Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-10-10
oLuDGEo MARcus P. NORTON.
The story Of a Distin uished O YER
mOnter whose Magnihcent Career ~
Interfersd with by an Unsympathetic
Hotel Keener.


tent the short lived sensation caused by the
arrest, as a hotel swindler, Of Hon" Mar
Gus p. Norton, native OF Tinmouth in this
state, and somewhat known in this county.
Nortons career since his story has come out,
is shown to have been such as to leave one in
doubt whether he is q knavish adventurer,
pure and simple, visionary enthusiast in
great business schemes, a crack Drained crank,
or a mixture of all three II we mistake not
his family relatives are still living at Tin
mouth, this state, on the other side of the
Green mountains, where he was born. In
early life he spent sometime in Rutland,
where he became well known. Afterward he
settled in Troy, N. Y, where he succeeded
in getting himself known as "a distinguished
lawyer" had elegant Offices large library,
and an expensive and snowy establishment
for his family. He was liberal contributor
to religious and social movements, and kept
himself in good standing with the commuui-
ty generally, though 1t appears to have been
known to his friends there that there was an
occasional slip in his financial methods, as
when, for instance, he visited Montreal got
himself introduced at a leading hotel as "a
distinguished lawyer from Troy" aud on the
strength of this gave the landlord check
for $50 on leaving to pay his board bill OF
| $40. Norton got back $50 in money, and
when the check was sent in to the bank in
Troy the only return which the landlord got
was polite note from the officers saying that
Norton had had no deposit there for FIVE
years When Hortons career in Troy finally
wound up he had 500, 600 of debts there and
no assets. In his profession his specially
was as patent lawyer, but his conduct is
said to have been such that the commissioner
of patents debarred him from practice.
In 1869 he was candidate for the Office OF
| governor of Wyoming, and printed hand
some volume entitled, Letters of Common
dation to Gen. IT, s. Grant, President-elect,
Recommending the Appointment of the Hon.
Marcus z. Norton to the Governorship of the
| Territory of Wyoming"
He was introduced to Brattleboro people
some half dozen years ago as the plaintiff in
a great patent suit against the United States
! government to recover control of, and DANA
ges for the use Of the double cancelling stamp
now in general use in the post offices Of the
country. He claimed to be the inventor of this
stamp, and as an initial movement against
the government brought suit against Hon.
Thos. i. James, then postmaster OF New
York city, claiming damages in something
like quarter of million dollars. One or
more of the hearings in the case was before
Judge Wheeler at the Brooks House. some of
the most distinguished lawyers in the coun.
try appearing as counsel on both sides.
While here Norton got a check cashed at
Waite's bank which proved to he worthless.
His patent case was finally decided in his ia
vor in the United States circuit court, and
an appeal was taken by the government to
the United States supreme court, which re-
versed the decision. 1t is stated on good au-
thority that while the case was waiting for hear
ing before the supreme court the government
offered to pay Norton 800, 900 to settle the
suit and secure control of the stamp, but this
OFF he daalipa1 hpnanua ba W ttr, illioua in
it."
Just how long ago Norton turned up in
Boston seems to be uncertain, but for several
years he has figured as the protector, on paper,
of all sorts Of gigantic mining, railroad and
similar schemes, in all of which he appeared
either as president or leading director. He
was connected with Senator Ferry of Michigan
before Ferry's failure, in some of his mining
ventures, holding and handling his notes &c
the extent of several thousand dollars.
One Of his ravorite railroad schemes was
for an ocean to ocean" line, which would
reach Boston by way OF western Vermont
and the Hcosao tunnel, and have specia
wharf accommodations, with steamship lines
running to London, Liverpool, Havre, Bre
men, etc. For time he succeeded in max
ing Boston capitalists believe that there wa'
really something in all this. Four years age
he was telling people whom he knew in tbs
upper West River valley that he had arrange
ments nearly completed for pushing tn,
Brattlebuto Il Whitehall road on westward
to Lake Champlain, via his native town o.
Tinmouth, and, If we mistake not, one Of
his schemes was to use the whole of til,
Bratteboro Il Whitehall road as part OF out
of his great through lines.
The Boston Herald remarks that 9TH.
weighty Judge (by which title he was ia
miliarly known had no trouble in quilting tn,
Vermont and many of the New York papers
and they were continually giving as pieces o
exclusive information paragraphs about his
mythical railroads" In proof of this gull
bllity the Herald quotes from the Bennington
County Reformer of October, 1881, motto,
of Norton's presence in Bennington to con
fer with Col. Morrison on railroad surveys
with an alusion to the fact that Ibis family
are living in grand style in Stuttgart, Ger
many, where his three daughters are beinl
educated"
Besides his cancellng- stamp suit Morton
has been a Spectator in other patents, buy
ing or taking them up and contesting the
right to their use, and taking his chances oil
making something out of them. One o
these suits involved the Knibbs steam fire
engine valve, on account of which he brough
suit against the city of Boston aud was beat
en-.
Often, when without any visible means o
support, his pockets have been full Of mon
ey, and, at other times, when he has tRlket
about millions of money, miles upon miles o
railroad that he was about to build, mine
that he was going to develop and speculation
that had millions in them, he has been 'deat
broke, and owing atth time for his board o
house rent. Last year he lived in apartment
on Bowdoin Square, Boston, but failed to pa,
for them in manner satisfactory to his land
lord and last gDTiDU mOvad n a furnie bai
house in Newton at a rental Of $50 a mont
the rent of which still remains unpaid.
For some time he ostentatiously ATTENDED
Phillip Brookss church, always driving Their
with his family In a coach in imposing style
but he apparently failed to make the impress
sion he desired on the people of that church
and six months ago he took himself to Ire
mont Temple, whore he opened up by drop
ping $50 bill into the contribution box
taking care that the denomination OF the bill
should be seen. He at once won his way Il
the hearts of the Methodist brethren, joinet
the church, and borrowed money freely from
the deacons and Others
'"Hhe judge" finally came to grief by Civ
ing the clerk of the United States hotel, Bos
ton, check on the Maverick National banl
for $50 to pay board bill and for borrowed
money. On presentation of the check at thu
bank the following day it was found that Nor
ton deposit tnefe was Just u. II, That II MAJ
stood at this figure for weeks or months, anC
that the bank officials had been greatly an
> noyed by the constant and repeated presenta
, ton of checks for greater or less amount
against this deposit of silly. Tilly Haynes
l the proprietor of the hotel put the case il
, the hands of the police, and on the following
day Norton was arrested while walking
J through the streets. He pleaded not guilty
, was put under $500 bonds and went to jail
) but afterward was bailed out "As he stoot
in the dock, " the Herald says, adorned witt
gold bowed eyeglasses and stylish clothes
his aldermanic proportions and general make
up did not betoken either insanity or guilt
= Last Sunday he came up smiling in his plac
= in fremont Temple and seemed in no wis
quenched or abashed by the revelations o
) the three days previous.
1t proves that he is owing bills of all sort
: and amounts, for all sorts of things but wha
their total amount is nobody pretends h
know. The history of "the Judges" fnan
I cial exploits and the presuming and fairl
colossal methods by which he made men o
substance believe in him, fills columns o
space in the daily papers, and we have her
p only outlined the main points in caree