Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 4: Bench and Bar, 1924

The judiciary of Bristol county is its legal bulwark, both by force of ability and numbers fulfilling the requirements in the courts of a polyglot population that for the past thirty years at least have offered their various causes to be debated. When the late Hon. John S. Brayton, forty years ago, wrote his treatise and history of the beginnings of the bar, and when, a little later, Hon. Arthur M. Alger wrote his sketches of prominent justices, the native American attorney and bench leader found the "old régime" in the full possession that had existed for two centuries. Very soon afterward the urge of the immigrant began to bring itself into notice in the courts, as well as in all other departments of the activities of communities; so that the present era, both as to personnel and potentiality, is one in which the voice of the law advocate makes its appeal for the representatives of many races.

The business of the law in the county has now become manifold and cosmopolitan; the causes at issue have increased beyond the prophecies of the former justices. Bench, bar, jury and laymen now hear the interpretation of the law, commensurate with the needs of the new conditions; and all jurists have more and far greater problems to solve than had their predecessors.

Just how soon after the incorporation of the county, in 1685, the courts were in operation here is not recorded, but the late Rev. Samuel Hopkins Emery, author of the "History of Taunton," made the discovery in the basement of the old court-house of a document entitled "Records of the Courts in 1696" and onwards, the first that had been found before that having been referred to as of 1702 by the late Hon. John §. Brayton, of Fall River. The former document began: "At his majesties Court of Common Pleas at Bristol, July 14th, in the year of his majesties reign Annoque Dom. 1696, John Saaffin, esq. Presiding. Justices Present, Captain John Brown, Captain Thomas Leonard, Captain Nicholas Peck, esqrs." Other Bristol county court records referred to are of 1698 and 1699.

Taunton became the shire town in 1746, and the first session of the Court of Common Pleas was held there December 9, 1746, Hon. Seth Williams, George Leonard and Stephen Paine presiding.

Very brief biographical sketches of the "old Guard" are herewith given, following which there is a list for the first time published of attorneys and justices of the county for more than a century, with the dates of their admission; and finally, the names of those now in practice in the county. Thanks are due Attorneys Frank L. Tinkham and George R. Williams, for much aid in these matters.

Taunton. - Since Taunton has been known as the shire town and the county seat from the year 1746, and.since from that year to the present, men learned in the law have made Taunton their home and the forum of their activities, it is desirable to glance retrospectively and in brief to their times and associations that we may thus perceive by what substantial founders the judicial beginnings of the county were laid.

All historians honor Judge Samuel White as the first barrister at law who resided in Taunton. Few that have followed him have proven more thoroughly representative students of the law. He was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, April 2, 1710, and graduated at Harvard College in 1731, in his twenty-first year. Eight years later, in 1739, he took up his residence in Taunton, and in 1744 was commissioned a justice of the peace for Bristol county. He received the appointment of king's attorney of the Court of Sessions in the year Taunton was made the county seat (1746), holding that office for the remainder of his life. His adopted town elected him to the General Court for the years 1749-53-56-59, and 1764-65; he served as speaker of the House in 1759, 1764-65, and was a member of the Governor's Council in 1767-69. It was while Otis, Adams and Thatcher were members of the House that he presided over its interests, and as Speaker he signed the letter that called for a Congress of the Colonies to protest against grievances. Judge White, it is likely, would have been one of the leaders in Colonial independence, but his death took place March 20, 1769. He married, in November, 1735, Prudence, daughter of Samuel Williams, of Taunton, and they had three children: Experience, born 1738, married Hon. George Leonard; Anna, born 1741, married Hon. Daniel Leonard; and Bathsheba, born 1746, married Hon. William Baylies. Judge White's sister Anna was the first wife of William Wilde, whose only child, Daniel, married Anna Sumner, and was the father of Hon. S. S. Wilde, native of Taunton, and long on the Supreme Court bench.

Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence, spent twenty of the years of his life in Taunton, though he was born in Boston, March 12, 1731. His father, Rev. Thomas Paine, was a native of Barnstable, and a Harvard graduate, class of 1717. His mother was a granddaughter of Governor Robert Treat of Connecticut, and of Rev. Samuel Willard, a vice-president of Harvard College. Robert Treat Paine graduated at Harvard College in 1749, and, being admitted to the bar in 1757, he commenced practice in Boston, but removed to Taunton in,1761. He was considered one of the most eminent attorneys in the Province, his professional business being very extensive. In 1770 he married Sally, daughter of Thomas Cobb, and a sister of General David Cobb. He was elected from Taunton in 1768 to the convention in Boston called to consult upon the condition of the country; and in 1770, after the Boston Massacre, he was retained as prosecuting attorney by Boston against the British soldiers. Judge Paine drafted resolutions in a Taunton remonstration against public wrongs. He was chairman of the committee on the impeachment of Chief Justice Oliver; and he represented his adopted town in the letter to Lord Dartmouth and in the address for the Governor's removal.

