The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1913-08-07
FORMER SKOWHEGAM
ATTORNEYS
We're Mentioned rs Those Admitted TO
Practice Law In Maine Between
1s02 and 1s20

: found a little leather bound volume
which is of much interest 10 the his
torian How il came to be thrown
away Is moi known but 1t had probably
lain many years in some dusty attic
and had been considered of no value.
The title page of the book has been
torn oil. but the second page begins
State OF Massachusetts Bay in NV
England Suffolk. SIS. at the Superior
Court of Judieature. Court of Ass.ze
and General Coal Delivery begun and
held at Boston within and for the
County Of Suffolk on the third Tues
day of February, l779, by the Hen Will
liam Cushing. ESQ, chief justice, Jede-
diah H. Foster, Nathaniel p Sargent
David Sewall, Jonathan Sullivan, Esq.
Justices"
Then follow rules of the superior
court as established from year to yc lr
Following these are lales established
By the supreme court OF Ire Common
1881. The last rule entered Is da.ed
the third Tuesday of February 1896
Turning the book over and opening cn
the other side will be found the official
forms for all kinds of writs and pre-
cepts issued by the court, the last be-
ing dated lS0G
hn int ri nF hn
book however, occurs aear the middle,
the rules of Court as established at Il
term of court held at Cambridge In
l781 for the admission of attorneys
are first given. Following these are
the form of oath of an attorney and
the oath of allegiance to the Common
wealth of Massachusetts, signed by all
attorneys admitted to practice law IN
the district of Maine from 1902 to 1870.
The second name on the list admitted
at the August term, 1902, Is that of
Reuel Williams of Augusta, one of The
early attorneys in the city, and VINO
afterward became partner OF James
Bridge, one of the leaders of the Ken
nebec bar, and whose original office
was in the old Fort. Mr.. Williams
afterward became very prominent in
the history OF our State, as United
States Senator, Commissioner for the
building of the Insane hospital.
Following are names of such well
known men as Gorham Dummer of
Iallowell, Jonah Mcclellan, Sylvester
G. Whlpple, II. Weld Fuller of Augur
ia, one of the most prominent men of
the olden time, Sanford Kingsbury,
Jr., of Gardiner, later a judge of the
court of common pleas, and State trca
surer; Nathan Weeks, Thomas Bond,
Jr., of Hallowell; Alexander Belcher
one of the most prominent attorneys
of Pennington; Thomas Hill. Jeremiah
Perley, Lemuel Paine of Winslow,
Henry II. Greeley, Jonathan G. Hun
ton of Readfeld, later a governor CT
| the State, John II. Sheperd, Daniel
kidder of Skowhegan, later represen-
tatiye to Congress; Hiram Belcher Of
Pennington, later representative 20
Congress, James H. Childe, Edward
Fuller and Daniel Winslow of Angus
ia; S. Thayer of Wateryille, George
Evans of Gardiner, later United States
Genator and enc of the ablest lawyers
Maine ever produced, Asa Redington,
Jr., of Wateryille, and John S. Tenney
of Norridgewock, later a judge of the
supreme judicial court, one of the last
to sign the rolls, being admitted at the
August term, 1920.
Following this a few pages later Is
an oath to support the Constitution of
the United States, the first signature
being that of George Evans, who was
not admitted to the bar until 1878. This
would appear as an afterthought, the
oath of allegiance being sole
ly to the Commonwealth of Massachu
of the attorneys, including Daniel VIII
liams, Charles Dummer of Hallowell, |
Stephen Benson ard Edmund T. |
Bridge of Augusta.
1t will be interesting to know that In
1900, when the first of these attorneys
were admitted to practice law, there
were in the district of Maine but 81
lawyers, of whom ten were In Kenne-
bee county. Among these were James
Bridge of Augusta. the leader of the
lar, William Lithgow, Jr., Nathan Wes-
ton of Augusta, who married the
daughter of Judge Daniel Cony and
was appointed chief justice of the
court of common pleas at the age of
80, Nathan Bridge of Gardiner and
Samuel s. Wilde, very able advocate
of Hallowell, appointed judge of the
supreme judicial court in 1916, and
who moved to Massachusetts soon
after. OF the "a lawyers In Matae
40 were natives of other states. In
h. E,.nt lat L.. ~ n,