USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Biography of the bar of Orleans county, Vermont > Part 23
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to its study until he came to Vermont, and entered the office of Edwards & Dickerman at Derby At the September term, A. D. 1871, he was admitted to the bar, and very soon commenced the practice of his profession at Newport. He remained but a short time, and then he removed to Coventry, where he now resides.
LAFORREST H. THOMPSON. By HON. H. HENRY POWERS.
L AFORREST HOLMAN THOMPSON, son of Levi S. and Irene (Hodgkins) Thompson, and the oldest of a family of eight children, was born at Bakersfield, Vt., January 6, 1848. In the paternal line he is of Scotch-Irish descent, and a family tradi- tion declares that his ancestry sustained a collateral relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots, and that in old baronial times the fam- ily coat of arms bore the motto " Dum spiro, spero." However this fact may be, the subject of this notice, while ignoring all pride of ancestry, especially that which connected him with the Scottish Queen, has in his career been actuated by the spirit of the beauti- ful sentiment expressed in the ancestral family motto.
His grandfather Thompson was a man highly esteemed by his townsmen, and was the first representative of the town of Topsham, Vt., in the legislatures of 1801 and 1802.
His grandfather Hodgkins was one of the early settlers of Bel- videre, Vt., and served in the war of 1812.
When Laforrest was about seven years of age his father moved from Bakersfield to Cambridge, Vt., and lived there one year; thence he moved to Potton, Broome county, P. Q., and engaged in farming, his son Laforrest living with him for the next eleven years, during which time his mother, who was a most excellent and devoted mother, died. His father while living, in Canada, divided his attention between farming and preaching. He was a licensed min- ister of the Christian denomination, sometimes called the Church of the Disciples, which was the denomination to which President Garfield belonged. He was also a good stone mason. He was, notwithstanding his various pursuits, and perhaps because of them, in straightened pecuniary circumstances, and so unable to give his large family of children many social or educational advantages.
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home. In the fall of 1863 he enlisted as private in the 3d Battery of Light Artillery of Vermont Volunteers, and was mustered into service as first sergeant in January, 1864. Soon afterward the bat- tery was ordered to Camp Barry, a camp of instruction near Wash- ington, D. C., for drill, equipment, etc. In the early spring the battery was ordered to the front and attached to the 9th Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac, and remained in that army until the war ended with the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox court-house. In July, 1864, young Rowell was promoted to be sec- ond lieutenant, and in the winter of 1864 was promoted to be first lieutenant of the battery, and commanded the battery a portion of the time in the winter and spring of 1865.
Of their gallant conduct on the 25th of March, 1865, Capt. Romeo H. Start, in the adjutant and inspector-general's report of Vermont for 1865, appendix "C," page 50, says : "On the 25th of March it was decided to advance the picket line in front of Fort Fisher. The movement commenced near mid-day, and, contrary to the general opinion, the enemy contested the advance very stub- bornly. The advance of our infantry was so much annoyed and retarded by a battery nearly in front of Fisher and beyond the effective range of its guns, that it was decided to move out a sec- tion of artillery to silence this troublesome battery ; so a section of this battery from Fisher, under the command of Lieut. William R. Rowell, was ordered to move forward upon the skirmish line, and report to Brevet Brigadier-General Jas. M. Warner, commanding the troops of the 6th corps, operating in our front. The order was obeyed by Lieut. Rowell with commendable promptness and energy, under a severe artillery fire from the enfilading batteries of the enemy on the left of Fisher. In obedience to orders from Gen. Warner, Lieut. Rowell took up a position within seven hundred yards (and in advance of the skirmish line) from the enemy's battery in ques- tion, and at once opened fire, to which the enemy vigorously replied. This artillery duel lasted some twenty minutes, when the enemy's guns were silenced by the well directed fire of Rowell's guns, and the troops moved forward and occupied the desired position. The object of the movement having been attained, Lieut. Rowell was directed by Gen. Warner to return to Fort Fisher with his section. During this skirmish the section suffered no loss in men or mate- rial. The conduct of Lieut. Rowell and the men of his section on
