USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Biography of the bar of Orleans county, Vermont > Part 19
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congressional service he was very faithful to duty, doing a great amount of work, both for the country and his constituents. Just at the close of his work at this time in congress, he was prostrated by a very severe illness which threatened life for some days, and made him unfit for labor several months afterward. The new apportionment had diminished the number of representatives in Vermont to two, and the state had been divided by legislative act into two districts, by a line running along the Green Mountains. This brought Gen. Grout into the second district, and it come to be felt that the interests of the district and the state demanded that he be returned to Washington from this district. At the time the caucuses were held before the district convention, Gen. Grout was busy in Washington, and a few days later prostrate with sick- ness, so that his canvass was not looked after, and the friends of Judge Poland taking advantage of the situation, carried a majority of the primary meetings and the convention. Many were dissatis- fied with the result, and there was a strong disposition to bolt the nomination. Gen. Grout discountenanced the move, and counseled his friends to support the nominee. At the September election a large number of votes were cast for Gen. Grout, but Judge Poland won, and his work in congress was very creditable to the state and to himself. Previous to the time of the district convention in 1884 Judge Poland took himself out of the canvass, and the names of Gen. Grout, Col. G. W. Hooker, and William P. Dillingham were most prominently mentioned for member of congress. Gen. Grout was successful in the convention, and was elected by a vote said to have, been the largest given to any congressman chosen from the state in many years.
At this time Gen. Grout is serving his second term in congress ; he has been in his place every day of the session, and has won no little credit for himself and the state by his faithful attention to duty. Among the most notable speeches he has made are those on the Fitz John Porter and the Oleomargarine bills. Should the people again decide to return him to congress, we see no reason why his usefulness and influence may not increase as his opportu- nities are extended.
Gen. Grout's course in congress has been in keeping with his character ; he has been very faithful to the interests of his constit- uents and his friends ; he has been ambitious to do well whatever
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he has undertaken to do, and has succeeded. In this exalted and difficult sphere, Gen. Grout has been able as in all places where he has been placed, to exceed the expectation of his friends and to disappoint his rivals.
While Gen. Grout has been largely engaged in political affairs, he has all the while kept up a good law practice, and has been engaged in many important civil and criminal suits. Prominent among them were the cases of Hayden and Turner indicted for murder, and Moore for forgery. Judge Powers, before whom the Hayden case was tried, remarked to the writer that Gen. Grout's effort before the jury was one of the most able arguments he ever heard. Turner was acquitted, and Moore was released on his own bail, after a disagreement of the jury. Gen. Grout, without dispar- agement to other counsel, was the chief man on the defense in these important cases. It is a somewhat singular circumstance that in a large practice of several years Gen. Grout only lost a single case, where he brought the suit, prepared and tried the case. Whenever he has put himself into a case, he has man- aged it with admirable skill and with great wisdom. As an advo- cate he is pleasing, persuasive and able ; he seeks to convince a jury by plain and vigorous arguments, caring more to present his case clearly by simple language, than to charm the ear with smooth and elegant phrases. He is intuitively familiar with the principles of justice, and seeks to attain what is right, regardless of the tech- nicalities and the intricacies of law. Had he concentrated his thoughts and his energies upon the law alone, few lawyers would have been his superior.
For many years Gen. Grout has been actively engaged in agricul- tural matters. He purchased the old Grout homestead in Caledonia county, hired his brother-in-law, Capt. Ford, as manager, and com- menced both practical and scientific farming. He took the farm in a run-down condition, but at once entered upon the work of recla- mation. He erected large barns-the largest in the vicinity, he built silos, purchased thoroughbred stock, laid miles of underdrain- ing, and resorted to approved methods of labor without and within. He has been successful, and has far more than attained that most desirable thing which Justin S. Morrill once declared to be worthy the highest aim of the Vermont farmer-"the raising of two blades of grass in the place of one." His farm demonstrates the fact that
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intelligent farming can be successful and profitable in Vermont.
