fond of personal controversy, and seldom ven- tured into other fields of editorial labor.
Phineas R. Goold, when a boy, entered the office of the " Demo- cratic Republican " at Haverhill, and learned the printer's trade. Some years after, he became a clerk in the store of Tilton, Bellows & Bracket at the time Mr. Bellows was postmaster, and was also his assistant in this office. In 1888 he was appointed postmaster, and held the position nearly twenty years. With B. F.
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Robinson he started the " Journal," and had charge of the mechan- ical department. In 1887 he sold his interest in the paper, and in 1891 issued the first number of the " Courier," which he pub- lished until 1899, when he sold to Walter S. Noyes and retired from the newspaper business. He was a publisher of enterprise, and though not a practised writer, yet managed to produce an interesting paper.
Benjamin F. Robinson had no experience in journalism at the time he joined his partner in founding the "Journal." He was a graduate from Dartmouth College, had been principal of the High School for twelve years, and desired a change when he made this departure. He had charge of the editorial department while connected with the paper. The defects insuperable from a want of practical knowledge of the business were overcome, but he was never sufficiently in love with the work to cause him to put forth his strength. In 1887 he became Superintendent of Schools in Melrose, Mass. He died, while in the prime of life and public use- fulness, in June, 1898.
When the "Courier " passed under the management of Walter S. Noyes, it at once gave evidence that a man of courage and enterprise was at the helm. The paper has been remodelled and otherwise improved in every department, and has won an enviable position among the local journals of the State.
When war was declared with Spain in 1898, a recruiting office was opened in Littleton. The number of men required was not large, and the contribution from the north country was ample. Twenty-four were enlisted. Of this number seven were of Little- ton, - E. H. Pulsifer, William H. Cummings, Warren J. Lucia, Edgar O. Baker, Howard Mann, J. C. Higgins, and Samuel W. Hodgman. They were mustered at Concord, and were a part of the force that assembled at Chickamauga. Circumstances ren- dered it unnecessary that these troops should leave their native land for the seat of war. They are, however, none the less en- titled to the encomiums which attend those who in an hour of danger willingly go forth to defend their country.
PHINEAS R. GOOLD.
V
WARREN LUCIA. JOHN CONNOR.
CYRUS LIBBY.
WALTER CAREY. HARRY B. BURNHAM.
EUGENE HOULE.
W. I. THOMPSON (Rough Rider).
GROUP OF LITTLETON SOLDIERS-WAR WITH SPAIN.
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APPENDIX
TO THE GEOLOGY OF LITTLETON. BY C. H. HITCHCOCK.
T HE sketch of the Geology of Littleton (pages 5-31) was written in 1898, and printed in 1899, during the absence of the author from the country. The volume containing it is not yet ready for publication (October 5, 1904). Since 1899 I have been able to make further explorations, particularly in the towns of Lisbon and Lyman, and can add something to our knowledge of the geology of the district. Fortunately the map submitted in 1898 has not been engraved, so that it can be revised to accord with the latest interpretation of the facts. No change will be needed in what has been already printed ; but I will indicate what improvements have been suggested by the additional studies in the town and neighborhood. A paper embodying the con- clusions obtained was read before the Geological Society of America, December 30, 1903, and published in Vol. 15 of its Bulletin.
Our studies commenced with a careful examination of the fossils at Fitch Hill and elsewhere in Littleton. They were sub- mitted to Mr. Charles Schuchert of the National Museum at Washington, who reported as follows: " The Littleton fauna is certainly Middle Upper Siluric. The species suggest the Niagara, and there is nothing so recent as the Lower Helderberg." It will be recalled that this limestone was called Helderberg in the State Report, and Niagara in later publications. Mr. Schuchert's statement refers the fossils to a horizon interme- diate between the Niagara and the Lower Helderberg.
The next step taken was the effort to trace out the course of the limestone. There seem to be two lines of outcrop in Little- ton, making a synclinal trough beneath the slates of Blueberry Mountain. Of these the western line may be followed through Lyman into Bath; the eastern cannot be traced continuously beyond Littleton, though it may connect with the fossiliferous limestones southwest from Mill Brook in Lisbon, and thence in- terruptedly to Smith Brook in the northeast angle of Bath.
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The third band is quite conspicuously displayed at North Lisbon, and for two miles south near the Ammonoosuc River. The fourth calcareous band is known from about a mile east of Streeter Pond southwesterly nearly to Salmon Hole Brook in Lisbon. A fifth range is that from near Franconia Iron Works past Sugar Hill village and Bronson's lime quarry into Landaff.
The next point is to ascertain whether the adjacent overlying sandstone of the Blueberry range accompanies the other out- crops. A quartzite of analogous character occurs with the lime- stones of the fourth and fifth ranges, but is not well shown at North Lisbon, unless it be represented by a conglomerate. The typical Blueberry sections, however, show a coarse conglomerate upon both flanks characterized by pebbles of the size of the eggs of hens and geese, overlying the sandstones. The place of this coarse sediment towards Young's Pond in Lyman seems to be taken by the auriferous conglomerate of the State Report; so that it is clear that there is a mass of coarse and fine arenaceous sediments at approximately the same horizon above the limestone, and at the base of the slates of Blueberry Mountain.
This arenaceous zone is succeeded by the slates last named, which may well be termed for stratigraphical reasons Devono- Silurian, in the absence of fossils.
Mention has been made of the novaculite upon Fitch Hill, it being produced by the effect of an igneous diorite upon slate. Analogous occurrences are spoken of as contact-phenomena. The first important study of these phenomena was undertaken by Dr. G. W. Hawes, one of the assistants upon the New Hampshire Geological Survey, after the publication of the Final Report, in the region of the White Mountain Notch. The argillitic schists of the Lyman group closely resemble the novaculite and similar rocks, now called hornfels. Our map shows an extensive area of these rocks from the country east of Partridge Lake across the township northeasterly into Dalton. They seem to have been pro- duced by thermal influences acting upon earthy materials, - whether slates, sandstones, or conglomerates. Instead of a fiery mass converting a slate by its contact into hornfels, some source of heat has penetrated the ledges to a considerable depth and changed them en masse into a corresponding altered product. The Lyman schists, therefore, do not represent a stratigraphical terrane ; it is a petrographical designation. At present it is not known what the original rocks were, but one of them must have been the arenaceous division of sands and conglomerates, and another an argillite. Early analyses of the argillite and Lyman
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schist caused us to suggest the derivation of one from the other, because their chemical constitution was nearly identical.
The map presented herewith is based upon the historical map prepared by Ray T. Gile in 1895, very much reduced. An area in the north part of the town is left uncolored, because of the covering of the ledges by a thick mass of glacial till, which is very likely some variety of moraine. It is not convenient to separate the coarse conglomerates from the Blueberry Mountain argillite, nor to distinguish between the Swift Water schists and the Coos rocks. The various igneous rocks have a uniform color, but may easily be separated : for the porphyritic granite occupies the whole of the eastern corner; the Bethlehem protogene lies be- tween Apthorp and South Littleton ; thie granitic gneiss is situated between the village of Littleton, Mann's Hill, and Black Moun- tain ; and the later protogenes, diorites, and hornblendites are scattered in the smaller patches between Blueberry Mountain and Farr Hill.
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