George Stillman Hillard (September 22, 1808 – January 21, 1879) was an American lawyer and author. Besides developing his Boston legal practice (with

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...

as a partner), he served in the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

legislature, edited several Boston journals, and wrote on literature, politics and travel.

Biography

Hillard was born at

Machias, Maine Machias is a town in and the county seat of Washington County in Down East Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,060. It is home to the University of Maine at Machias and Machias Valley Airport, a small publi ...

on September 22, 1808, and he was educated at the Boston Latin School. After graduating at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

from 1828, he taught in the

Round Hill School The Round Hill School for Boys was a short-lived experimental school in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by George Bancroft and Joseph Cogswell in 1823. Though it failed as a viable venture — it closed in 1834 — it was an early effort ...

at Northampton, Massachusetts and attended Northampton Law School. He graduated at the Harvard Law School in 1832, and in 1833 he was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in Boston, where he entered into partnership with

, and developed an extensive legal practice. Hillard was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who opposed slavery and supported the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. He was a member of the

Massachusetts legislature The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, w ...

: the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1836, and the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1850. There he was conspicuous as an orator, and his policies were praised by

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

. He was a member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1853, city solicitor for Boston from 1854 until 1856, and in 1866–70 was United States district attorney for Massachusetts. Beginning in 1837, Hillard rented rooms to

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

, who had recently taken a job at the customhouse in Boston. Around that time, he was a founding member of an informal social group called the Five of Clubs which also included Sumner, author Henry Russell Cleveland (1809–1843),

Cornelius Conway Felton Cornelius Conway Felton (November 6, 1807 – February 26, 1862) was an American educator. He was regent of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as professor of Greek literature and president of Harvard University. Early life Felton was born in ...

, and

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

. Hillard was the first Dean of the Boston University School of Law. He was also the recipient of an honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. Hillard devoted a large portion of his time to literature. With

George Ripley George Ripley may refer to: * George Ripley (alchemist) (died 1490), English author and alchemist *George Ripley (transcendentalist) George Ripley (October 3, 1802 – July 4, 1880) was an American social reformer, Unitarian minister, and journ ...

, he edited the ''Christian Register'', a Unitarian weekly, beginning in 1833; in 1834, in association with Sumner, he became editor of ''The American Jurist'' (1829–1843), a legal journal to which Sumner,

Simon Greenleaf Simon Greenleaf (December 5, 1783 – October 6, 1853), was an American lawyer and jurist. He was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts before moving to New Gloucester where he was admitted to the Cumberland County bar. Early life and legal ...

and

Theron Metcalf Theron Metcalf (October 16, 1784 – November 12, 1875) was an American attorney and politician from Massachusetts. He was a New England jurist and served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Personal life ...

contributed; and from 1856 to 1861 he was an associate editor of the ''

Boston Courier The ''Boston Courier'' was an American newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded on March 2, 1824, by Joseph T. Buckingham as a daily newspaper which supported protectionism. Buckingham served as editor until he sold out complete ...

''. He wrote the 19th-century school textbook series Hillard's Readers. "He is credited with having instilled a love of good literature, and a knowledge of the best English writers to generations of Americans." In Victorian Boston Today edited by M.M Petronella quoting Edwin M. Bacon

Public speaking

In addition to his oratorical contributions in meetings of the Massachusetts legislature, he gave the

July 4 Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaime ...

oration in Boston in 1835; he spoke on “Dangers and Duties of the Mercantile Profession” to the Mercantile Library Association (1850); he spoke before the New York Pilgrim Society (1851); and he delivered a eulogy on Daniel Webster in 1852. He gave a series of 12 lectures on the “Life and Writings of Milton” as part of the

Lowell Institute The Lowell Institute is a United States educational foundation located in Boston, Massachusetts, providing both free public lectures, and also advanced lectures. It was endowed by a bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell Jr., who died in 1836. ...

's lecture series for the 1846–47 season.

Writings

His publications include: * memoirs of James Brown and

Jeremiah Mason Jeremiah Mason (April 27, 1768 – October 14, 1848) was a United States senator from New Hampshire. Early life Mason was born in Lebanon, Connecticut on April 27, 1768. He was a son of Jeremiah Mason (1729/30–1813) and the former Elizabet ...

(privately printed) * a life of

Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...

for Sparks's “American Biography” * ''The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser'', with a critical introduction (5 vols., Boston, 1839) * a translation of François Guizot's “Essay on the Character and Influence of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

” (1840) * memoir of Henry Russell Cleveland with a selection from his writings (privately printed, 1845)
''Memorial of Daniel Webster''
(1853)
''Six Months in Italy''
(2 vols., 1853) * ''Selections from the Works of

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

'' (1856) * ''Life and Campaigns of

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

'' (Philadelphia, 1864) * “Political Duties of the Educated Classes,” a pamphlet (Boston, 1866) * ''Life, Letters, and Journals of

George Ticknor George Ticknor (August 1, 1791 – January 26, 1871) was an American academician and Hispanist, specializing in the subject areas of languages and literature. He is known for his scholarly work on the history and criticism of Spanish literature. ...

'', with Mrs. Ticknor (1876) * a series of school ''Readers'' and many articles in periodicals and encyclopedias.

Death and burial

Hillard died at his home in the Longwood neighborhood of Boston on January 21, 1879. He was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Family

In 1834 Hillard married Susan Tracy Howe (1808-1879), the daughter of Northampton Law School founder Judge Samuel Howe. They had one child, George S. Hillard, Jr. (1836-1838).

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillard, George Stillman 1808 births 1879 deaths People from Machias, Maine American biographers American male biographers Boston Latin School alumni Northampton Law School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts lawyers Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Boston University School of Law faculty United States Attorneys for the District of Massachusetts Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery 19th-century American politicians Harvard College alumni Trustees of the Boston Public Library 19th-century American lawyers