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 30
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In Littleton, as in other places where he lived afterwards, he gained the good-will of the people, indicated by his frequent selection for town offices. He was a member of the school com- mittee of Littleton, with the village minister and doctor. In some doggerel rhymes, the production of a mischievous pupil, the committee are described as -
old bald head, And wooden leg, And popple-headed Dow.
After spending four years in Littleton he moved to Franconia, and there lived till 1830. Eleven years he was a selectman there, and six years town clerk ; often moderator, and one of the school committee. He did little or nothing at the law, but was fre- quently engaged as a school-teacher, and for a number of years was employed by the Franconia Iron Company as a carpenter or joiner.
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In 1830 he transferred his residence to Thornton. There he was repeatedly chosen moderator and town clerk, and held the appointment of postmaster a considerable time.
He went back to Franconia in 1847, and made that town his home through the rest of his life.
Mr. Dow is described as a good scholar and agreeable in con- versation. The handsome dowry said to have been brought him by his first wife was perhaps no stimulant to his industry. He accomplished little in his profession. In his later years he fell into very narrow circumstances, and his second wife, a woman of extreme energy, is said to have defended him from the sheriff by saluting the latter with a copious external application of hot water.
He married in early life Abigail Crawford, daughter of Hon. Jonathan Arnold of Rhode Island. The issue of the marriage was a daughter and four sons. After her decease he was united to Nancy Bagley of Thornton.
MOSES DOW.
Son of John Dow ; born, Atkinson, c. 1746 ; Harvard College, 1769 ; prac- ticed, Plymouth and Haverhill ; died, Haverhill, March 31, 1811.
Little is discoverable of the early history of Mr. Dow, except that he obtained his education by his own exertions. He gradu- ated from Harvard College, studied law, and is understood to have made his début in the profession in Haverhill, Massachu- setts, where he became a member of the Fire Society in January, 1773. He must have come into New Hampshire early in the year 1774. Toward the middle of that year he was a resident of Plymouth, and is believed to have practiced his profession there about five years. He was commissioned by the royal governor, register of Probate for the county of Grafton, and continued by subsequent appointments in that office during the term of thirty- four years. As the breach widened betwixt the mother country and the colonies, he took sides heartily with the latter, and in 1775 represented Plymouth and Rumney in the provincial Assem- bly. In 1776 he acted as the agent of Plymouth to receive arms and ammunition from the State for that town.
In 1781 and 1782 he was a representative from Haverhill in the state legislature, and again in 1790 and 1793. He was a
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member of the state Senate in 1784 and in 1791, in which latter year he was chosen president of that body. He was also a coun- cilor in 1785 and 1786.
Mr. Dow was the earliest permanently settled lawyer in his county. At the April term of the Court of Sessions, 1774, he was selected by the Court to act as the King's attorney ; and again at the April term, 1775. At the June term of the Court of Common Pleas, 1774, he entered five actions ; at the August term, 1782, fifteen out of the whole number of twenty-one. For many years his practice must have been extensive. In 1808 he was commissioned Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Grafton County, and continued in the performance of his duties till his death. He was also an officer of the state militia for several years, holding the commissions of brigadier and major-general.
General Dow was emphatically the man for the time and the situation. With excellent education and abilities, enterprise and sagacity, he was ready to turn his hand to any useful service, from laying out a turnpike to keeping the records of the court. For years he carried on his broad shoulders a good share of the burdens and responsibilities of the frontier settlement, and did it so modestly that he won and kept the liking and confidence of all who knew him.
The position of delegate to the Continental Congress was ten- dered him in 1784, but he declined it.
General Dow is said to have been addicted to religious disputa- tions. He was one of the earliest to protest against the taxation of all citizens of whatever religious belief, or of none, to support the preaching of the one favored religious denomination.
From Dartmouth College he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1785.
His wife was Phebe Emerson, and their family consisted of two daughters and two sons, who both studied their father's profes- sion.
MOSES DOW, JR.
Son of General Moses and Phebe (Emerson) Dow ; born, Haverhill, c. 1776 ; admitted, 1799 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died there, c. 1840.
