USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Biography of the bar of Orleans county, Vermont > Part 13
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With reference to the extreme difficulty of the work of revision, the same eminent authority adds : "The work of deciding was to a great extent judicial in its character, with the additional difficulty of being required to construe a statute without a case and without argument.
No test so severe, both as to familiarity with the ordinary con- struction of these statutes and as to legal discrimination in regard to the intrinsic incompatibility of acts which had successively over- lapped each other for nearly a century, without codification or spe- cific repeal, has at any time been applied to a body acting with the necessary haste of a committee in congress during an active session. Indeed, under no circumstances and at no time has a like effort been made."
* In reviewing the work of this revision or codification, it is impossible not to accord it a rank quite distinct from, if not higher, than any previous work of the kind known to history. * *
To arrange, or rather re-arrange the statutes enacted over so long a period, according to the subjects treated and in all the detail which the diversity of chapters and sections in each act requires in their relation to different subjects of legislation, is alone a great task. Still more difficult is the adjustment of conflicting laws and the elimination of all that is repealed, because it is inconsistent or incompatible under the changed circumstances as well as the changed text of later legislation. What was actually done in the present case was sufficient to invoke the very highest degree of ability and discrimination in thus judging the law without a case and without argument. Laws are easily decisive and easily con- strued at the time of their enactment, but the strength that remains in them after the lapse of half a century is often reduced to a very small measure in consequence of a general incompatibility extremely difficult to define."
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But when engaged in the very difficult and laborious task of superintending the revision and codification of the acts of congress covering a period of nearly a century, Judge Poland was also con- ducting investigations of the most voluminous and laborious char- acter which have never been undertaken by any legislative body. He was made chairman of the committee appointed to investigate the alleged outrages committed by the infamous Ku Klux Klan. The evidence presented before this committee filled, when printed, thirteen large volumes. The exposure made by the investigation and report of this committee practically broke up this organization, and was of inestimable value to the republican party at the South.
Judge Poland was also chairman of the very important committee appointed to investigate the transactions of the Credit Mobilier Company. This investigation occupied several months, and the report of the committee was unanimous, and created much excite- ment in political and social circles at the time. It was sustained by the house, and, in effect, relegated several very prominent mem- bers of congress, implicated, to private life.
During the era of reconstruction subsequent to the suppression of the rebellion, Judge Poland was no less conspicuous. As chair- man of a special committee appointed for that purpose, he con- ducted the investigation into the state of affairs in Arkansas. After a sharp fight in the house, the report of the committee, which the chairman supported by a very able speech, was sustained by a majority of seventy, a result which created no little surprise, as the fight had been a very vigorous one, and it was known that the result would be not a little unpalatable to the executive.
Judge Poland also took a prominent part in the discussion of the vexed question of the distribution of the fund received under what is known as the Geneva Award. In a very able specch he advo- cated the right of insurance companies to the money received by the government for vessels and cargoes destroyed by the rebel cruisers, where the owners had received payment from the insurers.
During the ten years which Judge Poland was a representative from Vermont in the senate and house, no member of either branch of congress was so intimately identified with so many important measures as the distinguished member from Vermont. The quality which commended him to such important positions was not more his eminent intellectual ability than that innate love of justice
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which he drank in with the free air of his native state, which had been fostered and strengthened by his long judicial service, and which enabled him to rise above mere partisan considerations and decide each question upon its own merits. It was this quality of fairness, displayed at the outset of his political career, that made him acceptable to both republicans and democrats as the chairman. of committees for the investigation of questions the result of which might affect the interests of either of the two great contending parties.
This quality of the man displayed itself at once upon his entering upon his legislative career.
While in the senate a question arose as to the right of Mr. Stock- ton of New Jersey to a seat in that body. Mr. Stockton was a democrat, and the vote by which he was deprived of his seat was cast wholly by republican senators. Judge Poland was a member of the committee which heard the case, and both advocated and voted in favor of Mr. Stockton's right to his seat.
