Chapter V: Part 5

Professor Adams was twice married. His first wife was Alice Frink, daughter of Dr. John Frink, a distinguished physician of Rutland, Ms., by whom he had five children, Alice A., Adeline A., John, Charles A. and Harriet R., of whom John only is now living. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1817, and is now a practising attorney in Mobile, Ala. His second wife was Beulah Minot, daughter of Dr. Timothy Minot of Concord, Ms. By her he had two children, Eliza M. and Ebenezer. The daughter is now the wife of Prof. Ira Young. Ebenezer was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1831, and died in July, 1837. Of seven children, therefore, two only survive. The last Mrs. Adams still lives, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Young.

Professor Adams "was one of the few remaining old school citizens and scholars of New England, and was hardly surpassed by any of that venerable class of men in intelligence, patriotism, and Christian virtue." He possessed a well balanced mind, "was judicious, magnanimous, and firm." He died calm and happy in the triumphs of religion, August 15, 1841, in the 76th year of his age, from ossification of the heart.

HON. JAMES SAVAGE OF BOSTON.

The subject of this sketch was born July 11, 1784, in Boston, where his progenitors since 1635 have always lived. His father was Habijah, and his mother, Elizabeth, daughter of John Tudor. Of eight children, five sons and three daughters, born before him, two sons died in infancy; the rest attained full age, as did also two sons younger than himself.

His mother died before he arrived at his fourth year of age; and his father, by reason of ill health, was unable to take charge of him in his early education. The Rev. Dr. Thacher preached on the occasion of his mother's death from Psalms xxvii: 10--"_When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up._"

The father of Mr. Savage was son of Thomas, by his first wife, Deborah Briggs, who was, it is believed, a granddaughter of John Cushing, one of the Judges of the Superior Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. John, his father's elder brother, was father of Thomas of York, Me., from whom descended the Savages in Bangor. His grandfather's second wife was Sarah Cheever, who survived him nearly fifty-one years. One of their children was the late Ezekiel Savage, Esq., of Salem, H. C. 1778, father of Rev. Thomas Savage of Bedford, N. H., H. C. 1813, and several other children, of whom one, Sarah, distinguished herself by the composition of some interesting books.

Habijah, father of Mr. Savage's grandfather Thomas, was educated at Harvard College, where he received his first degree, in 1695. He married Hannah, who had been a short time widow of ---- Anderson. She was a daughter of Samuel Phillips, distinguished among booksellers in Boston one hundred and fifty years ago, as John Dunton mentions in the entertaining account of his visit to our country, published in his "Life and Errors." Arthur, a younger brother of his great-grandfather, married another daughter of Mr. Phillips, and one of their children was Samuel Phillips Savage, father of the late Samuel Savage, H. C. 1766, of Barnstable.

Thomas, father of the last named Habijah, born 1640, was second child of Thomas, who emigrated from England. His mother was Faith, daughter of William and the celebrated Ann Hutchinson, who was a _speaking_ if not a _ruling_ elder in the First Church in Boston. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua Scottow, author of two curious tracts in the latter part of the 17th century. With two of his brothers, Ephraim, H. C. 1662, and Perez, he served at various times and places in King Philip's war, in the early part of which, their father was in the chief command of the forces of the Colony of Massachusetts. Ephraim gained some reputation in command of one of the vessels of the fleet, in the daring but disastrous expedition from Boston against Quebec, by Sir William Phips, in 1690, and Thomas was at the head of one of the three regiments engaged in it, and wrote a brief and modest account of the service, published the following year at London. He died July 2, 1705.

Mr. Savage's great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas, was a man of high public spirit. Disgusted with the treatment of the majority towards Wheelwright and other friends of Sir Henry Vane, whom he had perhaps accompanied from England, he, with Gov. Coddington and others, removed in 1638, and purchased Rhode Island. He soon returned, however, to Boston, recovered his former standing with early friends, and was often one of the representatives of the town, and, in the trying times of 1665, was respected for his moderation. He was one of those who undertook, in 1673, to erect a barricade in the harbor, for security against a fleet then expected from Holland. Out of this barricade grew, in less than forty years, the Long Wharf, a small portion of which has continued ever since the property of some members of the family. He was Speaker of the Deputies in 1659, and again after an interval of eleven years, and in 1680 was chosen by the colony one of the Assistants, in which station he died, Feb. 14, 1682, aged 75. A funeral sermon on that event is among the printed works of Rev. Samuel Willard, pastor of the _third_ church, of which Major Savage was one of the founders, at the secession occasioned by the coming of Davenport from New Haven to the _first_. The text was, Isaiah lvii: 1.

The eldest son of this ancestor of most who bear the name on this side of the ocean, Habijah, H. C. 1659, died in a few years, but left children by his wife, daughter of Edward Tyng, one of the Assistants. A grandchild of these parents removed from Boston, early in the last century, to Charleston, S. C., where he is commemorated by Dr. Ramsay, in his History of the Independent Church in that city. Descendants have been known in different parts of South Carolina and Georgia. The late Judge Clay of the latter state, afterwards pastor of the first Baptist Church in Boston, married one, and his son, Thomas Savage Clay, H. C. 1819, is highly respected for his Christian philanthropy.

In the catalogue of the sons of Harvard are numbered eleven lineal descendants of the first Thomas, of whom six have been noticed. John, 1694, was son of Ephraim; Habijah, 1723, was either son or nephew of Habijah; John, 1810, and James Rodon, 1812, were sons of William Savage, Esq., of Jamaica, son of Samuel Phillips Savage, before mentioned.

Of the progenitors of Mr. Savage, no means are possessed by which to trace the line before the arrival of his ancestor in this country; but a family tradition, committed to writing many years since, makes him to have been a brother of Arthur, an English dean.

