USA > Vermont > Windham County > Whitingham > Green leaves from Whitingham, Vermont: a history of the town > Part 14
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He was noted for his wit, sarcasm and democracy.
JOHN ROBERTS, son of James, was admitted to the bar in April, 1830, at the age of 49. He represented the town in the legislature 6 years, was Justice of the peace 32 years, Justice of the county court a term of years, Judge of Probate for the district of Marlboro, and was a member of the constitutional convention in 1850. He was also Colonel of a regiment of Vt. militia. When a young man he was a prominent Mason, holding the office of District Deputy Grand Master for the term of 6 years. He died May 14, 1868, at the age of 87 years.
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JOHN E. BUTLER, of Jamaica Vt., was admitted to the bar in April, 1837, and soon after removed to Whi- tingham where he was in successful practice for sev- eral years, after which he returned to Jamaica and there died. He was admitted to practice in the Su- preme Court at the Feb. term, 1841., and soon took a leading position at the Windham county bar.
He was prominent in educational matters, a mem- ber of the board of Trustees of Whitingham Acade- my, and secretary of the board, besides being the leading spirit in carrying forward the enterprise and procuring the services of one of the most popular preceptors ever employed in Vermont.
Mr. Butler was widely known as a shrewd lawyer, and reputed to be as honest as the profession would admit of, therefore his advice was sought by litigants in and out of the State; but he once found his match in a plain, unpretending yeoman who adopted a new way to obtain good advice from a good lawyer.
William Porter of Rowe, Mass., a wealthy farmer, had a case pending in court, and being a man who generally invented some way to get first class legal advice free, made a neighborly call one day at Esq. Butler's office. Being a wealthy gentleman from another state, he was treated by Butler with great consideration and politeness. During the conversa- tion Porter very adroitly presented a hypothetical proposition covering the points involved in his own case which he most desired to know about, asking
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Butler how he thought such a case would likely be disposed of under the facts he presented.
Not knowing or supposing that such a case really existed, Butler gave an opinion. Not long after this, Porter's case having been advanced another stage, new complications arose and he was at sea again.
Again he sought advice to meet new conditions, under the same disguise as before, but the cunning lawyer discovered that Porter was more client than visitor, whereupon he presented him a bill for legal advice rendered. Porter saw that he had been out- witted, at his own expense, and his chief study for the next three months was to conceive some plan whereby he might counteract the liability of a suit to recover for professional services.
While this unpleasantness was pending Porter had been appointed a referee in a cause to be heard at Butler's office, in Whitingham. This hearing took place on a rainy day late in the fall. A fire was built in the office, and when the parties had assembled the room was so full of smoke that no business could be transacted. Several suggestions were made by the gentlemen present as to what could be done to cure a smoky chimney.
Porter saw his opportunity but volunteered no ad- vice, simply hinting that he had been familiar with similar cases and was an expert in adapting chim- neys to almost any location, shaping the inside so that the smoke would readily pass off, mentioning
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several chimneys to which his remedy had been ap -· plied with complete success. Some claimed that this particular chimney ought to be made larger at the top and built higher. Others said that it should be constricted just above the fire-place, and still others that it should be enlarged at this point.
Porter was careful not to express an opinion until Butler, who became so impressed with Porter's supe- rior knowledge in such matters, deliberately asked him what he thought ought or could be done to make the chimney draw. Porter then made a detail- · ed statement as to the proper formation of his (But- ler's) chimney, and what alterations would make it complete. The smoke gradually passed off and the referee case was heard and decided, but before the company had dispersed Porter presented a bill to Butler for advice, twice as large as the one pending against him. The astute lawyer had been done up by the rustic farmer, and here the matter ended.
NATHAN L. BUTLER was of Jamaica and a brother of John E. He was admitted to the bar in April, 1842, and after a brief practice in Whitingham re- turned with his brother to Jamaica. He won the confidence of his clients by attention to business and the faithfulness he displayed in managing his cases. His youthful appearance was not favorable to sud- den success, but his ready comprehension of legal science, his gentlemanly bearing towards court and suitors, his keen perception of equitable rights be-
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tween man and man, made him a formidable rival of older and more experienced men.
JOHN ROBERTS JR. was admitted in April, 1846, but never practiced to any extent in Vermont. He went west soon after his admission to the bar and there spent the remainder of his days.
The Roberts family was remarkable in ability and legal attainments, at one time monopolizing the legal talent of Windham county. James Roberts Jr., born in 1793, though a farmer all his life, had a legal and analytical mind not inferior to either of his distin- guished brothers.
WILLIAM H. FOLLETT was of Jamaica, admitted to practice in the County and Supreme courts in 1851. His practice in Whitingham was not extensive, but his knowledge of law had become quite thorough, he being a diligent and careful student.
