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 58
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Mr. Smith married a Miss Fowle of Watertown, Massachusetts, a sister of the wife of Abiathar G. Britton of Orford. Their son, Henry F. Smith, had his surname changed to Durant, under which designation he was known as one of the most adroit and
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successful lawyers in Boston, and afterwards as the founder of Wellesley College.
WILLIAM SMITH.
Son of Hon. Jeremiah and Eliza (Ross) Smith ; born, Exeter, August 31, 1799 ; Harvard College, 1817 ; admitted, 1820 ; practiced, Exeter ; died, Centreville, Mississippi, March 29, 1830.
Mr. Smith received his early education at the Phillips Exeter Academy. He went into his father's office as a student, and in 1820 became a practicing attorney in Exeter. Born to position and abundance, he lacked some of the most powerful incentives to exertion, and never chained himself to the oar of the law. But he possessed popular and brilliant qualities, and in politics and literature early made himself a position. He was chosen a rep- resentative in the state legislature in 1822, while he was in his twenty-third year, and again in 1823 and 1824.
He wrote with ability and point. He delivered several ad- dresses on public occasions, and published a pamphlet on the " Toleration Act of 1819," and another on the " Assassination of Julius Cæsar," besides many articles in the journals of the day. His taste for historical study induced him to collect materials for a history of the town of his nativity, which was interrupted by his ill health. Though probably not enamored of the law, he did enough in it to prove that he was no degenerate son of his dis- tinguished father.
In the spring of 1828 he was attacked by pulmonary disease. The winter of 1829-30 he was ordered to a warmer climate, but for him there was no healing virtue in the Southern breezes. To the great grief of his friends, he never again saw his home. The indiscretions of his youth never for a moment obscured the admi- ration of those who best knew him for his brilliant talents and manly character. He died unmarried ..
TITUS SNELL.
Mr. Snell was a native of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and studied law in that place with Judge Paddock. Admitted about 1835, he was in practice in Lunenburg and Guildhall, Vermont, and in Northumberland and Lancaster, until his decease in 1843. His
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education was respectable and his ability fair. He died of con- sumption at an early age.
His wife was Elizabeth Sampson of Lancaster, and he left one son.
ALPHEUS FRANKLIN SNOW.
Son of Alpheus and Salome (Harris) Snow ; born, Chesterfield, May 29, 1818 ; admitted, 1841 ; practiced, Claremont ; died, Hartford, Connecticut, November 25, 1886.
Mr. Snow was educated at the academy in his native town, and made his professional preparation in the office of Hubbard and Gilchrist in Charlestown, and at the Harvard Law School. He began to practice in Claremont in 1841, and became very suc- cessful, as well in conduct of causes in court as in the business of the office. After an experience of twenty-three years, when his intellectual powers were fully matured, the failure of his phy- sical health compelled him to relinquish his profession. He re- moved with his family to Hartford, Connecticut, which was his home during the remaining years of his life.
He was married in Claremont, November 19, 1845, to Sarah M. Dean. They had five children.
CHARLES EMERY SOULE.
Son of Dr. Gideon L. and Elizabeth H. (Emery) Soule ; born, Exeter, July, 1823 ; Bowdoin College, 1842 ; admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Dover ; died, New York city, December 12, 1887.
The father of Mr. Soule was the distinguished head of the Phil- lips Exeter Academy, in which institution the son was prepared for college. He studied for the bar with James Bell, and with Henry F. French in Exeter, and supplemented his preparation by attending the Harvard Law School in 1845 and 1846. He began to practice in Dover in 1846, as the partner of John P. Hale. After a stay there of seven years he removed to New York city, where during the later years of his life he filled the position of assistant surrogate. He was a fine scholar, and a frank, honor- able man, with none of the arts, however, by which many men of half his capacity acquire notoriety in the city. He was not push- ing, and his practice was not of a character to attract the public
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notice. He was much liked by those to whom he was best known, and was the president of the Alumni Association of his college in New York.
He was married, in 1848, to Ariana, daughter of Hon. Daniel French of Chester. She died in 1865, leaving three children. He afterwards married Eliza A. S. Murdock of New York.
ALFRED BYRON SPALDING.
Son of Edward P. and Mary (Dodge) Spalding ; born, Lyndeborough, Au- gust 16, 1849 ; practiced, Greenville ; died there (?), November 9, 1881.