During his first term in the house of representatives, Judge Poland was a member of the committee on elections. At this early period after the war there were a great many contested seats, and the still intense feeling for the Union and against the rebellion by the republican members made them more than usually partisan in their action. Judge Poland always endeavored to assume a judicial attitude in all such cases, which several times brought him into conflict with his own party.
In 1876 the name of Judge Poland was suggested in many repub- lican papers as a suitable candidate for the vice-presidency. He was himself the chairman of the Vermont delegation to the Cin- cinnati convention which nominated Hayes and Wheeler, and he presented the name of Mr. Wheeler to the convention, and it has always been conceded that his efforts and influence in the conven- tion procured the nomination of Vice-President Wheeler.
In 1878 Judge Poland was a representative to the state legisla- ture. He was chairman of the judiciary committee of that body, and wielded a potent influence in all the legislative measures brought before the house.
In the reapportionment of congressional districts based upon the census of 1880, Vermont lost one of her representatives.
In 1882 Judge Poland received the nomination for congress upon
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the first ballot in the republican convention of the new second dis- trict.
In the vigor of mature manhood, in the full and ready possession of vast, varied, political and cognate knowledge, endowed with a vigorous intellect of tried and disciplined judicial abilities and broad statesmanship, he at once assumed the position of a leading member of congress. Though a republican in a democratic house, he secured the passage of several important acts for the relief of the business of the United States Supreme Court. He, together with his associates, has made Vermont foremost among the states of the Union in the influence of her delegation at Washington. In 1850 Judge Poland moved to St. Johnsbury. He was influential in securing the removal of the county buildings to that place, and was chairman of the committee for their erection. From its organiza- tion for twenty-two years he was president of the First National Bank of St. Johnsbury. In 1885 he purchased the old homestead of Dr. Page, his father-in-law, at Waterville, with the intention of making it his home. There he now resides.
In 1858 the University of Vermont showed its appreciation of Judge Poland by conferring upon him the honorary degree of Mas- ter of Arts, and in 1861 of Doctor of Laws. In 1878 he became trustee of the same university. In 1882 he founded the Westford scholarship in this institution, in honor of his native town.
With those who know him in private life Judge Poland is very popular, his conversation sparkling with wit and genial humor. He was married on the 12th of January, 1838, to Martha Smith, daugh- ter of Dr. William Page of Waterville. By this marriage he had three children. Of these Martin I., the eldest, was educated at West Point Military Academy, and afterwards served as captain of the Ordinance Corps. He died at Fort Yuma, in August, 1878. Mary died in August, 1865, and Isabel is now the wife of A. E. Rankin, of St. Johnsbury. Mrs. Poland died in April, 1853. In 1854 Judge Poland married Adelia H. Page, sister of his deceased wife, who is now living.
NOTE .- This article is made up to some extent from the Biographical Ency- clopedia of Vermont.
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VERMONT.
ALBERT MANSON.
A LBERT MANSON came to Derby in 1837 from "Manson- ville" in the town of Potton, P. Q., a village, as we are informed, named after the family of the subject of our sketch. The first winter after coming to Derby, Mr. Manson taught the school at Derby. He then opened an office and engaged in the practice of the law. Mr. Manson only remained until 1839, when he returned to Mansonville.
HENRY FRANCIS PRENTISS.
H ENRY FRANCIS PRENTISS, the sixth son of Samuel and Lucretia Houghton Prentiss, was born at Montpelier, Vt., November, 1814. He received an academical education at the academy in Montpelier, and commenced the study of the law with his father at Montpelier. Subsequently to this he entered the office of Hon. Isaac F. Redfield, then of Derby, Orleans county, Vt. He was admitted to the bar of that county at its June term, A. D. 1837, and commenced practice in Derby, and he remained there and at Irasburgh in active practice until the autumn of 1855, when he removed to the city of Milwaukee. While at Derby he was a partner of Stoddard B. Colby. During this time he married Ruth, daughter of Dr. Colby of Derby. In 1847 he was elected state's attorney for the county of Orleans, and re-elected in 1848. In 1860 he was appointed register in bankruptcy for the district in which Milwaukee is situated, and from that time practically with- drew from the practice of the law. He was a well read and able lawyer, with mental characteristics that pre-eminently fitted him for that profession. In person Mr. Prentiss was about five feet nine inches high, and was a man of warm and generous impulses and genial disposition. He died December 2, 1872.
