American jurist, born in Rumney, NH, on the 18th of August 1803; died in Cornish, ME, on the 25th of July 1881. He adopted the legal profession, was in the state legislature from 1830 to 1834, was attorney-general of the state from 1834 to 1838, and subsequently served two terms in Congress. In 1846 he was called to President Polk’s Cabinet as Attorney-General, and in this capacity he made important treaties with Mexico. California was annexed to the United States according to the terms of one of these treaties. In 1858 he became associate justice of the supreme court, and in 1877 it was his duty as senior associate judge to preside over the electoral commission of that year; and although Judge Clifford believed Mr. Tilden elected, he conducted the proceedings impartially, and the court declared for the election of Mr. Hayes.
