Part 10

He has published nine volumes of Reports of cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, a Memoir of the life, character, and writings of President John Adams, (70 pages,) read before the Columbian Institute, March 16, 1827, and an Address upon the subject of Temperance, in 1831, a small pamphlet.

Judge Cranch is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the American Antiquarian Society. He has received also the degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard College.

PROFESSOR EBENEZER ADAMS OF HANOVER, N. H.

PROFESSOR ADAMS was the son of Ephraim Adams of New Ipswich, N. H., who was a highly respectable man, having been a magistrate, an officer in the church, and a representative of the town. He was born in that place, Oct. 2, 1765. The father was a native of Ipswich, Ms., born in that part of the town which is now Hamilton. He was brought up on the farm which was first occupied by his ancestor, one of the eight sons of Henry Adams, who came to this country from Devonshire, England, and settled in that part of Braintree now called Quincy, about the year 1630. The father of Dea. Adams, whose baptismal name was Thomas, was either the grandson or great-grandson of this ancestor. The first wife of Dea. Adams was Rebecca, daughter of James Locke, who was a native of Woburn, Ms., and died in Ashby, Ms. The name of his second wife is not known. The children of Dea. Adams were fifteen in number.

The subject of this sketch fitted for college at the Academy in New Ipswich, under the care of Hon. John Hubbard, who was afterwards Professor in Dartmouth College. Having graduated at that institution in 1791, with high reputation as a scholar, especially in mathematics and philosophy, he went immediately into the Academy at Leicester, Ms., where he spent fifteen years, fourteen of which he was the Principal. In 1806, he took charge of the Academy at Portland, Me., which he left after a year and a half, having accepted the Professorship of Mathematics in Phillips Academy, Exeter. In 1809 he was appointed Professor of the Languages in Dartmouth College, and in 1810, upon the death of Professor Hubbard, he was transferred to the department of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and continued in that office until 1833--twenty-three years--when he was induced by advancing age and infirmities to resign all active and responsible service in the College; his connection with it since being simply that of Professor Emeritus, which continued until his death.

Professor Adams possessed great constitutional energies, both physical and mental. These he carried into active life. As an instructor he was able and accurate. No one surpassed him in faithfulness, and hence it was proverbial that he made thorough scholars. In the Languages he was good, but in Mathematics and Philosophy he excelled as a teacher.

As would naturally be expected, he took a lively interest in all efforts made to promote the cause of literature, the sciences, and the arts, and was connected with several literary associations. He was an original Member of the Northern Academy of Arts and Sciences, and took an active part at the time of its formation, as presiding officer. He was also a Member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Maryland Academy of Sciences and Literature, and the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, Copenhagen. He was a Trustee of Kimball Union Academy in Plainfield, and sustained the office of President of the Board of Trustees twenty years, and, for about as long a time, he was President of the New Hampshire Bible Society.

Professor Adams was twice married. His first wife was Alice Frink, daughter of Dr. John Frink, a distinguished physician of Rutland, Ms., by whom he had five children, Alice A., Adeline A., John, Charles A. and Harriet R., of whom John only is now living. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1817, and is now a practising attorney in Mobile, Ala. His second wife was Beulah Minot, daughter of Dr. Timothy Minot of Concord, Ms. By her he had two children, Eliza M. and Ebenezer. The daughter is now the wife of Prof. Ira Young. Ebenezer was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1831, and died in July, 1837. Of seven children, therefore, two only survive. The last Mrs. Adams still lives, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Young.

Professor Adams "was one of the few remaining old school citizens and scholars of New England, and was hardly surpassed by any of that venerable class of men in intelligence, patriotism, and Christian virtue." He possessed a well balanced mind, "was judicious, magnanimous, and firm." He died calm and happy in the triumphs of religion, August 15, 1841, in the 76th year of his age, from ossification of the heart.

HON. JAMES SAVAGE OF BOSTON.

The subject of this sketch was born July 11, 1784, in Boston, where his progenitors since 1635 have always lived. His father was Habijah, and his mother, Elizabeth, daughter of John Tudor. Of eight children, five sons and three daughters, born before him, two sons died in infancy; the rest attained full age, as did also two sons younger than himself.

His mother died before he arrived at his fourth year of age; and his father, by reason of ill health, was unable to take charge of him in his early education. The Rev. Dr. Thacher preached on the occasion of his mother's death from Psalms xxvii: 10--"_When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up._"

The father of Mr. Savage was son of Thomas, by his first wife, Deborah Briggs, who was, it is believed, a granddaughter of John Cushing, one of the Judges of the Superior Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. John, his father's elder brother, was father of Thomas of York, Me., from whom descended the Savages in Bangor. His grandfather's second wife was Sarah Cheever, who survived him nearly fifty-one years. One of their children was the late Ezekiel Savage, Esq., of Salem, H. C. 1778, father of Rev. Thomas Savage of Bedford, N. H., H. C. 1813, and several other children, of whom one, Sarah, distinguished herself by the composition of some interesting books.

