Windham

POWERS, James L.

Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of 
Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, p 16 of 20 
leaves (portrait p 16)

James L. POWERS, of Malden [Middlesex County], Massachusetts, was born 19 
February 1852 in Athens [Windham County, Vermont], son of Loren and Jane 
(OAKES) POWERS. His ancestors on both sides were descended from the early 
English settlers of Massachusetts. A great grandfather, Abraham FARRINGTON, 
was a private in the Suffolk regiment in the Rhode Island expedition of 1780 
and another great grandfather, Nathaniel OAKES, of Bolton [Worcester County], 
Massachusetts, was at the battle of Lexington. Seth OAKES, grandfather of 
Mr. POWERS, was one of the first settlers in Athens [Windham County, 
Vermont], locating there in 1780.

After going to the common schools of his native town, Mr. POWERS attended the 
academy at Chester [Windham County, Vermont], and read law with Winslow S. 
MYERS and the late C. B. EDDY at Bellows Falls [Windham County, Vermont]. He 
was a solitary student at the common school, the academy and in the study of 
law. No classes seemed to fit his case. But with the indomitable 
perseverance that has marked his whole course he kept at it, conquered all 
difficulties and shaped himself into the well-read and well-trained lawyer of 
today. While at school he had to pay his own way, earning the money in the 
summer for educational use in the winter. The driest law books were studied 
in his last winter in Vermont while he was chopping cord wood in the deep 
snow in the woods in his native town. He would chop until he was warm and 
then read until he was cold.

Going to Boston, he examined the workings of the law schools and concluded to 
keep out of them and study alone. He was the last man who was examined alone 
and orally in the old-fashioned way for admission to the Boston bar. He went 
to the city an entire stranger and searched the town over for a chance to 
read law, and finally entered the office of Burbank & Lund, where he 
continued his law studies. He was admitted to the Suffolk County bar 13 
March 1874, opened an office at once, and ever since his rise has been steady 
and gratifying. Socially his connections are many and pleasant. As a 
business man he has acquired a handsome competence, which he has largely 
invested in real estate. He is an Odd Fellow, an enthusiastic canoeist, being 
a member of the American Canoe Association, the Vesper Boat Club of Lowell, 
the Dedham Boat Club, the Social Law Library of Boston, the Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution, and the Vermont Association of Boston. He 
[James L. POWERS] married [Miss?] Mary E. DAVIS of Conway [Carroll County], 
New Hampshire, and two children bless their lives: Blanche and Dwight, both 
in their teens.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly