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 36
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
Mr. Gardner married Margaret Leonard of West Springfield, Massachusetts, November 1, 1804. They had four children.
ISAAC GATES.
Born, Charlestown (?), Massachusetts, May 7, 1777 ; Harvard College, 1802 ; admitted, 1808 ; practiced, Concord and Goffstown ; died, Harvard, Massa- chusetts, November 9, 1852.
Mr. Gates was admitted to the bar in Cumberland County, Maine, and began to practice in Brunswick in that State, in 1808. In 1813 he came to Concord, and remained there till some time in the following year, when he went to Goffstown, for a year or two only. He subsequently practiced in Lynn, and finally in Harvard, Massachusetts.
In July, 1814, he delivered an oration before the Washington Benevolent Society of Bradford, which was published.
His wife was Miss Bullen of Concord.
JAMES MADISON GATES.
Son of Abel and Mary (Chase) Gates ; born, Cornish, October 30, 1808 ; practiced, Claremont ; died there, April 8, 1854.
Mr. Gates is understood not to have received a collegiate edu- cation. His profession he studied at Cavendish, Vermont, with Judge Ely, it is believed. In the village of Proctorsville, in that town, he passed his first year of practice, and then, about 1835, changed his domicile to Claremont. In 1846 and 1847 he was chosen a representative in the legislature. Though he enjoyed a fair amount of practice, he is said to have been somewhat indo- lent, and not a thorough student of his profession. His habits in
392
DECEASED LAWYERS
other respects were unimpeachable, and his native powers were such that, when roused, he manifested no small ability as an advocate.
He married Lestina Maria Seward, October 10, 1835, and had four children, three of whom are still living.
JOHN HATCH GEORGE.
Son of John and Mary (Hatch) George ; born, Concord, November 20, 1824 ; Dartmouth College, 1844 ; practiced, Concord ; died there, February 5, 1888.
Mr. George's collegiate course was cut short in his junior year on account of the death of his father, but he was afterwards given his degree, as well as that of honorary A. M. He fitted himself for his profession with Franklin Pierce of Concord, whose ex- traordinary success as an advocate probably had no little weight in stimulating his student's ambition to excel in the same direc- tion. He commenced to practice in Concord in 1846, and began to be known as an ardent politician at the same time. He was chosen clerk of the state Senate in 1847, 1848, and 1850, and solicitor of Merrimac County in 1849, for five years. From 1853 to 1858 he was United States attorney for the district of New Hampshire. Four years he was chairman of the Democratic com- mittee of the State; a member of the national Democratic com- mittee from 1852 to 1856; a delegate to the Democratic national conventions of 1856 and 1880, and thrice a candidate of his party for Congress. That he did not hold other and higher public offices was due to the fact that his party had fallen into the minority. From the beginning of his professional life he made frequent appearance before the public, in speeches from the plat- form, and in the court-room. His qualifications were peculiarly high. His subject was always well mastered, though he rarely wrote out any part of his discourse. His ideas were so clarified that his words unstudied gave them best expression, and his com- mand of language was varied and abundant. He comprehended human nature, and adapted his utterances to the understanding and feelings of his hearers. He was thoroughly in earnest, and never beat about the bush, but came at once to the heart of his subject. His style was forcible and not seldom brusque. He was logical, humorous, satirical, denunciatory, as each best suited
393
ALPHABETICALLY.
his end. As a political debater and as a legal advocate, he was one of the most interesting and effective in the State.
His law practice, especially in the early half of his professional career, consisted very largely in the trial of contested cases, civil and criminal. He had a sufficient acquaintance with legal princi- ples, though he was no great student of books. The constitution of the man would never permit him to apply his mind to ques- tions of executory devises and contingent remainders. He needed living issues to awaken his interest. In the application of the rules of the law to his facts, however, he had remarkable skill and judgment.
It was in the court-room that he exhibited his best powers. Vigorous in body and mind, every faculty he possessed was at the service of his client. His zeal fairly permeated every fibre of his being, as if it were an electric current. His examination of wit- nesses was searching, and his cross-examination often most effec- tive. By his art -without overstepping the rules of evidence - of coloring the impressions given to the jury, and by his adroitness and alertness in always upholding the equities of his client's cause, it has been estimated that he gained an advantage in jury trials quite equal to five per cent.
