History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 7

Author: Hazlett, Charles A
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold
Number of Pages: 1390

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For a few years after this Judge Smith returned to the bar, and then about 1820 retired from active practice. The honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College in 1804, and by Harvard in 1807. He continued to live in Exeter till 1842, and then removed to Dover, where he died September 21st in the same year.

Judge Smith's intellect was vigorous, his learning great, and his per- ceptions keen. He was an admirable lawyer, and enjoyed a large and lucra- tive practice in four counties for some years; but he studied and trained himself for the judicial office, and there he shone conspicuous. He had abundant professional learning, patience, and sound sense, besides fine dis- crimination and a sense of justice that was rarely at fault. Some of his opinions have been recently published in a volume, and, though mere skele- tons and without revision, they constitute a valuable addition to the juridical literature of the state.

Many anecdotes of Judge Smith's ready wit are told by those who remember him. It was keen as an arrow, but left no sting behind. As a citizen and a neighbor his society was greatly valued. He manifested an interest in everything that made for the benefit and credit of his town. He

HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

was a trustee and treasurer of the Phillips Academy for many years; he was active in promoting the formation of a lyceum, and prepared lectures for it; he delivered an interesting and valuable historical discourse. on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Exeter. Few men have left the record of a long life so unsullied.

Joseph Tilton was born in East Kingston in August, 1774, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1797. Studying law with Hon. Jeremiah Smith, he commenced practice in Wakefield soon after 1800, and removed to Rochester about 1805. In 1809 he opened on office in Exeter, where he thenceforward resided. For nine years in succession, from 1815 to 1823, inclusive, he represented Exeter in the General Court, a fact which is significant of the trust reposed in his ability and honesty by his fellow- citizens. He practiced his profession in the days of Mason and Webster, Sullivan and Bartlett, and other men of mark in the law, and maintained among them a creditable standing for learning and capacity. He was esteemed and respected by all, and his social qualities were highly valued by those who knew him best. Judge Richardson, who had a keen appreciation of humor, maintained the pleasantest relations with Mr. Tilton, and enjoyed many a hearty laugh at his quaint stories and bright repartees. Mr. Tilton died March 28, 1856, at the advanced age of eighty-one years.

Jotham Lawrence was a son of David Lawrence, of Epping. He received his early education at the Phillips Exeter Academy, which he entered in 1793, and prepared himself for admission to the bar in the office of Hon. George Sullivan. He lived to be the oldest member of the Rockingham bar. and died in Exeter, November 6, 1863, aged eighty-seven years.

Jeremiah Fellowes was a native of Exeter, and a graduate from Bow- doin College in the class of 1810. He went through his preparatory studies under the eye of Hon. George Sullivan, and opened an office in Exeter in 1813. He was a young man of talents, and was the author of a volume of poems of some merit. He became in early life the victim of mental disease, from which he never recovered.

George Lamson, a son of Gideon Lamson, of Exeter, was a graduate from Bowdoin College in 1812, and began to practice in his native place three years after. He became interested in the publication of a newspaper and of some law books, and was the proprietor of the Exeter Watchman from 1819 to 1821. He subsequently engaged in the business of a book- seller in New York, and died there in 1826, aged thirty-two years.

William Smith was a son of Hon. Jeremiah Smith, and was born in Exeter about 1800. He graduated from Harvard College in 1817, and com- menced the practice of the law in Exeter in 1821. He was chosen a repre- sentative of the town in the Legislatures of 1822, '23, '24, and 1825. He was a young man of high promise, of fine literary taste, and of many accomplishments. He was the author of two pamphlets of merit, one "Remarks on the New Hampshire Toleration Act," the other "On the Assas- sination of Julius Caesar." His health failed at an early age, and he sought for relief in a milder climate, but in vain, for he died unmarried March 29, 1830.

Oliver William Bourne Peabody was a son of Hon. Oliver Peabody, born

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

in Exeter, July 7, 1799, and educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1816. He was for a while a teacher in the academy in his native town, then studied law and entered into practice there. He was a representative of the town in the Legisla- ture from 1823 to 1830, eight years successively. In the latter year he took up his residence in Boston. In 1835 he was one of the representatives of that city in the General Court, and in 1836 was appointed register of pro- bate for the County of Suffolk. He afterwards studied for the ministry, and was settled over the Unitarian Society in Burlington, Vt., and died, unmarried, July 5, 1848.

