Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-10-09
THE RUTLAND HERALD.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1873.
ADDRESS of Hon. EliakIm II. Walton
at the Unwilling OF Chapman Won
,,meut at TInmouth, Friday, Octe-
her Sd, 1878.

, -
.Ga state has determined to honor in an
vvmusual way, would be an elaborate
md discriminative account of that
",rsat mans life, services and char
Elttar. lint to be most fifty done, that SER
~, re0uires the best talents of one who
" not only equal with, but superior, in
nIossical scholarship, and profound learn
mo i'm arts, sciences, history, law ana
lt7tnsmanship, to him who is to be mea-
1"rnd. 4 tyrO can tiippantly praise or
fnoli4hly criticise; but the just Judge
sEnuld be wiser than was the man who IS
a., he iudged. With this conception OF the
,,,rs hest TO be done, 1 deemed myself ut
t,rIy unfit to undertake it, ana llhtly re-
tI.cd a broad invitation sent to me. w nen
that invitation was changed, TO Speclnc
1allup.t to prepare biographical sketch,
+ drfer1nfned to attempt ii, and have come,
yrith a grateful and admiring heart, to lay
nv humble Offering on the grave OF CHIP
man. ,lo,,,,,,,,,4 :;
tho fourth generation, from John Chapman
If Rarnstable, England, who came to Massa-
chusettS in 1880, married n daughter OF
John Rowland, tthe last male survivor but
onp of those who came in the MaN-nOWeC,D
and settled in Barustable, Mass. Nathaniel
AZ l- born i'm Salisbury, Conn, Nov. Is, 1852,
.tnrd. st sou of samuel Chapman OF Sails
hurry uud Hannah Austin of Sutield,
II, fathcr of Nathaniel was both black
smith and farmer, an industrious and
rncthodtcal man, who kept all his sons in
constant employment, either in the shop
or on the farm. A descendant of the puTi-
tau- nc was himself puritanical. lie sub
iprtrd all the affairs of his family to an
.iul.riy system, one rule, rigidly enforced
ulou every member, being to retire early
ID p, ST. aud 10 rise early for WORK. The
DAYS were given to Labor. NatnauiErs on
iHn tHuu; and the evenings to reading
bn.rE- drawn from well selected town
library and tn free con- ersation on the
topics suggested by the books.
40 fIp are of twenty. with mind and
body well disciplined by this sort of domes-
tie education, and fixed habit of untiring
Industry, young Chapman entered upon
urcuar,Ory CLASSICAL studies with the
mini -ter ui his parish, and in nine months
he tttcd himself for ! ale college. which he
entered in l,73. In college he took high
rank m the regular courses of study; but
ut..1 80 th industrious and wisely indie
u.u beat. Inc went far beyond the CurriCu-
.u.u. la tUa course of general reading and
E-rruv studies. He quit college for
thr ii It'd. "s lieutenant ia the continental
,trfHN, BET brr MS senior term had ended
aa. las. iutl well mastered more than the
r..r-.rthc Studies, and was honor ed with
do G-luI collegiate deg ee in his ab~euce.
1. il >cr'ioc in the army lit'ieis known
N.nt tat he maintained high taud-
lI.t an officer Of bis rank. We know,
.... fh" dates OFhis letters rather than
4. $50 amy NC5cri ltiunS or complaints in
jur . Ht he endured the horrors at Val
q. tHt-c IN the winter ct HIS, when, to
,-p Do au4uHge of Washington. the pay
uD Ha officers was il sufficient for their q e.
ca' r. .U~l-teuc",' and the army wa naked
Hul Irving Lll. He also endured all the
81, i'm alarms aud dangers OF the cam
rH.ra st l1IL' [2l. ono of Chipman'S let
tV- dictates mat lie was in the battle of
M1WoUtu ln which Washington defeat
.,I -lr HCurN Clinton. yhc dates Of his
nuh j-Uci letters at this time show also
Nut ac was under the eye OF WASHINGTON,
NUt Wr Wa' safely conjecture that there
Nj iHvu he received the inspiration
4,
cd HGe 10 the end. October 10,
l11s, uu reluctantly rendered his rc=ig-
nation to Washington, on the sole ground
Ihat he could not remain in the service
without becoming either "a DeEgar, or o
t,ni"r TO an amount that would embar-
.u-- and perhaps ruin him for life, 81.
II- tr-'go0tiDn was accepted, a. many
md d. EN- for the same reasons nine mo rths
earlier. thipman>s patriotism ana pa
thence Carried him to the very verge of
U3u. HDQ Washington excused him from
father SuncIiugs and sacrifices. That
), 81 good plea in bar TO censure from "uy
source.
