USA > Vermont > Essex County > Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887 > Part 6
USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887 > Part 6
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fullest means, it placed a temporary, and sometimes contemptible, victory above other and more worthy considerations. For so new and isolated a place as Essex county, its bar was polished to an extent more than could be ex- pected, because the most refined gentlemen of the state were accustomed to come there on professional engagements ; and the natives very quickly imi- tated their manners, and profited by the public exercise of their learning. The bar of Essex county has always been noted for its vigor and industry. The very circumstances under which lawyers have always been placed there have · cultivated vigorous lives and thought, and an indomitable will.
Among the strongest and most characteristic men who were identified with the bench and bar of this county, and perhaps the central figure, stands Judge Luke P. Poland. He is one of the most dignified and imposing in physical appearance, and a man of great common sense and vigor of thought. He was absolute in his discipline, and yet of the most genial nature, and ·when in court he commanded absolute respect.
Out of court his intercourse with all was free and easy, and sometimes quite familiar. To illustrate : One Colonel J. D. Stoddard, a lawyer from an adjoining county, had been subjected to sever discipline in court during the day, and had been sharply rebuked. On the adjournment of court he hired a team and invited the Judge to ride into New Hampshire. Crossing the line he said : " Now, Mr. Poland, we are in New Hampshire, whither I have brought you for the purpose of telling you what I think of the cursed : rulings you made to-day, and your treatment of me." At another time a vain local orator had been boasting of the great speech he had made in the cam- paign. Just after this a waggish lawyer met Judge Poland, and said, "How is the election going ?" "All right," replied the Judge, "Mr. - - has made one of the greatest speeches that has been made during the campaign." " What proof of it ? " inquired the wag. " Proof ! proof !" said the Judge, " It requires no proof, he admits it." At one time Judge Timothy Redfield, who was then a practicing lawyer before Judge Poland, had been urging the con- tinuance of a cause. The opposing lawyer replied, making, as Redfield thought, some extravagant statements, to which Redfield began to reply. Judge Poland remarked that the court understood all about that. The coun- cil still persisted saying, " I was about to suggest-" when he was interrupted with great severity. After a pause he repeated, " I was about to suggest-" then catching the dark eye and severe frown of the Judge, he added quietly, " that the discussion is now closed."
Judge James Barrett was another of the state judges who held the Essex ·county courts considerably, and was distinguished by some very remarkable characteristics. He was one of the best lawyers the state of Vermont ever produced-of sterling integrity, absolute independence, and of great vigor of thought. His discipline in court was sometimes criticised for its severity. If it had been characterized by less directness and personality at times, and had been equally severe and accompanied with courtly manners, it would have
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been better received and done more good ; but as it was it was very valuable. Sometimes in his hasty rebukes he met his match. At one time a lawyer by the name of Brown was reading a familiar principle from Blackstone. The Judge remarked, "you need not trouble the court with reading that." But the lawyer persisted, and the Judge stopped him and said, "the court is: familiar with that principle; you have no occasion to read that for the instruc- tion of this court." Then Brown, quick as thought, replied, " I am not read- ing it for the instruction of the court, but to see what the law is myself."
Among the vigorous judges who were accustomed to hold court in this: county were Judge Asahel Peck, who was remarkable as a close lawyer and a disciplinarian in court. Mr. May says of him: "There was sense as well: as humor in the charge of Vermont's great lawyer, in the suit of Bates and wife vs. Cilley, 47 Vt., when the jury was told ' if Mrs. Bates was bitten, as . she testified, she would be pretty likely to know it at the time. It would be pretty likely to make an impression on her mind that she would remember.'" The lawyer inquired of the judge in this case what had been done with plaintiffs motion for certified execution against the owner of the dog ? The reply was, "it was overruled." " Why ?" asked the counsel. "Because,"" replied the judge, with a merry twinkle in his eye, " the dog was not made a. party."