Habijah, father of Mr. Savage's grandfather Thomas, was educated at Harvard College, where he received his first degree, in 1695. He married Hannah, who had been a short time widow of ---- Anderson. She was a daughter of Samuel Phillips, distinguished among booksellers in Boston one hundred and fifty years ago, as John Dunton mentions in the entertaining account of his visit to our country, published in his "Life and Errors." Arthur, a younger brother of his great-grandfather, married another daughter of Mr. Phillips, and one of their children was Samuel Phillips Savage, father of the late Samuel Savage, H. C. 1766, of Barnstable.

Thomas, father of the last named Habijah, born 1640, was second child of Thomas, who emigrated from England. His mother was Faith, daughter of William and the celebrated Ann Hutchinson, who was a _speaking_ if not a _ruling_ elder in the First Church in Boston. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua Scottow, author of two curious tracts in the latter part of the 17th century. With two of his brothers, Ephraim, H. C. 1662, and Perez, he served at various times and places in King Philip's war, in the early part of which, their father was in the chief command of the forces of the Colony of Massachusetts. Ephraim gained some reputation in command of one of the vessels of the fleet, in the daring but disastrous expedition from Boston against Quebec, by Sir William Phips, in 1690, and Thomas was at the head of one of the three regiments engaged in it, and wrote a brief and modest account of the service, published the following year at London. He died July 2, 1705.

Mr. Savage's great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas, was a man of high public spirit. Disgusted with the treatment of the majority towards Wheelwright and other friends of Sir Henry Vane, whom he had perhaps accompanied from England, he, with Gov. Coddington and others, removed in 1638, and purchased Rhode Island. He soon returned, however, to Boston, recovered his former standing with early friends, and was often one of the representatives of the town, and, in the trying times of 1665, was respected for his moderation. He was one of those who undertook, in 1673, to erect a barricade in the harbor, for security against a fleet then expected from Holland. Out of this barricade grew, in less than forty years, the Long Wharf, a small portion of which has continued ever since the property of some members of the family. He was Speaker of the Deputies in 1659, and again after an interval of eleven years, and in 1680 was chosen by the colony one of the Assistants, in which station he died, Feb. 14, 1682, aged 75. A funeral sermon on that event is among the printed works of Rev. Samuel Willard, pastor of the _third_ church, of which Major Savage was one of the founders, at the secession occasioned by the coming of Davenport from New Haven to the _first_. The text was, Isaiah lvii: 1.

The eldest son of this ancestor of most who bear the name on this side of the ocean, Habijah, H. C. 1659, died in a few years, but left children by his wife, daughter of Edward Tyng, one of the Assistants. A grandchild of these parents removed from Boston, early in the last century, to Charleston, S. C., where he is commemorated by Dr. Ramsay, in his History of the Independent Church in that city. Descendants have been known in different parts of South Carolina and Georgia. The late Judge Clay of the latter state, afterwards pastor of the first Baptist Church in Boston, married one, and his son, Thomas Savage Clay, H. C. 1819, is highly respected for his Christian philanthropy.

In the catalogue of the sons of Harvard are numbered eleven lineal descendants of the first Thomas, of whom six have been noticed. John, 1694, was son of Ephraim; Habijah, 1723, was either son or nephew of Habijah; John, 1810, and James Rodon, 1812, were sons of William Savage, Esq., of Jamaica, son of Samuel Phillips Savage, before mentioned.

Of the progenitors of Mr. Savage, no means are possessed by which to trace the line before the arrival of his ancestor in this country; but a family tradition, committed to writing many years since, makes him to have been a brother of Arthur, an English dean.

Mr. Savage fitted for college at Derby Academy, Hingham, under the tuition of Abner Lincoln, and at Washington Academy, Machias, Me., instructed by Daniel P. Upton.

After graduating at Harvard University in 1803, he studied law under the direction of the late Chief Justice Parker, Hon. Samuel Dexter, and Hon. William Sullivan, and entered upon its practice January, 1807.

Mr. Savage has been Representative and Senator in General Court, a Counsellor, and a Delegate to the Convention in 1820 for amending the Constitution of the State. He has been also in the City government as one of the Common Council and an Alderman, as well as one of the School Committee.

In April, 1823, he married Elizabeth O., widow of James Otis Lincoln, Esq., of Hingham. She was daughter of George Stillman of Machias, Me., an officer in the war of the Revolution. Their children are Emma, Harriet, Lucy, and James.

