USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Biography of the bar of Orleans county, Vermont > Part 5
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE BAR
amount of foreign business was placed in his hands. Mr. Baxter was also a good farmer, and always raised good crops. He appeared to be a good judge of the different soils, and understood their man- agement well. In all his affairs he was as industrious as his health would admit, and in this way he accumulated a great property for a man living in the north part of Vermont, his estate at his death being apprised at $100,000 or over, all of which he accumulated during the twenty-five years of his residence in Brownington, being an average gain of four thousand dollars per year.
Mr. Baxter was well known as an active man in all town affairs, whether financial or requiring enterprise, and was ever liberal in aiding the religious and benevolent objects of the day. He erected the academy in Brownington at his own expense, the land having been given by Samuel Smith, Jr., and gave it to the county for the purpose of a grammar school, making it one of the provisions that the second story should be appropriated as a place of public wor- ship, until such time as it should be required for the interest of the grammar school. Though making no pretensions to piety, his benevolence and assistance in sustaining religious worship, and the prominence he ever held in the offices of the town, caused his loss to be much lamented by the whole town. It seems that he held, at different times, every office in the gift of the town, from those of hog reeve and fence-viewer to that of the representative of the peo- ple in the legislature. He held for a series of years from two to six or eight public offices at a time."
He was state's attorney for the county of Orleans from 1802 to 1814, and assistant judge for 1825 and 1826. He married Lydia Ashley of Claremont, N. H., April 17, 1799, by whom he became the father of eight children, four of whom died while quite young. The names of those who grew to maturity were Portus, Carlos, Charles B., and Eliza.
JOSEPH MARSH.
IN the carly history of Coventry, Vt., one Jabez G. Fitch of Vergennes, was the owner of nearly the whole township. May 20, 1801, the whole town of Coventry, including the gore, was sold at auction at the house of Thomas Tolman in Greensboro, and said Fitch was the purchaser; this, with other rights that he subse-
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VERMONT.
quently acquired, gave him the title to nearly the whole town ; and it was through his agency that the town was settled. In the spring of 1802 he sent an agent to the town for the sale of lands, and the general supervision of his affairs. This agent was Joseph Marsh, an attorney, and the subject of our sketch. He lived in a log house a few rods south of the present residence of George Harmon, now the upper falls. He had a good education, and was quite an attor- ney for the times ; but to succeed in this new country required greater financial skill than literary attainments. In this Mr. Marsh was lacking, and though he became the owner of some lands, he was obliged to transfer them in payment of debts, and at length removed to Brownington. The town of Coventry was organized March 31, 1803. Joseph Marsh was elected town clerk, also one of the listers. The first freeman's meeting was held September 6, 1803, when sixteen votes, the unanimous vote of the town, was given for Isaac Tichenor for governor, and Joseph Marsh was elected representative. The first lawsuit in Coventry was in the winter of 1805. It was held at the house of B. D. Smith, who was the magistrate. William Baxter, Esq., of Brownington, was plain- tiff, and attorney for himself, and Mr. Marsh was defendant, and attorney for himself. The action was founded on a note given to Percy Gardner. The defence was that the note was given for beef, which Gardner warranted all right, and which, in fact, was not sweet. But the plaintiff proved by Gardner and several other wit- nesses that when Marsh took the beef it was understood it should be for " better or for worse," hence the plaintiff recovered. Mr. Marsh remained in Brownington but a short time, but where he went, or what became of him, I have been unable to ascertain.
EZRA CARTER.
T "HE subject of this sketch was born at Concord, N. H., Feb- ruary 15, 1773. Of his early life little is known, except that he had a great love for books, and an insatiable desire to acquire a liberal education. After surmounting many difficulties he at last fitted for college, and entered Dartmouth, from which institution he graduated in 1797 with high honors, and the same year accepted the position of principal of the then very flourishing academy at
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE BAR
Peacham, Vt. The profession of law being his aim, he devoted all his spare time assiduously to its study, and was admitted to the bar of Orleans county August 23, 1803, and he was probably a mem- ber of the bar of Caledonia county. He never engaged in the exclusive practice of the law, but continued the principal of the academy until his death, which occurred October 10, 1811, at the threshold of what promised to be a very useful life. He was a very successful teacher. He seldom failed to get the good will and high esteem of his pupils. His power to influence, stimulate, and direct them in regard to their character, studies, and future pur- suits, was very great. In the early history of that town he filled an important and useful sphere of action, and he had very much to do with giving shape and tone to methods of study, application and industry. For many years large numbers of the young men of that section sought his instruction, either to be fitted for college, or for a business life.
