USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Haverhill > History of the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire > Part 34
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The commissioners still refused to approve the bill on the ground that the vote of the convention was illegal and unconstitutional, and it was finally paid only after the Supreme Court had affirmed its legality.
The removal of the court house and county offices from the Corner caused some bitterness of feeling on the part of the residents of that vil- lage, especially against Mr. Whitcher, and at the election of 1890 when he was a Democratic candidate for representative to the General Court, the Democrats of the Corner placed a candidate in the field against him,
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who polled 37 votes. This was a protest of the Corner Democrats, which, however, was offset at the polls by Woodsville Republicans voting for Mr. Whitcher who was elected by substantially his party vote.
In 1915, the office of registry of deeds was given more room which had come to be needed, by an addition to the west side of the building, and the vaults of the registry of deeds and probate and clerk of court were reconstructed so as to make them fireproof in accordance with newest and up-to-date methods. All dissatisfaction with the removal of the court house and county offices to Woodsville has long since passed away.
The courts had been secured for the Corner, and then came the ques- tion of jail. Immediately on meeting at the new court house, the court took under consideration the proposition of John Page, Michael John- ston and others to build, at their own expense, on a suitable lot of land at the Corner a good and sufficient jail and jail house. This was accepted. The court voted that the new building be on a parcel of land contain- ing one acre on the northerly line of the road leading from Haverhill to Plymouth about twenty rods easterly from the dwelling house of Capt. Joseph Bliss. Plans and specifications were presented and accepted. The building was to be thirty-six feet long by thirty feet wide. It was to be two stories in height, the jail to be on both floors on the west end, the end towards the river road. The jail house or dwelling was to be in the east end. Page and his associates were to give security for the proper performance of their duties and were "to be entitled to the present build- ing belonging to the county, now used as a jail and jail house near Capt. Nathaniel Merrill's, also to the land where it stands, provided that it be not dismantled until the new building is done to the acceptance of the county."1
The specifications for the construction of the jail proper were minute, and indicate that it was intended to make it at least a secure place of confinement for prisoners :
That 16 feet of the westerly end of the house including walls and partitions and of the whole width of each story be taken for prisons, which are to be divided into two apart- ments in each story, as nearly equal as may be judged expedient: that under the prison part, one foot below the natural surface of the ground to the sleepers, be placed large flat rocks, one on the top of others and so as to break joints, and that the edges of the rocks be in no case more than two or three inches from each other and to touch where it
1 The old court house and jail was not demolished for some years after the removal of the prisoners to the new jail at the Corner. It was difficult for its new owners to find for it any profitable use. It was occupied for a time as a dwelling, and the court room was used for town meetings, but for several years previous to its demolition it stood empty. It was a desolate looking affair, and stories of its being haunted made children on their way to school afraid to enter it. The small green glass window panes made targets for the boys who practiced throwing stones, and finally not one was left, the empty sash bearing evidence of their marksmanship.
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can be convenient: that the prison part be double posted, silled and studded and planked with three inch plank of hard wood, and that large flat rocks, in the lower story of the thickness of six inches be placed edgewise between the outer and inner planks, close to each other: that one window for each apartment, of suitable dimensions, be made at the west end of said building, and securely grated by fastnesses to the outer side of the inner planks, and the inner side of the outer planks: that the partitions between the pris- ons and jail house be effectually secured by timbers, planks and iron bars and the par- titions between the two prisons in the lower story in the same or other equally effec- tive manner: that the prison rooms in the chamber or second story, be formed and secured by timbers, hard wood plank and grates to the satisfaction of the court or its committee: that the partitions between the two stories and over the second story be effectively secured by timber hard wood and stone where the agent thinks necessary and that one proper vault for the conveyance of filth be formed from each prison room, descending obliquely from the apartment to the outer side of the building so as to terminate on the outer side above ground.
This was hardly the way a modern jail is constructed, but it was as secure as the modern building erected a few years since at the county farm. It was voted, at this time, that the jail in Haverhill be the only one for the county, and the lumber which had been purchased for a new jail at Plymouth was ordered sold.