He was gifted with uncommon talents, and his literary acquirements were of the highest character. He was the author of several poems and addresses which were much admired. His character was singularly pure and amiable, and attracted to him a wide circle of friends.

John Sullivan was a son of Hon. George Sullivan, of Exeter. He went through the course of studies at the academy in his native town, and pur- sued his law-reading under his father's direction. On being admitted to the bar. about 1822, he chose Exeter as his place of business. In 1828 he received his first appointment as county solicitor, and performed the duties of the office for two terms (ten years). He was then commissioned judge of probate for the County of Rockingham, and so remained till 1848. In 1849 the appointment of attorney-general for the state was conferred on him, and he retained that position as long as he lived. He died November 17, 1862, aged sixty-two years.

Judge Sullivan had a great share of the hereditary talent that character- ized his family. He was a sound and careful lawyer, but he was particularly distinguished for his power as an advocate before the jury. He argued questions of fact with force, and frequently with eloquence, his well-rounded periods and musical voice reminding his elder hearers strikingly of his father. His feelings were quick and impulsive, but he was honest, honorable, and high- minded. The important and responsible offices which he filled for so large a portion of his life were ably and impartially administered. No man ever justly questioned his truthfulness or his integrity.

Samuel Taylor Gilman, a son of Hon. Nathaniel Gilman, of Exeter, received his academical education at Harvard College, graduating in 1819. After studying law in the office of Hon. George Sullivan, he established himself in practice in Exeter about 1826. He delivered a Fourth of July address in his native town which gained him much credit; and he was a representative in the General Court from Exeter in 1829. He was a young man of fine capacity and amiable character, and the future seemed full of promise to him, but death cut short his career when he had attained the age of thirty-four years.

James Bell, a son of Hon. Samuel Bell, was born in Francestown on the 13th of November, 1804, and graduated at Bowdoin College in 1822. Hav- ing prepared himself for his profession in the office of his brother, Hon. Samuel D. Bell, and at the law school in Litchfield, Conn., he entered into practice first at Gilmanton in 1825. After staying there about six years, he selected Exeter as his residence, where he continued for fifteen years,

HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

enjoying a large, important, and lucrative practice in Rockingham and Straf- ford counties. During this period he was engaged in nearly every cause of magnitude which arose in that section of the state. His competitors at the bar were strong and learned men, but perhaps none of them-certainly none of his years-was his superior in all the qualities that go to make up an accomplished and successful lawyer.

In 1846 he was a member of the Legislature, and in the same year received a valuable appointment which caused him to remove to Gilford, of which place he continued a resident until his decease. While living there he was chosen a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1850, and was one of its most prominent and influential members. In March, 1855, he was chosen a senator of the United States for six years, but he did not live to complete the term. His death occurred May 26, 1857. He was a man of unblemished character and of high and honorable attainments.

John Kelly, son of Rev. William Kelly, and born at Warner, March 7, 1786, was a graduate of Dartmouth College in the class of 1804. After studying law he was admitted to practice in 1808, and chose Northwood as his home. He was a representative from that town in the General Court. In 1814 he resided for a year in Concord, and had editorial charge of the Concord Gazette. In 1831 he went to Exeter to live, having accepted the appointment of register of probate, which he held until 1842. In 1846 and 1847 he was a member of the Executive Council of the state. Mr. Kelly was for many years the editor of the Exeter News-Letter, and contributed to its columns a series of articles of much historical and genealogical value. He was distinguished for his antiquarian tastes, and his reputation ranks high among the New Hampshire scholars in that department of learning. He was a witty writer, and contrived to lend an interest to subjects generally to ordinary readers dry and forbidding. He died in Exeter, November 3, 1860.

