Hon. William H. Bartlett, formerly an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, was born in Salisbury, N.H., August 20, 1827. His paternal ancestry were prominent in early Colonial affairs, and several of them served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. A brother of Judge Bartlett was at one time President of Dartmouth College. An extended account of the family will be found in the History of the Town of Salisbury.
Mr. Bartlett graduated from Dartmouth College, on which occasion he was the valedictorian of his class. His law studies were pursued with Judges Perley and Bellows. After his admission to the bar he entered upon the practice of his profession with an energy that soon placed him in the foremost rank among his legal associates in Merrimack County. He not only displayed the essential qualities which characterize an able, forcible advocate, but he became noted for his profound scholarship and thorough understanding of the elementary principles of law. In 1861 he was appointed to a seat upon the Supreme Bench. This important position he filled ably and impartially until his death, which occurred September 24, 1867.
On May 8, 1856, Judge Bartlett was united in marriage with Caroline Baker, who survives him. She was born in Concord, daughter of Abel and Nancy (Bradley) Baker, old and highly esteemed residents of this city. Abel Baker took a prominent part in public affairs, served as Representative to the legislature, and acted as a Justice of the Peace for many years. He lived to the age of seventy-three years. His wife, who died at the age of fifty-nine, was a daughter of Samuel and Kate (Green) Bradley. The Green family once owned that part of the capitol grounds adjoining Main Street, and Mrs. Bartlett’s mother remembered when the present site of the State House was a potato field. Nathaniel Bradley Baker, only son of Abel and Nancy (Bradley Baker, was Governor of New Hampshire in the year 1853. He died in 1876, leaving a widow and four children, each of whom has occupied prominent positions in different sections of the country.