At times letters have engaged the attention of Mr. Savage, but not to withdraw him from the proper duties of his profession or the service of the community in active life. He was during four or five years associated with the gentlemen who edited the (Boston) Monthly Anthology, and contributed articles for that work, as he has also for the North American Review. At the request of the municipal authorities of Boston, he delivered an oration, July 4, 1811. The compilation of the Colonial and Provincial Laws of Massachusetts, published under the title of Ancient Charters, according to direction of General Court, by the late Hon. Nathan Dane, Judge Prescott, and Judge Story, was by these gentlemen confided to his supervision while passing through the press. The Index to the work was prepared by him. He superintended an edition of Paley's Works; and the presswork of the ten volumes of American State Papers, selected by Hon. John Q. Adams, under authority of Congress. But Mr. Savage's greatest effort of this nature was his edition of Gov. Winthrop's History of New England, with notes.

This is a work of much labor and value. It is understood that he has in contemplation a new edition of Farmer's Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England.

Mr. Savage was more than twenty years Secretary or Treasurer of the first Savings Bank in Boston, and nineteen years Treasurer of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of which he is now the President. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received the degree of LL. D. at Harvard College.

Forty-one years since, for the benefit of his health, he, in company with his relative and friend, William Tudor, Jr., visited the islands of Martinique, Dominique, St. Thomas, St. Domingo, and Jamaica. Since, he has been to Demerara, and five years ago, he went to England, with a view of visiting his fathers' sepulchres, and of enjoying himself in the father-land.

HON. LEVI WOODBURY OF PORTSMOUTH, N. H.

LEVI WOODBURY was born at Francestown, N. H., Dec. 22, 1789, where his father, the Hon. Peter Woodbury, resided. _He_ was born in Beverly, Ms., in 1767, removed to New Hampshire with his father, and, when he entered upon the active business of life for himself, engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits, and was about fifteen years a Representative, and two years a Senator, in the State Legislature. He died in 1834. _He_ was son of Peter Woodbury, who was born March 28, 1738, at Beverly, and married there, and in 1773 removed to Mont Vernon, then a part of Amherst, N. H. He spent the last twenty years of his life at Antrim, with his youngest son, Mark Woodbury, Esq., where he died, March, 1819, aged 85. _His_ father was Josiah Woodbury of Beverly, who was born June 15, 1682, and lived in the Second or Upper Parish. The father of Josiah was Peter, who was born in 1640, made a freeman in 1668, and elected a Representative in 1689. He filled the office of deacon, and died July 5, 1704, aged 64. His father was Humphrey Woodbury, who was born in 1609, came to New England with his father, John Woodbury, in 1628, was admitted to the church in 1648, was a member of the First Church in Beverly, at its formation, was chosen deacon in 1668, and was living in 1681. John Woodbury, who was one of the original settlers of Beverly, came from Somersetshire, England, under the direction of the Dorchester company, which established itself at Cape Ann about 1624. He came to Salem in 1626, was made a freeman in 1630, and in 1635 was chosen a Deputy to General Court. He was an original member of the First Church in Salem. In 1636, he received a grant of two hundred acres of land on Bass river. He died in 1641.

Mr. Woodbury's mother was Mary Woodbury, daughter of James Woodbury, who was born in Beverly, but removed to Mont Vernon, N. H., in 1782. He was a subaltern in Col. Robert Rogers' regiment of Rangers, and was near Wolfe when he fell at the storming of Quebec. The sword he used in that service is now in the possession of a descendant. He had eight children, all daughters, and died at Francestown, March, 1823, aged 86.

The subject of this sketch was prepared for college in part at New Ipswich Academy, N. H., with Mr. Mulliken, but chiefly under the instruction of Hon. John Vose, the distinguished Preceptor of Atkinson Academy. In 1805 he entered Dartmouth College, where he remained till 1809, when he graduated with high reputation for talents and acquirements.

