The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1911-12-15
New news OF YESTERDAY
Mystery Of the Name of a Great,
Lawyer.
How Munson e. Pterpont, Farmer'si
Son and Vale Student, Became Ed.
wards %Pierrepont to Please His F.,
Rich and Arlstocratic Wife.
BY e. ). EDWARDS.

BY E. J. EDWARDS.
Edwards Pierrepont was In his day:
one of the leaders Of the American
bar, and his name is not yet forgotten
He was counsel for the government in;
the prosecution of John M. Surratt.
accused of completely in the plot to-
a%ssassinate President Lincoln. , He
was attorney general in the cabinet OF
President Grant. who was very fond
of him. And he resigned that ofice,
to accept appointment. in 1875. as
minister to the court of st. James,.
where he served until 1877.
In all of the biographies Of Edwards
Pierrepont it is stated that he was a
graduate of the famous class Of 1887
at Yale. of which also William NJ.
Evarts was a member. But II Yale's
records of that day and the catalogue
at that time are scanned, the name Of
Edwards Pierrepont will not be found
there. How. then. does 1t happen
that the biographers Of Judge Pierre
pont declare that he was a member of
this class?
My attention was called to this by
the late Albert L. Train. himself a
member of the famous class of 1853 at
Yale, and afterward one of the lead
ing editors Of Connecticut.
Il met Mr.. Evarts," said Mr.. Train.
lat the Yale commencement Of 1877.
His class was holding it's fortieth
graduation anniversary. Distinguish
ed as he was. he was then presumably
at the height of his public career. for
I'm March Of that year he had become
secretary of state in the cabinet OF
President Hayes.
"In the course of our conversation |
said to MIR. Evarts that it was an IN
usual honor for a Yale class that two
of its members should have been at
itorney general of the United States.
81 suppose Mr.. Evarts said in re-
ply. that you refer to my W service
as attorney general in President
Johnson's cabinet. But who was the
other attorney general in my Glass;?
Why said I. Edwards Pierrepont
was of your class, was he not?
"'There was no man Of that name
in my class, Mr.. Train Mr.. Evarts
replied with great solemnity Of man.
ner. 1t is true that Judge Pierrepont
was recently attorney general of the
United States. But there Vas no Ed.
wards Pierrepont in the class of 1881
at Yale. There a however. a Nun
son F.. Pierpont in my class: he was
Ia farmers boy and came from a little
village a few miles from New Haven,
We used to call him Mummy" that
was our nickname for him. But there
was no Edwards P%ierrepont. which is
la very aristocratic name
puzzled greatly by Mr.. Evarts
statement. | hunted up a Yale cata'
logue. 1t contained the name of Mum
son E. %,'ierpont. but there was no Ed
wards Pierrepont in the list. Some
months later, however, the whole mat.
ter was made plain to me, and then !
realized fully how greatly Secretary
Evarts must have enjoyed the joke
he had played upon me at the expense
Iof his good friend Edwards Pierre
.pont. Mr.. Evarts, great wit and lover
iof fun that he was, was especially
fond of the sly joke.
Edwards Pierrepont and Munson
il. Pierpont-it turned out on investi'
Igation-were one and the same per
son. But there wat no Edwards
Pierrepont until Munson r. Pierpont,
following his graduation from Yale,
had, gone t O Columbus, Ohio, to prac'
;tice Law and there fallen in love with
and married a"rich widow Of aristo'
cratic tendencies, who induced Mum
son Pierpont to drop his first name,
substitute for 1t his middle name Of
Edward, with an g. added thereto
and change the spelling of his last
name from the simple and commo
form of 'Pierpont' to the complex
and aristocratic form of 'Pierrepont.'
Subsequently MI. Evarts' old class
mate moved to New York city and
opened a law once. The name that
he placed on the door was the one
that his wife had induced him ID
take. And. do you know, 1t was quite
a while before Mr.. Evarts and othel
New Workers who had known Munsou
f. Pierpont In his college days well
enough to call him Mummy and slaT
him additionally on the back, die
covered their old college chum in thu
person of Edwards Pierrspont?"
Copyright. 1911. by e. J. Edwards. Az
Rights Rsserved.)
tf ~
End o. Aitrvlssn.
Because he was too .soSt,heartsd t.
.sL HE nnv.rtv.strickon lanAlaAv n