The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-01-09
Jeremiah Mason Admitted
at Court House on
Newfane Hill
JUDGE FISH'S PAPER
TO BAR ASSOCIATION
Associate of Daniel Webster in Dart
mouth College Case Studied with Gen.
Bradley in stminster-Admitted in
1871.

In the meeting of the Vermont Bar as
in Montpelier yesterday after
noon Judge Frank /. Fish of Nergennes,
of Newfane, delivered a paper OF
much interest on jeremiah Mason, whom
he characterized as ''the greatest of New
England lawyers, particularly in the do
main of common law and who was adj
mitted to the bar on Newfane hill I'm the
same courthouse that was later moved
into the valley and now, enlarged and
modernized, adorns the village green at
the county seat"
Judge Fish stated that his justification
for the paper was that jeremiah Mason
was a Vermont law student, that he be-
gan his illustrious career at the bar IN the
practice for year and half before Yer
mont justices of the peace and was adj
mitted to The bar of this state. His
great fame alone would be sufficient to
warrant a review of his life before this
association were it not for the claim that
he was a Vermont lawyer
Jeremiah Mason was born in Lebanon,
Conn, April p, 1868, and died in Boston
Oct. II, 1913 He descended from long
line of worthy ancestors, some of whom
came from England and settled in Massa
chusetts and Connecticut He graduated
| from Yale and in the winter of 1889 came
| to Westminster and entered the law Office
of General Stephen Rowe Bradley, whose
portrait is the oldest of the two seor,
| portraits of Vermont judges and Wind
| ham county lawyers TO hang on the wall
lof the Newfane courthouse.
General Bradley soon placed the entir'
management of his justice business IL
Mr.. Mason's charge upon a generous al
lowance of fees and during the year an'
half that Mr.. Mason continued as stu
dent with General Bradley he did a YER
considerable business of this kind. Il
June. 1871, at the county court held a
i Newfane Mr. Mason was admitted to til
bar He had not studied the full perio
Of time required. so his admission was OF
posed by the chief Judge, but his two as
sociates overruled him and the oath wa
administered to Mr.. Mason.
He settled in Westmoreland \ IL
. and almost Immediately became eXtensiv,
! ~ engaged at 25 years of age in the pra
tice OF his profession. Three years late
; in 1874, he removed to Walpole, \. II
which was the center for the gathering
a number of brilliant men of the perio,
: one of whom was Royal Tyler of Gui
ford, later chief Judge Of the supren
, court of Vermont, whose son. RoyaH r
ler of Bratteboro, was for 30 years IL
! dignified clerk of the Nindham count
al court
t About this period Mr. Mason made
!. journey on important business to Nirgini
where he met Major General Lee
{ passing through Philadelphia he hear
: General Washington deliver his address
congress, and on his return from Virgin
he was entrusted with package contai
!. ing letters to Washington which he
I livered to the president at his home
: Philadelphia
Being inclined to exercise his abiliti
} in a Wider sphere in 1877 he remov
: to Portsmouth, one of the oldest al
: most prosperous towns in New Ham
= shire. In 1902 he was elected attorn
: general and at about the same time .Jei
4 miah Smith retired from his profession
| duties to become chief justice. when \
Mason became the acknowledged lead
OF his profession. He resigned at the e,
of three years after which he devot
himself exclusively to private practice
was elected United States senator in Is
but resigned in 1917 Later he represel