USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I > Part 6
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"III. No case to be pleaded at any Superior Court under a three pound fee.
"IV. No writ of review to be brought under a four pound fee; and the same if for the defendant.
"V. In the foregoing cases no man to be trusted without his note, saving a standing client, for whom considerable business is done.
"VI. No Attorney to sign blank writs and disperse them about the colony, which practice, it is conceived, would make the law cheap, and hurt the business without profiting any one whatever.
"VII. No Attorney shall take up any suit whatever against a prac- titioner who sues for his fees, except three or more brethren shall determine the demand unreasonable; and then if he will not do jus- tice the whole fraternity shall rise up against him.
"VIII. If any dispute should arise among the brethren about en- dorsement of writs for securing costs, it shall not be deemed a breach of unity, if one Attorney takes out a writ against another for his costs. And in case any Attorney shall become bail he is to expect no favor.
" IX. No Attorney to advance money to pay entry and jury in cases disputed, except for a standing, responsible client, that happens to be out of the way.
"At September Term, 1745."
One of the prominent early lawyers of this county was Oliver Arnold. He was the son of Israel, and the grandson of John Arnold, a descendant of Richard Arnold, who was one of the council of Sir
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
Edmond Andros, in 1685, and a near relative of Benedict Arnold, president of the colony of Rhode Island prior to the appointment of Coddington as the first governor. Oliver Arnold was born in Gloces- ter, in 1726. In boyhood he evinced a strong propensity for study, and to gratify this, his father, who was a wealthy landholder and much engaged in public business, placed him under the instruction and direction of Doctor Webb, of Uxbridge, Mass., a Presbyterian clergyman of reputation and talent. Here young Oliver increased those habits of study and application which were so eminently serv- iceable to him in after life. But little further is known of the time or manner of his preparation. But that he early made his mark at the bar is shown by the following anecdote related by Mr. Levi Lin- coln, a practitioner of that time, which has been preserved in his own language. Lincoln said:
" When at the bar a cause of considerable interest was entrusted to me; and on retainer I was informed by my client that I should be opposed only by a young man by the name of Arnold, from Glocester, R. I. Not expecting much display of talent from any one in that region, I was slovenly prepared for arguing the case; nor was my caution increased by the appearance of my antagonist-a tall, green looking youth, who awkwardly seating himself at the bar, impressed me that I had nothing but a stripling to contend with. I made my speech with very little expectation of being answered; and conducted my argument throughout with less skill and arrangement than usual, and awaited the reply of my youthful opponent. But. what was my amazement to see him rise with the most perfect self-possession, and state his defence, and argue his cause with an ability that would have done honor to Temple bar. He went on calmly, leading the reason of the jury and audience captive, and leaving myself in the back- ground as far as I confidently expected to have left him."
This trial spread the reputation of Mr. Arnold far and wide, and he soon rose to distinction as a faithful and popular lawyer. In 1754 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel Brown, of Sandisfield, Mass., and sister of Colonel John Brown, who commanded a regiment under General Benedict Arnold at the siege of Quebec. In 1762 Mr. Arnold moved from Glocester to Providence, and purchased an estate on North Main street, and here he continued in the practice of his pro- fession. In May, 1766, he was elected attorney general of the colony, and continued in that office, by successive re-elections, until his death. In the discharge of his official duties he appears to have been actu- ated by a firm regard for duty and an undeviating resolution to follow its directions, however unpleasant that course might be to himself, and his civil duties were performed with marked ability. His career was short, though flattering in its promises. He died October 9th, 1770, in the 35th year of his age. A contemporary sums up his character in this sentence: " His genius was lively and active, his ideas exten-
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
sive and beautifully arranged, his conceptions were quick, clear. and radiant, his judgment sound."
