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 61
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In 1854 he removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and shortly after established himself in Chicago, Illinois, in general and real estate practice. The great fire in that city in 1871 seriously inter- fered with his business, and led to his quitting Chicago, and tak- ing up his residence in the East.
Mr. Thompson was highly educated, brilliant, of fine presence, and accustomed to the society of superior and cultivated men, with several of whom he was connected by the ties of consanguin- ity and marriage. At any time while he resided in New Hamp- shire it was in his power by steady application to place himself among the foremost lawyers in the State. In the words of the historian of Haverhill, "Nothing stood between him and profes- sional success except the enslavement to appetite."
Mr. Thompson married, May 20, 1835, Mary Porter, daughter
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of Hon. Mills Olcott of Hanover, who survived him. Of their five children, two daughters only are living.
FRANCIS SAMUEL THOMPSON.
Son of John Thompson ; born, Plymouth (?), c. 1818 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Campton ; died there, June 1, 1849.
It was in the office of William C. Thompson at Plymouth, and in the Harvard Law School in 1843, that Mr. Thompson prepared himself for the bar. Campton village was the place where he spent the few years of his practice, which were not enough to leave much memory of his work. He was a member of the school committee, and was something of a wit.
On the 1st of January, 1846, he was joined in marriage to Laura Ann Emerson of Campton, and she bore him one son.
JOHN THOMPSON.
Son of Benjamin and Mary (Pickering) Thompson ; born, Durham, Decem- ber 2, 1801 ; Harvard College, 1822 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Dover, Centre Harbor, and Moultonborough ; died, Centre Harbor, January 22, 1854.
Mr. Thompson was prepared for college at the Phillips Exeter Academy, which he entered in 1815. He studied his profession with Samuel Mitchell of Durham, and with Levi Woodbury of Portsmouth. After a sojourn of a few months in Dover, he settled in Centre Harbor, in 1825, and finished his life there.
He was somewhat eccentric, and not being driven by want, never made great exertions to obtain business, so that his practice was not considerable. He had a pretty house and a fine library, in which he naturally felt pride. The house took fire, and after quitting it safely he returned into it for the purpose of saving a chair which he valued highly, as a gift from his mother, and perished in the flames.
He never married.
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THOMAS W. THOMPSON.1
Son of Deacon Thomas and Isabella (White) Thompson ; born, Boston, Massachusetts, March 10, 1766 ; Harvard College, 1786 ; admitted, 1794 ; practiced, Salisbury and Concord ; died, Concord, October 10, 1821.
Fitted for college at Dummer Academy, Mr. Thompson studied awhile for the ministry, after his graduation, having previously served as aid to General Lincoln in putting down " Shays' Rebel- lion." From 1789 to 1791 he officiated as tutor in Harvard Col- lege, and then studied law under Theophilus Parsons at Newbury- port, Massachusetts. He settled in practice in Salisbury in 1794. His agreeable manners, professional ability, and diligence introduced him to an extensive business, which he made the most of till 1805, when upon his election to Congress he ceased to attend the courts, though he kept his office practice as long as he lived.
He held some years the postmastership of Salisbury ; he was made solicitor of the county in 1802, and in 1805 was elected a term to Congress. In 1807 and 1808 he was a representative of Salisbury in the General Court. In 1809, on being chosen state treasurer, and afterwards, he made his residence in Concord. In 1811, and the three following years, he was a representative of Concord in the legislature, the last two years serving as Speaker. He was chosen to the Senate of the United States in 1814 for the fractional term of three years, and on his return home was again a year in the legislature. Though an ardent partisan, he was courteous to all in language and in conduct. Extremely wary and sagacious, he was a trusted leader of his party, and somewhat of a dread and terror to his political opponents. He is said to have been the father of the caucus system.
He was a trustee of Dartmouth College from 1801 to 1821, and was active in the movement for deposing John Wheelock from the presidency, and in opposing the pretensions of the Dartmouth University.
1 He was christened Thomas, without any middle name. It is understood that he assumed the middle initial W. afterwards, as a matter of convenience, but that it stood for no name. But the catalogue of Harvard College gives his name (among the tutors) as Thomas Weston Thompson, and the History of Salisbury as Thomas White Thompson.
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He made his law practice profitable, and acquired money from various sources, so that his unfriends regarded him as hard and grasping. One of these, on being informed that Thompson had just bought a tannery, replied : "Very natural that he should take to tanning, he has been skinning a good many years." But it should be said that by a large portion of the community he was respected and admired. He was a respectable, though not a great lawyer, an influential politician, a supporter of religion and good morals, just, and practically benevolent.
