■A? I * I %o AN ACCOUNT OF THE LAWYERS OF GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS, INCLUDING NATIVES WHO HAVE PRACTISED ELSEWHERE. AND THOSE ALSO WHO HAVE STUDIED LAW 7 IN THE TOWN. 0Hitlj an 3pucntux\ By SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. ii GROTON 1892. Slntorrstt? ^3rcss: John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. ' efT PREFACE. The town of Groton, in her list of lawyers, can show an array of distinguished names rarely equalled in any small community within the Commonwealth. The prominence of these names for a century and a half seems to deserve special notice, and it is with reference to this fact that the following account has been prepared. Among the lawyers who have lived and practised in the town, are two Governors of, the Commonwealth, one United States Senator, / foh-vee. other Members of Congress, besides a Delegate to the Continental Congress, a Member of the President's Cabinet, vari- ous Justices and Chief Justices of different Courts, three Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Rep- resentatives, an Attorney-General of the Common- wealth, a President of the State Senate, and Members of the Executive Council. Among the natives of Groton, and those con- nected with the town by residence, who have prac- tised law elsewhere, are names equally honorable ; 4 PREFACE. and in the partial list of lawyers, as here given, who studied their profession at Groton, wholly or in part, are names alike distinguished. Timothy Bigelow and Luther Lawrence were both Speakers of the House of Representatives ; and at different periods, while residents of the town, occu- pied the same dwelling-house. It is somewhat sin- gular that the present owner of the place, Governor Boutwell, was himself once the Democratic candi- date for the Speakership, when the Legislature met on January 6, 1847. Timothy Fuller, another Speaker of the House, was afterward a resident of the town for some years before his death, which occurred on October 1, 1835. He was the father of Margaret Fuller, otherwise known as Countess d'Ossoli. John Ouincy Adams Griffin, a former resi- dent, was a member of the General Court from Charlestown, during the session of 1855, when he was the Free-Soil candidate for the Speakership. All these names are included among the lawyers of Groton, whose sketches are here given. The town has also furnished seven Mayors for New England cities, of whom five were lawyers. The cities of Boston and Fitchburg each have had two Mayors who were natives of the town ; the cities of Lowell and of Gardiner, Maine, each a Mayor ; and the city of Charlestown, a Mayor, who, though not a native, belonged to a Groton family, and passed his boyhood and early manhood in the PREFACE. 5 town. Another son of Groton was a mayoral candi- date in the city of Bradford, Pennsylvania, ten years ago, when he was defeated by a small majority. This Account was prepared originally for the Groton Historical Series, and the various references in the pages are to that publication. For the use of friends and at their request, One Hundred Cop- ies are now struck off in this form. S. A. G. March 16, 1S92. CONTENTS. Page The Lawyers of Groton i Natives of Groton, and Persons connected by Resi- dence with the Town, who have practised Law elsewhere 77 A Partial List of those who have studied Law at Groton, with Sketches of their Lives 113 APPENDIX. Groton as a Shire Town 141 Groton Probate Court 149 Miscellaneous 150 List of Marriages tK2 Index 1 :>/ AN ACCOUNT OF THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. For many years after the settlement of New England there was no distinct class of men following the profession of law but the practice was taken up in connection with some other calling. Several of the magistrates of the Colony had been educated in England as lawyers, but here they never appeared at the bar as advocates, though at times they sat on the bench and wore the ermine. During the Colonial period of Massa- chusetts it is doubtful if any educated attorney ever practised in her Courts of Justice, with the single exception of Thomas Lechford, who lived in Boston for three years only; and even he, at one time, for tampering with the jury, was debarred by the Legislature from pleading any man's cause, except his own, before the Courts. The first code of laws ever proposed to the Colony was prepared by John Cotton, a minister of Boston, though it was rejected; and another code, prepared by Nathaniel Ward, a minister of Ipswich, was adopted in De- cember, 1 64 1, and at that date became known as the Body of Liberties. This code was fraught, relatively, with as big results to the Colonists as Magna Charta ever was to the English na- tion, and is to-day, in a great measure, the basis of all public legislation in this Commonwealth. At one time Amos Rich- ardson, a merchant tailor of Boston, and a petitioner for Groton Plantation, was active as an attorney in the Courts ; and during Governor Andros's administration Dr. Benjamin Bullivant, IO THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. a physician of Boston, was the Attorney-General. Instances like these are numerous, and show that in the early days of the Colony, when professional services were required, the lawyers, like the physicians of the same period, were re-inforced from any class that had the needed skill, and particularly from the ministers. Under the First Charter there was in every im- portant town a class of officers who performed certain duties which were closely akin to those now undertaken for the most part by the legal profession ; and such men, although they had never been formally admitted to the bar, to-day would probably be lawyers. Of this class were the Commissioners of Small Causes, who were empowered to act in all cases within the jurisdiction of a magistrate, and were approved, either by the Court of As- sistants or the County Courts, upon the request of any town where there was no resident magistrate. They were three in number in each of such towns, and were chosen by the peo- ple. The following entry is found in the Groton town-records, under date of December 12, 1681 : — Comishinurs too iud small casis in Toown acordin too law Captin [James] Parkr Leftenint [William] Lackin Insin [Nathaniel] Lorins On December 11, 1682, these same Commissioners were re-chosen. Of this class also was the Clerk of the Writs, who was "nominated by each town and allowed by each Shire Court, to grant Sumons and Attachments in all civil actions, at the liberty of the Plaintiff, and Summons for witnesses," and " to grant replevins, and to take bond with sufficient security of the party to prosecute the suite." For twelve years before the town of Groton was destroyed by the Indians in the spring of 1 676, James Fiske was Clerk of the Writs, and, as such, made returns of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages to the County Court at Cambridge. There was probably such an officer chosen on November 1, 1680, as is inferred from the town-records; and a few years later, on April 21, 1686, Josiah Parker was elected to the office. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. II On December 15, 1669, at a public meeting, the selectmen were authorized " to petition to the [General] Court for one to marry persons in our towne." In the early days of New England marriages were performed by magistrates only ; and it was many years before ministers of the Church were allowed to take part in the ceremony. It is likely that the petition was granted, and that some officer was duly appointed. The Assistants of Massachusetts, often called Magistrates, were the forerunners of the Provincial Council and the State Senate. They were few in numbers, and, in point of dignity and honor, next to the Governor and Deputy-Governor. Their duties were largely of a judicial character as well as legislative. Major Simon Willard, the only citizen of the town who ever was a member of this body, became a resident of Groton about the year 167 1. He was first chosen to the position of Assistant in 1654, when living at Concord, and remained in the office till the day of his death. Major Willard was a native of Kent, England, and came to Massachusetts in 1634. He lived first at Cambridge and Concord, then at Lancaster, from which town he removed to Groton ; and in all these places he exerted a wide influence. His name first appears in the Groton records on December 10, 1672, when he was chosen one of the selectmen. In his day he filled various civil offices, and was a noted military man. His farm in Groton was situated at Nonacoicus, now within the limits of Ayer; and his dwelling-house was the first building burned at the attack on the town, March 13, 1676, in Philip's War. During several months previously Major Willard had been engaged with his command in scouting along the line of frontier settlements and protecting the inhabitants. At this assault he came with a company of cavalry to the relief of the town, though he did not reach the place in time to be of service in its defence. He died at Charlestown, on April 24, 1676, a very few weeks after Groton was abandoned. Major Willard was thrice married, — first, before leaving England, to Mary Sharpe, of Horsmonden, County of Kent ; secondly, after his arrival in Massachusetts, to Elizabeth Dunster, who died about six months after her marriage ; and 12 THE LAWYERS OF CROTON. thirdly, to Mary Dunster. He had seventeen children ; and of this large family, all the sons, nine in number, and five of his eight daughters, reached mature age and were married, leaving issue at the time of their death. Two of his descend- ants were presidents of Harvard College. During the last century a distinction between attorneys and barristers was recognized by the Massachusetts bar, and the degree of Barrister was conferred by the Courts with considerable form and ceremony. It required three years of study to become an Attorney, and two years of practice as such in the Inferior Court, and two more in the Superior Court, to become a Barrister. The distinction was finally abolished by the Revised Statutes of 1836. In this paper I class all attorneys, counsellors, or barris- ters as lawyers ; and I include among their number several yeomen as well as physicians, who represented the learning and cultivation of an early period, and who either practised in the courts or sat on the bench ; and I include also several persons who in modern times have pursued a partial course in the study of law, either at the Harvard Law School or else- where, though they may not have been formally admitted to the bar. Benjamin Prescott was appointed by the Governor and Council on June 27, 1735, a Special Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature, in place of Paul Dudley. From time to time such judges were appointed to sit at the trial of particular cases, in which the standing justices either declined to act, or were thought to be incompetent on account of personal inter- est. In this instance the case was an action of ejectment in Worcester County, where the petitioners thought that Dudley was interested. On December 22, 1736, Mr. Prescott was ap- pointed, with three others, a Special Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in Middlesex County. The appoint- ments were made on the petition of Timothy Sprague, of Maiden, for the trial of certain causes relating to Spot Pond, in which the whole bench of justices was said to be interested. On November 10, 1737, he was again appointed, on the petition of THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 3 the inhabitants and proprietors of the town of Boston, a Special Justice of the Superior Court in divers causes, in place of Paul Dudley. In the latter instance the case re- lated principally to a dispute over some real estate, where it was thought that Dudley might be biased in his judgment, as he held lands in Boston. At that period the people watched the decisions of the bench with great scrutiny, and guarded popular rights with extreme jealousy. Benjamin Prescott was the youngest son of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott, and born at Groton, on January 4, 1695-6. He was brought up on his father's farm, and even as a young man filled many important places of trust and responsibil- ity in the affairs of the town. In the year 17 17 he was ap- pointed a Lieutenant of a military company, and in 1724 a Lieutenant of a snow-shoe company raised to protect the town from Indian invasion. On December 8, 1724, the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives, according to the printed Journal (page 61), passed a Resolution, requiring the enrolment of a certain number of men, who were to be provided " with a good suitable pair of Snow-shoes & Moggasins fit for Service." They were to be drilled in marching and running on the snow, and, on the discovery of the enemy, were to go at once in pursuit. These soldiers became known as " snow-shoe men," and constituted a kind of pre-Revolutionary minute-men. Under this Resolve Groton and Chelmsford each were to furnish forty soldiers, — a larger number than was assigned to any other town in Mid- dlesex County. On March 26, 1725, according to the manu- script records of the Council in the State House, Captain John Shepley presented a certificate that he had drawn forth twenty men out of his company at Groton to be snow-shoe men ; and at the same time Captain Jonas Prescott presented a certificate that he had drawn out twenty men from his com- pany at Groton for the same purpose. Perhaps they were selected by lot. In this command young Prescott held a commission as Lieutenant. Snow-shoes were first used by soldiers in Dummer's War ; and, on December 17, 1729, according to the printed Journal 14 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. (page 173) of the House of Representatives, a petition for the grant of a tract of land was presented from a large num- ber of men who had served under Captain John Lovewell, " part of whom first discovered the Use of Snow-Shoes^ On May I, 1723, Benjamin Prescott was chosen a repre- sentative to the General Court, and between that date and the time of his death, in different years, he was re-chosen seven times. It is said by Mr. Butler, in his History of Groton (page 290), that Benjamin Prescott in the year 1735 "was chosen agent of the Province to the Court of Great Britain, which office he declined, on account of not having had the small pox, which disease was prevalent at the time." A care- ful examination of the Council records in the State House fails to confirm the statement, though it shows the appoint- ment of the other agents, both before and after this period. Perhaps the position was offered to Mr. Prescott in an infor- mal and unofficial way, so that it would not be a matter of record. It is also stated by Mr. Butler, on the same page, that Mr. Prescott " died in the prime of life, August 3, 1735, of a sur- feit, caused by great exertion to save some hay from a shower." While this diagnosis of the disease is very obscure, I am in- clined to think that he died of apoplexy, dependent on Bright's disease. The date of his death, however, is given wrong, as he died on August 3, 1738 ; and this statement is borne out, not only by the inscription on his gravestone, but by the following extract from a newspaper of that period : — Thursday last [August 3] died at his Seat in Groton, after three or four Days Illness, the Hon. Benjamin Prescot, Esq ; Representa- tive for that Town, one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Middlesex, and a Special Justice of the Superiour Court of Judicature ; a Gentleman greatly lamented by all that knew him. "The Bo-ton Evening-Post," August 7, 1738. On June 11, 17 18, Benjamin Prescott was married to Abigail, daughter of the Honorable Thomas and Mary (Wilson) Oliver, of Cambridge ; and they were blessed with three children, all sons, who became useful citizens in their native town as well THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 5 as distinguished men in the Province. At the time of his death he was a member of the General Court, where he was succeeded by Captain Nathaniel Sawtell, whose surname is sometimes written Sartell. There has been much confusion between the Groton fam- ilies of Sawtell and Sartell, as they have generally been con- sidered distinct branches ; but they probably belonged to the same stock. William Lawrence was a son of John and Anna (Tarbell) Lawrence, and born at Cambridge Farms, now Lexington, on August 1 1, 1697. The father, soon after his marriage, removed from Groton to that precinct, where he had a large family of children, of whom three sons and one daughter married and settled in Groton, and also brought up large families. On June 27, 1722, Mr. Lawrence was married to Susanna, daughter of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott, who was born on Decem- ber 31, 1 69 1, and a sister of Benjamin Prescott, previously mentioned ; and they were blessed with six children, who grew up and had families. He and his wife were admitted to the church on March 24, 1722-23, during the pastorate of the Reverend Caleb Trowbridge. Their eldest child, the Reverend William Lawrence, born at Groton on May 7, 1723, was a grad- uate of Harvard College in the Class of 1743, — the first of the name at that institution, — and the minister of the Church of Christ in Lincoln for more than thirty-one years. Their sec- ond son, Abel, born on February 25, 1729-30, represented the town of Groton and the districts of Pepperell and Shirley in the General Court for four years from 1762, following his father in that capacity. He was the town-clerk of Groton for seven years from March 1, 1757, a selectman and a justice of the peace, and the father of the late Abel Lawrence, Esq., of Salem. William Lawrence occupied a prominent position among his neighbors, filling many places of trust and responsibility in the affairs of the town. On May 25, 1743, he was chosen a member of the Great and General Court, and re-chosen six- teen times, — a longer term of service than has ever fallen to 1 6 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. the lot of any other Groton representative. In military mat- ters he began as a private during Dummer's War, and rose through the different grades of service to the rank of colonel during the French and Indian War. His dwelling was situ- ated at the north corner of Main and Court Streets, on the site of Liberty Mall which was burned on March 31, 1878. On August 12, 1749, Mr. Lawrence was appointed a Special Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in the County of Middlesex, in all causes where any of the Standing Justices were interested ; and two years later, on June 21, 175 1, he received a similar appointment of like import. On June 26, 1755, he was made a Justice of the Inferior Court in the County of Middlesex, in place of Thomas Fulham, Esq., who had resigned ; and he continued to hold the position as long as he lived. Governor Emory Washburn, in his "Sketches of the Judicial History of Massachusetts from 1630 to the Revolu- tion in 1775 " (page 337), alludes to the appointment, and says : " Judge Lawrence belonged to Groton, but I have found no memorial of him." Judge Lawrence was a large land-owner in Groton and its neighborhood ; and Ithamar Bard Sawtelle, in his History of Townsend (page 63), says that, with two exceptions, no man possessed in Townsend so many acres. According to John Boynton Hill's History of Mason, New Hampshire (page 34), he owned eleven farms of the two hundred into which that town was divided, after it had been surveyed and allotted ; and in the original grant made by the Masonian proprietors, his name appears first in the list of grantees (page 28). The township of Mason was divided, in conformity with an early custom, into smaller parcels of land, and each tract assigned to the several owners by lot ; and this custom furnishes the origin and explanation of the American use of the word lot as applied to a portion of land measured off, or appropriated for any particular purpose. Judge Lawrence died at Groton, on May 19, 1764 ; and I can give no better estimate of his character than that con- tained on a tablet to his memory in the old Burying-Ground, as follows, line for line : — THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 7 Here lye the remains of Coll". William Lawrence, who departed this Life May iq'! 1 A. D. 1764. Anno /Etatis 67. He was a Gentleman who in military life rose from the rank of Cap". Lieu' to the command of a Regiment. In the year 1 739, he was made a Justice of the peace afterwards Quorum unus ; a special Justice of the court of common Pleas for the County of Middlesex, and a standing Justice of the Court. He for many years represented the Town of Groton with the Districts of Pepperrell and Shirley in the general Assembly of this Province. In all his public betrustsments he acquitted himself with fidelity and honour. In private life his behavior was becoming his Christian profession. He was remark = ably industrious in the improvement of time, Just in his dealings, a good neighbour, a faithful friend, patient of injuries and ready to forgive them, gratefull to Benefactors, very ready in affording assistance to the widow and fatherless, and mercifull to all proper Objects of pity. He was a strict observer of the Lords Day, a constant and serious attender on the public exercises of Religin, a devout worship= er of God in his family. Blessed are the dead who dye in the Lord. Here also lies the Body of M? Susanna Lawrence Relict of the above named Coll" William Lawrence She was a woman of Piety and good Sense, An industrious, Prudent wife ; an indulgent Parent, a good Neighbour, a faithfull Friend, A hater of Hypocrisy and Guile ; a lover of Hospitality, Patiet under Affliction and Resigned to The will of Heaven in death by which she was called out of the world to Receive the Rewards of a faithfull Servant on the 10 th of Sep' & in the 80 1 ! 1 year of her Age. JD : 17 71. James Prescott was the eldest son of the Honorable Benjamin and Abigail (Oliver) Prescott, and born at Groton, on January 13, 1720-21. He was married, on June 18, 1752, 3 1 8 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. to his cousin Susanna, daughter of the Honorable William and Susanna (Prescott) Lawrence, of Groton ; and they had nine children, of whom the eldest, Benjamin, was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill, where he was a sergeant in Captain Joseph Moors's company. Like his two brothers, James was much engaged in affairs of a public nature. In the militia he passed through every grade of service, from that of the lowest commissioned officer of a company to the colonelcy of a regiment. In political life he was chosen a member of the General Court for fifteen years, a member of the Senate for six years, and of the Executive Council for six years. At the beginning of the Revolution he was a member of the three Provincial Congresses of Deputies and of the Board of War. On September 6, 1775, he was chosen Sheriff of Middlesex County, which position he held for five years ; and on December 21, 1782, he was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, which place he filled for nearly eighteen years. Few persons in the Commonwealth ever held so many different offices and of such a varied character as Judge Prescott, and yet he was not an office-seeker ; and he filled them all with credit to himself and with honor to the town. His dwelling was situated on the Great Road to Boston, perhaps half a mile southeast from the village, where he died on February 15, 1800. His wife, a native of Groton, was born on February 5, 1725-6, and died on December 26, 1805. Oliver Prescott was the youngest son of Benjamin and Abigail (Oliver) Prescott, and born at Groton, on April 27, 173 1. He graduated at Harvard College with the highest honors in the Class of 1750, and then studied medicine under the tuition of Dr. Thomas Robie, of Sudbury. He took high rank in his profession, and in 178 1 was a charter member of the Massachusetts Medical Society; and at the Commencement of 1791 Harvard College conferred upon him the honorary degree of M.D., which before that time had been given by that institution to only seven persons. He was also the president of the Middlesex Medical Society THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 9 during the whole period of its existence. Apart from these professional laurels, he likewise received many civil and mili- tary honors, besides some of a judicial character. Dr. Prescott was town-clerk during thirteen years, and selectman during thirty-two years. Before the Revolution, he held the offices of Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, and Brigadier-General, respectively, in the militia, and in 1781 sec- ond Major-General ; but soon afterward, owing to ill health, he resigned his commission. He was a Justice of the Peace and of the Quorum throughout the Commonwealth ; and on October 30, 1776, was chosen a member of the Board of War, though he does not appear to have taken his seat in that body. On May 29, 1777, he was elected a member of the Council, an office which he held for two years ; and on July 1, 1779, he was appointed Judge of Probate for Middlesex County, and continued as such until his death, which took place at Groton, on November 17, 1804. Dr. Prescott took an active part in suppressing Shays's Rebellion, an insurrection which had many supporters in his neighborhood. He was one of the original Trustees of Groton Academy, and the first President of the Board ; and he was also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. On October 19, 1756, Dr. Prescott was married to Lydia, daughter of David and Abigail (Jennison) Baldwin, of Sud- bury ; and they had eight children. His wife died on Septem- ber 27, 1798. His dwelling was situated in the southerly part of the village, near the fork of the roads, close to the William Prescott monument. Ebenezer Champney was a son of Solomon and Abigail ( I Macsparran) Champney, and born at Cambridge, on April 3, 1744. He was a descendant of Richard, who came from Lancashire in England during the early days of the Col- ony, and settled at Cambridge. Ebenezer graduated at Har- vard College in the Class of 1762. At first his intention was to enter the ministry, and to that end he began to study under the direction of the Reverend Caleb Trowbridge, of Groton, whose daughter he subsequently married. Soon afterward 20 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. he left his chosen profession in order to take up the study of law in the office of the Honorable Samuel Livermore, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and in the year 1768 he was admitted to the bar of that State. He then opened an office at New Ipswich, where he began to practise his profession. In the spring of 1783 he came back to Groton, where he remained until 1789, when he again returned to New Ips- wich ; and in February, 1793, he was appointed Judge of Probate for Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, which office he continued to hold until the time of his death in the early autumn of 18 10. According to the town-records, Mr. Champney was mar- ried, on October 9, 1764, to Abigail, daughter of the Rev- erend Caleb and Hannah (Walter) Trowbridge, of Groton ; and they had seven children, of whom three died in infancy. By this marriage he became connected with the distinguished families of the Cottons and the Mathers. His wife was born on November 30, 1740, and died on October 23, 1775. In No- vember, 1778, he was married, secondly, to Abigail, daughter of Samuel Parker, who had gone from Groton to New Ipswich as early as the year 1760; and by this union there were four children. According to the History of New Ipswich (page 419), the second wife was born in 1762, and died in 1790. In March, 1796, he was married, thirdly, to Susan Wyman, who died in the following September. Hannah, a daughter by the first wife, on February 2, 1792, married the Honorable James Prescott, Jr., of Groton, whose biographical sketch appears later in this Number. During the excitement of Shays's Rebellion in the year 1786, owing to some spite which the insurgents had against Judge Champney, at that time a resident of Groton, an attempt was made to burn his office. Combustibles ready for use were found concealed under the building ; but for- tunately the plot was discovered in time to defeat its object. The office stood on the south side of the house, and was afterward used as an office by Timothy Bigelow, Samuel Dana, and Luther Lawrence, and still later by Dr. Amos Bancroft. Subsequently it was moved across the street, and THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 21 placed in a corner of Dr. Amos B. Bancroft's garden, a short distance north of the site of the Town House ; after which it was again moved to the rear of his dwelling, and still