USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 22
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' Elected or appointed in October.
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
1780 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge; Paul Spooner, John Fassett, jr., In. crease Moseley, and John Throop, associates.
1781 .- Elisha Payne, chief judge; Moses Robinson, John Fassett, jr., Bez- aleel Woodward, and Joseph Caldwell, associates.
1782 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge; Paul Spooner, Jonas Fay, John Fass- ett, and Peter Olcutt, associates.
1783 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge; Paul Spooner, John Fassett, Peter Olcutt, and Thomas Porter, associates.
1784 .- Paul Spooner, chief judge; John Fassett, Nathaniel Niles, Thomas Porter, and Peter Olcutt, associates.
1785 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge; Paul Spooner, Nathaniel Niles, John Fassett, and Thomas l'orter, associates.
1786 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge ; Paul Spooner, Nathaniel Niles, Na- thaniel Chipman, and Luke Knowlton, associates.
1787 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge; Nathaniel Niles and Paul Spooner, associates. 1
1788 .- Moses Robinson, chief judge; Paul Spooner and Stephen R. Brad- ley, associates.
1789-90 .- Nathaniel Chipman, chief judge; Noah Smith and Samuel Knight, associates.
EARLY BAR.
In early days there was much more litigation than at present. There was less money, but there were more disputes, as the machinery of business was less perfectly organized, and land titles were partially unsettled. The character of litigation, say thirty or more years ago, is thus described by an old practitioner: "The business of an attorney of those earlier days was largely before just- ices of the peace, and was chiefly and in all the courts the collection of debts, by employing the severe pressure upon debtors which the law then invited. Money being scarce business was done mostly upon credit, and to a consider- ble extent in barter. Older lawyers will, perhaps, remember the obligations inade payable in 'good merchantable hollow ware,' 'fulled cloth,' 'grain,' or 'neat cattle, bulls and stags excepted.' It was not an unusual device of the country traders to make nominal changes in their partnerships from time to time, or put forth other ostensible reasons for placing their books of account into the hands of the village lawyer for collection. The temptation of fees and income dependent upon the number of suits brought, which fees were expected to come out of the debtor in the form of costs, and the credit of being reputed a sharp collecting lawyer was a stimulus to him to push the law to its extremi- ties of coercion. At the same time the creditor might be ready with the in- structions, 'put him in jail. He will contrive some way to pay ; or his friends
' After the revised constitution only two associate judges were chosen.
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
won't suffer him to lie in jail ; or the town will see the debt paid rather than support his family as paupers.' In the case of a debtor who had credit or means of credit, but no present money, the grand economy was to pursue the case to judgment, execution and commitment, when the debtor would give a jail bond, and immediately break it. Then would follow a new suit upon the bond, with judgment, execution, commitment, and a second bail bond, breach and suit, and so on indefinitely, to the increasing profit of the attorney.
After a time the Legislature, envying his happy state, ruthlessly cut off this source of his gain by prohibiting the taking of a second jail bond where. the judgment was upon a jail bond, a provision now found in section 1, 500 of the revised laws. Many a village lawyer in Vermont laid the foundation of a for- tune for himself and family in these early conditions of practice, when it was not unusual for one to bring several hundred suits yearly, chiefly before jus- tices, and for small collections. The changes of fifty years in business, society, and the law have left the attorney of the present day little of this class of busi- ness, a change not to be regretted."
Since the settlement of the cases arising under the national bankrupt act of 1867, the dockets of the bar have been constantly growing smaller. From a published report it is found that in 1877-78, throughout the State, there were 2,581 entries of civil causes, 18: jury trials, 755 decrees in Chancery, and 209 judgments in the Supreme Court. In 1882-83 the business had diminished until there were only 1,391 entries of civil causes, 99 jury trials, 318 decrees in Chancery, and 183 Supreme Court judgments. On the other hand, the suits tried in recent years have sometimes involved large property interests; heavy corporate litigation has increased, and lawyers of established reputation have still enough to do.
It would indeed be the grossest injustice imaginable to attribute to the bar of Bennington the qualities described by the quotation above from an old prac- titioner. That may have applied to some portion of the bar as a whole, but the great majority have ever, early and late, been exempt from any such pro- ceedings for sordid purposes.
Of the practitioners at the bar of Bennington county, past and present, many have attained distinction, and some eminence. Among the leading legal minds of this commonwealth, this county has furnished her full quota. On the bench and at the bar of her courts have been found lawyers of strict integrity and rare ability ; men of worth, nien of character, men whose social and mental qualities have made them famous, men whose marked attainments have made for them a high standard in the legislative halls of the State and of the nation ; men whose influence has been so salutary and pervading that the whole bar seems to have caught something of its spirit, and maintained a free- dom from all unworthy methods as can be found in very few communities.
