History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911, Part 59

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Royalton > History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911 > Part 59

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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are you doing there, Squire ?" a passer-by inquired. "Hic- hic-rep-hic-hic-representing Royalton," was his answer.

In 1802 he served on a committee to divide the state into four Congressional districts. This committee was made up of one member from each county, with a committee from the gov- ernor and council. It was a compliment to his ability to be thus selected.

Young law aspirants sought him as preceptor. One of his law students was Cyrus Ware, who became Chief Judge of the Caledonia Court in 1808, serving four years.

In 1797 there was printed in London a book entitled, "A Descriptive Sketch of the Present State of Vermont," by J. A. Graham, LL. D., Lieut. Colonel in Service, formerly of Vermont, then of London. In this book he names the principal families in the state, among them, Curtis, Dewey, Lyon, Olcott, Safford. In speaking of different towns in Windsor County, he says of Lawyer Smith, "Mr. J. Smith of Royalton was bred to the Law, and for a young Gentleman, Mr. Smith possesses great abilitie and is an excellent orator." This praise from a disinterested person shows that the town was most fortunate in having for its first lawyer one of so high talents.

He was only twenty-eight when he first represented the town, and but forty-four when he died, leaving an estate inven- toried at $16,262.34. He owned land in Brookfield, Sunderland, and Arlington. His home must have been elegantly furnished for those days. A pair of tongs and a shovel were valued at $16, a looking glass at $25. His library was a large one for the time and place, and comprised in addition to legal documents and works, a fine collection from the very best ancient and Eng- lish classics.

Theophilus Olcott settled in Royalton in 1803. He was a brother of Jacob Smith's first wife, and a son of Rev. Burkley Olcott of Charlestown, N. H., where he was born in 1782. He was just of age when he came to town. He seems to have done a prosperous business for seven years. The succeeding four years he was not listed under the head of "faculties," though he was in town. His name disappeared from the list in 1815, and the next year on July 19 he died. His first list was $45, and that year he bought a house of Zebulon Lyon at the west end of the store of Bellows, Dorr & Co., and also a strip of land, probably adjoining, on which he had his office. His highest list was in 1809, when he paid taxes on a list of $263. From the Vermont Republican of 1811 it was learned that both he and Jacob Smith were connected with a suit relating to the Vermont State Bank, as signers of a note. From that year his fortunes seem to decline. It would appear that he had no ambition for

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political preferment, as his brother-in-law had, and that he shrank even from the responsibility of town office. It is more than probable that his health was impaired, and that his early death was due to a decline. He never married. If he is buried in town, there is no headstone to mark his resting place. He died in Royalton. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1800.

A valuable addition to the citizenship of the town was made in 1813, when John Francis, Esq., hung out his shingle as a young attorney of Royalton. He was a graduate of Dartmouth in 1809, from which institution he received an A. M. degree. He read law with Mr. Bradley of Westminster. He was a sound, conscientious advisor. An honorable member of the profession, who remembers him, says of him, that if he did not think him- self competent to conduct a difficult case, he secured talent that he felt would be successful. He had the confidence of the com- munity as a man of strict probity and good judgment. He was faithful and honest in caring for the business of out-of-town peo- ple, and was extensively employed by Boston firms in looking after their interests.

He was for many years president of the Chelsea Bank. He was chosen one of the directors of the Windsor County Agricul- tural Society, which was formed in 1820, and he was one of a committee to secure subscriptions for it in Royalton. He took a great interest in military affairs, and his record will be found under "The General Militia."

His residence in town covered a period of thirty years. He identified himself with the Congregational church, and was a useful and influential member of the same. He had a benevolent disposition, and at his death in 1843 he left, besides an unusu- ally handsome estate to be divided among his heirs, the memory of a lifetime of good works, and an unspotted character.