JESSIE OLDS.
J ESSIE OLDS was the first white man who settled in the town of Westfield, Orleans county. In the year 1798 he left the town of Montague, Mass., bringing with him his wife, a daughter of Seymour Taft of Montague, and two or three chiklren, entered the unbroken wilderness, and began a clearing on what is now known as the Morse place, formerly part of the farm owned by Hale Clark, on what is called the "west hill " in Westfield. Mr. Olds built a log house, and previous to 1802 had erected a frame barn, probably the first one in town. It is thought he had one daughter born in Westfield, which may have been the first one in the town. He set out an orchard near his house, a few trees of which still remain alive. As his house stood near the only road leading into town from the south, it was frequently the temporary residence of the carly settlers. For nearly a year Mr. Olds and his family lived with not another resident nearer than North Troy, twelve miles distant ; their nearest neighbor on the south was at Craftsbury, twenty miles distant. Mr. Olds possessed an aspiring, stirring disposition, and figured somewhat conspicuously in the early history of the county. He was a man of education, and gen- teel appearance and address. He had been a minister of the gos-
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VERMONT.
pel as well as a lawyer, but in consequence of some financial or other difficulty in life had left both professions for the time being, and retired to the wilds of Northern Vermont. He always bore a good character here, but never had officiated as a minister, so far as is known, but once. In June, 1799, two of the sons of Abel Skinner, who was then living in the town of Potton, C. E., were drowned in the Missisquoi river, and Mr. Olds was called upon to preach a funeral sermon, which he did very acceptably, from the appropriate text, "Be still, and know that I am God," 46th psalm, v. IO. He was elected assistant judge of Orleans county court in 1800, and held the office for two years. At a meeting of the free- holders, held at his house March 29, 1802, when the town of West- field was organized, he was elected clerk and one of the listers, and in the fall of 1802 he was elected Westfield's first representa- tive to the general assembly, and was again elected in 1803. When Judge Olds first represented the town of Westfield, the settlement consisted of the families of Messrs. Olds, Hobbs, Hartley and Bur- gess, and a mulatto man by the name of James or Jim Prophet, as he was called, who lived with Judge Olds. A story used to be told that at this first freeman's meeting there were but two white men there-Judge Olds and Mr. Burgess, and both being anxious to rep- resent the town, each voted for himself ; but "Jim," the mulatto, happening to live with the judge, voted for him, and he was tri- umphantly elected. The facts of history, however, dispel this pleasant story, as the old records show some five or six voters pres- ent. In 1804 Judge Olds moved to Craftsbury, and March 4, 1805, he was admitted a member of the Orleans county bar. Judge Olds represented Craftsbury in the general assembly from 1808 to 1814, inclusive. He moved from Craftsbury to Randolph, Vt., in 1815, and from there to Kentucky, and afterwards to the southern part of Illinois, where he died.
HENRY WORKS.
H ENRY WORKS, according to the records of the court of Orleans county, was admitted to the bar March 4, 1805, from the town of Brownington, but never practiced there to any extent, as his name does not appear as attorney of record in any cause, and I am informed that soon after his admission he left the town.
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE BAR.
HEZEKIAH FROST.
H EZEKIAH FROST came to Derby, county of Orleans, from the state of Connecticut as early as 1804. He seemed to be a liberally educated man, and was engaged in teaching the village school a good part of two years. When not engaged in teaching he pursued the study of the law, and was admitted to the bar of Orleans county March 3, 1806, and soon afterward returned to Connecticut.
CHARLES REYNOLDS.
C HARLES REYNOLDS was admitted to the bar of Orleans county, August 25, 1806, from the town of Derby, but I can not find that he ever opened an office in that town for the practice of his profession. In 1808 he commenced practice in the town of Sheldon, Franklin county, and was there about three years ; but where he went from there I have been unable to ascertain.