The work on the building proceeded rapidly, and at the December term, held in Plymouth in 1794, it was accepted as the new jail and the prison- ers were ordered to be removed from the old jail at the north end. The limits of the jail yard were established as extending two hundred rods in every direction from the new jail and no more "provided it does not cross Connecticut River." This was to permit prisoners, confined for debt and for mild offenses, to leave the jail during the day to work for farmers or others, these prisoners being given what was known as the liberty of the yard.
The official bill of fare for prisoners was fixed at the March term of the court as follows: "For dinner, one half pound meat and sauce such as is used for family. One pound good flour bread per day, one pint bean or pea poridge or cyder, or half pint of milk, or tea, or coffe reason- ably sugared, once a day, morning or evening, and so much water as is necessary."
The court also ordered a barn to be erected on jail lot 30 by 28 feet, with eighteen-foot posts.
This jail was used without material change until 1845, when the prison portion of the building was taken down and one erected in more modern style and under improved sanitary conditions. During the operation of rebuilding, the four attic rooms in the attic story of the dwelling of Eleazar Smith, afterwards known as Smith's or the Exchange Hotel, were used. This with some repairs was occupied as a jail until, after the removal of the court house to Woodsville, a new jail was built at the County Farm.
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At the convention of Grafton County representatives, February 17, 1897, the matter of the erection of a new jail which had been discussed at the session of the legislature in 1895 was again brought up, and an informal vote was taken as to whether it should be located at Woodsville or the County Farm. The result was 25 in favor of the County Farm to 5 in favor of Woodsville. At a meeting held March 18 a resolution was adopted providing that a jail and house of correction be erected at the County Farm at a cost not to exceed $12,000in excess of the amount which should be received from the proceeds of the sale of the old jail, and for the issue of bonds payable in ten years, at a rate of 4 per cent interest, and a building committee consisting of the county commissioners, Henry F. Green, James E. Huckins and Horace F. Hoyt, J. E. Henry of Lin- coln and H. W. Herbert of Rumney was appointed. The county com- missioners were also authorized to sell the jail property at Haverhill Corner and apply the proceeds on the cost of the new building. The jail was erected that year, and its cost was provided for out of current funds, and without the issue of bonds authorized.
For more than half a century after the organization of the Grafton County courts, the records of the courts, and of the register of deeds were kept in the homes or places of business of the clerks of the courts and registers. As these records increased in bulk and volume, the importance of safeguarding them from fire or other accident was more and more recog- nized, and the convention of representatives at the June session of the legislature, 1838, voted to raise the sum of $2,000 for the erection of a suitable building for the records. It was to be provided "with a sufficient number of fire safes," and the court was authorized to locate such building in such town as they deemed best, taking into consideration the sum pledged by each town for the building aforesaid. It would appear from this vote that it was not a matter of legal requirement that the records should be kept at the county seat.
The justices of the Court of Common Pleas, reported to the convention of 1840 that, in accordance with the vote of the convention of 1838, they had built at Haverhill a two-story brick building, containing four offices, each furnished with fireproof vault, for the accommodation of the register of deeds, the register of probate, and the clerks of the courts. The cost of the building was $2,450, exclusive of the land which was donated by citizens of the Corner. The building still stands, and is occupied by former Judge of Probate Tyler Westgate, and the Haverhill Free Library. It was at first intended to construct the building with but one story, but the court at its discretion changed the plan to two stories, and made the roof of slate instead of shingles. Col. John R. Reading was the contractor, and the court reported he had done his work "in good style and in a most thorough manner."
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As the bar of Grafton County increased in membership it became recog- nized as one of the ablest in the state, and the members of the profession in Haverhill have been an honorable part of the bar of county and state.
MOSES Dow, the first of the profession to settle in town, was a native of Atkinson, the son of John Dow, and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1769. He came to Grafton County, first at Plymouth, probably prior to 1774, since in that year he was appointed register of probate, and also by the Court of General Sessions to act as King's attorney in the absence of the attorney-general. He removed from Plymouth to Haverhill in 1779. In 1783 he was elected moderator, town clerk, one of the selectmen and sealer of weights and measures. After that date his name frequently appears, indicating activity and prominence in local affairs until near the close of his life. [See Genealogy Dow.]