Three years after Mr. Francis came to Royalton, another young lawyer chose this growing town in which to make his home and his reputation. This was Jacob Collamer. He graduated from the U. V. M. in 1810, receiving the A. B. and A. M. de- grees from this institution. The honorary degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Dartmouth college in 1855. After gradu- ation he read law with Hon. Benjamin Swift of St. Albans, and was admitted to the bar in 1813. He served as Register of Pro- bate for a few years, which office was the first stepping stone to more important appointments. In the fifth year of his residence in Royalton his townsmen sent him as representative to Mont- pelier, again in 1822, 1827-28. It was in 1827 that Elias Stevens and others presented to the legislature a petition for the division of Windsor County. He was their advocate, and the Woodstock Observer of that year commends his effort as an able one, though

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it was not successful. Had it been, Royalton would have been the shire town of the new county in all probability, and Judge Collamer might have made this his permanent residence. It is certain that he entered heartily into the interests of the people, and their ambitions were his.

His speech at the time of Lafayette's visit shows fitness, and grace of diction without any effort at fine oratory. It has a note of sincerity throughout, in accord with the nature of the man. It may be found in full in connection with the history of that occasion.

The calls to higher positions of trust and usefulness came fast. He was state's attorney for Windsor County, 1822-24, elected school commissioner by the Council in 1827-28, and again in 1830, associate justice of the Supreme Court 1834-42, and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1836. The crea- tion of the Senate as a branch of the legislature has been largely attributed to his ability and influence. Up to this time his tal- ents had been employed in the interests of his town and state. Now his efforts were to take on larger proportions, and the nation was to profit by his legal acumen, honesty, and comprehensive grasp of public questions.

This year, 1836, he removed to Woodstock, which town claims him during the later years of his career, but his reputa- tion was already made, and his children were all born in Royal- ton. That his townspeople regarded his departure as a personal and public loss is certain, and their affectionate interest in his future is shown by the action of one of the old settlers of the town, Dea. Salmon Joiner. When he was assured of the elec- tion of Judge Collamer to the House of Representatives at Wash- ington, he hitched up his horse and drove over to Woodstock on a cold, wintry day. After dinner the Deacon told the Judge that he had come to labor with him, to warn him against the snares of the wicked city to which he was going. The Judge took him to the parlor, and the interview lasted two or more hours, then the household was called together and the old deacon prayed long and fervently for wisdom for the Judge, that he might be preserved from the enticements to evil to which he would be exposed. After the prayer he started on his ten-mile drive homeward. This anecdote has been preserved to us by the Hon. Orville Tinkham.

Judge Collamer continued to serve in the House of Repre- sentatives until 1849, when he declined a re-election, and ac- cepted the portfolio of Postmaster-General, serving till the death of President Taylor. His administration of the office was highly lauded as cheap and honest. In 1850 he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court in Vermont, which office he held until he was

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elected U. S. senator in 1854. He was still a member of the Sen- ate at the time of his death.

Judge Collamer, as he generally is called, did not ally him- self always with the winning side. He had strong convictions regarding the disposition of the public domain, the slavery ques- tion and the temperance question. He was made chairman of the committee on public domain, and he submitted the minority report on the situation in Kansas in 1855. Senator Sherman said of it, "In the majority report the true issue is smothered ; in the minority report it stands forth as a pillar of fire to guide the country."

He was a trusted friend of President Lincoln, who, in the early part of 1863, after repeated national reverses, called Judge Collamer to him and held a consultation lasting twelve hours. Who shall say that the petition of Deacon Joiner for a rich endowment of wisdom for his neighbor and friend was not re- called in this critical time, when Senator Collamer was trying to aid with his advice the weary, anxious, almost despairing Presi- dent ?

Judge Collamer was not called a brilliant orator, but Sena- tor Blaine called him the wisest man he ever knew, and Sumner named him the "Green Mountain Socrates." The greatest ef- fort of his life is thought by some to be his speech denying the power of the President to declare peace by proclamation to the seceded states. Of this speech Sumner declared that it was "the brightest and most glorious moment of his long life."

In form he was portly, above the medium height. In his early manhood he always wore a ruffled shirt, and generally a blue dress coat with brass buttons. His face was a kindly, though firm one. One writer says that he carried the ten com- mandments written in it. He was always courteous in his own home, fondly attached to his family, sympathetic and benevolent to all. The state has honored itself in honoring him by having his statue placed in the old Hall of Representatives in Wash- ington.

