Fred N. Wier
{{Short description|American attorney and politician (1861–1936)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image = 1892 Fred Wier Massachusetts House of Representatives.png
|imagesize =
| name = Fred N. Wier
| birth_date = {{birth date|1861|07|04}}
| birth_place = Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1936|10|31|1861|07|04}}
| death_place = Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
|restingplace =
| nationality =
| website =
| occupation = Lawyer
| residence =
| party = Republican
| spouse = Bertha Baker (1896–1936; his death)
| alma_mater = Amherst College
Boston University School of Law
| title = District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
| term_start = 1893
| term_end = 1901
| predecessor = Patrick H. Cooney
| successor = George A. Sanderson
| title2 = Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 22nd Middlesex District
| term_start2 = 1891
| term_end2 = 1892
}}
Frederick Newton Wier (July 4, 1861 – October 31, 1936) was an American politician and lawyer who served as district attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1893 to 1902.
Early life
Weir was born on July 4, 1861, to Newton John and Caroline (Peabody) Wier in Lowell, Massachusetts.{{cite book |title=Amherst College Biographical Record of the Graduates and Non-graduates |date=1927 |publisher=Amherst College |location=Amherst, Massachusetts |page=431 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iSp-AAAAIAAJ |access-date=4 August 2023}} He attended Lowell Public Schools and graduated from Lowell High School. In 1882 he graduated from Amherst College. After working in the business world for three years, Weir decided to study law. He studied in the office of J. M. Marshall in Lowell and graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1887.{{cite book |last1=Gould |first1=Levi S. |title=Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men who Have Served the Country Officially Since Its Settlement |date=1905 |publisher=Somerville Journal Print |page=261 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsJNxlXMkecC |access-date=4 August 2023}} On December 9, 1896, Wier married Bertha Baker at St. Anne's Church in Lowell.{{cite news |title=District Attorney Wier Married |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZZeAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7 |access-date=4 August 2023 |work=Evening Tribune |date=December 10, 1896}}
Legal career
Wier was admitted to the bar in 1887 and worked in the office of A. L. Pillsbury until 1899, when he formed a partnership with Larkin T. Trull in Lowell known as Trull & Wier. In 1891, Wier represented Charles J. Tighe, who was charged with the murder of Peter E. Johnson, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head. Tighe was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 7 years in prison.{{cite news |title=The Tighe Murder Trial |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHQ-AAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=4 August 2023 |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=October 19, 1891}}{{cite news |title=Tighe Sentenced |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtwgAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=4 August 2023 |work=Lewiston Evening Journal |date=October 31, 1891}} Trull and Wier were joined by a third partner, John Michael O'Donoghue, in the 1910s. The firm of Trull, Wier, & O'Donoghue was counsel for the Boston and Maine Railroad, Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway, and the Middlesex Safe Deposit & Trust Company.{{cite book |editor1-last=Fifield |editor1-first=James Clark |title=The American Bar |date=1919 |publisher=The James C. Fifield Company |location=Minneapolis |page=391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tXO7dAk3kUC |access-date=4 August 2023}}
Politics
From 1891 to 1892, Wier represented the 22nd Middlesex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.{{cite book |title=Annual Register of the Executive and Legislative Departments of the Government of Massachusetts, 1892 |date=1892 |page=962 |url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/795987/1892-Senate-01-Appendix%20.pdf |access-date=4 August 2023}} From 1893 to 1901, Weir was district attorney of Middlesex County. In his final year in office he oversaw the prosecution of Charles R. Eastman.{{cite news |title=Charles R. Eastman Goes on Trial Tomorrow Charged with Slaying Richard H. Grogan Jr. |work=The Boston Globe |date=April 21, 1901}} He did not run for reelection in 1901 and was succeeded by his assistant, George A. Sanderson.{{cite news |title=Sanderson for Wier's Place |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IY-AAAAIBAJ&pg=PA10 |access-date=4 August 2023 |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=July 25, 1901}} In 1907, Wier served as Lowell's police commissioner. He was granted a salary by the city council, but refused to take it.{{cite news |title=Lowell |work=The Boston Globe |date=August 15, 1907}}
Later life
From 1931 to 1932, Wier was president of the Massachusetts Bar Association.{{cite news |title=State Bar Elects Wier as President |work=The Boston Globe |date=December 20, 1931}} He continued to practice law until his death on October 31, 1936.{{cite news |title=Death takes attorney Frederick N. Wier |work=Lowell Sun |date=October 31, 1936}}
References
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Category:Amherst College alumni
Category:Boston University School of Law alumni
Category:District attorneys in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Category:Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts
Category:Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court