John Cole was the son of Elisha Cole, of North Kingstown, who was for many years a member of the state senate, and one of the largest landholders in Washington county. John obtained a reputa- ble education in the English branches, and was well instructed in the Latin and Greek under a foreign tutor. He studied law in the office of Daniel Updike, Esq., then attorney general of the colony, married his daughter Mary, and commenced practice in law under the patron- age of Mr. Updike, in Providence. Here he soon obtained a good share of business, both in this county and elsewhere on the circuits. In 1763 he was elected an associate justice of the supreme court of the colony; and at the January session of the general assembly in 1764, he was promoted to the chair of chief justice, in the place of John Bannister, who had resigned. At the annual election in the follow- ing May, he was re-elected to the same honorable office. In the period of the severe stamp act agitations Mr. Cole resigned the office of chief justice, and was elected a representative from Providence in the general assembly, his decided whig principles bringing him into great popularity. He was also elected to represent the town in that body through the stormy period of 1766, and at the May session of 1767 was promoted to the chair of speaker of the house. Upon the establishment in February, 1775, of a vice-admiralty court for the state, Mr. Cole was appointed advocate general in that court, which office he held during the remainder of his life. He was also for many years president of the town council of Providence. He was an advo- cate of respectable talents, a handsome speaker, a sound lawyer, and sustained a fair and honorable character. He was a corpulent and large framed man, with a gouty temperament. In advanced age he entered a small pox hospital for inoculation, but the conditions proved unfavorable and he died of the disease in October, 1777.
From the " Reminiscences of the Rhode Island Bar," by Abraham Payne, we glean some points in regard to the profession as repre- sented by the men of a generation now past, which facts are embod- ied in the succeeding paragraphs.
A half century ago General Thomas F. Carpenter practiced law in an office at the junction of Westminster and Weybosset streets. The furniture of the office, though appropriate to the time, would be con- sidered very meagre in these days. A plain book-case with a few books in it, an old fashioned desk, a limited supply of pigeon holes, a large table covered with green baize cloth, an old-fashioned cylinder stove, a small safe, a few common chairs, a long wooden settee and a coal bin constituted the main features of the outfit. Law students were then expected to sweep the office and make the fires, as part of their duties. This indeed was a valuable preparation for the practi- cal matters of life, and those who could perform these duties well
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
were doubtless better prepared to take hold, with the hand of a mas- ter, of the more intricate and technical matters of their profession. General Carpenter was in the habit of daily reading a chapter of the Bible in the Greek language. He also gave it as his advice and opin- ion that a lawyer should be familiar with the Bible. His manners were dignified and affable. He was of middle height, had a very large head, and uniformly wore a blue coat with brass buttons, black pantaloons, black satin vest, ruffled shirt and black cravat. He was courteous and dignified in his bearing, kind in his disposition, and very apt to advise clients to avoid an appeal to the courts as far as possible, unless their case was an unusually strong and clear one. His manner and methods of conducting cases in court are said to have very much resembled those of Scarlett, the great English advo- cate.
The prominent lawyers practicing in this county half a century ago were Samuel Y. Atwell, Thomas F. Carpenter, Samuel Ames, Al- bert C. Greene, William H. Potter, Samuel Currey, John P. Knowles, George Rivers, Edward H. Hazard, Christopher Robinson, Judge Daniels, Jonah Titus, John H. Weeden, John Whipple, Richard Ward Greene, Charles S. Bradley and Thomas A. Jenckes.
Of George Rivers, who began practice about the time of which we are writing, Payne has the following remarks: "Outside of his pro- fession he was widely known as a man whose brilliant wit served only to conceal the more solid qualities of his mind. As a lawyer, he had quick perceptions and powers of close reasoning, not surpassed by any of his contemporaries. No man ever tried a case with more skill and ability than George Rivers."