Before the death of John Francis two other attorneys had opened offices in town, Alden Crafts Noble and Nathaniel Sprague. Mr. Sprague's career as a lawyer was brief but hon- orable. A full sketch of his life may be found in connection with the history of St. Paul's Episcopal church.

Mr. Noble was the son of Nehemiah Noble, one of the earliest settlers in town. He belonged to the class of 1826 in the U. V. M., but left when the college was burned. He then went to Charlotte and studied law with his brother, William Noble. He came to Royalton in the latter part of 1828 or the first part of the next year. He at once took an active part in the business

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of the town, and was elected one of the superintending school committee in 1829, which office he held for several years. He married one of Jacob Smith's daughters, and it seemed as if he might be a valued and permanent citizen of the town. With David Bosworth he bought a small place of Bela Hall, but soon sold his share to Mr. Bosworth. The West called to him, and he went there in the early part of 1837. He was attacked with fever and died, and was buried in Cleveland, Ohio. His one child, James Jacob, was born in Royalton in 1833.

Samuel W. Slade was a lawyer in town in 1846, in which year he was elected one of the school superintendents, and again the next year. Very little has been learned of him or of Ro- manzo Walker, with whom he entered into partnership. It is said that Mr. Walker was born in Grafton, Windham Co., and that he died in Royalton, and was buried in another town. Mr. Slade does not seem to have been here more than three or four years. Mr. Walker was here in 1849, perhaps later than that. He is spoken of by one who remembers him as a ready, fluent speaker. He represented Royalton in the legislature in 1846-47.

Samuel Selden lived in Royalton for a few years in the 1830's. He may have been the lawyer from Lebanon, N. H., who married one of Jabez Parkhurst's daughters, and went West, where he became a noted judge. When in town he lived on the Jabez Parkhurst farm.

John Sullivan Marcy came to Royalton about 1839. He at once took front rank as a citizen and a lawyer. A sketch of his life will be found in the genealogical part of this book.

Charles Morris Lamb removed from Tunbridge to South Royalton in 1852. He was a self-educated, self-made man. He was forty-three years old when he began the study of law with Norman Durant of Tunbridge, and in 1850 he was admitted to the bar. He had a lucrative practice for many years. He was held in high respect by the bench for his clear understanding, and evident desire that justice should not be thwarted by legal quibbles. Though one of the most unassuming of men, his abil- ity in working up a case and conducting it to a successful issue was well recognized. He was not much of a politician, but he was elected as senator from Windsor County in 1872.

There was a vein of humor in his nature, which his quiet demeanor did not betoken. He and Judge Marcy used to ex- change pleasantries occasionally. Squire Lamb, as he was called, became very bald, while Judge Marcy had a heavy growth of hair. One day the Judge sent down a note from his home in Royalton village, which, when deciphered, read, "If a fly should light on your head, it would slide off." By return mail went

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the reply, equally difficult to make out, "If one should light on your head, it would slump in."

Mr. Lamb had for a partner for two years Col. Stephen Pingree, 1864-66. Col. Pingree went from Royalton to Hartford to become the partner of his brother, the Hon. Samuel E. Pin- gree. He remained with his brother about seven years, and then had an office by himself, until his death, April 19, 1892. He was a fluent speaker and an able lawyer.

Dudley Chase Denison, the son of Dr. Jo Adam Denison, and so far as is known, the first native lawyer to practice in town, is also distinguished as having continued the practice of his pro- fession a longer period in town than any other lawyer in the whole history of Royalton. For sixty or more years he helped his neighbors and others in disentangling legal knots. The rec- ord of his long and useful service will be found in the sketch of the Denison family in the genealogical part of this History.

James Gilman Henry formed a partnership with the Hon. D. C. Denison in 1855. He had not then completed his law studies. He entered the U. V. M. in 1852, and left at the end of his Junior year. He was admitted to the bar in 1857. He possessed a naturally brilliant mind, a fine figure, and engaging manners. His legal career was broken by military service dur- ing the Civil War, and he did not long remain in Royalton after its close. He married a daughter of Jabez Lyman, and removed to Brighton, Mass., where he died at the comparatively early age of forty-one.

