USA > New Hampshire > The bench and bar of New Hampshire : including biographical notices of deceased judges of the highest court, and lawyers of the province and state, and a list of names of those now living > Part 25
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BARTLETT GERSHOM CILLEY.
Son of Aaron and Sally (Carr) Cilley ; born, Andover, June 4, 1835 ; Dart- mouth College, 1859 ; admitted, 1862 ; practiced, Bradford ; died there, August 21, 1867.
Mr. Cilley's home until he reached adult years was in Andover, and after his graduation he taught school there. He read law in Concord with Minot and Mugridge, and began practice in 1862 in Bradford as the partner of Mason W. Tappan. Their connec- tion lasted about a year, and Mr. Cilley continued to practice there alone during the few remaining years of his life.
He married Martha J., daughter of Dr. Jason H. Ames of Bradford, and left two children, a son and a daughter.
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BRADBURY POOR CILLEY.
Son of Jacob and Harriet (Poor) Cilley ; born, Nottingham, January 2, 1824 ; Dartmouth College, 1843 ; admitted, 1847 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, March 22, 1892.
Mr. Cilley was fitted for college at the Phillips Exeter Acad- emy, studied law in the Yale Law School and in the office of Daniel Clark at Manchester, and went into practice in that city in 1847. He developed a considerable interest in public affairs ; became an alderman, a candidate for mayor, and postmaster of Manchester from 1867 to 1871, and a delegate to the constitu- tional convention of 1876. His proclivity for military position may have been hereditary, for he was a grandson of Colonel Joseph Cilley of the Revolution on one side, and of General Enoch Poor on the other. He was prominently connected with the Amoskeag Veterans, as clerk, treasurer, and captain, and was a colonel on the staff of Governor Goodwin in 1859. He had much to do with the development of the Suncook Valley Railroad, and was a trustee of the City Savings Bank.
Mr. Cilley was a lawyer of good acquirements, excellent judgment, and acquaintance with human nature. He was not ambitious to address juries, though he was clever in making an offhand speech. He maintained a position through life, as a practitioner of ability and standing, a leading member of his political party, and a prominent and respected citizen.
He married, June 30, 1856, Angeline, daughter of Nahum Bald- win of Manchester. She with their only child, a daughter, sur- vived him.
HORATIO GATES CILLEY.
Son of Horatio G. and Sarah (Jenness) Cilley ; born, Deerfield, November 25, 1805 ; Dartmouth College, 1826 ; practiced, Deerfield ; died, Lowell, Mas- sachusetts, March 13, 1874.
Mr. Cilley had his preparation for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and after his graduation pursued his legal studies with George Sullivan in Exeter. He began practice in the south vil- lage of Deerfield in 1830. That town he represented in the state legislature in 1851 and 1852. Soon after this he removed to Lewiston, Maine, and continued the practice of his profession, but only for a short time, as his circumstances rendered him inde-
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pendent of it. His last residence was in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was a lawyer of good attainments, very gentlemanly in his manners, and well esteemed by his associates.
He was married in May, 1840, to Deborah, daughter of Thomas Jenness of Deerfield, and left two sons.
WYSEMAN CLAGETT.
Son of Wyseman Clagett ; born, Bristol, England, August, 1721 ; practiced, Portsmouth and Litchfield ; died, Litchfield, December 4, 1784.
The father of this gentleman was an English barrister at law, who enjoyed as long as he lived an ample estate, gave to this son a good classical education, and bred him to his own profession, but apparently as an attorney, not a barrister. The young man at the age of twenty-seven established himself as a practitioner in the island of Antigua, in the West Indies. He was very successful there, if we may judge from the estimation in which he was held by one of the citizens, John Weeks, who by his will, which took effect in 1750, settled upon him an annuity of fifty pounds ster- ling during life. This proved to be a welcome resource in his later years.