JOSEPH H. ELLIS, et. al.
T HE following named persons, according to the records of the county, were admitted to the bar of this county on the dates given below ; but the place where they resided when so admitted does not, in any instance, appear on the record, and their names never afterward, in any cause, appear on the docket of the court as attorneys. Nor do their names appear among the attorneys of the state, so far as I can learn. Joseph H. Ellis, admitted August 24, 1807, Samuel Upham, February 28, 1822, and John L. Fuller, Sep- tember 9, 1822.
HORACE BASSETT.
H ORACE BASSETT, who was admitted to the bar of Orleans county, August 8, 1809, lived at Peacham, Caledonia county, at the time, and never lived in Orleans county.
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VERMONT.
ROGER GRISWOLD BULKLEY.
T' HE subject of this sketch was born at Colchester, Conn., May 6, 1786, the son of Roger and Jerusha (Root) Bulkley, and was educated at the common schools and academies of Con- necticut, and attended Yale College. He commenced the study of the law in Connecticut, but in 1806 or 1807 he came to Montpelier, and entered the office of Charles Bulkley, and August 8, 1809, was admitted a member of the bar of Orleans county. Having been married in that year, he went to Williamstown, Vt., to practice his profession. In 1812 he enlisted and served during that war, hold- ing the office of sergeant. At the close of the war he moved on to a farm in Duxbury, Vt., near Moretown village, where he tilled the soil and practiced law in a small way until 1842, when he moved into the village of Moretown, and there spent the remaining years of his life, practicing law and doing considerable business as a trial justice, with the exception of a few years he held the office of jus- tice of the peace, until he became infirm and incapable. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1857, in which he took a prominent part. He was a man of good native ability. He was a very tender-hearted man, one that all when in trouble applied to, and never applied in vain. He was continually caused trouble by becoming bail for, and signing notes with, his neighbors and towns- men, that he afterward had to pay. He died February 2, 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-six.
JOSHUA SAWYER.
OSHUA SAWYER was born in Old Haverhill, Mass., July 23, J 1789. His ancestors were highly respectable people, and set- tled in Haverhill as early as 1640. He was educated in the schools of Haverhill and Newburyport, and studied law with Hon. Edward Little of the latter place, and his old law preceptor gave him a let- ter of introduction to friends in Vermont, bearing high testimony to his integrity, scholarship, and gentlemanly qualities. He was educated in what was called the old school of gentlemen, and great urbanity marked all of his intercourse with his fellowmen through life. In June, 1809, upon the call of his brother, N. P. Sawyer, he 8
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE BAR
went to Burlington, and entered the office of the Hon. Daniel Far- rand as a student at law, in order to comply with the bar rules, then in strict force in Chittenden county, at least, that the last year's study must have been in Vermont. Mr. Sawyer, intending to set- tle in the practice of his profession at Hydepark, then a part of Orleans county, was admitted to the bar in that county August 27, 1810, and at once commenced practice at Hydepark. His practice extended and grew, and for more than forty years his practice was one of the largest in the state, and he was probably engaged in more suits than any other lawyer in Vermont. In his early prac- tice he came to the courts of Chittenden and Franklin counties, but his best field was in Caledonia and his own county. In those days the bar of those counties was the most brilliant in the state, and there young Sawyer, by the fertility of his resources as a man- ager, and the brilliancy of his wit and his imperturbable self- possession in trials, fairly held his own as a practitioner, and commanded his full share of business and success. He was the peer of Mattocks, Bell, Baxter, and a generation of noble men-all of whom he survived. At a later period, in the early history of Lamoille county, he became associated with a circle of strong men, and here again, although distracted by pecuniary embarrassments and fast approaching the decline of life, he sustained himself with credit, proving himself no unequal match for the best of his com- petitors. To the end of his days he was remarkable for an exhaust- less fund of anecdote, a readiness of repartee, and a courtliness of demeanor which made him a most agreeable companion. With him the garrulousness of old age had little that was tiresome ; his sto- ries were seldom repetitions, and his wit was fresh and sparkling as the youngest. As he mingled with his younger associates, his erect form, straight to the last as an arrow, and his dignified car- riage, reminded one of an ancient tree standing above its surround- ings, whitened by storms and scarred by lightnings, but yet king of the forest to the end. He was chosen representative to the Legislature for the town of Hydepark, from 1811 to 1832, in all eleven elections. The last two or three years sent expressly as the strong man to obtain the new county of Lamoille. He may truly be said to have been the father of Lamoille county, as it was very largely owing to his skillful management in the legislature that the county was formed.