Joseph Dudley Denison was taken into partnership with his father, Dudley C. Denison, about 1869. The account of his work in Royalton and Randolph, and the important positions which he held will be found in the Denison sketch.

Arthur Culver, the son of James, was another native to practice law in town. He studied with the Denison law firm, and was admitted to the bar in the 1860's. He entered into partnership with C. M. Lamb of South Royalton, after he had served in Montpelier as clerk of the County Court. He was secretary of the last Council of Censors. Mr. Culver was a young man of exceptional talents. His aspirations were of a high order, and a most promising future seemed open to him, when he was stricken down at the early age of twenty-five.

W. N. VanCor was also associated with C. M. Lamb for a time not long after the Civil War. He was a one-armed veteran. He did not long remain in South Royalton, but went to Norwich. He left there not many years after, and nothing more is known of him.

B. B. Stiles is another lawyer, here about the same time, of whom almost nothing is known, except that he practiced in South Royalton.

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The honorable record of Henry C. Denison will be found in the history of the Denison family.

Since the death of Hon. D. C. Denison there has been no lawyer in Royalton village. For some years previous to the death of Mr. Lamb, the firm had been known as Lamb & Tarbell. The junior member of the firm was Charles Paine Tarbell, the son of Daniel Tarbell, Jr. His connection with the social and religious life of South Royalton will be given in the Tarbell fam- ily history. His record as a lawyer was furnished by one who has known him well, and can better estimate his abilities than the writer.

"He was a graduate of the Albany Law School in 1870 and was admitted to the bar in Vermont in 1870. He located at South Royalton in 1872, and entered into partnership with C. M. Lamb in 1873, which partnership continued to the time of Mr. Lamb's death in 1891. In 1894 Mr. Tarbell took Arthur G. Whitham into partnership, and the firm of Tarbell & Whitham has continued to the present time. Mr. Tarbell's more notice- able characteristics as a lawyer are those of clear-sightedness in discerning the merits of a case, and his whole-hearted integrity and loyalty to his clients, his profession and his own best self, coupled with great natural ability. His ability as an advocate has been evidenced over and over again in his practice before the jury. He was never adroit in the sense of using shams to work a case through, but ever has rested his success on the truth of his cause, and his diligence and care in preparing for trial. He has been frequently alluded to by members of the bar, as no mean antagonist because of his sincerity before the jury, and always has been accorded the confidence of the Court and the bar for the same reason. As a chancery lawyer he is recognized today as one of the best in Windsor County, and a bill bearing his signature as solicitor in that Court meets with the most care- ful consideration.

In 1900 he was elected State's Attorney for Windsor Coun- ty, and for two years maintained the prestige and integrity of the Court and the bar, by a courageous adherence to duty in the face of most trying conditions. The firm of Lamb & Tarbell was well known for many years throughout the state as one of the best firms of chancery lawyers in the state, and the law reports of those years contain a number of important decisions rendered in cases, in which Lamb & Tarbell were the leading counsel on one side or the other. In 1897 Mr. Tarbell was ad- mitted to practice in the United States Courts. His sturdy character, courageous and sincere nature, and his weight in ar- gument have been commented upon as likening him to Abraham Lincoln, as a lawyer."

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The junior member of the firm of Tarbell & Whitham is Arthur Gilbert Whitham. He came to South Royalton in 1891, and began to read law with Mr. Tarbell after the death of Squire Lamb. He was admitted to the practice of law in October, 1894, at Montpelier, passing third in a class of eighteen students for admission, in which Hon. Frederick G. Fleetwood, once candi- date for Governor, was first. He entered into partnership with Mr. Tarbell the same year. He has been for nine years Secre- tory of the Republican Committee of Royalton, and three years on the executive board of the County Republican Committee. He was elected town treasurer in 1909 to succeed E. Winslow, retired.

Being the junior member of the firm, Mr. Whitham has not been called upon to act as an advocate to any extent until the past year. He is quick to recognize the vital points in a case, and is most painstaking in working up a case for trial, and is faithful to his clients. He has much executive ability, and has been employed in settling some very difficult and complicated estates, which he handles with apparent ease, untangling knotty questions, and successfully closing up the business in hand.