Fifty years ago only one lawyer in Providence had ventured to take an office on the third floor of a building, and this was Richard Ward Greene, whose standing was such that his clients would follow him wherever he might go. When General Carpenter added a small consultation room to his office, and covered its floor with an ingrain carpet, the extravagance excited some comment. But when the law firm of Hazard & Jenckes fitted up their office with a Brussels carpet and expensive furniture it was visited for some time as a curiosity. The headquarters of the profession were in the old wooden building at the corner of College and South Main streets. In Whipple's build- ing on College street there were John Whipple, Edward H. Hazard, Thomas A. Jenckes, Henry L. Bowen, Charles Holden, Walter S. Bur- ges, John B. Snow, George F. Mann, Samuel W. Peckham and Wil- liam J. Pabodie. On the same floor of the adjoining building were the offices of Albert C. Greene, William H. Potter, Peter Pratt and Edward D. Pearce. In the little building next above, on the same side of the street, which for many years had been occupied by Thomas Burgess, was John M. Mackie, who soon after left the law and moved to Great Barrington, Mass., where he devoted himself to agriculture
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
and literature. On the corner of South Main street and Market Square were Levi C. Eaton, Peres Simmons, Gamaliel L. Dwight and Levi Salisbury. In the Mallett building, on South Main street, were Richard Ward Greene and James M. Clarke. In the old building which occupied the site of the present Merchants' Bank were Charles F. Tillinghast and Charles S. Bradley. Mr. Atwell, Samuel Ashley and Samuel Currey also had offices in the city, and perhaps others, but their locations are not recalled. Previous to that time the custom had prevailed for the lawyers of the city to have a supper together at the house of some one of their number, once or twice in the year.
Justice courts had considerable of business in those days, and some of the decisions rendered were curious to review, and show that a not very high standard of judicial soundness was maintained. On one occasion a justice had been indulging in stimulants, perhaps to quicken his perceptions of justice, when a case was brought before him, in which the defendant had an unusually strong defense, but the justice gave his decision for the plaintiff. The defendant's at- torney called upon him to give his reasons for such a decision, when after a moment's reflection he said: "Well, then I will give judg- ment for the defendant." Under the "single justice system" as it was called, a single justice of the peace had a limited jurisdiction to hear and determine civil and criminal causes. The abuses under this system were frequent and annoying. The plaintiff could select his court, and was almost certain of a judgment in his favor.
John Whipple was then leader of the bar in this state. He had gained the position in contest with such men as Nathaniel Searle, Tristam Burges, and Daniel Webster, both in the courts of this state and in the supreme court of the United States. By some he was pro- nounced the equal of Webster, where they appeared in contest, and Webster himself is reputed to have said that John Whipple and Jere- miah Mason were the two ablest opponents he had ever met at the bar. No description of Mr. Whipple as a lawyer can do him full jus- tice. He had faculties not required in the ordinary work of his pro- fession, and these reserve forces were at his command whenever any great occasion required them. He was a student of history, a pro- found thinker on all social, moral and political questions. He be- longed to the school of Hamilton, and had no confidence in that of Jefferson.
In a retrospect of the Providence County bar, and the prominent figures acting in it half a century ago, Hon. Thomas Durfee, chief justice of the supreme court of the state, says :- "The leaders of the bar then made it a point to be in court constantly when the court was in session. Lovers of intellectual and emotional excitement visited it in crowds. The most intelligent citizens were frequent spectators of its proceedings. The result can be easily imagined. Trials were conducted under the ordeal of professional criticism and under the en-
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
'couragement of popular appreciation. Advocacy acquired the per- fection of a fine art. The trial of a great cause gave delight like a drama, and by reason of its reality, had an even more absorbing inter- est. The fame of the leading lawyers of that day is still a treasured tradition of the bar."
"There was James Burrill, with his practical and persuasive sagac- ity, cultivated mind and sterling character; Nathaniel Searle, with his unerring and lightning-like perception of the pivotal points of a case: Tristam Burges, with his brilliant but caustic oratory and au- dacious antagonisms. * * * I myself can well remember the stalwart and colossal form of Samuel Y. Atwell, towering like a Titan, as with rich and sonorous voice he poured out the full volume of his spontaneous and powerful eloquence, captivating even when it did not convince. And still better can I remember the manly port and presence of John Whipple and his athletic action, as with dis- tinet and resonant articulation, the words dropping from his mouth like coins from a mint, he developed the serried strength of his ar- guments and reinforced them with his glowing and impetuous decla- mation."