Mr. Savage fitted for college at Derby Academy, Hingham, under the tuition of Abner Lincoln, and at Washington Academy, Machias, Me., instructed by Daniel P. Upton.

After graduating at Harvard University in 1803, he studied law under the direction of the late Chief Justice Parker, Hon. Samuel Dexter, and Hon. William Sullivan, and entered upon its practice January, 1807.

Mr. Savage has been Representative and Senator in General Court, a Counsellor, and a Delegate to the Convention in 1820 for amending the Constitution of the State. He has been also in the City government as one of the Common Council and an Alderman, as well as one of the School Committee.

In April, 1823, he married Elizabeth O., widow of James Otis Lincoln, Esq., of Hingham. She was daughter of George Stillman of Machias, Me., an officer in the war of the Revolution. Their children are Emma, Harriet, Lucy, and James.

At times letters have engaged the attention of Mr. Savage, but not to withdraw him from the proper duties of his profession or the service of the community in active life. He was during four or five years associated with the gentlemen who edited the (Boston) Monthly Anthology, and contributed articles for that work, as he has also for the North American Review. At the request of the municipal authorities of Boston, he delivered an oration, July 4, 1811. The compilation of the Colonial and Provincial Laws of Massachusetts, published under the title of Ancient Charters, according to direction of General Court, by the late Hon. Nathan Dane, Judge Prescott, and Judge Story, was by these gentlemen confided to his supervision while passing through the press. The Index to the work was prepared by him. He superintended an edition of Paley's Works; and the presswork of the ten volumes of American State Papers, selected by Hon. John Q. Adams, under authority of Congress. But Mr. Savage's greatest effort of this nature was his edition of Gov. Winthrop's History of New England, with notes.

This is a work of much labor and value. It is understood that he has in contemplation a new edition of Farmer's Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England.

Mr. Savage was more than twenty years Secretary or Treasurer of the first Savings Bank in Boston, and nineteen years Treasurer of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of which he is now the President. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received the degree of LL. D. at Harvard College.

Forty-one years since, for the benefit of his health, he, in company with his relative and friend, William Tudor, Jr., visited the islands of Martinique, Dominique, St. Thomas, St. Domingo, and Jamaica. Since, he has been to Demerara, and five years ago, he went to England, with a view of visiting his fathers' sepulchres, and of enjoying himself in the father-land.

HON. LEVI WOODBURY OF PORTSMOUTH, N. H.

LEVI WOODBURY was born at Francestown, N. H., Dec. 22, 1789, where his father, the Hon. Peter Woodbury, resided. _He_ was born in Beverly, Ms., in 1767, removed to New Hampshire with his father, and, when he entered upon the active business of life for himself, engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits, and was about fifteen years a Representative, and two years a Senator, in the State Legislature. He died in 1834. _He_ was son of Peter Woodbury, who was born March 28, 1738, at Beverly, and married there, and in 1773 removed to Mont Vernon, then a part of Amherst, N. H. He spent the last twenty years of his life at Antrim, with his youngest son, Mark Woodbury, Esq., where he died, March, 1819, aged 85. _His_ father was Josiah Woodbury of Beverly, who was born June 15, 1682, and lived in the Second or Upper Parish. The father of Josiah was Peter, who was born in 1640, made a freeman in 1668, and elected a Representative in 1689. He filled the office of deacon, and died July 5, 1704, aged 64. His father was Humphrey Woodbury, who was born in 1609, came to New England with his father, John Woodbury, in 1628, was admitted to the church in 1648, was a member of the First Church in Beverly, at its formation, was chosen deacon in 1668, and was living in 1681. John Woodbury, who was one of the original settlers of Beverly, came from Somersetshire, England, under the direction of the Dorchester company, which established itself at Cape Ann about 1624. He came to Salem in 1626, was made a freeman in 1630, and in 1635 was chosen a Deputy to General Court. He was an original member of the First Church in Salem. In 1636, he received a grant of two hundred acres of land on Bass river. He died in 1641.

Mr. Woodbury's mother was Mary Woodbury, daughter of James Woodbury, who was born in Beverly, but removed to Mont Vernon, N. H., in 1782. He was a subaltern in Col. Robert Rogers' regiment of Rangers, and was near Wolfe when he fell at the storming of Quebec. The sword he used in that service is now in the possession of a descendant. He had eight children, all daughters, and died at Francestown, March, 1823, aged 86.

The subject of this sketch was prepared for college in part at New Ipswich Academy, N. H., with Mr. Mulliken, but chiefly under the instruction of Hon. John Vose, the distinguished Preceptor of Atkinson Academy. In 1805 he entered Dartmouth College, where he remained till 1809, when he graduated with high reputation for talents and acquirements.

Immediately after leaving college he commenced the study of law, spending one year at the Law School of Judges Reeve and Gould, at Litchfield, Ct., and the residue of his preparatory course with Hon. S. Dana of Boston, Judge Smith of Exeter, and James Walker, Esq., of Francestown. In 1812 he opened an office in his native place, where he remained till 1819. In 1816 he was elected Clerk of the State Senate, and, in the year following, was appointed Judge of the Superior Court. This appointment to the bench of the highest judicial tribunal of the state, drew general attention to the manner in which the duties were discharged. Ample testimony, however, of the qualifications of Judge Woodbury may be found in the first two volumes of New Hampshire Reports. In 1819, he removed to Portsmouth, the commercial capital of New Hampshire, where he continues to reside. In 1823 he was chosen Governor of the State, and when his term of office expired, he returned to the practice of his profession. In 1825 he was chosen Representative from Portsmouth, and on the meeting of the Legislature, he was elected Speaker of the House. Among the last acts of the session was the choice of Gov. Woodbury to fill a vacancy which had occurred in the Senate of the United States. At the commencement of the session in 1825-6, he took his seat in the Senate, and during the six years succeeding, his name was connected with the most important measures discussed in that body. His term of service expired on the 4th of March, and four days after, he was chosen State Senator for the district in which he resided. In April following, he was invited by President Jackson to become Secretary of the Navy, which office he was induced to accept, having declined that of State Senator. July 4, 1834, he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, in which capacity he served till March 3, 1841. During this time, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, but declined the office. In 1841, he was again chosen U. S. Senator from New Hampshire, which office he held till September, 1845, when he was appointed an Associate Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. In the summer previous, the office of Minister to England was tendered to him, but he refused it on account of the situation of his family.