Amos Tuck was born in Parsonsfield, Me., August 2, 1810; pursued his preparatory studies at the academies in Effingham and in Hampton, and in 1835 graduated from Dartmouth College. He then became an instructor in Pembroke Academy, and subsequently the preceptor of the Hampton Academy, and at the same time devoted his leisure hours to law study, which he completed in the office of Hon. James Bell at Exeter, and on being admitted to the bar became his partner in business. The firm during the entire period of its existence enjoyed a large and important business in and out of the courts. Mr. Tuck began life as a democrat in politics, but came out into the free-soil party in the movement which brought Hon. John P. Hale into prominence. In 1847 he was elected to Congress by the whig and free-soil voters of his district, and was twice re-elected, serving six full years.

When Mr. Lincoln became president, he gave to Mr. Tuck, an old con- gressional friend, the position of naval officer in Boston, and reappointed him in 1865. It was an important and lucrative office. Mr. Tuck, after Mr. Bell removed from Exeter, had formed a law partnership with Hon. William W. Stickney, and subsequently with his son-in-law, Francis O. French, Esq., but after holding the office of naval officer gave up his law business and devoted his attention to other affairs. He received from the

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

directors of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad the appointment of selling agent of their lands, and for some years passed most of his time in the west in that employment; and he gave much attention to other enterprises away from his home. He also traveled in Europe considerably.

He died in Exeter, December 1I, 1879, of apoplexy. Mr. Tuck was of an active temperament, and felt an interest in many things. In his town he took a prominent part in every movement, religious, educational, and political. He was concerned as president of the board of trustees in the shaping of the Robinson Seminary, and he served many years as a trustee of the Phillips Exeter Academy and of Dartmouth College. He was liberal in his dealings, and kind and charitable to the poor and needy.

As a lawyer he was ready, adroit, and familiar with human nature. He was faithful to his .clients, and managed their business with sagacity and success. In his addresses to the court and jury he spoke pointedly, per- suasively, and with effect. From early life he assumed a leading position, and throughout his three-score years and ten exerted a large influence about him. His death deprived the county of one of its best known and most important citizens.

Samuel Hubbard Stevens was born in East Kingston, November 20, 1802. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1830, and after completing his professional study began practice in Bristol, and afterwards removed to Lawrence, and thence to Exeter, where he was cashier of the Granite State Bank from 1849 to 1858. Subsequently he took up his residence in Concord, having retired from active business, and made it his home for the remainder of his life.

Timothy Farrar, Jr., was born in New Ipswich, March 17, 1778, and was the son of Hon. Timothy Farrar. In 1807 he took his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College, and entered the office of Hon. Daniel Webster as a student-at-law. He began practice in Portsmouth about 1813 as law partner of his preceptor, and continued there after Mr. Webster's removal to Boston until 1822, when he went to Hanover to reside. In 1824 he was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and so continued until the abolition of that court in 1833. He then resumed his residence in Portsmouth till 1836, when he assumed the duties of cashier of a bank in Exeter. There he remained till 1844, and then removed to Boston, of which city he was a representative in the General Court of 1854. In 1867 he was honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws from his Alma Mater. He died in Boston, October 27, 1874.

It was said of Judge Farrar that he was "pre-eminently a safe adviser." He was a man of much learning, general as well as professional. A number of works were the product of his pen, chiefly upon legal and constitutional subjects. He edited the "Report of the Dartmouth College Case" in 1819. In later life he published a "Review of the Dred Scott Decision," and several other minor essays, but his chief work was the "Manual of the Constitutional," which has elicited the high commendation of some of our most eminent scholars and constitutional lawyers.

Melburn F. Eldridge was in practice in Exeter as an attorney-at-law from about 1845 to 1849, a part of that time having an office at Newmarket.

HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

He then removed to Nashua, and afterwards, it is believed, to Milford, where he continued till his decease, about 1854.

