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 59
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
He married, first, Eleuthera Porter of Charlestown, in 1830; and second, in 1841, Phebe Hough Oakes of Lancaster, who is still living. He left no children.
THOMAS STERNE, JR.
This was a son of Dr. Thomas Sterne of Claremont, one of the original members of the medical society of the State. He was of Cornish in 1798, and practiced law in Claremont a few years, between 1790 and 1800, and then went to western New York, where he is supposed to have died.
AARON FLETCHER STEVENS.
Son of Captain John F. and Martha Stevens ; born, Londonderry, August 9, 1819 ; admitted, 1845 ; practiced, Nashua ; died there, May 10, 1887.
At the age of sixteen the subject of this notice was appren- ticed to the trade of a machinist, and afterwards worked at it for some years as a journeyman, but at every opportunity strove to perfect his education. When he had reached the age of twenty- three, George Y. Sawyer of Nashua, perceiving his ambition and his ability, invited him to enter his office as a student, and Mr. Stevens gladly accepted the offer. Having studied three years he was admitted to practice, and on Mr. Sawyer's proposal became his partner. He found himself at once in the midst of a large and important law practice, in which he had continually to meet the ablest members of the bar in Hillsborough and Merrimac counties. No doubt the arduous competition stimulated his ambi- tion and resolution, and shortened the road to self-confidence and success. He received the appointment of solicitor for Hills- borough County, and performed its duties for five years, and as the criminal business was large and fell mostly upon the solicitor, and as many of the cases were defended by the most astute coun-
664
DECEASED LAWYERS
sel, he acquired habits of accuracy, a wider acquaintance, and a more assured position, from this experience.
Mr. Stevens was a representative from Nashua in the legisla- tures of 1849, 1854, 1856, 1857, and from 1876 to 1883 inclusive. In 1867 he was elected a representative in Congress, and served four years with great credit.
Before this he had proved his courage and patriotism. He was one of the earliest in the State to tender his services when volunteers were first called for in 1861, and the commission of major in the First New Hampshire Regiment was awarded him. When the Thirteenth Regiment was organized he was made its colonel. In 1864, at the siege of Petersburg, while he was in command of a brigade, he led an assault on Fort Harrison, and fell severely wounded near the parapet, while he had the satisfac- tion of seeing his command enter the work and plant their colors upon it.
For his gallantry and military merit the brevet of brigadier- general was conferred upon him in the following December. The war being ended, General Stevens returned at once to his profes- sional practice, which continued large and lucrative, as long as the condition of his health permitted him to attend to it. The last few years of his life, to avoid the extreme cold of the North, he spent the winters in Florida, where he was the owner of an orange grove.
General Stevens was amiable, but he lacked not energy; com- panionable, but maintained due dignity. His ambition never made him, nor did another's good fortune render him, envious. In the fields of law, politics, and war he showed himself to be equally a leader, without provoking jealousy or rivalry.
He was an admirable lawyer, and treated all with whom he came in contact, or in conflict, with courtesy, never losing the command of his temper or of his faculties. In the court-room and upon the platform he was an interesting, eloquent, and con- vincing speaker.
General Stevens was married, May 19, 1861, to Adelaide M. Johnson of Nahant, Massachusetts, who accompanied him in his campaigns, and was his nurse in the hospital. He left no chil- dren.
665
ALPHABETICALLY.
BOSWELL STEVENS.
Son of Lemuel and Mary (Pike) Stevens ; born, Pomfret, Connecticut, November 9, 1782 ; Dartmouth College, 1804 ; admitted, 1807 ; practiced, Pembroke ; died there, January 15, 1836.
Mr. Stevens worked at the forge until he was near sixteen, and then attended Moor's Charity School at Hanover until he was ready to enter college. He pursued his professional studies with Amos Kent in Chester, and during the latter part of his stay there performed the greater part of the work of the office.
In 1807 he located himself at Pembroke, in which not very promising field there was already one legal practitioner, Nathaniel Dearborn. Mr. Stevens found it rather hard to get a foothold, but his ability and character at length asserted themselves, and he obtained clients and friends.
He filled various offices of the town, and in 1814, and for ten years between that date and 1828, was a representative in the state legislature. He was prominent there. In June, 1828, he re- ceived the appointment of Judge of Probate for Merrimac County. The duties of that office he discharged until 1832, when he was disabled by a paralytic attack. He never entirely recovered from its effects, though he was able to attend to some business at times, afterwards.