In June, 1819, Judge Woodbury was married to Eliza W. Clapp, daughter of Hon. Asa Clapp of Portland, Me. They have five children: Charles Levi, who is now an attorney in Boston, Mary Elizabeth, Frances Anstris, Virginia Lafayette, and Ellen Carolina. The eldest is married to the Hon. Montgomery Blair of St. Louis, Mo.

Judge Woodbury has published one volume of Law Reports in connection with Judge Richardson, also speeches, pamphlets, and reports relating to the various official duties he has performed, besides numerous literary addresses. He has received the degree of Doctor of Laws at the Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He is also a member of various literary societies.

The brothers and sisters of Judge Woodbury are Peter P. Woodbury, M. D., of Bedford, N. H., now Vice-President of the New Hampshire Medical Society; Rev. James Trask Woodbury of Acton, Ms., formerly an attorney; Jesse Woodbury, Esq., who resides on the paternal estate; George Washington Woodbury, M. D., Yazoo county, Mississippi; Mrs. Mary Howe, widow of the late Luke Howe, M. D., of Jaffrey, N. H.; Mrs. Anstris B. Eastman, wife of Hon. Nehemiah Eastman of Farmington, N. H., formerly Member of Congress; Mrs. Martha W. Grimes of Quincy, Ms., widow of the late Thomas Grimes, merchant, of Windsor, Vt.; Mrs. Hannah T. Barnes, wife of Isaac O. Barnes, Esq., of Boston, U. S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Mrs. Harriet Dodge, wife of Perley Dodge, Esq., an attorney at Amherst, N. H.; Mrs. Adeline Bunnelle, wife of Edwin F. Bunnelle, Esq., of Boston, clerk in the Custom House.

HON. SAMUEL S. WILDE OF BOSTON.

SAMUEL SUMNER WILDE was born in Taunton, Feb. 5, 1771. His father's name was Daniel, who was born in Braintree in 1718, and died in 1792. _His_ father, if not born in England and brought over by his father when a child, was born in Braintree.

The father of the subject of this sketch, soon after arriving at the age of 21, settled in Taunton, where he continued until the time of his death. He was a farmer and a pious man, and for many years was one of the deacons of the only Congregational Church then in that town. He was very fond of sacred music, and had a fine voice, well cultivated, and, for those days, he had a competent degree of skill and knowledge of the science to render him an acceptable leader of the choir in the church, and was a leader long before he was chosen deacon. In his family devotions he always read a chapter in the Bible, sung a hymn in which some of the family joined, and concluded with a prayer. He was twice married. His first wife was the daughter of Deacon Staples of Taunton, grandfather of Mr. Staples, a lawyer of considerable eminence in New York.

His second wife, the mother of Samuel S., was the only child of Deacon Samuel Sumner, also of Taunton. Dea. Sumner was well educated for one who had not received a collegiate course of instruction, had a taste for study, and thought much of learning and learned men. He died when Samuel S., who was his only grandson, was two years old, and bequeathed to him a lot of land, which he authorized his father to sell, and to expend the proceeds in giving him a college education, if he should, at a proper age, manifest any taste and talents, which would probably render such an education useful to him. He was a warm Whig and a friend to the liberties of the people; and it was probably owing to discussions about the Stamp Act and other difficulties with England, and his reflections on the inalienable rights of man, that he emancipated a female slave, about the year 1769 or 1770. She, however, always continued in the family upon wages, until her death. Dea. Sumner was a distant relation of Gov. Sumner and also of the Rev. Dr. Sumner, long the minister of Shrewsbury in the county of Worcester.

The mother of Samuel S. was a most excellent woman, and distinguished for her mental endowments, piety, and zeal in the cause of religion.

The subject of this sketch fitted for college under the direction of Rev. Ephraim Judson, the minister of Taunton, and entered the Sophomore class at Dartmouth College, in 1786, where he graduated in 1789. He read law in Taunton with David L. Barnes, Esq., who was afterwards Judge of the District Court of the United States for the state of Rhode Island. In September, 1792, he was admitted to the bar, and the same year was married to Eunice Cobb, a daughter of the late Gen. Cobb of Taunton. He immediately removed to Maine, and first commenced practice in Waldoborough in the county of Lincoln, where he remained only two years, and then removed to the adjoining town of Warren, where he resided five years, when, in 1799, he removed to Hallowell. He represented the town of Warren two years in the House of Representatives; but after his removal to Hallowell, he devoted himself wholly to his profession. He was, however, twice chosen one of the Electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, and in 1814 was elected a State Counsellor. He was also one of the Delegates to the famous Hartford Convention. In June, 1815, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, which office he now holds. He was a member from Newburyport of the Convention for revising the Constitution of the state, having removed from Hallowell to that place in 1820. In 1831 he removed to Boston, where he still resides.