He was beyond question an able and learned lawyer, and stood high in the esteem of the public. He was interested in military affairs and held a commission as brigadier-general in the state militia. He was solicitor of Grafton County for four years, and from 1774 to 1807 he was register of probate. In 1784 and 1791, he was elected to the state senate and was chosen president of that body in the latter year. He was also a member of the executive council in 1785-86. He became judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1808 and remained on that bench until his death in 1811. In 1784 he was elected, by the General Court, a member of the Congress of the Confederation, but declined the election on the ground that he did not feel qualified for the responsibilities and duties of the office. No Haverhill citizen has since followed his example, nor for that matter any citizen of New Hampshire. He was the first post- master of Haverhill, his commission bearing the signature of George Washington. He was one of the incorporators of the academy, and a heavy subscriber to the stock of the Haverhill Bridge Company. He resided for the most part of his life at the Corner, his residence being that later owned by the late Milo Bailey, and burned a few years since. Some of his time was spent on his valuable farm south of North Haver- hill, known for many years as "the Dow farm," now owned by Henry W. Keyes. He was one of the earliest to protest against taxation for the support of the ministry, advocating a complete separation between church and state. Energetic, enterprising, public spirited as a citizen, of unimpeachable character, his literary attainments, his unquestioned abilities and his standing in his profession gave him great influence in his town, and eminence in his county and state.
ALDEN SPRAGUE settled in Haverhill about 1796. He was eminent in his profession and had a large and lucrative practice. He was a native of Rochester, Mass .; studied law with his half brother and was admitted to the bar in Cheshire County. He excelled as an advocate before juries.
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He was appointed by the court in 1805 senior counsel to defend Josiah Burnham for the murder of Freeman and Starkweather, with Daniel Webster as junior. As there was really no defense, Mr. Sprague declined to make any argument to the jury, leaving the case in the hands of Mr. Webster who proceeded to address the jury in opposition to capital punishment, his first and also his last address of that character. Burn- ham was not acquitted, but Mr. Webster's argument attracted the favor- able attention of the court. Mr. Sprague was twice married. One daughter by his first wife became the wife of James I. Swan of Bath, a famous lawyer of his time. Another daughter married Hamlin Rand, and Charles W. and Edward D. Rand, leading members of the Grafton bar, were her sons.
JOHN PORTER, a son of Col. Asa Porter, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1787, read law in Chester and practiced there for a time. He came to Haverhill about 1795 and engaged in practice both in Haverhill and Newbury, Vt., until he removed to Broome, Canada, his father, Colonel Porter, having received some years before a grant of almost that entire township.
MOSES Dow, JR., studied law with his father, and began practice in 1800. He succeeded his father as register of probate in 1807, and held that office for thirty-two years. He also succeeded his father as post- master. He lacked the energy and ambition of his father, and his legal practice was never extensive.
GEORGE WOODWARD was a native of Hanover, a son of Judge Bezaleel Woodward and a grandson of President Wheelock of Dartmouth College from which institution he graduated in 1793. After his admission to the bar he began the practice of law in Haverhill in 1805. He became cashier of the Coös Bank when it was established in 1804. He was also clerk of the court for some years, and stood high in his profession. He was a man of great purity of character, and a devout Christian. He identified himself with the early Methodists and, strange as it may seem today, this action led to practically a social ostracism, which doubtless had much to do with his removal to Lowell in 1816 when he engaged in the practice until his death in 1836.
JOSEPH EMERSON Dow, second son of Gen. Moses Dow, graduated from Dartmouth in 1799, studied law with his father and was admitted to the bar in 1802. He remained but a little time in Haverhill, however. He opened an office for a short time in Strafford, Vt., and became the pioneer-lawyer in Littleton in 1807. In 1812 he removed to Franconia, where he was engaged in teaching until his death in 1857, except for a few years when he followed this vocation in Thornton, at the same time holding the office of postmaster. He was not a successful lawyer, being by nature averse to strife, and in his later years practically abandoned his
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profession. He was twice married. His first wife, the daughter of Hon. Jonathan Arnold of Rhode Island, was a woman of remarkable strength of character and of prominent social standing. A son of theirs, Moses Arnold Dow, amassed a fortune in the conduct of the Waverly Magazine, and was the founder of Dow Academy in his native town, Franconia.