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VERMONT.
He was state's attorney for the county of Orleans from 1816 to 1823. Mr. Sawyer was unfortunate in the matter of property, hav- ing lost by fire, January 26, 1826, his dwelling and out-buildings, together with almost their entire contents. There was no insur- ance, the time having not arrived when insurance was common in Vermont ; and again in 1828 he lost heavily in the failure of the iron business, of which Mr. Sawyer was the projector and an exten- sive owner.
He died at Hydepark, March 16, 1869, aged 80 years. He mar- ried in December, 1811, Mary Keeler, daughter of Aaron Keeler of revolutionary fame, by whom he had ten children.
AUGUSTUS YOUNG.
T HE subject of this biography was born in Arlington, Vt., on the 20th day of March, 1785. His father was a revolutionary soldier, and fought under Gen. Wayne at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and Stony Point. His mother was Mary Willoughby, of a very excellent family, and to her teachings Augustus was always disposed to attribute those aspirations for a higher and bet- ter life. His education was very limited, consisting of a few win- ters at a district school when between seven and sixteen years of age. Before he was seventeen years of age he removed with his mother and her younger children into that part of the town of Sterling that has since been annexed to Cambridge. For several years he labored with untiring energy in beating the bush, and sup- ported his widowed mother and family. Not being robust, he had to abandon so rigorous a life, and entered the law office of Isaac Warner at Cambridgeboro', subsequently completed his law studies with Judge Turner at St. Albans, and was admitted to the bar of Franklin county in August, 1810, and soon after commenced the practice of his profession at Stowe, where he remained about two years. He secured some business, but concluded to remove to Craftsbury, one of the shires of the new and growing county of Orleans. While in Stowe the following is told of him : "One Elias Kinsley, who lived on what is called West Hill, on a place since called the Kinsley place, lost a sheep. Some time after- ward a sheep's-head was found near the buildings of old Mr. Andrew
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE BAR
Luce, who lived in the same neighborhood. Kinsley thought he. recognized the head as having belonged to his sheep, and employed Young to commence a suit. Luce employed Roger G. Bulkley of Duxbury, to defend. On trial one Samuel Robinson was called as a witness to identify the sheep, and swore that he knew it was Kinsley's sheep by the Roman nose of the head produced. Bulkley (who had a huge nose), in his argument remarked that it was a curious way to identify a sheep by the shape of its nose, so long after death. Replying to this, Young in his argument, insisted that there was nothing singular about the method of proof-that it would not be difficult to identify his brother Bulkley by his nose six months after his death."
Friends and clients gradually gathered around him in his new home, and a growing practice rewarded his diligence, sobriety, and untiring industry. Always upright and honest, he was a safe and wise counsellor for the people of the town and vicinity, and they were willing to honor him with places of trust and confidence. He was the representative to the legislature from the town of Crafts- bury for the years 1821-22-23-24-26-28-29-30 and 1832, was state's attorney for the county of Orleans for 1824 to 1827, was senator for that county from 1836 to 1838, and was also judge of probate for the county. He subsequently moved to Johnson, and later to St. Albans, where he died in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He was elected to congress from the third congressional dis- trict of Vermont in 1841, and served one term, and was assistant judge of the county court for the county of Franklin in 1851-52 and '53, in all of which positions he sustained himself with dignity and ability. To the court, the bar, and his large circle of friends his social qualities were well known and appreciated. His literary and scientific labors he always hoped would in time be better under- stood, and his philosophical opinions be more commonly received. He believed to the fullest extent in the sublime teachings of the holy bible.
JOHN WALLACE.
By HON. C. B. LESLIE.