Mr. Spalding entered Dartmouth College as a student in 1868, but did not complete the course. He prepared himself for the profession of the law, and was in practice in Greenville as early as 1875, and remained a year or two at least, and possibly until his early decease.
HIRAM A. SPEAR.
Born, West Braintree, Vermont, c. 1826 ; admitted, 1852 ; practiced, Mere- dith and Laconia ; died, Laconia, March 4, 1858.
Mr. Spear was a student of the law in the office of Jefferson P. Kidder of Vermont, and was admitted to the bar in Orange County. He began to practice in Meredith in 1852, but in a year or two went to California, where he remained a part of 1854 and 1855. Then returning to this State, he resumed practice in Laconia. In July, 1856, he was appointed register of Probate for Belknap County, and held the office till his death.
His wife was a daughter of Judge Kelley of Meredith.
ALDEN SPRAGUE.
Son of Noah, Jr., and Sarah (Hammond) Sprague ; born, Rochester, Massa- chusetts, c. 1770 ; admitted, 1792 ; practiced, Haverhill ; died, Barnet, Ver- mont, 1811.
This gentleman derived his Christian name from his ancestor, John Alden, of " old colony " fame. He probably prepared him- self for the bar under the instruction of his half-brother, Peleg Sprague of Keene, and began to practice in Haverhill about 1793. In 1796 he was chosen a selectman of the town, but in the
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seventeen years of his residence it does not appear that he held any other office, being absorbed, no doubt, in his professional business. Tradition proves that he was a learned, acute, and elo- quent lawyer. Isaac Patterson said he was the best jury advocate of his day. His practice was extensive, and he was engaged in most of the important trials in his county. He was assigned as counsel of Josiah Burnham, indicted for the murder of Freeman and Starkweather in 1806, and not improbably declined to argue the case in order that Daniel Webster, who was his junior, might have the opportunity of exhibiting on so conspicuous a stage his great powers, as yet unknown to fame.
Mr. Sprague was a man of wit, brilliant in conversation, and a great favorite in society. He enjoyed making neighborly calls upon his friends, and they were delighted to receive him in the hospitable fashion of the time.
His first wife bore him two daughters, one of whom became the wife of James I. Swan of Bath, and the other the mother of Edwin D. and Charles W. Rand of Littleton. His second wife was Eunice Stoddard, who was the mother of two sons and three daughters. One of the sons was the father of Hon. Ebenezer C. Sprague, a lawyer of Buffalo, New York.
JOHN SPRAGUE.
Son of Noah Sprague ; born, Rochester, Massachusetts, June 21, 1740 ; Harvard College, 1765 ; admitted, 1768 ; practiced, Keene ; died, Lancaster, Massachusetts, September, 1800.
This was an uncle of Peleg and Alden Sprague. He studied medicine a short time, and then turned to the law, under the tuition of James Putnam of Worcester, Massachusetts. He first opened his office in Newport, Rhode Island, but came in 1769 to Keene. There he practiced two or three years, and then removed to Lancaster, Massachusetts. He acquired a high standing as a jurist, and was of counsel in the celebrated cases wherein it was determined that human slavery had no longer an existence in that Commonwealth, under the new constitution. Caleb Strong and Levi Lincoln were his opponents. He was a member of each House of the General Court, and died Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of Worcester County.
His first wife was Catherine, daughter of Hon. Richard Foster; his second the widow of Hon. Thomas Ivers. He left one child.
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PELEG SPRAGUE.
Son of Noah, Jr., and Mercy (Dexter) Sprague ; born, Rochester, Massachu- setts, December 10, 1756 ; Dartmouth College, 1783 ; practiced, Keene ; died there, April 20, 1800.
Mr. Sprague began life as a clerk in a store in Littleton, but his friends induced him to acquire an education. He entered Harvard, but finished his course in Dartmouth, College. He ap- pears to have been chosen to the legislature of Vermont from the town of Acworth in 1781, perhaps through the influence of the college authorities, who were strongly opposed to the "Exeter government," and in favor of a union of the Connecticut valley towns with Vermont. He read law with Benjamin West of Charlestown, and probably became an attorney in 1785. After a short experience in Winchendon and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, he settled in Keene, and there acquired a handsome practice and became a citizen of prominence. In 1792 he was appointed by the town a committee to purchase a bell for the new meeting- house, and generously offered to take upon himself, in addition to his own share, the shares of four others of the ten townsmen who were judged least able to pay. In 1794 he was appointed solici- tor for Cheshire County. He was elected in 1797 to the state legislature, and to the Congress of the United States, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jeremiah Smith. He served two years, and was faithful and efficient. He advocated his views forcibly, and stood in fear of no man. His energy and indepen- dence of character were conspicuous in every position. As a law- yer he was diligent and studious, prompt and faithful. His rank in the profession was deservedly high.