Immediately after leaving college he commenced the study of law, spending one year at the Law School of Judges Reeve and Gould, at Litchfield, Ct., and the residue of his preparatory course with Hon. S. Dana of Boston, Judge Smith of Exeter, and James Walker, Esq., of Francestown. In 1812 he opened an office in his native place, where he remained till 1819. In 1816 he was elected Clerk of the State Senate, and, in the year following, was appointed Judge of the Superior Court. This appointment to the bench of the highest judicial tribunal of the state, drew general attention to the manner in which the duties were discharged. Ample testimony, however, of the qualifications of Judge Woodbury may be found in the first two volumes of New Hampshire Reports. In 1819, he removed to Portsmouth, the commercial capital of New Hampshire, where he continues to reside. In 1823 he was chosen Governor of the State, and when his term of office expired, he returned to the practice of his profession. In 1825 he was chosen Representative from Portsmouth, and on the meeting of the Legislature, he was elected Speaker of the House. Among the last acts of the session was the choice of Gov. Woodbury to fill a vacancy which had occurred in the Senate of the United States. At the commencement of the session in 1825-6, he took his seat in the Senate, and during the six years succeeding, his name was connected with the most important measures discussed in that body. His term of service expired on the 4th of March, and four days after, he was chosen State Senator for the district in which he resided. In April following, he was invited by President Jackson to become Secretary of the Navy, which office he was induced to accept, having declined that of State Senator. July 4, 1834, he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, in which capacity he served till March 3, 1841. During this time, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, but declined the office. In 1841, he was again chosen U. S. Senator from New Hampshire, which office he held till September, 1845, when he was appointed an Associate Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. In the summer previous, the office of Minister to England was tendered to him, but he refused it on account of the situation of his family.

In June, 1819, Judge Woodbury was married to Eliza W. Clapp, daughter of Hon. Asa Clapp of Portland, Me. They have five children: Charles Levi, who is now an attorney in Boston, Mary Elizabeth, Frances Anstris, Virginia Lafayette, and Ellen Carolina. The eldest is married to the Hon. Montgomery Blair of St. Louis, Mo.

Judge Woodbury has published one volume of Law Reports in connection with Judge Richardson, also speeches, pamphlets, and reports relating to the various official duties he has performed, besides numerous literary addresses. He has received the degree of Doctor of Laws at the Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He is also a member of various literary societies.

The brothers and sisters of Judge Woodbury are Peter P. Woodbury, M. D., of Bedford, N. H., now Vice-President of the New Hampshire Medical Society; Rev. James Trask Woodbury of Acton, Ms., formerly an attorney; Jesse Woodbury, Esq., who resides on the paternal estate; George Washington Woodbury, M. D., Yazoo county, Mississippi; Mrs. Mary Howe, widow of the late Luke Howe, M. D., of Jaffrey, N. H.; Mrs. Anstris B. Eastman, wife of Hon. Nehemiah Eastman of Farmington, N. H., formerly Member of Congress; Mrs. Martha W. Grimes of Quincy, Ms., widow of the late Thomas Grimes, merchant, of Windsor, Vt.; Mrs. Hannah T. Barnes, wife of Isaac O. Barnes, Esq., of Boston, U. S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Mrs. Harriet Dodge, wife of Perley Dodge, Esq., an attorney at Amherst, N. H.; Mrs. Adeline Bunnelle, wife of Edwin F. Bunnelle, Esq., of Boston, clerk in the Custom House.

HON. SAMUEL S. WILDE OF BOSTON.

SAMUEL SUMNER WILDE was born in Taunton, Feb. 5, 1771. His father's name was Daniel, who was born in Braintree in 1718, and died in 1792. _His_ father, if not born in England and brought over by his father when a child, was born in Braintree.

The father of the subject of this sketch, soon after arriving at the age of 21, settled in Taunton, where he continued until the time of his death. He was a farmer and a pious man, and for many years was one of the deacons of the only Congregational Church then in that town. He was very fond of sacred music, and had a fine voice, well cultivated, and, for those days, he had a competent degree of skill and knowledge of the science to render him an acceptable leader of the choir in the church, and was a leader long before he was chosen deacon. In his family devotions he always read a chapter in the Bible, sung a hymn in which some of the family joined, and concluded with a prayer. He was twice married. His first wife was the daughter of Deacon Staples of Taunton, grandfather of Mr. Staples, a lawyer of considerable eminence in New York.

His second wife, the mother of Samuel S., was the only child of Deacon Samuel Sumner, also of Taunton. Dea. Sumner was well educated for one who had not received a collegiate course of instruction, had a taste for study, and thought much of learning and learned men. He died when Samuel S., who was his only grandson, was two years old, and bequeathed to him a lot of land, which he authorized his father to sell, and to expend the proceeds in giving him a college education, if he should, at a proper age, manifest any taste and talents, which would probably render such an education useful to him. He was a warm Whig and a friend to the liberties of the people; and it was probably owing to discussions about the Stamp Act and other difficulties with England, and his reflections on the inalienable rights of man, that he emancipated a female slave, about the year 1769 or 1770. She, however, always continued in the family upon wages, until her death. Dea. Sumner was a distant relation of Gov. Sumner and also of the Rev. Dr. Sumner, long the minister of Shrewsbury in the county of Worcester.

The mother of Samuel S. was a most excellent woman, and distinguished for her mental endowments, piety, and zeal in the cause of religion.