Among the early judges of this county were Daniel Dana and Isaac F. Red- field, the former having been the first judge of the county court about the be -- ginning of the century, and stands very prominent in the memory of the peo- ple of Essex county. He was the grandfather of Mrs. John Dewey, and of Mrs. David H. Beattie. Judge I. F. Redfield held the courts in the vicinity of forty years later, and his brother, Timothy P. Redfield, still later. The Redfields were distinguished by quiet, courtly and dignified manners, and did! much to mould the manners of the Essex county bar. About 1857 Judge Asa O. Aldis held the courts occasionally. He was one of Vermont's most: brilliant and accomplished judges. Among the more recent judges are John Prout, H. Henry Powers, Jonathan Ross, B. H. Steele and John W. Rowell. Judge Prout is a very quiet man, deeply learned in the law, direct, positive and unswerving. Judge Powers is one of the readiest men I ever saw on the bench. He possesses great resources, and they are available on the instant. Judge Rowell is marked by his absolute independence, and his studious. habits ; and, although young on the bench, his future is regarded as very promising. Among the judges who held our courts, perhaps the most clearly indentified with the people since the days of Judge Poland, are judges Ross and Steele. Judge Steele was a man who presided at ease, and was very patient in his investigations. He listened to the presention of all questions. with interest, and was condescending, even kind and forbearing, to the younger and weaker members of the bar. He disposed of the questions presented with such promptness, care and accuracy, as to dispel all the fears, and anxieties of his friends. On the bench he always acted with confidence:
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and promptness, but never with insolence. His education, his ability, literary taste, and his accuracy of expression, made him at once an ornament to the bench. Through his fine style of writing his opinions were conveyed to a pleased public. He carried with him on the bench one trait so prominent before-that of denouncing fraud or falsehood-and in the first case in which he delivered an opinion, this crops out : A Mr. G. had placed his son with one P. until he should become twenty-one years of age. The son when seventeen enlisted in the U. S. service. P. procured the minor to make his will by which he bequeathed all his property to Lucy S. P., and made P. ad- ministrator, who presented the will for probate, representing that the testator was of age, etc. P. and his wife fraudulently concealed from the young man's father all knowledge of the son's enlistment, death, or probate of the will, until it was too late for him to appeal. Upon these facts, among other things, Judge Steele said: "The soldier went to the front and soon died, at Port Hudson. His father, who was his heir-at-law, knew neither of his en- listment nor his death, until after P. had procured the will to be probated. Taking all the facts together, we are satisfied that witholding from the pro- bate court all knowledge of this material fact was willful and for a corrupt purpose, and the probate procured thereby was a fraud on the heir-at-law, from which the legatee should derive no advantage." His quick, pat manner of illustrating the truth or falsity of a legal proposition went with him onto the bench. In a case to recover the town bounty, the soldier was credited to the defendant town, and it was contended that a substitute, or man to fill the quota, was not like property which would form a consideration on which to found a promise. The judge said " this credit the plaintiff could pass to any town he liked. It was property, and a kind of property which in those days had a well recognized market value, commanded quick sales, and was the subject of no inconsiderable traffic." Presiding in county court he pre- served order, disciplined the bar, disposed of old cases, made all orders with care, and made them effectual. The judge may conceive correctly a legal idea, but when he states it the statement may not be correct law. If his idea were correct his statement followed it accurately, and when he had announced incorrect propositions to the jury there was no doubt about what he did state.
The statement of what he charged the jury was clear and definite, so that if he committed an error it was apparent, giving opportunity to have it reformed in the supreme court. He dissolved the fears of his friends by laying aside that ardor and zeal which he had been accustomed to bestow upon one side of a case, and sat in the middle of it, weighing each side of it as impartially as though it had been his life work. If the facts of a case are strongly in favor of either party, to instruct a jury in a logical manner might look as though the judge were charging in favor of that party. A true statement of such a case is often mistaken for partiality ; but so independently would he reason upon abstract propositions, and then apply them to the case, that he would satisfy the party that if the case seemed to veer in his hands it was
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impelled by the facts in it. On the bench, as at the bar, his toil, like that of his associates, was immense. He worked, and read, and grew fast in the confidence of the people. Five years he had been developing the judge, in- creasing each year the pride, confidence and respect of his friends, who had come to think that the state had acquired in him a judge who would serve with great credit to himself and honor to the state many long years, when suddenly he announced his resignation, in consequence of having been con- nected with the legal management of an immense estate, in the life-time of his wife's father, the care of which now demanded his entire attention. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant lights in the state ; but in the midst of his fast growing fame he began suddenly to decline, and died in 1873.