The Continental Congress assembled in 1774, largely through his instrumentality, and he represented Massachusetts in that Congress. In the winter and spring of 1775 he attended the Second Provincial Congress at Cambridge, and was a member of the committee on the state of the Province. Without rest, now, he gave himself to the cause of the Patriots, being chairman of the Committee on Supplies in Congress, and providing equipments of every sort for the army. The crowning honor was that of July 4, 1776, when he became one of the signers of the Declaration, and on December 30 of that year he returned to Taunton. He took his seat in the Legislature in 1777, and later was made attorney-general. He was a member of the Hartford Convention in 1778, and in 1779 a member of the Executive Council, as well as of the committee to draft a new State Constitution, under which he continued to serve as attorney-general. He removed to Boston in 1781, and in 1790 was chosen judge of the Supreme Court, serving until 1804, when he was again elected a member of the Executive Council. He died May 12, 1814, at the age of eighty-three years, the father of four sons and four daughters. To perpetuate the memory of his having made Taunton his home, this city erected a statue by Brooks, sculptor, near its Church Green, and on the site of the first town house.

Hon. Daniel Leonard, at first Colonial Patriot, afterwards Loyalist, was born May 29, 1740, in Norton, son of Ephraim Leonard, a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He graduated at Harvard College with the class of 1760, and became distinguished in the law. At first he was an ardent Republican, but it is supposed that he changed his views through the influence of Governor Hutchinson. His unpopularity was assured when he defended the measures of the king and parliament in articles that were published in "Draper's Paper," of Boston, and that called forth reply in a noted article by John Adams, and signed "Novanglus." Taunton people took exceptions to his sentiments, and a mob assailed his house, that stood next to the court-house, and that was afterwards the residence of Judge Padelford. A shutter of that house is preserved at Historical Hall in Taunton, showing marks of bullets of the assailants. Daniel Leonard departed from his native country in 1776 to Halifax, thence to England, and was given the appointment of chief justice for Bermuda. After a stay in that island he returned to London, where he died in 1829, at the age of eighty-nine years. He left four grandchildren, each of whom married well.

Hon. Seth Padelford, LL.D., was born in Taunton, December, 1751, son of John and Jemima Padelford. He was graduated at Yale College with the class of 1770. He began the practice of law with Timothy Ruygles, at Hardwick, but came to Taunton at the time of the Revolution, where he opened an office. He was appointed attorney-general of the county in 1776, and the next year occupied the Daniel Leonard house re- ferred to. He received the appointment of county treasurer in 1783, and of judge of probate in 1794, which he held sixteen years, or to the time of his death, in 1810. He was elected president of the Old Colony bar. He married Rebecca, daughter of Abraham Dennis, sister of the wife of James Sproat, esq., and they had eleven children.

Henry Goodwin, born in Boston, son of Benjamin and Hannah Goodwin, began his legal career in Taunton, upon his graduation at Harvard College in 1778. He became attorney-general of the State of Rhode Island, and died at Newport, Rhode Island, May 31, 1789.

Hon. Samuel Fales, a native of Bristol, Rhode Island, and son of Nathaniel and Sarah Fales, graduated at Harvard in 1773. He married a daughter of Colonel John Cooke, of Tiverton, Rhode Island, and they had eleven children. For many years Judge Fales was clerk of the courts, and later received the appointment of justice of the then Court of Commen Pleas. His son Nathaniel succeeded him in the office of clerk. Judge Fales died in Boston, January 20, 1818, but his burial-place is in Taunton.

James Sproat, Esq., was the son of Ebenezer Sproat, of Middleboro, and was born there December 7, 1758. He settled in Taunton, where he married Ann, daughter of Abraham Dennis, and sister of the wife of Judge Padelford, and they had ten children. His wife Ann was an intellectual woman, and wrote some of the first illustrated books for children in this country. Mr. Sproat died November 12, 1825.

Hon. David Leonard Barnes was a native of Scituate, Massachusetts, son of Rev. David Barnes, D. D., and Rachel, daughter of Colonel George Leonard, of Norton. David graduated at Harvard in 1780, and married Joanna Russell. He practised law in Taunton ten years, 1783 to 1793. He then removed to Rhode Island, where he was appointed district judge of the United States Court. He died in 1812.

Nicholas Tillinghast, Esq., was a native of Providence, Rhode Island, son of Judge Nicholas and Mary Tillinghast. He was one of Taunton's leading lawyers of the time, and received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Brown University in 1793, and from Harvard in 1807. He married Betsey, daughter of Amos M. Atwell, and they had ten children. He died April 24, 1818, and his wife, March 10, 1834.

Hon. John Mason Williams, LL. D., was the son of Brigadier James Williams. He graduated at Brown University and started to practise law in New Bedford. Later he made his home in Taunton, and was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas many years. He received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Brown University in' 1842, and from Harvard in 1845. He married Eliza Otis Williams, daughter of Hon. Lemuel Williams, and they had five children.