He married Rosalinda, daughter of Deacon David Taylor of Charlestown, April 28, 1785.
JOHN EDWARD STANYAN.
Son of Jonathan and Elizabeth C. (Cochran) Stanyan ; born, Pembroke, May 17, 1816 ; Dartmouth College, 1840; practiced, Pembroke, Kingston, and Epping ; died, 1870.
Mr. Stanyan was fitted for college at the academy in Pem- broke. After teaching two or three years, he read law with
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Simeon Short of Thetford, Vermont, and began to practice in Pembroke in 1844. Three years afterwards he went to Kingston, and spent the following eight years there and in Epping. Then he is said to have lived awhile in Haverhill and in Ashby, Massachu- setts. He returned to Pembroke in 1864 or 1865, and continued there till his death.
Mr. Stanyan was a man of more than ordinary ability, and began life with regular habits and good principles. Later, both deteriorated, and he never found that success in the world which a better use of his powers might have given him.
He married, first, Lavinia, daughter of John Towle of Mere- dith, in January, 1841; second, Mrs. Urana (Coombs) Green of Townsend, Massachusetts.
CALEB STARK, JR.
Son of Major Caleb and Sarah (Mckinstry) Stark ; born, Dunbarton, No- vember 24, 1804 ; Harvard College, 1823 ; practiced, Concord ; died, Dun- barton, February 1, 1864.
Mr. Stark attended lectures at the Connecticut Law School for a year, and completed his legal study in the office of Charles Glidden Haines, in New York, where he was admitted as an attor- ney. He then proceeded to Ohio, and opened his office in Cin- cinnati ; but finding the climate unfavorable to his constitution, he made his way back to New Hampshire, and put up his sign in Concord.
The practice of the law did not suit his taste, and he soon abandoned it, and returned to Dunbarton, where on his ancestral farm he settled down to a retired and studious life. He was a great reader and a classical scholar, and contributed numerous articles of poetry and prose to the literary and political journals of the day. He had an inclination also for historical studies, and was the author of a history of Dunbarton, published in 1860, and of a life of his grandfather, General John Stark of the Rev- olution. He represented his town in the legislatures of 1834, 1835, and 1836.
In private life he was genial, social, and helpful to his poorer neighbors, who never appealed to him in vain.
He died unmarried.
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WILLIAM STARK.
Son of Hon. Frederick G. Stark ; born, Manchester, July 16, 1825 ; Wil- liams College, 1850 ; practiced, Nashua and Manchester ; died, Manchester, October 29, 1873.
This was a great-grandson of General John Stark of the Rev. olution. He was a member of Phillips Andover Academy from 1843 to 1846, studied law in Troy, New York, and was admitted to the bar in that State in 1851. In 1853 he returned to New Hampshire, and maintained an office for some years in Manches- ter, and a short time, it is stated, in Nashua. He was never very successful as a lawyer, however, and at length dropped out of business. His tastes were essentially literary, and his poetical compositions were much admired. He delivered the poem at the centennial celebration at Manchester, October 22, 1851, and another on a public occasion in Philadelphia.
His fondness for the study of natural history led him to form a large collection of foreign and domestic birds and animals, which he kept in a park, at all times open for the public gratifi- cation.
Mr. Stark's talents appear not to have been of the kind that are adapted to practical ends. His mind was unbalanced, and he accomplished but a small part of what his friends had hoped for him.
His wife was Miss Cummings of Lowell, Massachusetts.
DAVID STARRETT.
Son of William and Abigail (Fisher) Starrett ; born, Francestown, Septem- ber 21, 1774 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Hills- borough ; died, Saline Bayou, Arkansas, June, 1819.
After studying law with Samuel Bell of Francestown, Mr. Starrett began to practice at Hillsborough. He was regarded as a man of scrupulous integrity, was successful in his profession, prosperous, and apparently happy.
In March, 1812, he left his home with the avowed intention of visiting Boston on business, taking leave of his family as for a few days' absence. He proceeded to Charlestown, Massachusetts, and took lodgings at a hotel, where he remained for some days.