Gen. Grout married Loraine M. Smith of Glover in 1860. She was a woman of most lovely and amiable disposition, and was highly esteemed for her intelligence and womanly virtues. The union was a most happy one. Two children were born as the fruits of the marriage, but they passed away early, and the mother, stricken and bereft, survived them but a brief time, and died in 1868. The loss to the husband was irreparable, and he has felt that no other could fill the place of his early love. He remains single, and his home in Barton is in charge of his sister, Victoria Grout.
As a citizen Gen. Grout endears himself to his community by his charity, honesty, and public spirit. The poor always find in him a friend ; he contributes largely to all churches, and his gifts to schools and other institutions have been large. His word is truth and his honor is unquestioned. He is ever ready to assist in any enterprise that promises to be a public benefit. In religious mat- ters he is liberal, but his liberality does not tolerate anything of infidelity, or sanction aught but the cardinal principles of Bible religion. He is a man who grows in the esteem as acquaintance and association become more intimate. Industrious, persistent, able, honest, courageous and ambitious, Gen. Grout is made of that stuff and of those elements which always succeed, and which bespeak for the future, should his life be spared, a career that will · be an honor to his name, his profession and his state.
WILLIAM DEFOREST WILSON.
W ILLIAM DEFOREST WILSON, only son of the late Hon. W. C. and Clarissa A. Wilson, was born at Bakers- field, Vt., October 5, 1836.
He received his education at the Bakersfield Academy and Uni- versity of Vermont ; read law with his father, whose reputation as a legal preceptor was unsurpassed, and with his natural aptitude for the profession and the thorough drill received from Judge Wil- son, came to the bar well equipped, and was admitted in Franklin county at the June term, 1857. Admission to the supreme court and the United States district and circuit courts followed in order.
He was married in 1855 to Lucretia D. Graves, and by this union
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three children have been born to them, two of whom, William DeForest, Jr., and Marion L., are now living to make his pleasant home, where generous hospitality is dispensed, pleasanter, and to add to the domestic happiness which is one of the chief delights of his life.
Soon after his admission to the bar he opened an office at South Troy, Vt., and by his industry and ability established a remunera tive practice, remaining there until February, 1867.
In 1860 he was Deputy United States Marshal, and assisted in taking the census of that year. In 1867 he removed to St. Albans, where he formed a law partnership with Col. R. C. Benton, which continued until November, 1869, when it was dissolved by reason of Mr. Wilson's intentions of going West, but which were finally reconsidered, and he remained in practice alone until January I, 1874, when he formed a partnership with Alfred A. Hall, which has since continued under the name of Wilson & Hall.
His practice has been large for a country town, having been engaged in many of the most important cases in that county during the last decade, and the business of the firm extending into adjoin- ing counties, in which he has had marked success.
Untrammeled by political ambition or other business interests, he has faithfully and studiously devoted himself to his profession.
Of pleasing address, he excels as a jury advocate. He is aggress- ive, industrious, sanguine and fearless, and may well congratulate himself upon having chosen a profession for which he was so well adapted by nature, and in which he has labored singly for success, winning for himself the best possible encomium, "a good lawyer."
LEAVITT BARTLETT.
By REV. E. P. WILD.