In this connection it occurs to the writer that there was associated with Judge Steele a part of the time that he held the Essex county courts a man of very marked characteristics-the Hon. David H. Beattie. He is of Scotch descent, and possesses great tenacity of purpose, and is a man of immense will and energy. He married a daughter of the first judge of the Essex county courts. ; He has always been engaged extensively in the lumbering business. He was an efficient sheriff for a great many years, is now judge of probate, and although the duties of the assistant judges (there being two of them) do not require that they should be particularly learned in the law, yet such was Judge Beattie's experience, observation and reading that he could discuss with candor and ability any legal question which might come before the court; and in respect to these he acted with entire and absolute independence. In one case in which the plaintiff claimed he was in- jured by stepping onto a defective step on an engine, and that he was induced to do so by a signal, or semaphore, being set. the wrong way through the intoxication of an employee, whose habits the company knew or might have known, it was contended by the defendant railway company that the setting of the semaphore was the remote and not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. Judge Beattie contended that the plaintiff ought to recover, and discussed with the presiding judge with great zeal and ability the intricate questions involved. He was overruled, judge- ment rendered for the defendants, exceptions taken, and the case was twice argued before the full bench, and the judgement below finally sustained by only one majority. He is quite as prominent in the bar and bench of Essex county as any other man.
I speak of Judge Jonathan Ross only in his connection with the Bench. and Bar of Essex county. A full biographical sketch of him will be found elsewhere. He commenced the practice of his profession at St. Johnsbury, in the spring of 1856. He soon gained a large practice, which extended into Essex county, where he was engaged in several important cases. He pre- pared his cases with care, managed and presented them to the jury with clear- ness and ability. On his election as judge, in 1870, he was assigned to hold.
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the county court of Essex county, and continued to hold it a larger part of the time to within a few years.
My impressions of Judge Ross as a judge are that his discipline in court might sometimes seem lax, but this grows out of his kindness of heart. Do not mistake me,-not out of his fear of criticism, for he possesses no fear on the bench. He possesses no idea of policy. As I look at him he has no friendships that he carries on to the bench. He is very kind and sympathiz- ing in his nature, is unswerving in his ideas, and states the case to the jury, as he understands it, in logical form. Whenever a colloquy takes place between him and a member of the bar he never takes advantage of his position, but has a pleasant way of keeping the attorney's mind right on the subject and causing him to forget himself and the judge in the abstraction. In his instruc- tions to the jury he presents the case clearly, concisely and completely, and in plain, clean English, and in practical form, never undertaking to confuse the jury by foreign or ambiguous language which might show the judge's learning and cloud the minds of the jury. I mean that he does not lumber it with legal phrases nor confuse the jury with too nice distinctions; but tells them in plain, simple language the effect on the case of their finding given facts. He does not argue the case, but states it. He always interests the jury and inspires them with confidence. He divides and simplifies the case so that the jury can see a branch at a time, then groups them all so they can see the case as a whole. He encourages special findings of the jury as much as possible, so that if error is claimed the supreme court can see whether the defeated party was seeking to remedy an injury or to get a new trial. I think we will go far before we find a judge to aid a jury more than he does ; but speaking in the midst of unbounded friendship and admiration for the man, but true to history, the writer sometimes wishes that to his disci- pline in court was added the severity of a Peck or a Barrett, stripped, of course, of their petulancy. Judge Ross is very prompt. He never leaves the work of a term unfinished. He is never behind in his opinions. His industry has en- abled him to supply his storehouse with knowledge of the law so as to be able to meet any demands upon him. His life is pure beyond suspicion, and he is a devoted and consistent christian.
