The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-11-08

Wnen HufDertu6 de Ia FejQ came over
from Strasburg with William, and one
of the ancestors was John Field, the
famous English astronomer. Gen. Mar
tin Field, native of Levett, Mass. Il,
a powerful lawyer and man of great
scientific attainments, who came to this
county and settled in Newfane in 1900,
was the grandfather of Eugene. OF
his two sons Charles X. Field was long
one of the most unique and interest
ing of Vermont men, and Roswell M.
the father of the subject of this
sketch, was one of the most brilliant
and versatile men the state ever pro
duced, and had singularly romantic
career, and for several years conduct
ed litigation that was among the
most famous in the state and fills a
large place in our law reports. Born at
Newfane, and graduating from Middle
bury at the age of only 10, he studied
law with the late Judge Kellogg, was
admitted to the bar when only IS, and
had begun a most successful practise.
being states attorney for four years
when his prospects were blighted for a
time by disappointment. He be-
came acquainted with Miss Phelps
of most aristocratic Windsor family
while she was visiting at the Brad
leys, clandestine love affair grew up
between them and on her return home
he met her at Putney where they were
married. Her family got the marriage
annulled on the ground of undue in
tiuence,'' and Roswell for the next few
years set himself to running the family
with succession of lawsuits and
equity actions. and with scathing
attack on the mother whom he
described as Mistress Susannah
Tory which he published in the
form of court petition in Bellows
Falls paper. and which added libel
suit to the litigation, just what he
wanted. The special pleas which he
drew in this case were pronounced by
Justice Story to be masterpieces in
their line. The result was that he
accomplished his purpose of revenge
fully, drove the family bankrupt and
Inundated from the state. and then he
went west, settled in st. Louis, and
in competition with men like Benton,
and Bates became the greatest
lawyer of all that section, conducting
the bred Scott litigation in its earlier
stages, and with Gen. Lyon and Frank
Blair. leading the Union side in Mis-
souri, in the early part of the war.
He married, for the second time
when Al years old, Miss Frances Reed
of ST. Louis, who bore him two sons,
Eugene and Roswell NJ. the latter
now a prominent journalist in New
York city. The mother died in 1857
when Eugene was only seven years old,
IA .,,., hn mt Al ol,,ra ..f 4, ,,,of
Miss Mary French, of Amherst, Mass,
with whom he stayed until he was 10.
He used to tell with great satisfaction
of seven months visit which he made
when he was nine years cold to the old
homestead at Fayetteville, where his
grandmother lived. 1t was his first
experience of country life, and he used
to say that his love for nature dated
from that visit. Sooner or LATER" he
said once, "a man rots if he lives too
far away from the grass and the trees.
His grandmother was an old school
New England Congregationalist, who
gave young Field IA thorough ground
ing in Biblical lore. She used to give
him ten cents for every sermon he
would write. and one of the treasures
of his study was his first sermon,
written in boys formal round hand,
which he had beautifully bound. He
didn't like to commit Bible selections
TO memory, but his grandmother kept
at him. with the result that he re-
garded his knowledge of the Bible in
valuable. He and Roswell were both
frequent visitors hereabouts in that
time They both spent three summers
at the Newfane farm of Simon Fisher
who cured them of suffering, a trouble
with which both were afflicted. They
also spent the fall of 1863 here with
their uncle, Charles X. and many are
the tales of his practical jokes told by
during that visit like
John c. Howe. His
father was thorough scholar mad had
seen to it that the boy was well ground
I'd in classics. He required the cor
between them to be
carried on in Latin. and there the
Young man got the facility which
made SO charming his translations of
Horace.
Eugene after fitting at Munson
cademy entered Williams college, but
his father died while he was there,
and PORT. John w. Burgess of Knox
College, at Galesburg Ill. was appoint
d his guardian. Field stayed there
two years and then went to the State
at Columbia, Mo. In 1871,
having attained his majority he came
nto the $50, 600 which he had inherited
rom his father. He took one of his
intimate friends, the brother of the
woman he afterward married, and went
% Europe.
81 had a lovely time he said
nee in telling his experience to a
riend. 81 just swatted the money
.round. Just think of it, boy of q,
without father or mother, and with
sGO. 600. 1t was lovely experience.
/ saw more things and did more things
han are dreamed of in your philoso-
,hy, Horatio. l had money. paid
t out for experiencs-it was plenty. |
Experience was lying around loose"
Field stayed abroad until the $50, coo
vas spent Then he came home and
vent to work. That was in 1873. 1t
lad taken him two years to spend his
ortune. but he had done it so com
,letely that he had to sell his books, |
Keeping only the choicest and rarest,
n order to live until he could make a
living for himself He went into the
work and joined the staff of
he st. Louis Eevening Journal as a
eporter. He soon became city editor.
nut he didn't like it. He could mt in
Iulge his propensity to "have fun
With people.
Then he went up to st. Joseph and
became city editor of the Gazette.
There he married, in 1873. Miss
Julia S. Comstock, who survives him.
L =. LII In, Al, (rnrutt., l