His last illness was probably caused by his exposure and nervous strain in escaping by night from the burning steamboat Phoenix on Lake Champlain in 1819.
He married, December 25, 1796, Elizabeth C. Porter, who was born at Haverhill, New Hampshire, June 21, 1775. Of his sons, two became lawyers.
WILLIAM COOMBS THOMPSON.
Son of Hon. Thomas W. and Elizabeth C. (Porter) Thompson ; born, Salis- bury, March 17, 1802 ; Dartmouth College, 1820 ; admitted, 1824 ; practiced, Concord and Plymouth ; died, Worcester, Massachusetts, April 27, 1877.
The early education of this gentleman had in all probability the careful supervision of his father, who required him when a lad to write a letter every day, which helped to form his style, and gave him methodical habits. He studied at the law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, with George Blake of Boston, Massachu- setts, and Parker Noyes of Salisbury. In 1824 he opened an office in Concord, and remained there two years. Then he went to Plymouth, and acquired an extensive practice. He was wise enough to confine his attention to his profession, and not to be allured from its pursuit by temptations from without. He lived in Plymouth twenty-six years, when he had accumulated a hand- some competency, and then, in 1852, removed to Worcester, Mas- sachusetts. The remaining quarter century of his life he spent in a retired and quiet manner.
The chief memorials of the life-work of a lawyer who devotes himself to his profession are to be found in the buried records of the courts and in fleeting tradition. Mr. Thompson is remem- bered for his sagacity and wise application of the principles of jurisprudence rather than as a book-lawyer or a forensic cham- pion. His innate sense of rectitude seldom failed to guide him to
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the true solution of the problems which lay in doubt. His per- sonal and religious character, his justice and benevolence, won him the respect and esteem of his brethren of the bar, and of the people at large.
His first marriage was with Martha H., daughter of John Lev- erett of Windsor, Vermont, October 15, 1828. She died April 26, 1841, and he married, June 21, 1843, Susan B., daughter of .John Nelson of Haverhill. He had three sons, and a daughter who died in infancy. Two of the sons became lawyers.
HENRY THORNDIKE.
Son of Joseph and Sarah Thorndike, born, Jaffrey, 1781 ; Dartmouth Col- lege, 1809 ; practiced, Fitzwilliam ; died, Thorndike, now Brimfield, Ohio, March 22, 1831.
Mr. Thorndike studied his profession with Caleb Ellis and George B. Upham of Claremont, and was in practice in 1812 and 1813 in Boston, Massachusetts. Then returning to New Hamp- shire, he settled and remained for the following three years in Fitzwilliam ; but attracted by the accounts of the Western coun- try, he emigrated to the then distant State of Ohio. 'The place of his settlement was first called Thorndike, probably after himself, and subsequently received the name of Brimfield. There he pur- sued his profession, and also the business of an iron founder.
He married, first, Harriet, daughter of Dr. Moody Dustin of Claremont ; and second, Lucy A., daughter of John H. Sumner of the same place.
LARKIN THORNDIKE.
Son of Paul and Olive (Fletcher) Thorndike ; born, Chelmsford, Massachu- setts, October 19, 1786 ; admitted, 1810 ; practiced, Pelham ; died, Salem, Massachusetts, July 5, 1857.
Mr. Thorndike obtained his general and his legal education in Litchfield, Connecticut, and was there admitted an attorney. The year after, he came to Pelham to practice, but stayed only a little time before taking up his abode in Salem, Massachusetts, where he became one of the early counsel of the Eastern Railroad, and passed the residue of his life.
He married, December 24, 1821, Sarah, daughter of Benjamin
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Phillips of Lynn, and had five children. Several of his descendants have been of the legal profession. .
THOMAS HENRY THORNDIKE.
Son of John L. and Maria (Joy) Thorndike ; born, Pittsfield, January 15, 1835 ; Dartmouth College, 1857 ; practiced, Pittsfield ; died there, June 13, 1888.
The subject of this notice was prepared for college in the academies at Pittsfield, Gilmanton, and Mont Vernon. He read law in the office of Lewis W. Clark of Pittsfield, and practiced there from 1860 to 1874, when failing health obliged him to give up his business. He was a director in the Pittsfield National Bank, and a trustee of the two savings banks in that place, and from 1868 to 1872 was the treasurer of the Pittsfield Savings Bank.
He was unmarried.
JAMES BONAPARTE THORNTON.