JOHN NELSON was one of the leaders of the bar of the county, and ranked high in the legal profession of the state. He was a native of Exeter, but his boyhood was spent in Gilmanton, his parents having removed there from Exeter when he was still a child. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1803. He read law with Charles Marsh of Woodstock, Vt., and later with Peter O. Shacker of Boston and, on his admission to the bar, settled in Haverhill where he spent his life. He was twice mar- ried, first, to Susannah Brewster, daughter of Gen. Ebenezer Brewster of Hanover, and, second, to Lois Burnham Leverett, daughter of John Leverett of Windsor, Vt. The Leverett family was a prominent one in Colonial Massachusetts, giving to the colony a governor, and to Harvard, in its early history, a president. Mrs. Nelson was a woman of superior charm, a highly cultured intellect and of refined literary taste. The family of eleven children inherited the tastes and ability of parents and the Nelson home was a social centre in the golden days of the Corner. Mr. Nelson had a large and lucrative practice and was counsel in some of the more important cases of his time. A gentleman of the old school, of unsullied integrity he stood high in the esteem of his townsmen. One of bis daughters was the wife of Chief Justice Ira Perley of Concord, and a son, Thomas Leverett Nelson, residing in Worcester, Mass., was a distin- guished lawyer, and for some years before his death was judge of the United States Circuit Court. Mr. Nelson for many years was known as "the Admiral," a name given him because of his somewhat stately and measured step, and of his clinging to the old time dress of blue coat with polished brass buttons.
HENRY HUTCHINSON, son of Aaron Hutchinson of Lebanon, one of the pioneer lawyers of the county, graduated at Dartmouth, studied with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and in 1810 came to Haverhill, where he practiced his profession for five years. He then went to Han- over, and later to New York when he died in 1838. He married a daugh- ter of Judge Bezaleel Woodward of Hanover.
DAVID SLOANE began the practice of law in Haverhill in 1811. Born in Pelham, Mass., in 1780, he worked his way through Dartmouth Col- lege and studied law with W. H. Woodward of Hanover and George Woodward of Haverhill. Eccentric in manner, somewhat careless as to personal appearance, he was a shrewd and able lawyer, a practical busi- ness man, and was prudent in the care of the emoluments of his profession. He married Hannah, a daughter of Col. Thomas Johnson of Newbury, Vt.
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His youngest daughter, Miss Elizabeth Sloane, is still living (1914) in the old homestead at the Corner, the interior of which is rich in old time furniture, china, and souvenirs of the early part of the nineteenth cen- tury. Scott Sloane, for several years a practicing lawyer at Woodsville, now of Lebanon, is a grandson of David Sloane.