The wife of Judge Wilde deceased June 6, 1826. Their children were nine, of whom only four survive. The two eldest sons died unmarried. The eldest daughter, Eunice, married Hon. William Emmons of Augusta, Me., a son of Rev. Dr. Emmons of Franklin, Ms. She died in 1821, leaving two daughters, one of whom has since deceased, and the other is the wife of Rev. Mr. Tappan of Hampden, Me., son of Rev. Dr. Tappan of Augusta, Me. The second daughter, Eleanor Bradish, married I. W. Mellen, Esq., son of Rev. Mr. Mellen of Cambridge. They are both dead. Mrs. Mellen died in March, 1838, leaving three children. The third daughter, Caroline, married Hon. Caleb Cushing of Newburyport, and died in 1832. The eldest surviving son, George Cobb, Esq., an attorney at law, is Clerk of the Courts in Suffolk county, is married, and has two children. The second surviving son, Henry Jackson, is married, and has two children, and is now settled in Washington, D. C. The youngest son is unmarried. The only surviving daughter was first married to Frederick W. Doane of Boston, and is now the wife of Robert Farley, also, of Boston.

Judge Wilde has been in his present office nearly thirty-two years, a longer time it is believed than any individual ever held that office before,[32] and his judicial career has uniformly been characterized by legal learning and stern integrity. His personal character is marked by uncommon frankness and great simplicity of manners.

He has received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Bowdoin and Harvard Colleges, and he is also a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and some other literary associations.

NATHANIEL WRIGHT, ESQ., OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

NATHANIEL WRIGHT was born Jan. 28, 1789, in the east parish of Hanover, N. H. The family residence was on the highlands adjoining the western base of Moose mountain, over which his father's farm extended. From some of the fields can be seen, spread out in the distance, nearly half the state of Vermont, rising in regular gradation from the Connecticut river, with every variety of cottage, field, woodland, and hill, to the summits of the Green Mountains, Killington Peak, and Camel's Rump, in the distant horizon. His parents, Nathaniel Wright and Mary Page, were originally from Coventry in the state of Connecticut. The name of his paternal grandfather was the same with that of his father; but we are not able to trace back the genealogy further. They were all farmers by occupation. His father was one of the first settlers of Hanover, and took possession of his farm there, while it was a perfect wilderness, the occupancy of which he had to contest with wild beasts. The sylvan adventures of that period were, no doubt, the topic of many a fireside tale of his childhood. His mother was sister of the father of Harlan Page, distinguished for his active piety, and of tract-distribution memory.

Mr. Wright began fitting for college in 1806. The larger part of his preparatory studies were with the Rev. Eden Burroughs, D. D., the parish minister, long one of the Trustees of Dartmouth College, and celebrated as the father of the notorious Stephen Burroughs, who died in Canada, a Catholic priest. He entered the Freshman class of Dartmouth College at the commencement of 1807, and graduated in 1811. After graduating, he spent three years or more in teaching, being part of that time in charge of the Portland Academy, Maine, and part of the time in charge of a select class of boys in the same place; and began there the study of law. He then spent a year as private tutor in a family in Virginia, reading law in the mean time, and was admitted to the bar in that state. In July, 1817, he went to Cincinnati, where, after spending some time in an office to familiarize himself with local practice, he was admitted to the bar in November, 1817, and commenced the practice in 1818. For a few years, he practised in the Federal Courts, and in different parts of the state; but finding the city practice the most profitable, as well as most pleasant, he soon confined himself to that, and continued it with so much labor and assiduity, that, in 1839 and 1840, he found his health giving way under the effects of it, and in the latter year, withdrew from the practice. Of his success in the practice, he has had no reason to complain. And in talents and legal acquirements, he has ranked with the first in the state.

He has been solicited at different times to become a candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and for Member of Congress; but has uniformly refused all nominations for political office, preferring a private life to all others.

In April, 1820, he married Caroline Augusta Thew, a niece of the Hon. Jacob Burnet of Cincinnati. Her mother was a daughter of Dr. William Burnet of Newark, N. J., a surgeon in the army in the Revolutionary war, and a man of distinction in that state. Her parents being both dead, she went from Newark to Cincinnati with Judge Burnet's family, in 1815.

The children of these parents are eight in number: Mary Thew, Caroline Augusta, Daniel Thew, Eliza Burnet, Augusta Caroline, Louisa, Nathaniel, and William Burnet. Of these, Caroline Augusta and Augusta Caroline died, the former at five, the latter at three years of age.

Mr. Wright has published nothing, that can properly be called a book; yet many of his writings have appeared in public print in various forms. His name appears at the head of some important arguments in the Law Reports of Ohio, during the period of his practice; and some of his occasional addresses have been printed. In early life he was a lover of poetry, and not unfrequently attempted to honor the Muses; and this he did always with applause.

When Mr. Wright went to Cincinnati, then having five or six thousand inhabitants, he sat down patiently with the young at the foot of the bar, went on through a generation of the profession, till he stood at its head; and saw the city grown up to a population of 80,000, himself standing among a few _old_ respectable inhabitants, easy in circumstances, with a very happy family around him, and highly respected by the community.--The late Rev. Chester Wright, a graduate at Middlebury College in 1805, and of Montpelier, Vt., was his half-brother.

HON. WILLIAM D. WILLIAMSON OF BANGOR, ME.

WILLIAM DURKEE WILLIAMSON is supposed to be a descendant, in the sixth generation, of one who was among the earliest settlers in the Plymouth Colony. For as the Annalist tells us,[33] when Gov. Winslow went to make his first treaty with Massasoit, March 22, 1621, he was preceded by "Captain Standish and _Mr. Williamson_," and attended by a file of "musketeers." Nothing farther appears, in the printed narratives of those times, concerning the man last mentioned; nor is there any positive knowledge of his immediate posterity; though it is a report of tradition, that one of his name had command of a company in King Philip's war, in 1675-6, who might have been his son. But, however this may have been, certain it is, that men of his name in succeeding generations have exhibited a predilection for military tactics; and that in Major Benjamin Church's fifth expedition eastward, 1704, Captain _Caleb Williamson_ commanded a company of volunteers from Plymouth Colony. He had one brother, whose name was _George_, and the place of their residence was Harwich, in the county of Barnstable. It is said there was another of the family, or kindred, perhaps a brother, by the name of _Samuel_, who settled at Hartford in Connecticut, but as he left no son, his name at his death sank into oblivion.