He was a good lawyer, a good citizen, and a good man. He was frequently engaged in the trials of contested cases, before referees and in the courts, though in the latter usually as junior counsel, for he possessed no readiness of speech, and rather shrank from addressing the jury. He was prudent, careful, and accurate in his professional work, and his knowledge was fully equal to all demands upon it.
In 1810 he married Jane, sister of Amos Kent of Chester. After her death he married, in 1814, Catharine Hale, daughter of Noah Emery of Exeter. He left several children, of whom one at least adopted the legal profession.
2
666
DECEASED LAWYERS
GEORGE WASHINGTON STEVENS.
Son of Abram G. and Judith (Flanders) Stevens ; born, New Chester (now Hill), November 16, 1814 ; practiced, Laconia ; died, Concord, October 2, 1877.
Mr. Stevens completed his academical education at Kimball Union Academy, in 1838, and studied his profession with George W. Nesmith at Franklin. He entered into practice at Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, in 1843. The next year he was appointed solicitor for the county of Belknap, and served out his term of five years. In 1846 and 1847 and again in 1858 he was elected a representative in the legislature.
Though his temperament appeared sluggish, he was ambitious, shrewd, and energetic. No amount of labor daunted or dis- couraged him. His bodily health enabled him to endure long- continued labor in court, and his interest in his causes increased rather than flagged as time went on. He was concerned in one suit in behalf of a railroad contractor, where the evidence was so voluminous that the hearing occupied no less than three months.
He had no little skill and power in the advocacy of causes, and was a favorite public speaker, sure to attract a crowd whether he was arguing a cause to the jury, or addressing voters from the platform. He received from Dartmouth College the honorary degree of A. M. in 1868.
His death occurred in the Insane Hospital in Concord, where he had been placed on account of mental disease.
He was married in 1845 to Sarah A. Davenport of Meredith, and had one daughter.
SAMUEL HUBBARD STEVENS.
Son of John and Ruhamah (Fifield) Stevens ; born, East Kingston, Novem- ber 20, 1802 ; Dartmouth College, 1830 ; practiced, Bristol ; died, Concord, March 19, 1876.
Mr. Stevens read law with Stephen C. Lyford of Meredith, and Daniel M. Christie of Dover. In 1833 he established his office in Bristol, where he lived about twelve years; thence he removed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, but after a year or two changed his residence to Exeter, to become cashier of the Granite
667
ALPHABETICALLY.
State Bank. After occupying that position about ten years he retired from active pursuits, and made his home in Concord for the remainder of his life.
He was not specially distinguished as a lawyer, having little taste for controversy ; he was a gentleman of much kindness of heart, courtesy of manner, and excellence of character, and was highly esteemed.
He was married, July 27, 1840, to Seraphina S., daughter of Moses Sanborn of Kingston, and left one child, a daughter.
SOLON STEVENS.
Son of Samuel and Talitha (Bingham) Stevens ; born, Charlestown, Octo- ber 3, 1778 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; died, Charlestown, August 29, 1809.
This gentleman was a grandson of Captain Phineas Stevens, celebrated for his defense of Number Four from the depredations of the Indians, about the middle of the last century. He studied law with Benjamin West of Charlestown, and John C. Chamber- lain of Alstead. Admitted probably in 1801, he made choice of Exeter for his place of practice. There he remained until 1808, when he removed to Boston, Massachusetts. But his health soon failed, and he returned to the place of his nativity to die, at the early age of thirty. He never married.
WILLIAM WEIR STICKNEY.
Son of Daniel and Sarah (Morse) Stickney ; born, Enfield, June 24, 1801 ; Dartmouth College, 1823 ; admitted, 1826 ; practiced, Concord, Newmarket, and Exeter ; died, Exeter, March 19, 1888.
Mr. Stickney prepared himself for college at the Kimball Union Academy in Plainfield, and read law with Henry B. Chase of Warner. His first essay in practice was in Concord, but he stayed there only one year, and in 1827 opened his office in New- market. In that place he practiced twenty years, and then re- moved to Exeter.
He was a representative in the state legislature from Newmar- ket from 1839 to 1841 inclusive, and from Exeter in 1855. In 1849 he was commissioned United States attorney for the district of New Hampshire, and served until the advent of the succeeding administration. In 1857 he received the appointment of Judge .
668
DECEASED LAWYERS
. of Probate for Rockingham County, and performed the duties of the office until he reached the age of constitutional disqualifica- tion. He was a director in the Manchester and Lawrence Rail- road, and long a director in the Granite State Bank. .