L EAVITT BARTLETT was born August 14, 1837, in Cov- entry. His parents were Seth and Asenath (Higgins) Bart- lett, and he was the fourth son who entered the legal profession. He studied law with Jesse Cooper of Irasburgh, and was admitted to the Orleans county bar in June, 1859. From that time till 1863 he practiced law at Irasburgh. Then he removed to Coventry. Having become a Christian, he was strongly moved to enter the
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gospel ministry. With the candor and promptness which always characterized him, he soon decided the question, and in October, 1863, entered Bangor Theological Seminary. He was a faithful student and a genial companion. He was quick in his apprehension of the truth, strong in maintaining it, and earnest in presenting it. He finished his seminary course in the summer of 1865, was ordained at Bangor, July 27 of that year, and went immediately to the West to do pioneer work in the organizing of churches. Kan- sas City had then just begun its marvelous career of growth, and thither Mr. Bartlett went under the direction of the American Home Missionary Society to gather a church. The First Congre- gational church of that city owes its existence and much of its prosperity to him. He labored there till July, 1867, when he returned to Vermont on account of impaired health. The next spring he began to preach at North Bennington, Vt., where a church was soon organized, of which he took the pastoral charge. In 1870, he went to Jersey City, where he remained a year, minis- tering to another new church. In September, 1871, he was installed pastor of the First Congregational church in Yarmouth, Me. But
though his work in that place was useful and he was much beloved by his people, his heart was always turning back to the new fields at the West. In August, 1873, he resigned his pastorate and went to Kansas City. For nearly four years he supplied the pulpit of the church at Olathe, Kan., though engaged in business a part of the time. He continued in business in Kansas City till June, 1883. During these years he preached much of the time on the Sabbath, supplying the pulpits of destitute churches, and laboring in the neglected districts of the city and neighboring villages. At length, worn out by hard work, and realizing the danger of prostration by disease, he left all business and went with his family to Colorado for a season of absolute rest. This was in July, 1883. Recuper- ated somewhat after a few weeks, he desired to be at work again. The Home Missionary Society appreciating the value of his knowl- edge and experience, appointed him superintendent of home mis- sions for New Mexico and Arizona, with his office at Albuquerque. He took up this arduous labor with characteristic energy and faith. His family returned to Springfield, Mo., where his daughters were being educated at Drury College. But it was for only a few months that Mr. Bartlett was able to continue in the work. A week of
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unusually severe labor in preaching at a mining village high among the mountains brought on an attack of pneumonia. From this he partially recovered and went to Yuma, Ariz., to recruit further. After a few weeks of improvement he went on to San Bernardino, Cal. But it was the rainy season, and the climate proved too hard for him. He rapidly grew worse, and became unable to be moved. His wife was sent for, who, after being delayed four days at Yuma by the heavy rains, reached him just in season to witness his death. He died at the house of Rev. J. T. Ford in San Bernardino, March 9, 1884. His remains were brought back to Kansas City, and interred in the cemetery at Wyandotte, Kan., beside those of his brother Alonzo.
He was married November 29, 1865, to Miss Emily J. Scales, daughter of Rev. William Scales, formerly of Lyndon, Vt. She, with two daughters, survives him.
Mr. Bartlett was a man of rare integrity of heart, strength of purpose, and cheerfulness of temperament. He could see through a thing with a quickness which seemed almost intuitional. His views of duty were singularly firm. A decision once made left no opportunity for regret. His hopefulness was great. He seemed to be always living for the future in doing present work. And his manner of dealing with men was pleasant and winning. During the short period of his law practice in Orleans county he made many friends who will not cease to cherish his memory very warmly. But his life work was done after he entered the ministry, and in this he left an influence which must be felt for ages.
ENOCH H. BARTLETT.
REV. PLINY H. WHITE in Vermont Historical Magazine.
T HE subject of this biography was the son of Seth and Ase- nath (Higgins) Bartlett, and a brother of Don A., Amasa, and Leavitt Bartlett, all members of the bar of Orleans county. He was born in Bennington, Vt., April 20, 1833, but while he was quite young his father moved to Coventry, Vt. He spent his minority, except a few terms at Derby Academy, on his father's farm. Upon coming of age he went to Peoria, Ill., where he spent a year as clerk in a store ; then returning to Vermont he attended
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attendance upon the public school in proportions varying with the necessities of the season and the age of the boy. Like most of his brother farmers, however, Chilion Crane seems to have felt the importance of giving his children a competent education, and when Walter had exhausted the capacities of the district school, it was determined that he should go to the academy. The institution at Bakersfield, Franklin county, was the one selected, and here it was that young Crane completed his education so far as schools had to do with it. Owing to the circumstances of his father, which were at that time less prosperous than in after years, while a large fam- ily demanded his support, Walter, after leaving home, was forced to rely mainly upon his own exertions. Being thus obliged to teach one-half the time in order that he might pursue his own studies the other half, a considerable period was necessarily occupied in com- pleting the curriculum of the academy, so that he was some twenty- three years of age when he left it. This may have been one reason why Mr. Crane never attempted a collegiate course, although at that time such a course was not considered as by any means indis- pensable in a candidate for one of the learned professions even, and it may be doubted whether in fact the habits of independence and self-reliance thus early engendered were not of infinitely more value to him in subsequent life than four years of classical study could have been.