Through the fortunate discovery of a compilation made by a distinguished
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
member of the bar of this county, the writer is enabled to give to the readers of this chapter a comparatively accurate roll of the early legal men of the county ; still it can hardly be claimed that the list is a perfect one, on account of the fact that it shows those who were admitted at the courts of the county, while there may have become resident practitioners who were admitted else- where than at a term held here. On the whole, however, it is believed that the roll can be relied upon as reasonably correct. The record shows the nanie of the attorney, with the month and year of his admission to practice. 1: appears, too, from this record that there was a time in the history of legal prac- tice in this State when admission to the County Court did not mean admission to the Supreme Court, and vice versa ; therefore the information is given re- lating to both the county and Supreme Court. It is as follows :
Admitted to the County Court -Enoch Woodbridge, September, 1781, prac- ticed at Manchester; Israel Smith. December, 1782, practiced at Rupert or Manchester, probably ; Daniel Buck, April, 1783 ; Jonathan Brace, appointed State's attorney, April, 1784, Manchester ; Samuel Hitchcock, June, 1784, Manchester ; Isaac Tichenor, April, 1785, Bennington ; Seth Storrs, Septem- ber, 1786; Stephen Camp, December, 1791, Jena Robinson and Samuel Pres- ton, June, 1793; Jonathan Ware, December, 1793; David Fay, December, 1794; Joseph Wentworth, December, 1795; Eldad Dewey, William A. Gris- wold, Elijah Brush, December, 1797; George Kingsbury, of Poultney, June, 1800; Edwin Hubbard, Richard Skinner, Andrew Selden, Jonathan E. Rob- inson, and David Robinson, jr., December, ISoo; Elisha Bigelow, June, 1801; Daniel Heald, jr., December, 1801 ; Benjamin Swift and Elijah B. Mervin, June, 1802; Samuel Jackson, June, 1803 ; Samuel B. Young, December, 1803; O. C. Merrill, June, 1804; Lyman Munson and Anson J. Sperry, the latter of Manchester, December, 1805 ; James Hubbell and Timothy Merrill, Decem- ber, 1806; Israel P. Richardson, Nathan Burton, (Rupert), Joel Pratt, (Man- chester), and Milo Cook, June, 1807 ; Ira Loomis, June 1808; Calvin Shel- don, (Manchester), James S. Harris and Thomas J. Wright, June, 1812 ; John C. Thompson, (Castleton) June, 1813; Milo L. Bennett, of Manchester, June, 1814; Leonard Sargeant, of Manchester, December 1815 ; Daniel Wellman, of Manchester, June, 1816; Hiland Hall, Samuel H. Blackmer, and Uel M. Robinson, December, 1819; George Curtis, Isaac Sherman, and Pierrepont Isham, December, 1822; Uriel Child and Cyrus D. Sheldon, June, 1823 ; John Aiken, of Manchester, June, 1824; Joseph Sylvester, Daniel E. Spencer, and Nathan Huntington, December, 1824; John S. Robinson, August, 1827; Samuel Smith, September, 1829; Serenus Swift, of Manchester, September, 1830; William S. Southworth, Harmon Canfield (Arlington), Leman Oatman. and Moses M. Strong, September, 1831 ; A. P. Lyman, and Governeur Morris, (the latter of Springfield, Vt.), September, 1832; Charles Aiken and Calvin Ward, September, 1833; Enoch Davis, December, 1839; Ansel Hayes Gale,
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
June, 1842; Trenor W. Park, A. M. Huling, and Charles R. Millington, De- cember, 1845; Tarrant Sibley, December, 1846; James L. Stark, jr., May, 1848 ; Cyrus Farwell, Rollin C. Smith, and S. Seward Burton, June, 1848; Alexander Bliss and Stephen D. Bingham, December, 1852; J. Halsey Cush- man, June, 1854; James B. Meacham, December, 1857; Eugene Canfield, Leonard Sargeant, jr., and Henry E. Miner, (the last two of Manchester), De- cember, 1858; Merritt A. B.irber, of Pownal, June 1859.