This, the eldest son of General Moses Dow, in due time be- came a student in his law office, and a practitioner in Haverhill in 1800. He was postmaster a number of years, and register of
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Probate from 1808 to 1838. He is said to have possessed little force of character, and had small law practice. His office was in a building with a country store. He is remembered chiefly by a remark made of him by George Sullivan, counsel for the de- fendant in the breach of promise case of his sister, Mary Dow, against Joseph Bell, in which he testified as a witness. "Dow appears pretty well," said the advocate, " and generally has on a ruffled shirt, but it is n't always clean."
ALLEN PRATT DUDLEY.
Son of Moses and Persis (Pratt) Dudley ; born, Chesterfield, December 16, 1819 ; admitted, c. 1841 ; practiced, Winchester, Nashua, and Chesterfield ; died, San Francisco, California.
Mr. Dudley probably qualified himself for his profession in Vermont, and commenced practice in 1841 in Bethel, in that State. Two years after he removed to Winchester, in 1844 to Nashua, and about 1851 to Chesterfield. From Chesterfield, in 1855, he emigrated to San Francisco, California, where he prac- ticed his profession till his death, some time after 1882.
He is represented as having decided ability, but as wanting somewhat in "staying power."
He married, November 16, 1841, Mary S. Wheelock of Swan- zey, and had eight children.
ASA DUNBAR. +
Born, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, 1745 ; Harvard College, 1767 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, June 22, 1787.
Mr. Dunbar studied for the pulpit, preached awhile at Bed- ford, near Concord, Massachusetts, beginning in 1769; and was settled as a colleague with the Rev. Thomas Barnard over the first church in Salem, Massachusetts, July 22, 1772. He gave great satisfaction to his parish, and was regarded as a preacher of superior excellence, but after a few years his health declined, and he was dismissed at his own request, April 29, 1779.
He afterwards determined to change his profession, and pre- pared himself in the office of Joshua Atherton of Amherst for the practice of the law. About the close of the Revolutionary
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war he removed to Keene, and was admitted to practice probably early in 1783. He soon rose to prominence. He acquired a good share of business and much popularity. The same powers which had given him his standing as a preacher enabled him to excel as an advocate. The only lawyers of Cheshire County when he was admitted were Simeon Olcott and Benjamin West of Charlestown, and Daniel Newcomb of Keene. These were all men of learning and ability, but Mr. Dunbar was probably fully their equal in everything but professional experience.
He was much devoted to the institution of Freemasonry, and delivered an address before Trinity Lodge of Masons at Worcester, Massachusetts, June 25, 1781. He held the office of master of the lodge at Keene up to the time of his decease, and was buried with Masonic honors. The contemporaneous newspaper account of his death states that "he was esteemed by his acquaintance as an instructive, easy, and agreeable companion ; he was honorable in his practice, attentive to his business, candid in his professions, and zealous in the cause of virtue and religion."
His wife, Mary, a sister of Daniel Jones of Hinsdale, survived her husband several years. He left also five children.
ELIJAH DUNBAR.
Son of Samuel and Mary (Snow) Dunbar ; born, Bridgewater ; Massachu- setts, April 23, 1759 ; Dartmouth College, 1783 ; practiced, Keene and Claremont ; died, Keene, May 18, 1847.
Mr. Dunbar was a student of the law in the office of his uncle Asa Dunbar of Keene. There he entered into practice, and per- manently resided, with the exception of seven years, from 1797 to 1804, when he was at Claremont.
He was chosen representative in the legislature from Keene in 1806, 1808, and 1810. Joel Parker became for a while a partner in his office, and was the active manager of the business. Mr. Dunbar did not attend the courts much after that time, but was employed somewhat in justice matters. General James Wilson, Jr., who remembered him as he was at this period, said : " He was not much of a practicing lawyer, within my recollection. He was fond of amusement. He used to go trout fishing a good deal, and I used to go with him."
His wife was Mary, daughter of Alexander Ralston of Keene. They had six children, two of whom survived their father.
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WILLIAM HENRY DUNCAN.
Son of William and Mary (McMurphy) Duncan ; born, Candia, September 26, 1807 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; practiced, Haverhill and Hanover ; died, Hanover, March 29, 1883.
