MARCUS PERRIN KNOWLTON. 605 



pation, gave the immediate impetus to his study of the law as a pro- 

 fession. 



He began at the office of James G. Allen, at Palmer, but soon 

 removed to the offices of Wells and Soule in Springfield, where, under 

 these distinguished lawyers — both later to be Justices of the great 

 court upon which he also was to sit — he rapidly mastered the prin- 

 ciples of the English law. 



On September 24, 1862, he was admitted to the bar, after the oral 

 examination customary at that time — in his case largely a per- 

 functory ceremony so well was his capacity recognized. He immedi- 

 ately began practice by himself at Springfield, but within two years 

 formed the partnership of Knowlton and Greene, soon to be super- 

 seded by the distinguished law firm of Stearns & Knowlton. George 

 L. Stearns, the senior partner, was a leading lawyer of western Massa- 

 chusetts, a great jury advocate, differing in numberless ways from his 

 staid junior. The two complemented each other remarkably, and 

 Stearns & Knowlton prospered. It became the leading law firm 

 of the state west of Worcester. 



His devotion to the law and the interests of his clients was not 

 allowed to stand in the way of service to the community. ■ Mr. 

 Knowlton served his city in its city council, and his district in the 

 great and General Court of Massachusetts, where he became a member 

 of the House in 1878 and later, in 1880 and 1881, of the Senate. A 

 republican of earnest conviction, wide information, and sound judg- 

 ment, he imbued his fellow legislators with firm belief in his great 

 capacity. Governor Long, who had served with him in the legis- 

 lature and recognized his ability as man and lawyer, appointed him an 

 Associate Justice of the Superior Court, and he was commissioned 

 on August 31, 1881, to succeed Judge William Allen. 



Judge Knowlton in the six years of his service in the Superior Court 

 impressed the bar , v the jurors in attendance when he presided, and the 

 litigants whose causes came before him, with his courtesy, his patience, 

 his comprehensive grasp alike of the theoretical law and of the practi- 

 cal common sense involved in a sound determination, his ability to 

 state clearly the issues of fact and of law, and, above all, his absorbing 

 desire to secure their respective rights to all parties. His appoint- 

 ment to the Supreme Judicial Court, which came from Governor 

 Ames, September 14, 1887, to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna- 