later to the neighborhood of the railroad station, where now it is occupied by a family. Judge Champney had a large practice, and exercised a wide influence in the community. During the earlier years of his professional life, while living at New Ipswich, he was the only lawyer between Groton and Keene. He died on September 10, 1810, at the age of 66 years, 5 months, and 7 days. The following inscription is found on the east side of Francis Champney's monument, in the Old Burying-Ground at Groton : — HON. EBENEZER CHAMPNEY ESQ. FATHER OF FRANCIS CHAMPNEY, DIED Sept. 10, 1S10. JE. 67 Ys. HE RECEIVED THE HONERS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY 1762, ADMITTED TO THE BAR 1768. APPOINTED JUDGE OF PROBATE 1793, IN WHICH OFFICE HE DIED. UNIVERSALLY RESPECTED & LAMENTED. James Sullivan was a son of John and Margery (Brown) Sullivan, and born at Berwick, Maine, on April 22, 1744. He received such an education as then could be acquired in a country village, and he began the study of law in the office of his brother John, at that time a resident of Durham, New Hampshire, who afterward became a distinguished Gen- eral of Revolutionary fame. On February 22, 1768, he was married to Hetty, daughter of William and Avis (Adams) Odiorne, of Durham ; and by this marriage there were six sons and three daughters. His wife was born on June 26, 1748, and died on January 26, 1786. After living for a short period at Georgetown, Maine, he removed soon after his marriage to Biddeford, on the Saco River, where he remained nearly ten years. He was a mem- 22 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. ber of the three Provincial Congresses, from Biddeford, during 1 774 and 1775, and a member of the General Court, from the same town, during 1775 and 1776. On March 20, 1776, he was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Judicature, which position he held for six years. With the hope of being able, during the intervals of his judicial duties, to be more with his family if living in a central position, and in the be- lief that during his enforced absence from home they would be in greater security further from the seacoast, Judge Sul- livan, in February, 1778, sold his dwelling-house at Biddeford, and took up his abode in Groton. He bought a farm on the present Lowell Road, about half a mile east of the First Parish Meeting-house. "It was pleasantly situated," says his biographer, the late Thomas Coffin Amory, Esq., "and the house, which still remains, stands on an elevation command- ing the view of a most agreeable variety of fertile fields and sunny slopes." By his change of residence, the towns of Biddeford and Pepperrellborough (now Saco) were not pre- vented from sending him again, in the spring of 1778, as a Representative to the General Court. On August 16, 1779, he was chosen a delegate from Groton to represent the town in the Convention for forming the Constitution of Massa- chusetts, which met on September 1 of that year ; and on February 28, 1782, was chosen, by a joint convention of both branches of the General Court, in place of Sam Adams, a delegate to the Continental Congress, then in session at Philadelphia, and his credentials were presented to that body on May 20. On June 1 1, 1787, he was elected by the Legis- lature a member of the Executive Council to fill a vacancy caused by the declination of Joseph Bradley Varnum, Esq., of Dracut, who had been previously chosen on June 1, 1787; and on May 29, 1788, he was appointed Judge of Probate for Suffolk County. On February 12, 1790, he was chosen Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, which office he held during seventeen years. He was the first President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and occupied the position during fifteen years. In the autumn of 1804 he was chosen one of the Presidential Electors at large ; and when the THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 2$ Electoral College met in December, the members threw a unanimous vote for Thomas Jefferson as President. On April 6, 1807, he was elected Governor of the Commonwealth, and served in that capacity for nearly two terms. He entered upon the duties of the office on May 27 following, and died in Boston, on December 10, 1808, while Governor. John Bulkley was the first native of the town, so far as I can learn, who studied law as a profession. He was a son of Colonel John and Mary (Underwood) Bulkley, of Groton, and a descendant of the Reverend Peter Bulkley, of Con- cord, and he graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1769. His uncle, Joseph Underwood, was a graduate in the Class of 1735, anQl perhaps prompted the nephew to take a collegiate course. His father was a prominent man in the neighborhood, and during the French and Indian War gained a colonelcy in the public service. The son studied his profes- sion, in part at least, at Boston ; and I have seen a fragment of a manuscript diary kept by him during that period, from which it appears that he was a gay young man, somewhat given to dissipation. He was born at Groton, on June 22, 1749, and died on December 14, 1774. See "The Centennial Record" (Groton), February 22, 1876, for extracts from the diary just alluded to, where it is incorrectly said that the writer was unknown. I have also seen a note-book kept by him, which contained a list of " Actions before CoP Prescott." The first entry is " Abel Keemp vs Eleazor Green Mon : 4 th November 1771 "; and the last one in the list is dated July 25, 1774. At the end of the book is a list of " Executions returnable to Jus : Prescott 60 clays from Jan? 14 1772," of which the last one is dated October 30, 1774. The names of Jonas Cutler and Jonathan Clark Lewis, who were traders in Groton at that period, appear often in the lists ; and presumably they were suing their customers for the amount of their bills. I am inclined to think that, while keeping this book, Bulkley was acting in some official capacity, perhaps under the appoint- ment of his townsman Judge James Prescott. 24 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. The following inscription is found, line for line, on his tombstone : — [Cherub's Head."] Col. John Bulklin , whose remains are here entomb'd, departed this Life Dec! y e 3? A). 1772. JE. 69. much lamented by those who knew him. He left a sorrowful widow, four Daughters & one son, named John by whom this family tomb was built ; who also departed this Life Dec! y e 14'!' tD 1774. ^E 26. & whose remains are here deposited. He was educated at Harvard College and took the degree of A.B. & A.M. In the years 1769 and 1772. A good natural genius improv'd by a liberel Education he employ'd in the study of Law but had only practiced as an attorney a sufficient time to raise in his friends the most (sanguine) hopes of whatever great or good could reasonably be expected from an honest & benevolent heart, influenced by a good understanding and a prudent disposition, before a period was put to his Action, and designs ; & his numerous Acquaintance were call'd to lament the death of a dutiful son — a loving brother — a faithful friend — a kind neighbour — a good citizen — an honest man. Amicus pat rice, generis humani Amicus. Thomas Colman succeeded Mr. Bulkley as an attorney, though but little is known of his professional life in Groton. He was the third son of Deacon Benjamin and Ann (Brown) Colman, and born at Byfield, a village of Newbury, on March 8, 175 1. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1770, and without doubt knew Bulkley as a fellow-collegian at Cambridge. It is uncertain how long he practised in this town, but probably until about the time of his death. He was drowned at Newbury bar, on October 28, 1781. The following extract from a Memoir of Samuel Dana, writ- ten by the Honorable Charles Humphrey Atherton, and printed in the third volume of the " Collections of the New- Hampshire Historical Society" (Concord, 1832), contains some references to both these young lawyers : — THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 25 We are more the creatures of accident than we generally sup- pose, or are willing to allow. Now it happened that just before his [Mr. Dana's] relinquishment of the pastoral office, he was ap- pointed executor of the will of John Bulkley, Esq., an Attorney of law in Groton. This brought him in contact with a law library, which for convenience he had removed to his own house. To this occurrence may be traced his future success and distinction in life. In searching these law books, he spent many of his leisure hours, and either discovered or formed his taste for the investigation of legal subjects. One more lucky occurrence only was wanting which should give him some knowledge of office business, in order to fix Mr. Dana a candidate for the bar. For this, he did not long wait and it was probably of his own procuring. Thomas Coleman, Esq., who in 1779 succeeded Mr. Bulkley as an attorney in Groton, had his residence and office in the house of Mr. Dana, and under these favourable circumstances, he acquired some knowledge of the practice of law. Thus did Mr. Dana pick up his qualifications as a lawyer, as he had those of a clergyman, with great ease and little cost (pages 12, 13). In this list of the Lawyers of Groton is included, as an ex- ceptional case, the name of Samuel Dana, who was for many years the minister of the town. Before the troubles had arisen between him and his parish, he had clone some business of a legal character ; and, furthermore, at that period an edu- cated man was liable to act in any professional capacity. In the Memoir, by Mr. Atherton, from which an extract has just been given, there is a reference to the way in which he became interested in the study of law. Samuel Dana was a son of William and Mary (Green) Dana, and born in that part of Cambridge which is now Brighton, on January 14, 1738-9. He entered Harvard Col- lege at the early age of twelve years, which shows the natural aptitude of his mind to receive instruction, and graduated in the Class of 1755, of which President John Adams was a member. He fitted himself for the duties of a pastor by the only means then available, which was to study theological works under the advice of neighboring ministers. In fact 26 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. the only course open to any professional scholar at that period was to follow a course of study under the guidance of an experienced teacher, as there were then no professional schools in the land. On June 3, 1761, Mr. Dana was settled as the minister of Groton ; and on May 6, 1762, he was married to Anna, daughter of Captain Caleb and Abigail (Bowen) Kenrick, of Newton. His pastorate here appears to have been harmonious until the political troubles of the Revolu- tion began to crop out, when a sermon preached by him in the early spring of 1775 gave great offence to the parish. His sympathies were with the Crown, while those of the people were equally strong on the other side; and the excitement over the matter ran so high that he was compelled to give up his charge. After his dismissal from the church he remained at Groton during some years, preaching for a short. time to a Presbyterian Society, then recently organized ; and later he removed to Amherst, New Hampshire, where he resumed the study of law in the office of Joshua Atherton, Esq., an at- torney of that town. In the autumn of 1781 he was admitted to practise in the Court of Common Pleas of Hillsborough County. He was a delegate chosen by the town of Amherst to the convention for the formation of a plan of government, which resulted in the State Constitution of 1783 ; and im- mediately after its adoption by the people he was commis- sioned as one of the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, but declined the appointment. In the year 1785 he was appointed Register of Probate for Hillsborough County, and held the office until January 9, 1789, when he accepted the position of Judge of Probate, which he afterward resigned on December 21, 1792. In this office he was followed by the Honorable Ebenezer Champney, of New Ipswich, who had previously been a lawyer at Groton, and who has already been mentioned in this Number. In 1793 he was chosen to the State Senate to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Atherton, his former preceptor. Judge Dana died at Amherst, on April 2, 1798, leaving a large family of children and grandchildren, and was buried on April 4, with Masonic rites, when a funeral oration was de- THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 2J livered before the Benevolent Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, by the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. Benjamin Champney was the eldest child of Ebenezer and Abigail (Trowbridge) Champney, and born at Groton, on August 20, 1764. His early life was spent on his father's farm in the work that usually falls to the lot of a country boy. His education was received at the common schools of that day, with some occasional instruction from his father, under whom he prepared himself for the legal profession. He was called to the Middlesex bar; and in the year 1786 he opened an office in connection with his father at Groton, where he remained until 1791, when he removed to New Ipswich, and joined his father, who had two years previously taken up his residence in that town. In the year 1792 Mr. Champney was married to Mercy Parker, who died in April, 1795, having borne him three chil- dren ; and, secondly, in October, 1809, to Rebecca Brooks, who became the mother of seven children. Perhaps his first wife and his stepmother Abigail Parker were sisters, — daughters of Samuel and Abiael Parker, of Groton. For twenty years he was the postmaster of New Ipswich, and for a long time one of the selectmen; and he died in that town on May 12, 1827, at the age of 62 years, 8 months, and 23 days. James Prescott, Jr., was the youngest son of the Hono- rable James and Susanna (Lawrence) Prescott, and born at Groton, on April 19, 1766. He was educated at Harvard College, where he graduated in the Class of 1788. He studied law, and began the practice of his profession in the adjoining town of Westford, where he remained about ten years, when he returned to Groton. On February 2, 1792, he was married to Hannah, daughter of the Honorable Ebenezer and Hannah (Trowbridge) Champney, of New Ips- wich. She was born on September 23, 1768, and died on January 2, 1836; and from the year 1783 to 1789 her father was a lawyer of Groton. Mr. Prescott was appointed, on June 3, 1805, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, which office he filled for six years. By an Act passed on 28 THE LAWYERS OF GROTQN. June 21, 1 8 1 1, the Court of Common Pleas became the Cir- cuit Court of Common Pleas ; and for political reasons Judge Prescott was not re-nominated for the position. On February I, 1805, he was appointed to the office of Judge of Probate, made vacant by the death of his uncle, Dr. Oliver Prescott, on November 17, 1804. For six years Judge James Prescott was acting as Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and at the same time as Judge of Probate, — a conjunction of offices which now would be considered incompatible with the best interests of the public. For forty-two years in succes- sion the Probate Judgeship of Middlesex County was held by him and his uncle. Judge Prescott died at his residence in Groton, on October 14, 1829. His dwelling-house was situated on the east side of the Great Road, near the end of High Street, and before his ownership had belonged to Benjamin Bancroft, by whom it was probably built as far back as the Revolutionary period. Judge Prescott was an excellent classical scholar and well versed in law, but unfortunately he had a harsh temper, which rendered him unpopular, and was in a large measure the cause of many of his troubles and misfortunes. On February 1, 1821, he was impeached by the House of Representatives for misconduct and maladministration in his office as Judge of Probate; and on April 18, the Senate met as a Court of Im- peachment, and tried him on fifteen articles, of which he was found guilty as to Articles III. and XII. By the casting vote of the President of the Senate there was a tie as to Article II. For the convenience of a few persons interested in such matters, I herewith give a bibliographical account of the trial : — In the Senate, February 9, 1821, it was ordered that the Clerk cause to be printed fifty copies of the articles of impeach- ment preferred by the House of Representatives, " together with the respondent's answer, when it shall be made — and the rules adopted by the Court of impeachment to be observed on the trial." (Manuscript Journal of the Senate, XLI. 225.) These were to be delivered, one copy each to the members of the Court, one copy to each manager appointed by the THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 29 House, and three copies to the respondent or his counsel, and the remainder to be kept by the Clerk to await further orders. The copy in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society bears the autograph of Josiah Ouincy, the Speaker of the House, and has the following title : — Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Court of Impeachment for the Trial of James Prescott, Esquire, Judge of Probate, &c. for the County of Middlesex, on Articles of Impeachment, presented against him, by the Representatives of the People of Massachu- setts, for Misconduct and Mal-administration in Office. Boston : Russell and Gardner, Printers. 182 1. ato. pp. 3^. According to the " Boston Daily Advertiser," April 16, a day before the opening of the Court of Impeachment by ad- journment: " The Judge filed his answer to the charges about ten days since, and copies of it are printed for the use of the members of the Court." This answer signed by him became a part of the quarto pamphlet (pages 14-32), and was also printed separately with a title as follows:- — Answers to the Articles of Impeachment against the Judge of Probate for the County of Middlesex. Boston : Printed by Ezra Lincoln. 1821. 8vo. pp. 32. After the trial a full report was published with the title given below : — Report of the Trial by Impeachment of James Prescott, Esquire, Judge of Probate of Wills, &c. for the County of Middlesex, for Misconduct and Maladministration in office, before the Senate of Massachusetts, in the year 1821. With an Appendix, containing an account of former impeachments in the same State. By Octavius Pickering and William Howard Gardiner, of the Suffolk Bar. Bos- ton : Published at the Office of the Daily Advertiser. 182 1. 8vo. pp. 225 (1). On April 28 it was ordered by the Senate that copies of this Trial be purchased by the Clerk and furnished to the members. At the same time it was ordered by the House that the Clerk procure for each member a copy, " provided 30 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. any report thereof shall be speedily published which in the opinion of the speaker of this House shall appear to be faith- ful and correct and charged at a reasonable price." In the " Boston Daily Advertiser," April 30, a statement to the same effect is made ; and it would seem from this that the Ad- vertiser report was procured for the members of the House and Senate. The following extracts from the Advertiser of April 20 and 23, respectively, relate to this publication : — This Court yesterday proceeded in the important trial now pend- ing before them. . . . We have diligently attended the course of this important trial, for the purpose of obtaining as accurate a re- port of it as possible, for publication. — In this difficult undertaking we have the assistance of two learned friends, who will make every exertion to render the report as perfect as possible. — We had in- tended to publish it in the Daily Advertiser, but it would not be proper to publish any report of the evidence while the trial is pend- ing, and it is likely to extend to too great length to admit of its being published in the paper, after the trial is finished. We are therefore driven to the necessity of publishing it only in a pamph- let. This will be issued from the press as soon as possible after the trial is closed. [April 20.] It will be recollected that we some time since announced an in- tention to publish a regular report of this trial in our paper. In pursuance of this intention, we made every provision in our power for obtaining a correct report. But on more full consideration, and after having taken notes of the first day's proceedings, we came to the conviction that it would be totally impracticable. [April 23.] Timothy Bigelow was the eldest son of Colonel Timothy and Anna (Andrews) Bigelow, and born at Worcester, on April 30, 1767. He was fitted for Harvard College under the tuition of Benjamin Lincoln and of the celebrated Samuel Dexter, then a law-student at Worcester. He graduated with high rank at Cambridge in the Class of 1786, and entered at once upon the study of his profession in the office of Levi Lincoln, the elder. Admitted to the bar in the year 1789, he began the practice of law at Groton, living at that time in the dwelling then occupied by Converse Richardson, and used as a public house, where he also had his office. The THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 3 I dwelling was situated on the south side of what is now Elm Street, near the corner of Pleasant Street, though it was moved away in the autumn of i860, to a lot near the head of the old Jenkins road, discontinued on April 6, 1885. It is said that he sat in his office six weeks without taking a fee, and then received a pistareen. On September 3, 1 79 1 , he was married to Lucy, daughter of Dr. Oliver and Lydia (Bald- win) Prescott, who was born on March 13, 1 771 . After his marriage he removed to the house standing, until the summer of 1875, between Governor Boutwell's dwelling and Mrs. Graves's. An account of this house is given in the first vol- ume of the Historical Series (No. XVI. pages 1-9), under the heading " An Old House, and Some of its Occupants." Mr. Bigelow soon acquired a wide reputation and a large practice, by no means confined to Middlesex County. Many young men came to Groton in order to study law in his office, and not a few of them afterward became eminent in their profession. At the same period Samuel Dana, Jr., was another noted lawyer of Groton, whose sketch follows the present one. These two men became the leaders of the Middlesex bar, and they also tried many cases in Essex, Worcester, and Suffolk Counties, as well as in New Hamp- shire. They were retained in most of the important cases in this neighborhood, and generally on opposite sides. They were both military men, and each one commanded a militia company made up of his own political party. Mr. Bigelow was a prominent Federalist, and the captain of the South Company; while Mr. Dana was equally prominent as a Democrat, and the captain of the North Company. They had offices in the same building, in fact on opposite sides of the same entry, and, in politics as well as at the bar, they were usually pitted against each other, yet in social life they were the best of friends. Mr. Bigelow took an active part in politics, and for many years was a member of the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives, chosen first by the town of Groton, and afterward by the town of Medford, where he was then living. During thirteen years he represented Groton in the House, and 32 I HE LAWYERS OF GROTON. during twelve years he represented Medford in the same body ; and he was the Speaker for thirteen years, the longest term of service in that capacity ever held by one person. He was filling this position at the time when the Act was passed, on June 19, 18 19, separating the District of Maine from the State of Massachusetts, and consequently the last Speaker of the united Legislatures of the District and the Commonwealth. He was a delegate to that famous political assembly in 18 14, known as the Hartford Conven- tion, and also a member of the Executive Council in the year 1820. He was one of the founders of Groton Academy, and an original member of the Board of Trustees. Amid the engrossing duties of his profession Mr. Bigelow found time for occasional literary work. While living at Groton he delivered the Oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge, July 21, 1796; a Funeral Oration on Samuel Dana, — at one time minister of Groton and after- ward a lawyer, — before the Benevolent Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, at Amherst, New Hampshire, April 4, 1798; and a Eulogy on Washington before the Columbian Lodge of Masons, at Boston, February 11, 1800, — which addresses have been printed. In the year 1806 he removed to Medford, where he died on May 18, 1821, at the age of fifty-four years. See the " Columbian Centinel," May 19, 1 82 1, for a tribute to his memory, written by the editor, Major Benjamin Russell, a friend of forty years' standing. The late Reverend Andrew Bigelow, D.D., and the late Honorable John Prescott Bigelow, Secretary of the Com- monwealth, were his sons. Among the young men who studied law in Mr. Bigelow's office were the following : — John Harris, Judge of the Supreme Court of New Hamp- shire ; Thomas Rice, of Winslow, Maine, Member of Congress ; John Locke, of Ashby, Member of Congress ; Joseph Locke, Judge of the Police Court of Lowell for thirteen years ; John Leighton Tuttle, of Concord; Asahel Stearns, University Professor of Law in the Harvard Law School; John Varnum, of Haverhill, Member of Congress; Loammi Baldwin, who THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 33 afterward became a distinguished civil engineer ; John Park Little, of Gorham, Maine ; Tyler Bigelovv, of Watertown ; Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and afterward of Lowell, where he died while Mayor of the city, April 17, 1839; Nathaniel Shattuck, of Amherst, New Hampshire ; John Stuart, of Newburyport ; Augustus Peabody, of Boston ; and Abraham Moore, of Groton. Samuel Dana was the second son of the Reverend Samuel and Anna (Kenrick) Dana, and born at Groton, on June 26, 1767. He studied law in the office of the Honorable John Lowell, Judge of the United States District Court, and about the year 1789 he began the practice of the profession in his native town. On December 5, 1795, he was married to Rebecca, daughter of Charles and Rebecca (Minot) Barrett, of New Ipswich, New Hampshire ; and they had a family of eight children. Mr. Dana soon took a high position in the community, and exerted a wide influence in the neighborhood. He had a large and successful practice at the bar, and many young men came to Groton in order to study law under his tuition. In a "Memoir of the late Hon. Samuel Dana, by his son, James Dana" (Cambridge, 1877), it is said: — Mr. Dana's reputation attracted many students, to whom he was accustomed to give lectures on the law and its practice. Many of his pupils were leading men in their day. These gentlemen made quite an addition to the cultivated society of the town. No list of his students has been preserved ; but it is known that among them were the Hon. Willard Hall, Judge of the United States District Court in Delaware, recently deceased, and the late Hon. William Merchant Richardson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Mr. Richardson practised in Groton for some years, — part of the time as law partner with Mr. Dana, — and while residing in Groton was Representative in Congress for Middlesex (page 7). Among his other students were Abijah Bigelow, of Leo- minster, Member of Congress ; Luther Fitch, of Groton, ane afterward of Portland, Maine, where he was Judge of the Mu- 5 34 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. nicipal Court ; James Lewis, of Pepperell ; Samuel Emerson Smith, Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of Maine, and Governor of that State; and John Wright, of Groton and Lowell. Mr. Dana was among the early friends and benefactors of Groton Academy, and a member of the original Board of Trustees. He was the first postmaster of the town, and always one of the foremost in public enterprises. The post- office was established on September 29, 1800, but no mail was delivered at the office until the last week in November. Occasionally, when the Reverend Dr. Chaplin, the minister of the town, owing to illness, was unable to officiate in the pulpit, Mr. Dana would be asked to supply his place and read a sermon, which he did with great acceptance to the congregation. Mr. Dana was chosen a member of the General Court during the years 1803, 1 825-1 827 ; he was also a member of the State Senate during the years 1805-1812 and 1817, and President of that body during the years 1807, 181 1, and 1812. On October 14, 181 1, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, which position he held for nine years. He was a Member of Congress during 1 8 14 and 181 5, and a Presidential Elector in 1820, when the Electoral College cast its vote on December 7 of that year, in favor of James Monroe for President. Together with Luther Lawrence, Esq., he represented the town in the Convention for altering the Constitution of Massachusetts, which met on November 15, 1820. On May 10, 1825, he was appointed by Lieutenant-Governor Morton one of the Commissioners, on the part of the Commonwealth, to run the line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Judge Dana died at Charlestown, on November 20, 1835, aged 68 years ; and his wife Rebecca, at Groton, on May 11, 1834, aged 54 years. His younger sister Mehitable Bowen Dana was the wife of the Honorable Samuel Bell, Governor of New Hampshire, and the mother of the Honorable Samuel Dana Bell, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of New Hampshire; of the Honorable James Bell, United States THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 35 Senator from the same State ; and of the late Dr. Luther V Bell, of Somerville, Massachusetts. William Merchant Richardson was the eldest son of Captain Daniel and Sarah (Merchant) Richardson, and born at Pelham, New Hampshire, on January 4, 1774. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in the Class of 1797, and imme- diately afterward obtained a situation as Assistant Preceptor of Leicester Academy, which place, owing to ill health, he was obliged to give up at the end of a year. He then went home to his father's farm in Pelham, where he tarried until he regained his strength, and soon afterward accepted the preceptorship of Groton Academy, — a position that had already been held by two of his classmates, Asahel Stearns and Leonard Mellen, who subsequently became lawyers as well as himself. He entered upon his new duties as Pre- ceptor in 1799, and taught in the Academy during four years. On October 7, 1799, Mr. Richardson was married to Betsey, daughter of Jesse Smith, of Pelham ; and they had seven children, of whom six lived to grow up and were married. While still engaged in the active work of teaching, he began the study of his chosen profession in the office of Judge Samuel Dana, of Groton, and was admitted to the bar at the June term of the Middlesex Court in 1804. Just before this time he had given up his position as preceptor of the Academy ; and he now entered into a partnership with Judge Dana, and this relation continued as long as he remained at Groton. On July 4, 1801, he delivered an address, in commemoration of the Anniversary of American Independence, which was afterward "published at the re- quest of the Committee of Arrangement." In July, 1804, he was appointed postmaster of the town, which office he held until January, 1812. On November 5, 18 10, he was chosen a representative to Congress, and later, on November 2, 1 81 2, again chosen, thus serving two terms in that body. In the year 18 14 he removed to Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire, and in 18 16 he became the Chief Justice of the 36 THE LAWYERS OE GROTON. Superior Court of Judicature of that State, which office he continued to hold, with great credit to himself and with satisfaction to the public, until the clay of his death. With him began the first published reports of judicial decisions, and his opinions extend through the first nine volumes of New Hampshire Reports. As a judge he was noted for the quickness of his apprehension, his ready application of the principles of common law, and his strict integrity. It has been said that he did more for the jurisprudence of his na- tive State than was ever accomplished by any other judge. He had a fondness for poetry, and in early life often in- dulged in writing poems on various occasions. He also possessed a fine taste for music, and played on the bass- viol, and he used to sing with his family at the domestic fireside. In the year 1 819 he removed from Portsmouth to Chester in the same State, and while living there, in No- vember, 1 83 1, with others he organized the Chester Musical Society, which was duly incorporated by the Legislature. Dartmouth College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. in 1827. Judge Richardson died at his farm in Chester, on March 15, 1838, deeply lamented by a loving family and by a wide circle of personal and professional friends. A sermon was preached at his funeral, on March 26, by the Reverend Jonathan Clement, of Chester, and subsequently printed; and a Sketch of his Life, written by the Honorable Charles Henry Bell, then a very young man, was published during the year following his death. Caleb Butler was a son of Caleb and Rebekah (Frost) Butler, and born at Pelham, New Hampshire, on September 13, 1776. He was the third son and the fifth child in a fam- ily of eleven children. In the year 1794 he attended the academy at Pelham, then kept by Daniel Hardy, where he re- mained less than a year; and afterward for a few weeks he went to another academy in a neighboring town. With the exception of his subsequent studies at home, which he pursued under the guidance of Preceptor Hardy, this was his sole prep- THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 37 aration for college. He passed a successful examination at Dartmouth, and joined the Freshman class of that institution, in February, 1797, during their second term. While at college he taught district schools in the winter time, — then a common practice among students. He graduated in the Class of 1800, with the highest honors, on which occasion he delivered a salutatory oration in Latin. During the succeeding year he remained at Hanover, teaching the Indian Charity School, which was then connected with the college. In February, 1802, he became preceptor of Groton Academy, and continued as such until August, 18 10, when he gave it up for an inter- val of two years; in 1812, resuming his former position, he held it until 1815, making his term of service in all nearly twelve years. While preceptor in 1807 he was chosen a Trustee of the institution, and held the office till his resigna- tion in 1836, a period of twenty-nine years. Teaching was an occupation congenial to his tastes, and his success in the calling was distinguished. At the Academy Jubilee, July 12, 1854, he was a conspicuous personage, and received special attention from his former scholars. On August 22, 1804, he was married to Clarissa, daughter of Parker and Dorcas (Brown) Varnum, of Dracut ; and they had a family of eight children, of whom Mrs. Francis Augustus Brooks, of Boston, is now the sole survivor. His wife was born at Dracut, on January 27, 1782, and died at Groton, on Sep- tember 5, 1862. While still teaching at the Academy he began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence at Groton, and was admitted to the bar of Middlesex County on March 18, 1 8 14. His subsequent practice was more in drawing up legal papers and settling estates than in attendance at the courts. His charges were always moderate, and many a widow and orphan had reason to be grateful to him for ser- vices wholly unrequited. On March 7, 18 15, Mr. Butler was chosen town-clerk, which office he held for three years; and on March 3, 1823, he was again chosen, and continued in the position for ten years more. On July 1, 1826, he succeeded Major James 38 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Lewis as postmaster of the town, and remained as such, to the entire satisfaction of the public, until January 15, 1839, when he was removed for political heresy. Before he was commissioned as postmaster himself, for eight years he had performed most of the duties of the office, during Major Lewis's term of service. Upon the change in the administration of the National Government, he was reinstated in the same office, on April 15, 1841. He continued to hold the position until December 21, 1846, when he was again removed for political reasons. Mr. Butler was a most obliging man, and his re- moval was received by the public with general regret. During his two terms he filled the office for more than eighteen years, — a longer period of time than has fallen to the lot of any other postmaster of the town. In 1825 he was appointed Surveyor, on the part of the Commonwealth, to establish the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. On May 4, 1829, he was chosen a representative to the Gen- eral Court; but he declined the office, and William Livermore was sent in his place. On July 12, 1826, he was appointed Chairman of Commissioners of Highways for Middlesex County. The title of this board was soon afterward changed to County Commissioners, and he continued as Chairman for fifteen years. Mr. Butler died, on October 7, 1854, at Groton, where his name is now perpetuated by three schools kept in the High School building, known respectively as the Butler Grammar, the Butler Intermediate, and the Butler Primary. There is also a Caleb Butler Lodge of Free Masons at Ayer, formerly a part of Groton. Mr. Butler was the author of a " History of the Town of Groton, including Pepperell and Shirley" (Boston, 1848), and of several Masonic addresses and historical pamphlets. Under a Resolve of the Legislature, passed on March 1, 1830, he made a Map of Groton, which was published by the town, in the spring of 1832. He also wrote an account of the total eclipse of the sun, June 16, 1806, which appeared in "The Medical and Agricultural Register for the years 1806 and 1807" (Boston), pages 122-125. He was a member of the THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 39 New England Historic Genealogical Society, and contributed an account of his branch of the Butler family to the quarterly Register (II. 355, III. 73, 353), published under the auspices of that Society. A sketch of his life appears in the " Me- morial Biographies " (II. 266-279), from which some of the facts contained in this notice are gathered. Timothy Fuller was a son of the Reverend Timothy and Sarah (Williams) Fuller, and born at Chilmark, on July 11, 1778. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1801, and studied law in the office of the Honorable Levi Lincoln, the elder, at Worcester. His parents had ten chil- dren, — five boys and five girls, — and all the sons became lawyers. On May 28, 1809, Timothy was married to Mar- garet, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Jones | Wyzer) Crane, of Canton ; and they had seven children. Mr. Fuller was admitted to the bar during the October term of the Court of Common Pleas, 1804, in Boston, where he at once opened an office in Court Street. With the ex- ception of one year, his name appears in the annual direc- tories from 1805 to 1833, where he is put down as a counsellor. Soon after his marriage he bought a dwelling-house in Cam- bridgeport, where his children were born and brought up. While a resident of Cambridge, he was chosen, on April 5, 1813, a member of the State Senate, and re-chosen during the following three years. On November 4, 18 16, he was chosen, as the Democratic candidate, a member of Congress, and re- chosen during the following four terms, making a service of ten years in that capacity. After his retirement from Con- gress he was elected, on May 2, 1825, a member of the Massa- chusetts House of Representatives, of which body he became the Speaker for that year ; and he was again elected, on May 7, 1827, and May n, 1831, for those two years a member of the House. He also served as one of the Executive Council for the civil year ending May, 1829. In June, 1833, Mr. Fuller removed from Cambridge to Groton, where he bought an estate of fifty acres. Attributing his own success in life largely to the habits of industry ac- 40 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. quired by an early experience on a farm, he was desirous to subject his boys to the same hardening process. He was pre- viously familiar with the town, as his eldest child, Margaret, had been a pupil for two years in Miss Susan Prescott's School for Young Ladies, and he had then been impressed with the natural attractions of the place. In the Sketch of "Chaplain Fuller" (Boston, 1863), by his brother Richard Frederic Fuller, the author writes : — The new family residence was in Groton, Massachusetts, a pros- perous town of Middlesex County, distant some thirty miles from Boston, and at that time principally devoted to agriculture. The house and grounds had been fitted up with much care and expense by Samuel Dana, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. The white mansion, situated upon a gradual eminence, looked compla- cently upon the blue Wachusett, Monadnock, and Peterborough Hills. It was quite attractive to childish eyes, its ample front bathed in the sunlight, seeming, on approach, to expand into a smile of welcome (page 20). Soon after the family's arrival at their new home, Margaret Fuller writes to the Reverend Dr. Frederic Henry Hedge, as appears in her Life, by Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson : — I highly enjoy being surrounded with new and beautiful natural objects. My eyes and my soul were so weary of Cambridge scenery, my heart would not give access to a summer feeling there. The evenings lately have been those of Paradise, and I have been very happy in them. The people here much more agreeable than in most country towns ; there is no vulgarity of manners, but little of feeling, and I hear no gossip (pages 43, 44). While a resident of Groton Mr. Fuller did not wholly re- tire from active business, for his clients still sought him out and led him occasionally into the courts. After a short ill- ness he died at his home, on October 1, 1835, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery at Cambridge. Among my ear- liest recollections as a boy is attending his funeral in company with my father. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 4 1 Mr. Fuller had two sons, who followed in his professional footsteps, — his eldest son Eugene and Richard Frederic, who both are noticed in this Number. For an account of the Fuller family, see " The New Eng- land Historical and Genealogical Register" (XIII. 351-363) for October, 1859. Luther Lawrence was the eldest child of Major Samuel and Susanna (Parker) Lawrence, and born at Groton, on September 28, 1778. His father had been an officer in the Revolutionary Army, but resigned his commission on Sep- tember 12, 1778, a short time before the birth of the son. Luther began to attend school "at Groton Academy in the year 1794, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1 801. Among his classmates were Tyler Bigelow, Thomas Bond, James Abbot Cummings, Timothy Fuller, Dr. Joseph Mansfield, Stephen Minot, and William Bant Sullivan, all either natives of Groton or at some time residents of the town. He began the study of law under the tuition of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, whose sister he afterward married. After his admission to the bar in June, 1804, he opened an office in his native town, where he soon gained a large practice. On June 2, 1805, he was married to Lucy, daughter of Colonel Timothy and Anna (Andrews) Bigelow, of Worcester; and one son and four daughters were born to them, of whom Mrs. Anna Maria (Lawrence) Seaver, of Rutland, Vermont, is the last survivor. After his marriage he lived in the house at the corner of Common and Main Streets, just north of the site of the Baptist Meeting-house ; and here his eldest child, Mrs. Seaver, was born. When his preceptor and brother-in- law, Mr. Bigelow, removed from Groton to Medford in the year 1806, Mr. Lawrence took possession of his dwelling. It was situated on Main Street, nearly opposite to the site of the Town House, though it has since been moved away. He continued to live in the Bigelow house until November, 181 1, when he removed to the one, then just built, immedi- ately south of the old house, and now owned by Mrs. Eliel Sh um way. 6 42 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. During twelve years, from 1812 to 1822, both inclusive, and in 1830, Mr. Lawrence represented the town of Groton in the lower branch of the Legislature; and in 1822 he was the Speaker of that body. On October 16, 1820, he was chosen a delegate to the Convention for altering the Constitution of Massachusetts. In 181 1 he was chosen a Trustee of Groton Academy, which position he held until the day of his death. While a resident of Groton he always took a deep interest in the affairs of the town, and on all occasions he was both willing and ready to serve his neighbors in a private or public capacity. While a law student he interested himself much in military matters, and joined the South Company, of which Mr. Bigelow was the Captain. At that time there were, beside the Groton Artillery Company, two other mili- tary companies in the town, known respectively as the North Company and the South Company, of which the former was made up of Democrats, and the latter of Federalists. The young men of the neighborhood, ambitious of political prefer- ment, were very sure to join one or the other of these com- mands. Mr. Lawrence succeeded Mr. Bigelow as the Captain of the company ; and I have been told by persons who remem- ber those times that he was an excellent officer and a strict disciplinarian. For some references to these companies, see the first volume of this Historical Series, No. VII. (page 8), and No. VIII. (pages 6 and 7). The town of Lowell was incorporated on March 1, 1826, and its rapid growth attracted a population not only from the neighborhood but from distant places. In the spring of 1 831 Mr. Lawrence removed to the new town, where his brothers had large interests in the manufacturing companies, which were the cause of its prosperity. He soon acquired a wide and lucrative practice, in which Elisha Glidden, Esq., was asso- ciated with him as a law-partner. He was one of the original Directors of the Railroad Bank organized in the year 1831, and the first President of that institution, holding the office at the time of his death. On March 5, 1838, he was chosen Mayor of the city, and the next year re-chosen with but little opposition. On April 1, 1839, he entered upon the duties of THE LAWYERS. OF GROTON. 43 his office for the second term ; but soon his career was sud- denly ended. While showing one of the buildings forming a part of the Middlesex Mills to his friend and kinsman, Tyler Bigelow, Esq., of Watertown, he was killed, on April 17, 1839, by falling into a wheel-pit. His head struck against a cast-iron wheel, and death ensued in a few minutes. The news spread rapidly throughout the city, and carried sadness to every heart ; and a special session of the City Council was called the same evening, when appropriate action was taken on the melancholy event. The family declined a public fu- neral ; and the remains were buried in his native town. I distinctly remember that the funeral procession was met at the Common and followed to the Old Burying Ground by a large concourse of people, irrespective of age or sex, while the bells of the village tolled their solemn knell. The following announcement of his death is found in the " Daily Centinel and Gazette " (Boston), April 18, 1839: — MELANCHOLY EVENT. It is our painful duty, to announce the sudden death of the Hon. Luther Lawrence, Mayor of Lowell, in that city, yesterday fore- noon, about eleven o'clock. Having occasion to examine some operations of workmen, at the Middlesex Mills, and standing at the moment on verge of the wheel-pit, he made a false step and fell into the pit, about twenty feet down. The fall proved fatal. — He was taken up insensible, and died in about fifteen minutes. This melancholy event created a general gloom in Lowell, and produced much sensation in this city, yesterday afternoon. Mr. Lawrence was formerly Speaker of our House of Representatives, and was extensively known and appreciated throughout the State, as one of our most intelligent and valuable citizens. As Mayor of Lowell, for the present and past years, he was faithful and efficient, and his death is universally lamented. The Reverend Henry Adolph Miles preached a sermon on Mr. Lawrence's death, at the South Congregational Church in Lowell, on April 21, 1839, which was afterward printed. A sketch of Mr. Lawrence is given in the " Contributions of 44 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. the Old Residents' Historical Association" (I. 1 39-141), under the heading of "The Mayors of Lowell." Benjamin Mark Farley was a son of Benjamin and Lucy (Fletcher) Farley, and born, on April 8, 1783, in that part of Hollis, New Hampshire, which was afterward set off to Brookline. He was fitted for college at New Ipswich Acad- emy, now known as Appleton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1804. He then began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Abijah Bigelow, of Leominster. While living in that town, by an Act of the Legislature passed on February 27, 1807, hi s name was changed from Mark Farley to Benjamin Mark Farley. After his admission to the bar he opened an office in Hollis, where he resided, with the exception of three or four years, until 1855, when he removed to Boston. Occupying a position of large influence among his fellow-townsmen, he never failed to use it for their interest and welfare. He was chosen a repre- sentative to the New Hampshire Legislature from the town of Hollis in 18 14, and with the exception of five years continued to hold the office until 1829. He served as a member of the School Committee for twenty-five years. In his profes- sion he stood at the head of the Hillsborough bar, and for several years was President of the Hillsborough County Bar. From 1833 to 1843 he was a Trustee of Groton Academy. In the spring of 1834 Mr. Farley removed from Hollis to Groton, where he occupied an office in connection with his brother George Frederick. He lived in the house, next south of the office, which he had built during the previous year. In the autumn of 1837 he returned to Hollis; and his son-in-law, the Reverend Dudley Phelps, who was then settled as a minister over the Union Congregational Church, and just married, took the same dwelling, and occupied it. It is now owned by Colonel Daniel Needham. In the year 1855 he left Hollis and went to Boston, where he resided with another son-in-law, George Bancroft, in Shaw- mut Avenue, though he did not engage in active practice, as he had acquired an ample competence from his profession. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 45 He died, on September 16, 1865, at Lunenburg, where he had been passing the summer, and was buried, on September 20, at Hollis. A Funeral Discourse was preached on the occasion by the Reverend Pliny Butts Day, and afterward published, Mr. Farley was married, at Leominster, on September 26, 1805, first, to Lucretia, daughter of the Reverend Francis and Sarah (Gibson) Gardner, of Leominster, who died on April 28, 1819, aged 35 years ; and at Pepperell, on Septem- ber 17, 1828, secondly, to Mrs. Lucretia (Bullard) Parker, daughter of the Reverend John and Elizabeth (Adams) Bul- lard, of Pepperell, and widow of Samuel Parker. The first wife was one of twin sisters, born on June 18, 1783, — the other twin being Lucinda, who died at Leominster, on April 17, 1826. The second wife died at No. 32 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, on February 26, 1862, aged 79 years and 8 months. Samuel Farnsworth was the eldest child of Levi and Abigail (Harrington) Farnsworth, and born at Shirley, on April 16, 1783. He was attending school at Groton Academy in the year 1803, and studied law probably in the office of Judge Dana at Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in October, 18 17, and, according to " The Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar for the Year of our Lord 1 816," and the eight succeeding annual issues of the publication, he was an attorney at Groton, either of the Cir- cuit Court of Common Pleas or of the Supreme Judicial Court, during that period, although probably not a resident of the town for all those years. He afterward went to Tusca- loosa, Alabama, where he is said to have ended his days. Mr. Farnsworth was a descendant of Jonathan, the youngest married son of Matthias, who was an early settler of the town. Abraham Moore was a son of Dr. Abraham and Sarah (Johnson) Moore, and born at Bolton, on January 5, 1785. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1806, and studied law under the tuition of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton ; and soon after his admission to the bar, 46 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. he established himself as a lawyer in the town. On July 4, 1808, he delivered an address at Groton on the occasion of a celebration which took place under the auspices of the Fed- eralists. For an account of the affair, see Volume II. of this Historical Series (pages 384-386). On January 31, 18 12, he was appointed postmaster, and acted in that capacity until the summer of 18 15, when he removed to Boston. His office was situated near Hall's tavern, on the site of the north end of Gerrish's block, as it stood until recently ; and the post-office was kept in the same place. Mr. Moore was married about the year 1809 to a clever young actress from England, who was known professionally as Mrs. Woodham. John Bernard, an Englishman and the author of a book entitled " Retrospections of America, 1797- 181 1 " (New York, 1887), in describing a trip to Canada in the year 18 10, says: — At Groton we made our first halt in order to pay a visit of a few hours to Mrs. [Mary] Moore (late Mrs. Woodham), who, with her new husband, a solicitor, had retired from all the cares and allure- ments of the world to this secluded village. Pleased as I was to see her happiness, I confess that it surprised me, considering that a few months before all her pleasure had seemed to centre in her profession (pages 345, 346). Mrs. Moore's maiden name was Mills, and Mr. Moore was her third husband. She had been married, first, to a Mr. Barnard, by whom she had a son ; and, secondly, to Mr. Woodham. The son's name was William, and he attended school at Groton Academy in 1809. I have heard it said that he became a scene-painter, and that he died many years ago. Mrs. Moore's mother before her marriage was Susanna Cun- ningham, and she also had had three husbands, named, respec- tively, Dalrymple, Mills, and Cunningham, — all Scotchmen. An interesting account of these various family ramifications is found in " The New-England Historical and Genealogical Register" (XXVI. 47) for January, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were blessed with three children, — a son born on May 7, 18 10, who died in early infancy (see THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 47 " Groton Epitaphs," page 135) ; Mary Frances, who married, on November 23, 1829, John Cochran Park, Esq., in Boston, where she died, on February 8, 1852, aged 40 years, 7 months, and 27 days; and Susan Varnum, who married Granville Mears, and died in Boston, on November 15, 1883, aged 68 years. All these children were born at Groton. I do not know the date of Mrs. Moore's death ; but Mr. Moore was married, on September 19, 18 19, in Boston, sec- ondly, to Eliza, daughter of Isaac and Eliza Durell, who died on January 19, 1858, aged 65 years. The husband also died in Boston four years previously, on January 30, 1854. During the last war with England Mr. Moore occupied the house built by Dr. Oliver Prescott, at the southerly end of Main Street. At that period it was one of those hospitable mansions where Lieutenant Chase used occasionally to march his recruits in order to refresh the inner man, as mentioned in the first volume of this Historical Series (No. VIII. page 6). Mr. Moore was a man of military tastes, fond of the good things of this life, who always took great pleasure in entertaining his friends. He afterward lived in the dwelling just south of the First Parish Meeting-house, which was bought in the summer of 1836 by the Trustees of Groton Academy. His style of living was beyond his means, and just before leaving the town he made a grand failure. His creditors levied upon the estate, and nothing was saved from the financial wreck. Mrs. Moore went back to the stage, and died soon afterward ; she is still remembered by a few persons who speak of her in terms of great kindness and respect. Colonel William War- land Clapp, in his " Record of the Boston Stage " (Boston, 1853), says: — In 1816 two actresses of merit made their appearance. Mrs. Moore, formerly Mrs. Woodham, who has many descendants, highly respected in society, still living in this city, was an interesting actress, and her Lady Teazle was an admirable impersonation (page 145). Abraham Andrews was a son of Solomon and Sarah (Bradford) Andrews, — the eldest of nine children, — and was 48 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. born at Hillsborough, New Hampshire, on December 14, 1786. In the year 1802 or 1803 his father removed to the adjoining town of Windsor, where he died on March 29, 1840; and his mother died at Warner in the same State, on November 16, 1856. The son pursued his preparatory studies, first, under the tuition of his maternal uncle, the Reverend Ephraim Putnam Bradford, of New Boston, New Hampshire, and later at Phillips Exeter Academy. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 181 1, which, at the com- pletion of their college course, contained fifty-five members, of whom ten were either natives of Groton or at some time in their lives residents of the town. Immediately afterward he began to read law in the office of the Honorable Clifton Claggett, of Amherst, New Hampshire, where he remained until the following October, when he engaged in teaching at Brighton, now a part of Boston, and continued in that calling till April, 18 1 3. He then resumed the study of law, entering the office of Aaron Flint, Esq., of Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, where he remained for several months, when he took charge of a public school in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Endowed with a natural aptitude for giving instruction, he met with remarkable success in his chosen profession, which from this time forward continued to be that of a teacher. During most of this period he was Head Master of the Bow- doin School for girls in Boston, where there were annually not less than five hundred scholars. In the spring of 1855, after a service of more than thirty years in connection with this school, he resigned the mastership, and bought a place in Groton, situated on Farmers' Row, near the western end of the Broad Meadow Road. Here he lived for ten years, respected and honored, when he removed to Charlestown, where he died on March 7, 1869. While a resident of Groton, he took an active interest in the schools of the town, and for seven years was a member of the School Committee. On April 30, 182 1, Mr. Andrews was married, first, to Eliza Rhoades, eldest child of Captain Benjamin and Hannah (Rhoades) Swift, of Charlestown, who was born on April 14, 1797, and died on October 2, 1829; and, on November 14, THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 49 1830, secondly, to Caroline Swift (a sister of his first wife), who was horn on May 29, 1807, and died on April 20, 1882. George Frederick Farley was a son of Benjamin and Lucy (Fletcher) Farley, of Brookline, New Hampshire, and born at Dunstable, Massachusetts, on April 5, 1793, while his mother was on a visit at her father's house. He fitted for college at Westford Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 18 16. After leaving Cambridge he began the study of law with his brother Benjamin Mark Farley, at Brookline, New Hampshire, and later with the Honorable Luther Lawrence at Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1820, and soon afterward opened an office at New Ipswich, where he practised his profession until 1 83 1, when he removed to Groton. Here he remained till his death, though during the last few years of his life he had an office in Boston and Charlestown, but not simulta- neously, as well as one at home. He was a good lawyer, an acute logician, and an able man. See the second volume of this Historical Series (pages 325-328), for an account of Mr. Farley, where an estimate of his character is given by Governor Boutwell. Mr. Farley was married at Ashby, on November 25, 1823, to Lucy, daughter of John and Lucy (Hubbard) Rice. His wife was born in that town on March I, 1799, and died at Groton on September 1, 1854. On August 24, 1836, he was chosen a Trustee of Groton Academy, now known as Law- rence Academy, and on July 18, 1854, was elected President of the Board, which position he held until the time of his death. He died at Groton on November 8, 1855 ; and two days later the members of the Middlesex bar met in Lowell and passed resolutions, expressing their sympathy with the bereaved family and lamenting the loss to the legal profession caused by his decease. Mr. Farley was considered one of the most eminent and successful lawyers not only in the County, but in the Common- wealth, and yet to-day his career at the bar is little more than 5Cthe time taking charge of the farm. He was clerk of theVCommittee on the revision of the Laws of the United States, in the winter of i8y6-/j, during the Forty-fourth Congress, and after the adjournment of that Congress he helped his father for a short time in revising the Statutes at Large of the United States. From November 20, 1883, to April 1, 1884, he was one of the assistants to his father, who THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 73 was the counsel for the Government, before the French and American Claims Commission. At the date last named the Commission, having completed its work, ceased to exist. Mr. Boutwell is much interested in agricultural matters as well as in the history of his native town. He has been an officer in various organizations for promoting the welfare of the farmers, and he is also the author of several pamphlets on antiquarian subjects. Theophilus Gilman Smith is a son of Theophilus Staniells and Mary Burley (Gilman) Smith, and born at Stratham, New Hampshire, on December 29, 1848. He pursued his preparatory studies at the Somerville High School, and grad- uated at Harvard College in the Class of 1871. He studied law in the office of Judge E. Rockwood Hoar, Boston, and also attended lectures at the School of Law connected with the Boston University, where he received the degree of LL.B. on June 3, 1874. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar on April 13, 1874, at which time he was a resident of Somerville, and since then has had an office in Boston. In the autumn of 1887 he removed with his family to Groton, where he bought a farm in the southerly part of the town, which he manages in connection with his professional busi- ness at Boston. On May 11, 1875, he was married at Somerville to Julia Warton, daughter of George and Marie (Warton) Kaan, who is a native of New York City. Her father was born at Nagy Canizsa, Hungary, on April 23, 1812, and her mother at Iglau, Austria, on March 23, 1824. James Lawrence is the eldest son of James and Elizabeth (Prescott) Lawrence, and was born in Boston, on March 23, 1853. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1874, and afterward entered Harvard Law School, where he passed two terms, though he never completed his professional studies. On his father's death he inherited the Lawrence homestead at Groton, and since that time has been extensively engaged in farming; and raising; stock. 74 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. On January 16, 1875, Mr. Lawrence was married to Caro- line Estelle, youngest daughter of Enoch Redington and Caroline Augusta (Patten) Mudge, of Boston ; and they have two sons and a daughter. John Lawrence is a son of Abbott and Harriette White (Paige) Lawrence, and was born in Boston, on April 27, 1861. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1885, and afterward passed more than two years at the Harvard Law School, though he never was admitted to the bar. In 1890 he became a resident of Groton, where he lives on Farmers' Row. On June 16, 1887, Mr. Lawrence was married to Martha Endicott, only daughter of Samuel Endicott and Marianne Cabot (Lee) Peabody, of Salem ; and they have two daughters. Among the lawyers, who have lived and practised in the town, are two Governors of the Commonwealth, one United States Senator, three members of Congress, besides a Dele- gate to the Continental Congress, a member of the President's Cabinet, various Justices and Chief Justices of different Courts, three Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Rep- resentatives, an Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, a President of the State Senate, and two members of the Executive Council. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 75 MAJOR SWAN AND MR. ROVVE. Sketches of Major Swan and Mr. Rowe are here inserted, inasmuch as their work was largely of a professional char- acter, although they were not lawyers. They seem to deserve a place in this Account. William Swan was a son of William and Levinah (Keyes) Swan, and born in Boston, on March 18, 1745. About the year 1774 he became engaged in trade at Groton, but owing to the political condition of the country and the pecu- liar state of the currency, he was soon compelled to give up business. In 1777 he belonged to a company of soldiers that marched from Groton to Saratoga in order to take part in the campaign against Burgoyne's army. During the Revolutionary period the courts were held at Groton ; and from May 28, 1783, to 1789, Mr. Swan was the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. On December 2, 1789, he was appointed Justice of the Peace, with authority to act as Trial Justice. On October 19, 1778, he was commissioned, by a majority of the Council of Massachusetts Bay as Captain in the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, and was the first com- mander of the Groton Artillery Company ; and under this authority he did a large amount of official work. In 1793, when Groton Academy was incorporated, he acted as treas- urer of the institution ; and in many other ways he was a useful citizen of the town. In August, 1794, Major Swan removed to Otisfield, Maine, where he remained until March, 1796, when he went to Gardiner, and thence in 1806, to Win- slow. He was a member from that town of the Convention that met at Portland in October, 18 19, and framed the Consti- tution of the prospective State of Maine. He was a man of strict integrity and high character, and always a strong sup- porter of religious and educational institutions. He died at Winslow, on June 24, 1835 5 an< ^ ^ ls w ^ e at the sam e place, on September 15, 18 15. j6 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. In 1776 Mr. Swan was married at Groton to Mercy Porter, of Weymouth ; and they were blessed with ten children, of whom eight were born at Groton, and the others in Maine. He built the large house on the north side of School Street, now owned by Charles Woolley. See the present volume (pages 96-98) of this Historical Series, for other particulars concerning Mr. Swan and his family. Samuel William Rowe was a son of Samuel Osburn and Martha (Woods) Rowe, and born at Groton, on June 13, 1803. In early life he was a carpenter by trade, but during many of his later years he performed so much judicial labor that I am constrained to notice him in this Account. On May 7, 1858, he was appointed Trial Justice, and his commission was many times renewed. His fellow townsmen gave him the title of Judge, which seemed to comport with his natural dignity. Mr. Rowe was married, on December 23, 1832, first, to Amelia, daughter of Zechariah, Jr., and Amelia (Blood) Fitch, of Groton; on April 30, 1846, secondly, to Lucy, daughter of Rufus and Lucy (Sawtell) Moors, of Groton, who died on September 21, 1879; and, on January 19, 1881, thirdly, to Louisa, daughter of Alexander and Anna (Barrett) Lynch, of Mason, New Hampshire. There was a legal separation between Mr. Rowe and his first wife, who is still living. He died at Groton on January 15, 1884. NATIVES OF GROTON, AND PERSONS CONNECTED RY RESIDENCE WITH THE TOWN, WHO HAVE PRACTISED LAW ELSEWHERE. William Amos Bancroft is the eldest son of Charles and Lydia Emeline (Spaulding) Bancroft, and was born at Groton, on April 26, 1855. He attended school at Lawrence Acad- emy, Groton, and afterward at Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1878. He studied law at the Harvard Law School, and also in the office of William Burnham Stevens, Esq., at Boston, and was ad- mitted to the Suffolk bar on November 21, 1881. In the year 1885 he was appointed Superintendent of the Cambridge Rail- road Company, and in 1888, after its union with the West End Street Railway Company, was made General Roadmaster of the consolidated line, from which, after one year's service, he retired in order to resume the practice of his profession. Mr. Bancroft has always taken a deep interest in military matters, and during his Freshman year at college enlisted in Company B, Fifth Massachusetts Militia Regiment. On March 31, 1879, ne was commissioned as Captain of the com- pany, and, on February 7, 1882, as Colonel of the regiment, a position which he still holds. He has also been much interested in boating, and as an undergraduate was a noted oarsman. He was a member of the Cambridge Common Council for one year (1882), and also of the House of Repre- sentatives during 1883, 1884, and 1885. On December 2, 1890, he was chosen a member of the Board of Aldermen, 78 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. and upon its organization at the beginning of the year 1891, was made the President of the body ; and on December 8, 1 891, was re-chosen to the same body, and by a unanimous vote again made the presiding officer. On January 18, 1879, Colonel Bancroft was married to Mary, daughter of Joseph and Catharine (Perry) Shaw, of Boston; and they have three children. He is now engaged in the active practice of his profession, having an office in Boston. Albert Marshall Bigelow is a son of Josiah and Harriet Munroe (Sawin) Bigelow, and was born at Brighton, on May 5, 1835. His father bought the Judge Dana place, at the head of Farmers' Row, in 1850, when he removed to Groton, where he died on January 20, 1857. The son received his early education at the Boston Latin School, Roxbury Latin School, and Lawrence Academy, and in 1852 entered Am- herst College, where he remained three years. When at school and college, he never wrote his middle name, either in full or as an initial letter, though it rightfully belonged to him; but since that period he has always used it. In 1857 he began the study of law in New York City, where he was admitted to the bar in 1859, and where he continued to prac- tise until 1883, when he retired from the profession. On December 18, 1862, Mr. Bigelow was married, first, to Lucy Brace, daughter of the Reverend Dr. John and Mary Skinner (Brace) Todd, of Pittsfield, who died at Montclair, New Jersey, on June 15, 1878, leaving two sons and a daugh- ter; and, on April 13, 1880, in New York, secondly, to Mary Anna, daughter of Clark and Nancy (Perry) Wheelock, by whom there are two children, — a son and a daughter. In 1855 and 1857 his first wife was attending school at Lawrence Academy; and from January 3, 1827, to January 8, 1833, her father was the minister of the Union Congregational Church at Groton. Mr. Bigelow is now a resident of Morristown, New Jersey. John Prescott Bigelow was the second son of the Hon- orable Timothy and Lucy (Prescott) Bigelow, and born at THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 79 Groton, on August 25, 1797. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard Col- lege in the Class of 18 15. After leaving Cambridge he read law, first in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, his uncle by marriage, and afterward in the office of his father; and in 18 18 he was admitted to the Suffolk bar. The large and lucrative practice of his father at once opened a wide field for the young advocate, and for a time he was en- gaged in the practice of his profession, attaining a high posi- tion, which promised him future eminence at the bar if he had continued to devote himself to the law. Very early in life Mr. Bigelow took a deep interest in poli- tics, and as a writer on the public topics of the day he ac- quired considerable reputation. He was also a warm supporter of the militia as well as an active member, at one time hold- ing the position of Captain of the Medford Independent Light Infantry, and subsequently Division Inspector of the Militia. On December 11, 1826, he was chosen a member of the Common Council of the city of Boston from Ward No. 9, and re-chosen for the six following years, holding the pres- idency of the body during the last two terms. On May 8, 1828, he was elected by the Whigs a member of the House of Representatives, and, with the single exception of 1833, he was re-elected until 1835. On January 14, 1836, by a joint Convention of the House and Senate, he was chosen Secretary of the Commonwealth, a position which he filled for eight years with marked ability ; and on January 4, 1845, by a joint Convention he was chosen a member of the Executive Council, and held the place for five years, thus concluding a term of official life at the State House which in length is per- haps without a precedent in modern times. On December 1 1, 1848, he was elected Mayor of Boston, and re-elected during the two following years, holding the office for three succes- sive terms. Two of the Mayors of Boston have been natives of Groton, and their birthplaces are within a few rods of each other. After leaving active public life, Mr. Bigelow became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Public Library, an 8o THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. institution in which he always took much interest. The first gift of money to the library was made in his name. Upon his retirement from office his friends raised a subscription with the intention to present to him a silver vase, not only as a mark of their appreciation of his public services, but as a tes- timonial of their personal esteem. Mr. Bigelow was strongly opposed to the gift, and when it was suggested that the money be given to the library, the proposition met with his warm approval ; and the donation was accordingly made. When he retired from the Trusteeship, the City Council, on January 29, 1869, passed some flattering resolutions, setting forth his continued interest in the library, and recognizing him as the founder of the institution. On March 8, 1824, Mr. Bigelovv was married to Louisa Anne, daughter of David L. Brown, an English landscape painter, who was at that time a resident of Boston. She was a native of Liverpool, England, and died in London, on Oc- tober 22, 1847, during a temporary visit, aged 47 years. Mr. Bigelow died at his residence in Boston, on July 4, 1872, and bequeathed $10,000 to Lawrence Academy. His father was one of the original Trustees, and served through a period of twenty years. Bigelow Hall, a dormitory of the institution built during the autumn of 1863, was named for the son. Thomas Bond was a son of Thomas and Esther (Merriam) Bond, and born at Groton, on April 2, 1778. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated at Har- vard College in the Class of 1801. Eight members of this class were either natives of Groton or at some time residents of the town. In the year 1 796 his father's family removed to Augusta, Maine. After graduation Thomas began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Samuel Sumner Wilde, of Hallo- well, Maine, with whom, soon after his admission to the bar, he became associated as a partner. This business connection continued until Mr. Wilde was raised to the bench of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, when Mr. Bond took sole charge of the affairs of the office. For more than twenty years he maintained a high and honorable position at THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 8 I the bar, faithfully fulfilling all trusts, and earning the reputation of an able lawyer and an honest man. He was a firm and steadfast Federalist in his politics, and when the War of 1812 brought out the conservatives of Maine and New England, he was chosen, during the years 181 3 and 18 14, to represent the town of Hallowell in the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives. In 1822 and 1823 he was a member of the Senate of Maine from Kennebec County; and in 1826 he was ap- pointed, on the part of the Senate, a Commissioner to revise the penal code of that State. In 1824 he was chosen a Trus- tee of Bowdoin College, which he continued to hold until the time of his death, on March 28, 1827, at Hallowell. On December 1, 1805, Mr. Bond was married to Lucretia Flagg, daughter of Dr. Benjamin and Abigail (Odlin) Page, of Hallowell ; and they had a family of three children, one son and two daughters, all now dead. See North's History of Augusta (pages 805, 806), for a sketch of the family. In Hallowell, (Me.) on Wednesday last, Hon. Thomas Bond, aged 48. Mr. Bond was a native of Groton in this State. He graduated in 1801 at Harvard University, and held a distinguished rank in his class. On leaving college, he became a student, and afterwards a partner in the office of Judge Wilde. He represented Hallowell for several years in the Legislature of Massachusetts, and after the separation of Maine, was elected a Senator for. two succeeding years. "The Massachusetts Spy, and Worcester County Advertiser " (Worcester) , April 4, 1S27. Henry Adams Bullard was the second son of the Rev- erend John and Elizabeth (Adams) Bullard, and born at Groton, on September 9, 1788. His father was the settled minister of Pepperell, but the printed accounts of his life say that he was born at Groton, which is my authority for the statement. He fitted for college at Groton Academy, — as also did two of his brothers, — and graduated at Harvard Col- lege in the Class of 1807. He studied law, first in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and then in the office of Peter A. Browne, Esq., of Philadelphia. Soon after- 82 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. ward, in the spring of 1813, he joined a revolutionary ex- pedition against a part of Mexico, in which he acted as an aide and military secretary to the leader, Don Jose" Alvarez Toledo. The revolutionists were badly defeated at San An- tonio, and Bullard suffered many hardships. On his return he reached Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he established himself and began the practice of his profession, in which he soon reached a prominent position. He was a Justice of the Sixth District Court of Louisiana from the year 1822 to 183 1 ; a Representative in Congress from Alexandria and New Orleans (Twenty-first, Twenty-second, and Thirty-first Con- gresses), 1831-1834, 1850, 1851 ; a Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. 1834-1846, with the exception of a few months in 1839, when he acted as Secretary of State. Judge Bullard was the first president of the Louisiana Historical Society, and also a Corresponding Member of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society. In 1847, while resident of New Orleans, he was appointed Professor of Civil Law in the Law School of Louisiana; and in 1850 he was chosen a member of the Legislature. A short time afterward he was elected to the Thirty-first Congress to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of the Honorable Charles Magill Conrad, who had been appointed Secretary of War in President Fillmore's cabinet. After the adjournment of Congress, on his return home, Mr. Bullard was prostrated by the fatigue of the travel, and after lingering three weeks, died in New Orleans, on April 17, 185 1. Judge Bullard was married to Sarah Keasar (?), a South- ern lady, and had several children. John Haskell Butler is a son of John and Mary Jane (Barker) Butler, and was born at Middleton, on August 31, 1 84 1. In the year 1854 his father removed to Groton, where he died on February 10, 1870. The son obtained his early educational training in the district schools of Groton and Shirley, and at Lawrence Academy, where he fitted ior college. He graduated at Yale College in the Class of 1863, and began the study of his profession in the office of Griffin THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 83 (J. Q. A.) and Stearns (Wm. S.) at Charlestown. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in October, 1868, and at once formed a business connection with Mr. Stearns, his former preceptor, which has continued uninterruptedly since that time. He is now a resident of Somerville ; and in 1880 and 1 88 1 represented Ward No. 1 of that city in the House of Representatives. He has also served twelve years as a mem- ber of the Somerville School Board. On April 29, 1884, he was chosen by the Legislature a member of the Executive Council, in place of the Honorable Charles Rankin McLean, deceased, and during the two following years was re-chosen by the voters of the district. He is connected with a large number of secret societies and social organizations, and in some of them holds high office. On January 1, 1870, Mr. Butler was married, at Pittston, Pennsylvania, to Laura Louisa, daughter of Jabez Benedict and Mary (Ford) Bull ; and they have one son, John Lawton Butler. Ira Osborn Carter was a son of Lewis and Sarah (Sawyer) Carter, and born at Berlin, Massachusetts, on November 18, 1832. He graduated at Paducah College (Kentucky) in the Class of 1853, and afterward was connected with the institu- tion as a professor. On March 6, i860, he was married to Susan French, daughter of Walter and Roxana (Fletcher) Shattuck, of Groton. In the autumn of 1863 he was a mem- ber of the Harvard Law School, where he remained one term ; and in the annual catalogue he is put clown as a resident of Groton. He died at Arlington, — where he had lived for twenty years, — on February 13, 1885, leaving no children, and was buried in his native town. Moses Gill Cobb is an only son of Elias Hull and Rebecca Buttrick (Gill) Cobb, and was born at Princeton, on November 24, 1820. The father's family removed to Groton in 1834, and the son was attending Groton Academy during the same year. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1843, which he entered during the Sophomore year. In 1846 he 84 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. took the degree of LL.B. at the Harvard Law School, where he had passed two years. In the annual catalogues of the College, during the Sophomore year, he is put down as of Groton, and, during the Junior and Senior years, as of Spring- field, but, while in the Law School, he appears as of Charles- town. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar on January 26, 1846, and began the practice of his profession in Charlestown, where he was associated in business with General James Dana, at No. 40 Main Street. In May, 1847, t0 ^ a vacancy, he was chosen a member of the Common Council from Ward No. 1 of that city, and, during the next year, was re-chosen to the same office ; and in the autumn of 1853, to fill another vacancy, he was elected an Alderman from Ward No. 2. In the year 1855 he removed with his family to Dorchester, at the same time keeping his office in Charlestown. While a resident of Dorchester, he was chosen a member of the Ex- ecutive Council for 1856, and he also served on the School Board for several years. Mr. Cobb took a warm interest in military matters, and, as early as 1853, was prominent in organizing a company of Light Artillery, which before the War of the Rebellion had some local celebrity. At the breaking out of the War, he was active in the enlistment of another company, with the understanding that he was to be captain ; but near the end of July, 1861, owing to financial troubles, he was obliged to give up his command, then sta- tioned at Camp Wollaston, Quincy, and, on July 31, Captain Ormand Francis Nims was commissioned in his place. This company, under the name of Nims's Battery, afterward acquired considerable fame in the army for its gallant services. On October 14, 1846, Mr. Cobb was married to Sophia, daughter of Edmund and Sophia (Sewall) Munroe, of Boston ; and there have been six children. Since leaving Boston more than thirty years ago, he has been a resident of California ; and his present address is San Francisco. Amos Henry Farnswoktii is the eldest son of Dr. Amos and Mary (Bourne | Webber) Farnsworth, and was born in Boston, on August 8, 1825. His father removed to Groton THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 85 in the year 1832, though for many generations the family had lived in the town. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1844. In the spring of 1845 ^ e entered the Harvard Law School, where he remained three terms, and in the year 1846 took the degree of LL.B. He continued his profes- sional studies in the office of the Honorable Origen Storrs Seymour, of Litchfield, Connecticut, afterward a Judge of the Supreme Judicial Court, and Governor of the State, and he was admitted to the bar of Connecticut. He was also ad- mitted to the bar of New York in 1850, but owing to ill health has never engaged in the active practice of his profession. On June 6, 1850, Mr. Farnsworth was married to Julia Paine, daughter of the Honorable John Paine and Maria J. (Tallmadge) Cushman, of Troy, New York ; and since that time he has been a resident of that city. Claudius Buchanan Farnsworth is the eldest son of Luke and Sarah (Hartwell) Farnsworth, and was born at Stanstead, Province of Quebec, on January 8, 181 5. At that period his family was living temporarily in Canada. He passed his boyhood, working on his father's farm at Groton, and received no schooling from the time he was fourteen years old until the spring of 1836, when he began to fit for college under the instruction of William L. Chaplin, Esq., of Groton. He attended school for a short while, first, at New Ipswich Academy, and, secondly, at Groton Academy, then under the preceptorship of the Reverend Horace Herrick, finishing his preparatory studies in the summer of 1837. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1841, and immediately after- ward passed one term at the Law School in Cambridge. He then entered the office of the Honorable Charles Jarvis Holmes, of Taunton, and soon afterward the office of Timothy Gardner Coffin, Esq., of New Bedford, under whom he com- pleted his professional studies. He was admitted to the bar at Taunton, in March, 1844, and during the next month began the practice of law at Pawtucket, which at that time came within the limits of Massachusetts. In the year 1858 he gave 86 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. up his profession to take charge of the affairs of the Dunnell Manufacturing Company, a corporation at Pawtucket then engaged in the business of calico-printing. In i860 he was made Treasurer of the company, holding the office until June, 1 88 1, when he resigned the trust and returned to the practice of law, where his younger son Claude Joseph Farnsworth is now associated with him in business. During the years 1875, 1876, 1877, and 1880 he was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. On February 27, 1851, Mr. Farnsworth was married to Marianna, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Mayberry) Mclntire, of North Providence, Rhode Island ; and they have had three children, two boys and a girl. The eldest son, John Prescott Farnsworth, graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1881. In the year 1862, by an agreement between the Common- wealth of Massachusetts and the State of Rhode Island, with the consent of Congress, the boundary line of these two States was so changed that the town of Pawtucket fell within the limits of Rhode Island. From that time, without a change of residence, Mr. Farnsworth lost his citizenship in Massachusetts. Luther Fitch was a son of Zechariah and Sibyl (Lakin) Fitch, and born at Groton, on January 28, 1783. He re- ceived his early education at Groton Academy, and graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1807. Afterward he read law for eight months in the office of Dudley Chase, Esq., of Randolph, Vermont, and then under the instruction of Judge Samuel Dana, and of Judge William M. Richardson, both of Groton, where he completed his professional studies. Judge Richardson had been a teacher at the Academy, who in part had prepared him for college. Mr. Fitch was ad- mitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 18 10, and during the next year he began the practice of his profession in the village of Saccarappa, situated then in that part of Falmouth, District of Maine, which is now Westbrook. In 1820, on the admission of Maine as a State, he was appointed Attorney THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 87 for the County of Cumberland by Governor King ; and in 1825, on the organization of a Municipal Court in Portland, he was made the first judge. Soon afterward he took up his abode in that city in order to be near the field of his labors. As a judge, he was faithful and conscientious, and his deci- sions were always well considered and sound. The best tribute to his judicial career is found in the fact that during a period of twenty-nine years he held the office by successive appointments, through all the changes of political adminis- tration, until 1854, when he retired from the bench, at the age of seventy-one years. On June 23, 18 16, Judge Fitch was married to Almira, daughter of Andrew Phillips and Mary (Dole) Titcomb, of Falmouth; and they had a family of three sons and five daughters, who were all living at the date of the father's death. At that time one of the sons was a surgeon in the army, and another a physician in California ; and four of the daughters were married and residing in Maine. Judge Fitch died in Portland, on August 15, 1870, full of honors and full of years ; and a notice of him in the " Portland Daily Press," August 17, ends with the following paragraph : — He has gone clown to the grave at a ripe old age, loved and honored by all who knew him, without an enemy on earth, and in full hope of a glorious resurrection. Eugene Fuller was the eldest son and second child of the Honorable Timothy and Margaret (Crane) Fuller, and born at Cambridge, on May 14, 181 5. He received his early education in the schools of Cambridge, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1834. In June, 1833, his father removed from Cambridge to Groton, where he had bought the Judge Dana estate, a farm of fifty acres situated near the northerly end of Farmers' Row. On January 2, 1835, Eugene entered the Harvard Law School, remaining one term, and after that he continued the study of his profession under the instruction of Mr. Farley at Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1839, and immediately afterward opened an office in Charlestown, where he remained for two years. He then 88 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. went to New Orleans, and became connected with the public press of that city. While residing at the South, two or three years before his death, he suffered from a sunstroke, which resulted in a softening of the brain, which came very near being fatal, and left him in a shattered condition. His friends were hopeful that medical treatment elsewhere might benefit him ; and with that end in view he embarked with an attendant aboard the "Empire City " for New York. When one day out from New Orleans, his attendant being prostrated with sea- sickness, he was left alone and not afterward seen. He must have been lost overboard from the steamer, on June 21, 1859. On May 31, 1845, Mr. Fuller was married at New Orleans to Mrs. Anna Eliza Rotta, of that city, though originally of Philadelphia ; and they had a family of three sons and two daughters. Richard Fuller was the fourth son of the Honorable Timothy and Margaret (Crane) Fuller, and born at Cambridge on May 15, 1824. In the summer of 1833 his father's family removed to Groton, where he was prepared for college mainly by his eldest sister Margaret, afterward famous as a writer ; and he graduated at Harvard College with high rank in the Class of 1844. He began to study law in the office of Wendell Thornton Davis, Esq., at Greenfield, and then on March 3, 1845, entered the Harvard Law School, where he remained two terms. He finished his course of professional studies in the office of his uncle Henry Holton Fuller, Esq., of Boston, and was admitted to the Suffolk bar on December 22, 1846. Fur two years afterward he was associated with his uncle as a partner, and at the end of that time he opened an office at No. 10 State Street, Boston, in which city he continued to practise his profession during the remainder of his life. He died at his residence in Wayland, on May 30, 1869, after an illness of four weeks' duration. Mr. Fuller was married, at Canton, on February 6, 1849, first, to Sarah Kolloch, daughter of Francis and Sarah (Kolloch) Batchelder, of Canton, who died at Wayland, on January 10, 1856, aged 26 years ; and, at Wayland, on March THE LAWYERS OF GROTON 89 31, 1857, secondly, to Adeline Rutter, daughter of Walter and Elmira (Griffin) Reeves. John Gove was the eldest child of Dr. Jonathan and Mary (Hubbard) Gove, and born at Groton, on February 17, 1 77 1 . According to the church records, he was baptized on June 2 of the following summer. His father was born in that part of Weston which is now Lincoln, and was a graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1768 ; and his mother was a native of Groton. John graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1793, having probably pursued his preparatory studies under the tuition of the Reverend Dr. Chaplin, of Groton, who at that period fitted young men for college. He read law with the Honorable William Gordon, of Amherst, New Hampshire, and practised at Goffstown in that State, until about the year 1800, when he removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he died in 1802. He was never married. All my efforts to find the exact date of Mr. Gove's death have proved unavailing. The Honorable Rodney M. Stimson, Librarian of Marietta College, writes me, under date of Janu- ary 8, 1892: — At Columbus [Ohio], Col. John C. Entrekin, of Chillicothe, told me that he had searched every source thoroughly for information about John Gove, and had failed to find any trace that such a man ever lived there. The name does not appear in the Journals of the Court, and there is no record whatever that any such lawyer was ever in Chillicothe. Samuel Lawrence Graves is a son of John Jackson and Lucy (Pollard) Graves, and was born at Groton, on July 18, 1847. He pursued his preparatory studies at Lawrence Academy, and graduated at Amherst College in the Class of 1870. Immedi- ately after his graduation he began the study of law in the office of Wood (Nathaniel) and Torrey (George) at Fitch- burg, and was admitted to the bar in January, 1873. Since that time he has lived in Fitchburg, where he has been en- gaged in the successful practice of his profession. While taking a deep interest in politics and city affairs, he has rarely 90 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. accepted public office, though he served on the School Board from the year 1874 to 1879 inclusive. On December 2, 1890, as the candidate of the Citizens' Temperance party, he was chosen Mayor of the city, and re-chosen the next year, which position he holds at the present time. On December 5, 1878, he was married to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of James Batcheller and Abby Esther (Merriam) Lane, of Fitchburg. Harris Cowdrey Hartwell was a son of Benjamin Franklin and Emma (Whitman) Hartwell, and born at Groton, on December 28, 1847. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Charles Whitman, of Stow. He fitted for college at Lawrence Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1869. He studied law under the tuition of the Honorable Amasa Norcross, and was admitted to the bar at Fitchburg in November, 1872, when he associated himself with his instructor under the style of Norcross and Hart- well. He served on the School Board during the years 1874, 1875, 1876, and 1877, and was city solicitor of Fitchburg from 1877 to 1886; a member of the House of Represen- tatives in 1883, 1884, and 1885 ; and a member of the Senate in 1887, 1888, and 1889. During his last term in the Senate he was chosen, by a unanimous vote, President of that body. In 1885 he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, on the part of the House, and in 1887 and 1888 Chairman of the Judiciary Committee on the part of the Senate. After a short illness he died in Fitchburg of rheumatic fever complicated with pneumonia, on December 9, 1891. On October 23, 1877, Mr. Hartwell was married to Effie Frances Marion, daughter of Colonel Daniel and Caroline Augusta (Hall) Needham, of Groton; and there is one son, Norcross Needham, born on December 15, 1880. Amos Kendall was a son of Deacon Zebedee and Molly ( Dakin) Kendall, and born at Dunstable, on August 16, 1787. His father had nine sons, of whom six grew to manhood, and all were living in the year 1858. Amos passed his boyhood on a farm doing hard work, though from an early period in his life THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 91 he showed a marked fondness for books. He fitted for college partly at New Ipswich Academy and partly at Groton Acad- emy, at that time under the preceptorship of Caleb Butler. On September 16, 1807, after an examination by Professor John Hubbard, then on a visit at Groton, with five other young men, he was admitted a member of the Freshman class of Dartmouth College. In his Freshman year he "chummed" with Thomas Champney Gardner, a former schoolmate at the Academy. During his college course he taught school for several winters in his native town, and he graduated at Dartmouth in 181 1 with the highest honors of his class. On the fourth day of the following September as a law-student he entered the office of the Honorable William M. Richardson, of Groton, at that time postmaster of the town. Occasionally it devolved on him to receive and make up the mails as well as to deliver the letters and newspapers, and here he acquired his first knowledge of postal duties. His first political vote was thrown at Groton in March, 18 13 a time when a property qualification was needed in this Commonwealth ; and as he lacked the necessary amount, the sum was made up to him for the time being by Mr. Richard- son, and immediately afterward returned to the rightful owner. Of this transaction he wrote in his journal : " If I had had time for reflection, I know not what I should have done under the circumstances ; but I am satisfied I ought to have declined." In the early part of 1814 Mr. Kendall left Groton for the distant West, and became a private tutor to Henry Clay's children ; but as it is not my purpose to trace his career in detail, I shall content myself with the briefest allusion to his public life. He was Postmaster-General under Presidents Jackson and Van Buren during the years 183 5-1 840. He afterward bought a large tract of land, two miles east of the Capitol in Washington, which became known as Kendall Green, and here he built a fine residence. He spent the later years of his life in works of charity and deeds of beneficence, and died at his home, surrounded by his family, on November 12, 1869. 92 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Mr. Kendall received the degree of LL.D. from Dartmouth College in 1849; and he was well entitled to the distinction, as his public and private life always reflected credit on his Alma Mater. While living at Groton, during his younger days, one of those romantic attachments happened, which is apt to occur between two young people, and he became en- gaged ; but for reasons satisfactory to the persons most interested, and equally honorable to both sides, the affair was broken off. For other particulars, see " The Autobiography of Amos Kendall " (pages 86-90). Mr. Kendall's youngest son, John, was married to a lady of Groton; and at one time a widowed daughter was a resident of the town. On October 1, 181 8, Mr. Kendall was married, first, to Mary Bullard, daughter of William Woolfolk, of Jefferson County, Kentucky, who died in Frankfort, on October 13, 1823 ; and, on January 5, 1826, secondly, to Jane, daughter of Alexander Kyle, of Georgetown, Kentucky. By these two marriages there were fourteen children, five sons and nine daughters, of whom all the sons and several daughters are now dead. Rufus Bigelow Lawrence was an only son and the youngest child of the Honorable Luther and Lucy (Bigelow) Lawrence, and born at Groton, on July 13, 1814. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and at Stow Acad- emy, then recently organized, and under the preceptorship of Jacob Caldwell, and he graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1834. According to the annual catalogues of that institution, he first entered college in 1829, with the Class of 1833, where he remained for two years. His name then drops out of the list, and at the end of another two years it appears among the Seniors in the Class of 1834. He studied law in his father's office, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in December, 1837. In the year 1839 he opened an office in Boston, and had every promise of success in his profession ; but his health soon failed him, and he died of consumption at Pau, in the south of France, on January 13, 1841. It is stated in the " Memorials of the Class of 1834" (Boston, 1884) : — THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 93 He had a handsome person,- sweet disposition and pleasant and graceful manners. These qualities gained him many friends and made him a general favorite (page 5). James Lewis was a son of James and Lucy (Crosby) Lewis, and born at Billerica, on February 1, 1785. His father's family removed to Groton when he was eleven years old, and he fitted for college at Groton Academy. He gradu- ated at Dartmouth College in the year 1807, in the same class with Luther Fitch and William Nutting, both natives of Groton, who are mentioned in this Account. He studied law in the office of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, and in 1 8 10 began the practice of his profession at Marlborough, where he remained two years. In May, 181 2, he removed to Pepperell, which town he afterward represented in the House of Representatives during the sessions of 1827, 1830, and 1834; and he was also a member of the State Senate during •1828 and 1829. On January 17, 18 19, Mr. Lewis was married to Harriet, daughter of Samuel and Submit (Gilson) Parker, of Pepperell. He continued to reside at Pepperell during the remainder of his life, though he died in Boston, on February 6, 1845. He was the father of Samuel Parker Lewis, whose sketch has already been given in these pages. Rufus Livermore was a son of Daniel and Abigail (Tuck) Livermore, and born at Groton, on November 1, 1839. He pursued his preparatory studies at Lawrence Academy, and, in the autumn of 1859, entered the Freshman class of Williams College, but remained there only one year. When the War of the Rebellion broke out, he enlisted in Company B of the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Militia, which made the memorable march through Baltimore on April 19, 1 861. Subsequently, after the return of that regi- ment, he again enlisted in the Third Rhode Island Cavalry, Troop C, — of which company he became a sergeant, — and on October 13, 1863, was mustered into the United States service. On March 25, 1864, he was commissioned as Second 94 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Lieutenant, and as such mustered into the service June 15, doing duty in Troop L of that regiment. On March 20, 1865, he resigned his commission and was honorably dis- charged. He attended lectures at the Law School, Albany, New York, where he was admitted to the bar in the autumn of 1862. After the war he went to Orange, and became interested in the firm which at a later period was known as the Rodney Hunt Machine Company of that town. In poli- tics he was a Republican, and had served in the General Court during the session of 1879, and in the Senate during the sessions of 1883 and 1884. He was a prominent member of the Congregational Church, and for many years superin- tendent of the Sunday-school. He was also connected with a post of the Grand Army of the Republic. He died at Orange on July 8, 1891, leaving a widow and two daughters. On January 22, 1863, Mr. Livermore was married to Martha Elizabeth, daughter of Jehiel and Melissa (Hildreth) Todd, of Worcester. David McGregor Means is an only son of the Reverend James and Elizabeth Phebe (Johnson) Means, and was born at Groton, on May 1, 1847. His father was then the principal of Lawrence Academy; and the family removed from town in the year 1854. He fitted for college at Phillips Academy, An- dover, and graduated at Yale College in the Class of 1862. He passed two years (1872- 1874) at the Theological Semi- nary, Andover, and a third year (1 874-1 875) at the Yale Theological Seminary, but was never ordained in the minis- try. From January, 1877, to the summer of 1880, he was the Professor of Mental and Moral Science in Middlebury College. He studied law in the city of New York, where he was admitted to the bar in May, 1882, and where since that time he has been in practice, though his place of residence is Summit, New Jersey. On April 5, 1877, Mr. Means was married in Philadelphia to Laura Haven, daughter of Charles Edward and Ann (Earp) Haven; and they have two daughters, Margaret Appleton Means and Elinor Haven Means. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 95 Leonard Mellen was the eldest child of Major Thomas and Eunice ( ) Mellen, and born at Hopkinton, on August 1 8, 1776. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1797, and on January 23, 1798, was appointed Pre- ceptor of Groton Academy, where he remained more than a year. He studied law and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1800. He went into practice at Charles- town ; but his professional career was short, as he died at Concord while attending the Court, on September 18, 1804. An obituary notice of him appears in the " New-England Palladium " (Boston), September 25, and also in the "Colum- bian Centinel " (Boston), September 26, 1804. William Nutting was a son of William and Susanna (French) Nutting, and born at Groton, on October 30, 1779. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated with honor at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1807. Immediately after graduation he was offered a tutor- ship at the college, which he declined, as he preferred to take the position of principal of the Orange County Grammar School or Academy at Randolph, Vermont, then just estab- lished. At a later period his brother Rufus, a graduate of Dartmouth in the Class of 18 14, was the Principal of this school for eleven years. In this institution William held the mastership for six years (1 807-181 3), and, meanwhile, he was engaged in the study of law under the instruction of the Honorable Dudley Chase, of Randolph, whose partner he afterward became. In 18 13 he began the practice of his pro- fession in that town, where his ability and integrity soon gave him a high position at the bar. He was postmaster of Randolph from the year 1810 to 1816; a member of the Vermont Legislature during 181 7, 18 18, and 1819, and a member of the Council of Censors from March, 1820, to March, 1821, and State's Attorney for Orange County from 1823 to 1829. Mr. Nutting was a great reader, and in the latter years of his life read the Bible through in course a large number of times; and he always had at hand some favorite Latin or Greek classic, which he seemed to enjoy as g6 I III LAWYERS OF GROTON. much as he did in his younger days. He died at Randolph, on November 26, 1863. On October 5, 1809, Mr. Nutting was married at Groton to Mary Barrett, daughter of David and Mary (Barrett) Hub- bard, of Concord, who died on September 7, 1847, aged sixty- one years. By this marriage there were eight children. Benjamin Kinsman Phelps was an only child of the Rev- erend Dudley and Ann (Kinsman) Phelps, and born at Haverhill, on September 16, 1832. The family removed to Groton in the autumn of 1836, when the father was installed over the Union Congregational Church. The son pursued his preparatory studies at Lawrence Academy, and graduated at Yale College in the Class of 1853. Soon after his graduation he made a trip around the world, and, on his return, studied law, first, with his relative, Benjamin M. Farley, Esq., of Hollis, New Hampshire, and then in New York City. In July, 1856, he was admitted to the bar at Poughkeepsie, New York, and during the same year began the practice of his profession in New York. He soon entered into partner- ship with his classmate Knevals, and so continued until 1866, when he became Assistant District Attorney of the United States for the Southern District of New York. He kept this office until 1870, when he returned to private prac- tice, and became a partner of the late President Arthur, a connection which lasted for ten years. In November, 1872, he was chosen District Attorney of the city and county of New York, receiving the support of the Republicans and of the " Committee of Seventy," which represented the citizens' movement, organized to oppose the "Tweed Ring." At the end of his three years' term of office he was re-elected to the same position upon a fusion ticket made up of Republicans and Independent Democrats, receiving a majority of about twenty-seven thousand votes. For a third time he was chosen upon a similar ticket in 1S78, and continued in office until his death, which occurred from internal hemorrhage, on December 30, 1880. In his professional career Mr. Phelps proved himself a THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 97 lawyer of great ability and judgment, while those who best knew him appreciated equally the strength and nobleness of his character. For many years the writer of these lines sat at school in the same class with him, and recited from the same bench, and they were as intimate as two boys ever are ; and yet in the lapse of time, living in different cities and fol- lowing different professions, they drifted apart never to meet. No scholar at the Academy in my time left a pleasanter mem- ory than Ben Phelps. On October 21, 1857, Mr. Phelps was married to Anna Maria, daughter of the Honorable Julius and Mary (Fisher) Catlin, of Hartford, Connecticut ; and there have been three children, two daughters and a son, Dudley, who graduated at Yale College in the Class of 1883. Mrs. Phelps died after a long illness, on December 20, 1880, ten clays before her hus- band, who was already ill, and unable to withstand the shock caused by her death. Dudley Farley Phelps is an only son of the Rev- erend Dudley and Lucretia Gardner (Farley) Phelps, of Groton, and was born in the house of his grandfather Farley, at Hollis, New Hampshire, on August 8, 1845. His father was the minister of the Union Congregational Church at Groton, where he died on September 24, 1849; and soon afterward his mother removed to her father's home at Hollis. The son was educated at Norwich University, Vermont, where he took the degree of S.B. in the Class of 1864, and also at the Harvard Law School, where he took the degree of LL.B. in 1867. On March 5, 1864, he was commissioned as First Lieutenant in the Twentieth Regiment, United States Col- ored Infantry, and served until that regiment was mustered out, on October 7, 1865. After graduating at the Harvard Law School he continued his professional studies in the office of the late President Arthur at New York, and was admitted to the bar by the General Term of the Supreme Court for the First Judicial District of New York in December, 1869. Subsequently he was appointed Assistant United States At- torney for the Southern District of New York, in which posi- 98 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. tion he remained for three years. Later he was made Chief Law Officer of the New York Custom-House, and served in that capacity during General Chester Alan Arthur's term as Collector. He subsequently served as Assistant District Attorney of the County of New York, after which he re- sumed private practice until the year 1889, when, under Collector Erhardt, he again became Law Officer of the Custom-House, which place he now holds. On November 16, 1872, Mr. Phelps was married in Bos- ton to Louisa Lander, daughter of Dr. William Henry and Elizabeth Lucretia Bullard (Parker) Prince, of Salem ; and they have four children, — two boys named Dudley Farley and William Henry, and two girls named Katherine Elizabeth and Louisa Lander. Samuel Jackson Prescott was the youngest son of Dr. Oliver and Lydia (Baldwin) Prescott, and born at Groton, on March 15, 1773. He pursued his preparatory studies at Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated at Harvard Col- lege in the Class of 1795. He studied law in the office of his cousin, the Honorable William Prescott, of Boston ; but soon after his admission to the bar, on account of a partial deafness, he gave up the practice of his profession. He then became engaged in business at Boston, where he was associated with Aaron P. Cleaveland, under the style of Prescott and Cleave- land ; but owing to the embargo of 1807 and the political troubles of that period, the firm met with failure. Mr. Pres- cott had a natural taste for genealogical and statistical in- vestigations ; and he prepared an index to the triennial catalogue of Harvard College, which was first published in the catalogue of 1830. For more than thirty years he was a Notary-public for Suffolk County. To his physical infirmity of deafness was now added the loss of sight, and his in- tellectual faculties also became clouded ; and he passed the closing years of his life at the home of a son in Brookline, where he received every care which filial affection could bestow, and where he died on October 7, 1857. On November 13, 1804, Mr. Prescott was married to Mar- THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 99 garet, daughter of Major Joseph and Margaret (Cleveland) Hiller, of Salem ; and they had five children, two sons and three daughters. Mrs. Prescott was born on July 29, 1775, and died on August 4, 1841. William Haughton Richards was the eldest son of Henry Augustus and Julia Augusta (Haughton) Richards, and born at Uncasville, a village in Montville, Connecticut, on June 5 1825. In April, 1841, his father's family removed to Groton from New York City, and during the same year the son was attending school at Groton Academy, where he pursued his preparatory studies. He graduated at Yale College in the Class of 1850 with the highest honors, and passed the next two years at Cincinnati, Ohio, engaged in teaching, and at the same time studying law. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1852, and during the following November opened an office in New York City. In the autumn of 1853 his health became impaired, and for a year or so he continued to be an invalid. In April, 1855, he was again taken ill, and died suddenly in Brooklyn, New York, on May 17, 1855. Mr. Richards was a brilliant scholar, and while in college took several prizes for proficiency in various departments. Norman Seaver was the younger son of Heman and Elizabeth (Weeks) Seaver, and born at Groton, April 7, 1802. His father at that time lived in the house which, by considerable enlargement, was afterward made into Emer- son's tavern. It stood near the site of Milo H. Shattuck's store, and was opened as a public house about the year 181 2. While Norman was very young, the family removed to Mon- treal ; and here the son pursued his preparatory studies, entering first at Middlebury College, where he remained one year, and immediately afterward took a four years' course at Harvard College, graduating in the Class of 1822. He then began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence at Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in October, 1827. He was an attorney-at-law in Boston as early as 1826, according to the City Directory for that year. tore IOO THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. He was a member of the Common Council from Ward No. 9 in 1828, when the Honorable John P. Bigelow was a colleague from the same ward. Owing to ill-health, about the year 1834, he gave up his profession and became engaged in mercantile business at Boston, where he was a member of the house of Stone, Seaver, and Bush ; but he never fully regained his strength. He died in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 12, 1838, while travelling for his health. On December 1, 1829, Mr. Seaver was married to Anna Maria, eldest child of the Honorable Luther and Lucy (Bigelow) Lawrence, of Groton. Mrs. Seaver was born in the house at the north corner of Main and School Streets, only a short distance from the birthplace of her husband. She is now living, at an advanced age, in Rutland, Vermont, on Main Street, or the " Great Road," which is the same thoroughfare that passes under the same name through the village of Groton, leading from Boston to Northern Vermont and Canada. Ether Shepley was the second son of John and Mary (Gibson | Therlow) Sheple, and born at Groton, on Novem- ber 2, 1789. His given name was taken from the Old Testa- ment (Joshua xix. 7), and in Hebrew means " a stone." The surname was originally written Sheple, though pronounced Shepley. He prepared for college at Groton Academy ; and many years later, under date of July 1, 1854, he wrote to his old friend and schoolmate, Abbott Lawrence, of the advan- tages he derived from that school during his boyhood, and of the benefits accruing to other lads, like himself, living in the neighborhood. After graduating at Dartmouth College in the Class of 181 1, he began the study of law in the office of Dudley Hubbard, Esq., at South Berwick, Maine, where he continued for two years. Subsequently he returned to Mas- sachusetts, and passed several months in studying his chosen profession under the guidance, successively, of Zabdiel Boyl- ston Adams, Esq., of Lunenburg, and Solomon Strong, Esq., of Westminster, and was then admitted to the bar. On July 4, 1814, he opened an office at Saco, Maine, where he soon THE LAWYERS OE GROTON. IOI established a large and lucrative practice. His natural talents, aided by a sterling character and close habits of industry, gave him a prominent place at the bar. When the separation of the District of Maine from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was a subject of public dis- cussion, Mr. Shepley advocated the change and was chosen from Saco, on that issue, a member of the House of Repre- sentatives, which met on May 26, 18 19. In three weeks from the beginning of the session he had the satisfaction to see the object of his wishes and labors carried by a large ma- jority. At this time his former townsman, Timothy Bigelow, was Speaker of the House, and his old friend, Luther Law- rence, was a member ; and they helped him in his efforts, so far as lay in their power. In February, 1821, he was appointed United States Attorney for the District Court of the new State, which office he held for twelve years. In 1833 he was chosen to the United States Senate, where he was a strong supporter of President Jackson's administration. At this period his former school-fellow and classmate, Amos Ken- dall, was in the President's Cabinet. Mr. Shepley remained in the Senate until September 23, 1836, when he was given a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of Maine ; and soon afterward he took up his abode in Portland. On October 20, 1848, he was appointed to the position of Chief Justice, which he continued to hold until the autumn of 1855, — a term of seven years, which is the limit allowed by the State Constitution. Judge Shepley retired from the bench with his ermine un- sullied, and ended a long life with a spotless reputation. His judicial career is best shown in the twenty-seven volumes (XIV. -XL., inclusive) of the Maine Reports, where his de- cisions are found. They all are drawn up with that clearness and terseness which make them models of exact expression. On April 1, 1856, he was appointed the Commissioner to re- vise the public laws of Maine; and this was his last official service. In 1842 Waterville College, now Colby University, con- ferred upon him the degree of LL.D., and in 1845 his Alma 102 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Mater gave him the same honorary distinction. It is worthy of note that ten members of his class at Dartmouth (namely, Andrews, Cutter, Danforth, Gardner, Kendall, Lewis, Parker, Rockwood, and Woodbury, besides himself) were either na- tives of Groton or at some time residents of the town. He was an Overseer of Bowdoin College from the year 1821 to 1829, and a Trustee of the college from 1829 to 1866, making a continuous term of service of forty-five years. On June 10, 1816, Judge Shepley was married to Anne, daughter of George and Anne (Harback) Foster, of Hanover, New Hampshire ; and they had a family of five sons, among whom was the late George Foster Shepley, a General during the War of the Rebellion, and afterward a Justice of the Circuit Court of the First Circuit of the United States. Judge Ether Shepley died in Portland, on January 15, 1877. The Sheple homestead, where Ether and John Shepley were born, stood on the east side of Chicopee Row, nearly opposite to Noah Torrey's house, as given on Mr. Butler's Map of Groton, published in the year 1832. " Sheeplees Hill," mentioned in the town-records February 28, 1670, was un- doubtedly so called from the first settler of the name. It is a knoll in the neighborhood of Naumox. John Shepley was the eldest child of John and Mary (Gibson | Therlow) Sheple, and born at Groton, on October 16, 1787. John Sheple, who lived at Wenham, was the an- cestor of the Groton family ; and John, the lawyer, was a lineal descendant through five generations, each bearing the same given name. The first settler and all his family, ex- cept a son John, were massacred by the Indians on July 27, 1694. The son was kept in captivity for three years and a half, and afterward came back to his native town, where he held many offices of trust and responsibility, both civil and ecclesiastical. John, whose name stands at the head of this paragraph, pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Acad- emy, under the instruction of Mr. Butler, and, in the summer of 1804, entered Harvard College, where he remained nearly four years. His name appears in four successive annual cata- THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 103 logues, and is always spelled Sheple. Unfortunately during the Senior year a disturbance broke out in his class, which resulted in the expulsion of a certain number, and he was among them. Immediately afterward he began the study of his profession in the office of the Honorable Luther Law- rence, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 18 10. He established himself in practice first at Rutland, Worcester County, where he lived for a year or so, and then removed to Fitchburg, at that time a town of less than sixteen hundred inhabitants. While a resident of Fitchburg he was chosen to fill various important offices, which he did with credit to himself and with satisfaction to his constituents. He was elected on October 16, 1820, a member of the Convention for altering the Constitution of Massachusetts, which met on November 15, 1820; and he also served as, a member of the State Senate during the ses- sion of 1 82 1, and of the House of Representatives during the session of 1825. At the end of the year 1825 he removed to Saco, Maine, where he formed a law-partnership with his younger brother Ether. He was a reporter of the decisions of- the Supreme Court, found in the nineteen volumes of Maine Reports (XIII.-XXXI.) published between the years 1836 and 1849. On September 20, 18 15, Mr. Shepley was married to Abi- gail Fellows, daughter of Nathaniel Fellows and Hannah (Adams) Cunningham, of Lunenburg; and they had a family of one son and two daughters. Mr. Shepley died at Saco, Maine, on February 9, 1857 ; and his widow at the same place on December 1, 1866. Ephraim Sherman, Jr., was a son of Ephraim and Ruth (Patch) Sherman, and born at East Sudbury, now Wayland, on May 24, 1795. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1 8 19, and, on September 4, 18 19, was appointed Preceptor of Groton Academy, where he remained for two years. After leaving Groton Mr. Sherman went South and studied law in the office of the Honorable Henry A. Bullard, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he died of yellow fever, unmarried, on July 10, 1822. 104 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Frank Bainbridge Spalter is a son of John Hamilton and Martha Ann (Hildreth) Spalter, and was born at Groton, on September 3, 1845. On October 26, 1853, his father's family removed to Keene, New Hampshire, where the son studied law in the office of Wheeler (Wm. P.) and Faulkner (Francis A.). Beginning on September 11, 1869, he at- tended one term at the Harvard Law School, and on June 8, 1870, was admitted to the New Hampshire bar at Newport. From February 1, 1870, to October 15 of the same year he was in the office of Henry J. Stevens, Esq., No. 19 Court Street, Boston; and in January, 1871, he removed to Win- chendon, where he entered the office of Giles H. Whitney, Esq., and on November 13, 1871, was admitted to the Wor- cester County bar, at Fitchburg. During the next year he formed a partnership with Mr. Whitney, which continued for ten years and was then dissolved. On December 27, 1882, he was appointed a Trial Justice, an office which he still holds. On January 1, 1881, Mr. Spalter was married to Alice Josephine, daughter of Sabin and Hattie (Stearns) Kelton, of Warwick, and a native of Worcester ; and they have one child, Mabel Josephine Spalter, born on July 3, 1884. Charles Warren Stone is the eldest child of Warren Fay and Mary (Williams) Stone, and was born at Groton, on June 29, 1843. He fitted for college at Lawrence Academy, and graduated at Williams College in the Class of 1863, which he entered at the beginning of the Sophomore year. Soon afterward he became Principal of the Union School at War- ren, Pennsylvania, a position he resigned in 1865 in order to accept the superintendency of schools in Warren County. In the autumn of the same year he was chosen Principal of the Academy at Erie, and in 1866 began to study law in the office of Judge Lansing 1). Wetmore at Warren. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1867, and during the next year formed a partnership with Judge Rasselas Brown. He has served several terms as a member of the Warren School Board and of the Borough Council. He was also chosen a member of THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 05 the House of Representatives in 1870 and 1S71, and of the State Senate in 1876 from the Forty eighth District, where he served during the sessions of 1877 and 1878. In Novem- ber, 1878, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of the Com- monwealth for the term ending January 16, 1883, and on January 18, 1887, was appointed by Governor Beaver as Secre- tary of the State, a position which he resigned on November 30, 1890, in order to accept a seat in Congress. He was chosen as a Republican from the Twenty-seventh Pennsylva- nia District, by an overwhelming majority, on November 4, 1890, to fill a vacancy in the Fifty-first Congress, caused by the death of the Honorable Lewis Findlay Watson, and also at the same time chosen a member of the Fifty-second Congress. On January 30, 1868, Mr. Stone was married at Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Barnett) Morehead, of Erie; and they have six children. George Fisher Stone is the youngest child of Warren Fay and Mary (Williams) Stone, and was born at Groton, on December 25, 1850. After attending school at Lawrence Academy, he studied law in the office of George Stevens, Esq., of Lowell, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in February, 1874. He practised his profession for four years at Hudson, and in 1878 removed to Bradford, Pennsylvania, where four years later he became Superintendent of Public Schools, a position which he held for five years. He left Bradford in 1888, and passed the next three years, for the most part, in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and in North Caro- lina. In the spring of 1891 he removed to Olympia, Wash- ington, where he resumed the practice of law, and is now living. On December 25, 1872 (his birthday), Mr. Stone was mar- ried to Emma Cecilia Branch, daughter of the Reverend Jere- miah Knight and Sarah (Hamer) Aldrich, of Groton. Rufus Barrett Stone is the second son of Warren Fay and Mary (Williams) Stone, and was born at Groton, on November 24, 1847. He pursued his preparatory studies at 1 1 106 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Lawrence Academy and took a partial course of one year at Williams College. In the annual catalogue of that institution for 1 867-1 868, published in the autumn of 1867, his name appears in the Junior Class ; but owing to a domestic bereave- ment, he was compelled to sever his connection with the college. In the year 1869 he entered the United States Internal Revenue service as chief clerk of the Assessor of the Thi r d District of Mississippi ; and later, as Assistant Asses- sor and Deputy Collector of the same District, he passed through the varied experiences incident to the performance of duties connected with such an office, during the days of Southern reconstruction. While so engaged, he began the study of law, and in 1872 was admitted to the bar at Her- nando, De Soto County, Mississippi. Having resigned from the United States service, he entered upon the practice of his profession at Okolona, in partnership with Francis Sweeney Pate, Esq., a native of that State and a former District At- torney for the county. In the ensuing year Mr. Stone held the appointment of United States Commissioner for the Northern District of Mississippi. In 1873 he was appointed Chancellor of the Seventeenth Chancery District, composed of four counties, and six months later was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. Of his decisions only one has been reversed, although several were mooted in the news- papers and published at length, especially one relating to Confederate money as a contract consideration, and another relating to the Statute of Limitations as affected by the Civil War. During his residence in Mississippi he warmly es- poused the cause of the Republican party, and was actively interested in the question of reconstruction, which rendered him unpopular with the lawless element of the opposition, lie was abused in many ways and repeatedly assaulted, and often his life was in danger. In 1876 he resigned the Chan- cellorship and removed to Bradford, Pennsylvania, where he became prominent in the affairs of the city and county. In 1882 he received a unanimous Republican nomination for Mayor, but was defeated through the intervention of an inde- pendent candidate. Mr. Stone's sympathies are broad, and THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 107 in many ways and on many occasions his public services have been conspicuous. He is still actively engaged in profes- sional work, though his business relations are by no means confined to legal practice. On April 18, 1872, Mr. Stone was married to Margaret Sarah, daughter of the Reverend Burr and Cornelia Cadmus (Keen) Baldwin, of Newark, New Jersey, and a native of Ashfield in this State. Richard Sullivan was the third son of Governor James and Hetty (Odiorne) Sullivan, and born at Groton, on July i/, 1779- He pursued his preparatory studies at the Boston Latin School, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1798, of which he was one of the most distinguished members. After leaving college, he studied law in the office of his father at Boston, and was admitted to the Suffolk bar in July, 1801 ; but he did not long follow the profession, as he had an ample competence of worldly goods. In early life he took much interest in political matters, and on April 3, 18 1 5, and the two following years, was chosen, from Suffolk County, a member of the State Senate; on October 16, 1820, chosen, from Brookline, a delegate to the Convention for altering the Constitution of Massachusetts, which met on November 15 of that year; and a member of the Executive Council during 1820 and 1821. In 1823 he was the candidate of the Federal party for Lieutenant-Governor of the State, the Honorable Harrison Gray Otis being the candidate for Gover- nor ; but the ticket was defeated. In 1821 he was elected a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, and held that office until the Board was re-organized by an Act of the Legislature in 1852. He was public-spirited and philan- thropic ; and the records of several of the most important public institutions in Boston and its neighborhood, founded during the first thirty years of the present century, bear ample testimony to his services in their behalf. The plan of the Massachusetts General Hospital was first started at a meeting in his house; and among those who helped to establish it, the labors of few were more earnest or efficient than were his iot<>\. own. He died in Cambridge, on December ir, 1861, aged 82 years. On May 22, 1804, Mr. Sullivan was married to Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Sever) Russell, of Boston ; and the issue of the marriage was four sons and four daughters. William Sullivan was the second son of Governor James and Hetty (Odiorne) Sullivan, and born at Biddeford, Maine, on November 30, 1774. The father's family lived at Groton during the Revolutionary period, occupying a farm on the Lowell road, half a mile east of the First Parish Meeting-house. The son studied at the Boston Latin School, and also under the Reverend Dr. Phillips Payson, of Chelsea, graduating at Harvard College with the highest honors in the Class of 1792. He began the study of law at Boston in the office of his father, then the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, and was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1795. A man of brilliant tal- ents, he warmly espoused the side of the Federalists, while his father was equally the advocate of the Republicans. This difference of political opinion at one time caused some hard feeling between them, though finally the best of rela- tions existed. He had a large practice, and many of h:s cases were of much importance. He was a ready writer, and his publications on a great variety of subjects were numerous. He was an early member of the Massachusetts Historical Society ; and in 1826 Harvard College conferred upon him the Doctorate of Laws. On May 9, 1804, he was chosen a member of the House of Representatives, and also for eleven subsequent years, though not successive ones, the last time being for 1830 ; and on April 3, 1820. he was chosen a member of the State Senate. On October 16, 1820, lie was elected a delegate to the Convention for the purpose of revising the Constitution of Massachusetts, which met on November 15. His younger brother Richard was also a member of the same body, chosen by the town of Brookline. The following paragraph in Benjamin Homer Hall's " Col- lection of College Words and Customs" (Cambridge, 1856) refers to young Sullivan while in college : — THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 109 Exhibition, 1791. April 20th. This morning Trapier was rusticated and Sullivan suspended to Groton for nine months, for mingling tartar emetic with our commons on y L morning of April 1 2th (page 181). During his suspension at Groton Mr. Sullivan was an inmate of the Reverend Dr. Chaplin's family; and the late venerable Mrs. Rockvvood, a daughter of Dr. Chaplin, told me, a short time before her death, that as a little girl she remem- bered him, though then she was too young to know why he was there. She could recollect, however, that :ie was kind to children, and in his manners courteous to all. On May 19, 1802, Mr. Sullivan was married to Sarah Webb, daughter of Colonel James and Hepzibah (Clarke) Swan ; and they had a family of ten children. Mr. Sullivan died in Boston, on September 3, 1839; and his widow on June 9, 1851. Samuel Woodbury was the eldest child of William and Hannah (Kelly) Woodbury, and born at Salem, New Hamp- shire, on December 21, 1784. His father served as a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and settled at Acworth, New Hampshire, in 1789. The son graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 181 1, and, on September 4, 181 1, was appointed preceptor of Groton Academy, where he remained for one year. He then entered the office of the Honorable William M. Richardson, and later the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, both of Groton, where he read law, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 181 5. He began the practice of his profession in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but soon gave up his calling, and studied divinity under the tuition of the Reverend Francis Brown, D.D., President of Dartmouth College. He was ordained pastor of the Congre- gational Church at North Yarmouth, Maine, on November 5, 181 7, but after a settlement of less than two years, owing to ill health, was obliged to resign his charge. He then returned to Groton, where he died of consumption at the home of his wife, on July 6, 18 19, to the great grief of a wide circle of friends. I 10 I 111". LAWYERS OF GROTON. On July 28, 1818, Mr. Woodbury was married to Mary, daughter of Major Samuel and Susanna (Parker) Lawrence, of Groton. An only child, Sarah Lawrence Woodbury, was born two months after her father's death ; and she married on March 10, 1 841, the late Reverend David Fosdick, and died at Groton on November 25, i860, leaving a family of children, of whom the Honorable Frederick Fosdick, formerly Mayor of Fitchburg, is the youngest son. Noah Woods was a son of Jonas and Eunice (Lakin) Woods, and born at Groton, on September 26, 181 1. In the autumn of 18 16 his mother died, and the next year he went to Baldwin, Maine, and lived with an uncle William Fitch, whose wife was his father's sister. Here he worked on a farm, and, as he grew older, was much engaged in logging and lumbering in that part of Baldwin which is now Sebago. The first boat which passed through the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, opened in 1830, and leading from Lake Sebago to Portland Harbor, belonged to his uncle ; and Noah was employed on board as one of the hands. For two years he was engaged in boating on this canal during the open season, when he saved money enough to pay for some schooling. In the autumn of 1832 he entered the Academy at North Bridgton, Maine, where he remained for a short time and then taught a district school, lie was also a scholar at the Academy again during the years 1834-1836, and in the spring of 1838 began the study of law in the office of Charles Washburn, Esq., of Harrison, and afterward in the office of the Honorable John Searle Tenney,of Norridgewock. In the spring of 1841 he was admitted to the bar of Somerset County, at which time he opened an office at Gardiner. When that town be- came a city in 1850, he was chosen the President of the Common Council and the City Solicitor during the first year of its municipal existence. In March, 1854, he was elected Mayor, and re-elected for the four following years, and again in 1 86 1 and the next two years, making a service of eight years as Chief Magistrate of Gardiner. It is recorded in the " Proceedings at the Re-union of the Alumni of Bridgton THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. Ill Academy, held at North Bridgeton, Me., July 12th, 1882," that : — He was for a long time Superintendent of the public schools of Gardiner, and by his efficient management raised them to a high standard of excellence (page 44). In 1862 and 1863 he was a member of the State Senate. In 1863 he removed to Bangor, and early in 1864 was appointed National Bank Examiner for Maine and New Hampshire; and for many years he was President and Treasurer of the Euro- pean and North American Railway Company. On Commencement day at Bowdoin College in 1850, he re- ceived the honorary degree of A.M. from that institution. During the last four years of his life he was a resident of Fitchburg in this State, where he died on June 13, 1891, at the house of a niece, Mrs. Charles F. Baker. In February, 1844, Mr. Woods was married at Gardiner, first, to Sarah W., daughter of Calvin and Hannah (Blish) Ballard, who died in that town, on May io, 1845, aged 26 years ; on October 5, 1846, at Hallowell, secondly, to Harriette Elizabeth Blish, daughter of James, who died at Gardiner, on February 4, 1 86 1, aged 43 years ; and on December 26, 1862, at Bangor, thirdly, to Mrs. Frances Ann (Curtis) Blake, daughter of Win slow Hincks and Zerviah Rich (Howes) Curtis, and widow of William Augustine Blake. There were no children by any of these marriages. The last wife died on August II, 1881. William Prescott Wright is an only son of John and Susanna (Prescott) Wright, and was born at Groton, on March 18, 1832. When he was a year old his parents re- moved to Worcester, where they lived until 1843, and then went to Lowell. In that city he attended the public schools and the High School, and finished his preparatory studies under a private instructor. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1853, and began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Nathan Crosby, of Lowell. He attended the Harvard Law School for two terms in 185 5-1 856, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1856, though he 112 II IK LAW \ ERS OF GROTON. never practised his profession. Soon afterward he went to Chicago, where he took up his residence, and became engaged in business as a banker. Of late years, however, owing to ill health, he lias retired from the active affairs of life. On April 7, 1858, Mr. Wright was married at Galesburgh, Illinois, to Lydia Abbie, daughter of John and Abigail (Hall) Keyser, of Lowell. A PARTIAL LIST OF THOSE WHO HAVE STUDIED LAW AT GROTON, WITH SKETCHES OF THEIR LIVES. Amos Allen was a son of Josiah and Sally (Pike) Allen, and born at Lincoln, on February ir, 1780. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1808, and studied law in the office of Samuel Dakin, Esq., of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and the Honorable William M. Richardson, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in March, 1813, and began the practice of his profession at Newton, where for many years he was postmaster. He was also postmaster for a long while at Newton Lower Falls. During his early life he was an active politician on the side of the Federal party. His death took place at Newton Lower Falls, on January 23, i860. On November 11, 1829, Mr. Allen was married to Martha Shattuck, daughter of Captain Peter and Rebecca (Davis) Parker, of Needham, who died at Newton, on July 17, 1869. She was a native of Boston. Benjamin Ames was a son of Benjamin and Phebe (Chandler) Ames, and born at Andover, on October 30, 1778. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in the Class of 1803, and-studied law in the office of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, in which town an uncle, Nathan Ames, was then living. He was ad- mitted to the bar in the year 1806, and at once established himself as an attorney in Bath, Maine, where he became dis- tinguished as a lawyer and politician. He " migrated from the 114 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. school of law in Groton to the school of politics in Bath," says Mr. Willis, in his " History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine " (page 501). In 1807 he was appointed by Governor Sullivan as attorney for Lincoln County, and in 181 1 by Governor Gerry a Judge of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas. In 1820 he was chosen to the first Legislature of Maine, and made the Speaker of the House, a position to which he was re-elected for the three following years. In 1824 he was chosen a Senator from Lincoln County, and made the President of the body; and in 1827 again chosen to the House, which was his last appearance in public life. From 1827 to 1829 he had an office in Cincinnati, Ohio, and on one of his trips to the East he was stricken down by paralysis in Providence, Rhode Island, from which both his mind and body suffered. He was then taken to the home of a brother-in-law at Houlton, Maine, where he died on September 28, 1835. In April, 1809, Judge Ames was married at Andover, first, to Mary, daughter of Colonel Abel and Polly (Abbott) Boynton, of Westford, who died at Bath, on November 3, 1 8 10; and on May 11, 18 12, at Bath, secondly, to Sally, a sister of his first wife. By the first marriage there was no issue, but by the second there were three children, a son and two daughters. William Amory was a son of Thomas Coffin and Hannah Rowe (Linzee) Amory, and born in Boston, on June 15, 1804. He pursued his preparatory studies at a boarding-school kept by Jacob Newman Knapp, first at Brighton and afterward at Jamaica Plain, and entered Harvard College as a member of the Class which was to graduate in 1823. His name appears in the four annual catalogues, but during his Senior year the class became involved in some difficulty with the college authorities, which resulted in the expulsion of more than one half of their number, and Mr. Amory was among them. At different times since this " Rebellion," as it is now called, thirty of these expelled members have received their degrees, and their names appear in the Quinquennial Catalogue. Mr. Amory took his first and second degrees in the year 1845. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. I I 5 Early in the winter of 1823- 1824 he entered the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, where he re- mained for five months, studying law ; and he has since writ- ten a charming account of his " Reminiscences of Groton during the years 1823 and 1824," which is printed in the first number of Volume I. of the Groton Historical Series. In 1825 he went to Europe, where he passed five years in study and travel, and on his return resumed his professional studies in the office of Franklin Dexter and William Howard Gardiner, Esquires, who were associated together as counsellors in Boston. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar in October, 1830, though he never intended to practise as a lawyer. While leading the life of a scholar and cultivated gentleman, he was connected with several large corporations, either as President or Treasurer. He died at his residence in Beacon Street, Boston, on December 9, 1888. On January 17, 1833, Mr. Amory was married to Anna Powell Grant, eldest daughter of the Honorable David and Miriam Clark (Mason) Sears, of Boston. Loammi Baldwin was the third son and fourth child of Loammi and Mary (Fowle) Baldwin, and born at Woburn, on May 16, 1780. He fitted for college at Westford Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1800. On leaving Cambridge he entered the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, for the study of law, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1803. During the next year he established himself as a lawyer in Cambridge ; but the pursuit of his profession was never congenial to his tastes. At the end of three years he gave up his chosen call- ing, and began the study of civil engineering, for which he had a remarkable aptitude, still keeping his residence in Cambridge. At an early age his fondness for the mechanical arts was very marked, and even while in college, with his own hands, he made a clock, which kept excellent time, and was the wonder of his classmates ; and while at Groton he constructed for the town a fire-engine, which is still in active use. From an unsuccess- ful lawyer he became a distinguished engineer, whose work Il6 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. for the United States Government at various places is a last- ing monument to his professional skill. In 1835 ne was a member of the Executive Council, and in 1836 a Presiden- tial Elector on the Whig ticket, when the Electoral vote of Massachusetts was cast, on December 7, for Daniel Webster. He died at Charlestown, on June 30, 1838. On May 19, 1816, Mr. Baldwin was married in Boston, first, to Ann, daughter of George and Lydia (Pickering) Williams, of that city, who died on April 22, 1821 ; and on June 22, 1828, in Charlestown, secondly, to Mrs. Catharine (Williams) Beckford (daughter of Samuel Williams, an American banker living in London, and widow of Captain Thomas Beckford), who died at Charlestown, on May 3, 1864. Francis Bassett was a son of William and Betsey (Howes) Bassett, and born in that part of Yarmouth now Dennis, on Sep- tember 9, 1786. He fitted for college at Sandwich Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 18 10. He studied law in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and afterward in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, at Boston, and was admitted in Boston to the Court of Common Pleas, on September 28, 181 3, and to the Supreme Judicial Court, on March 6, 18 16. He was chosen a member of the General Court in 1818, 1819, and 1820, and again in 1824, 1828, and 1829 ; and he was a member of the Board of Over- seers of Harvard College from 1853 to 1863. In 1830 he was appointed Clerk of the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit, and of the United States District Court of Massachusetts. In 1845, having acquired a handsome com- petence, he resigned the clerkship and went to Europe. After his return he led a life of elegant ease, enjoying the best fruits of a cultivated taste and a fondness for literature. An inter- esting letter, entitled " Reminiscences of an Octogenarian," and written by him, is given in " The New-England Historical and Genealogical Register" (XXV. 370-375) for October, 1871. He died at his winter residence in Boston, on May 25, 1875. On December 8, 1858, Mr. Bassett was married to Mrs. Frances (Cutter) Langdon, daughter of Jacob and Miriam THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 11/ (Cross) Cutter, and widow of Woodbury Langdon, of Ports- mouth, New Hampshire. Abijah Bigelow was a son of Elisha and Sarah (Goodrich) Bigelow, and born at Westminster, on December 5, 1775. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1795, and read law in the office of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, and the Honorable Samuel Dexter, of Boston. In 1798 he began the practice of his profession at Leominster, where he lived for nineteen years. He was town-clerk for five vears, and a rep- resentative to the General Court during the sessions of 1807, 1808, and 1809; and on November 5, 1810, he was chosen a member of the Twelfth Congress of the United States, where he served two terms. In 1817 he removed to Worcester, and from that time to the year 1834 he was Clerk of the Courts for Worcester County; and in 1838 he was appointed a Master in Chancery for that county. His death took place in Worcester, on April 5, i860. On April 8, 1804, Mr. Bigelow was married to Hannah, daughter of the Reverend Francis and Sarah (Gibson) Gard- ner, of Leominster; and they had a family of nine children. Mrs. Bigelow died on August 21, 1857, aged 76 years and 10 months. Tyler Bigelow was the youngest child of David and Deb- orah (Heywood) Bigelow, and born at Worcester, on August 13, 1778. He graduated with high rank at Harvard College in the Class of [801, and studied law with his cousin, the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1804, and began the practice of his profession at Leominster, but a few months later removed to Watertown, where he took high rank at the bar. He soon became one of the leading citizens of the town, but owing to increasing deafness was obliged to give up much of his busi- ness. His cheerfulness, however, never failed ; and to those who knew him intimately, he was always an agreeable friend and companion. He died at Watertown, on May 23, 1865. On November 23, 1806, Mr. Bigelow was married at Groton, I 1 8 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. first, to his cousin Clarissa, youngest child of Colonel Timothy and Anna (Andrews) Bigelow, of Worcester, who died on March I, 1846; and on December 15, 1847, secondly, to Mrs. Harriet (Lincoln) Whitney, daughter of Abraham and Nancy (Bigelow) Lincoln, of Worcester, and widow of Francis Whit- ney, of New York. She died at Watertown, on June 20, 1853, aged 62 years, 1 month, and 22 days. The late Honorable George Tyler Bigelow, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, was a son by the first marriage. John Parker Bullard was a son of John and Sarah (Par- ker) Bullard, and born at Pepperell, on November 30, 1809. He attended school at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the famous Class of 1829. He studied law in the office of George F. Farley, Esq., of Groton, and afterward attended the Harvard Law School, where he passed four terms (two in 1833, one in 1834, and the last in 1835), and received the degree of LL.B. in 1836. He settled at Clinton, Louisiana, where he died on January 29, 1845. On August 19, 1839, Mr. Bullard was married to Lucy Forbes, daughter of Lincoln and Lucy (Forbes) Brigham, previously of Cambridge. The marriage took place at Han- over, New Hampshire, according to the " Boston Daily Adver- tiser," August 24 of that year, where the announcement says that the groom was of St. Francisville, Louisiana, and the bride of Brooklyn, New York. Royal Bullard was the second son of the Reverend John and Elizabeth (Adams) Bullard, and born at Pepperell, on May 15, 1786. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated in the Class of 18 10, at Yale College, where he took the degree of A.M. in course. He studied law in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1813 ; and afterward in the office of Judge Blanding, of Camden, South Carolina, and was admitted to the bar in Kershaw District, as it was then called, but now known as Kershaw County, where he soon gained considerable reputation as THE LAWYERS OF GRUTON. I 1 9 a lawyer. After experiencing a change of heart, and be- coming a Christian, he felt it to be his duty to give up the profession of law and become a preacher of the Gospel, which he did in connection with the Methodist denomina- tion. About the year 1833 he removed from Camden to what was then the far West, and established himself on Fox River, near Newark, Kendall County, Illinois. Here, besides acting as a local preacher, he performed much mis- sionary labor, and with his own. hands built a school-house, where during the winter season he gave gratuitous instruc- tion to all who availed themselves of his kind offer. He also took a deep interest in agricultural pursuits, for which he had a natural fondness, and in many other ways did much to improve the condition of his neighbors. He died at his farm, near Newark, on December 13, 1846. On October 25, 1820, Mr. Bullard was married to Esther Lewis Murray, who was born at Camden, South Carolina, on November 5, 1800; and they had eight children. Charles Butterfield was a son of Captain Asa and Abiah (Colburn) Butterfield, and born at Tyngsborough, on December 21, 1795. He was fitted for college at VVestford Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1820. He was one of four members of that class who, in 181 8, established the " Med. Fac. Society," an association in former years somewhat noted. He studied law, first, under the tuition of the Honorable Daniel Richardson, of Tyngs- borough, and then of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton. After his admission to the bar, he opened an office at Tyngsborough, but after a few years gave up the profession and devoted himself to farming. In 1834 and 1835 he was sent from that town as a representative to the General Court. In 1857 he was appointed Librarian of the Middlesex Me- chanic Association at Lowell, where he then took up his resi- dence, but not for a long time. In the early part of 1858 he was taken down with a disease of the heart, which proved fatal some months later. He died, unmarried, at his former home in Tyngsborough, on July 26, 1858. 120 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. William Crosby was the third child of Hezekiah and Lucy (Kittredge) Crosby, and born at Billerica, on June 3, 1770. He was a younger brother of the wife of Major James Lewis, of Groton. At the early age of seven years, while playing about a cider-mill in operation, his right arm was caught in the machinery, and so crushed as to cripple it for life. This accident disqualified him for manual labor, and he was obliged ever after to write with his left hand, but it turned his attention toward a liberal education. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in the Class of 1794 ; and soon after leaving Cambridge, as a law student he entered the office of William Gordon, Esq., of Amherst, New Hampshire, but finished his studies in the office of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in 1798, and at once opened an office at Billerica, where he re- mained for three years. During the summer of 1801 he made a tour of observation through various towns in the District of Maine, and finally selected Belfast as the most desirable place for a young lawyer. Here he settled on January 3, 1802, when there were less than a dozen framed houses in the village, besides a few log cabins, and not more than three hundred inhabitants in the whole township. He was the pioneer lawyer of a large tract of country, now dotted with flourishing towns. Soon afterward he was made County At- torney, a position which he held until October 8, 181 1, when he received the appointment of Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the Third Eastern Circuit, at that time comprising the counties of Hancock and Washington, and afterward including the county of Penobscot. This office he filled until the year 1822, when the courts were re-organized, in consequence of the admission of the District of Maine as one of the States of the Union. While acting as Judge, on November 12, 18 12, he was chosen a Presidential Elector, when the vote of the Commonwealth was thrown in favor of De Witt Clinton, the unsuccessful competitor of Madison for the Presidency ; and on April 3, 18 15, he was elected a mem- ber of the Massachusetts Senate, where he served for one year. He died of paralysis at Belfast, on March 31, 1852, aged Si years, 9 months, and 28 days. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 121 On October 12, 1804, Mr. Crosby was married to Sally, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Mann) Davis, of Billerica. His wife survived him, and died on November 1, 1877, at the advanced age of 94 years. The late William George Crosby, Governor of Maine in 1853-1854, was their eldest child. Josiah Danforth was a son of Josiah and Sarah (Blodgett) Danforth, and born at Tyngsborough, on January 15, 1786. He pursued his preparatory studies under the instruction of Benjamin Stone, 1 of Tyngsborough, and the Reverend Hum- phrey Moore, of Milford, New Hampshire, and at Chesterfield Academy. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1 81 1, — a class in which the town of Groton was so fully- represented, — and immediately afterward began the study of law in the office of the Honorable William M. Richardson, of Groton. Here he remained for a while, and then entered the office of Daniel Richardson, Esq., in his native town ; and after his admission to the Middlesex bar in December, 18 14, he began the practice of his profession at Litchfield, New Hamp- shire. In that town he lived for nine months, and then removed to Weare in the same State, where he practised law successfully for many years, enjoying the confidence of the neighborhood. During this period he held various town offices, and in the years 1823 and 1824 was chosen a member of the State Legislature. In 1851 he returned to his native town, where he ended his days on November 5, 1867. On September 26, 18 16, Mr. Danforth was married to Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Hunt (Smith) Farwell, of Tyngsborough ; and they had one child, James, who grad- uated at the Dartmouth Medical School in the Class of 1838. Mr. Danforth's widow died on December 21, 1870, at the age of JJ years. Charles Octavius Emerson was a son of Edward, Jr., and Nabby (Lyman) Emerson, and born at York, Maine, on 1 Benjamin Stone, a native of Shrewsbury, and a graduate of Harvard Col- lege in the Class of 1776, was engaged by the town of Tyngsborough, on Sep- tember 12, 1803, to teach the Grammar School. He had previously taught at Leicester Academy, where he was the first principal, and at Westford Academy. 16 122 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. March 27, 1799. He fitted for college at Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1 8 1 8. After leaving Cambridge he began the study of law in the office of Jeremiah Bradbury, Esq., of York, where he passed one year ; and in October, 18 19, entered the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, where he re- mained two years. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1821, and then returned to his native town, where he practised his profession until his death. In 1827, 1828, and 1829 he was a member of the Maine House of Repre- sentatives. His life was happy and useful, and his Christian influence was always felt in the community where he lived. He died at York, on June 22, 1863. On June 24, 1829, Mr. Emerson was married to Harriet Jane, daughter of Deacon John and Peggy (Spear) Phillips, of Portland, Maine ; and they had six children. Willard Hall was the eldest child of Willis and Mehet- abel (Poole) Hall, and born at Westford, on December 24, 1780. He fitted for college at Westford Academy, and grad- uated at Harvard College in the Class of 1799- He studied law under the tuition of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, and after a three years' course of professional study, was admitted to the bar of Hillsborough County, New Hamp- shire, in March, 1803. Many years later, in recounting some of the incidents of this period of his life, he wrote : — The offices of Mr. Bigelow and Mr. Dana were nurseries of law- yers. Mr. Bigelow was a man of great ability and elevated moral and religious character. His speaking was rapid — rapid to a fault ; but it was earnest, energetic, and full of matter. He filled the circle in which he moved ; but on the broad extent of his State and nation he never attained to the eminence that was his due. Personal idolatry, so rife now, was then unknown. Mr. Dana was a good lawyer, a graceful speaker, with a melodious voice, an inter- esting gentleman. He abounded with anecdote ; there could be no more entertaining companion (page 14). " Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Willard Hall." By Hon. Daniel M. Kates. (Wilmington, 1S79. ) THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 23 Immediately after his admission to the bar Mr. Hall passed a short time at his father's house in Westford, and then, on April 7, 1803, set out for Wilmington, Delaware, where he arrived in nine days, travelling the whole distance on horse- back. During the following month of May he established himself at Dover in that State, and in due time became known as a man of legal learning and sound judgment. From the year 181 1 to 18 14, and again in 1821, he was Secretary of the State; from 181 7 to 1821 Representative in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses of the United States ; and a mem- ber of the State Constitutional Convention in 1 83 r . On May 6, 1823, he was appointed by President Monroe as Judge of the United States District Court in Delaware, a position which he held until December, 1871, through an exceptionally long period of forty-eight years. Soon after his appointment as Judge he removed from Dover to Wilmington, where he died on May 10, 1875, at the advanced age of 94 years, 4 months, and 16 days. In 1806 Judge Hall was married, first, to Junia, youngest daughter of William and Rebecca (Alles) Killen, who died on September 19, 1824; and, secondly, in 1826, to Harriet, daughter of Charles and Mary (Killen) Hillyard. By the second marriage there were no children. John Harris was a son of Richard and Lydia (Atherton) Harris, and born at Harvard, on October 13, 1769. He grad- uated at Harvard College in the Class of 1791, and read law in the office of Simeon Strong, Esq., of Amherst, and later in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. After his admission to the bar he went in 1794 to Hop- kinton, New Hampshire, where he entered upon the practice of his profession, and remained until his death. Besides fill- ing many town offices, he was, from the year 1812 to 1823, Judge of Probate for Hillsborough County; from 1823 to 1843, Judge of Probate for Merrimack County; from 1817 to 1823, Solicitor of Hillsborough County ; and from 1823 to 1833 Associate Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature. In 1820 he was one of a commission to revise the code of Pro- 124 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. bate laws in New Hampshire. He had some distinction in militia service, and was also prominent in the Masonic frater- nity. He died at Hopkinton on April 23, 1845. In September, 1799, Judge Harris was married to Mary, daughter of Eliphalet and Elizabeth (Little) Poor, of Hamp- stead, New Hampshire, who was born on February 10, 1779, and died on March 6, 1843, preceding him, by about two years. They had four children, all now dead. Walter Hastings was the eldest child of Dr. Walter and Lucretia (Bridge) Hastings, and born at Chelmsford, on De- cember 26, 1778. He pursued his preparatory studies prob- ably in his native town, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1799. He bore the same name as his father and grandfather, who both were graduates of Harvard. After studying the profession of law in the office of the Honorable James Prescott, Jr., of Groton, he was admitted to the Middle- sex bar in March, 1803, and soon afterward settled atTownsend, where he was, in point of time, the first lawyer of the place. At the bar he maintained a respectable position, but his fond- ness for the militia was uppermost in his mind and outweighed all his other interests. His residence was at Townsend Har- bor. In the year 1809 he was chosen to the captaincy of the North Company of Townsend, which office he continued to hold until 18 12, when, war having broken out with England, he was commissioned, on July 8, as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Regiment, Second Brigade, Third Division of the Massachusetts Militia, and placed in command of his regiment in Boston Harbor; and on June 20, 1816, he was brevetted Colonel. At the end of the war he returned to Townsend Harbor, and resumed the practice of law. His death took place on June 6, 1821, and the next day he was buried with military honors. He is still remembered by the older citizens of Townsend as a man of elegant manners and dignified appearance. On March 1, 18 14, Colonel Hastings was married to Rox- ana, daughter of Moses and Martha (Reed) Warren, of Town- send ; and they had four children. The eldest child, Walter, THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. I 25 Jr., who died in Boston, on October 28, 1879, was a large benefactor of Harvard College, where there is now a Walter Hastings Hall named for him. Colonel Hastings's widow afterward married Elisha Glidden, Esq., a lawyer of Lowell. The following obituary notice is found in the " Columbian Centinel " (Boston), June 13, 1821: — In Townsend, on the 6th inst. Walter Hastings Esq. Counsellor at Law, aged 42, late Lieut.-Colonel of the Militia, and interred on the 7th. The funeral procession was preceded by a numerous mili- tary escort, who voluntarily assembled to unite their solemn honors with the civic rites on the occasion. Thomas Hopkinson was a son of Theophilus and Susanna (Allen) Hopkinson, and born at New Sharon, Maine, on August 25, 1804. He pursued his preparatory studies at Farmington Academy, and graduated at Harvard College with the highest honors in the Class of 1830. After leaving Cam- bridge, he entered the office of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, as a law student, where he remained a short time, and then continued his studies in the office of the Hon- orable Luther Lawrence, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1833, and began the practice of law in the new manufacturing town of Lowell, where he became the partner of his former instructor, Mr. Lawrence, who had pre- viously removed there. In his profession he soon rose to an eminent rank, and was widely known as an able lawyer and a wise counsellor. On November 13, 1837, he was chosen a member of the General Court, and on November 11, 1844, for a second term ; and on January 9, 1846, in joint conven- tion of the branches of the Legislature, he was elected a member of the State Senate. He was a delegate from, Bos- ton to the Convention in 1853 for revising the State Consti- tution. On October 13, 1848, he was appointed a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but on August 1 of the follow- ing year resigned his seat on the bench, as he had been chosen president of the Boston and Worcester Railroad Cor- poration. When he entered upon the duties of this office as president, he removed to Boston, where he lived until the 126 THE LAWYERS OE GROTON. autumn of 1855, and thence to Cambridge, where he resided until his death on November 17, 1856. On November 30, 1836, Mr. Hopkinson was married to Corinna Aldrich, daughter of the Honorable John and Diantha (Aldrich) Prentiss, of Keene, New Hampshire. John Park Little was the youngest son of John and Margaret (Park) Little, and born at Lunenburg, on No- vember 17, 1772. He was a graduate of Brown University in the Class of 1794, where he also took a Master's degree, and studied law in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. In the year 1801 he established himself at Gorham, Maine, where his many virtues gave the promising hope of a long and successful life, but which was disappointed. He died in that town, on March 26, 1809. His father was a large owner of land in that part of Groton which is now Shirley, and his mother was a native of Groton. On September 1, 1805, Mr. Little was married to Mary Jackson, youngest child of the Honorable Oliver and Lydia (Baldwin) Prescott, of Groton. His widow afterward married the Honorable Lothrop Lewis, of Gorham. She was born on November 8, 1774, and died on May 30, 1862 ; and for more than fifty years was an active member of the Congregational Church at Gorham. Edward St. Loe Livermore was the eldest child of Edward St. Loe and Sarah Crease (Stackpole) Livermore, and born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on February 12, 1800. He studied law in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in March, 1832. During several years he practised his pro- fession in Lowell, where he died on March 22, 1842. On June 21, 1828, Mr. Livermore was married at Methuen, to Hannah Gove Brown, a native of Pittsfield, New Hampshire. John Locke was the second son of Jonathan ami Mary (Haven | Nichols) Locke, and born at Hopkinton, on Febru- ary 14, 1764. In 1769 his father's family removed to Framing- ham, and thence, in 1770, to Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, at THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. \2J that time called Monadnock No. 2, where they lived in a log- house. In 1772 the family went to Ashby, where John worked on a farm till he was twenty-two years of age. He fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, and entered Dartmouth College in the second quarter of the Sophomore year. Here he remained only a short time, when he entered Harvard Col- lege at the beginning of the Junior year, and graduated in the Class of 1792. He then began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, and was ad- mitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1796. He estab- lished himself in the practice of his profession at Ashby, which town he represented in the General Court during the years 1804, 1805, 1813, and 1823. In 1820 he was a member of the Convention for revising the State Constitution ; and from 1823 to 1829 a representative in Congress from the Wor- cester North District. In 1830 he was a State Senator from Middlesex County, and in 183 1 a member of the Executive Council. In 1837 he removed to Lowell in order to live with a son, and in 1849 to Boston, where he died on March 29, 1855. On May 25, 1799, Mr. Locke was married to Hannah, daughter of General Nathaniel and Molly (Jackson) Goodwin, of Plymouth ; and they had five children. He was a brother of Joseph, whose sketch appears next ; and they married sisters. Joseph Locke was the youngest son of Jonathan and Mary (Haven | Nichols) Locke, and born at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, on April 8, 1772. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1797, and studied law in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1800, and, according to " The Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar," for 1802 and for 1803, was an attorney at Littleton during those years. The Reverend George Thomas Chapman, D.D , in his " Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College," says that Mr. Locke at that time was living at Acton. John Goodwin Locke, in his " Book of the Lockes " (page 1 14), 128 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. says that Joseph opened an office at Billerica in 1801, which is probably correct, as it was the family account. Mr. Locke took high rank in his profession, and had a large practice at Billerica. From the years 1806 to 1810 inclusive, he repre- sented that town in the General Court, and in 1820 was a member of the Convention for revising the Constitution of Massachusetts. On July 2, 18 14, he was appointed Special Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County, but he was not sworn in as such until September 10, 1816. In 1 816 he was one of the Presidential Electors, when the vote of the Electoral College was cast, on December 4, in favor of Rufus King; and in 1 82 1 and 1822 a member of the Executive Council. On June 15, 18 19, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions in Middlesex County, which office he held for eight years, and until the Court was abolished by an Act of the Legislature, on February 26, 1828. In 1833 he removed from Billerica to Lowell, where on March 23 of that year he had been appointed Judge of the Police Court, which position he held until April, 1846. He was also a member of the General Court from that city during the session of 1849. His death took place in Lowell, on Novem- ber 10, 1853. On November 16, 1803, Judge Locke was married to Lydia, daughter of General Nathaniel and Molly (Jackson) Goodwin, of Plymouth ; and they had a family of eight children. Stephen Minot was a son of Captain Jonas and Mary (Hall) Minot, and born at Concord, on September 28, 1776. He fitted for college at Westford Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1801. He pursued his legal studies under the tuition of the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1804. He began to practise his profession at New Gloucester, Maine, but at the end of a year removed to Haverhill in this State. On October 14, 18 1 1 , he was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, and held the office until 1820, when the law which created that court was repealed. In 1824 he was appointed District Attorney for Essex County, THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 29 which office he held until 1830. In 1825 he was chosen a representative to the General Court, and would have been re- chosen, had he not declined a second nomination. During the later years of his life he withdrew from the active practice of law, and devoted himself to the study of mathematics and the Latin authors, for which he always had a fondness. He died at Haverhill, on April 6, 1861. On November 9, 1809, Mr. Minot was married, first, to Rebecca, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Peabody) Trask, of Bradford, who died on November 27, 1832 ; and, on January 6, 1 841, secondly, to Ellen Partridge, daughter of the Hono- rable Stephen Partridge and Achsah (Moore) Gardner, of Bolton. His wife's name was originally Azubah Partridge Gardner, but by an Act of the Legislature, on March 11, 1828, it was changed. George Morey was a son of the Reverend George and Anna (Palmer) Morey, and born at Walpole, on June 12, 1789. He was fitted for college by his uncle, the Reverend Stephen Palmer, of Needham, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 181 1. He took high rank in his class, which was pre- eminent for ability and scholarship. For two years after graduation he was the preceptor of Framingham Academy, and while a resident of Framingham began the study of law. Afterward he entered the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, where he finished his professional studies. After his admission to the Suffolk bar on March 16, 1818, he began the practice of law at Roxbury, where he re- mained a few years, and then removed to Boston, which afterward became his permanent home. He was a wise and sagacious counsellor, and an active member of the Whig party during its existence. For many years he was Chair- man of the Whig State Central Committee. In 1830 and 1 83 1 he was a representative to the General Court, and in 1839 an d ^40 a member of the State Senate. In 1842 and 1844 ne was a member of the Executive Council, and in 1853 a member of the Convention for revising the Con- stitution of Massachusetts ; and from 1854 to 1859 an Overseer 17 130 I HE LAWYERS I >l- GROTON. of Harvard College. He was also a Presidential Elector at large in i860, when the vote of the Commonwealth was thrown for Abraham Lincoln. He died in Boston on May II, 1866. On May 29, 1823, Mr. Morey was married to Fanny, daughter of Major Lavvson and Mary (Jones) Buckminster, of Framingham ; but they had no children. Augustus Peabody was a son of Deacon John and Mary (Perley) Peabody, and born at Andover, on May 17, 1779. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1803, and studied law under the direction of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1806, and began the practice of his profession at Boston. His given name originally was Asa, but by an Act of the Legislature, passed on June 15, 1815.it was changed to Augustus. In the year 181 9 he was a member of the General Court from the town of Boston. About 1846 he removed to Roxbury, where he died on October 2, 185 1. On October 28, 181 5, Mr. Peabody was married to Miranda, youngest child of Thatcher and Lucy (Wiswall) Goddard, of Boston. David Perham was the younger son of Peter and Rebecca (Buttrick) Perham, and born at Ashby, on February 10, 1780. He attended school at Groton Academy, then under the preceptorship of William M. Richardson, and immediately afterward began the study of law in the office of Judge Dana and of JVIr. Richardson, his former preceptor at the Academy, who was now in partnership with Mr. Dana. He was ad- mitted to the Middlesex bar in March, 1809, and opened an office at Acton, where he remained until the summer of 181 1, when he removed to Orrington, Maine. He lived in that part of the town which, on its division in February, 1812, became Brewer ; and here he lived until the year 1833, at which time he took up his residence in Bangor. He was actively engaged in the practice of his profession until 1822. when he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He died in Bangor, on May 31, 1845. THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. I 3 I On August 25, 1 8 14, Judge Perham was married, first, to Betsey, daughter of David and Hannah (Davis) Barnard, of Acton ; and, on October 13, 1830, secondly, to Charlotte, daughter of Caleb and Mary (Jackson) Gardner, of Brookline. His second wife was born in Newton, on January 22, 1760, and died in Roxbury, on April 21, 1869. Jonathan Porter was a son of Jonathan and Phebe (Abbot) Porter, and born at Medford, on November 13, 1791 . He was prepared for college at a private school kept by Dr. John Hosmer, of Medford, and graduated with the highest honors at Harvard College in the Class of 18 14. He studied law partly in the office of the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and partly in the office of the Honorable Asahel Stearns, of Chelmsford, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in November, 18 19. He was fond of books and study, more so than of professional practice, and for that reason he never took the high rank as a lawyer which his attain- ments in other respects seemed to warrant. In the year 1828 he delivered the oration before the Phi Beta Kappa at Cam- bridge. Throughout his life he was a diligent student, and particularly fond of Greek literature. During a long and fatal illness his patience and resignation were the triumph of an abiding Christian faith. He died at Medford, on June 1 1 , 1859- On July 22, 1823, Mr. Porter was married to Catharine, daughter of Samuel and Anna (Orne) Gray, of Medford ; and they had three children. An only son, long since deceased, was a classmate of the writer of these lines. Joshua Prescott was a son of Deacon John and Martha (Abbot) Prescott, and born at Westford, on November 15, 1780. He was the last surviving member of his father's family, which consisted of six sons and one daughter, who lived to mature age. Three of the sons received a liberal education, Samuel, Aaron, and the subject of this notice. Joshua pursued his preparatory studies at Westford Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1807. 132 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. After leaving Cambridge he taught school for a short while at Saco, Maine, and then began the study of law in the office of his kinsman the Honorable James Prescott, Jr., of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1811, when he opened an office at Reading. He afterward removed to Lynn, where he remained only for a few months, and then returned to Reading, which continued to be the place of his permanent abode. In the year 1830 he published " A Digest of the Probate Laws of Massachusetts, relative to the power and duty of executors, administrators, guardians, heirs, legatees, and creditors," a work which has had a wide circulation. In 1826 and 1827 he was a member of the General Court from the town of Reading. He was much interested in agricultural pursuits, and cultivated successfully the farm on which for many years he lived. He never sought public office, and as a citizen was highly respected in all the relations of life. His faith as a Christian in the unbounded love of God was firm and unwavering, and he awaited his end with calmness and resignation. He died on January 1, 1859, at ms homestead in Reading. On January 5, 181 3, Mr. Prescott was married to Abigail, only daughter and surviving child of Lieutenant Thomas and Abigail (Bryant) Eaton, of Reading ; and they had five children. His widow died on February 4, 1867, aged 82 years and 1 month. Thomas Rice was a son of Noah and Hannah (Warren) Rice, and born at Sutton, on November 27, 1734. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in the Class of 1756, and immediately afterward studied medicine under the instruction of Dr. Oliver Prescott, of Groton. About the year 1760 he settled as a practitioner at Wiscasset Point, and with the exception of Dr. William Crawford at Fort Pownal, was the earliest edu- cated physician in that part of the State of Maine. He became eminent in his profession, and had a large and successful practice. In 1774 he was a member of the General Court, and the first representative to the Legislature chosen from any town east of the Kennebec River. From an early THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 133 period he was active in political affairs, and, though a physician, he was called upon to take a judicial station. In those days it was customary to select any man best qualified for the office, whether from the medical or clerical professions. On September 7, 1763, he was appointed one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas for Lincoln County, and later the Chief Justice of the same Court, positions which he held for nearly half a century ; and for many years during this period he was also Register of Deeds. On October 25, 1780, he was chosen a Senator to the Massachusetts Legislature, and re-chosen for the two following years. From 1794 to 1799 he served as Trustee of Bowdoin College, although this was before the institution was fairly organized. He died at his home in Wiscasset, on April 21, 181 2. On January 15, 1767, Judge Rice was married to Rebekah, daughter of John and Patience (Tappan) Kingsbury, of Wis- casset, a native of Newbury, who died on August 19, 18 16. Thomas Rice, Jr., was the eldest child of Dr. Thomas and Rebekah (Kingsbury) Rice, and born at Pownalborough, now Wiscasset, Maine, on March 30, 1768. He graduated at Har- vard College in the Class of 1791, and came to Groton in order to teach school, and at the same time to study medicine under the tuition of Dr. Oliver Prescott, who had been also his father's instructor. After a short experience he gave up medicine and entered the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, where he remained as a law student for three years. After completing this course, he went to Wiscasset, where the court was then sitting, and applied for admission to the bar, but was estopped by the rule which required that a part of the professional study should be pursued in the county. His own account of this new perplexity is given in Willis's " History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine," as follows : — I knew not then what to do but to return to Groton to consult my friend Mr. Bigelow. I stopped in Boston, — the Court of Com- mon Pleas was sitting there. I saw Judge Sullivan, the president of the bar in that county, and told him my story. He said that he 134 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. would call a bar meeting and submit my case, which he did, and they voted immediately for my admission to practise in that county. I have the certificate of the clerk of the court, Ezekiel Price, now before me (1851), which shows that fifty-seven years since (1794), 1 was admitted to the practice of law (page 182). Mr. Rice then established himself at Winslow, Maine, which at that time included the present city of Waterville, where he soon became prominent as a lawyer. In 18 14 he represented the town in the General Court of Massachusetts, and was a member of Congress from the Kennebec District, for two terms, from 18 15 to 18 19 (Fourteenth and Fifteenth Con- gresses). At the end of a long and useful career he laid down peacefully the burden of a busy life, on August 25, 1854, at his own home in Winslow, carrying with him the love of kindred and the respect of neighbors. He gave up the practice of law about twenty years before he died. On April 18, 1776, Mr. Rice was married, first, to Sarah, daughter of the Honorable William and Mercy (Porter) Swan, of Gardiner, Maine, and a native of Groton, who died at Winslow, on September 26, 1840 ; and on February 16, 1842, secondly, to Susannah, daughter of Colonel Reuben Hayes and Dorcas (Storer) Green, of Winslow, who died at the same place, on December 1, 1879. Danikl Richardson was the third son of Captain Daniel and Sarah (Merchant) Richardson, and born at Pelham, New Hampshire, on January 19, 1783. He studied law at Groton, in the office of Judge Samuel Dana, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1807. He afterward settled at Tyngs- borough, where he was postmaster for thirty-five years ; representative to the General Court in 1827 and 1828 ; and a member of the State Senate in 1831, 1832, and 1833, besides holding various town offices. He died at Tyngsborough, on February 12, 1842. On April 2, 18 16, Mr. Richardson was married, first, to Mary, second daughter of William and Mary (Robv) Adams, of Chelmsford, who died on August t, 1S25 ; and, on November 23, 1826, secondly, to Hannah, fourth daughter of the same THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 35 parents. He was the father of the Honorable William Adams Richardson, of Washington, D. C, Chief Justice of the Court of Claims, who for many years and in many ways has been associated with the town of Groton. Nathaniel Shattuck was the eldest child of Nathaniel and Catharine (Andrews) Shattuck, and born at Temple, New Hampshire, on February 27, 1774. He was a descendant of an early settler of Groton, and a graduate of Dartmouth Col- lege in the Class of 1801. He read law for two years under the direction of the Honorable Benjamin Joseph Gilbert, of Hanover, New Hampshire, and later in the office of the Hon- orable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in June, 1804. He began the practice of his profession at Milford, but afterward lived at Amherst and Mason Village, now known as Greenville, all in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. Owing to the failure of his eyesight, he subsequently gave up the practice of law, and became a resident of Lancaster, Massachusetts. He afterward dwelt in one or two other towns in this State, and died at Concord, on September 1, 1864. On June 15, 1806, Mr. Shattuck was married, first, to Mary, daughter of the Honorable James and Betsey (Kimball) Wallace, of Milford, New Hampshire, who was born on April 5, 1790, and died on June 3, 1812; and, on April 4, 1816, secondly, to Sally, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Seaton) Stanley, of Amherst, New Hampshire. By the first marriage there was one daughter, and by the second there were six children. The second wife was born at Amherst on July 25, 1789, and died in Manchester, New Hampshire, on February 7. 1865. Samuel Emerson Smith was a son of Manasseh and Han- nah (Emerson) Smith, and born at Hollis, New Hampshire, on March 12, 1788. He pursued his preparatory studies at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1808. He studied the profession of law, partly with the Honorable Samuel Dana, of Groton, and partly with his 136 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. brothers, Manasseh Smith, of Warren, Maine, and Joseph Emerson Smith, of Boston, and was admitted to the Suffolk bar on February 25, 181 2. Immediately afterward he estab- lished himself at Wiscasset, Maine, where he soon took a high position as a sound and discriminating lawyer. In 1819 he was chosen by that town a member of the General Court of Massachusetts, and during the next year a member of the Legislature of Maine, which was the first session held in the new State. In 1821 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Cir- cuit Court of Common Pleas for the Second Circuit, and during the next year, on its reorganization, when the circuit system was abolished, he was made an Associate Judge of the new Court, which position he held until 1830. During that year he was chosen Governor of the State, and re-chosen at the next two annual elections, and served as such through the years 1831, 1832, and 1833. It was during his administration that the subject of the northeastern boundary began to excite the public mind, and also that the removal of the seat of gov- ernment from Portland to Augusta took place. In 1835 he was appointed to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas, from which he retired in 1837.. He died at Wiscasset, on March 3, i860. On September 12, 1832, Governor Smith was married to Louisa Sophia, daughter of Henry Weld and Esther (Gould) Fuller, of Augusta. Asahel Stearns was a son of the Honorable Josiah and Mary (Corey) Stearns, and born at Lunenburg, on June 17, 1774. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1797, and on July 1 1, 1797, was appointed Preceptor of Groton Academy, which position he held only for six months. Giv- ing up the preceptorship, he began the study of law in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1800. Imme- diately afterward he established himself as a lawyer in Chelmsford, where he remained until 181 5, when he removed to Charlestown. While a resident of Chelmsford he was chosen, on November 7, 18 14, a Representative to the Four- THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 37 teenth Congress of the United States. In 181 7 he was ap- pointed University Professor at the Harvard Law School, which chair he held for twelve years. The title has since been changed to the Bussey Professorship. By a Resolve of the Legislature, passed on February 4, 1832, the Governor was authorized to appoint three commissioners to revise the General Statutes, and under this authority Professor Stearns was named as one of them. He died in Cambridge, on February 5, 1839. On April 23, 1801, Professor Stearns was married at Chelmsford to Mrs. Frances Wentworth (Whiting) Shepard, daughter of Benjamin and Grace (Hall) Whiting, and widow of Daniel Shepard, of Amherst, New Hampshire. John Stuart was a son of Charles and Esther (Ferguson) Stuart, and born at Peterborough, New Hampshire, on Sep- tember 5, 1782. His mother was a daughter of John Fergu- son, and born at Groton, on March 31, 1747. Mr. Stuart studied law in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in Decem- ber, 1807. He began the practice of his profession at New- buryport, but soon afterward went to Boston, where he was living from 181 3 to 1829, according to the Directories of that period. He is said, in Smith's History of Peterborough (page 300 of the second part), to have died' in the year 1848, but the place of death is not there given. On June 29, 1809, Mr. Stuart was married to Sarah Taylor, only daughter of James and Sarah (Farwell) Brazer, of Groton. They were the parents of Mrs. Sarah Brazer (Stuart) Berry, who is mentioned in the second volume of this His- torical Series (page 388). John Leighton Tuttle, the eldest of thirteen children, was a son of John and Elizabeth (Leighton) Tuttle, and born at Littleton, on February 10, 1774. He was fitted for college partly at New Ipswich Academy, and partly by the Reverend Joseph Willard, of Boxborough, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1796. He studied law, first, in the 18 138 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, for two years, but finished his studies in the office of the Hon- orable Simeon Strong, of Amherst. He began to practise his profession at Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and soon after- ward removed tc Concord in this State. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in April, 1803, and later became prominent in the councils of the Democratic party. He was chosen a member of the State Senate in 1808 and the five following years, and was also the County Treasurer during the same period. He was postmaster of Concord from January 1, 181 1, to February 14, 1813. On March 12, 1812, he was commis- sioned Lieutenant Colonel commanding the Ninth Regiment of Infantry, United States Army, which took part in the mili- tary operations around Sackett's Harbor, on Lake Ontario, and a short time afterward was appointed Brigade Paymaster. He died, unmarried, at Watertown, New York, on July 23, 1 8 1 3, when there was a strong suspicion that he had been poisoned by a woman for the purpose of robbery. John Varnum was a son of Parker and Dorcas (Brown) Varnum, and born at Dracut, on June 25, 1778. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in the Class of 1798, and studied law in the office of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in September, 1801, and the next year began the practice of his profession at Haverhill, where he was highly successful as a lawyer. On April 5, 1813, as a Federalist, he was chosen a member of the State Senate; and on November 1, 1824, a member of the Nineteenth Congress from the Essex North District, and later of the next two Congresses, serving in that body from the year 1825 to 183 1. Soon after his return from Washing- ton, he removed to the new town of Lowell, and thence to Niles, Michigan, where he died, after a short illness, on July 23, 1836. On October 9, 1806, Mr. Varnum was married, first, to Mary Cooke, daughter of Dr. Nathaniel and Anna (White) Saltonstall, of Haverhill ; and, on May 23, 1826, in Washing- ton, D. C, secondly, to Mrs. Mary (Pease) Varnum. The sec- ond wife was an adopted daughter of the Honorable Gideon THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. 1 39 Granger, of New York, and the widow of James Mitchell Var- num, son of the Honorable Joseph Bradley Varnum, United States Senator from Massachusetts. She was a daughter of Dr. Augustine and Mary (Austin) Pease, born at Suffield, Connecticut, on March 5, 1783, and died on September 11, 1847. Levi Wallace is a son of Benjamin and Susan (Spaulding) Wallace, and was born at Townsend, on February 27, 1831. He attended school at Appleton Academy, New Ipswich, during 1857 and 1858 ; and for a short time after this period he was a teacher at the Merrimack Normal Institute at Reed's Ferry, a village in Merrimack, New Hampshire. In the year 1859 he began the study of law in the office of John Spaul- ding, Esq., of Groton, and on April 15, 1862, was admitted to the Middlesex bar. He settled first at Pepperell, but on October 27, 1874, removed to Ayer, where he now resides. On November 5, 1867, he was chosen a member of the Gen- eral Court for the session of 1868 from the towns of Groton and Pepperell ; and on November 7, 1871, a member of the Senate for the session of 1872 from the Fifth Middlesex Dis- trict, and re-chosen to the same office for the following year. On August 15, 1873, he was appointed Special Justice of the First District Court of Northern Middlesex, and on February 3, 1874, Standing Justice of the same court. At Commence- ment, June 30, 1886, Amherst College conferred upon him the honorary degree of A.M. On September 20, 1863, Judge Wallace was married to Mrs. Hannah Farrar (Rogers) Blaney, daughter of John William and Martha Farrar (Wallace) Rogers, and widow of Aaron Blaney, of Pepperell. Giles Henry Whitney was a son of Abel and Abigail (Townsend) Whitney, and born in Boston, on January 18, 18 18. He fitted for college at the Boston Latin School, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1837. He studied law in the office of George F. Farley, Esq., of Groton, and in 1842 attended a course of lectures at the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar during that year, and began the practice of his profession at Westminster, but after- 140 THE LAWYERS OF GROTON. ward lived at Templeton, and subsequently at Winchendon, to which town he removed in 1855. He was a member of the State Senate in 1851, — at that time a resident of Tem- pleton, — and a member of the House of Representatives in 1864, 1866, and 1 88 1. For twenty-five years he acted as Moderator at the town-meetings, and in every way was a most useful citizen. Though modest and retiring in his hab- its, he was firm and positive in his convictions, and con- scientious in the performance of every duty. He died at Winchendon, on January 12, 1888. On November 28, 1850, Mr. Whitney was married to Lydia Ann, daughter of Joseph, Jr., and Mary (Wood) Davis, of Northborough. Frederick Augustus Worcester was a son of Jesse and Sarah (Parker) Worcester, and born at Hollis, New Hamp- shire, on January 28, 1807. His parents had fifteen children, nine sons and six daughters ; and of the sons five graduated either at Harvard or Yale, and two others entered Harvard, of whom one died in college, and the other left during his Junior year. Joseph Emerson Worcester, the distinguished lexicographer, was one of these brothers. Frederick fitted for college partly at Pinkerton Academy, Derry, New Hampshire, and partly at Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1831. Immediately after- ward he began the study of law under the instruction of Ben- jamin M. Farley, Esq., of Hollis, where he remained about a year. He then attended the Harvard Law School for one term, finishing his professional studies in the office of George F. Farley, Esq., of Groton. After his admission to the bar he began the practice of his profession at Bangor, Maine, where he lived less than a year. In the summer of 1836 he removed to Townsend, which continued to be the place of his permanent abode, though during the last fifteen years of his life he also had an office at Ayer. He was a Representative to the General Court during the session of 1856/^ On January 21, 1854, Mr. Worcester was married at Townsend to Jane McAfee, daughter of Charles and Try- phena (Hubbard) Kellogg, of Amherst, Massachusetts. .# ■*', Audi i«& f£*t** v -^ - . - ^.~ C,vT> ,/' ■•■ ,•• 7 "^ ^ «k ^ v\ ^ ' • ^ .r O =*V *<6 '^C** N. MANCHESTER, ^Jfl INDIANA