5th generation attorney

The first profession of her family has become the second career of Samantha Jewett, who recently joined the law firm of Haughey, Philpot & Laurent, which traces its roots to her great-grandfather, to continue a line of attorneys — all from Laconia and Gilford — into its fifth generation.

The daughter of Judge Stephen S. Jewett, II (1918-1976), Jewett originally left the Lakes Region and forsook the legal profession in favor of the University of Northern Colorado, which she chose for its skiing. After teaching gifted children with learning disabilities, she entered the business world, ultimately becoming vic-president of operations at Allergy Research Group of San Francisco, which developed and produced vitamins and nutritional supplements distributed by the medical community.

When Jewett left the firm in 2000 she considered then dismissed the notion of turning to the law, only to be persuaded to return to New Hampshire and enroll at Franklin Pierce Law center by her mother, Mary Orton. She said that she intended to return to California on completing law school until Bill Philpott, who joined Jewett & Jewett as a young lawyer and sustained the family heritage at the firm, offered her a position. To her surprise, she accepted to assume the legacy of her forbearers.

Jewett's great-great grandfather, Judge John Glines Jewett (1829-1903) was among the most prominent citizens of Belknap County. As a young man, he followed the gold rush to South America and in 1876 was named judge of the Laconia Police Court, a post held until 1891 when President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Postmaster.

Judge Jewett's son, Colonel Stephen S. Jewett (1858-1932), joined a law firm at 17 and soon won a reputation as a successful trial lawyer. Well-known in Republican circles, he was elected to the New Hampshire of Representatives and in 1895 became Speaker. It is said that his memory was so keen that after calling the roll at the opening session, he never had to refer to the roster of 400 members again. After the turn of the century, he served a term on the Executive Council.

When Jewett's, grandfather Judge Theo S. Jewett (1891-1965), joined his father's firm it became Jewett & Jewett. He would preside at what was then the Laconia Municipal Court.

In 1949, Jewett's father, Judge Stephen S. Jewett,II, joined the family firm. Apart from serving as a special justice of the Laconia District Court, he was known as one of the preeminent title research attorneys in the state. With his untimely death in 1976, it fell to Philpott to perpetuate the identity of the family firm. Mementoes and artifacts marking the firm's history, including certificates from presidents Benjamin Harrison and Warren Harding, grace the offices at 816 North Main Street.

Jewett said that one day she hopes to see the family name back on the shingle. In the meantime, with no children of her own, she is looking to her niece and nephew to carry the family tradition to the sixth generation.