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One evening he informed his landlord that he was going into Boston on a business errand, and should return the same night. He walked out of the house, carrying a small trunk in his hand, and never came back. His non-appearance caused inquiry to be made, and the trunk was found on the Charlestown bridge, empty and apparently broken open, but no tidings could be obtained of the owner. He was supposed to have a considerable sum of money in his possession, and the natural inference was that he had been plundered and murdered. His family mourned him as dead, and his estate was administered accordingly.
Two or three years passed, and the excitement caused by the affair had subsided, when a letter from the missing man was re- ceived by his brother. In it Mr. Starrett declared that he had quitted his family and country with the deliberate intention never to return, and that he had left the trunk in the place and con- dition it was found in to give the impression that he had been robbed and murdered ; while in fact he had made his way to Providence, Rhode Island, the same night, on foot. He was, when he wrote, a major in the republican army of Mexico, as it was termed, which was really one of the bands of revolutionists who were then attempting the conquest of that country.
It was afterwards ascertained that he quitted this rather pre- carious military service, and returned to the United States, establishing himself as a trader in Arkansas, where under the assumed name of William Fisher he lived respectably, and accu- mulated a little property. But in a few years he reached the climax of his unaccountable behavior by committing suicide. No cause can be conjectured for his wild escapade, which involved those nearest and dearest to him in anxiety, grief, and deep mor- tification, and cast suspicion upon the innocent, except mental alienation; and in view of the tragical termination of his ca- reer, that seems the most charitable and reasonable explanation of it.
He was married in 1803 to Abigail E., daughter of Rev. Joseph Appleton of North Brookfield, Massachusetts, and had three children.
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DAVID STEELE.
Son of General David and Lucy (Powers) Steele ; born, Peterborough, September 30, 1787 ; Williams College, 1810 ; admitted, 1813 ; practiced, Hillsborough ; died, Hollis, December 10, 1866.
The subject of this notice was prepared for college at the acad- emy in New Ipswich, and pursued his legal studies with James Walker of Francestown, and Charles H. Atherton of Amherst. He opened an office in Hillsborough, at the " Bridge," and con- tinued in practice there until 1861, when he retired from active employment.
He was a diffident man, and though in high esteem as a coun- selor, he is said to have had no predilection for the law. He was seldom heard in the court-room ; he was rather a man of affairs. In the first cotton factory at the falls of the Contoocook he was inter- ested, as also in agriculture, and with better fortune than gen- erally falls to the lot of lawyer-farmers. He was the prime mover and chief director of the Contoocook Valley Railroad, and spared no time nor money to bring the enterprise to a successful issue. A man of integrity and usefulness to his church and State, he was universally respected.
He was married, November 1, 1838, to Catharine, daughter of Nathan Kendall of Amherst.
DAVID STEELE.
Son of Thomas and Ann (Moore) Steele ; born, Peterborough, November 27, 1793 ; admitted, 1824; practiced, New Durham ; died, Dover, July 6, 1882.
Mr. Steele fitted himself for college, but an accidental injury to his spine put a stop to his collegiate plans and affected his health in later life. He persevered in his design of embracing the legal profession, and studied in the offices of his brother, Jonathan Steele of Epsom, of James Walker of Peterborough, and of Stephen Mitchell of Durham. He settled in practice in New Durham as early as 1825, and lived there till 1850, when he changed his domicile to Dover.
He was a lawyer of prominence, successful in his practice, and was chosen to several local offices. For the few later years of his
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life he was a confirmed invalid, and his death took place at the home of one of his sons.
He married Lydia Burnham, in April, 1832, and had two sons.
DAVID STEELE.
Son of General John and Polly (Wilson) Steele ; born, Peterborough, De- cember 2, 1795 ; Dartmouth College, 1815 ; practiced, Deerfield and Goffs- town ; died, Goffstown, October 1, 1875.
Mr. Steele studied his profession with James Wilson of Keene, and first practiced at Deerfield in 1819, but after six months settled in Goffstown. He represented that town in the legislature of 1827, and was a state senator the two following years. He was also the first president of the New Hampshire Central Railroad.
He was a very successful business lawyer, though not a dis- tinguished advocate. He had a great number of cases in the Probate courts, and was a noted adviser in the multifarious ques- tions that arise in the administration of the affairs of towns. His experience in the proceedings in the laying out of highways was so extensive that Charles G. Atherton gave him the sobriquet of the " Colossus of Roads." In the fifty-six years of his residence in Goffstown he missed attending only a single term of the courts in his county, until the last year of his life.