George Williamson, above named, married, at Harwich, the daughter of a Mr. Crisp; and they had two sons, George and Caleb, and five daughters. The elder son was murdered by a highwayman, and left no child; the younger, born at that place, 1716, married Sarah Ransom, and settled at Middleborough in the county of Plymouth; whose children were six sons and three daughters. Though five of the sons were married, only two of them, Caleb and George, left issue. The latter, being the fifth son, born in 1754, who was the father of the subject of this sketch, removed with his father's family at the commencement of the Revolutionary war, to Canterbury, Ct., and married Mary Foster of that place, a niece of Rev. Jacob Foster, formerly a minister of Berwick, Me. Their children were four sons and four daughters. The sons are William D., the subject of this sketch; George, a farmer at Pittston; and Joseph, a lawyer at Belfast, a graduate at Vermont University, and President of the Senate, in the Legislature of Maine. Their father was a soldier in the Revolution, and a captain of artillery, some years after the peace. In 1793, he removed from Canterbury, where his sons were born, to Amherst, Ms., and finally died at Bangor, in 1822, aged 68 years.

William D., his eldest son, entered Williams College, in 1800; but finished his studies at Brown University, R. I., where he was graduated in 1804. As his father was a farmer in moderate circumstances, and himself the eldest of eight children, he was under the necessity of teaching a school several winters, to defray his college expenses. He read law with Hon. S. F. Dickinson of Amherst, till the spring of 1807, when he took up his residence in Bangor, Me., where he completed his professional studies with J. McGaw, Esq., being admitted to the bar in November of that year. Jan. 14, 1808, he was commissioned by Gov. Sullivan Attorney for the county of Hancock, an office held by him about eight years, when the county was divided. In 1816, he was elected to the Senate of Massachusetts, Maine being then a part of the Commonwealth; and received successive elections, till the separation in 1820. Though as a political man, his sentiments were of a democratic character, adverse to the majority in each of the legislative branches, he was Chairman of the Committee of Eastern Lands, three years. He was President of the first Senate in the new state of Maine; and the appointment of Gov. King as a Commissioner on the Spanish Claims, brought him into the Executive Chair, about six months of the political year. In the meantime, he was elected a Member of Congress. After he left the field of legislation he was appointed a Judge of Probate for his county, a Justice of Peace through the state, and President of Bangor Bank.

Judge Williamson was thrice married. He was first connected in marriage with J. M. Rice, an orphan, the niece of Gen. Montague of Amherst, whose home was hers. Five children were the fruits of this marriage, one of whom, an only son, a promising youth, died in 1832, at the close of his Junior year in Bowdoin College. His second wife was the eldest daughter of Judge Phinehas White of Putney, Vt., and his third was the only surviving daughter of the late E. Emerson, Esq., York, Me.

Judge Williamson was fond of literary pursuits generally, but particularly of historical research. He wrote and published a number of articles on various subjects, in different periodicals. His great work, however, which cost him many years of labor, was his History of Maine, in two large octavo volumes. He died May 27, 1846.

FOOTNOTES:

[31] His parents' residence at that time was in Boston.

[32] Judge Benjamin Lynde was on the bench about the same length of time, from 1712 to 1744.

[33] See Prince's Annals, 101.--Purchas' Pilgrims, B. X. chap. 4.--Vol VIII. Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., 229.

THE FATHERS OF NEW ENGLAND.

"They [the Fathers of N. E.] were mostly men of good estates
and families, of liberal education, and of large experience;
but they chiefly excelled in piety to God, in zeal for the
purity of his worship, reverence for his glorious name, and
strict observance of his holy Sabbaths; in their respect
and maintenance of an unblemished ministry; the spread of
knowledge, learning, good order, and quiet through the land,
a reign of righteousness, and the welfare of this people; and
the making and executing wholesome laws for all these blessed
ends."--_Rev. Thomas Prince's Election Sermon_, 1730.

GOVERNOR HINCKLEY'S VERSES ON THE DEATH OF HIS SECOND CONSORT.

[Thomas Hinckley was the last Governor of the Plymouth Colony,
which office he held, except during the interruption by
Andros, from 1680 to 1692, when that colony was joined to the
Massachusetts colony. He was a man of worth and piety. The
following lines, composed by him on the death of his second
wife, are copied from one of three volumes of the manuscripts
of Rev. Thomas Prince, which are now in the possession of the
Rev. Chandler Robbins of this city.

It is hardly necessary to inform our readers, that Thomas
Prince, colleague pastor of the Old South Church in Boston
from Oct. 1, 1718, to Oct. 22, 1758, was a most diligent and
careful collector of public and private papers, relating to
the religious and civil history of New England, and that many
of his valuable books and manuscripts have been deposited
by the church to which he ministered, in the library of the
Massachusetts Historical Society.

The following brief sketch of the connection between Thomas
Prince and Gov. Hinckley, and of some of the descendants of the
latter, may be appropriate as an introduction to this poetic
effusion.

In the manuscript volume above referred to, Rev. Thomas Prince
has recorded a genealogical table prepared by himself, in which
he states that he was "the fourth son of Samuel Prince, Esq.,
of Sandwich, who was the son of Elder John Prince, who came
over in 1633, and settled first at Watertown and afterwards
at Hull, who was the eldest son of Rev. John Prince of East
Shefford, in Berkshire, Eng., who was born of honorable
parents, educated in the University of Oxford, and was one of
the Puritan ministers of the Church of England who _in part
conformed_."

The father of Rev. Thomas Prince, Samuel Prince, Esq., married
in 1686, for his second wife, Mercy Hinckley, the eldest
daughter of Governor Hinckley by his second wife.[34] They had
ten children; namely, Thomas, Mary, Enoch, John, Joseph, Moses,
Nathan, Mercy, Alice, Benjamin.