"There was Richard W. Greene, the safe counsellor, loving the light of ancient precedent, learned in the common law and greatly versed in equity jurisprudence before any court of the state had as yet any considerable equity jurisdiction; not a moving orator, but a consummate master of analysis, preeminent for his power of perspic- uous statement. There was Albert C. Greene, a gentleman in the truest sense, full of genial kindness and urbanity, dear to the bar and dear to the popular heart, an excellent lawyer, a favorite advocate, whose prepossessing fairness and never-failing good sense were more invincible often than the finest oratory. He was unrivaled as an ex- aminer of witnesses. The friendly witness, no matter how embar- rassed, was instantly put at ease by his gentle manipulation. But his forte was the cross examination of the hostile or secretive witness. It was the angler playing with his victim. Far from seeking to in- timidate, he humored him to the top of his bent, putting him off his guard and getting his good-will by degrees, while he pleasantly un- masked his prevarications or concealments, and kept him all the time complacently unconscious of the operation. There was Thomas F. Carpenter, with his Ulyssean mind and amazing art of winning ver- diets in desperate cases. I have often heard him. He was exceed- ingly plausible and ingenious, a sort of magician of the forum. In his hands the flimsiest supposition or conjecture quickly got to look- ing like a solid fact. He was an actor as well as an advocate. He managed every case with imposing seriousness, as if he felt its justice and importance too deeply to trifle with it. * * * He was a man of extraordinary powers, as well as of extraordinary idiosyncrasies, and whoever crossed weapons with him in any cause was sure to en-
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counter a formidable antagonist. There was Samuel Ames, not a lawyer merely, but a jurist, cultivating jurisprudence as a science or a philosophy. His capacious mind was not only stored, but impreg- nated and fertilized with the principles and precepts of the law as with so many living and procreant germs. His juridical fullness and fertility were apparent, not only in his forensic efforts, often too ex- haustive for the occasion, but even in his common conversation, which moreover was as vivacious as it was instructive. As chief justice he has left in the Rhode Island Reports many a permanent proof of his powers, but nothing which duly represents the brimming exuberance and facility of his intellect. No Rhode Island lawyer ever exhibited so full and so supple a mastery of the complex and enormous system of English jurisprudence.
"Among the lawyers just named, the two who are most familiar to us are Richard W. Greene and Samuel Ames. They were neither of them splendid orators, like Whipple or Burges. They were effect- ive speakers; but for us their chief distinction is that they were mas- ters of the modern method, and so can teach us more than their more eloquent contemporaries or predecessors. Another master of that method, known to all of us, was the late Thomas A. Jenckes. He had the intellectual weight and momentum and the large utterance, but not the magical manner and self-enkindling enthusiasm of the orator. The track of his career lies shining along the steeps and among the summits of his profession. It indicates the path of success for our day. What is that path,-the modern method, as I have denominated it? It is not a path for lazy genius, dreaming of unearned renown. It is not a showy method in which sham can serve for substance. It is the method of prudent business, seeking valuable ends through means appropriate to them. It is the method of indefatigable study, of disciplinary practice, of varied and accurate acquirement. It is the method which demands for particular cases the mastership of par- ticular preparation. It is the true method for all earnest aspirants to juridical distinction. Profit may be reaped on the lower levels; but honor and fame grow aloft, where they cannot be reached without climbing for them. Let the brave student gird himself for the ascent. It is difficult, but full of exhilaration."
Returning to the reminiscences of Mr. Payne we learn that Jona Titus was a large man, and his very large head, fringed with auburn hair, and his shrewd and genial face, suggested perpetual sunshine, and a close acquaintance with the man revealed the sunshine of his nature. He had a well balanced mind, estimated men and things at their true value, courted no man's favor, and feared no man's opposi- tion. He went through the world standing on his own feet, undis- turbed by the sham and nonsense which prevailed around him. As a lawyer he had sound judgment, sufficient learning, and absolute fidelity to his clients. While in the full vigor of manhood he acquired
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
a fortune ample for his moderate wants. During his active profes- sional life he lived in Scituate; but for many years before his death his home was in Providence.