JOSEPH BELL, born in Bedford in 1787, of Scotch Irish parentage, grad- uated at Dartmouth in 1807, and came to Haverhill as precepter of the academy the same year. He read law with Samuel Bell of Amherst, Samuel Dana of Boston and Jeremiah Smith of Exeter, and began the practice of his profession in Haverhill in 1811 and continued it till 1842, when he removed to Boston and became associated in practice with Henry F. Durant, the founder of Wellesley College. In his early professional career he was cashier of the Grafton Bank and later its president. He took an active interest in political affairs, was an ardent Federalist and later a Whig. He represented Haverhill twice in the legislature, held various town offices, was county solicitor, and candidate for Congress in 1835. After his removal to Boston he was a member of the Massachusetts legis- lature, both House and Senate, and was president of the latter body for one term. He married Catherine, daughter of Mills Olcott of Hanover and subsequent to this was defendant in a famous suit for breach of prom- ise to marry, the plaintiff being a daughter of Gen. Moses Dow, who, after two bitterly fought trials of the case, lost. Of large and powerfully built frame, he was of commanding presence, and impervious and overbearing in manner, autocratic in his relations with others, he was not a popular man. He won his successes by sheer ability, and his enemies were doubtless as numerous as his friends. He stood, however, in the front rank of his profession in the state; and among his apponents at the bar, sometimes successful and sometimes unsuccessful, were George Sullivan, Ichabod Bartlett, Jeremiah Smith, Ezekiel Webster, Levi Woodbury and Joel Parker. He did not excel so much as an advocate as a lawyer. Careful and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, he trusted little to others. A master of legal principles, he was thorough and exact in his knowledge of law. He never came to court unprepared; the minute details of his cases were carefully attended to, and he was always on guard, and seldom if ever taken by surprise. He was beyond question Haverhill's most distinguished lawyer. He began his professional life in straightened cir- cumstances, but by great industry, careful saving and shrewd farsighted investments, he amassed a large property. As administrator of the estate of Col. Asa Porter, it is said that by his management and disposal of the estate, especially of its large landed property, he made in connection with the syndicate who purchased the lands in bulk "big money." In money matters he was extremely exacting, and held all with whom he had deal- ings to the strictest account. He always kept his agreements, but he was
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extremely careful in making them. He became in time the money king of Haverhill. Although his early circumstances were humble, he was a born aristocrat. He lived much alone, did not mingle freely with his fellow townsmen, was feared by them more than loved. He was the high priced lawyer of his town, yet his services were always in demand. His removal to Boston was, doubtless, due as much to his ambition for political preferment, an ambition shared and fostered by his wife, as to expectations of increased professional emolument. He regarded Massa- chusetts as offering more favorable opportunities for the realization of his ambition than rock-ribbed, Democratic New Hampshire. To some extent he was successful, but his sudden death at Saratoga in 1851, ended his distinguished career. His Haverhill residence is now owned and occupied by Frederic W. Page.
One of his five children, a son, JOSEPH MILLS, graduated at Dartmouth in 1844, read law with his father, and became associated in practice with Rufus Choate whose daughter he married. Mrs. Choate was a sister of his mother. During the war of the Rebellion he served on the staff of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler in New Orleans and later became judge of the Recorders Court in that city.
SAMUEL CARTLAND was born in Lee in 1797, graduated at Dartmouth in 1816, studied law and came to Haverhill some time prior to 1825. He represented Haverhill that year in the state house of representatives and was a member of the state senate from the twelfth district for a part of the session of 1829, and for the years 1830-31. He was president of that body in 1829, also in 1831. Immediately after the adjournment of the legislature he was appointed judge of probate for Grafton County, resigning the office in June, 1832. He was a candidate for Congress in 1835, but was defeated, a defeat which he took seriously to heart. He went South for a time in 1837 or 1838, then to Maine when he died in 1840 at the age of 43. He held high rank as a lawyer, and of accomplished and gentlemanly manners he was a social favorite. His practice would have been a most lucrative one had not political ambitions interfered with it. "The law is a jealous mistress."
EDMUND CARLETON, a native of Haverhill, son of Dr. Edmund Carle- ton, was born in 1797; he graduated at Dartmouth in 1822, engaged in teaching in Virginia, reading law in the meantime, returned to Haverhill, when he finished his law studies with Joseph Bell, and was admitted to the bar in 1826. He began practice in Haverhill, but in 1831 removed to Littleton. Mr. Carleton was well grounded in the principles of juris- prudence, a sound and safe adviser who always advised a peaceful settle- ment of differences instead of contests in courts. On account of ill health he finally abandoned his profession and engaged in active business. He was one of the early members of the Abolition party, and his Littleton
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home was one of the stations on the underground railroad leading to Canada.
HALE ATKINSON JOHNSTON, son of Michael and Sarah Atkinson John- ston, and grandson of Col. Charles Johnston, began the practice of law with excellent prospects in 1829, but died two years later of pulmonary consumption. He was born in Haverhill in 1801, graduated at Dart- mouth in 1825, taught in Northumberland, Pa., read law with James McKeen in New York City and finished his studies with Joseph Bell.
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