USA > New Hampshire > New Hampshire men. A collection of biographical sketches, with portraits, of sons and residents of the state who have become known in commercial, professional, and political life > Part 17
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219
FRANK S. STREETER.
TN the fulness of the vigor of his young manhood, already reaping the fruits of his industry, Frank S. Streeter stands in the front rank of New Hampshire lawyers. Mr. Streeter was born in Charles- ton, Vt., August 5, 1853, but his youth was spent in St. Johnsbury, Vt., where he was fitted for college in St. Johnsbury academy, and entered Dartmouth as a sophomore, graduating in 1874, and during the following year was principal of Ottumwa (Ia.) high school. He read law in the office of Hon. A. P. Carpenter at Bath, and was admit- ted to the bar in March, 1877. For six months he practised his pro- fession at Orford, but seeking a wider field, he came to Concord and formed a partnership with J. H. Albin, continuing in this relation for one year, at that time forming a partnership with Hon. Willliam M. Chase which continued until 1891, when Mr. Chase was appointed to the supreme bench, and the firm now became Streeter, Walker & Chase, by the admission of the son of the former senior partner and R. E. Walker. Mr. Streeter's life has been so filled with urgent demands of large professional duties, that he has been able to give little time to other interests. Yet, he has found opportunity to serve his party in the legislature, sitting as a member from Ward 4, Concord, in the session of 1885, and presiding at the Republican state convention of 1892. He has always been deeply interested in the welfare of Dart- mouth college, and his election to the board of trustees of the college by the vote of the alumni was a deserved reward for his labors in bring- ing about the desired result. Mr. Streeter is a legal specialist, dealing almost wholly in cases involving large corporate interests, though the general practice of his firm is wide and varied. He is one of the gen- eral counsel for the Concord & Montreal railroad, and in this capacity has carried through to a successful issue nearly all the road's important litigation of the past five years.
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220
EDWARD B. S SANBORN.
E' DWARD B. S. SANBORN of Franklin was born in Canter- bury, August 11, 1833, and was graduated from Dartmouth college in 1855. He read law with Hon. George W. Nesmith, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. His practice has always been a suc- cessful one, and its allurements have been enticing beyond the proffers of engrossing political position. Yet Mr. Sanborn has not been without political experiences. He represented Franklin in the legislatures of 1873. 1874, 1879, 1881, 1883, 1889, and 1891, and sat in the constitutional convention of 1876. In 1883, upon the reorganization of the railroad commission, Mr. Sanborn was appointed a member and was chosen clerk of the board. This position he held for five years. He has always been interested in educational matters and was for a brief time a trustee of the State Normal school. For many years he served on the board of education in Franklin, and during his years of service that town went to the front rank in matters regarding completeness and efficiency in school work. Mr. Sanborn is a man of large intellectual powers. At the bar he is a most effective advocate, and his practice is such as to command the highest order of remuneration. Upon the floor of the house he was an acknowledged leader, and in all the affairs of men in which he has a part he is a pronounced force. A well stored mind is to him a constant source of power, and the natural character- istics of the man have been reinforced by an observant culture.
221
EDWIN F. JONES.
I N the city of his birth and lifelong residence, Edwin F. Jones has been honored in a degree that speaks more highly for his merit than can any perfunctory words. Mr. Jones is the son of Edwin R. Jones and Mary A. Farnham, and was born in Manchester, April 19, 1859. He was educated in the public schools of Manchester and at Dartmouth college, graduating in the class of 1880. He studied law in the office of Judge David Cross and was admitted to practice in August, 1883, establishing himself in Manchester as the partner of William J. Cope- land, this relationship terminating by the death of Mr. Copeland in August, 1886. Mr. Jones early came into public notice by his election as assistant clerk of the New Hampshire house of representatives in 1881. He was promoted to the clerkship in 1883, serving in that capacity during the session of that year, and again in 1885, where by his thorough capacity, his intricate knowledge of legislative details, his quick perception, and his unfailing urbanity, he won for himself the deserved praise of those with whom he was associated. The city of Manchester, quick to recognize his worth, elected him a member of the school board, and he served in that capacity for several years. In June, 1887, he was elected city solicitor, and has been reëlected at each successive municipal change of administration, his seventh term begin- ning in June of the present year. In July, 1887, he assumed the duties of treasurer of Hillsborough county, and by continued reëlec- tions still holds the office. He was married, December 21, 1887, to Nora F. Kennard of Manchester. Mr. Jones is one of the busiest of Manchester's busy young men. In his general practice and as city solicitor he is constantly called before the courts, where the qualities that have won him his success in other fields, stand him in good stead. In the councils of the Republican party Mr. Jones is a valuable coad- jutor. No campaign in recent years has passed without his active service on the stump, where he has added to his reputation.