After a stay of ten years in Antigua, Mr. Clagett came to Portsmouth, no doubt with the expectation of taking a leading position in the province. He was admitted to the bar of the Superior Court, and was made a justice of the peace, having already the credentials of a notary public. These positions, so common now, were then limited to a few, and imported some special qualifications and gave consequence. Certainly Justice Clagett magnified his magisterial office. Every petty violation of the criminal law which came to his knowledge he made the object of his official cognizance. In order to invest his office of justice with suitable dignity, he caused to be fitted up in his house a sort of court-room, with a bench and raised chair for himself, and less elevated seats for his clerk and his sheriff. Into this abode of the majesty of the law he caused offenders to be conducted and arraigned before himself, whose heavy frown and portentous voice added to the imposing character of the scene. An example will show his method of proceeding. Clagett inquired one day of a countryman who had brought in a load of wood to sell, what price he asked for it. On being informed, the Justice d-d the man
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(for he was in the habit of swearing like " our army in Flanders ") for asking too much. The man retorted, with similar impreca- tions. Thereupon Clagett issued a warrant against him for pro- fane swearing, and caused the poor fellow to be brought before himself for trial.
The culprit then began to realize the situation, begged the Jus- tice's pardon, and averred that he would never have spoken so if he had known it was his honor, 'Squire Clagett.
" 'Squire Clagett harbors malice against no man," said the Court, " and freely forgives you."
" Thank your Honor," said the prisoner, and was about to go, when the Court interrupted in thunder tones : -
"Stop, sir ; 'Squire Clagett forgives you, but the law does not !" He then went on to pronounce judgment against the teamster, who was at last fain to get off with the sacrifice of his load of wood in satisfaction of the fine and costs.
So frequent did such proceedings become in this tribunal, that they gave a new word to the common speech, and "I'll Clagett you " took the place of " I'll prosecute you."
It is not to be understood that Mr. Clagett's business was con- fined to transactions of the character here described. On the contrary, he held his station and dignity as a counselor at law in the highest estimation. It is not known whether in this country the rules ever prevailed which separated the English barrister from vulgar tradesmen, but certainly for a long period it was regarded here as infra dignitatem for an educated lawyer to ad- vertise his business in the newspaper. Samuel Livermore, with a wholesome disregard of inapplicable traditions, when he had occasion to move his office, advertised in the "New Hampshire Gazette " not only that fact, but also that he had tickets in the Newmarket Lottery for sale. This double offense against the ex- clusive character of his profession produced from Clagett, who had a pleasant knack at versification, the following : -
ON AN ADVERTISEMENT OF S. L. ESQ.
Pray is it not a thing surprising To see a Lawyer advertising ? Tho' Law's the plea and the intent, Yet Lawyers should quote precedent. True it is, there's no dispute on 't, A tree 's known best by the fruit on 't,
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So he that sells the choicest wine Need have no bush (that is) no sign, But with the Lawyer we agree, The end of Law's a Lottery.
Mr. Clagett enjoyed the reputation of being a wit. One of his smart sayings has come down to us, chiefly because it turned out unexpectedly to be prophetic. He married a young lady not only of beauty, but with handsome expectations of property. An acquaintance congratulated him on marrying a fortune. "Not a fortune," he replied, " but a fortune's daughter - a mis-fortune !" The subsequent conduct of the lady is said to have proved his reply to have been " a true word though spoken in jest."
In 1765 Mr. Clagett was appointed by Governor Benning Wentworth attorney-general of the province, and in 1768, on the accession of Governor John Wentworth, his commission was renewed. He conducted the prosecution against the unfortunate Ruth Blay in 1768, the victim of a barbarous law, prematurely carried into execution by an unfeeling official. Mr. Clagett's inflated exordium in opening the prosecution was an apology for the enforcement of a statute so abhorrent to every sentiment of humanity ; " he called Heaven to witness that he was discharging a duty that he owed his country, his king, and his God !"
In 1769 Mr. Clagett took his family to England, where he would have remained, in consequence of inducements offered him by his friends and relations there, but for the obstinate refusal of his wife. He returned to this country after about two years, and soon afterwards purchased a farm in Litchfield, on the bank of the Merrimac, to which, in 1772, he retired with his family. For this he probably had a double reason ; first, he had openly taken part with the colonists in their complaints against the British government, and therefore could expect no further favors from Governor Wentworth or his friends who were all-powerful in Portsmouth ; and secondly, the province had just been divided into counties, each of which would have its own courts, and Litchfield promised to be one of the centres of legal and other business for Hillsborough County.