LITIGATION.

Royalton has been rather fortunate in having few long and expensive lawsuits. Those of importance connected with the laying of new roads and with the Royalton and Woodstock Turn- pike Company have already been noticed, likewise the Craw suit with Ellington, Conn. There remains one suit which must be mentioned, probably the longest and most expensive in the his- tory of the town, the "Joseph Culver Suit."

On Oct. 4, 1850, Mr. Culver, who was a resident of Barn- ard, was on his way home from South Royalton with a load of flour, drawn by a span of horses. He was going by the way of the "mouth of Broad Brook," the hill road not then having been laid. Heavy rains had recently fallen, which had badly washed the roads, and they had not yet been fully repaired. When he was passing near the Flint place, where Mr. Irving Barrows now lives, one wheel of his wagon struck into a hole in the road, throwing him from the load, and frightening the horses, which started into a run.

Mr. Culver was picked up unconscious and carried into the Flint home. He did not regain full consciousness for a month, and it is said that his mind never recovered its former vigor.

He brought suit against the town for damages. Daniel Woodward was then agent for the town, and with the selectmen refused to settle, claiming that the town was not liable, that Mr.

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Culver was so far under the influence of liquor as to be incapable of handling his team properly. The suit was entered at the May term of Court at Woodstock, and came up for trial at the December term, 1851. The attorneys for the plaintiff were Wash- burn & Marsh, W. C. French, and John S. Marcy; for the town, Andrew Tracy, Julius Converse, and Denison & Henry. The jury disagreed.

The case was re-tried at the May term, 1852, when a verdict was rendered for the town. The defendant was allowed review. Mr. Culver would not rest with this verdict, and the case was again on the docket at the December term, 1852. This time the verdict was in favor of the plaintiff, who was awarded $1,500 damages. The defendant was allowed review.

The suit now rested for a time, but the town, which had once won, was in no mood to accept the verdict. Mr. Culver had used about all the means he possessed, and his brothers came to his aid in the fight. The case was tried for the fourth time at the May term, 1855. The jury disagreed. The town aimed to prove that Mr. Culver was a man addicted to the use of liquor, and that he had been drinking that day on which the accident occurred, and that it would not have happened had he been sober.

Again the case wound its slow length along in preparation for another move, until the May term, 1857, when for the fifth time it was in Court, and the result was the same as at the pre- ceding trial-the jury disagreed. Mr. Culver was now impov- erished, and it is said that he, at one time, sent a man to the town authorities, whom he had empowered to settle for $300, but the officials were still obstinate.

Finally, the lawyers on his side agreed to go on with the case, and if they did not succeed in winning, they would charge nothing. It is claimed by one who recalls the case that Paul Dillingham was called to the aid of the plaintiff's side by Mr. Washburn, and that he made the last plea in the case. The suit for the sixth and last time was tried at the May term, 1860. The town was prepared to prove that the ring on the neckyoke of the horses was so large, that it would slip over the tongue of the wagon as far as the evener, and the accident was partly due to defective harness. By some means the plaintiff's counsel got wind of this, and after the testimony was in on the side of the defendant, Lawyer Washburn announced that they would then bring in another witness, viz., the neckyoke and tongue. They showed that the ring would need to be, at least, seven inches in diameter to allow of its slipping over the tongue as claimed by the town, and by actual measurement it was found to be only four inches. The jury brought in a verdict for the plaintiff. The damages were set at $1,615. Motion was made by defend-

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ant in arrest of judgment, which was overruled, and then excep- tion was taken by defendant.

The case went up to the February term of the Supreme Court in 1861. The judgment of the County Court was affirmed with costs. The damages were set at $1,687.67 and costs at $1,124.59. Execution was issued Mar. 2, 1861. The town called a special meeting for Nov. 5, 1861, to see if they would vote to raise money to pay the expenses of the Culver suit. They voted not to raise a tax for that purpose.

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History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911, Part 59

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company
Number of Pages: 1280