Thomas married Deborah Denny. One of their daughters became the
wife of Lieut. Governor Gill.

Mary married the Rev. Peter Thatcher.

Moses married Jane Bethune. Their daughter, Jane Prince, was
consort of the Rev. Chandler Robbins, D. D., of Plymouth, Ms.,
grandfather of the Rev. Chandler Robbins of Boston, of whom we
have obtained this relic of antiquity.]

* * * * *

Pity me O my friends and for me Pray
To him yᵗ can supply what's taken away.
My crown is fallen from my Head, and wo,
Wo unto me yᵗ I have sinned so,
As to provoke yᵉ Lord to show such Ire
Wʰ I deserve 'gainst me should burn like Fire.
God righteous is in all yᵗ He hath done
Yea good in lending Her to me so long.
A Blessing rich _Forty three years_ and more:
Had I been wise to have improved such store
Of Gifts and Grace wherewith she was endu'd
I might in Grace have also much improv'd.
How prompt in heavenly Discourse was she,
That to her own and others good might be!
Out of her store came things both new and old
Wʰ she had read, or thought, or had been told.
How great my Bond to God in Thankfulness,
For such a Gift, for all my worthlessness.
The _only child_ her _gracious mother_ bare,
Obtain'd of God as a Return of Prayer:
For wʰ she with her Friends employ'd a Day,
In private, and soon found it good to pray
Unto yᵉ God of Nature and of Grace,
Who thus approv'd their seeking of his Face,
In forming this fair child to shew his Praise:
Endowed with virtues in her early Days
Wʰ grew and shine'd in young and riper age,
And to her Maker's Praise did much engage
All those wᵒ knew Her both of late and old,
And prove'd as diverse godly wise foretold.
She by her wisdom built yᵉ House and by
Her prudent care kept all in such a way
And in such order, so as nought might be }
A Let to worship in the Family }
Or cause Distraction on God's holy day. }
Yea both at _Morn_ and _even_, as was need
She did in _Household-worship_ always lead
Her Family, while in her widow-state,
And in my absence since she was my mate.
Whose good example may rebuke all Those
Who slight this Duty and Themselves expose
Unto yᵗ wrath of God wʰ hangs o'er all
Those Familes wʰ on Him do not call.
To rise up _very early_ was her way, }
Enter her closet strait, to read and pray, }
And then to call and raise her Family, }
And liv'd to see a Blessing great upon
Her Prayers and prudent Education
Of children such a number for yᵉ Lord,
Under his gracious covenant and word,
That now may say, I am, thro grace divine,
Thy Servant, Daughter, Son, of Handmaid thine.
She highly prized a _Gospel Ministry_,
For its support was an example high,
And while a widow chose yᵉ town shou'd say }
What was her Part lest self from Right shou'd sway }
And allways gave more than her Rate away, }
Yea ever first wou'd pay _that pious due_, }
Then other Debts, and on the Residue }
Wou'd wisely live and help yᵉ Poor she knew. }
Nor ever any want she found thereby,
And counselled her Friends yᵉ like to try:
But if they wou'd till last let _That_ alone,
They wou'd find nought to pay't, all wou'd be gone:
Which some have try'd, and found what she said True,
And so God was not robbed of his Due.
As by God's Grace she lived _piously_
So by the same she lived _righteously_:
Chusing yᵗ she and hers might wrongs receiv,
Than even yᵉ least to others give:
Allways a Pattern of _Sobriety_, }
Meek, lowly, peacefull, prone to _charity_ }
And freely given to Hospitality, }
Behaved wisely in a perfect way,
Both in yᵉ brightest and yᵉ darkest Day.
She came in nothing short with count of many
Of highest Praise of Tongue or Pen of any.
Great cause we have of pious Thankfullness;
For that tho sharpest Pains did her distress
For _six weeks_ allmost constantly, yᵗ she
Could take no Rest nor in yᵉ night nor Day;
Yet God preserv'd her mind and senses clear,
With exercise of Grace, yᵗ we cou'd hear
Not the least murmuring nor impatient word,
But meek submission to yᵉ Sovereign Lord:
Full of heart-melting Prayer and savoury words
Which Joy and wonderment to all affords
Whose Hearts were mov'd to leav their Homes and see
And help Her in her great extremity.
Her last words were, come _dear Lord Jesus, come
And take me quickly to thy Bosom home_:
And in few minutes had her Soul's Desire
With Him whom she did love with Heart intire.
Death was no Terrour unto Her nor Fear,
No Ghastliness did in her Face appear:
But sweet composure in her Life and Death }
When her dear soul she in her final Breath }
Resigned to Him whom she beheld in Faith: }
Whose own she was and with Him long'd to be
Where she is free from sin and misery:
She enter'd into perfect, endless Rest,
And with yᵉ blest above is ever blest.
So that we have no reason to repine }
But thankfully and humbly to resign }
To his most wise and righteous hand therein }
Nor mourn for Her in Plenitude of Joy,
But for ourselves whom evils still annoy.
As a great Loss to all, yᵉ wisest deem,
Then sure to me and mine a Loss extream;
Now she has left the gap, is made a way
For evils to bear on us every Day:
Wʰ our Iniquities deserved have,
Unless yᵉ Lord please, as I humbly crave,
To give Repentance and Remission free
Of all our sins; of mine especially,
My great Defects in point of gratitude
In prizing and improving such a good:
Wʰ as a _second_ miracle of grace,
After the first who no less Pious was
And lovely _consort_. Both free gifts most rare
And Both in answer unto humble Prayer.
As soon as I my will resigned so
To God, as to be free yᵗ he shou'd do
As most for his own glory he shou'd see;
Then did their several Relatives agree
To say, They had oppos'd our match so long,
They neither dared nor wou'd it more prolong:
Wʰ was so far above all expectation
As made us to admire the Dispensation.
Yet that such wondrous works I cou'd forget,
Does my Offences greatly aggravete:
Which has so much dishonored his Name
As justly may me fill with grief and shame
And oh yᵗ by his grace enabling me, }
I may with Hate, yea self-abhorrency }
Turn from all sin and unto JESUS flee }
Whose meritorious and precious blood
Can clease from sin and reconcile to God.
O may He be most highly priz'd by me
And as most precious may embraced be.
May I to Him eternally be join'd
And in Him Rest and Satisfaction find:
By his good Spirit's mighty energy }
My Heart be purg'd from all Impurity, }
And filled with all grace and sanctity: }
Awakened out of all my drowzy Frames
Raised up to lively, heavenly views and aims,
Ever composed, humble, watchful be, }
Especially upon God's holy Day, }
And when I read, hear, meditate and pray. }
In holy Duties never slightly be;
As if to approach yᵉ glorious majesty
Of God, a light and trifling thing it were;
But ever look and speak to him with Fear:
May bring forth much good Fruit in my last Days,
Living and doing more unto his Praise:
Gaining much profit by our Father's Rod,
Who can make all work our eternal good.
For all which mercies great I beg yᵉ Prayers
Of all who see these drops of aged Tears,
That I and mine may by his mighty Hand
Be kept thro Faith unto Salvation, and
That we may neither slack or slothful be,
But follow Her and that blest company,
Who thro' their faith and patience now possess
The full completion of the Promises,
And we may fitted be at Death to say, }
_Lord Jesus come and take us quick away, }
To be with Thee unto eternal aye!_ }
Afflicted and distressed, but thro rich undeserved mercy
not wholly forsaken,
T. HINCKLEY. _ætatis_ 85.