Hon. Marcus Morton, LL. D., son of Nathaniel Morton and Mary Carey, was born in Freetown, February 19, 1784. Graduating from Brown University in 1804, he began to practise law in Taunton in 1807. He was three times Governor of the State; he was a judge of the Supreme Court of the State fifteen years, and was representative from his district in Congress four years. Judge Morton, who was also collector of the port of Boston four years, received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Brown University in 1826, and from Harvard University in 1840. He married Charlotte, daughter of James Hodges, of Taunton, December 23, 1897,

Hon. Francis Baylies was born in Taunton, October 16, 1784, son of William Baylies, M. D., and grandson of Hon. Samuel White, the first lawyer of Taunton. He began to practise law in Taunton in 1810, and succeeded his father as register of probate, filling the office nine years. He was the author of "Memoirs of Plymouth County" and many historical and biographical articles. Mr. Baylies was a member of Congress six years, and was a consul at Buenos Ayres during the administration of President Andrew Jackson. He married Elizabeth Deming of Troy, New York, and their daughter Harriet married Nathaniel, son of Governor Marcus Morton.

James Ellis was born in Franklin, Connecticut, May 23, 1769, and graduated at Brown University in 1791. He commenced to practise law at Seekonk, but afterwards removed to Taunton, and was appointed district attorney. He was three times a Senator.

Anselm Bassett was born at Rochester, Massachusetts, in 1784, son of Thomas and Lydia Bassett. Graduating at Brown in 1803, he married (first) Rosalinda, daughter of Abraham Hoimes of Rochester; (second) Mrs. Lucy Smith, of Troy, New York. He was register of probate from 1833 to 1851.

Horatio L. Danforth was born in Taunton in 1801, son of William and Sally Leonard Danforth. Graduating at Brown University in 1825, he studied law with Hon. Francis Baylies; was county treasurer twelve years, 1829-1841; and was high sheriff in 1844. He died July 21, 1859.

Judge Harrison Gray Otis Colby was born in Hallowell, Maine, in 1807, son of Rev. Philip and Harriet (Sewall) Colby. He graduated at Brown University in 1827, in the class with Governor John H. Clifford. Admitted to Bristol county bar, he at first lived in Taunton, but afterwards removed to New Bedford, and there married the daughter of John A. Parker. He was appointed judge while in New Bedford.

Hon. Henry Williams was born in Taunton, November 30, 1805, son of Benjamin and Lydia Williams, and descendant of Richard Williams, one of the first settlers. He graduated at Brown University in 1826, and attained a wide knowledge of general jurisprudence, and for a number of years was associated with-Judge Edmund H. Bennett, and later with his nephew, George E. Williams. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1833, and of the Senate in 1835-36. He represented his district in the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-eighth Congresses. He was appointed register of probate in 1851, and in 1853 served as a member of the Constitutional Convention to amend the Constitution of the State.

Hon. Horatio Pratt, son-in-law of Chief Justice Williams, graduated at Brown University in 1825. He was one of the leading attorneys of the county bar, district attorney and a member of the Massachusetts' Senate.

Nathaniel Morton, son of Governor Marcus Morton, was born in Taunton, December 3, 1821, and died February 12, 1856. He graduated at Brown University in the class of 1840, and from Harvard Law School in 1843. He took high rank in the practice of his profession in his native town. He was the first president of the Old Colony Historical Society.

A. M. from Brown University, and served several years as attorney general of this State. He was also elected a judge of the Superior Court. He removed from Taunton to Dedham, and died at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, September 2, 1873.

Samuel R. Townsend was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, April 10, 1810, son of Samuel and Abigail Townsend. He graduated at Harvard with the class of 1829. He taught at Bristol Academy in Taunton from 1846 to 1849, and after studying law in the office of Hon. Horatio Pratt was admitted to the Bristol bar in 1850. He was chosen county treasurer in 1853, and a judge of the police court in 1858. He served in the city council, and as city solicitor.

Major James Brown was born in Swansea, Massachusetts, September 19, 1828, son of Jonathan R. and Sally Mason Brown. He graduated at Brown University with the class of 1850, and was admitted to the bar in 1852. He represented his town in both House and Senate, and served in the Civil War, returning with the rank of major. He married Eliza W., daughter of Thomas Clark and Sally (Carver) Brown, and they had four ° children.

Hon. Edmund H. Bennett was born at Manchester, Vermont, April 6, 1824, son of Milo L. and Adeline H. Bennett. He graduated at the University of Vermont with the class of 1843, and from that institution received the honorary degree of LL. D. in 1873. He taught school in Virginia, and was admitted to the Vermont bar in 1847. He settled in Taunton in 1848, and on various occasions was in partnership with Nathaniel Morton, Hon. Henry Williams and Henry J. Fuller. When Taunton was incorporated as a city in 1865, he was elected as the first mayor, and was re-elected in 1866 and 1867. He was a lecturer at the Dane Law School of Harvard in 1870-71-72, and in 1876 was chosen dean of the Boston University Law School. He was writer and editor of many law books, that upon "Farm Law" receiving wide circulation. He was appointed judge of probate and insolvency for Bristol county in 1858. He was prominent in the Protestant Episcopal church.