Son of James Thornton ; born, Merrimac, 1800 ; admitted, 1823 ; prac- ticed, Merrimac ; died, Callao, Peru, January 25, 1838.
This was a grandson of Matthew Thornton, the "Signer." He was three years in Yale College, but did not graduate, studied for the bar in Connecticut, and with David A. Gregg of Derry, and Abbott and French of Nashua. He settled in Merrimac. His inclination was strongly for political life, and he was chosen a representative from Merrimac in the legislature in 1827 and the three following years, and Speaker in 1829 and 1830. While in that position he was appointed second comptroller in the de- partment of the United States Treasury, proceeded to Wash- ington, and discharged the duties of the office until 1836, when he was sent as chargé d'affaires to Peru. Sailing without de- lay to Callao, he succeeded in accomplishing the object of his mission, and was about to return when he was struck down by death.
He was one of the most popular and promising young men of the State, frank, generous, and noble-minded. Though a decided partisan, he had friends in all parties. He has been stated to be the author of a " Digest of the Conveyancing, Testamentary, and
.
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Registry Laws of the United States," published in 1847, and re- published afterwards.
His wife was Sophia Shepard of Litchfield, Connecticut, and was left with two children.
MATTHEW THORNTON.
Son of Hon. Matthew and Hannah (Jackson) Thornton ; born, Merrimac, 1771 ; Dartmouth College, 1797 ; admitted, 1800 ; practiced, Merrimac ; died there, December 5, 1804.
This was an uncle of James B. Thornton. He prepared himself for his profession with William Gordon of Amherst, and returned to Merrimac to practice. In the few years that remained to him he made no special mark in his vocation.
His wife was Fanny, daughter of Dr. Samuel Curtis of Am- herst. They had two daughters.
GEORGE TICKNOR.
Son of Benjamin and Hannah (Gardner) Ticknor ; born, Boston, Massachu- setts, April 14, 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1847 ; practiced, Lebanon, Clare- mont, Marlow, and Keene ; died, Keene, December 25, 1866.
Mr. Ticknor was a student in Kimball Union Academy at Plainfield until prepared to enter college. With Nesmith and Pike in Franklin he pursued his law studies, and opened his office in Lebanon in 1850. He remained there about one year and a half, and removed to Claremont, where he prepared a Gazetteer of New Hampshire, a work of no small labor and utility, which was published as a part of a volume entitled "New Hampshire as it is," in 1855. In the same year he was appointed to the position of county solicitor, and discharged the duties until 1859.
In 1860 he took up his residence in Marlow, but tarried there only one year. Keene was his next and last place of abode. There he practiced law for a time, and at length became connected with the "New Hampshire Sentinel," a weekly journal, in an editorial capacity, and finally as the senior proprietor. In 1864 he was appointed register of Probate for Cheshire County.
In view of the fact that he had hardly passed middle life, his success, professional, literary, and political, was most creditable to his ability, his versatility, and his habits of application.
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He was married, November 12, 1850, to Lucy A., daughter of Chester Stone of Franklin. He left two daughters.
JOHN MORRIS TILLOTSON.
Son of Daniel and Mary (Sawyer) Tillotson ; born, Orford, April 29, 1772 ; Dartmouth College, 1796 ; practiced, Northumberland ; died there, August 23, 1822.
Mr. Tillotson, after his graduation, was a teacher at Haverhill, and studied law under the direction of Alden Sprague of that place. As early as 1799 he was in practice as an attorney in Northumberland. There he was chosen to the office of chairman of the selectmen in 1804 and 1805, and again in 1816 and 1817. He was register of deeds in 1805, and register of Probate from 1805 to 1817. In 1822 he represented Northumberland and the places classed with it, in the legislature. He is described as an active man of business, who was extensively known throughout Coos County and Essex, the adjacent county of Vermont.
His first wife was Mrs. Betsey Cargill ; his second was Maria, daughter of Judge Sabin of Guildhall, Vermont. He had a daughter, born after his decease.
JOSEPH TILTON.
Son of Philip Tilton ; born, East Kingston, August 10, 1774 ; Harvard College, 1797 ; admitted, 1801 ; practiced, Wakefield, Rochester, and Exeter ; died, Exeter, March 28, 1856.
Having accomplished his law studies with Jeremiah Smith at Exeter, Mr. Tilton began practice in Wakefield. After four or five years he removed to Rochester for a short time, and then established himself at Exeter in 1809. He attained a good prac- tice, though he never became a leader in trials. Faithful to clients, he received from Chief Justice Richardson the rare com- mendation of being "always ready " in his cases. To the Chief Justice Mr. Tilton's social qualities and appreciation of the hu- morous constituted a special attraction also.
