He died nearly nine years younger than the average age of the judges when elected, being in his thirty-seventh year. William Brayton was thirty, Isaac F. Redfield thirtyone; Luke P. Poland and Noah Smith, thirty-two; Nathaniel Chipman, Stephen Henry R. Start, of Bakersfield, and R. Bradley, and Elijah Paine, thirty-four. LAFORREST THOMPSON, of Irasburgh, were Some of the judges have been advanced in elected in 1890, when Chief Judge Royce life before taking a seat on the bench. Judge Pierpoint was fifty-two; Mattocks, fiftyand Judge Powers declined further service. The only foreign born of the judges was three; Hutchinson and Galusha, fifty-four; Judge Steele, born in Canada, in reality a Davis and Peck, fifty-seven; Timothy P. Vermonter, as his parents were Vermonters, Redfield, fifty-eight; Knight, fifty-nine; residing temporarily in Canada at the time Baylies, sixty-three; Beardsley, sixty-five; of his birth. The native places of the while the patriarchal Bates Turner was others have been New Jersey, one; New sixty-seven; and of these eleven, elected at York and Rhode Island of three each; New such advanced ages, five served but an aver age of between one and two years each. Hampshire, of four; Connecticut and Mas While some of the ablest ones have been sachusetts have contributed equally, fur nishing twenty-one each; while Vermont, well along in years at the time of their elec tion, the judicial service of the State would excluding Judge Steele, has been the birth place of twenty-two. Of the Massachusetts have been greatly improved had they been elected twenty years younger. It would born, nine were natives of Worcester Coun ty. Hardwick in that county has the honor have been much better if the judges had of furnishing four, the two Robinsons and the been elected at an average age of from thirty to thirty-five, for it must be conceded two Fays. Litchfield, Conn., was the birth place of three, Litchfield County of eight. that, as a class, those who have been elected Worcester and Litchfield Counties furnished at ages under forty have averaged better seventeen of the seventy-six judges. Of and done much better judicial work for a longer time than those elected after attain the Vermont born, two are natives of Ba kersfield. Franklin County has furnished ing the age of fifty. A long practice at the four, Bennington County three; the other bar is not necessarily an important qualifica tion for a judge. For one, I am not certain counties one or two each, except Washing ton, Essex, and Grand Isle, no native of but it would be better to elect judges with no prior professional training. which has ever sat upon the bench. The earliest born of the judges was Sam The average age of the judges at death uel Knight, Feb. 10, 1730; the latest, has been seventy years; the youngest, Judge Thompson, Jan. 6, 1848. Five of Judge Steele, aged thirty-seven; the oldest, the judges, Powers, Veazey, Taft, Rowell, Judge Porter, in his hundredth year. Three and Tyler, once serving at the same time, died- in office : Paul Spooner in 1789, John were born in 1835. Van Ness, Williams, C. Thompson, 1831, John Pierpoint, 1882. and Prentiss were born in 1782, the year of Many of the early judges were more birth of Webster, Calhoun, Cass, Benton, prominent in other positions than as judges, and Van Buren. The average age of the owing to their short term of service and judges at the time of their first election has holding the position temporarily. Four — been forty-five years, the youngest one, Moses Robinson, Tichenor, Israel Smith, Judge Steele, twenty-eight years of age. and Palmer — were also governors and Loveland MUNSON, of Manchester, was appointed in September, 1889, to the va cancy caused by the resignation of Judge Veazey to accept the appointment of Inter state Commerce Commissioner.
