Class of 1858
William Martin Chase, for twenty-seven years a trustee of the College, died February 3 at his home in Concord, N. H.
The son of Horace and Abigail (Martin) Chase, he was born in Canaan, N. H., December 28, 1837. After a preparation at Kimball Union Academy and Canaan Union Academy, he entered the Chandler Scientific Department of Dartmouth in the fall of 1856, and graduated in 1858. He taught district schools during the winters of his college course, and taught mathematics and sciences in Henniker Academy for several terms after graduation.
In the fall of 1859 he began the study of law at Concord with Anson S. Marshall '48, and continued it with William P. Weeks '26 at Canaan. August 21, 1862, he was admitted to the bar at Concord, and in January, 1863, he began practice in that city in partnership with Mr. Marshall. The firm of Marshall and Chase continued until Mr. Marshall's death in 1874. He then formed a partnership with Judge J. Everett Sargent '40, which continued until Judge Sargent retired from practice, five years later. He was then until 1891 senior member of the firm of Chase and Streeter, his associate being Frank S. Streeter '74. In 1891 Mr. Chase was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court of the state, and held this position until 1907, when he was retired by the age limitation.
In 1889 he was appointed chairman of a commission to codify the statute laws of the state, and the report of this commission was adopted by the legislature of 1891 as the Public Statutes of New Hampshire. In 1901, in connection with his son, Arthur H. Chase '86, he compiled an edition of the Public Statutes and the session laws then in force. In 1909 he was a member of the State Senate.
In 1883 he was elected an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa; in 1879 he received from the College the honorary degree of Master of Arts, and in 1898 of Doctor of Laws. He was a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society and of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society. Politically he was a Democrat, and he was an attendant upon the services of the Congregational church.
In 1890 he was elected a trustee of the College, and so continued until his resignation, October 19, 1917, on account Of the infirmities of age. The following appreciation of his services in this capacity appeared editorially in the MAGAZINE for last December: "The retirement from the Board of Trustees of Judge William Martin Chase deprives the College of the services of a most able and indefatigable worker in its behalf. Through the twenty-seven years of storm and stress since 1890, Judge Chase has been a member of the Board. During a great part of the period he has acted as clerk and as general counsel, in both of which capacities his unfailing accuracy, his sure knowledge of procedure, and his profound understanding of the law have constantly proved invaluable. His 'Manual for the Use of Trustees and Other Officers of Dartmouth College' is one monument to his devoted patience and care. His volumes of flawless Trustee* Records constitute another. The time and thought which he has applied to unraveling legal knots for various officers of the College no man can ever estimate. By nature and training conservative and exact in all his ways, Judge Chase has been a wholesome influence during a period of notably rapid growth and expansion in all aspects of Dartmouth. It has been part of his task to make sure that these things should be soundly in accord with the legal foundations of the College and that at no point should considerations of opportunism outweigh those of consecutive policy."
Judge Chase was married March 18, 1863, to Ellen Sherwood, daughter of Aaron and Nancy (Badger) Abbott of Concord, who survives him, with their son and only child, Arthur H. Chase '86.