John Sullivan Wells, a descendant of Gen. John Sullivan, of the Revolu- tion, was born in Durham, and passed his early childhood there. He first learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, and earned enough by it to enable him to acquire a fair education. He studied law in Vermont and began practice there, but removed to Lancaster, N. H., in 1837, where he at once received the appointment of county solicitor and retained it for ten years. From 1839 to 1842 he was a representative from Lancaster in the Legislature, and in 1841 was chosen speaker of the House. About 1846 he changed his residence to Exeter. In January, 1847, he was commissioned attorney-general of the state, but resigned the position after a few months. In 1851 and 1852 he was a member of the State Senate, and president thereof both years. In January, 1855, he was appointed by the governor United States senator to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Moses Morris, and occupied his seat until March 4th. He was subsequently a candidate for governor of the State and for senator in Congress. He died August 1, 1860, at the age of fifty-six years.

Mr. Wells was gifted with many of the essentials of a successful lawyer and politician. He had a fine person, pleasing manners, readiness and fluency of speech, and a most melodious voice. In many of these respects he inherited the qualities which gave the Sullivans for several generations their prominent standing at the bar. Mr. Wells had the confidence of his party and of his clients in a remarkable degree. His professional business was large and lucrative, and but for the change that took place in the political complexion of the state at the period when his name was put forward he would have probably enjoyed more of her highest honors.

Eben Franklin Tucke was a native of Kensington, born February 16, 1822. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1843, and pursued his professional studies with Messrs. Bell & Tuck in Exeter and at the Harvard Law School, and began to practice in Exeter in 1846. His abilities were excellent, and his social qualities rendered him a general favorite. The later years of his life were shaded by illness, which put a period to his earthly existence May: 30, 1857.

Alva Wood was a native of Georgetown, Mass. He received an academ- ical education, and came to Exeter about 1847 and made it his lifelong home. He studied law in the office of Messrs. Bell & Tuck, and entered into practice about 1849. He was active and assiduous, and gathered a very considerable business, which continued up to about a year before his decease, when his health began to fail. He died suddenly, February 17, 1878, aged fifty-seven years. He was a man of talents, who had made his own way to respectability and competence ; was public-spirited and gen- erally esteemed.

Moses Norris Collins, a native of Brentwood, born in April, 1820, com- pleted his law studies in the office of Gen. Gilman Marston, and was admitted in 1857. He had previously, in 1855, represented Brentwood in the General Court. He remained in the same office with General Marston. and subse- quently became his partner. The considerable business of the office he

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managed successfully while General Marston was absent in Congress and in the army. In 1861 and 1862 Mr. Collins was a representative from Exeter to the Legislature, and in the summer of 1863 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers, and proceeded to the seat of war. He was shot dead in the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864.

Gilman Marston is a native of Oxford; his ancestors lived in Hampton. He took his degree of A.B. at Dartmouth College in 1837; the same institu- tion conferred the degree of LL.D. upon him in 1882. He began practice in Exeter in 1841. In 1845, 1846, and 1847 he was a representative of that town in the State Legislature, and has been so a number of years since. He was a member of the Thirty-sixth, Thirty-seventh, and Thirty-ninth Congresses of the United States. In 1861 he was commissioned colonel of the Second New Hampshire Volunteers, and was severely wounded at the battle of Bull Run. In 1862 he received the commission of brigadier- general, and served nearly to the close of the war. He died July 3, 1890.

Hon. William Weir Stickney was born in Enfield, N. H., June 24, 1801. He was the son of Daniel and Sarah ( Morse) Stickney, and is a descendant in the sixth generation of William Stickney, the emigrant, who came from Frampton, Lincolnshire, England, about 1637, to Boston, Mass., and became one of the first settlers of Bowley, Mass. Daniel Stickney was a farmer, a soldier in the Revolution, enjoyed to a marked extent the confidence of the community, and for years was justice of the peace. .

William W. received his preparatory education for college at Kimball Union Academy, and entered Dartmouth College in 1819, and was grad- uated from that institution in 1823. He read law with Hon. Henry B. Chase, of Warner, N. H., and was admitted to the bar at Concord, N. H., in 1826. After one year's practice of law in Concord, he removed to New Market, N. H., and established himself there as an attorney in July, 1827. Here he remained until October, 1847. when he moved to Exeter, N. H., and engaged in his profession in company with Hon. Amos Tuck. This copartnership continued until 1856. Since then he has been alone in prac- tice. In his profession no lawyer could have been more diligent, attentive, or faithful. During his exceptionally long period of practice he has missed attending but one term of court, and that was by reason of illness.

