Washington County New York Biographies - Surnames L

Transcribed by Lynn Tooley

Washington County New York Biographies - Surnames L, extracted from the Washington county, New York; its history to the close of the nineteenth century by Stone, William Leete, 1835-1908.

LAW, Robert R. Biography

Robert R. Law, Official Court Stenographer, was born November 30, 1854, and received his early education in the Cambridge Washington Academy In 1873 he began the trade of printer with the Washington County Post and was connected with that paper for a long time, both as editor and partner.

On June 14, 1888, Mr. Law received the appointment of Official Court Stenographer for the Fourth Judicial District of the State of New York, a position which he still occupies. He was admitted to the bar in 1891.

R. R. Law has been actively identified with the public affairs of Washington County for over twenty years. He was Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in 1879 and has been a member of the Board of Education since 1882. He was a strong advocate of the New High School building at Cambridge and served for some time as Clerk of the village. [See page 133, Part II.]

LILLIE, Hon. Thomas A. Biography

Hon. Thomas A. Lillie, the subject of this sketch, although only in the prime of his years, has attained a reputation as a jurist which places him in the front rank of the legal profession of New York State. He was born in the town of Putnam, Washington County, N. Y., in 1852, and received his preliminary education at the academy in his native town. He then took a course in the Albany Normal College at Albany, N. Y., from which he was graduated in the class of 1871, after which he completed his literary education at Union College from which, after an unusually creditable course, he was graduated in 1875. While pursuing his educational career he also did considerable teaching and was principal of the Cedar Grove Academy at Montclair, N. J., for two years. His tastes and inclinations were toward law and for this profession his abilities peculiarly fitted him. He read law in the office of Judge Harris at Albany and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He then began the practice of his profession at Whitehall and rapidly came to the front as one of the leading lawyers of the county.

Judge Lillie is a Republican in politics and his voice and vie.ws always command the attention and respect of his party. He was Supervisor of the Town of Whitehall for three years and was Chairman of the Board during the last year. In 1887 he was nominated for County Judge by the Republican party and was elected for a term of six years by a splendid majority. At the expiration of his term he was re-elected for a second term of six years which expired December 31, 1899. He was an exceptionally able judge and was highly popular on the bench because he combined an exceedingly fine sense of justice with a profound knowledge of the law. His mind is naturally judicial, he is deliberate and concise in his reasoning and logical in his conclusions. His ability on the bench is well indicated by the fact that he held court in ten different counties in New York State including Westchester, Albany and Rensselaer, during his regime as Judge of Washington County.

As a lawyer he has also been highly successful, although half of his time since his admission to the bar has been spent on the bench. He has conducted many important cases as a trial lawyer, including six murder cases, three of which were from the State of Vermont.

In 1886 the partnership of Potter & Lillie was formed, including Judge Lillie and Mr. J. S. Potter, son of Hon. Joseph Potter, late of the New York State Court of Appeals.

In 1879 Judge Lillie married Florence L. Broughton and they have four children, viz: Louise J., Alice, Annie and Thomas A. Lillie, Jr.

Judge Lillie's father, Thomas Lillie, was also a native of Putnam, Washington County, N. Y., and his grandfather, also Thomas Lillie, was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the progenitor of the Lillie faniily in this country and was a graduate of Edinburgh University and came to America about 1820 and settled at Putnam, N. Y., and was a physician and farmer. The remote ancestors of the family were French Huguenots, who left that country and went to Scotland in the sixteenth century.

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