222
HENRY W. STEVENS.
N EW Hampshire is proud to reckon among her younger sons Henry Webster Stevens, who was born in Concord. March 5, 1853, the son of Lyman D. Stevens and Achsah Pollard French. He was fitted for college at Phillips Andover academy, and graduated from Dartmouth college in the class of 1875. He took his degree in law at the Boston University law school in 1877 and immediately began the practice of law in Concord, in partnership with his father, with whom he had studied law, having been admitted to the bar in 1878. This partnership continued until June, 1879, when he became a partner of Edward G. Leach, which relation still continues. In addition to the demands of a growing clientage, Mr. Stevens has become identified with many other enterprises. He has been a trustee of the city library, and during the years 1885-'86 was city solicitor of Concord. In 1887-188 he was a member of the house of representatives, and at the present time is an alderman of the city of Concord. He is a trustee of the Margaret Pillsbury general hospital, vice-president of the Mechanicks National bank, trustee of the Merrimack County Savings Bank, treasurer of the Firemen's Relief association, and of St. Mary's school. Mr. Stevens has cast his fortunes in with those of his native state, and has reflected his own measure of credit upon New Hampshire, who holds dear those who make the state of their birth the state of their residence, and who withholds no honors from those who win them.
223
JOHN PAIGE BARTLETT.
H ON. JOHN PAIGE BARTLETT was born in Weare, Feb- ruary 4, 1841, the son of John Bartlett and Lurena (Bailey) Bartlett. He was educated at the academies in Francestown, Deering, Meriden, and Mont Vernon, and at Dartmouth college, taking his degree in 1864. He read law at Manchester with Morrison, Stanley & Clark, and was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in the West, where he served as United States circuit court commissioner for Dakota in the years 1867 and 1868. Removing thence to Omaha, Neb., he became eminent in his profession and was chosen city solic- itor for the years 1869, 1870, and 1871. Returning East, he estab- lished himself in Manchester, where he at once attained a high rank in his profession, being chosen city solicitor in 1875 and being ap- pointed judge of the municipal court and serving in the years 1875. and 1876. Mr. Bartlett has been prominent in the political field, and served with great credit, execution, and ability as chairman of the Dem- ocratic state committee in the campaigns of 1890 and 1892. He is prominent also in social life, and is now judge-advocate of the Amos- keag Veterans ; is a Mason, having been master of Washington lodge, and holding high positions in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being now in his third term as district deputy grand exalted ruler. Mr. Bartlett was the first president of the Granite State Club, the lead- ing Democratic social organization of the state, and was one of the organizers of the Southern New Hampshire Bar association. He was the first attorney to be admitted to the bar in the state of Nebraska, and in 1867 was chosen first president of the bar association at Chey- enne, Wyoming. Judge Bartlett is richly endowed with talent, his laurels have been won on many a field, and that, despite the allurements of other states, he has yielded the trophies of his endeavor to the state of his birth, endears him the more to those who are jealous of the name and fame of New Hampshire.
224
HON. HENRY E. BURNHAM.