Colonel George (his title was derived from his being chief of the military staff of the governor) began his connection with rail- way matters in 1847. He was clerk and counsel of the Concord Railroad for twenty years. In 1867 he received the appointment of solicitor of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, which terminated only a year before his decease. He thus became familiar not only with the details of railway administration, in the frequent suits that demanded his attention, but also with the broader ques- tions of expediency and public need, which in his later life often formed the subject of his appeals to legislative and municipal com- missions. It may truly be said that upon all points pertaining to the railway system of the section in which he lived, both as to the tactics and the strategy of the subject, no man was better equipped than he. In 1870 he delivered an address upon "Railroads and their Management."
Several of his speeches were published, all characterized by his direct, incisive style : one before the Bar Association of the Northern Counties ; another on the anniversary of the birth of Daniel Webster ; others, arguments in legal cases.
te
394
DECEASED LAWYERS
Colonel George was one of the leading men of the State for more than a quarter of a century, in the bar, in politics, and in railway matters. Perhaps no name in New Hampshire was better known than his. Although he was a hard fighter, always calling things by their plain names, and never sparing an opponent in the open field, yet there was no malice in his composition. All liked him. He was blunt but honest, rough but kind-hearted, and he was incapable of a treacherous or a mean action. Every one had confidence in his integrity and right intentions. He was genial, public-spirited, always ready to help a friend. His death was felt as a serious loss to the community.
Colonel George was united in marriage, in September, 1849, to Susan Ann, daughter of Captain Levi Brigham of Boston, Massa- chusetts. After her death he married, in July, 1864, Salvadora M., daughter of Colonel James D. Graham, U. S. A. By his first marriage he had four sons and three daughters ; by his sec- ond, a daughter. His eldest son is a lawyer.
BENJAMIN JOSEPH GILBERT.
Son of Colonel Joseph and Hannah (Wheat) Gilbert ; born, (North) Brook- field, Massachusetts, October 5, 1764 ; Yale College, 1786 ; admitted, 1789 ; practiced, Hanover ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, December 30, 1849.
Mr. Gilbert studied his profession with Dwight Foster in his native town. He established himself as a practitioner in Hanover before 1794. He was appointed county solicitor in 1799; elected a representative in the state legislature in 1800 and 1801, a mem- ber of the executive council in 1809 and 1810, and representative again in 1817 and 1818. When the controversies respecting Dartmouth College 'arose, Mr. Gilbert was interested against the Wheelock party, and in behalf of the old college as opposed to the new university. He, in connection with two others, as a com- mittee of the Congregational Church in Hanover, issued, in 1815, a pamphlet entitled, " A True and Concise Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Church Difficulties in the Vicinity of Dart- mouth College in Hanover."
An accident which occurred to Mr. Gilbert rendered him nearly deaf, which was a serious obstacle to the pursuit of his profession. He is represented as having been the best lawyer in Hanover, of his time, and was commonly called Buron Gilbert, as well on
395
ALPHABETICALLY.
account of his superior legal knowledge, as of his loud voice and slightly pompous manner. His business fell off in consequence of his difficulty of hearing, and in 1824 his wife inherited a plan- tation and considerable property from her brother who died un- married in Richmond, Virginia. Thereupon Mr. Gilbert removed his residence to Boston, Massachusetts, and employed his time the remainder of his life in looking after the newly acquired property.
While in the practice of his profession he is said to have gained the popular designation of " the honest lawyer." Among his per- sonal friends and correspondents may be enumerated Daniel Webster, Jeremiah Mason, Jeremiah Smith, and Abiel Foster. In the year 1847, in a speech on occasion of the opening of the Northern Railroad in New Hampshire, Mr. Webster referred to Mr. Gilbert in these terms : "The granting of the charter of the Fourth turnpike, which led from Lebanon to Boscawen, was re- garded as a wonderful era. The champion in the legislature of this great enterprise was Benjamin J. Gilbert, then a lawyer at Hanover, always a most amiable and excellent man, and now enjoying a healthful old age in the city of Boston. I think he is eighty-four years old. He is well known to the elder inhabitants of this county, and I am glad of this opportunity to allude to him as a highly valued friend of long standing."
Mr. Gilbert married Sally Shepard of Boston, Massachusetts, August 2, 1796, and was the father of five children.
DANIEL GILBERT.
Son of Colonel Joseph and Hannah (Wheat) Gilbert ; born, (North) Brook- field, Massachusetts, September 7, 1773 ; Dartmouth College, 1796 ; admitted, 1799 ; practiced, Enfield and Lebanon ; died, North Brookfield, Massachusetts, March 11, 1851.