From Litchfield and Nottingham West, he was chosen a mem- ber of the last House of Representatives which assembled under the royal government, and to the third and fifth Provincial Con- gresses. He was an active and prominent member, and served on
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the most important committees, notably that to draft the plan for the government of the State. Under the new Constitution adopted in January, 1776, he was chosen a councilor, and shortly after- wards attorney-general, which position he resigned after about two years. He was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety in 1776, and elected a representative from Merrimac and Bedford in 1777. In August, 1778, he was chosen a special justice of the Superior Court, and in November, 1781, solicitor- general for the State. This office he filled until the establish- ment of the new Constitution in 1783, and he was the only person who ever held it.
Mr. Clagett's business lay chiefly in criminal proceedings, of greater or less magnitude. He was an excellent public prosecu- tor, and was fully employed in his duties as such for several years. Indeed, he thought it necessary at one time to call upon the legis- lature for assistants. But his civil practice is said never to have been very considerable, nor was he much employed as an advocate.
His personal appearance was striking. Tall and robust, with a stern countenance, heavy brow, and piercing black eyes, and an occasional convulsive twitch of the mouth accompanied by a frown and snap of the eye, he was not only a "terror to evil- doers," but an unattractive personage to all strangers. His rude- ness of manner and profanity of speech matched well with his looks. But beneath this forbidding exterior were found gentler qualities. He was social, hospitable, kind-hearted, and liberal, and had no malice in his composition.
He was not happy in his domestic relations, and his home was rather neglected. Unfortunately he failed in his duty to suitably educate his children. Those of them who acquired respectable learning did it in spite of his neglect. He never lost his self- importance, but is described as retaining his full-bottomed wig and once laced hat and threadbare fine garments to the last.
He was married in 1759 to Lettice Mitchell of Portsmouth, and had seven children, one of them of his own profession.
ICHABOD BARTLETT CLAGGETT.
Son of William and Mary (Thompson) Claggett ; born, Portsmouth, Sep- tember 21, 1821 ; Dartmouth College, 1845 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, March 12, 1861.
Mr. Claggett began the study of the law under his father in
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Portsmouth. Then, being made preceptor of the Brackett Acad- emy in Greenland, he devoted all his leisure time for the next two years to the same study, and finished it in the office of Ichabod Bartlett in Portsmouth. He was admitted to the bar in 1848. Twice he was elected solicitor of the city of Portsmouth. He was a young man of amiable character, respectable in his profession, and attentive to his business. His health after a few years gave way, and his life was terminated by consumption.
WILLIAM CLAGGETT.
Son of Hon. Clifton and Margaret (McQuesten) Claggett ; born, Litchfield, April 8, 1790 ; Dartmouth College, 1808 ; practiced, Portsmouth ; died there, December 28, 1870.
Few men have begun life with more favorable prospects than William Claggett. The son of a judge of the Superior Court, with a collegiate training, he served his legal apprenticeship in the offices of his father, of Edmund Parker of Amherst, and of George Sullivan of Exeter, and in 1811 began practice in the chief town of the State. He was selected the next year to deliver the Fourth of July oration, and a year or two later elected a mem- ber of the legislature, in which he held a seat repeatedly after- wards. Business naturally flowed in upon him, so that at one time he entered more actions in court than any other practitioner in the county. He was appointed clerk of the Circuit Court of the United States in 1821; was state senator in 1825; and naval officer of the port of Portsmouth in Jackson's administration.
But as he advanced in life he failed to retain the advantages he had gained. His business fell off and deteriorated in character, and his later years found him comparatively unemployed and in needy circumstances. There appears to have been some radical defect in his character, to cause so marked a loss of confidence in his professional capacity.
Several of his earlier speeches and addresses were published : an oration on Independence, 1812 ; speech in the New Hampshire legislature, 1814 ; address on Slavery ; address on the Unity of Races.
Mr. Claggett 1 was married, May 20, 1816, to Sarah F., daugh-
1 William Claggett was the first of his family to spell his name with a double g ; his father and grandfather used but a single one.
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ter of Governor William Plumer of Epping. Her death took place within a year or two, and he married, May 14, 1819, Mary, daughter of Ebenezer Thompson of Portsmouth.
His son by his second marriage was a lawyer.
CHARLES CLAPHAM.
This gentleman, a native of England, is said to have served for a time as a midshipman on a mast-ship. That probably brought him to this country. He was the teacher of the "Garrison Hill school " in Dover in 1775 and 1778, and in company with Joseph Blanchard made in 1787 the survey of the straight western line of Mason's patent, as mentioned in Belknap's History of New Hampshire. He studied law in Dover with Jonathan Rawson, and was recommended by the bar of Strafford County for admission to the Court of Common Pleas as an attorney, November 20, 1788. The next year he and Rawson were elected "attorneys for the town." In 1789 Mr. Clapham purchased from Rev. Dr. Jeremy Belknap, the historian, the dwelling-house which the latter had formerly occupied, at " the Landing " in Dover.