A brother attorney, passing a fine farm in company with Til- ton, expressed a wish to own it. "I'll tell you how you can get half of it," said Tilton. " Bring a suit for the whole, and have it referred out of court. Referees always split the difference be- tween the parties."
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Mr. Tilton was a good-tempered man, but did not lack spirit. He had a quarrel in court with George Sullivan, who sent a friend to him with a hostile message. Tilton began to explain, but the messenger cut him short with the remark that as Sulli- van's friend he could not hear explanations. "Sullivan's friend," echoed Tilton, "aren't you my friend too?" "Not in this affair," replied the other. "Get out of my office then," retorted Tilton ; "I'll have no enemy here." Sullivan's friend beat a retreat. The difficulty was settled by the intervention of other friends.
Mr. Tilton was a representative in the legislature nine succes- sive years, beginning with 1814. The correspondence of Daniel Webster shows how highly he was thought of by the leaders of his political party, and tradition avers that he held an equally high place in the estimation of his professional brethren.
He chose for his wife, in 1806, Nancy, daughter of Colonel Samuel Folsom of Exeter. She died, March 10, 1837. He left no descendants.
BARNA TISDALE.
Son of Barna and Tryphena (Tiffany) Tisdale ; born, Lebanon, July 17, 1787 ; Dartmouth College, 1809 ; died, Bradford, Massachusetts, 1860.
This gentleman studied law and settled in Hanover. His name appears in the annual registers as an attorney in that place from 1815 to 1818; but from the best attainable information it is be- lieved that his practice was little more than nominal. He was a farmer, and continued to live in Hanover till 1856, when he transferred his residence to Bradford, Massachusetts.
He married Martha, daughter of Dr. Ebenezer Wright, at Han- over, June 2, 1815.
GEORGE WASHINGTON TODD.
Son of George W. and Lucy (Richardson) Todd ; born, Rindge, November 19, 1828 ; admitted, 1856 ; practiced, Rindge ; died, Maine, April 18, 1884.
Mr. Todd received a very thorough academical education, and gave two years to the study of medicine, which he relinquished for the law. For the latter calling he prepared himself in the office of Pierce and Tyler at Winchendon, Massachusetts, in that of
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Edmund L. Cushing at Charlestown, and in the law school at Poughkeepsie, New York. He was awhile in practice in New York and in Vermont, and between 1859 and 1863 in Rindge. He represented that town in the legislature in 1857 and 1858, and was state senator in 1879 and 1880.
Preferring the occupation of a teacher to that of a lawyer, he spent the greater part of his life as principal of high schools and academies in this and the adjoining States, and was very success- ful and distinguished in that capacity.
He was married, August 16, 1857, to Mary A. H. Blodgett of Jaffrey. She died, December 31, 1864, and he married, July 27, 1869, Sarah J., daughter of Deacon Hervey Chapin of Holyoke, Massachusetts. He left no children.
ORESTES R. TOPLIFF.
This gentleman, a son of Dr. Calvin Topliff of Freedom, was in the practice of the law in that town from 1858 to 1865, which is understood to be the year of his decease. In the history of Car- roll County he is described as having been "a lawyer of very considerable promise, and already attaining local eminence at the time of his death. He had natural abilities of such an order that he might have reached a rank quite above the average lawyer."
EDMUND TOPPAN.
Son of Hon. Christopher and Sarah (Parker) Toppan ; born, Hampton, September 25, 1777 ; Harvard College, 1796 ; admitted, 1799 ; practiced, Portsmouth, Deerfield, and Hampton ; died, Hampton, July 29, 1849.
Mr. Toppan entered the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1788 for his preparation for college. His law tutor was Theophilus Par- sons of Newburyport, who described him as " a promising young man, attentive to study, and well balanced." He first made trial of Portsmouth as his field of practice, but the next year removed to Deerfield as successor to Daniel French. His business at Deer- field was at first quite good. The statute of limitations was about going into effect, and a great number of old claims were put in suit. But he did not think fit to remain there long, and in the autumn of 1803 returned to his native place. He was a select- man of Hampton in 1808, and representative in the state legisla-
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ture fourteen years between 1809 and 1826, and several years postmaster. In the General Court his professional training, his readiness of speech, and his parliamentary experience combined to give him much influence.