On leaving school young Crane confronted the every-day ques- tion, what to do for a living. Those who know him now will be readily persuaded that the drudgery of the plow never held out any special inducement to him, nor will they be surprised that he turned his back upon the honorable calling of his father and became a merchant. He located at East Franklin, Vt., in 1851, where he also held the office of postmaster. This occupation did not, how- ever, prove as congenial as he had anticipated, and after a four years' experience he threw it up, and began the study of the law with Jasper Rand, who was then located at Berkshire. He was admitted to practice at the September term of the Franklin county court, 1859. Having been appointed deputy collector for the port of North Troy, he removed to that village that same year. In 1861 he was made assistant assessor of the internal revenue, and contin- ued to hold both these offices, practicing law to some extent at the same time, until May, 1864, when he removed to Newport, then
A. J. Wilcox, Boston
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listened to can do it more effectively. And the beauty of it all is that whatever the speech which he makes to the jury may in fact be, it always appears to be an argument. He seldom appeals to their sympathy, he never assures them that he believes in the jus- tice of his cause and that therefore they ought to, but he seems to demonstrate to them that his cause is just. And so calm, so can- did, so apparently disinterested is he in this task that the jury give him his case, often against all evidence and all right, not because they want to, but because there really isn't any other way. In his arguments he frequently employs his power of sarcasm, which he possesses far beyond any other member of the bar, to the great amusement of everybody except the victim.
Mr. Crane, in addition to being a good lawyer, is a good fellow. He tells a good story and cracks a good joke, and he possibly enjoys his part of his professional life fully as much as its weight- ier responsibilities. He is regarded with special kindliness by his younger brethren, whom he never seeks to domineer or patronize or unnecessarily embarrass, and who find him a pleasant man to be in a case with, either as an associate or an opponent. On the whole there are but few practicing attorneys who are more thor- oughly identified with or whose loss would be more felt by the bar of Orleans county.
B. F. DEMING CARPENTER.
By CHARLES H. JONES.
TI HE subject of this sketch was born in Danville, Vt., June 12, A. D. 1838. He came of good English stock. His great- grandfather, Jonathan Carpenter, was a native of Massachusetts, and a soldier in the revolutionary war. His grandfather, Col. Chester Carpenter, was born in Randolph, Vt., and came to Derby in 1811, where he lived and died. His father was the late Hon. Marshall Carpenter of Derby, judge of probate for the district of Orleans from 1856 to 1862.
His mother, Harriet Deming, was the daughter of Hon. Benja- min F. Deming of Danville, Vt., for many years clerk of the Cale- donia county court and judge of probate till elected to congress in 1833, and who died at Saratoga in 1834 on his return from Wash- ington.
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His youth was spent in labor on his father's farm in Derby, at the common schools and at Derby Academy. He was a good scholar, quick to learn, and excelled in literary and rhetorical stud- ies. A large and flourishing lyceum was maintained, in which he proved a good debater. In 1858 he entered the office of Edwards & Stewart at Derby as a student at law, and was admitted to the Orleans county bar at the June term, A. D. 1860.
He opened an office at Craftsbury where he remained till 1864, when he removed to West Charleston. Here he soon formed a partnership with Hon. George N. Dale of Island Pond, which con- tinued about five years. In 1880 he moved to Barton Landing, where he now resides.
He represented Charleston in the legislature in 1868 and 1869, and was state's attorney for Orleans county in 1870, 1871 and 1872. This is an important office, and three successive years of service indicate that its duties were well performed. The time will come when young and inexperienced lawyers, however promising, will not be chosen for this position. Penal law is the most difficult to enforce, and criminals are often defended by the best talent and skill. The State and people are entitled to such an efficient ser- vice as fulness and experience alone can give. In 1884 Mr. Car- penter was elected to the legislature from Barton, representing a divided town where passion ran high over the removal of the shire. In politics he is a republican, but not a parstian. July 2, 1863, he was married to Harriet M. Fairchild of Derby, by whom he has two sons-Ernest M., born July 29, 1864, and Ray, born August 13, 1872, each inheriting a genial nature, and refined and scholarly tastes.