Mr. Duncan was of Scotch-Irish descent, and prided himself upon it, not a little. His father kept a country store, and was in easy circumstances. The son had a taste for study, and com- pleted his preparatory course at Phillips Exeter Academy. He graduated from college with the honor of the valedictory address, which was assigned to him, one of the three best scholars of his class, it is said on account of his graceful manner and oratorical powers. He was also selected to deliver the Master's oration three years later.
He chose the law for his profession, on which, or some other account, his father refused to do anything further for his support, and he was compelled to resort to teaching. He pursued that occupation in Charleston, South Carolina, for about four years, at the same time studying law under the direction of Benjamin F. Dunkin, and there was called to the bar. Returning to New Hampshire, he began to practice at Haverhill, but in a little time was induced by the failing health of his father-in-law, Mills Olcott, who required his aid to manage his extensive concerns, to settle in Hanover. There he passed the residue of his life. His practice at one period was somewhat extensive, but as his wife's delicate health rendered it necessary for him to accompany her every winter for many years to Florida, his law business naturally fell off, and towards the close of his life occupied but little of his time. Still he loved his profession, and as long as his health and strength permitted, attended the sessions of the courts. He was well versed in the learning of the law, but he had no relish for the rude contests of the country forum. He had a certain fastidi- ous taste that held him aloof from all that was ostentatious, aggres- sive, or discourteous. Hence his practice in court was necessarily limited. But on those rare occasions when he was called on to make a public address, he charmed all his hearers by his captivat- ing manner, his fitly chosen language, and the dignity and appropriateness of his sentiments. On one occasion when he was a member of the legislature, a speech that he made attracted so
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much attention and commendation, that it was quite in his power to have made it a stepping-stone to political prominence, if he had wished. But he had no taste for political strife.
In private life Mr. Duncan was most estimable : a good citizen, a model husband, a true friend, and a delightful companion. He had enjoyed the advantages of the most cultivated society, and the friendship of many able and distinguished men. His manners were courtly, and based upon a kindly heart. He conversed with fluency and elegance, and his memory was stored with an abun- dance of anecdotes, which he related with admirable zest and point. The lack of ambition, the easy pecuniary circumstances which his marriage brought him, as well as his dislike for pub- licity and contention, prevented him from exerting his best powers in his profession or in letters. He was content with being a scholar and a gentleman.
In 1851 he was made a lonely man by the death of his child- less wife. After that he became almost a recluse in his chambers in a public block in Hanover. For the last year or two of his life his health was very feeble. His death was deeply regretted by those who best knew his amiable qualities and the trials he had undergone.
His marriage with Sarah M. Olcott was solemnized at Hanover, June 25, 1834.
DANIEL MESERVE DURELL.
Son of Nicholas and Abigail (Meserve) Durell ; born, Lee, July 20, 1769 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, April 29, 1841.
Mr. Durell acquired his professional training in the office of Henry Mellen of Dover, and in that town commenced practice in August, 1797. In 1807 he was elected a representative in Con- gress, and served one term. He was a member of the state legis- lature in 1816 when a new arrangement of the courts was pro- vided for, and he received the appointment of Chief Justice of the District Court of Common Pleas. He held it until 1821, as long as that court endured, and then went back to his practice. In 1830 he was made United States attorney for the district of New Hampshire, and remained in the office during one administration.
Judge Durell was a man of superior abilities and of good pro- fessional attainments. He did not enjoy popularity among the
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common people, who considered him too much of an aristocrat. He was nice in his dress, and rather cold and distant in his man- ners. In his dealings he was what is called a " close calculator," and at his death left quite a large estate.
He was married, June 1, 1800, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Wentworth, Jr., of Dover. They had several children.
JOHN SAMUEL HAYES DURELL.
Son of John S. and Elizabeth (Hayes) Durell ; born, Dover, September 24, 1798 ; Union College, 1819 ; admitted, 1822 ; practiced, Dover ; died there, September 25, 1862.
Mr. Durell was a nephew of Judge Daniel M. Durell. He had his preparation for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and entered the Dartmouth University, but after the downfall of that institution finished his course at Union College. His connection with the bar was not a long one. He began to practice in Dover in 1822, but was not dependent upon his profession, nor, appar- ently, was he greatly enamored of it. About 1825 he sold out to Thomas E. Sawyer, and departed to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he went into business as a commission merchant. He never practiced law again. After some years he returned to Dover, and finished his life there.