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this occasion was such as to elicit from Gen. Warner a very compli- mentary notice for gallantry." On the 2d day of April a severe engagement took place in front of Fort Fisher, in which the same report says: "The behavior of officers and men during the en- tire day was splendid. Lieutenants Rowell and Perrin deserve spe- cial mention for coolness and gallant conduct during the entire day." At the close of the war Lieut. Rowell came home, and the follow- ing winter taught school in his native village. In November, 1866, he was appointed deputy collector of customs for the port of Troy by Gen. G. J. Stannard, collector, which office he held for three years, during which time he pursued the study of the law, under the direction of Hon. H. C. Wilson of Troy. In 1869 he resigned as collector of customs and attended the Albany Law School, tak- ing a full course and graduating from that school, and at the same time was admitted to the bar of the state of New York. In Sep- tember, 1870, he was admitted to the bar of Franklin county, and soon afterward entered upon the practice of his profession at Springfield, Vt., where he remained two years, one year of which he was in partnership with Hon. Samuel W. Porter. In the fall of 1872 he returned to North Troy, and opened an office for the prac- tice of his profession. In 1876 he was elected state's attorney for the county of Orleans and held the office one biennial term, during which period there was a very large docket of criminal causes, including the celebrated Hayden murder case, which was tried and Hayden convicted during his term of office. He discharged the arduous duties of the office with great credit to himself and the satisfaction of the county. In the fall of 1880 he was again appointed deputy collector of customs for the port of North Troy, and about the same time was appointed aide-de-camp to Gov. Ros- well Farnham with the rank of colonel. The office of collector he held until 1886. Col. Rowell, during his long service, conducted the affairs of this office with fidelity. In private life, also, he sus- tains a manly, upright character, and is universally esteemed for his frank, honorable dealing. He was married May 20, 1886, to Miss Imogene Gleason of Methuen, Mass.
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MYRON HAWLEY FULLER.
By COL. WILLIAM R. ROWELL.
M YRON HAWLEY FULLER, son of Warren and Emily R. Fuller, was born in Waterville, Vt., February 12, 1846. When he was about five years old his parents moved to North Troy. His preparatory course was taken at St. Johnsbury, and Meriden, N. H. While he was fitting for college he taught school in the town of Troy one or two terms. He entered Dartmouth College in 1865, graduating from there in 1869, and was elected class poet of his class. During his collegiate course he spent his vacations in teaching singing schools in various places in Massachusetts. He studied law in the office of Edwards & Dickerman at Derby for about one year, and afterwards with Hon. John L. Spring of Lebanon, N. H., and was admitted to the bar in this county at the February term of the county court in 1871. He was offered a partnership in the practice of law with Hon. J. L. Spring, before referred to, but his health being poor his physicians advised a change of cli- mate, and he went to Kansas in the spring of 1871. He was at Topeka for a short time, but finally settled down at Wyandotte, and commenced the practice of law. He soon gained a good prac- tice, having had some assistance from the late Jesse Cooper, for- merly from this county, but who had been practicing for some years at Wyandotte, and was then about retiring from an extensive business. At a celebration on the 4th day of July, 1872, at Wyan- dotte, Mr. Fuller delivered an oration, which was very highly spoken of by the press of that vicinity. He had a decided genius for music. At the age of four years he could sing several tunes through correctly. When about twelve years of age his father sent him to St. Albans for three months, where he was under the tuition of Prof. D. A. Winslow, which is all the regular instruction he ever had in music. He was a fine singer, and was the leader of his class in college in all musical entertainments. April 28, 1871, he married Miss Emma C. Heaton, who went to Kansas with him. In 1873 his health having failed, he closed up his business and came East, and died February 15, 1874, of consumption, at his father's house in Newport. In early life he made a profession of faith in the Savior. He united with the Congregational church while in Wyandotte, and died peacefully in the triumphs of the Christian faith.
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JA J Wilcox, Boston
Theophilus Grot
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practice of the law at Newport. This continued with a large and lucrative practice until the spring of 1875, when his brother removed to Chicago, Ill., since which time he has practiced at Newport on his own account, with the exception of the one year, 1877, when he was in partnership with Charles A. Prouty.