Judge David Daniels had his home and office in Woonsocket. He discharged the duties of a lawyer in full practice, with ability and fidelity, but they never seemed to occupy much of his thought. He was one of those men whose lives seem to run in a strong, deep cur- rent, quite undisturbed by their ordinary avocations, however promi- nent, pressing or useful. When engaged in the trial of a cause, he gave it all necessary attention, but without any fuss or pretense of more zeal than he really felt. His life covered a period which reached from the Dorr times, when he was nominated for the office of attor- ney general, under the people's constitution, down to the civil war, during which he was interested in some speculations in cotton. He died suddenly at a hotel in Providence. His son, Francis A. Daniels, was a member of the Providence County bar, and early gave proof that he had the ability and the generous qualities of his father. His early death was much lamented by a large circle of friends.
John H. Weeden, a lawyer practicing in Pawtucket, was of the old school, industrious, honest and faithful; always courteous, but hold- ing his opinions on all subjects with a confidence indicating that they had been formed after careful study and reflection. He was at one time a member of the general assembly, where on one occasion he gained considerable reputation as the author of a report from a com- mittee of which he was chairman. For many years before his death he was prevented by ill health from active participation in the duties of professional life, but on the occasion of his death Judge Potter ad- journed the court which was then in session, to allow his associates at the bar an opportunity to attend his funeral.
Samuel Ames was born September 6th, 1806, and died December 20th, 1865. He was for nine years chief justice of the supreme court of this state, beginning with 1856. Besides his practice here he had for a few years practiced in Boston. Payne, who was several years associated with him and knew him well, said of him: " A more hon- orable man I have never known. A more learned lawyer I have neither known nor read about. A judge more anxious to do his whole duty never adorned any bench."
Laying aside for a moment the notice of individual members of the bar we wish to present the following beautiful passage in regard to the prospects and duties of the bar in general, which concludes the address of Hon. Thomas Durfee at the dedication of the new county court house in 1877:
" This house is designed to endure for ages. To-day it is barren of all forensic associations. It has no history. A century hence, and what a multitude of memories and traditions will cluster about it. What revelations of human character and destiny will have been made
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within it. Add yet another century, and no many-chaptered chroni- cle of Eld were more multifariously curious and instructive than these dumb walls, if then they could but report their past. In creating their history, the bar and the bench will necessarily play a principal part. Upon them will depend whether the history shall bring honor or discredit. Let us then, my brothers of the bar and bench, realiz- ing this, elevate ourselves above all mean and all merely mercenary views to a high and just conception of our vocation; and now, while we dedicate this temple of justice, let us also dedicate ourselves, as ministers of justice, to an upright, pure and honorable service within its consecrated precincts."
The following biographical notice of Hon. Charles S. Bradley, one of the most conspicuous figures which the Rhode Island bench and bar has ever known, was prepared for this work by his contemporary and friend, Mr. Edward H. Hazard, in whose words we give it.
"Many emigrants have come from Massachusetts to Rhode Island since Roger Williams landed on the banks of the Seekonk, 254 years ago, but none have proved themselves better citizens, or deserved higher praise than the subject of this sketch. It was no mercenary motive that brought him to our little state.
"Charles Smith Bradley was born in Newburyport, Mass., July 19th, 1819, and was the son of Charles and Sarah (Smith) Bradley. His father, a native of Andover, became a merchant in Boston, and afterward a manufacturer, residing in Portland, Maine. His mother was a granddaughter of the Reverend Hezekiah Smith, a famous chaplain from Massachusetts in the army of the revolution, and, for more than 40 years one of the most active and efficient mem- bers of the Board of Fellows of Brown University. Mr. Bradley enjoyed excellent advantages in his early youth, and was prepared for college at the Boston Latin School, where he won a reputation unusual for a boy of fifteen. He was attracted to Brown Univer- sity by his reverence for his maternal ancestor. He entered the college in 1834 and graduated in 1838, with the highest honors in a class noted for its unusual number of brilliant and able men. It is praise enough that at the age of 19 he bore off the valedictory from such contestants as Ezekiel G. Robinson (who afterward became president of the university), Thomas A. Jenckes, afterward the Nes- tor of the Rhode Island bar, and George Van Ness Lothrop, our min- ister plenipotentiary to Russia. The following paragraph published by a contemporary, is a vivid picture of the estimation in which he was held by his fellow students.
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