He married in November, 1845, Clarissa D., daughter of An- drew Wentworth of Somersworth. They had no children.
CHARLES AUGUSTUS DURGIN.
Son of Jesse and Clarissa (Dwight) Durgin ; born, Concord, November 10, 1826 ; admitted, 1862 ; practiced, Andover ; died there, August 10, 1876.
Mr. Durgin was educated in the schools of Concord, Hopkin- ton, and Andover, and began life as a machinist, in Lowell, Massachusetts. For a number of years he was a manufacturer of sewing-machines, but having lost nearly everything by fire, he decided to try his fortune elsewhere. He went to the city of New York, and being of an ingenious turn, had faith that he might succeed as a patent lawyer. He studied in the law department of the University of New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. He had not overestimated his ability, and for fourteen years prac- ticed his profession there in patent cases with great success. He
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expended much money in fitting up a place at (East) Andover, where he hoped to enjoy many years of life, and removed there, but only to die. By those who knew him he was much respected for his ability and his manly character.
He married Placentia W. Crawford of Pelham, November 20, 1855, and left three children.
DANIEL DWIGHT.
Son of Justus and Sarah (Lamb) Dwight ; born, Belchertown, Massachu- setts, September 7, 1775; Dartmouth College, 1797; practiced, Westmore- land ; died, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 5, 1851.
Mr. Dwight was admitted a counselor of the Superior Court in Cheshire County in May, 1803, having probably already been in practice two years as an attorney of the Common Pleas in West- moreland. He lived in that place a quarter of a century, and the estimation in which he was held by his fellow-citizens is shown by their election of him to various offices in the town, such as mod- erator, and representative to the General Court. He was repre- sentative in 1816 and 1817.
At the age of fifty he decided to try a new and distant locality, and removed to Jacksonville, Illinois. He lived there more than twenty-five years, and died, it is supposed, while on a journey into Ohio.
He married Mary Dickinson, daughter of General Ebenezer Mattoon, at Amherst, Massachusetts, December 24, 1807.
GEORGE NEHEMIAH EASTMAN.
Son of Hon. Nehemiah and Anstris (Woodbury) Eastman ; born, Farming- ton, January 24, 1820 ; Dartmouth College, 1839 ; admitted, 1842 ; practiced, Farmington ; died there, April 28, 1892.
Mr. Eastman was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy. He studied law with his father in Farmington, and as long as the latter lived was associated with him in practice. His home was in Farmington, and he died in the house in which he was born.
He was chosen school committee and acted as such several years ; he was a representative in the legislature in 1854 and 1858, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1876.
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He was also vice-president of the savings bank, an officer in the Masonic institution and in the religious society of his town, and many years was president of the bar association of Strafford County.
He was a studiously careful and conscientious lawyer. Though of modest disposition, he was firm and unyielding in his conten- tion for the rights of those whom he represented.
He was a man of sterling qualities, personally as well as profes- sionally. His even temper, kindly manners, his helpfulness and hospitality, will not soon be forgotten by the people among whom his life was passed.
His wife was Ellen F. Gilman of Laconia. They had no chil- dren.
JOEL EASTMAN.
Son of Joel and Betsey (Pettengill) Eastman ; born, Salisbury, February 22, 1798 ; Dartmouth College, 1824 ; practiced, Conway ; died there, March 16, 1884.
This sturdy son of fruitful Salisbury was trained for college at her academy, and studied law with her preceptor and counselor, Samuel I. Wells, and with William C. Thompson at Plymouth. In 1827 he began to practice in Conway. In 1832 he was mar- ried, and his wife a few years later became hopelessly insane, and lived in that condition to old age. It was a great grief to him, and for a time almost unmanned him. But he was made of stern stuff, and devoted himself resolutely to his profession, and to the work of the political campaign then pending. He was a delegate to the national convention which nominated General Harrison for the presidency, and did yeoman service for the candidate of his choice in New England. He made numerous political addresses, and his imposing physique, his sonorous voice, and his eloquent periods combined to gain him a' high reputation as a platform speaker of effectiveness.