.
But it was essentially as a practitioner of the law that his life- work was done. He liked his profession, and meant to succeed in it, and he grudged no labor to accomplish that purpose. He was not a brilliant man, but was emphatically a safe one. He met the multifarious demands of a country practice with prudence and care. As an adviser, a conveyancer, and a trier of liti- gated causes he was extensively employed. Every question sub- mitted to him received his best study and reflection. His cases were thoroughly prepared, and faithfully submitted. Without eloquence, he was a clear and argumentative speaker. His clients had the utmost confidence in his honesty and his ability. The duties of Judge of Probate were well and satisfactorily performed under his administration, and throughout his long life he had the esteem of the bar of his county, over whom he presided for twenty- eight years.
He was united in marriage, November 5, 1850, to Frances A., daughter of Clark Hough of Lebanon, and had three daughters.
EZRA STILES.
Son of Rev. Ezra Stiles ; born, Newport, Rhode Island, 1759 ; Harvard College, 1778 ; practiced, Keene ; died, Edenton, North Carolina, August 22, 1784.
This was a young man of precocious talents and learning. His father, afterwards president of Yale College, superintended his education, and at fifteen he had translated psalms from the Hebrew, and " learned some Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic." He came to Keene to practice law in 1781. The same year he was chosen a representative in the legislature of Vermont, under the temporary union of the towns east of the Connecticut with that State. Governor Chittenden appointed him a commissioner to settle the eastern and western bounds of Vermont, but probably there was no occasion for such action, at that time.
Before he could have won any enduring place as a lawyer, he was compelled by ill health to leave Keene for the South. There his early death terminated a most promising career.
669
ALPHABETICALLY.
JEREMIAH STINSON.
Son of Archibald and Sarah (Page) Stinson ; born, Dunbarton, April 4, 1775 ; Dartmouth College, 1798 ; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Dunbarton ; died there, September 24, 1809.
This gentleman read law with Baruch Chase of Hopkinton, and set up practice in his native town about 1802. The law, however, was not his sole resource. Belonging to a family of independent means, he had agricultural and other business to attend to, and in the seven years that he was at the bar made no figure that pre- served his memory to our time. His death was caused by a pain- ful accident. In sliding down from the hay-mow in his barn, he came upon a pitchfork, which pierced his body and inflicted a fatal wound.
He married, December 9, 1807, Clarissa, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Walter Harris of Dunbarton.
CHARLES JAMES FOX STONE.
Son of Deacon Peter and Ruth (Call) Stone ; born, Boscawen, April 21, 1827 ; admitted, 1857 ; practiced, Plymouth ; died there, April 19, 1860.
Mr. Stone was educated in part at the Military Academy in Norwich, Vermont, and studied law with Austin F. Pike of Franklin, and at the Harvard Law School, in 1854 and 1855. He opened his office in Plymouth in 1857, and became a partner of Joseph Burrows. He is said to have been unfortunate in some business operations, and to have had a controversy with another member of the bar which occasioned much bitterness of feeling. These circumstances, it is supposed, so unhinged his mind as to induce the rash act which caused his death.
He left a widow, Abby A., daughter of Meshech Weare of Andover, and two sons.
ABRAHAM BURNHAM STORY.
Son of David and Thankful Story ; born, Dunbarton, March 22, 1777 ; Brown University, 1799; admitted, 1802 ; practiced, Northwood and Wash- ington ; died, Dunbarton, September 16, 1830.
Mr. Story, having studied law under the direction of Charles H. Atherton of Amherst, began to practice in Northwood in
E
670
DECEASED LAWYERS
1803, but after a short sojourn there settled in Washington. There he lived more than a quarter of a century. He is described as of good address, affable and pleasing in his manners, one of the old-school gentlemen, and a man of culture and refinement. He was not a leader of the bar, though probably a highly respec- table practitioner. He was representative in the legislature from Washington in 1822.
He returned to his native place shortly before his death.
In 1804 he was married to Letitia Cochran of New Boston. She dying two years after, he married, December 22, 1808, Theo- dosia Willard of Charlestown. By his first marriage he had a daughter, Letitia, who married, first, Joseph W. White of Ports- mouth, and after his decease, Calvin Ainsworth of Concord, both members of the bar.
CHARLES STORY.
Born, England ; practiced, Great Island (now New Castle) ; died there, March, 1716.
