Arthur St. Loe Livermore and his brother, William Butterfield, George G. Fogg, and O. A. J. Vaughan. Here for twenty years has Mr. Cogswell practiced law, doing the legal business for all the country round. He enjoys an excellent standing at the bar, not only with his clients and the people generally, but with his brother lawyers and with the court. It has always been his policy to discourage litigation, and many a promising lawsuit has been nipped in the bud by his advice. He has had the confidence of his neighbors and townsmen, and has done a large probate business, written many wills, settled many estates and accepted many fiduciary trusts. He has had no specialty but has done a general law business in Belknap and in Strafford counties, and in the United States Courts, to which he has been admitted to practice. He is bold and aggressive in the trial of causes and is a strong advocate before a jury. He is generally considered a well educated, well read, and safe lawyer, careful in giving advice, and careful not to be drawn into a suit when his client is in the wrong. A compromise with him is a very common and effective mode of procedure. Possibly had he been more dependent upon his profession for a livelihood, he might have been more industrious, but he could not have been more consciencious or more careful of the interests of his clients.
In 1884 he was elected solicitor of Belknap County, running ahead of his party ticket, which office he now holds.
POLITICS.
The town of Gilmanton was divided in 1859, when Belmont was set off; but as it was against the will of the people of that section, they retained the old organization and the records, while the new town kept the old name. Of Gilmanton Mr. Cogswell was chosen representative to the General Court in 1871 and 1872, although the town was Republican. (The first office to which he was elected was that of superintending school committee, which office he held for one year.) During the latter term he received the nomination of his party for speaker of the House of Representatives. He was elected Senator from the old district, Number Six, in 1878, and was the candidate the following year for re-election in the new district, Number Six. In this election there was no choice by the people and he lost his election in the Senate. In 1880 he was candidate for councillor in the Second Councillor District, but found it impossible to overcome a Republican majority of from sixteen to eighteen hundred. In June, 1886, he received of the Democratic State Convention the nomination for Governor.
Mr. Cogswell is a Democrat. His father before him was a Democrat, a loyal supporter of the administration during the Rebellion, and a firm believer in the great underlying principles of the Democratic party. He believes in the sacredness of the Constitution which forms the union of the States, in maintaining our national honor at home and abroad, in the equality of American citizens, and, with President Cleveland, heartily endorses the doctrine that public office is a public trust. He is, and has always been, a conservative Democrat. Although he was defeated for councillor in 1880, that was the year he was elected by his fellow-citizens of Gilmanton to the office of selectman, succeeding in raising that most important office out of the realm of party politics and inaugurating a non-partisan board, which