Mr. Stickney has served four terms as representative in the State Legis- lature,-three from New Market ( 1839, 1840, 1841) and one from Exeter (1854). He was appointed United States district attorney for the district of New Hampshire by President Taylor, June 21, 1849, and held that position until the administration was changed by the election of Franklin Pierce in 1853. In 1857 he was appointed judge of probate for Rockingham County, and held that office until disqualified by age. He is president of the Bar Association of Rockingham County, and has held that position for a long term of years, being elected October 19, 1860, and is the oldest prac- ticing lawyer in this county, if not in the state. He has been connected with many business enterprises, is now president of Exeter Machine-Works, was chosen director of the Granite Bank in 1848, and was continued as such in its successor, the National Granite Bank. He has been a member of

HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

the Masonic Order since 1829, and now holds membership in "Star in the East" Lodge in Exeter.

Mr. Stickney married November 5, 1850, Frances A., daughter of Clark Hough, of Lebanon, N. H. Of their three children two daughters now survive.

In private life Judge Stickney is especially characterized by modest and unassuming manners, strong social feeling, and warm friendship for a large circle of devoted friends. In public life he has ever been the courteous gentleman to all, and a faithful and devoted servant to public interests. As a lawyer he is thorough and painstaking, his attainments being rather solid than brilliant, and he is well regarded by, and enjoys the esteem of, the members of the bar for both ability and thoroughness. In his judicial office he was upright and conscientious, just in his decisions, and careful in his investigations.

Charles Henry Bell was the son of Governor John and Persis (Thom) Bell, and the youngest of a family of ten children. He was born November 18, 1823, in Chester, Rockingham County. After acquiring the benefits afforded by the schools of his native town he entered the academy at Pem- broke, where, and at Phillips Exeter Academy, he fitted for college, and graduated from Dartmouth in 1844. On leaving college he commenced the study of law, first with Bell & Tuck in Exeter, and subsequently con- tinued with his cousin, Hon. Samuel Dana Bell, one of the most eminent lawyers in the state, and who for five years held the office of chief justice of New Hampshire. On his admission to the bar young Bell commenced practice in his native town of Chester, but the field of labor was far too small for a young man at all ambitious, and he began to look about him for an opening. He selected Great Falls, where he formed a partnership with Nathaniel Wells, a sound lawyer and a successful business man. The firm of Wells & Bell enjoyed a fair share of business, which was constantly increasing, but after several years' practice at the Strafford bar Mr. Bell removed to Exeter. Able lawyers were never scarce in Exeter, and to most young men the prospects of success would have seemed discouraging. As a student Mr. Bell had profited largely by association with the best lawyers of the time. He entered actively into practice, and in 1856 he was appointed solicitor of Rockingham County. For ten years he continued to discharge the duties of this office, and to manage a large civil business besides.

Governor Bell first entered politics as a member of the House of Repre- sentatives at Concord in 1858, and in his first term was made chairman of the Judiciary Committee, an honor that is rarely conferred on new members. He was re-elected to the Legislature in 1859, and again in 1860, in which latter year he was chosen speaker.

In 1863 and 1864 he was elected to the State Senate, and during the latter year served as president of that body. In 1872 and 1873 he was again chosen to the House. Mr. Bell was president of the Republican State Convention of 1878, where his address proved the keynote to a successful campaign. In 1879 he was appointed United States senator for the special session of that year by Governor Prescott, to take the place of Mr. Wadleigh, whose term of office had expired. He was admitted to his seat April 10th,

PLAN of the Lower GlebE showing dessees of fols from 170 101730. in 178 and from 1823 to 1825

Magro Burying Ground

Back St. Prison fane now Chestnut St.

im nelson 1709 8 Briard 1709.

S.Penhallow 1712 | J Walker 1712 Peter how 17 30 J. Sabbey 1 / 34

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History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 7

Author: Hazlett, Charles A Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Number of Pages: 1390

Author: Hazlett, Charles A
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold
Number of Pages: 1390