Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1899-10-13
DANL. ROBERTS DEAD.
PASSED AWAY AT BURLINGTON FRI
DAY AFTERNOON.

MiddIebury Colleges Oldest Graduate
Was in His Eighty-Ninth Year and Had
Practiced Law sixty-Seven Years-A Re-
view of His Life.
In the death of Hon. Daniel Roberts,
which took place at his home in Bur-
lington last Friday afternoon at
o'clock, the Oldest practicing lawyer in
Vermont and one of the oldest attorneys
in active practice in the United States,
and prominent and highly esteemed
citizen of Burlington and of Vermont,
passed from earth.
Mr. Roberts was born in Wallingford,
Vt, May %, 1Sl1-the son of Daniel and
Almira Roberts. who were natives of
Litchfield county, Connecticut Daniel,
senior, was the son of soldier of the
Revolution, and one of the early settlers
in Wallingford, VT, whence he moved to
Manchester, VT. about 1890. His son,
Daniel, was the fifth Of family of ten
children. He spent his boyhood on his
fathers farm; entered Middlebury col
lege at the age of IS years and graduated
in 1920, being at the time of his death
the oldest surviving alumnus of that in
stitution. After leaving college he
studied law with Hon. Harvey Button
of Wallingford, and was admitted to the
bar of Rutland county at the September
term in 1892. He then wen. to seek his
fortune in the West and South, going
down the Mississippi to New Orleans,
and stopping at Natchez, Miss. where
he was admitted to the bar, but did not
find sufficient encouragement to remain
long. Returning North he went to
Jacksonville, Illinois, where his class
mate, Rev. Truman NJ. Post, was en-
gagged as tutor in Illinois college; and
commenced the practice of his profess
sion in that place in the office of Hon.
hurry Mcconnell. In 1885 he returned
to Vermont, on a visit, and was per-
suaded to remain and open law office
In his native town. He, however, soon
found better opening elsewhere, and
in 1886 he removed to Manchester, VT,
where he took the office of the late
Judge Milo l.. Bennett, when the latter
removed to Burlington, and practiced
law with ability and success for twenty
years. In 1856. deeming that Burlng-
ton offered a better field for his powers,
he removed to this town, with his
family. They resided for year or two
in the house on College street now
owned and occupied by Judge L. E.
Wales. Later he purchased the house
on Main street, which was thereafter
his home, until his death. On coming
to Burlington he formed q partnership
with Hon. l.. f. Chlttenden, which was
ended by the removal of Mr.. Chittenden
to Washington, when he was appointed
register of the United States treasury in
1861. After that he practced by himself
till about 1875 when he took his second
son, Robert Roberts, into partnership
with himself under the firm name of
Roberts & Roberts. He remained in
continuous and active practice of the
law, practically up to the time of his
death-a period of siXty-seyen years of
service at the bar. His practice eX-
tended over the counties of Chittenden,
Addison, Rutland and Bennington, and
in the United States courts, and COM
prised great variety of cases, civil and
criminal. His name appears as an at
torney in the state law reports in 1897,
and appears in similar capacity In
every subsequent volume of the re-
ports, up to and including the 10Th
volume-the last published. There can
be very few parallels to legal practice
of such remarkable duration.
Mr.. Roberts held several public of
fees of considerable responsibility. He
was state bank commissioner, 1854
special agent of the United State;
treasury department, 1865 6, lS69-T0
lSS0-Sl states attorney of Chttender
county, 1859. He was offered the
position of solicitor of the United
States treasury department during Gen
Grants first term of president, but de
clned the offer. Though never mem
Der of the legislature, he had not little
share for many years in shaping the
laws of our state. In particular he was
. largely Instrumental IN securing sim
plifcation of the old rules of crmina
pleading, and in charging the property
rights of women. His views upon Law
reform were started at length il
the address which he delivered al
president Of the Vermont Bar associa
: ton, in 1850.
lie was engaged for number o
= years in preparing the valuable digest o
the decisions of the supreme court o
p Vermont, which was published in 1873
4 with the supplement thereto, published
f in 1889 In accuracy and terseness o
: statement Roberts Vermont digest is
n model. 1t Is standard authorit,
:; among the members of the Vernon
= bar, and our state judiciary.
q Mr.. Roberts was the orator of the da
d at the Vermont centennial celebration a
S Bennington in August, 1877, when he dc
= livered an impressive address, valuabl
d as historical document :and admrabl
in its scholorly finish and style. In gen
: eral it may be said that Mr.. Roberts ha
y fine command of the English languag
# and a style worthy of imitation 70