STEARNS. STEARNS. 57: tonstall. Isaac Sterne settled in Water- town and acquired considerable property. He always used the spelling of his name adopted above until he signed his will, when he added an "s" to it, from which the form at present used is a corrup- tion. The subject of this sketch is de- scended in the sixth generation from Isaac; through his third son, Samuel ; the latter's fourth son, Isaac ; from Isaac's fourth son, Joshua, and from Ephraim, the only son of Joshua. Mr. Stearns was married, in Waltham, October 4, 1853, to Lucretia Kendall, youngest daughter of Jonas and Abigail Lawrence Yiles. Eight children have been born to them, of whom six survive : Fred- erick Augustus, Helen Learoyd, George Andrew, Abby Lawrence, John Walton, and Walter Mulliken Stearns. STEARNS, George Munroe, son of William L. and Mary (Munroe) Stearns, was born in Stoughton, Norfolk count)', April 18, 1S31. His early educational training was re- ceived in the common schools of the town of Rowe, where his father was settled as pastor of a Unitarian parish, supplemented by an attendance at Shelburne Falls Academy. Choosing the profession of law, he en- tered the office of the late Judge John Wells, at Chicopee, where he pursued his legal studies. He was admitted to the Hampden county bar in April, 1852, and immediately entered into co-partnership with Judge Wells. This relation continued until the removal of the latter to Spring- field, when Mr. Stearns continued alone for several years, afterwards forming a co-partnership with M. W. Chapin at Chicopee. Later he opened an office in Springfield, in partnership with the late Hon. E. D. Beach, and still later with Hon. Marcus P. Knowlton — judge of the su- preme judicial court — and C. L. Long. Since 1878 he has continued in practice alone at Chicopee. May 17, 1855, at Brooklyn, N. Y., Mr. Stearns was married to Emily Caroline, daughter of Erasmus D. and Caroline (Bullard) Goodnow. Their children were: Mary Caroline and Emily Spaulding Stearns, the former dying at the age of twenty-eight, and the latter at twelve. Mr. Stearns held a commission as justice of the peace and quorum and notary pub- lic for several years. In 1859 he was a member of the House of Representatives, and was appointed one of the committee of thirty who reported the revision of the statutes in i860. In 1871 he was a mem- ber of the Senate, serving on the commit- tee on railroads. In 1872 he was elected district attorney for the western district, holding the office for over two years, when he resigned. In February, 18S6, he was appointed United States attorney at Bos- ton, resigning the position at the end of seventeen months. In politics Mr. Stearns is a Democrat, and has frequently been a delegate to state conventions. In 1872 he was a delegate to the national Democratic convention, where he favored the nomination of Hor- ace Greeley. He was candidate for lieu- tenant-governor on the ticket with John Q. Adams, and also for the same place when Charles Sumner was nominated by the Democrats, but when the latter declined, Mr. Stearns did likewise. The ability of Mr. Stearns has long been known to the members of the bar, and to those who have been pitted against him in political debate; but the prominence given to the much-vexed question of the division of towns before recent Legislatures has afforded him an arena wherein he has added much to his reputation for keen wit, pungent sarcasm, and brilliant oratory. The eloquent presentation of the cause of his clients in many notable cases has been well-nigh irresistible. Mr. Stearns is a grandson of Charles Stearns, D. D., of Lincoln, who was made doctor of divinity by Harvard, and was one of the ablest and most learned men of his day. He was a close friend of Hon. Samuel Hoar of Concord, and his memory is still held in great respect. Dr. Stearns was offered the presidency of Harvard College, but declined it, because he considered it his duty to remain with the little parish at Lincoln, though his compensation was but four hundred dollars a year. Dr. Stearns was one of the founders of the Unitarian sect, being, with Dr. Ripley, of Concord, among the earliest to dissent from the dogma of the trinity. STEARNS, Richard Hall, son of Leonard and Sarah (Colburn) Stearns, was born in Ashburnham, AVorcester county, December 25, 1824. While an infant, his father removed to New Ipswich, N. H., and about nine years later to the town of Lincoln, about fifteen miles from Boston. He availed himself of every opportunity to attend the public schools, although as soon as his services were of value on the farm, his schooling was confined to the winter months. He made such arood use of his limited ad-