Hon. William Henry Fox was born in Taunton, August 29, 1837, son of Henry Hodges and Sarah Ann (Burt) Fox. He graduated at Harvard College with the class of 1858. After teaching school at Myricks, he was © admitted to the Massachusetts bar September 17, 1861. He was appointed justice of the old Taunton Municipal Court in August, 1864, and later first justice of the First District Court of Bristol county. His service as justice extended over a period of more than forty-eight years. He was mayor of Taunton in 1872; president of the Bristol County Savings Bank, treasurer of Wheaton College, and member of many other societies and organizations. He married, October 6, 1864, Anna M. Anthony, daughter of James H. and Harriet M. Anthony, of Taunton, and they had three children. He died May 14, 1913. ROIS Bae born in Bridgewater, Vermont, June 30, 1832. He graduated at Harvard College in 1856, and was for a while principal of the Taunton High School. In 1863 he was admitted to the bar, and October of that year he became associated with his classmate, Charles Warren Sproat, under the firm name of Sproat & Fuller; he was register of probate and insolvency for Bristol county in 1868, and upon the retirement of Judge Edmund H. Bennett he received the appointment of judge of probate. He married, November 20, 1859, Anna Miles Corey, and they had two children. He died November 9, 1911.

'Hon. Arthur M. Alger was born in Boston, September 23, 1854. He graduated at the Boston University Law School in 1886, and was admitted to the Suffolk county bar that year. He entered the law office of Judge William H. Fox in Taunton, and -in 1879 was appointed clerk of the district court. He filled that office until 1893, when he was chosen register of probate. He was twice mayor of Taunton, in 1890 and 1900, and was author of a number of law and genealogical books. He died June 2, 1921.

Hon. Lloyd E.. White was a native of Norton, where he was born December 12, 1849. He came to Taunton in 1873, where he studied law in the office of Major James Brown. He was appointed justice of the Superior Court in 1904, from which office he resigned in September, 1921. He died October 2, 1921. A son, Everett S. White, Esq., is by Judge White's second wife, Esther S. (Baylies) White.

New Bedford. - Timothy Gardner Coffin, born in Nantucket in 1790, was one of the earliest members of the Bristol county bar. He was educated at Brown University, and was admitted to the bar in 1811. For more than forty years after opening his office in New Bedford he was a prominent leader in all cases of importance. At his death he was considered the ablest attorney in Southeastern Massachusetts, and was at one time engaged in a case against Daniel Webster. He married Betsey, daughter of Hon. John Avery Parker, of New Bedford. His death occurred in September, 1854.

One of the early Quaker lawyers was John S. Russell, who was born in New Bedford in 1797, the son of Charles Russell and Martha Tillinghast. At first he practised law in Taunton, but, removing to New Bedford, continued his practice there until his death in 1834.

Lemuel Williams was one of the leading members of the New Bedford bar in 1820, and he was at one time collector of customs there. The latter part of his life was spent in Worcester.

Charles H. Warren was one of the able advocates in New Bedford a century ago. Before 1836 he was district attorney, and afterwards was chosen judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Retiring from the bench, he was chosen president of the Boston & Providence railroad.

Ezra Bassett, a brother of Anselm Bassett, who was born in Rochester, studied law with his brother in Taunton, and began practice there; then for a time had an office at Attleboro. He went to New Bedford in 1834, and it is stated that his law library was the best selected in that city. He died in December, 1843.

Hon. Thomas Dawes Eliot, one of the leading lights of the bar in his generation, was born in Boston, March 20, 1808, descendant of Colonial and Revolutionary ancestors. He married, in 1834, Frances L. Brock, of

Nantucket. Mr. Eliot graduated from Columbia College in 1825, and began his law studies with his uncle, Chief Justice Cranch of the Circuit Court. He went to New Bedford in 1830, and entered into partnership with Judge Charles H. Warren. He was for thirty years a regular attendant at all the jury terms in this part of the State, and was a thorough legal scholar as well as practitioner. In 1854 he represented his district in the Thirtythird Congress; and he organized the first meeting of the Republican party in this county. After an absence from Congress for two Congressional terms, he was again elected, by an immense majority, and he remained in Congress until 1869. In 1854 he made the first effort for repeal of the Fugitive Slave law by offering a bill for that purpose. In 1864 he was chairman of the Committee on Emancipation, and reported and advocated the bill establishing a Bureau of Freedmen's Affairs, which became a law. He was author of the "Coolie" bill, and under his lead the Thirty-seventh Congress enacted a stringent law prohibiting American vessels from engaging in the Chinese coolies trade. His death occurred June 14, 1870.

John Ham Williams Page, a native of Gilmanton, New Hampshire, graduated at Harvard College with the class of 1826, and until 1829 was in charge of the Friends' Academy at New Bedford. For a while he studied law at the Dane School at Cambridge, and being admitted to the bar in June, 1832, opened an office at New Bedford. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and of its railroad committee, and later became president of the Cape Cod Branch railroad. He was at one time president of the Bristol County Agricultural Society. In later life, he removed to Boston to assume the duties of treasurer of the Lawrence Machine Shop.