Mr. Story was probably bred to the bar in England, and came to this country in 1697, with the commission of Judge of Admi- ralty for New Hampshire, and was appointed also secretary of the province and clerk of the council. From the two latter offices he was soon afterwards removed, but reappointed secretary by Gov- ernor Bellomont. He was also made register of Probate, and so continued through life. He was counsel in many important suits in New Hampshire, and especially in the great case of Allen v. Waldron in 1707. In the trial of that action the disputed Wheel- wright deed of 1629 was first produced in evidence, and the jury with honorable independence disregarded the illegal instruction to bring in a special verdict, and rendered a general one, as it was . within their province to do.
He left a wife, Susanna, but no children.
CHARLES JESSE STUART.
Son of William and Esther (Ferguson) Stuart ; born, Peterborough, Sep- tember 20, 1788 ; Dartmouth College, 1809; admitted, 1813; practiced, Sanbornton and Lancaster ; died, Lancaster, May 17, 1837.
Mr. Stuart first set up in practice at Sanbornton Square, and continued there about ten years. Little is remembered about his
671
ALPHABETICALLY.
professional business, but he is recalled as the leader of the choir in the old meeting-house there. He was a large man, and with his ample cloak thrown gracefully back, especially on great occa- sions, presented a striking figure in the singing-gallery.
About the year 1822 he went to Lancaster, and continued in the practice of his profession there as long as he lived. His chances of professional success were unfortunately marred by his habit of indulging in strong drink, the prevailing evil of his time. With more than respectable talents, education, attractive personal qualities, and desirable connections, he was cut off in the prime of life.
He was married on July 4, 1822, to Eliza, daughter of Daniel Austin of Jefferson, the first lady, it is said, who ever ascended to the summit of Mount Washington. They had two children.
GEORGE SULLIVAN.
Son of General John and Lydia (Worcester) Sullivan ; born, Durham, August 29, 1771 ; Harvard College, 1790 ; died, Exeter, April 14, 1838.
Mr. Sullivan was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, and at Harvard College, from which he and two older brothers graduated in the class of 1790. He prepared himself for his profession under the tuition of his father, and in 1793 or 1794 set up in practice at Exeter. In 1802 he was intrusted with the duties of solicitor of the county. In 1805 he was a representative in the legislature, was selected by the executive for the important post of attorney-general, and officiated as such nearly two years. In 1811 he was chosen a member of Congress, for one term, and in 1814 and 1815 he was elected a state senator. In the latter year he was again invested with the office of attorney-general, which he retained by successive appointments for twenty years, and then resigned it because of the passage of a statute which, though it increased the salary, forbade the incumbent to practice in civil causes. He chose to sacrifice his office, congenial as it was, rather than to give up so important and lucrative a part of his professional practice.
He was a careful, well-read lawyer, and an advocate of power and eloquence. By universal consent he ranked among the half a dozen foremost lawyers of the State. For many years he traveled the circuit with the judges, and found no lack of retainers in the various counties where the court held its sessions.
672
DECEASED LAWYERS
One of the notable traits of Mr. Sullivan was his liberality in practice. Mr. Mason and other able lawyers of that time set and maintained the fashion of yielding no advantage. If their oppo- nents blundered, they must take the consequences, however bitter. No indulgence of any sort was granted, except upon the severest terms that the court could be induced to impose. But Mr. Sulli- van offered no objection to any reasonable amendment. But for such as were disposed to take advantage, or were unfaithful to their engagements, he had no mercy. Meanness was an unpar- donable sin, in his eyes.
His temper was quick and high, but its flame was generally short-lived, and he rarely harbored malice. In the excitement of sharply contested trials, it was not uncommon for men to forget themselves, and say and do what in cooler moments they would condemn. Tradition tells us that on one such occasion Mr. Sulli- van's hot Milesian blood led him to challenge a brother attorney to the field of honor. Fortunately, the intervention of friends led to wiser counsels.
He cultivated the art of oratory - an art now almost extinct at the bar - with assiduity. His voice was sweet and susceptible of the finest modulations. His harangues were carefully studied, and his sentences beautifully rounded. The elegance of his per- son and dress, his logical skill and weight of personal character, combined with his charming diction and elocution, rendered him the most attractive advocate of his time in the State. He was generous and high-minded. A more honorable and upright man never adorned the bar. His life was worthy of the religion which he professed.