With decided opinions, he was one of the most genial of men. He was no stirrer up of strife, but a true friend to good morals and worthy purposes. A high-minded, upright, every way repu- table lawyer, he was elected for years the president of the Hills- borough Bar Association.
He married, October 29, 1821, Sally, daughter of David Adams of Derry. After her decease he was married, October 9, 1838, to Isabella A., daughter of John Nesmith of Derry. He had two sons and a daughter. His son John was of the legal profession.
JOHN STEELE.
Son of Hon. David and Isabella A. (Nesmith) Steele ; born, Goffstown, c. 1839 ; admitted, 1861 ; practiced, Goffstown ; died there, 1869.
Mr. Steele did not, it is believed, enjoy the advantage of a col- legiate education. He acquired his professional instruction in his father's office, and became associated with him in practice. In
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1864 he joined the First New Hampshire Volunteer Cavalry, as a second lieutenant, and departed for the seat of war. In Febru- ary following he was promoted to be first lieutenant. The regi- ment performed good service in the field, and was mustered out in July, 1865.
Lieutenant Steele then returned to his home and resumed his profession. In 1868 he was chosen clerk of the town to fill out an unexpired term. The following year saw him in his grave.
JONATHAN STEELE.
Son of Thomas and Ann (Moore) Steele ; born, Peterborough, February 8, 1792 ; Williams College, 1811 ; admitted, 1815 ; practiced, Epsom and Sand- wich ; died, Epsom, September, 1858.
This was a nephew of Judge Jonathan Steele of Durham. After studying with Stephen Mitchell of that place and Charles H. Atherton of Amherst, he commenced practice in Epsom. He was said to be one of the most promising young men at the bar. He had a sufficient knowledge of the law and a retentive memory, good common sense, and an accurate judgment of men and things. He argued causes, and his voice was so sweet and well modulated that one of the judges declared that he never heard any music to equal it. He was solicitor of the county of Rock- ingham from 1818 to 1823.
In process of time his habits degenerated and his business fell off. He exchanged his stand at Epsom with that of Samuel Pea- body at Sandwich, and removed thither, but in a year or two returned. The death of his father-in-law put him in possession . of a farm, which he carried on in connection with his law prac- tice. He was an industrious farmer, and a kind and obliging husband and father.
His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of General Michael McClary of Epsom, and they had five children, one of whom became a practitioner of the law.
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STEPHEN POWERS STEELE.
Son of General David and Lucy (Powers) Steele ; born, Peterborough, July 26, 1784 ; Williams College, 1808 ; admitted, 1812 ; practiced, Hancock and Peterborough ; died, Peterborough, July 22, 1857.
This was an elder brother of David Steele of Hillsborough. He studied his profession with James Wilson of Peterborough, and opened his office for clients in Hancock in 1812. His name appears on the school committee in 1814. In 1815 he returned to his native town. He probably held a respectable place among the practitioners of his day, but was not particularly noted. In the affairs of the town he was especially interested. He was town clerk from 1823 to 1829; representative in the legislature in 1841 and 1842 ; and a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1850.
His wife was Mrs. Jane McCoy, and they had one son.
TURNER STEPHENSON.
Son of Captain Briant and Deborah (Turner) Stephenson ; born, Lyme, April 8, 1798 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Lancaster ; died there, January 26, 1872.
Mr. Stephenson was prepared for, and nearly completed the course in, Dartmouth College, but did not graduate. His legal studies were prosecuted in the office of William Farrar of Lan- caster, and in that of William C. Bradley of Westminster, Ver- mont, and he was admitted in Essex County, and commenced practice in the town of Lunenburg in that State. There he remained three years, and then returned to Lancaster for the remainder of his life.
A modest, unobtrusive man, he seldom, if ever, appeared as an advocate before the jury, but confined himself mainly to the busi- ness of his office. In this department of the profession he was eminently safe and trusted. As a counselor his opinions were received with deserved confidence. Faithful to his client's inter- ests, and of unblemished integrity, he was selected for the office of Judge of Probate in 1855, and continued to occupy it for thirteen years, and until he reached the constitutional limit of age in 1868.
After his resignation he did not return to professional practice,
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but having acquired a competency, spent the evening of his days in social intercourse and the enjoyments of his home. Judge Stephenson, while at the bar, lacked confidence in himself, and with greater faith in his own capacity might have occupied a more conspicuous place with credit. At his death he left the memory of a sound and judicious legal adviser, a useful citizen, and a worthy man.
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