Hon. William Heywood was born at Lunenburgh, Vt., October 6, 1804, and his early life was spent amid influences which were calculated to cultivate in his young mind the sternest virtues and the utmost simplicity of manners, and out of which came a plain, strong mind, filled with the broadest common sense. In those days the Concord academy was the leading and most available institution of learning in the vicinity, and in it Mr. Heywood acquired such academical education as an usual course afforded. But he utilized all there was of it, and assimilated it to his own practical ideas as he went along, so that he came from the school with more than the strength that is usually born of education. He went to the study of the law not moved by accidental circum- stances, but seemingly as a matter of course, reading at first with Judge
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Charles Davis, at Waterford and Danville, and later with Judge William A. Fletcher, in Detroit, Michigan. Returning to Vermont he was admitted to the bar at Guildhall, at the September term of 1831, where he commenced a business which neither in amount nor length of duration has ever been equalled in the county. So entirely did he become absorbed in the practice of his profession that he became the most exclusive lawyer I ever met. I do not mean to say that he was oblivious to the current events of the day, for he was thoroughly posted on matters in general, especially in politics, in which he always was and is an intense Democrat. But his mind was so occupied in professional labors that he even lost sight of a just compensation for them, and came through his im mense labors gleaning for himself just what his necessities compelled him to. He moved from Guildhall in 1854, and from there to Lancaster, N. H., in March, 1856, whither business followed and crowded upon him. In cases he was felt rather than known. The bluster and arrogance of identifying himself with the success of a case was unknown to him, and if it had not been, his modesty would have despised any enjoy- ment in them. I might illustrate some of Mr. Heywood's work by enumer- ating a long line of cases, including the murder case of State vs. Allen, but it would add nothing to the importance of a work so extensive. He is undemon- strative in manner, but his language is of that grave and peculiarly suggestive style that it attracts attention and is quite impressive. It has the force of brevity and directness, and his ideas are winged with words so well selected that he seldom inappropriately burdens an idea with a word, or a word with an idea it is not adapted to convey. He is quite hasty in temper, but no temper was ever exhibited in human nature with so little malice in it. When- ever it comes to him it comes like a flash of lightning. But any spirit of anger is dismissed as quickly as it appears, and so quickly does the effect of its presence pass away as to be a sharp rebuke to its coming, and make such passion look absurd and ridiculous. His is the skill born of native strength. His logic is born of his mental impulses, and has more the strength of nature than the force of art.
In his marital relations he was peculiarly fortunate, having married Miss Susan Hibbard, a daughter of the late Hon. David Hibbard, of Concord, Vermont, a lady remarkably modest, yet possessing great strength of charac- ter and kindness of heart. By her he had three sons (the second son, Edward, died at the age of seven months,) and a daughter, Isabel. The oldest son is now associated with him in business. The younger went into the late war and did not survive it. The daughter is still living. Mr. Heywood was a member of the second and third sessions of the Vermont state Senate in 1837 and 1838, and was state's attorney for Essex county for fifteen years. In physical appearance he is of medium height and size, prominent features-a very im- posing countenance-grave in appearance, even to solemnity or sadness, but through which flashes of humor occasionally burst as unexpectedly as light- ning from a cloudless sky. His is the exterior of a man moulded in an iron
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age, beneath which beats a heart as tender as a woman's. He was not only among the founders of the Vermont state government, but he was of them. He is a devoted and consistent member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and in his private character his morals are above suspicion. He still lives, at the age of more than eighty-two years, a fit type of the simple grandeur of those olden times, with mental faculties clear, vigorous and strong. May he long remain a fit emblem and reminder of those days and associations we so much revere.
Henry Heywood, son of William, was born at Guildhall, Vt., December 6, 1835. He had the example, suggestions and many of the characteristics of his father. He early attended the academy at Lancaster, N. H., and graduated at the Chandler school in 1855. He commenced the practice of law at Guildhall, in 1862, having been admitted to the bar at the March term, 1860, of the Essex county court. He was state's attorney in and for that county for two years. In 1869 he removed to Lancaster, Coos county, N. H., his father having previously removed to that place. He was county solicitor in that county during the years 1874 and 1875. On opening an office at Guildhall he soon had a large clientage, and soon was in the most important cases in the county. He did a large business, and, unlike his father, he made it available in respect to his financial condition. He is a very moderate man, but has accomplished much more work than men of his age will average. He is a student, and has confined himself so closely to his books and his work, that he has grown prematurely old. A close, thorough and profound reasoner in respect to the law, has earned him much respect for his legal attainments. He married Miss Kate R. Hubbard, of Spring- field, Vt., and to them was born a son, William H. Heywood, in February, 1868, who is now in the office with his father and grandfather, the office now being represented by three generations.