TIMOTHY PARKER REDFIELD. By HON. L. H. THOMPSON.
THE Orleans county bar is justly proud of its history. It has ever maintained a high standing for ability, learning and integrity. Men eminent as lawyers and judges ; men of wide experience in public affairs have adorned its ranks. If, without a 19
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JA. J Wilcox, Boston,
Him. P. Renfield,
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Hannah (Parker) Redfield, the mother of Timothy P., was a daughter of Isaac and Bridget (Fletcher) Parker. She was born in Milford, Mass., November 17, 1785, married at Weathersfield, Vt., in March, 1803, and died at a ripe old age, a few years since, at Coventry, Vt. She was a remarkable woman. She faithfully per- formed her maternal duties in rearing and training her large family. She also proved herself a worthy helpmeet to her husband in estab- lishing their new home on the hillside of Coventry, and was ever its presiding genius, to whom the husband and children always turned for cheer and inspiration. Possessed of strong character and remarkable intellectual ability, throughout her long life she was a great reader of the best literature of her time. In the cur- rent topics and events of the day, she always took a keen interest. Her conversational powers were fine and charming. Separated, to a great extent by her lot in life, from the refinements and social intercourse of educated and refined society, yet such were her attainments, her sterling worth and native sense, that she would have adorned the best society and won admiration for her charming qualities and inherent worth. From her both Timothy P. and Isaac F. inherited the characteristics and mental qualities which, with their industry, brought them well-deserved eminence.
The early life of the family was attended with many of the pri- vations and discomforts which inevitably go with pioneer life. The country was new but full of hope. The elder brother, Isaac F., determined to go to college, and after attending a preparatory school eight months, he entered the freshman class of Dartmouth College, then eight months advanced in their course. No doubt moved by his brother's example, Timothy P. was possessed with a desire to obtain a liberal education. He has aptly described it as "a desire without logical reasoning, an insatiable longing, not from suggestion, but from intuition, to obtain a college education." He fitted himself to enter college as well as his facilities would per- mit. Then the great question presented itself as to how the expenses of the four years college course were to be paid. He was without means ; he could reasonably expect but little assistance from his father, but full of hope and self-reliance, he entered Dart- mouth College. By teaching three months each winter he added something to his scanty finances, and now and then a kind friend admiring his courage, helped him to much needed means, so that in
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1836 he completed his college course and graduated with honor. During his college course he was a thorough student, ranking among the first in his class.
Immediately after leaving college he entered the office of his brother, Isaac F., as a law student. While pursuing his legal stud- ies he taught for a time at Brownington Academy, taking the place of the Rev. Alexander L. Twilight, an eminent teacher, who for twenty-two years was at the head of that academy. In 1838 he was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of his profession at Irasburgh, Vt. February 6, 1840, he married Helen W. Grannis of Stanstead, P. Q. Four children, issue of this marriage, were born, of whom one only, a daughter, survives.
In 1848 he was senator from Orleans county.
He resided at Irasburgh from the time of his admission to the bar until 1848, when he removed to Montpelier, Vt., and has since resided there.
He was engaged continuously in the practice of his profession from his admission to the bar until he was elected a judge of the Supreme Court of Vermont in 1870. He was successively re-elected judge until the fall of 1884, when he declined a re-election.
From the outset of his professional career he commanded the respect and confidence of the people of his native county, and soon became one of its leading lawyers. From 1856 to 1870 he prac- ticed constantly in the courts of Orleans, Caledonia and Washing- ton counties, being engaged in many of the most important trials. His associates and antagonists at the bar were such men as Judge Poland, Stoddard B. Colby, Lucius B. Peck, Thomas Bartlett, and others of like eminent ability in their profession, who always found him an efficient helper when their associate, and a "foeman worthy of their steel " when their opponent.