As a counselor Mr. Carpenter is reliable and safe. Thoroughly grounded in the principles of law, cautious and conservative by nature, cool and candid in judgment, making his client's interest his own and fully counting the cost, he often counsels peace where the voice of others would be for war. So marked is this tendency that he could more truthfully be termed a foe to litigation than a breeder of quarrels. Yet he is well versed in the art of assault and defence, and roused by opposition he is a strong fighter. His cases are well prepared, and fairly and honestly tried without sub- terfuge or trick.
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the little village of "Lake Bridge," at the head of Lake Memphre- magog, where he associated himself with Lewis H. Bisbee, under the firm name of Crane & Bisbee, and devoted himself exclusively to the practice of his profession. It will be noticed, therefore, that Mr. Crane was, when called to the bar, thirty-two years old, an age at which most lawyers, who achieve success, are already in com- mand of a lucrative business, and that he spent still another five years before seriously undertaking the practice of the law. Most men would have found it difficult to adapt themselves at this time of life to the requirements of the profession ; that he did not is abundantly shown by his immediate and continued success. The firm of Crane & Bisbee commanded while it continued an exten- sive practice, and when dissolved at the expiration of three years by the appointment of Mr. Bisbee as deputy collector for the port of Newport, the senior partner, who continued business by himself, retained the larger part of this patronage. He continued to practice at Newport alone until 1878, when he associated him- self with F. E. Alfred, under the style of Crane & Alfred, a firm which has always deserved a large and desirable clientage.
While never having devoted himself to politics, Mr. Crane has held at one time and another most of the offices within the gift of his town and county. He was for some years chairman of the board of selectmen in Newport. In 1867 and 1868 he represented that town in the general assembly. He was appointed state's attorney to serve out the unexpired term of L. H. Bisbee, who resigned that office when made deputy collector in 1867, and he was elected to that same office by the people for the biennial term of 1872-74. In 1882 he was nominated for senator by the Orleans county republican convention. The nomination for this office was hotly contested, but Mr. Crane was nominated by a single vote and was subsequently elected. He has been United States Commis- sioner for Vermont since 1867. All these positions have been acceptably filled by him. While in the house he served on the committee on railroads and that on corporations, and in the senate was a member of the judiciary committee. He was an influential member of both bodies.
In 1851 he married Mary A. Smith, who bore him two children, both of whom died quite young. His wife herself deceased in 1878.
Among all callings, the fame of whose followers depends mainly
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upon their written or spoken utterances, the reputation of the law- yer is the most unsatisfactory. The author can point to his book, which if not always monumentum aere perennius, at least shows exactly what he has done. The words of the clergyman are spoken after careful preparation and upon topics of universal concern. The statesman is identified with some public measure, and speaks to a whole nation or state. But the lawyer pure and simple, who is concerned merely with the trial of causes before courts and juries, has not one of these advantages. The subjects with which he is engaged, while often of vital importance to the parties, are almost invariably of local interest. Of the very first lawyers only now and then one is ever employed in what is properly a cause cel- ebre. The very nature of the employment, although demanding the most careful preparation, often renders that preparation abortive. Who can forecast the phases of a jury lawsuit ? Above all the character of the forum is such that the lawyer who speaks with an eye to the public applause, usually does so at the expense of his client. The business of a lawyer is by every fair means to win his case, and the tact, the shrewdness, the genius even, which the skillful practitioner exhibits to this end, are of that peculiar sort, which is often only appreciated by his brother opponent, and which never can be described. For many years Mr. Crane has been regarded as one of the foremost lawyers in the county. During that time he has been connected with many important suits, and has often had occasion to exhibit those peculiar qualities which have made him an eminently successful trial lawyer. But to enu- merate those causes would be well nigh meaningless now, and entirely so a few years from now, and an attempt to delineate those qualities would be unintelligible to all but his brother practitioners.
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