His first wife, to whom he was united in 1799, was Clarissa Lamson of Exeter. After her decease he was again married. He had children by each marriage, and two of his sons became prac- ticing attorneys in this State.
GEORGE SAMUEL SULLIVAN.
Son of Hon. John and Olivia (Rowe) Sullivan ; born, Exeter, June 17, 1833 ; admitted, 1856 ; practiced, Somersworth ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, April 29, 1868.
At the age of twelve young Sullivan entered the Phillips Ex- eter Academy, and there laid the foundations of his education.
673
ALPHABETICALLY.
His first intention was to become a merchant, and with that view he spent some time in a counting-room in Keene, but on maturer consideration he fitted himself, in the office of Gilman Marston of Exeter, for the profession which had been exercised so ably by three generations of his ancestors. He engaged in practice first in Somersworth from 1856 to 1859, and then sought the broader stage of Boston, Massachusetts.
He was ready and aspiring, and chose the conflicts of the court- room in preference to the labors of the desk. He showed his mettle in the trial of Commonwealth v. George C. Hersey in 1860, in which he was the leading counsel for the respondent, in an indictment for murder. He made a spirited and able though unavailing defense, the facts were so incontrovertible. He died before reaching the age of thirty-five.
He married, February 17, 1866, 'Annie C. Richards, at Boston, Massachusetts, and left no children.
JAMES SULLIVAN.
Son of Hon. George and Clarissa Lamson Sullivan ; born, Exeter, Decem- ber 6, 1811 ; Dartmouth College, 1829 ; admitted, 1832 ; practiced, Pem- broke and Concord ; died, Dowagiac, Michigan, August 19, 1878.
Prepared for college in the celebrated academy of his native town, Mr. Sullivan was the pupil of his father, in the law. He commenced practice in Pembroke in 1833, but in 1835 removed to Concord, and shared the office of Samuel Fletcher. In the lat- ter part of 1837 he emigrated to Michigan, practicing his profes- sion successively in Niles, Cassopolis, and Dowagiac. He was a member of the Senate of the State, and of the constitutional con- vention in 1850.
He was a lawyer of ability and knowledge, with many of the characteristics of the distinguished family from which he sprang. His youthful diffidence did not permit him to exhibit his best qualities here, but in his adopted home he held a high position in his profession.
He was married twice; first, to Nancy, daughter of Asa Mor- rison of Cassopolis, Michigan. She died in 1848, leaving one daughter. His second wife was Sarah E. Beckwith.
43
674
DECEASED LAWYERS
JOHN SULLIVAN, LL. D.
Son of John and Margery (Brown) Sullivan ; born, Somersworth, February 18, 1740 ; practiced, Durham ; died there, January 23, 1795.
" Master " Sullivan, the father of the future general, was a man of liberal education, and probably was the instructor of his son. The latter is said to have received his training in the law from Samuel Livermore of Portsmouth, and by the year 1774 to have acquired a considerable property as the fruits of his practice in Durham. In reviewing his life we are struck by the multitude of important events which were crowded into the succeeding twenty years. In 1774 he was a delegate to the first Continental Con- gress, and headed a party in the earliest armed resistance to the royal authority, at Fort William and Mary ; in 1775 he was again a delegate to Congress, was appointed a brigadier-general in the American army, and commanded the New Hampshire troops at Winter Hill ; in 1776 he was promoted to major-general, was taken prisoner in the battle of Long Island, exchanged and con- ducted the retreat of the American troops from Canada ; in 1777 he distinguished himself by his bravery at the battles of Brandy- wine and Germantown ; in 1778 he commanded the army in the descent on Rhode Island ; in 1779 he was at the head of the dev- astating expedition against the Western Indians, and the same year resigned his military commission. In 1780 and 1781 he was again a member of Congress ; from 1782 to 1785, inclusive, he was attorney-general of the State; in 1786 and 1787 he was president of New Hampshire ; in 1788 he was Speaker of the state House of Representatives, and president of the convention which ratified the United States Constitution ; in 1789 he was again president of the State, and was commissioned Judge of the Dis- trict Court of the United States, which office he held till his death.
If he failed of complete success in the field, it must be remem- bered that he had neither military education nor experience, but he abounded in courage, enterprise, and patriotism. His honor,- able character was never impugned till he had lain three quarters of a century in his grave, and then on evidence most inconclusive, while the whole tenor of his life, the complete and unfailing con- fidence of Washington and of his fellow-citizens, discredit the charge.
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.