This was a younger brother of Benjamin J. Gilbert of Hanover, with whom he studied his profession. He is said to have first opened his office in Enfield. He could have made but a short stay there before his removal to Lebanon, where he was between 1800 and 1805. He probably returned to Massachusetts in the latter year, the date of his admission to the bar there, and entered upon the practice of law in (North) Brookfield, together with the management of a large and valuable farm which came to him by
396
DECEASED LAWYERS
inheritance. He is represented as a good counselor, and had a respectable standing in the profession. For many years before his decease, he had withdrawn from active engagements in the courts, on account of the infirmity of deafness.
He married Mary, daughter of Captain Joseph Waters of Salem, Massachusetts, May 6, 1806.
CHARLES GILMAN.
Son of Bradbury and Hannah (Gilman) Gilman ; born, Meredith, December 14, 1793 ; practiced, Sanbornton ; died, Baltimore, Maryland, September 9, 1861.
This gentleman entered the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1813, and studied law in the office of Matthew Perkins, in Sanbornton. In that town he first established himself as a lawyer, in 1826, and remained about seven years. He made no special figure in his profession, so far as is learned, but was known as "something of a man," and a zealous Freemason.
In 1833 he removed his residence to Baltimore, Maryland. There he practiced his profession, and was advanced to the office of Grand Master of Masons in Maryland, and Recorder of the General Grand Encampment of the United States.
In 1849 he became one of the numerous pilgrims to the newly acquired Eldorado of California, and unlike many others of that company, succeeded in the acquisition of a fortune there. In 1856 he returned to Baltimore, and afterwards served as General Grand High Priest of the G. G. Chapter of the United States.
Mr. Gilman was married, first, to Martha Hilliard ; second, to Ruth P. Morse, December 1, 1830; third, to Catherine Blan- chard, June 3, 1852. His last wife and one daughter survived him.
SAMUEL TAYLOR GILMAN.
Son of Hon. Nathaniel and Dorothea (Folsom) Gilman ; born, Exeter, May 7, 1801 ; Harvard College, 1819 ; admitted, 1823 ; practiced, Exeter; died there, January 23, 1835.
From ten to fourteen years of age young Gilman was a student of Phillips Exeter Academy, and at eighteen an instructor therein. He pursued his law studies with Jeremiah Smith and George Sul-
397
ALPHABETICALLY.
livan in his native town, and there opened his office in 1823. His superior talents and amiable character gave him' universal popularity. He was chosen to deliver a Fourth of July oration before the inhabitants of the town, and an address before the Rockingham Agricultural Society, both of which gained him much credit. In 1829 he was elected a representative in the General Court.
In the midst of prospects the most bright and flattering he was attacked by symptoms of pulmonary disease. All was done that affection, and skill, and care could do to stay the progress of the dread malady, but in vain. At the age of thirty-four his earthly life came to an end. He was unmarried.
IRA GOODALL.
Son of Rev. David and Elizabeth (Brigham) Goodall ; born, Halifax, Ver- mont, August 1, 1788 ; admitted, 1814 ; practiced, Bath ; died, Beloit, Wis- consin, March 3, 1868.
The schools of Littleton furnished young Goodall the means of education, and at the age of twenty-one years he became a law student in the office of Moses P. Payson of Bath. He adopted that town as his home, and practiced law there nearly half a cen- tury. He was not distinguished as an advocate, but rather as a business lawyer. For many years his practice was very extensive, and he is said to have entered more actions in court than any other lawyer in the State.
Mr. Goodall, however, did not confine himself to the business of the law. He became interested in trade, with various partners and in several places. As might have been expected, he met with many losses, through fires and incapable or dishonest agents. He also took part in railroad schemes, none of which proved suc- cessful. The result was that he dissipated the property which he had acquired by his law practice, and became embarrassed.
He left the State in 1856, and removed to Beloit, Wisconsin. In his later years his mental powers failed to such an extent that he ended his life in an insane asylum.
He is said to have been a strong man in his palmy days, and with some defects to have had many excellent qualities. He served as a representative in the legislature, and about 1848 was president of the White Mountain Railroad.
E
e
398
DECEASED LAWYERS
His wife was Hannah Hutchins of Bath, and they had several children, one of whom entered the legal profession.
CHARLES BISHOP GOODRICH, LL. D.
Son of Josiah and Lucy (Bishop) Goodrich ; born, Enfield, March 26, 1804 ; Dartmouth College, 1822 ; practiced, Lebanon and Portsmouth ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, June 17, 1878.