Admitted to the Supreme Court .- Cephas Smith and Amos Marsh, August, 1794; Jonathan Robinson and Stephen Camp, June, 1796; Andrew Selden, Richard Skinner, David Robinson, jr., and Jonathan E. Robinson, February, 1804; Nathaniel Hunt, February, 1805 ; O. C. Merrill, Robert Temple (of Castleton), and Samuel B. Young, February, 1807 ; Anson J. Sperry, Febru- ary, 1809; Charles Wright, Nathan Burton, and James Hubbell, February, 1810; Cyrus A. Lockwood, Jolin C. Walker, and Calvin Sheldon, February, 1812; Nathan Robinson, Serenus Swift, February, 18 -; Marshall Carter and Daniel Wellmin, January, 1820; Leonard Sargeant, January, 1819; Hiland Hall, Samuel H. Blackmer, Phineas Smith, William White, and Heury Kellogg, August, 1821; Pierpont Isham, Uel M. Robinson, January, 1826; John Aiken, February, 1828 ; John S. Robinson, February, 1832 ; William S. Southworth, Harmon Canfield, and A. P. Lyman, February 1835; A. L. Miner, February, 1836; Daniel Roberts, jr., February, 1837; Elias B. Burton, February, 1844; Enoch Davis, February, 1845; Harvey K. Fowler, Alexander M. Huling, Feb- ruary, 1846; Abraham B. Gardner, February, 1847; Trenor W. Park, Feb- ruary, 1849 ; James L. Stark, jr., and Nathaniel B. Hall, February, 1851 ; Tru- man Huling, George W. Brizee, February, 1852 , S. Seward Burton, February, 1854; Robert Myers, February, 1855 ; J. Halsey Cushman, February, 1859; John V. Hall, James B. Meacham, and A. W. Preston, of North Adams, Mass., February. 1860.
Attorneys Admitted Siuce 1860 .- Newton Stone. June 4, 1861; William H. Shepard, December 4, 1861; Thomas E. Brownell, June 5, 1862 ; Harrison Prindle, December 26, 1863 ; Levi A. Knight, December 20, 1864; Henry A. Johnson, December 5, 1865 ; Andrew Potter, December 13, 1865; James K. Bitchelder, June 7, 1866; John Epsey, June 12, 1866; Loveland Munson, June 14, 1866 ; James L. Martin, June 23, 1869; Henry A. Harmon, December 5, 1871 ; John W. Beebe, December 7, 1871 ; William B. Sheldon, June 8, 1872; Frank Graham, December 12, 1875 ; James M. Holmes, June 22, 1877 ; Jo- seph E. Fenn, June 5, 1878; E L. Sibley, December 13, 1878 ; Joseph W. Fowler, June, 1879; Andrew S. Keyes, December 13, 1879 ; Frank T. Spring, December 22, 1880; Edward L. Bates, June 8, 1882 ; Orion M. Barber, June 15, 1882; Alba G. Fay, June 5, 1883 ; Thomas H. Hall, February 6, 1884.
In this connection there should be mentioned the names of some who are, or in the past have been, members of the Bennington bar, admitted elsewhere 26
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
and located in the county for practice. Of these Hon. George W. Harman, still residing in Bennington, and still in the profession, was admitted elsewhere, and came to reside at Bennington in 1848, although it was not until 1859 that he commenced practice here, being for some eleven years engaged in banking.
Truman Squire was one of the old lawyers of the State, but did not begin the practice of law in this county until 1810.
Other lawyers not heretofore mentioned can also be named, noticeably Fred B. Jennings, now of New York ; Major Carpenter. of Readsboro, and II. N. Hix, William H. Follett, and Mr. Waterman.
The Present Bar of the County .- The modest legal gentlemen that com- prise the bar of the county at the present time have, by a fair preponderance of inclination, decided against a brief personal mention in connection with this chapter, and would prefer that whatever of biographical sketches are herein written should record the professional life and career of those of the former bar of the county ; but this is impossible of performance from the fact that the nec- essary data upon which to base such sketches can be obtained in but compar- atively few cases, and equal justice would seem to demand that the few should not be favored to the neglect of the great majority.
The bar of the county to-day is quite as strong, both numerically and men- tally, as it has been at any time. At best the life of the lawyer is one of con- flict, but his battles are those of peace. It is often amusing to observe an in- tellectual contest between strong attorneys; and it is still more amusing to watch the amazement depicted on the face of the average plebian, or rural client, when he believes an open rupture between the contending counsel to be immi- nent. But however aggressive may be the conduct of an attorney in the cause of his client, it is a rare thing that personal feeling or animosity goes outside of the court room ; such is not characteristic of the profession, although there are exceptional instances.