Mr. Grout was elected state's attorney for the county of Orleans for the biennial term of 1878 and 1879, and was elected represent- ative for the town of Newport in 1880 and 1881. In this body he took a leading and influential position, serving on the committee on revision of laws and on joint rules, championing and advocating some of the most important measures to become the laws of the state. He has made his profession a success, not only while with his brother, but since he has practiced alone, and he has one of the best law libraries in Northern Vermont. He is an affable, gener- ously endowed gentleman, and has won the esteem and confidence of those with whom he has associated. In religious matters he is an earnest and effective worker, being a zealous member of the Episcopal church, and to his liberality, energy and perseverance, as much as to that of any other, is that society indebted for their beautiful church edifice and their flourishing condition. In politics he has always been an ardent republican. He was married Novem- ber 25, 1873, to Ellen A. Black, an estimable lady from the South (Texas), and they have two children, Charles T. and Addie L. Grout.
LYMAN MUNSON SHEDD.
T `HE subject of this sketch was born in Boston, Mass., Decem- ber 8, 1842, the son of John Haskell and Eliza (Gilman) Shedd. His education was obtained at the public schools of Bos- ton, and subsequently at the Lawrence Academy at Groton, Mass., and in 1861 he passed a very commendatory examination for admis- sion to Harvard College; but the war of the rebellion having begun, young Shedd determined to answer his country's call, and enlisted in the 60th Regiment of New York Volunteers, and was mustered into service September, 1861, as second lieutenant of Co. I of that regiment, where he remained until the latter part of 1862, when, on account of impaired health, he resigned. Upon his return to Boston he commenced reading law, and closely applied himself
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Let. Thompson.
. A. J Wilcox, Boston
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He was, however, a man of great intellectual strength, and was especially gifted in the power of invective, which he used with marked skill against the moral and conventional sins of the day.
During his residence in Canada the southern rebellion broke out. Although Laforrest had lived in Canada during that formative period in life when the child is father of the man, and the seeds of political faith are generally rooted, yet he had read Uncle Tom's Cabin, and thereby became a pronounced abolitionist of the aggress- ive type, rejoicing at John Brown's courageous raid, and mourning his death as the loss of a Christian martyr. At the outbreak of the war he manifested his boyish loyalty to the Union cause by erect- ing in his father's door-yard a flag-staff, from which flaunted the stars and stripes during the whole war. The neighborhood was full of secession sympathizers, and one of them thought to test the youngster's mettle by ordering him to take down that "Yankee rag." But young Thompson had provided himself with forty rounds of cobble stones for just such occasions, and in tones and manner that carried conviction to the heart of the invading Englishman, gave him to understand that the man who meddled with that flag would get a taste of Yankee cobbles that he would remember to the day of his death, whereupon the Englishman beat a hasty retreat.
The educational advantages of Mr. Thompson's boyhood were meager. The schools open to him till he was fifteen were poor, and hardly deserved the name. He early acquired a taste for gen- eral reading, which has increased with increasing years and oppor- tunities. When about twelve years of age he borrowed and read a History of the World, Histories of England and the United States, Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Macaulay's Essays, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and some other works, which, though of rather heavy text for youthful digestion, gave him a lead to the storehouses of histor- ical facts, as well as a discipline in style, in reasoning, and in con- densed recital, which has served him a most useful purpose in his after life.
While working on his father's farm he managed by the sale of spruce gum, muskrat skins, and other like articles of boyish com- merce, to buy Greenleaf's Arithmetic, Robinson's Algebra, and a few other books which he mastered during his morning, evening, and other leisure hours. His father was not impressed with the
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conviction that an acquired education was of practical value, and gave his son no encouragement in his desire to acquire one. In the fall of 1865 he determined to make a lawyer of himself, and though in quite poor health, he commenced a course of a year's study at the Lamoille County Grammar School at Johnson, and made excellent progress in his studies. In 1867 and 1868 he taught school in Craftsbury a part of the time, and in the spring of 1868 entered Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, N. H. For two years he had paid his way by teaching and doing such work as offered itself, and in February, 1868, through the generosity of Hon. James W. Simpson of East Craftsbury, who had observed the ambition of young Thompson to secure a liberal education, the way was opened to him to take a collegiate course, but in 1869, when fit- ted to enter college, he was forced, by medical advice, to abandon his purpose on account of his frail health. He has, however, taken the next best course by giving his days and nights, so far as possi- ble, to an extended study in English belles-lettres.
