George Howe (attorney)

George Howe was born in Vernon, Vermont on July 4, 1824,[1] the son of Ebenezer Howe Jr. and Lydia (Fowler) Howe.[2] He was educated in Vernon, and studied law with Judge Asa Keyes of Brattleboro.[1] In 1845, he began attendance at Harvard Law School, and he received his ll.b. degree in 1847.[3] Howe completed his legal studies in the office of William Czar Bradley in Westminster.[3] He was admitted to the bar in 1847, and practiced in Brattleboro.[3]

Howe spent several years in California in the late 1840s and early 1850s before returning to Brattleboro to reestablish his law practice.[3] A Republican, he served as Windham County's State's Attorney from 1858 to 1860.[3] In 1861, he was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, and he served until 1864.[3] Howe represented Windham County in the Vermont Senate from 1874 to 1875, and he was a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention.[3]

In 1880, Howe accepted a federal government position as a pension examiner, which required him to travel throughout New England to verify the details of applications and adjudicate claims.[3] In the last years of his life, Howe's health began to fail and he retired to Vernon.[3]

Howe died in Vernon on February 21, 1888.[3] He was buried at North Vernon Cemetery in Vernon.

In 1850, Howe married Mary Ann Willard (1824-1905) of Westminster.[3] They were the parents of a son, George E. Howe (1862-1920), who graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and became a successful attorney in Boston.[3]