He did not abandon his profession in the hope of the illusory rewards of political life. He made the law his dependence. Never a great student of books, he had mastered the main princi- ples of the law, and had a natural sense of justice which usually guided him to correct conclusions. If not technical, he was com- monly right. Direct and sensible, he was a wise adviser, and he was as true to his client as the needle to the pole.
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It was, however, his power as an advocate that gave him his chief celebrity. Although the terms of the higher court came sel- dom, yet there were plenty of hearings of minor degree that gave opportunity for counsel to air their eloquence, and whenever Mr. Eastman was to speak, he was sure of an audience. He entered with his whole soul into a trial. He made the cause his own, in every sense. His zeal sometimes carried him even into a physical encounter with the adverse counsel, in which he was pretty sure to get the best of it.
But it would be doing him injustice to represent him as a mere fighting lawyer. He knew men, their prejudices, and their man- ner of looking at questions in dispute, and could appeal with sin- gular skill to their feelings and their judgment. The sincerity of his own convictions shaped and pointed the arguments he im- pressed with convincing force upon his auditors. His eloquence was natural, springing directly from the heart, impetuous as a torrent, and sweeping away all cavil and objections. There was sometimes an adroitness in his manner of presenting his subjects that was inimitable. He was once employed to defend the occu- pant of a burnt building, charged by the owner with setting it on fire. There was really some reason to suspect the owner of the offense, but not quite enough to accuse him directly. Mr. East- man opened his defense thus: "Gentlemen of the jury : My client stands charged with the crime of burning a building. But it is one thing to make a charge, and another thing to prove it. I might, for example, charge Deacon Jones, or the owner of the building in question, with burning it-not that I wish to be understood that Deacon Jones would be guilty of such an act!" The implication could not have failed to penetrate the densest understanding.
If one had need of an adviser familiar with the niceties of the law,.he would hardly have applied to Mr. Eastman. But if he wanted a straight-forward, strong counselor, able to brush aside all sophistries, and measure the real merits of his case, and to defend them loyally and ably, Mr. Eastman was his man. For long years, in the hilly regions of old Strafford County he was a popular hero, his name was one to conjure by, and men were never tired of telling of the " powerful pleas " that he made.
His political life was a disappointment. He was district attor- ney of the United States for New Hampshire, from 1841 to 1845;
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a member of the legislature about half a dozen years ; a delegate in the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and Judge of Probate from 1856 to 1868. He was supported by his party in the legis- lature for United States senator, and twice received a nomination for Congress, but in each case failed of election. This undoubt- edly caused him no little pain and annoyance at the time, but he afterwards came to regard it as fortunate, in view of the many trials and the few real satisfactions of congressional life.
Judge Eastman kept his bodily and mental vigor to a great age. It was a characteristic of the race from which he sprang. His mother, who died in 1867, lived to the age of one hundred and five years and nine months, and preserved her faculties to the last.1 As her son was about parting with her some time before her death, he said : "Good-by, mother; I may never see you again." She instantly replied, " What ! Joel, you are not going to die, are you ?"
He married in December, 1832, Ruth Gerrish, daughter of Hon. Richard Odell of Conway. She bore him one child who died in infancy.
MOSES EASTMAN.
Son of Edward and Anna (Judkins) Eastman ; born, Salisbury, August 1, 1770 ; Dartmouth College, 1794 ; admitted, 1797 ; practiced, Salisbury ; died, Waltham, Massachusetts, April 19, 1848.
Mr. Eastman first saw the light in a town which has produced many men of mark, with some of whom he was connected. He was an uncle of Joel Eastman of Conway, was of kin to Daniel Webster, and married a sister of Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth. He studied law with Thomas W. Thompson of Salisbury, and commenced practice in his native town in 1797. He was post- master from 1801 for a quarter of a century ; in 1816 he was made clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for the old county of
1 Mrs. Eastman was a little girl of six when the unfortunate Ruth Blay was executed at Portsmouth for concealing the death of her illegitimate child. Mrs. Eastman was a pupil of Ruth Blay, and was the first to discover the body of the child hidden beneath the school-room. She naturally told her mother what she had seen, which led to the trial and condemnation of the poor school- mistress. Popular sympathy was strongly on the side of the convicted woman, and Mrs. Eastman often said that she was sorry that she had ever given information of the discovery she made.
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