* * * * *

The following is an extract from one of the manuscript volumes
of the Rev. Mr. Prince:

"She [Mrs. Hinckley] was yᵉ only child of Mʳ Quarter-master
_Smith_ by his 1ˢᵗ wife, formerly of _Lancashire_ in England
and afterward of _Dorchester_ in _New England_.

Her _Father_ had been a Quarter-master in yᵉ army of yᵉ
Netherlands: her _mother_ a gentlewoman of a creditable
Family and of eminent natural Powers, Piety and acquir'd
accomplishments. Of them this Mʳˢ _Hinckley_ was Born in
_Lancashire_ in _England_ in 1630. Her Parents living undʳ yᵉ
ministry of yᵉ Rev. Mʳ _Richard Mather_ at Toxteth in that
shire; they came up and brought Her wᵗʰ them to Bristol in
order for _N. E._ in April 1635: young Mʳ _Nathaniel_ a son of
yᵉ sd Mʳ Mather being carried on One side a Horse in a Pannier
and this young Mʳˢ Mary on yᵉ other: as I have often heard her
say.

May 23, 1635; She with her father and mother, yᵉ sd Rev. Mʳ
_Richard Mather_ and wife, yʳ sons _Samuel_ and _Nathaniel_, Mʳ
_Jonathan Mitchell_ then about 11 years of age, &c. set sail
from _Bristol_. In yᵉ night between Aug. 14 and 15 coming on yᵉ
_N. E._ coast yʳ arose an extream Hurricane, wʳin yʸ wʳ in yᵉ
utmost Danger and wondrously delivered [see yᵉ acct in yᵉ Life
of yᵉ sd Mʳ _Richard Mather_ in yᵉ Magnalia] and on Aug. 17
arrived at _Boston_.

Her Father and others settling at _Dorchester_ and a new chh
gathᵈ There Aug. 23, 1636, yᵉ sd Mʳ _Richard Mather_ became yʳ
Teacher: under wᵒˢ ministry she liv'd, unless wⁿ sent to school
at _Boston_, wʳ she enjoy'd Mʳ _Wilson_ and _Cotton's_ ministry.

In ---- she married to Mʳ _Nathanˡ Glover_ a son of yᵉ Honᵇ
_John Glover_ Esq: of sd Dorchester by wᵐ she had _Nathaniel_
and _Ann_. And then this Husband Dying, she remained a
widdow till wⁿ she married yᵉ Honᵇˡ _Thomas Hinckley_ Esq.
of _Barnstable_; whither she removed and had by Him _Mercy_,
_Experience_, _John_, _Abigail_, _Thankfull_, _Ebenezer_ and
_Reliance_: wᵒ all grew up and married; and all but _Ebenezer_
before she died.

At _Barnstable_ she to yᵉ Day of her Death appear'd and shone
in yᵉ eyes of all, as yᵉ loveliest and brightest woman for
beauty, knowledg, wisdom, majesty, accomplishments and graces
throughout yᵉ _colony_, and there her fˢᵗ son _Nathaniel_
married to _Hannah_ a Dᵗʳ of sd Mʳ Hinckly, by his formʳ wf:

Her sd Dᵗʳ _Ann_ married to Mʳ _Wᵐ Rawson_ a son of Mʳ
secretary _Rawson_, secretary of yᵉ Massachusetts colony. Her
Dᵗʳ _Mercy_, to Mʳ _Samuel Prince_ of _Sandwich_: _Experience_
to Mʳ _James Whipple_ of _Barnstable_: her son _John_ to Mʳˢ
---- _Trott_ of _Dorchester_: her Daughter _Abigail_ to yᵉ
Rev. Mʳ Joseph Lord 1ˢᵗ of _Dorchester_ in _South Carolina_,
aftʳwd of Chatham, on _Cape Cod_: _Thankfull_ to yᵉ Rev. Mʳ
_Experience Mayhew_ of _Martha's Vineyard_: _Reliance_ to yᵉ
Rev. Mʳ _Nathaniel Stone_ of _Harwich_: and after the Decease
of Herself and Husband yʳ son _Ebenezer_ to Mʳˢ _Stone_ of
_Sudbury_."