J FUDGE BURNHAM was born in Dunbarton, N. H., November S. 1844, and is a descendant of the eighth generation from John Burnham who came from Norwich, England, in 1635, and is the son of Hon. Henry L. Burnham. His early youth was spent upon his father's farm ; he fitted for college at Kimball Union academy, and entered Dartmouth in 1861, at the early age of seventeen, and gradu- ated with high honors in 1865. His college life gave promise of the brilliant professional career for which he is distinguished, and fore- shadowed the fine oratorical powers he has since displayed with so much credit to himself, and to so great advantage to his numerous clientage. He studied law with Minot & Mugridge at Concord, and with E. S. Cutter, Esq., and Judge Lewis W. Clark at Manchester, and was admitted to the bar at the April term. 1868. in Merrimack county. He at once opened an office in Manchester, where he has since prac- tised his profession with great energy, severe application, and eminent success. He is now the head of the law firm of Burnham, Brown & Warren, whose extensive business extends into several counties, and is one of the largest and most lucrative law practices in the state. He filled the office of judge of probate for Hillsborough county, for the years from 1876 to 1879. He was a member of the house of represen- tatives in 1873-74. and of the constitutional convention in 1889. Judge Burnham has taken a deep interest in Masonry, and after filling all the offices in Washington lodge of Manchester, received the highest honors of the Grand lodge of the state, serving as M. W. Grand Master in 1885. He has also long been a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1874 Judge Burnham married Elizabeth H. Patterson, who with his three daughters and venerable parents constitute his present family circle. Judge Burnham is an orator of rare gifts and attainments, and as such is widely famed.
225
W. H. MITCHELL.
T' HE subject of this sketch is one of the best known of the young- er men now in active business in Northern New Hampshire. He was born at Wheelock, Vt., September 18, 1856. His academic educa- tion was obtained principally in the Derby, (Vt. ) academy, and the Little- ton high school. He became a student of law with Hon. Harry Bingham in 1877, and was admitted to the bar in 1880. Since that time he has been a hard-working and successful practitioner, doing his full part in maintaining the prestige of the law office which his distinguished pre- ceptor opened in Littleton nearly fifty years ago. In these twelve years, he has made an enviable reputation as a lawyer. He acts upon the sound principle that the thorough preparation of a case for trial is the essen- tial of success in the profession of law. The public know how well this was exemplified in the two important state cases with which his name has been associated. In every-day affairs, he is accurate, reliable, and energetic, and in emergencies he has an abundance of that quality which in familiar parlance is called " sand." He has acquitted him- self handsomely in all the public offices which he has been called to administer. For many years he has been at the head of the school board which gives the village of Littleton one of the best high and graded schools in the northern part of the state. In the legislature he secured the enactment of the free text-book law, which has opened the schools to hundreds of boys and girls, who, without that assistance, would remain illiterate. The Normal school and the soldiers' home have received yeoman service from him on occasions when such assist- ance was all important to those institutions. The delicate and labori- ous duties of the office of county solicitor have been performed by him for several years in a manner which has commanded the approval of all parties.
226
JOHN M. MITCHELL.
H IGH standing at the New Hampshire bar, always strong. is not attained or held by mediocrity. Among the leaders of the lawyers in the state stands John M. Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell is a native of Plymouth, his birthday being July 6, 1849. His school days were passed in Vermont, finishing at Derby academy, Derby, Vt., where he also began the study of law, completing his course at Littleton in the office of Judge Harry Bingham, with whom he formed a partnership that still exists. Mr. Mitchell now makes his home in Concord, though for the eleven years preceding 1881 he was a resident of Littleton. where he was for several years a member of the board of education, and for two years was chairman of the board of education. In 1878 he was appointed by the court solicitor of Grafton county, to fill the vacan- cy caused by the resignation of Major E. W. Farr, who had been elected to congress. Following this he served the full term of two years in the same position by election. In 1869-70 Mr. Mitchell was superintendent of schools at Salem, Vt. In 1888 Mr. Mitchell was ap- pointed by Governor Sawyer a member of the state board of railroad commissioners, and resigned that position in April, 1891, to become one of the general counsel of the Concord & Montreal Railroad. At the election of 1892, Mr. Mitchell was elected a representative from Ward 4, Concord, though he is an ardent Democrat and the ward has always been strongly Republican. Mr. Mitchell has long been a mem- ber of the Democratic state committee, and was president of the state convention that met in 1888 to choose delegates to the national con- vention. Mr. Mitchell is a lawyer in all that that implies. . As a coun- sellor, he is sagacious and clear-visioned : as an advocate, he is winning and gracious. In the preparation and trial of causes he is painstaking and successful. His best praise may be read in the reputation of his firm and in the character of his clientage.
227
7
SAMUEL B. PAGE.