Hon. John Henry Clifford, one of the eminent lawyers of his day, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, January 16, 1809, and graduated at Brown University in 1827. He was admitted to the bar in 1830, and January 16, 1832, he married Sarah P. Allen, descendant of Captain Myles Standish of the "Mayflower." Judge Clifford practised law at New Bedford until the day of his death, as partner with Hon. Timothy G. Coffin, Harrison G. O. Colby, and Lionel F. Brigham, later Chief Justice of the Superior Court. He represented New Bedford in the Legislature in 1835, and in 1836 he was appointed an aide to Governor Everett, who conferred upon Mr. Clifford the appointment of district attorney for the southern district of the State. In 1845 he was elected Senator; and in 1849 he was appointed by Governor Briggs attorney general of the State. Eventually he was inaugurated Governor of the State, January 14, 1853, and was thrice elected. In 1862 he was elected to the State Senate; in 1867 he was elected president of the Boston and Providence Railroad corporation; and in 1868 he was an elector-at-large for the election of President Grant. Governor Clifford was a member of many learned societies, and he received the degree of LL.D. from Brown and Harvard universities. His death occurred January 2, 1876.

John Ricketson Williams was born at New Bedford, November 14, 1808, son of Richard and Rebecca Williams. He graduated at Harvard in 1831, and completed his studies for practise at the law office of Hon. John Davis, at Worcester. In 1835 he relinquished his profession and went into business in Ohio and Michigan. In 1850 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of Michigan, and in 1853 he bought out the "Toledo Blade,' which nominated Salmon Chase for Governor of the State. The Michigan Legislature elected him president of the Agricultural College of Michigan at Lansing; and in 1860 he was elected president of the Michigan Senate. He married, in Buffalo, in 1844, Sarah R. Langdon, daughter of John Langdon. He died June 15, 1861.

Hon. Joshua Clapp Stone was born in Boston, August 28, 1825, son of Henry B. and Elizabeth Stone. He graduated at Harvard College in 1844, and entered the Dane Law School. He entered into partnership with Hon. William W. Crapo, in New Bedford, in 1862. He was at one time justice of the Court of Insolvency for the county, and m 1866 and 1867 he represented the Eleventh Representative District in the State Legislature. He married, September 17, 1850, Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel and Anna Hathaway, of New Bedford, and he died in that city, January 2, 1869.

Oliver Prescott was born in Middlesex county, November 25, 1806, and received his education at Harvard. He taught at the Friends' Academy at New Bedford, studied law in the office of Lemuel Williams, and was admitted to the bar in New Bedford in June, 1832. He was appointed judge of probate in 1835, and held the office until the court was abolished in 1858. He was appointed judge of the police court in New Bedford in 1846, and resigned in 1858.

Hon. George Marston was born in Barnstable, October 15, 1821. He received his education at Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the bar in September, 1845. While a resident of Barnstable he was register of probate from March, 1853, to December, 1854; and he was judge of probate from 1854 to 1858. From 1860 to 1879 he was district attorney for the Southern District; and he was three times elected attorney-general of the State. He was president of the Nantucket & Cape Cod Steamboat Company, and a member of the boards of directors of financial and insurance companies.

Lincoln F. Brigham was born at Cambridge, October 4, 1819, son of Lincoln and Lucy Forbes Brigham. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1842, and after two years at the Dane Law School entered the office of Clifford & Colby, at New Bedford, and was admitted to the bar in the Court of Common Pleas in June, 1845. For a time he was in partnership with Judge Clifford, who as Governor appointed Mr. Brigham district attorney of the Southern District of the State. He held that office under the original appointment until 1856, when he was elected to the office and - continued therein until 1869, when he was appointed to the chief justiceship of the Superior Court.

Alanson Borden was born at Tiverton, Rhode Island, in 1823. He studied in the law office of Eliot & Kasson in New Bedford, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1849. He was a member of the New Bedford school committee a number of years, a member of the House of Representatives, judge of the police court, and judge of the Third District Court of Bristol. He was mayor of New Bedford in 1877.

Edwin Luther Barney, son of Captain Edward Barney, was born in Swansea, April 1, 1827. He received his education at Brown University, and from March, 1849, resided at New Bedford. He was admitted to the bar in October, 1850, and went into partnership with Timothy G. Coffin, under the firm name of Coffin & Barney.

Robert C. Pitman, a native of New Bedford, was admitted to the bar in 1847, and was partner a number of years with Hon. Thomas D. Eliot. He was judge of the New Bedford police court, and later was elected Senator. He also served as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Hon. William W. Crapo is the oldest active lawyer in the State, now being ninety-three years of age. He was born in Dartmouth, May 16, 1830, and graduated at Yale College in 1852. He studied law in the office of Governor Clifford, and at the Dane Law School. He was admitted to the bar in February, 1855, and commencing practice in New Bedford, was appointed city solicitor in April, 1855. In 1856 he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was elected to the Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses, and took a prominent position in Congress. He has been honored by New Bedford in many ways; and he was president of the Mechanics National Bank, and director in mills corporations. He married, January 22, 1857, Sarah A. D. Tappan.