As a lawyer Judge Redfield ranks as one of the ablest, and the equal of any in the state. While a student and in the early years of his practice, he became well grounded in the elementary princi- ples of equity and the common law, and thus his mind was illumined by what Lord Coke aptly styles "The gladsome light of jurispru- dence." Possessing a fine legal mind, he was thus able in after years, almost intuitively, to form correct conclusions as to the law governing the case under consideration. With Lord Coke, he believed that " reason is the life of the law ; nay, the common law
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itself is nothing else but reason," and hence he brought his judg- ment, his sound common sense, and his instinctive sense of justice, as well as his legal learning from the books, into the consideration of his cases. He was never so ardent and untiring a student as his brother Isaac F., yet he read widely and well, and in the trial of questions of fact or of law was always found thoroughly furnished and equipped.
Possessed of an excellent memory, sound judgment, fine reason- ing powers, a judicial temperament, and a most subtle intellect, he was safe counsel and a most dangerous adversary. A man once his client usually was always his client. When he left the bar for the bench but few lawyers, if any, in the state, had a larger clientage than he.
As a practitioner at the bar he was self-possessed, cautious, skill- ful, clear-headed, quick to discern the weak points in his adversary's case and to grasp the strong ones in his own, thus being an oppo- nent who required constant attention. In the cross-examination of witnesses he was skillful. He early learned the "art of silent cross-examination." Never loud nor lengthy, he gave the hostile witness no chance to reiterate damaging testimony, but after quietly eliciting something, if possible, to break the force of the testimony, such witness was quietly and blandly dismissed. Baron Alderson could never have said of him as he is reported to have said to an advocate of great noise and mistaken energy, "Mr. B., you seem to think the art of cross-examination is to examine crossly."
While at the bar, as an advocate he was not surpassed by any lawyer in the state. He impressed a jury with his dignified bear- ing, his apparent fairness and candor. His face was "like a bene- diction " to an ordinary jury. He knew them and their fathers before them, and his jury arguments abounded in anecdotes in which they or their ancestors had taken a creditable part. Thus he quietly insinuated himself into their good graces until they were ready to believe that so genial and pleasing a lawyer must be on the right side. He had a happy faculty of marshalling the facts in his favor, and supporting them by cogent reasoning. When arguing a case his manner was usually easy and quiet, and his tone conversational, but when thoroughly aroused he was earn- est in manner, spoke rapidly, and in ringing, incisive tones. His skill and power as an advocate unconsciously clung to him after he
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became a judge, and at times manifested itself in his charges to the jury or in rendering a judgment. At times he would so present one side of a debatable case as to almost make it seem there was only the side he had thus presented ; then he would make what has been wittily described as an "eloquent pause," after which he would begin with an ominous "but " to marshal the facts upon the other side, and to combine them in so striking and suggestive a manner as apparently to call for a judgment or verdict directly opposite from that suggested by his opening remarks. Of unquestionable integ- rity through all his life, such was the confidence of the people of Orleans and Washington counties in his honesty and sound judg- ment that when he commenced holding courts in these counties, the jury in many cases were inclined to render verdicts in accord- ance with what they deemed to be his views as to a just disposal of the case.
Quite a compliment to his magnetic and persuasive influence over a jury in presenting a cause was given by J. A. Wing, Esq., of Montpelier. The Washington county bar, after Judge Redfield's retirement from the bench, procured a fine portrait of him, and placed it in the court-house where it overlooked the jury box. Mr. Wing was solicited to give something towards the expense of pro- curing the picture, after it was put up, and replied that he " would cheerfully do so if they would turn the face of the picture to the wall whenever the court was charging the jury."
His reputation as a lawyer, so far as the bar is concerned, will probably rest largely upon his judicial labors, but by the common people he will be kept in remembrance by his fame as a consum- mate advocate, whose skill and success tradition will embellish and magnify.
