BIOGRAPHIES

Judge Hoar
Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar

The Hoar family for some time past had been almost kings in Concord, as
frequently happens where there is an uncommonly strong man, either a
lawyer or a manufacturer, in a town of two or three thousand
inhabitants. They were a hardy New England race, lawyers by an inherited
tendency, and had now made their mark in public affairs for three
generations. They can count among their immediate relatives more
senators and representatives to Congress than any other American family.
It was said in 1775 that while Samuel Adams represented the force and
virtue of New England life, John Adams was the best product of its
cultivated side; and it would seem as if old Samuel Hoar, the founder of
his line, were a mean between the two. Fortunate is such a father if he
has a son who inherits his talents and virtues as well as his property;
and fortunate is the son whose father knows from his own experience what
is best to do for him.

The Judge was always an interesting figure in the Concord streets, and
also a pleasant person to meet, for there was never the least pretention
about him. He usually had the air of a man with an object before him,
and yet it was sufficiently evident that he did not intend to claim more
than his rightful share. He walked the ground with a tenacious step, but
with no unseemly haste. There was a keen, frosty sparkle in his eye, and
a certain severity of manner which, however, covered a great deal of
kindness. He liked successful men such as were his own equal in ability,
but he was quite as likely to take an interest in those who were
unfortunate. A brother of Dr. Holmes, a constant invalid and great
sufferer, who required much consideration, was a more frequent visitor
at his house than Lowell or Agassiz. His face bore a striking
resemblance to Raphael's portrait of the war-like Pope Julius Second,
the last of the great popes. He admired Emerson, and was frequently seen
in his company; but Alcott and Thoreau he seemed to have little respect
for. Mr. Alcott once said, "I suppose Judge Hoar looks on me as the most
useless person on the continent; but I can at least appreciate
_him_."

He was the youngest judge that had ever been appointed to the supreme
bench of Massachusetts, member of Congress, president of the Harvard
Alumni, etc.; but his real distinction now is that as a member of
General Grant's cabinet he was the first American in public life to take
a determined stand in regard to civil-service reform.

For thirty years he had seen the government patronage turned into an
enormous engine of political corruption, and endure it longer he could
not. He went to Washington, much to his own inconvenience, mainly to
strike a blow at this monster. Did he realize the magnitude of the work
before him--one which thousands of patriotic men have since attempted
and signally failed to accomplish? It was like taking the meat away from
a tiger, or trying to lift the Mitgard serpent. Judge Hoar found himself
quite alone in the president's cabinet, and with the exception of
Sumner, Garfield, and a few others, senators and representatives united
against him in a massive phalanx. Even the friendship of General Grant
was unable to protect him from the fury of his opponents. He returned,
not unwillingly, to his native heath and the practice of a better
profession than Washington politics.

from Sketches from Concord and Appledore
Frank Preston Stearns, 1846-1917

E. ROCKWOOD HOAR DEAD; Massachusetts Loses One of Her Prominent Men.
FAMOUS AS LAWYER AND POLITICIAN
A Man Who Received Many Honors, Both State and National -- Quiet Life in Later Years in Concord.

February 1, 1895

CONCORD, Mass., Jan. 31. -- Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar died here to-day at the age of seventy-nine years. He had been in feeble health for a number of months, and during the last few weeks had been suffering from an affection of the heart.

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