Thomas D. Stetson was born in Medford, Massachusetts, June 15, 1830, son of Rev. Caleb Stetson. He graduated at Harvard in 1849, and studied law at the Dane Law School, and at New Bedford. He was admitted to "nme bar in 1854. He then joined the law office of Williams & Warren, whose style was changed to Warren & Eliot, and in 1854 to Eliot & Pitman, then Eliot, Pitman & Stetson, and Eliot & Stetson; and, in 1870, Stetson & Greene. Mr. Stetson was married to Caroline Dawes Eliot, daughter of Hon. Thomas Dawes Eliot, in 1856.

Charles W. Clifford was born at New Bedford, August 19, 1844, son of John H. and Sarah Parker Clifford. He graduated at Harvard in 1865, and was admitted to the bar at New Bedford in June, 1868. Until February, 1869, he practiced in the office of his father, when the firm of Marston & Crapo was formed, of which he continued a member until its dissolution in April, 1878, when he became an active member of the firm of Crapo, Clifford. & Clifford. He has been chairman of the New Bedford City Republican Committee, delegate and assistant secretary to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, and a member of the Republican State Central Committee of Massachusetts. He married, May 5, 1869, Frances L., daughter of Charles L. and Elizabeth T. Wood.

Wendell H. Cobb was born at Sandwich, in 1838, son of Rev. Asahel Cobb. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1861, and was admitted to the bar in 1865.

Fall River - Looking back to the beginnings of the bar in Fall River, we find the first name of prominence to be that of James Ford, who was born in Milton, Massachusetts, August 3, 1774. He received his education at Brown University, and studied law with Judge Metcalf, of Dedham. He was admitted to the bar in Taunton in 1818, and became a partner with Judge Morton. In 1819 he opened an office in Fall River. He was a member of the Legislature in 1825. He was postmaster of Fall River four years; one of the founders of the Franklin Savings Bank; special justice for twenty years; for twelve years one of the inspectors of the State Alms-

Eliab Williams was born at Raynham in 1803, graduated at Brown University in 1821, and began to study law. He went to Virginia to teach, and continuing law studies was there admitted to the bar. Returning north, he entered the law office of Judge Morton; afterwards he entered the office of David G. Cobb, and in September, 1825, was admitted to the bar. He settled at first in practice at Dighton, and in 1827 went to Swansea. It was through the influence of Hezekiah Battelle, a lawyer in Fall River, that Mr. Williams was led to go to Fall River, in 1833, and their partnership lasted more than twenty years. He was identified with the Fall River Savings Bank almost from the time of its organization. He was married three times. He died April 4, 1880.

Frederick A. Boomer was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, April 8, 1821, and he married Elizabeth M., daughter of John Earle, July 8, 1857. He graduated at the Normal School at Bridgewater, and for a while taught school. He then studied law in the office of David Perkins and with Judge Lapham, and was admitted to the bar. While at Tiverton he was elected to the General Assembly. In Fall River he was three times elected to the office of city solicitor. In the fall of 1870 he was again elected to the General Court, and served on important committees. He was a director in the Pocasset National Bank from its organization until his death, which occurred July 2, 1871.

Hezekiah Battelle was a graduate of Brown University with the class of 1816. He read law in the office of Hercules Cushman in Freetown. When admitted to the bar he became a partner with Mr. Cushman; he then removed to Swansea, where he practiced until 1827, when he located at Fall River. He represented Fall River in the Legislature of 1838 and 1848 and he died January 2, 1872.

Cyrus Alden, a descendant of John Alden, of the "Mayflower", was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, May 20, 1785. He graduated at Brown University in 1807, and studying law at Litchfield, Connecticut, also read with Judge Whitman of Marshfield and Judge Baylies of Taunton. He began practice in Wrentham, where he married Mary M. Jones, daughter of Alexander Jones of Providence. After a short residence at Wrentham and Roxbury he returned to Fall River in 1827, and served in the Legislature. He was author of "Abridgement of Law, with Practical Forms". He died in March, 1855.

Louis Lapham was born in Burrillville, Rhode Island, in 1810. He settled in Fall River, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He was appointed judge of the police court of Fall River in 1852, which office he held until the court was abolished and the district court established in 1873. He was a prominent Free Soiler, and was several times a candidate for mayor of Fall River. He died at Fall River in March, 1881.