S AMUEL BERKELEY PAGE of Haverhill, a leading lawyer of
the state, was born at Littleton, June 23, 1838. He was educated in the academies at Kingston, Lyndon, Vt., and McIndoe's Falls, Vt., and at the Albany law university. He has practised his pro- fession at Warren, Littleton, Concord, and Woodsville, and served on the boards of education in Warren, Haverhill, Concord, and Woods- ville. From 1864 to 1869 inclusive, he was a member of the house of representatives, and also in 1871, 1887, 1889, and 1893. In 1876 he was a member of the constitutional convention. Mr. Page is a fluent speaker, and has been heard upon the stump in this and other states during many successive campaigns. As a member of the legisla- ture he easily ranked as its ablest parliamentarian, and has marshalled both the majority and minority in many a stubborn legislative contest. For many years Mr. Page has been counsel for some of the leading cor- porations of New England, and has enjoyed a large and lucrative general practice. Of late he has become deeply interested in temper- ance work, and has given freely of his time to advance the cause of that reform. Mr. Page is a man of great natural ability, is well read, is of a studious nature, and his earnestness challenges respect. As a mem- ber of the house he has been thrust frequently into the thick of heated debate, but he has never failed to command aitention. His is a nature of infinite variety, yet there is nothing superficial in his makeup. His is a direct, vigorous, penetrating character.
228
COL. FRANK G. NOYES.
C OL. FRANK GARDNER NOYES was born at Nashua, July 6, 1833, the son of Leonard White Noyes and Anna Sewall Gardner. He was educated at Phillips Andover academy, at Williams and Union colleges, taking his degree in 1853, and at the Law school of Harvard university, from which he graduated in 1856, studying also in the law offices of Sidney Bartlett and Rufus Choate in Boston, and being admitted to the bar of Massachusetts in June, 1856. In that year he went to Clinton, Iowa, and formed a partnership with Nathaniel B. Baker, who had been governor of New Hampshire in 1854. He practised law in lowa from 1856 to 1861, when, after the attack on Fort Sumter, he was appointed aide-de-camp with the rank of colonel of cavalry on the staff of Samuel J. Kirkwood, the famous war governor of Iowa, and served one year in Iowa, organizing troops for the United States service. In 1862 he was commissioned captain and C. S. of the United States volunteers by President Lincoln, and was assigned to duty in the field with the Thirteenth army corps. He served through the war, and was mustered out November 9, 1865, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, having been assigned to duty by the president as chief C. S. of the Thirteenth army corps. March 18, 1867, he was appointed United States consul to Panama. In 1869 Colonel Noyes returned to Iowa, where for about ten years he was engaged in manufacturing, as proprietor of the Clinton Iron Works. Of late he has resided in Nashua, where his family have always been prominent. and has retired from the active practice of his profession, and is engaged chiefly in literary pursuits. February 9, 1893, after passing through the chair of senior vice-department commander, Colonel Noyes was elected by the twenty-sixth annual encampment to be commander of the Department of New Ilampshire, Grand Army of the Republic, and established his headquarters at Nashua. Since 1866 he has been a member of the Loyal Legion, commandery of New York.
229
HORACE S. CUMMINGS.
H ORACE STUART CUMMINGS was born in Southborough, Mass., where his father, a Congregational clergyman, at that time resided. Receiving a call from the church in Hillsborough, the son removed thither with the family, remaining until 1856, when he removed to Exeter, which is still his legal residence. Here he prepared for college at Phillips academy. He entered Dartmouth in the autumn of 1858, and was graduated four years later. During his college vacations Mr. Cummings had begun the study of law under the instruction of Hon. Charles H. Bell, and continued the study at the Albany Law school and in New York city, where he was admitted to practice. For a few years subsequently he lived in Exeter, until an appointment in the treasury department at Washington was offered to him and accepted. In this responsible position he remained for several years. The years 1870-'71 were spent in travelling in Europe, and at the capitulation of Paris he was one of the first civilians to enter the starving capital. Soon after his return to Washington he began the practice of his profession, and quickly gained a large and profitable clientage. Mr. Cummings has always taken a lively interest in New Hampshire politics, and when a young man served for four sessions as clerk and assistant clerk of the state senate. In 1876 and 1877 the town of Exeter elected him as one of her representatives to the general court. During these legislatures he was honored with the position of permanent caucus chairman, and discharged his duties to the accept- ance of all. In the business work of the house he took an active part, serving as chairman of the committee on elections, whose work during the sessions was of more than ordinary importance and interest, owing to several exciting contests over seats. In 1876 his warm friend, Governor Cheney, commissioned Mr. Cummings as an aide-de-camp on his staff, with the rank of colonel. Few men entertain a deeper affection for the Granite state and its institutions than the subject of this sketch.