This distinguished jurist studied his profession with Levi Wood- bury at Portsmouth. Upon his admission he opened an office for a short time in Lebanon, but having an ambition for a wider field, soon betook himself to Portsmouth, where he secured in a short time a good position. In 1832 he was chosen one of the representatives to the state legislature ; and this it is believed was his only political preferment. Though he held well-grounded opinions upon political questions, the law was his first choice, and he had no disposition to give it a mere divided allegiance.
He resided in Portsmouth ten or twelve years, and won the reputation of being a lawyer of the first class. The only criticism known to have been made upon him by those qualified to judge is that he was somewhat lacking in the ability to apply the law to the facts ; in other words, that his knowledge, which was admit- tedly very extensive, was rather theoretical than practical. He rather avoided the contests of jury trials, for which he had no special inclination, and preferred chamber practice and hearings in banc, where undoubtedly his chief strength lay.
A large city promised the best and indeed the only adequate employment for talents and acquirements like his, and he quitted Portsmouth for Boston, Massachusetts. There his standing was already well known, and he was welcomed at once into the ranks of the leading members of the bar. He was always a diligent student, and made himself familiar with every branch of juris- prudence. Upon constitutional law he was regarded as a high authority, and in 1853 he was employed to deliver a course of lectures before the Lowell Institute, which he afterwards pub- lished in a volume entitled "The Science of Government' as exhibited in the Institutions of the United States of America."
Though lacking the popular qualities of the forum, he was an able logician, and his arguments by their power and weight com- manded admiration and respect. It has been said that after two
0
399
ALPHABETICALLY.
or three exceptions, he was regarded as second to none of the eminent lawyers of the Suffolk bar, and that he was the next prominent candidate for a seat upon the Supreme Bench of the United States when Benjamin R. Curtis received the appoint- ment.
In private life Mr. Goodrich was genial, warm-hearted, and generous. His death was a sore blow to his numerous friends, and a serious loss to the profession which he had done so much to adorn, and no act to discredit.
He was married, March 19, 1827, to Harriet N., daughter of Chester Shattuck of Portsmouth. She survived him.
MOSES BRADBURY GOODWIN.
Son of Nathan and Joanna (Bradbury) Goodwin ; born, Buxton, Maine, April 6, 1819 ; Bowdoin College, 1845 ; practiced, Meredith and Franklin ; died, Franklin, September 7, 1882.
Mr. Goodwin throughout his life manifested more liking for literary than for legal pursuits. He studied his profession in Maine, and came to Meredith to practice about 1850, but in two or three years removed to Franklin. There he was for some time employed by Kendall O. Peabody in his business of paper man- ufacturing. About the year 1860 Mr. Goodwin proceeded to Washington, District of Columbia, and occupied a position as assistant librarian. Having a strong proclivity in the direction of journalism, he formed an editorial connection with the " Na- tional Intelligencer," and subsequently became a correspondent of some newspapers in New Hampshire. He was a ready and inter- esting writer.
For several years he held a clerkship in the War Department. He employed his leisure in compiling a full history of education in the District of Columbia.
In 1871 he was induced by the illness of his wife to return to Franklin. The succeeding year he was engaged in establishing a new weekly paper there, the " Merrimac Journal." He was connected with it two years, and made it bright and interesting by the various productions of his pen. In 1874 he sold out his interest, and afterwards lived quietly in the town, contributing occasionally to the press, until his life was terminated by con- sumption.
400
DECEASED LAWYERS
His wife was Sarah B., daughter of Kendall O. Peabody of Franklin. They had four daughters.
WILLIAM FREDERICK GOODWIN.
Son of Nathan and Joanna (Bradbury) Goodwin ; born, Limington, Maine, September 22, 1823 ; Bowdoin College, 1848 ; practiced, Concord ; died there, March 12, 1872.
Mr. Goodwin was more noted in other fields than in the vo- cation for which he originally prepared himself. After leaving college he was for some time engaged in teaching in Missouri and elsewhere, while at the same time he gave his leisure hours to legal studies. In 1854 he graduated from the Harvard Law School with the degree of LL. B. About 1855 he opened an office in Concord, and after a residence of five years went to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to continue practice there. The opening of the war of the Rebellion brought him back to New England, and he sought and obtained the commission of first lieutenant in the regular army. He performed his duties in the field with credit, and at the battle of Chickamauga received a wound which subse- quently caused him to be placed on the retired list for disability. For his gallant conduct in that engagement he was brevetted captain, and was retired in 1865.