The members of Bennington county bar at this present time are nineteen in number, the main seat of practice being, of course, at the shire towns, Ben- nington and Manchester, the former leading, while the outside towns of Arling- ton, l'ownal and Readsboro complete the roll. The personnel of the present bar is as follows :
At Bennington - George W. Harman, Tarrant Sibley, James B. Meacham, W. B. Sheldon, Edward L. Sibley, Edward L. Bates, Charles H. Mason, Charles H. Darling.
At Manchester-Elias B. Burton, Ilarvey K. Fowler, Loveland Munson, Jo- seph G. Martin, Frank C. Archibald, Joseph W. Fowler.
At Arlington-James K. Batchelder and Orion M. Barber.
At Pownal-Thomas E. Brownell and Thomas H. Hall.
At Readsboro-Faxon L. Bowen and Alba G. Fay.
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
CHAPTER XVIIL
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
W THEN we consider the importance and elevated character of the science of medicine-its object, the preservation of the health and lives, and the healing of diseases, and the amelioration of the physical and mental sufferings of out fellow human beings-its extent embracing a knowledge of all science- it is evident that medical education should engage the earnest attention of the entire medical profession. The advances made in all the branches of knowl- edge, and especially in the science of medicine during the past century, have exceeded in extent and value those of all past ages ; and it is no longer possi- ble to compress its vast domain within the narrow limits of " seven professor- ships." The present age owes its wonderful progress to experimental and scientific research.
Evolution and development are the talismanic watchwords of the nineteenthi century, and the doctrine is being accepted that things in the world do grow, and are not made ; it is no longer universally accepted as a matter of religious faith that the world was created by supernatural power, for many of our deepest thinkers, men of the most profound understanding, believe that it has been gradually unfolded by the action of natural causes. But not wishing to be accused of heresy it may be stated that, whether the theory be according to Darwin, or Hackel, or Spencer, or some other philosopher, the law will be the same in any case, and away back, behind " protoplasm," "germinal matter," and " cellular germ," there exists abundant proof of a " First Great Cause," of an " Infinite Wisdom," for the depth of which language has no expression. A flood of light on this subject is now pouring forth on the world, but its accept- ation as a convincing truth rests in a great measure, wholly, with the indi- vidual.
"The world," says Goethe, "is not so framed that it can keep quiet." All the natural energies are brought into full force by the spirit of enterprise, by the spirit of progress. The telegraph wires wipe out all territorial boundaries, and railways penetrate the utmost confines of the earth, and by them States and Territories are bound fast together in one web.
" The Bible," says Gail Hamilton, " is full of excellent precepts, and the world is full of bad examples. If a man smite us on the right check, we - knock him down. If a man sues us at law, we stand suit, and if he would bor- row of us we promptly turn away, unless he can- give ample security."
Science and enterprise have spanned the continent with electric wires, cabled the Atlantic Ocean, given us the measurements of revolving planets, spread
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
forth the canvas to the gale, and made the trackless ocean a highway through the world. By the use of scientific and cunningly devised instruments bleak skies and rude winds are foreseen, and the navigator places himself in safety. The electric light has displaced gas as effectually as the latter did the " tallow dip," and is established upon a secure commercial basis. School houses. churches, newspapers, and books open up to the poorest the lights and oppor- tunities of knowledge.
The wealth of nations increases and we see all the arts of life approaching nearer and nearer perfection. In science, art and literature each succeeding generation is wiser than its predecessor. The mistakes of past experience serve as beacon lights to warn us off the rocks and shoals of error and guide us to the port of truth.
The great and wide advancement in the different branches of medical science within the last generation is as much a marvel as the progress made in any other of the arts and sciences. The poorest laborer can now obtain advice and medicine far superior to that which royalty could command one or two cen- turies ago.
"The advance in medical knowledge within one's memory," says Sir James Paget, "is amazing, whether reckoned in the wonders of science not yet applied, or in practical results, in the general lengthening of life, or, which is still better, in the prevention and decrease of pain and misery, and in the increase of work- ing power."
The dawning of medical science, which now sheds its light through the world, began with Hippocrates nearly twenty-three hundred years ago, and he first treated of medicine with anything like sound or rational principles. He wrote extensively, much of which has been translated and serves as a foun- dation for the succeeding literature of the profession. He relied chiefly on the healing powers of nature, his remedies being exceedingly simple. He taught that the people ought not to load themselves with excrements, or keep them in too long, and for this reason he prescribed " meats proper for loosening the belly, and if these failed he directed the use of the clysters."