230
GEN. PHILIP CARPENTER.
TN the historic old town of Bath, famous for having been the scene of bitter contention, fierce litigation, of prosperity, of decay, and of all the vicissitudes of an old-time "hill town," General Philip Carpen- ter, the son of Judge A. P. and Julia R. Carpenter, was born March 9. 1856. After a preliminary course he entered Dartmouth college, and was graduated in the class of 1877. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in due season, and engaged in practice at Lancaster in partnership with Maj. Irving W. Drew and Hon. Chester B. Jordan. In 1885 he withdrew from this partnership, and removed to New York city, where he is engaged in practice at 38 Park Row, at present being alone in business, though he has had since going to New York a partner. In 1885, before he removed to New York, he was appointed judge-advocate-general on the staff of Governor Moody Currier, a position which he resigned upon his removal from the state. General Carpenter's success in his new field of labor has not caused him to forget his native state, and the summer months see him a happy and welcome visitor at his birth-place and in other communities endeared by old associations.
231
JOSEPH WARREN TOWLE.
J' OSEPH WARREN TOWLE, son of General Joseph Towle and Nancy Ranlett Towle, was born at Epping, N. H., August 15, 1825. His father was a gentleman of the old school, and was high sheriff of the county in the days when that personage, resplendent in gold lace and uniform, would open court, the observed of all observers. Mr. Towle entered Phillips Exeter academy in 1840, where he fitted for Harvard university. Upon the completion of his course at the latter institution in 1851, he received the degree of A. B. He at once began the study of law in the office of Col. Seth J. Thomas of Boston, and in the year following attended the Harvard Law school. He was admitted to the Suffolk county bar, Boston, Mass., July, 1853, and in the fall of that year began the practice of law in the office of the Hon. Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth, N. H. After Mr. Bartlett's death, Mr. Towle continued the practice of the firm alone for some six years, when he removed to Exeter, and has since known no other home. Democratic principles were an inheritance to him, and he has ever been true to the faith, having served for over 30 years as a member of the state Democratic committee, and attended every Democratic state convention since 1853, with one exception. Although repeatedly urged to allow his name to be used, he has never been a candidate for public office, but always comes to the front whenever aid can be rendered to the party. As a lawyer, Mr. Towle is brilliant, witty, and polished, and his commanding appearance, clear voice, and keen searching eye seldom fail to carry conviction to the minds of the jury. In 1858 Mr. Towle was married to Abbey H. Lord of Cambridge, Mass.
232
HERMAN W. GREENE.
H ERMAN W. GREENE, of Ilopkinton, was born in that town, April 11, 1836, and was educated in the public schools and at Pembroke and Gilmanton academies. Ile entered upon the study of law with George & Foster at Concord, continuing it with the firm of Beard & Nickerson in Boston, and on his twenty-first birthday was admitted to the Suffolk county bar. successfully passing the examination, and en- tered upon the practice of his profession in Boston where he was actively engaged before the municipal court in all branches of legal pro- cedure. Following this, he returned to his native town, where he now resides and where he has been in the active practice of his profession ever since. In local political circles, Mr. Greene has taken an active part, having served as moderator of the town of Hopkinton since 1863. and as superintendent of schools for five years, and having been fre- quently elected to the legislature, serving in the sessions of 1881, 1889. and 1891, taking a brilliant and conspicuous part in the debates of the session, and serving with credit upon various important committees. Mr. Greene was county solicitor of Merrimack county for five years, an unprecedented period of service in these later days of rotation in office. Mr. Greene in early life was a Democrat, but at the outbreak of the war became identified with the Republican party and has served it ever since, upon the state committee and in whatever way his versatile talent could find an outlet for his partisan enthusiasm. Mr. Greene as a pub- lic speaker possesses the traits necessary for success, and has been called on various public occasions to serve as the orator of the day. always acquitting himself with remarkable credit. In the debates that have occurred in the house during his terms of service as a legislator, Mr. Greene has always been prominent, not only by reason of his im- portant committee assignments, but by reason also of his quick percep- tion of the drift of legislative affairs and of his zealous enthusiasm for the cause that he had espoused.
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