Mrs. Hinckley died July 29, 1703, in the 73rd year of her age.

FOOTNOTES:

[34] The portraits of Samuel and Mercy Prince, belonging to the Rev. Mr. Robbins, have been temporarily deposited in the rooms of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF PHYSICIANS IN KINGSTON, N. H.

The first Physician of Kingston of whom we have any definite account, was a _Dr. Green_, who died some time in the year 1750. The vacancy created by his death was filled by _Dr. Josiah Bartlett_ and _Dr. Aaron Sawyer_. Dr. Sawyer soon returned to the Upper Parish of Amesbury, Ms., whence he originated.

_Dr. Josiah Bartlett_ was born in Amesbury, Ms., Nov. 21, 1727, O. S. His father, whose name was Stephen Bartlett, had not much property, but was, however, enabled to give him a medical education under the instruction of Dr. Ordway, a respectable physician of Amesbury. Dr. Bartlett completed his medical studies at the age of twenty-one, and very soon after established himself at Kingston, N. H.

He married his cousin, Mary Bartlett, of Newtown, N. H., Jan. 15, 1754, by whom he had twelve children.

His practice became very extensive, and he was eminently successful, especially in the treatment of the _Cynanche Maligna_, or Throat Distemper, which first made its appearance in Kingston, with great fatality, in 1765.

Dr. Bartlett began his political career as Representative from Kingston, in the Legislature of New Hampshire, while an English colony.

He continued to fill various offices of trust, from this time to the year 1775, when he was elected to the Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia in September of that year. In July, 1776, Congress declared the Colonies independent, and Dr. Bartlett was the first, after the venerable Hancock, to sign this instrument of American freedom.

In November, 1778, Dr. Bartlett returned home to attend to his domestic affairs, which had suffered greatly from his absence. About this time he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and was transferred to the Superior Bench in November, 1782, and there officiated till he was appointed, in 1788, Chief Justice of the State. Judge Bartlett sustained, during this period, many offices not incompatible with his high judicial character, such as Counsellor, a member of the Convention to form a State Constitution, and was one of a Committee, with Judge Livermore and Gen. Sullivan, to revise the Laws of the State, and a member of the Convention to ratify the new Constitution.

In 1789, he was elected Senator to Congress, but his declining health, and the depression of spirits consequent upon the sudden death of his wife, early in that year, induced him to decline the duties of Senator, and to resign the office of Chief Justice.

The people, unwilling to lose his services, elected him President of the State, in 1790.

Dr. Bartlett took an active part in forming the New Hampshire Medical Society, and was elected, in 1791, its first President.

In 1792, he was chosen a member to revise the Constitution of New Hampshire, in which the title of President was dropped, and that of Governor substituted, and he was the first Chief Magistrate with the title of Governor. About this time, he received the honorary degrees of M. A. and M. D. from Dartmouth College.

Gov. Bartlett filled all these stations with general satisfaction, without ostentation; administering the laws in a mild yet decisive manner, and setting forth the example of true republicanism.

His appointments were just, and such as met the public approbation.

The arduous duties of a professional and political life, in those "times that tried men's souls," had impaired his health, and so shattered a constitution, never strong, that May 19, 1795, he died suddenly, of paralysis, leaving a very extensive circle of friends to mourn his departure.

Gov. Bartlett was possessed of good mental powers, of a kind and benevolent disposition, and was scrupulously just in all his dealings.

Philanthropy and benevolence were the prominent traits of his character.

His letters, still extant, show that, with a calm and childlike trust in God, he mingled that high sense of the responsibilities which man owes to his Creator and his fellow-man, which forms the foundation of a truly generous, just, and noble character.

Subjoined is the testimony of one who was his neighbor and intimate friend for many years--the Rev. Dr. Elihu Thayer. It is taken from the Address delivered at the funeral of Gov. Bartlett.

"But few persons by their own merit, without the influence of family, or party connections, have risen from one degree of honor and confidence to another, as he did. And _fewer still_ have been the instances, in which a succession of honorable and important offices even to the highest, have been held by _any man_ with _less envy_; or executed with _more general_ approbation. Despising the gaudy exhibition of vain parade, (a sure mark of a noble mind,) he set a shining example of frugality and economy, both in private and public life, at a period when such virtues were peculiarly becoming and necessary. His natural temper was open, humane, and compassionate. In his dealings, he was scrupulously just, and faithful in the performance of all his engagements; and in his public offices, he served his country with all his might."

The children of Gov. Bartlett who still survive, are Hon. Ezra Bartlett of Haverhill. N. H., and Mrs. Gale, the widow of the late Dr. Amos Gale of Kingston. She is in her 74th year, and resides at South Hampton with her daughter, Mrs. White.

_Dr. Levi Bartlett_ was the eldest son of Gov. Josiah Bartlett, and was born Sept. 3, 1763. He received his preparatory education at the then celebrated "Dummer School" in Newbury, Ms., and after studying the science of medicine one year with his father, he completed his professional course with Dr. Thomas Kittredge of Andover, Ms., a distinguished physician.

Soon after, he established himself in Kingston, N. H., where his father had been located, and who was giving up his professional business to younger and more vigorous practitioners.

Here, and in the adjoining towns, he soon acquired an extensive practice, and was frequently called many miles from home in consultation. He was a skilful and successful surgeon, and performed many important operations.

Dr. Bartlett filled many stations of trust. He was a Justice of the Peace and Quorum throughout the state, Colonel in the militia, and Post Master for many years. He frequently represented Kingston in the Legislature, and for several years was a member of the Council, and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. But being of a studious and metaphysical turn, he preferred the quiet pleasures of private life to the care and turmoil of the political arena.