After giving up his college course he supported himself by teach- ing in Craftsbury and Irasburgh, meantime reading law as best he might. He never matriculated as a student in the office of an attor- ney, but borrowed books and followed the advice of attorneys as to his reading. He is emphatically a self-made man and a self-made lawyer, and by common consent the work in both aspects was well done. In March, 1871, he was admitted to the bar in Orleans county, having at that time only heard two cases argued in court, and knowing nothing of court procedure. He formed a partnership with L. S. Thompson and began the practice of his profession at Irasburgh, where he has since continuously resided. The firm of L. S. & L. H. Thompson continued about two years. Since then his business has rapidly increased, and for several years no attorney in Northern Vermont has had a larger or better clientage. He has been engaged in all the more important cases, civil and criminal, in Orleans county, and in many in adjoining counties. He brings to his professional work an untiring industry in his preparation and a masterly tact in the details of the trial, never losing sight of the exact legal aspect of his case, nor forgetting to develop the facts of a case in harmony with the law of it. He has a ready flow of pure Saxon English language, a vivid imagination, and an inherited and masterly power of invective, which enables him to marshal his facts
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most forcibly to the mind of the average juror. Before the court he argues law questions with judicial fairness and logical acuteness.
Among the more important cases which he has tried in the court of last resort may be mentioned Baldwin, assignee vs. Buswell, involving the constitutionality of the insolvency law of Vermont; Wade vs. Pulsifer, reported in the 54th Vermont Reports, involving the validity of a gift from a sister to her brother, standing in a rela- tion of confidence and trust, and the recent case of State vs. Malo- ney for publishing a libel upon Chief Justice Royce. No more exhaustive or logical brief has been presented to the supreme court for years than the one prepared by him in the Wade-Pulsifer case.
Mr. Thompson was state's attorney for Orleans county in the years 1874 and 1875. In 1876 he was elected judge of probate for that district, and held the office till June, 1881, when he resigned on account of the demands of his professional business. In 1880 and 1882 he represented Irasburgh in the legislature, and served upon the most important committees in the house. In 1884 he was a senator from Orleans county and president pro tem of the senate. At this session a large number of his brother members gave him their votes as a candidate for a judgeship upon the bench of the supreme court. Judge Thompson has filled many other positions of trust in town and county.
He was married August 24, 1869, to Mary Eliza, daughter of Hon. A. P. Dutton of Craftsbury, by whom he had four children. Mrs. Thompson died March 29, 1881, and Judge Thompson subse- quently married Helen C. Kinney, by whom he has had two children.
WILLARD W. MILES.
By THEOPHILUS GROUT, ESQ.
W ILLARD W. MILES, son of Orin and Eunice (Clark) Miles, was born in Albany, Vt., February 6, 1845.
Edward Miles, the grandfather of Willard, moved from the town of Dover, N. H., about 1815, and settled in Danville, Vt., at which time Orin was about three years old.
Willard's mother's people came from New Hampshire, and were among the early settlers of St. Johnsbury, Vt.
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In about 1835 the father of our subject was married, and soon after moved on to a farm in Albany, Vt., which was afterwards known as "Miles' Hill." About 1842 Willard's grandfather also moved on to a farm in Albany, near where his father lived.
Willard attended the common schools of his native town, and quite early showed a great taste for study. At the age of about sixteen he entered the academy at Barnston, P. Q., and attended two years, and soon after attended the academy at Hatley, P. Q., one year, and on his return to Vermont kept up his studies and recited to the Rev. S. K. B. Perkins at Glover, Vt., until he was fitted for college. In 1866 he entered the office of Charles I. Vail at Irasburgh, and pursued the study of law until 1868, except dur- ing the falls of 1867 and 1868, when he taught the academy at West Albany, Vt. In April, 1869, he went West, intending to take a course of law at Ann Arbor, Mich., Law School, and settle in the West for the practice of his profession; but soon after reaching there he had the misfortune to break his leg, and in August, 1869, returned to Vermont. By reason of his long confinement with his broken limb his health became much impaired, and he did not again resume the study of law until the fall of 1871, when he entered the office of Gen. William W. Grout at Barton, Vt., and was admitted to the bar of Orleans county at the September term, A. D. 1872, and in June, 1873, opened an office at North Craftsbury, Vt., for the practice of his profession.