Hon. William H. Hartshorn was born in Lunenburgh, Vt., February 10, 1819. He was educated at the common schools in Lunenburgh, and at the Essex county Grammar school, at Guildhall. He came to Guildhall to live May 2, 1842. He studied law with Hon. William Heywood, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1846. He was an officer in the state legislature in 1857, '58 and '59, senator in 1854 and '55, assistant clerk of the House in 1857, representative in 1858-59 and 1878. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1870, and was county clerk from 1848 to 1863 ; judge of pro - bate from 1866 to 1878; register of probate two years, and postmaster from 1861 to 1878. He was elected town clerk in 1863, which office he now holds, and was first assistant judge of the county court in 1885 and '86. He mar- ried, June 22, 1842, Miss Delia L. Cutler, only daughter of Deacon Erastus Cutler, of Guildhall, who bore him three children, viz .: Delia A., born April 29, 1846, now the wife of E. F. Palmer, Esq., of Waterbury, reporter of the supreme court ; Clara M., born August 3, 1849, married J. M. Poole, of Gray, Me ; and Charles E., born September 27, 1854, now married, and who 4*
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owns and is proprietor of the Essex House at Guildhall. In 1856 the writer became acquainted with Mr. Hartshorn, who was then thirty-seven years of age. He found him a stirring, active, enthusiastic man-a man who was awake to all the opportunities which surrounded him. He read law the re- quired time, and was admitted to practice in the courts; but having been appointed county clerk, and constantly continuing in that office for so many years, he seldom appeared as attorney in court, notwithstanding his active nature and his combativeness in defending his position when occasion re- quired. He did not court the collisions of the bar, but rather shrank from them. As a legislator he was active, industrious, keen and sagacious, and almost always accomplished his purposes and the designs of his constituents. He was busily engaged all his life in political tilts, and even now, at the age of nearly seventy years, he enters into political matters with all the zest and enthusiasm that he possessed at forty. When he left the county clerk's office he went into trade, and was fairly successful. He then purchased the Essex House, now kept by his son, in Guildhall. In view of his marital relations, and the young life that surrounds him, it seems that he may be regarded as a fortunate old man, who has achieved sufficient success to have no occasion to rail at fortune. He has been, and probably is, the most universally known man, and a man who has been identified with more of the details of the county than any other man now living.
The Hon. Henry C. Bates was born in Derby, January 29, 1843, of parents- who were rich in probity but limited in respect to property. Being enterpris- ing, they gave the boy all the advantages at hand, which were confined to the district school, until later he attended Derby academy. The writer is told that he had a keen appetite for study, and made much of his time in the academy. He entered the law office of Hon. J. E. Dickerman, at Charles- ton, in 1863, and remained there until July, 1864, at which time he enlisted as a private soldier, and served in the defenses of Washington until June, 1865, when the war closed, and he received an honorable discharge. Re- turning, he entered the law office of Edwards & Dickerman and remained there until December, 1866, when he was admitted to practice as an attorney, in the Orleans county courts. He taught school until April, 1867, and then commenced practicing at Wheelock, in Caledonia county, whence he removed to West Concord and remained about six months ; then went to Groveton, N. H., and remained until the fall of 1869; thence to Guild- hall, from which place he went to St. Johnsbury in October, 1873, where he now resides. He was census enumerator for Essex county in 1880-82, was state's attorney in that county, and in 1886 was elected senator from Caledo- nia county. In the Senate Mr. Bates soon rose to become one of its leaders. He was elected president pro tem., and as a presiding officer was a clear, accom- plished and usually cool worker. He originated many of the most important measures of the session. In March, 1866, he married Laura E. Jenness, of Charleston, Vt. His father, Lewis C. Bates, was a merchant in early life, but
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