August 21, 1797, Mr. Clapham advertised in the Dover "Sun " that he "had removed his office from Daniel Libbey's store to one adjoining Mr. Thomas Footman's House, where constant attendance will be given in the line of his profession." The tradi- tion is that he was afterwards employed in some official position on board a vessel of war, and the announcement of his death is made in a newspaper of the time as follows: -
"" Died on board the ship Merrimack at Dominico, 14th March, 1799, by a fall, Charles Clapham, Esq., of Dover."
Mr. Clapham was married prior to his admission as an attor- ney, and had at least one son.
DANIEL CLARK, LL. D.
Son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wiggin) Clark ; born, Stratham, October 24, 1809 ; Dartmouth College, 1834 ; admitted, 1837 ; practiced, Epping and Manchester ; died, Manchester, January 2, 1891.
Mr. Clark was the son of a respectable farmer and blacksmith, and from time to time, as he grew up, attended the Hampton Academy, where he qualified himself to enter college. The ex-
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penses of his education he defrayed in considerable part by his earnings as a teacher in vacations. One half of his term of law study he passed in the office of George Sullivan, and the remain- der in that of James Bell, both of Exeter. He began practice in Epping, but in less than two years was attracted to Manchester by the prospect that it was to become a great business centre. Growing up with the place, he became identified with it in inter- ests, made himself known to all new-comers, and acquired a large practice. He was city solicitor, member of the school board, chief engineer of the fire department, trustee of the city library, and five years representative in the legislature, namely, 1842, 1843, 1846, 1854, and 1855.
A few years after his settlement in Manchester occurred the murder of Jonas L. Parker, which in respect to its atrocity, the public place of its commission, and the impossibility of ascertain- ing the author of the crime, has become a cause célèbre in the State. Mr. Clark was employed by the government to lead the prosecution, and succeeded so far as to procure the extradition from a neighboring State of the suspected criminal, and, after a pro- tracted examination, to obtain his committal to await the action of the Grand Jury. Though no sufficient evidence was found to warrant the indictment of the prisoner, yet in the hearing before the Police Court, where the defense was managed by the united strength of Benjamin F. Butler, Charles G. Atherton, and Frank- lin Pierce, Mr. Clark gained great credit for the ability with which he conducted the prosecution.
He became prominent in political affairs as he advanced as a lawyer. He was three times candidate for the state Senate, but his district was controlled by the adverse party. He had ac- quired so high a standing as a party leader, especially in the General Court, that he was put forward as a candidate for United States senator in 1855. His competitor was James Bell, who was elected, though in feeble health, and died in 1857. Mr. Clark was chosen to fill out the remaining four years of the term, at the expiration of which he was chosen for another full period, giving him in all ten years of service, including the entire duration of the great Rebellion. He was thus in a most re- sponsible and conspicuous position in those " times that tried men's souls." In the committee-room, on the floor of the Senate where his voice was often heard, and everywhere, in public and
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in private, he gave his support and influence to the cause of his country. He gained the confidence and warm regard of his as- sociates, and a national reputation as a statesman. During a considerable part of two sessions he was president pro tem. of the Senate.
Soon after his senatorial career terminated in 1866, he was appointed Judge of the United States District Court for New Hampshire. That office he filled to the time of his decease, though the law was such that he might have relinquished it at seventy years of age, with the continuance of a salary for life. But he chose to " earn his money." That he made an excellent judge may readily be believed. He put new life into the administration of the court, and was often called on to preside in the federal tribunals in other States of the circuit.
Twenty years' active practice at the bar, ten years' service in the highest legislative body in the nation, and twenty-four years upon the bench constitute a remarkable record, in the life of one man. And Judge Clark took no secondary place, wherever his fortune called him. He was a lawyer of learning, ingenious, acute, and strong, alike in counsel and in the courts. He was pitted against the leading members of the bar in Hillsborough, Merri- mac, and Rockingham counties, and needed to give no odds. His arguments were directed at once to the heart of the questions at issue. On various important public occasions, he delivered ora- tions, more elaborate and scholarly, often eloquent in feeling and expression. His alma mater in 1866 added his name to the honored list of her Doctors of Laws. In the constitutional convention of 1876 he was chosen president, and gave the key to the changes in our organic law which were effected by that body.