TRUMAN H. STREETER, son of Alton, born in Rowe, Mass., Dec. 16, 1816. He went to Whitingham in early life and remained there most of the time until the fall of 1868, when he went to reside in Minnesota.
He worked in a factory, taught school, studied law, labored on the farm, and was finally admitted to the Windham county bar in Sept., 1853, at the age of 37 years, and to practice in the Supreme court of Ver- mont in 1857. He had what might have been a lu- crative business, but he was inclined to wait for the coming of to-morrow until to-day was gone and his hopes were vanishing with its twilight.
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Mr. Streeter held many town offices, among which were Superintendent of Schools, Grand Juror, Justice of the Peace 15 consecutive years, Constable and Collector two years, and Representative in 1858.
He was an accomplished gentleman, a firm friend, not a vindictive enemy, but a loyal citizen. He died in Brattleboro' while visiting friends, Sept. 5, 1886.
HORATIO N. HICKS, son of Gideon Hicks of Reads- boro, was admitted to practice in Sept., 1854, and to the Supreme court in Feb., 1857, has been in prac- tice nearly 40 years, during which time he has held many town offices, among which may be mentioned that of Representative in 1861, and also the important position of State's Attorney. He has been Justice of the Peace for nearly forty consecutive years.,
ABIATHAR W. PRESTON, born May 19, 1823, was admitted in Windham county at the Sept. term, 1855. He practiced a short time in Whitingham and then removed to North Adams, Mass. where he became a prominent member of the Berkshire bar.
Mr. Preston has held numerous town offices, but he has fine talents not as fully appreciated in North Adams as they ought to have been. In his practice as a lawyer his advice is not altogether pleasing to the average sinner, but partakes of the candor and a moral code not formulated by man, and bequeathed only to a few. Those who intend to win a case on its merits will find a formidable advocate in Abiathar W. Preston, but whoever has a mean thing to work
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out under advice of counsel had better employ some other person. I know whereof I speak.
FAXON L. BOWEN, son of Lorenzo, was of Reads- boro, attended school at Whitingham academy and studied law with H. N. Hicks, was admitted to the bar in April, 1861. He returned to Readsboro and is now in practice there, and an associate Justice of the Bennington county court.
JOHN W. CROKER was of Readsboro, and son of a Methodist clergyman, studied law with H. N. Hicks, and admitted to practice in Sept., 1866.
AUGUSTINE A. BUTTERFIELD was of Wilmington, born June 25, 1844, admitted to the bar April, 1867, went to Whitingham in 1868, and practiced there up to the present time, except a year spent in Winchen- don, Mass., in company with L. W. Pierce Esq.
Mr. Butterfield's practice has been honorable, and his fellow citizens have confided in his integrity to an unusual extent, by electing him while a young man to highly responsible positions. In 1880 he was a member of the Legislature where he introduced and carried through the house several bills of importance to the state, among which was the law taxing express and telegraph companies, the same being the corner stone of the present Corporation Tax Law. He was elected State's Attorney in 1882, and his administra- tion of the affairs connected with that office for two years reflects great credit upon him as a lawyer, and
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amply displays his ability to manage public business.
At the Centennial, Aug. 18, 1880, Mr. Butterfield presided with dignity and to the acceptance of every person present.
HOSEA W. BRIGHAM became a member of the bar in April, 1872, and was admitted to practice before the Supreme court in Feb., 1876. He practiced at Sadawga several years and was prominent in town affairs. He was Master in chancery and Justice of the peace. He removed to Winchester, N. H.
CHARLES S. CHASE, a native of Whitingham, born May 13, 1855, admitted to practice in April, 1880, is still engaged in his profession, and in connection therewith is official stenographer and court reporter for Windham and Bennington county courts, Justice of the peace and master in chancery.
ADELBERT J. TEMPLE of Wilmington, practiced law with Hosea W. Brigham at Sadawga, he having been admitted to the Windham county bar in March, 1881.
GEORGE C. BRIGGS, son of Rev. Albert E. Briggs, studied with B. F. Briggs Esq., of Boston, and also with H. W. Brigham then of Whitingham. He was admitted in Sept., 1881, and is now practicing his profession at Miller, South Dakota.
There were several other practitioners in town at different times who were admitted to practice while they were residents of other towns, some of whom were natives of Whitingham. Henry Closson, who
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was known as Judge Closson, was from Springfield, Vt. He practiced in Whitingham several years be- tween 1825 and 1837, after which he returned to Springfield and there recently died. Judge Closson was a safe counsellor and a gentleman of good legal attainments, much respected in the community.