Three hundred years before Christs Erasistratus invented and used the catheter, introduced the tourniquit, and produced an instrument for lithotriptic operations. Celsus flourished A. D. 50 to 120, as the greatest of Roman sur- geons.
Through all the centuries from the beginning of the Christian era down to the time of the discovery of the circulation of the blood by Harvey, 1619, medicine shed but a glimmering light in the midst of the darkness then en- shrouding the world, and the greatest strides in the advancement of the various branches of medical science have been made in the last one hundred years, and most of them may be placed to the credit of the last half century.
Physiologists no longer believe with Paracelsus in the sixteenth century,
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
that the planets have a direct controlling action on the body, the sun upon the heart, and the moon upon the brain ; nor do they now believe that the vital spirits are prepared in the brain by distillation ; nor do they admit that the chyle effervesces in the heart under the influence of salt and sulphur, which take fire together and produce the vital flame. On the contrary, modern physi- ology teaches that the phenomena of the living body are the result of physical and chemical changes; the temperature of the blood is ascertained by the ther- mometer, and the different fluids and gases of the body are analyzed by the chemist, giving to each its own properties and function.
While the eighteenth century witnessed greater advancement in the de- partment of medical science than any or all its predecessors, the crowning achievements seem to have been reserved for the nineteenth-the present cen- tury. Among the thousands of elements that comprise this century's advance in medical science, niention will be made of but one, and that among the first discoveries, i. e., the use of anaesthetics, which benumb the nerves of sensation, and produce a profound, but transient state of insensibility, in which the most formidable operation may be performed while the patient sleeps and dreams of home and happy hours, and the physician is left to the pleasing reflection that he is causing no pain or suffering.
But it appears that as rapid as has been this advance during the last hun- dred years, so, correspondingly, have there developed new forms and phases of disease to baffle the skill of the most eminent physicians and scientists in the land; and while diseases, malarious in their character, have for a time deficd the attempts to overcome them, they have, nevertheless, been subdued and conquered. Medical skill has proven equal to every emergency.
There is, to-day, known to botanists over one hundred and forty thousand plants, a large proportion of which are being constantly added to the already appalling list of new remedies. Many of these new drugs possess little, if any virtue, save as their sale adds to the exchequer of some enterprising pharma- cist. A drug house in New England recently issued a circular, in which they advertised 33 syrups, 42 elixirs, 93 solid extracts, 150 varieties of sugar-coated pills, 236 tinctures, 245 roots, barks, herbs, seeds and flowers, 322 fluid ex- tracts, and 348 general drugs and chemicals.
The ancients were not so well supplied with drugs. It was the custom among the Babylonians to expose the sick to the view of passengers, in order to learn of them whether they had been afflicted with a like distemper, and by what remedies they had been cured. It was also the custom of those days for all persons who had been sick and were cured to put up a tablet in the teni- ple of Esculapius, wherein they gave an account of the remedies that had re- stored them to health. Prior to the time of Hippocrates all medicine was in the hands of the priests, and was associated with numerous superstitions, such as sympathetic ointments applied to the weapon with which a wound was
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
made, incantations, charms, amulets, the royal touch for the cure of scrofula, human or horse flesh for the cure of epilepsy, convulsions treated with human brains.
While all this credulous superstition of early ages, born of ignorance, ex- isted to a vastly large extent, it has not been fully wiped out by the generally advanced education of the present day. The latest appeal to the credulity of the masses of the people is an invention to relieve the unfortunate sick, and is known as " the faith cure." The persons seeking to popularize this means of cure are either deceived themselves, or are deceiving others. Upon this point a popular writer says : " If the disease be an incurable one, all the prayers in the world will not cure it. Filth brings fever ; prayer cannot interpose."
There is probably no department of medicine at the present time more promising of good results than is sanitary science. While physiology and pathology are making known to us the functions of the human body and the nature and cause of disease, sanitary science is steadily teaching how the causes of disease may be removed or avoided, and health thereby secured.
Progress during the coming one hundred years, if only equal to that of the past, will more than have accomplished great works in the advancement of sanitary science ; but the accomplishment of this work calls, not only for the labor of the physician, but for the intelligent co-operation of the people ; the physician cannot do it alone. If anything really great is to be done in the way of sanitary improvement, and of preventing disease and death, it must be done largely by the people themselves. This implies that they must be instructed in sanitary matters. They must be taught what unsanitary conditions favor the origin of disease, how disease is spread, and the means of its prevention. If it is true that that knowledge is of the greatest value to us which teaches the means of self preservation, then the importance of a widespread knowledge of how to prevent disease and premature death cannot be overestimated.
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