In the consideration of legal questions, while on the bench, he displayed keen perception, sound judgment, and a fine judicial poise of mind. His opinions are able, and will prove a lasting monument to his ability and learning as a lawyer and a judge. Comparisons are odious, but it is no disparagement to his learned associates to say that while he was judge, no abler man sat upon the bench of the Supreme Court of this state.
Lord Lyndhurst, while Chancellor of England, in describing the principle upon which he selected a judge, said, " I look out for a gentleman, and if he knows a little law so much the better." Judge
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Redfield never forgot that one of the requisite qualifications of a judge was good manners.
On the bench he was always a gentleman, and treated the bar with a courtesy which was fully reciprocated. On the bench he never lost his temper or self-control. A difference of opinion on a question of law or fact, between himself and counsel, aroused all his latent intellectual powers, but never disturbed his manners, and the defeated counsel felt that the skillful manner in which he had been cast was worthy to be classed among the "fine arts," that he had been decapitated, not by a butcher's cleaver, but by a Damas- cus blade wielded by a master's hand.
Judge Redfield is a fine classical scholar. He has also read widely in the best English literature, the beauties and strength of which he keenly appreciates. His tastes are scholarly, and what he has read he has made his own. English history, especially con- stitutional history and the history of the common law, has always had a charm for him, and by its study he has thoroughly mastered the principles that underlie our own political development, and which are really the basis of our civil polity.
In social life he is a charming companion. Simple in manner and frank in speech, he abounds in anecdotes and reminiscences of the early lights of the bar with whom he was associated or acquainted, as well as of many men prominent in other walks of life.
He has a vein of quaint wit and humor, which causes him instinctively to seize upon and retain the droll sayings and inter- esting stories which so aptly and forcibly illustrate the public and private life and real character of so many men. This trait of mind is seen in the quaint expressions and anecdotes which sometimes are found in his published opinions, as for instance his description of a horse as having the "historic vice of running away without any occasion," in Cheney vs. Ryegate, 55 Vt., and his humorous description in Wilder vs. Gilman, 55 Vt., as to what constitutes "good faith," according to the luminous idea of an ordinary justice of the peace.
In politics Judge Redfield has always been a democrat. He had the honor of being elected to the bench by a republican legislature. It is needless to say that a man of position and intelligence who has been a democrat in Vermont for the past twenty-five years, has
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been so from honest convictions and principle. It is probably well for his standing as a lawyer that he has belonged to the minority in politics, as otherwise, without doubt, he would have been drawn into political life. In 1884 he was the democratic candidate for United States Senator against the Hon. Justin S. Morrill, the republican candidate.
Judge Redfield had long entertained a desire to visit England and the continent of Europe. On account of poor health he took this trip in the summer of 1883. He visited England and France, and spent the following winter in Italy. From the latter country he wrote a series of interesting letters, which were published in the Argus and Patriot.
For many years Judge Redfield has been a worthy communicant of the Episcopal church.
He has led an exemplary life, free from the habits and vices which so often tarnish the otherwise fair fame of public men.
In the quiet of his beautiful home he now enjoys, in "an old age, serene and bright," the well-earned leisure of a well-spent life. May the years bring him honor and peace, and when at last he joins the unseen band of the friends and companions of his youth, and of his early and later manhood, who now "rest from their labors," may it truly be said of him :
" How well he fell asleep ! Like some proud river widening Towards the sea, Calmly and grandly, silently and deep, Life joined eternity."
STODDARD BENHAM COLBY.
By HON. T. P. REDFIELD.
S TODDARD BENHAM COLBY was the second son of Hon. Nehemiah Colby, and born in Derby, January, 1816. He was fitted for college in the law office of the late Isaac F. Redfield, which stood near his father's store in Derby Center. Mr. Colby was an apt and ready scholar, and Judge Redfield then fresh from college, gave him a thorough training, especially in the Greek and Latin languages, in which his young pupil had special aptitude. He entered Dartmouth College in the fall of 1832, and graduated with
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