Several Attorneys who were born in Whitingham practiced elsewhere, some of whom have become well and widely known. Among them may be men- tioned Hon. Tarrant Sibley, Judge of Probate for Bennington county, Hon. Moses Blanchard of Atlan- ta. Ga., Hon. Fred. P. Brown of North Adams, Mass., Hon. Henry Winn of Boston, and others.
While so many able men, natives of Whitingham, have distinguished themselves, at home and abroad, in the legitimate 'practice of the law, the town has been noted for its ability to supply almost any demand for pettifoggers. Some of these irregular practition- ers have been quite as adroit in the management of causes as the lawyers, with far less restraint upon their impudence. They have filled a gap in the community that no decent man would covet. They have frequently been disturbers of the public peace, promoters of scandal and disorganizers of society.
They inflicted upon the people a low grade of lit- erature at a cheap rate, furnishing something to laugh at for those who could see fun in Billingsgate. They were artful, insinuating and unscrupulous, pursuing their victims under the forms of law, even in the
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temple of justice. They defy all rules of propriety, and appeal to the ignorant and wicked for support.
The people were not accustomed to lectures con- certs, theaters or shows, and the only thing at hand to break up the ceaseless monotony of farm life, was the trial of some suit at law between the residents of the town, and these amusements eclipsed all the de- tails of a circus, from ring-master to clown.
No other town in the county, except Brattleboro, furnished as much business for the county court as did Whitingham. If the parties to a suit were not the most bitter enemies when a hearing commenced, the manipulators would develop them up to the most violent opposition during the trial, and the natural pride of the contestants, aided by a little spiritual vigor in the form of "Black Strap," would give them cour- age to defy any judgment that might be rendered, and thereby make business for the higher courts and expense to themselves.
These cases, generally vindictive on both sides, were brought into line by being first tried before a Jury of six men, summoned for the occasion, selected so as to represent various interests and localities in town or the prejudices of the Justice, who was about sure to be one of the above described shark practition- ers. These Juries would be summoned to report in early forenoon, but it would be late in the afternoon before they would be empanelled and the prelimina- ries arranged. During this time the audience, and
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those specially interested in the case, including one or more Jurors who had promptly obeyed the sum- mons, would assemble near the place assigned for the trial which would frequently take place in some unfurnished, dilapidated hall, used in its better days for dancing. While thus lingering for something to turn up, the men would whittle and brag about their oxen, the boys swap knives, chew spruce gum and bet with jurymen on the result of the trial.
After the Jury were ushered into place the counsel for the plaintiff would set forth his side of the case in such eloquent misstatements as to convert the de- fendant into a madman, and then, with an imperious air call up a crowd of well trained witnesses, known to be rank enemies of the defendant, to sustain his lurid opening. As the trial goes on the defendant's counsel is evidently impressed with the shrewdness of objecting to nearly every question in language more penetrating than polite.
An impediment in the speech of the Justice com- bined with most profound ignorance of law, make it unsafe for him to attempt the enforcement of rule or decorum, and the Court, the Jury, the lawyers and clients become suddenly and hopelessly bedlamized.
When the plaintiff's counsel has exhausted his wide-spread vocabulary of sarcasm and inuendo he becomes harmless as a spent bullet, with hardly en- ergy enough left to keep on a sober face, while the defendant's counsel arises with a look of terific re-
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venge and appeals to the Court to order his adversary chained at a safe distance while he is permitted to make mince-meat of all opposition.
Rules generally observed in the admission of evidence become a mere shadow in the background, unnoticed by those engaged in the conflict. The apparent condition of the Court would at once ban- ish all suspicion of contempt, and show that each wheel of the judicial machine was running on its own axis, without check or governor, in defiance of all the rest. The pleas would be made up of insult and raillery, entirely foreign to the evidence and beyond the pale of common sense, having the glit- ter of a Damascus blade with none of its artistic proportions.
The night would be far spent before the wail of the contending parties would subside, and by this time the interested spectators would be couched upon the floor, well shaken up with laughter at the gladiatorial display. The boys would occupy a single row of benches around the outside of the room, quietly stowed away under the guardian wing of Morpheus. After a moment of silence the Court would begin to reach out into space after the stray remnants of the vanquished suitors, hoping to find something upon which the dazed jury might base a verdict. By this time the eastern sky would begin to be lighted by the approach of returning day, and the decision is at last reached when there is just
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enough of consciousness left to claim an appeal, which vacates the judgment and sends to the County Court the undefined and unidentified remains of a contest embittered by the ravings and crooked prac- tice of the common enemy of both parties. But the days of which I speak are numbered with the past, the keen, unscrupulous pettifoggers have lost their grip on the people of to-day, and when legal advice is sought legitimate legal talent is consulted more generally than in former times.
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