James Madison Morton, son of Job Morton, was a native of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, where he was born April 28, 1803. In the winter of 1840 he removed to Fall River, where he died May 2, 1881. He was one of the foremost lawyers in this part of the State. He served one term as

Hon. Josiah C. Blaisdell was born in Hampton, New Hampshire, October 22, 1820. While a young man he removed to Methuen, and thence in 1843 to Fall River. From the law office of James Ford, Esq., he entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1858 he was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In 1864 and 1868 he was appointed a member of the State Board of Charities; in 1865 he was elected a State Senator, and in 1866 a member of the House. He served twice as mayor of Fall River, in 1858 and 1859; and in 1874 he was appointed judge of the Second District Court of Bristol.

Nicholas Hatheway, son of Elnathan P. and Salome (Cushman) Hatheway, was born in Freetown, Massachusetts, September 3, 1824, the eldest of seven children. He graduated at Brown University in 1847, studied law with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He practised in Freetown up to 1857, and was twice elected justice. He held a leading position in the Boston Custom House and in the Boston Stock Exchange, but later removed to Fall River for the practice of law. He was elected a member of the Massachusetts Legislature from Fall River in 1875, and was alderman in 1874 and 1875. He was delegate to State and National Democratic conventions, and received a flattering vote when nominated for Congress in 1882. He was prominent in Masonic circles. He married Fanny P. Dean, of Freetown, January 1, 1851.

Hon. Henry K. Braley was born in Rochester, Massachusetts, March 17, 1850, son of Samuel and Mary O. Braley. He was mayor of Fall River in 1882 and 1883. He was admitted to the bar at Plymouth in 1873. He is now Justice of the Supreme Bench.

Attleboro - John Daggett was born in Attleboro, son of Thomas and Hannah Mayhew Daggett. He graduated at Brown University with the class of 1826, and, studying law at the office of Joseph L. Tillinghast, in Providence, Hon. J. J. Fiske of Wrentham, and Judge Theron Metcalf of Dedham, he was admitted to the bar at Dedham in January, 1830, and commenced to practice at Attleboro. He was elected to the Legislature in 1836, and continued four years in succession, and in 1850 he was elected to the Senate, serving on important committees. He was a member of the House in 1866. In 1872 he was appointed by the Governor register of probate for Bristol county, and afterwards elected to the same office for two terms, holding the office for the period of eleven years. He was the second president of the Old Colony Historical Society.

Hon. David Daggett, who was born in Attleboro, December 31, 1764, became Kent Professor of Law at Yale College, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Freetown - Among the first of the men of law who were born at Freetown or made the town their home were the following-named: William A. Leonard, Washington Hathaway, George B. N. Holmes, Hercules Cushman, Rufus Bacon, Elnathan P. Hathaway, Ezra Wilkinson,' William H. Eddy, Joseph Hathaway.

Admitted to Bar - The following is a record of admissions to the Bar of attorneys-at-law in Bristol County, under the provisions of the Acts of

1919. In this list the reader will understand that "Supreme Judicial" stands for Supreme Judicial Court; "Common Pleas" for Court of Common Pleas;

Elnathan P. Hathaway, Dec. 1821; Common Pleas; Oct. 1824, Supreme Judicial; leading member Bristol bar; native of Freetown; personal friend of President Buchanan; member Constitutional Convention; State Senator; member of National Convention that nominated President Buchanan.

Ezra Bassett, March 1822; Common Pleas; native Rochester, Mass.; law offices in Attleboro, Taunton and New Bedford; had large admiralty practice.

Hosea M. Knowlton, June 1870; Superior; a leading attorney of a past generation; was District Attorney for New Bedford District, and Attorney-General for Massachusetts.

Henry Baylies, April 1871; Superior. Charles F. Perkins, April 1871; Supreme Judicial. Afbert Alonzo Austin, Superior. William T. Gilbert, March 1872; Superior. Emanuel Sullavou, June 1872; Superior. Henry F. Burt, June 1872; Superior. Patrick H. Wallace, Oct. 1872; Superior. Milton Reed, Dec. 1872; Superior; a leading practising lawyer and noted as an orator and writer; newspaper publisher in Fall River and Taunton. Samuel W. Reed, Sept. 1873; Superior. Laurens N. Francis, Oct. 1873; Superior. Sylvanus Martin Thomas, Jan. 1874; Superior; was a prominent trial lawyer in Taunton; practised extensively in United States Admiralty throughout © United States; in later years identified with street railway business in

Andrew J. Jennings, May 1875; Supreme Judicial; member of firm of Morton & Jennings, Fall River; District Attorney for Southeastern Massachusetts District; prominent politically; retired.

Fred Homer Williams, Taunton Sept. 1882; Superior; first sprang into notoriety concerning the division of the town of Beverly; lives in Brookline and practises law in Boston.

David Foster Slade, New Bedford June 1883; Superior; prominent in Fall River; was member of both branches of State Legislature; member of Governor's council.

Frederic Stanley Hall, Taunton March 1885; Superior; as a young man was member of House of Representatives and Governor's Council; ran for office of Lieutenant-Governor, was defeated by Draper; was partner with Judge Edmund H. Bennett; special justice First District; prominent practising attorney in Taunton.

Daniel Francis Buckley, Taunton April 1886; practised in Taunton; went to Boston; was secretary Democratic State Committee in 1892; was appointed chief United States Customs bureau.

Mayhew R. Hitch, Taunton Sept. 1889; Superior; practising law in New Bedford; succeeded late Hon. Arthur M. Alger as Judge of Probate for Bristol county.

Oliver Prescott, Jr., New Bedford May 1892; Superior; member firm of Crapo, Clifford & Clifford; prominent in handling of trust estates, street railway and mill business in New Bedford.

James Madison Morton, Jr., Taunton April 1895; Supreme Judicial; formerly Justice of Superior in Fall River; now Judge United States in Boston.

1897; Superior; has largely given up practice of law for business, and is connected with rivet works, Lincoln & Williams Twist Drill, and West Silver Company.

John Byron Tracy, Taunton Sept. 1897; Superior; has taken prominent part in all political activities of Taunton; was Mayor, and head of Republican city committee.

James Marcus Swift, Fall River Oct. 1897; Superior; son of Marcus G. B. Swift; was District Attorney of the Southeastern District many years and District Attorney for Massachusetts; resides and practises in Boston.

Henry Warren Galligan, Fall River Oct. 1897; Superior. James Henry Brown, 1898; Superior. Albert R. White, Taunton Feb. 1899; Superior; is prominently identified with the Mount Hope Finishing Company.

Charles Crocker Hagerty, Boston Feb. 1900; Supreme Judicial; Justice of Fourth District at Attleboro; formerly practised in Taunton; lives in Mansfield.

Joseph Arthur Gauthier, Boston Feb. 1901; Supreme Judicial; prominent Fall River attorney; ran for Congress a number of times against William S. Greene.

Sylvanus M. Thomas, preme Judicial. James G. Moran, Sept. 1916; Supreme Judicial; recently elected Senator. James P. Dunn, Taunton Feb. 1916; Superior; practised awhile with H. F. Hathaway; member American Expeditionary Force; died in camp in Massachusetts.

Hon. Joseph E. Warner, son of Hon. Richard E. Warner, former Mayor; was candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, 1922; appointed Assistant Attorney-General of the State, 1923.

The Law Library Association for the County of Bristol, most commonly called and known as the Bristol County Law Library Association, was organized March 9th, 1858. The by-laws provide that its membership shall be "composed of the counsellors and attorneys at law duly admitted to practice in the Courts of this Commonwealth, resident in this County of Bristol." The purpose of the association was to provide a library of legal textbooks, and a safe and convenient place for the same for suitable reference for judges and members of the bar. The laymen of the community have equal access to the use of the library, subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed from time to time by the library committee.

Originally the officers consisted of a clerk, treasurer and a librarian. These three constituted a committee of investment for the purchasing of books. The clerk of the Superior Court is ex-officio clerk of the Law Library Association. Hon. John §. Brayton was the first clerk of the association, and Hon. Edmund H. Bennett was its treasurer. "The above two, together with the Hon. Edwin L. Barney, of New Bedford, and Hon. J. C. Blaisdell, of Fall River, were appointed a committee to draft constitution and by-laws, which were duly accepted by vote of the association on April 2, 1858, and approved the second Monday of June, 1859, by Hon. Henry Morris, Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Since its acceptance, many prominent members of the Bristol county bar have been elected to fill the various offices. Hon. Edmund H. Bennett was treasurer from March, 1858, to March, 1878; Hon. William E. Fuller from March, 1878, to March, 1897; Hon. Charles A. Reed from March, 1897, to the time of his death; and Warren A. Swift Esq., to, succeed Hon. Charles A. Reed, from 1900 to the present time. Hon. John S. Brayton served as clerk from 1858 to 1863; Hon. Simeon Borden, Sr., from 1864 to 1895; Hon. Frederick E. Austin as temporary clerk from 1896 to 1898, and Hon. Simeon Borden, the present clerk of the Superior Court, from 1898 to the present time. Hon. William H. Fox, Hon. Arthur M. Alger, Henry J. Fuller, Hon. Frederick E. Austin, D. Gardiner O'Keefe, Esq., have served on the library committee.

In November, 1905, the library had grown to such an extent that the proper care and indexing of the books and service to the members of the bar required that a permanent librarian be retained in the library. Hence, in November, 1905, a by-law was adopted giving the library committee power to choose annually the librarian to perform such duties, and subject to such rules and regulations, and paid such compensation, as the library committee may provide. Miss Sadie McCormick (Mrs. J. Frank Kiernan) was the first librarian, and served from November, 1905, to June, 1910. Miss Alice M. Wheeler (Mrs. William Howard) served from June, 1910, to July 1, 1914, and Miss Helen S. Totten from July 1, 1914, to the present time. The county of Bristol by statute allows the Law Library Association the sum of $2900 for annual upkeep. The present officers of the association are: Simeon Borden, clerk; Warren A. Swift, Esq., treasurer; Hon. Frederick E. Austin, William A. Bellamy, Esq., Albert Fuller, Esq., library committee; Helen S. Totten, librarian.