In September, 1872, and before he was admitted to the bar, he was elected for the biennial term of 1872 and 1873 to represent the town of Albany in the legislature of Vermont, and, although young, took a leading position, serving on the committee on elections.
He taught the Craftsbury Academy in the fall of 1874 and spring of 1875, and with this exception has practiced his profession since he was admitted to the bar. He was elected to represent the town of Craftsbury in the Vermont Legislature for the biennial term of 1878 and 1879, and served on the committee on judiciary, and was one of the leading members of that body. He was elected clerk of the town of Craftsbury in 1875, and continuously re-elected as long as he resided in the town. Mr. Miles had a good practice while in Craftsbury, and enjoyed the confidence andesteem of his townsmen.
In April, 1881, he moved from Craftsbury to Barton, Vt., and formed a partnership with Gen. William W. Grout, under the firm
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name of Grout & Miles, which still exists. This is one of the lead- ing firms of Orleans county, and has always had a large and lucra- tive practice. Mr. Miles has been a close student and is a good lawyer. He is a pleasant, companionable man, generous, unselfish, and as true to his friends as the needle to the pole.
In politics he has always been a republican. In religion he is a Congregationalist, being a consistent member of that church.
In September, 1872, he married Miss Ellen M. Dow, and they have three children-Ida M., Mabel A. and Orin L.
AMOS JOHNSON SHURTLEFF.
A MOS JOHNSON SHURTLEFF was born in Cato, Cayuga county, N. Y. His father, Solon Shurtleff, was a physician, and after a time located at Hatley, P. Q., where the youth and early manhood of our subject was spent. He acquired his education at the common schools and Hatley Academy. Young Shurtleff was always studious in his habits. The hours of study in school were always a pleasure rather than a task, and he was sorry when they were over. He early evinced a liking for the profession of law, and about the time of his majority commenced reading law with Col. N. T. Sheafe at Derby Line, and was admitted to the bar of Orleans county at the February term, A. D. 1872, and very soon opened an office at South Troy for the practice of his profession. Wishing for a broader field than this agricultural town afforded him, in 1876 he removed to St. Johnsbury, and in 1881 to Concord, N. H., becoming a member of the firm of Tappan, Albin & Shurtleff. While he was in St. Johnsbury he followed the business of a ste- nographer to some extent, reporting for several of the county courts, a calling in which he was very proficient. In 1882 he was appointed clerk of the Merrimack County Court, a position which he still continues to hold. He was married March, 1882, to Lou D. Robinson of Swanton, Vt.
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SANFORD HENRY STEELE.
T HE subject of this sketch was born in Stanstead, P. Q., No- vember 6, 1847, the son of Sanford and Mary (Hinman) Steele and a brother of Judge Benjamin H. Steele. He remained at home and attended the school of his native district and at Derby Line un- til he was fifteen years of age, when he became clerk in the post- office at Derby Line, where his brother, Benjamin H. Steele, was postmaster. In the winter of 1864 and 1865 he taught the village school at Derby Line, and in the following year entered the Jesuit College in Montreal, P. Q., where he was at the same time student and tutor. In the spring of 1867 he entered Dartmouth College, and graduated in 1870 with honor. During his college course he taught one winter at Newport, and also taught the academy at Bar- ton one term. He spent one winter in Washington as clerk of the house committee on revision of the laws. In 1871 he entered the office of his brother, Judge Steele, at Hartland for the study of the law, and at the February term, 1872, passed a very meritorious examination, and was admitted a member of the bar of Orleans, his favorite county. He very soon went to the city of New York, where he spent one year in close study to familiarize himself with the laws and practice of that state, and in 1873 he opened an office and commenced practice for himself, and is now one of the firm of Brilsen & Steele, No. 229 Broadway, N. Y. Having a thorough knowledge of law and its bearings upon facts and principles, he makes an able and safe counselor, painstaking and sedulous in form- ing an opinion in the case presented by his client.
He is a man of thorough integrity, entirely responsible as a law- yer and a man. His firm has been engaged in many important cases, and always to their credit. He has always applied himself closely to his profession, and had nothing to do with politics. He is one of the directors of the Chatham National Bank. In June, 1876, he married Carrie Hinman, eldest daughter of Ransome B. Hinman of Brooklyn, where he resides. They have had two chil- dren, one of which, a daughter, is still living.
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