He was long interested in historical and antiquarian subjects, and was actively connected with the New Hampshire Historical Society as recording secretary from 1859 to 1862, and as librarian from 1860 to 1867. He was a diligent collector of books and manuscripts bearing upon his favorite studies, and gathered a library of no inconsiderable value. He was fond of writing on historical questions, and, entertaining very decided opinions, was apt to express them with much positiveness. He published many articles of a controversial character in newspapers and periodicals, and contributed a good deal for the " Historical Magazine." He also compiled and published in 1871 a volume of " Records of the Proprietors of Narragansett Township No. 1, now the town of Buxton, Maine."
He was married, September 7, 1854, to Ellen Noyes, daughter of Kendall O. Peabody of Franklin. She bore him one daughter, who died in infancy, and was followed by her mother January 28, 1859.
401
ALPHABETICALLY.
WILLIAM GORDON.
Son of Captain William Gordon ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, 1763 ; Harvard College, 1779 ; practiced, Amherst ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, May 8, 1802.
Of this gentleman, all the accounts received, from whatever source, are most laudatory. He studied his profession with Joshua Atherton of Amherst, and began to practice there in 1787. In February, 1793, he was appointed register of Probate; he served as state senator in 1794 and 1795, and as solicitor of the county from 1794 to 1801; in 1797 he became a representative in Congress, and retained his seat three years, until his resigna- tion ; and in June, 1801, he was commissioned attorney-general, and so remained up to the time of his death. These continuous and manifold public employments prove his high deserts in the opinion of the people, and of the appointing authorities.
He was possessed of very superior intellectual powers, of ample legal learning, and of every qualification for holding a leading station at the bar. Of upright and independent spirit, above petty prejudices, correct in his life, warm in his friendships, and true to his convictions, his early death was lamented by all as a real loss to the bar and to the public.
His wife was Frances, daughter of Hon. Joshua Atherton of Amherst. They had one son, who bore his father's name and followed his profession.
WILLIAM GORDON.
Son of Hon. William and Frances (Atherton) Gordon ; born, Amherst, Feb- ruary 25, 1788 ; Harvard College, 1806 ; admitted, 1809; practiced, Peter- borough, Keene, Walpole, and Charlestown ; died, Brattleborough, Vermont, January 12, 1871.
Mr. Gordon was fitted for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and for the bar in the office of his uncle, Charles H. Atherton of Amherst. He began his professional life in Peter- borough ; removed to Keene about 1812, to Walpole about 1817, and to Charlestown about 1820. With all his advantages of birth and education, a fine person, elegant manners, a good know- ledge of the law and of letters, he made little figure as a prac-
26
402
DECEASED LAWYERS
titioner. He was thought to be proud and distant, and country clients were shy of approaching him. During the latter half of his life he did not assume to practice. He is remembered as a good converser, familiar with the literature of the day, and interested in current politics, and a courtly gentleman of the old school of manners.
His pluck and presence of mind at the age of seventy-five deserve mention. A party of young men and girls were skating on the Connecticut on a winter's day, when one of the latter ventured upon a weak spot in the ice, which gave way and in- stantly submerged her. Her companions were powerless to aid her, when Mr. Gordon, who happened to be near, sprang at once to her relief. He plunged without hesitation into the icy stream, dragged out the helpless girl, and landed her safely on the shore.
In the latter part of his life Mr. Gordon was subject to occa- sional periods of mental disturbance, and was from time to time an inmate of the asylum at Concord, and at Brattleborough, where his death took place.
He never married.
CHARLES FREDERICK GOVE.
Son of Dr. Jonathan and Polly (Dow) Gove ; born, Goffstown, May 13, 1793 ; Dartmouth College, 1817 ; admitted, 1820 ; practiced, Goffstown and Nashua ; died, Nashua, October 21, 1859.
Mr. Gove began his law studies with Josiah Forsaith of Goffs- town, and was graduated LL. B. from the Harvard Law School in 1820. He began to practice in Goffstown, and soon gained prominence professionally and politically. In 1829 he was as- sistant clerk of the state House of Representatives; in 1830 and the four following years he was a member of the same body ; in 1835 he was a state senator and president of the Senate ; from 1834 to 1837 he was solicitor of Hillsborough County ; from 1837 to 1842 attorney-general of the State; and from 1842 to 1848 Circuit Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He removed to Nashua in 1839, and in 1848 he became superintendent of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, which office he held till his death.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.