March %, l779-being less than five months
C,pm the date of the letter resiguiug
Hi- lien cudncy-Chipm4n had cOmple, ed
MS course of study for the bar, and was
admitted an attorney in the courts OF
Connecticut. On that day he wrote q lot
i.rFooceiv In pure fun, which proved,
hu"eVtrlO be eminentIy prophetic Il
nave been dubbed an attorney" he wrote
state OF Vermont. ~ y Tia. In. In.
cannot hut laugh TO think what a flash we
shall make, when we come to be members
ct congress. And then again, am VeEed
when think how many steps there are
by which NC mus mount to That pinnacle
OF hap mess. Lets see. First, IN attur.
upN: the B., 70 Srlpctman; q hutling Justice.
20 deputy an assistant, T"OuuCi Tor IN Ecr-
mott, or represent tive in the court or as
.pmh.y in 'OnncctieetJ Il member OF con-
enn-~. Now, is not this a little veNIng
lioWe. gr, we must make the best OF it,"
I. Ana he did make the best of it,
canning nearly every one of the offices
which then dnZZled his imagination. The
"huiiigg Justice became Judge of the
United states court for Vermont, and
Chief Judge of the highest State court
and the prophetic member OF Congress
p owed to be an honOred member of the
United states senate the highest leglS a
tive body in the world, fully equalltng the
British House of Lords in talents, aud sur
passing cvcu that body in the scope ana
dignity of its jurisdiction.
Ga the 10th of April, l779-less than q
month after his admission to the bar Of
COnnecticut-the uutledged lawyer reach
rd his fathers house in TinmOuth; here
he entered upon the practice OF the law;
here he married sarah Hill of Tinmouth,
and reared seven children here he resid-
for the most part of his life and here. he
died, February 18th, 1913, in his ninety
first year, being the oldest Vermont law
y ,
life with vigorous constitution and al
most uninterrupted health.
From this point a brief summary of his
professional and official life, in chronology
iCal order, constitutes my task.
June, 1879, he was admitted to the bar of
vermont, at the session OF the superior
Court in Rutland, which was then in Ben
nugtOn county. His was the third admiS-
sion 10 the bar 81 and his professional cir
emit embraced what are now the counties
Of Bennington, Rutland, Windham and
windsor. LGl g.. ..
From 1851 to 1885, four years-he served
as States att9rney,L7l
March 6, 1884, he was appointed COM
mlttee, with Micah TOwnShend, to revise
the statutes OF the State; and in October OF
ne same year, Isaac Tichenor, Samuel
Knight, and stephen II. Bradiey-all emf
nent men in their day-were added to
me committce.[Sl It is evident from the
legislative journal that the task assigned
IOlnS committee was the preparation OF
complete State code, and as near rs l can
ascertain, their In Ors resulted in the code
adoptedin February and March, i7S7. Chip
man appointment to this work, and the
part done by him in it, was doubtless high
" influential in fitting him for the bench,
ana raising him to it. In his brief study
Of the law he could have done little more
thaL master the leading principles of the
common law; his own library. ! venture
10 guess, numbered BlackStOne'S Common
tarles, the Civil Code of Justinian, the
Vermont Code OF 1873 and possibly the
ana i'll his first four years OF professional
lite he could not have gained very large ac
qut~itions from practice, or from the
looks his brother lawyers brought TO the
courts. But his commission to revise and
Codify the laws was accepted on three con-
Qltions, to wit: first, that he should have
the franking privilege for committee
wOrll-Vermont then havingits own indie
pendent post office department. Second,
that he should have the use,
IN advance, and finally the ownership,
Of such books as he should choose
from the condscated library of
uf Charles Phelps of Marlborough. who
had been educated to the law in North
ampton, Mass and settled in Vermont in
lI'4 and third, that In case the books
were redeemed by Phelps, or were not ade-
quate compensation, the balance Justly
due TO the cOmmittce should be paid in
hard money. Phelps was pardoned in Oc
tober of that year, and such OF his proper
~ was restored as had " not been disposed
Of for the benefit OF the state" 81 This
left the law-bookS in the hands of the
Committee; and from these books, and
lhe thorough knowledge of the statutes
gained by his work on them, Chapman un-
uonbtcdly EQUIPPED himself for the bench,
10 which IN fact he was elected in 1856, Just
Us the code had been completed ready for
Hcceptance ut the ensuing session of the
GENERAL Assembly in the winter OF 1881.
from oct. 1884 to Oct. 1856, two years.
u9lpman was one OF the representatives,
Vi Inmouth In the General Assembly -an
oTuce hjch he doubtless desired "a a mat
VEot convenience In revising the laws.
from December 1886 to December 1887,
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