It was he who, when the question of the location of the state house in Concord was pending in the General Court, and the north end and south end were at loggerheads to secure it, said wittily of the out-of-town legislators, who were taking sides with much zeal, " that they were not representatives of their towns but of their boarding-houses." He had naturally good powers of mind ; his professional and general knowledge was respectable ; he spoke with fluency and grace. But he had a wealthy father, and acquired habits of self-indulgence during his residence in Deer- field, so that in later years he became disinclined to earnest effort, and was rarely present at court.
He married, June 22, 1799, Mary, daughter of Stephen Chase of Portsmouth. They had six children, - four daughters and two sons.
GEORGE SULLIVAN TOWLE.
Son of John and Hannah (Bean) Towle ; born, Meredith, July 3, 1815 ; Dartmouth College, 1839 ; admitted, 1843 ; practiced, Haverhill and Lebanon ; died, Boston, Massachusetts, December 19, 1882.
Mr. Towle fitted himself for legal practice in the office of Daniel M. Christie of Dover. One year he passed in Haverhill, but political journalism was more to his taste than law, and in 1844 he removed to Lebanon and assumed charge of the " Gran- ite State Whig," a weekly newspaper, at the same time attending to law practice. He was representative in the legislatures of 1850, 1856, and 1857, and state senator in 1859 and 1860, the latter of which years he was president of the Senate. He had a fancy for military affairs, also, and rose to the rank of major- general in the state militia.
In 1861 he received an appointment as assistant in the naval office in the United States custom house in Boston, Massachusetts. That position he filled eight years, and the remainder of his life he spent in Boston.
Mr. Towle's forte was political writing and speaking. His editorial work was highly creditable, and his public addresses were forcible and full of enthusiasm. His nature was excitable,
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and it was not easy for him to hold his feelings under control. His foibles were all on the surface, and were far outweighed by his merits which lay beneath.
His wife was Ann E., daughter of Edward Towle of Haverhill. He left two daughters.
AMOS TUCK.
Son of John and Betsy (Fowle) Tuck ; born, Parsonsfield, Maine, August 2, 1810 ; Dartmouth College, 1835 ; admitted, 1838 ; practiced, Exeter ; died there, December 11, 1879.
Upon leaving college Mr. Tuck spent two or three years in teaching in the Pembroke and Hampton academies, at the same time reading law, and finished his preparation for the bar with James Bell at Exeter, whose partner he then became. They were associated eight years in an extensive practice, much of which was in the trial of causes. Afterwards he had other partners, and appeared in the courts more or less for more than twenty-five years. He was a diligent, sagacious, and faithful lawyer.
He was chosen a representative in the legislature in 1842, and joined the Free Soil party, which by the aid of the Whigs elected him to Congress in 1847. He served six years with marked ability and credit. In 1856 he was a member of the convention which instituted the Republican party, in 1860 of that which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. In 1861 he was a prominent delegate to the "Peace Congress." President Lin- coln appointed him naval officer of the port of Boston, from which position he was removed by President Johnson in 1865. For a number of years afterwards he was engaged in enterprises which took him away from home and from his profession, and twice he made visits to Europe.
He never lost his interest in education. A trustee of the Phillips Exeter Academy nearly thirty years, and of Dartmouth College about ten, he was one of the most actively influential in giving form and character to the Robinson Female Seminary of Exeter, drawing the constitution which the town adopted, and acting as trustee and first president of the board.
His life was an active and honorable one. His public career reflected much credit upon his ability and judgment. He had a high ambition, and was endowed with the qualities of a leader of
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men. His separation from his original party was as creditable to his sense of right as to his political sagacity. His administration of the various positions of honor and trust that were bestowed upon him was able and faithful. An astute man of business, he accumulated a large estate, and was liberal in contributing to public objects, and in private charity.
He married, first, Sarah A., daughter of David Nudd of Hamp- ton ; and second, Mrs. Catharine P. (Townsend) Shepard of Salisbury. Of the children of his first marriage, he left a son and two daughters, one of whom became the wife of Francis O. French of the legal profession.
EBEN FRANKLIN TUCKE.
Son of Samuel and Martha (Fogg) Tucke ; born, Kensington, February 16, 1822 ; Dartmouth College, 1843; admitted, 1846; practiced, Exeter ; died there, May 30, 1857.
The Phillips Exeter Academy furnished Mr. Tucke his prepa- ration for college, and he studied law with Bell and Tuck in Exeter and at the Harvard Law School. He practiced in Exeter. His ability was quite above the common ; he was entertaining and a boon companion. Steadiness and application to study would have insured him business and repute ; but he failed to accom- plish what he might, and died in middle life.
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