In private life Judge Clark was much respected. In his inter- course with others, though somewhat distant and formal, he was always inclined to oblige. He was honest, upright, and faithful to every trust. At the time of his death he was the oldest di- rector of the Amoskeag Corporation, and a trustee of the City Library, and of the Manchester Savings Bank. For some years he was the president of the Industrial School, in the success of which he felt much concern, and to which he gave his best efforts.
In 1840, June 9, he was united in marriage with Hannah W.,
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daughter of Maxcy Robbins of Stratham. She died in 1844, and he married, May 13, 1846, Ann W., daughter of Henry Salter of Portsmouth. She survived him, with their two sons, one of whom, Henry S. Clark, is a lawyer in New York.
DAVID FRENCH CLARK.
Son of David J. and Susan J. (French) Clark ; born, Manchester, Septem- ber 12, 1854 ; admitted, 1878 ; practiced, Manchester ; died there, March 24, 1890.
Mr. Clark was educated in Manchester, graduating from the High School in 1873, and passing without conditions the exami- nation for admission to Dartmouth College. The state of his health at that time prevented him from prosecuting a collegiate course, and he entered, some months afterwards, the office of Messrs. Herman Foster and Lucian B. Clough of Manchester as a student at law. In 1878 he was admitted, and formed a partnership in practice with Mr. Clough. In 1884 he was chosen county treasurer for the term of two years, and in 1886 was elected a representative in the legislature. He was an un- assuming but capable and successful lawyer, and a popular man, being a member of several orders and fraternities of a social character.
His disease was tuberculous, and he was ill but a short time.
DAVID JOSEPH CLARK.
Son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wiggin) Clark ; born, Stratham, Novem- ber 9, 1812 ; Dartmouth College, 1836 ; admitted, 1839 ; practiced, Peterbor- ough and Manchester ; died, Manchester, September 3, 1866.
In 1830 Mr. Clark was a student at the Phillips Academy in Exeter, and in the same town he pursued the study of the law from 1836 to 1839, in the office of James Bell. Immediately after his admission as an attorney he entered into practice in Peterborough ; in April, 1847, he removed to Lawrence, Massa- chusetts, and in October, 1850, he returned to New Hampshire, and became partner of his brother, Daniel Clark, in law practice in Manchester. In 1861 he received the appointment of postmaster of Manchester, and continued in that office to the close of his life. He was a man of amiable character, and though he was not
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peculiarly adapted for the highest range of professional employ- ment, was sufficiently successful in the practice of the office.
He was married, December 20, 1842, to Susan J., daughter of Leonard C. French of Bedford. He left children, one of whom was a lawyer of Manchester.
JOHN LEWIS CLARK.
Son of Peter and Jane (Aiken) Clark ; born, Francestown, December 4, 1812 ; Dartmouth College, 1832 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Nashua ; died, Andover, Massachusetts, November 29, 1854.
This was a younger brother of Peter Clark of Nashua, with whom he prepared himself for the bar. In 1836 he left this State and went to New Orleans, Louisiana, presumably with the inten- tion of remaining there, but in 1837 he returned to Nashua. He was in practice there but a short time, however, and afterwards became engaged in commercial business in Boston, Massachusetts.
He never married.
JOSEPH CLARK.
Son of Simeon and Lydia (Mosely) Clark ; born, Columbia, Connecticut, March 9, 1759 ; Dartmouth College, 1785 ; died, East Hartford, Connecticut, December 21, 1828.
This gentleman had an uncommon training for his profession. He served in the Revolutionary war, was taken prisoner and carried to Halifax, and afterwards to England. After peace was declared he was received into the office of John Sullivan of Dur- ham as a law student, and commenced practice in Rochester about 1788. There he continued till 1810, or a little later, when he resumed his residence in his native town in Connecticut, and subsequently removed to East Hartford, where his death, from an apoplectic attack, occurred. He appears to have been a man of competent abilities and acquirements, and to have estab- lished a good standing among the people of Rochester. He was chosen to deliver a Fourth of July oration in 1794, which was published; and was elected representative of the town in 1798 and 1801.
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