Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Fall 2014, Vol. 40, No. 3 | Page 22

Ruminations: Royce Dynasty

of anecdotes and personal adventure,
especially the amusing and comical
scenes in and about courts, in which
his experi­ nce had been so wide and
e
varied, which were garnered in his re­
tentive memory, were here unlocked
and produced for the entertain­ ent of
m
his guests, arrayed in his own inimitable garb of quiet humor.77
In John Mimms’ eulogy of Homer Royce
he wrote, “If any considerable time is allowed to lapse from the death of a person
to the presentation of such a sketch, the
less it is worth as a token of respect to his
memory.”78 That is only true when memories fade, and the hard work of the subjects
is forgotten. Stephen and Homer are not
forgotten. Their words continue to instruct
and inspire, and Stephen’s eyes never fail
to unnerve the lawyers who happen to
glance at his portrait in the Franklin County
courtroom today.
____________________
Paul S. Gillies, Esq., is a partner in the
Montpelier firm of Tarrant, Gillies & Richardson and is a regular contributor to the
Vermont Bar Journal. A collection of his
columns has recently been published under
the title of Uncommon Law, Ancient Roads,
and Other Ruminations on Vermont Legal
History by the Vermont Historical Society.
____________________
“Dynasty” in this context means a succession
of family members. Brothers Isaac Redfield
(on the court from 1836 to 1860) and Timothy
Redfield (1875-1884) both served on the high
court. Asa O. Aldis (1857-1860) was the son of
Asa Aldis (1833). George Powers (1904-1906,
1908-1938) was the son of H. H. Powers (18751890). Russell Taft (1880-1902) was remotely
related to Dudley Chase (1817-1821). Paul
Chase (1953-1956) and Harrie Chase (19271929) w \