OHN WALLACE was the son of William and Hannah (Carl- J ton) Wallace. He was born in Newbury, Vt., August 9, 1789, graduated at Dartmouth in 1808, and was admitted to the Orleans
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county bar at the August term, 1811. He practiced in Newbury, where he died unmarried in July, 1826. I am credibly informed that he was of small stature, a fine scholar, and a polished and elo- quent speaker. In politics he was a federalist, and belonged to the Washingtonian society. He never obtained a large practice, not being in a good field, and spent his time in literary pursuits. In other words, he was too much of a scholar to obtain a large practice. His habits, I understand, were rather convivial, and he died at the age of 37 years. He delivered an oration against the war of 1812 before a large concourse of people at Newbury, Vt., at the request of the Washingtonian society, which address was published.
PETER BURBANK.
By HON. C. B. LESLIE.
I N the old cemetery at Wells River village in the town of New- bury, Vt., lie the remains of Peter Burbank. A marble head- stone marks his grave, and has the following inscription upon it :
" Peter Burbank. Counsellor at Law. Died Jannary 16, 1836, Aged 55 years."
Mr. Burbank came to Wells River some time before 1820, but the precise time I can not state. I have the library which he owned, and in " Coke upon Littleton " is inscribed upon fly leaf as follows : "Peter Burbank bought, November 10, 1810, price $17," and that S. D. Burbank also once owned the book, thus showing that he was as early as 1810 engaged in reading law, but probably not practicing. The record shows he was admitted to the bar of Orleans county, August 24, 1812. He came from the state of Con- necticut, and I think from the town of Somers. I understand that he spent some portion of his time, prior to locating at Wells River, in the office of the late Gov. John Mattocks at Peacham, Vt.
He was a very strong man intellectually, not a liberally educated man, but a man of excellent judgment, good mental ability, and strong common sense. And he was well grounded in the elemen- tary principles of the law, of a very retentive memory, being also very diligent in the study and preparation, and vigorous and ener-
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE BAR
getic in the trial of his causes, quick to see and apprehend the vital points in his case and the weak side of his adversary, and always ready to take advantage thereof, and being thus equipped he was a hard antagonist to meet. He was a careful counsellor, and there- fore, as a natural consequence, he was very successful in his pro- fession. His practice was very extensive, and he accumulated considerable property by his practice. His style of oratory was not scholarly or grammatical, but his arguments to courts and jurors were full of strong common sense logic, going right to the point. He was a very rapid speaker when he became excited. He was of the Gov. Mattocks style in his talk, and was the peer of such men as Mattocks, Collamer, Marsh, Fletcher and Bell, and other members of the bar of the state in his day.
Mr. Burbank was very eccentric, and most especially so in his dress, frequently wearing on one foot a boot and on the other a shoe, an old-fashioned broad-brimmed, round-crowned shaker hat, and a ruffled shirt front. His absent-mindedness was sometimes very ludicrous. Once he started for Danville to attend court, and rode off up the hills towards Ryegate in his old gig bare-headed, and he went a mile or more before he realized that he was hatless. His likes and dislikes of persons were very strong and tenacious, never forgetting a friend, for whom he would do all in his power to help ; but one whom he considered an enemy he hardly ever for- gave. He was in politics a democrat, and he represented the town of Newbury in the legislature for the years 1829, 1830 and 1831, and it was during his being a member that the bank of Newbury was chartered through his influence and efforts. There was a great effort made after its charter to have it located at Newbury village, which was then quite a business place, but Mr. Burbank succeeded in getting it located at Wells River. He was a very persevering man in whatever he undertook, and generally accomplished his end. He never married, and for some years prior to his death lived on his farm, which he called the hermitage, in the northwest part of Newbury, near the village of South Ryegate, where he died. He lived a rural life, and before he went to the hermitage he carried on land, not laboring himself, but hiring help to do the labor and he directing. He was exceedingly fond of good stock, especially horses, and owned and kept the celebrated Morgan horse, which was known as the " Burbank Horse" after he bought him, but
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VERMONT.
before that was called, I am quite sure, the "Woodbury Horse." He was in full practice of his profession at the time of his death, he having the late Elijah Farr as his partner at the time of his decease. He took cold, as I remember, at the December term of Orange county court, A. D. 1835, and came home sick and died at the hermitage.
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