Walbridge Abner Field (April 26, 1833 – July 15, 1899) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, and as the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Biography He was born in North Springfield, Vermont on April 26, 1833. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1855, where he also served as a tutor. He studied law in Boston, Massachusetts and at the Harvard Law School. Field was admitted to the bar in 1860 and commenced practice in Boston. He served as a member of the City's school committee, and represented wards 5 and 8 on Boston's Common Council. Field was appointed assistant United States Attorney in 1865, serving in this capacity until April 1869, when he was appointed Assistant Attorney General of the United States, holding this office until August 1870, when he resigned and resumed his law practice. In 1876, Walbridge ran for a seat in Congress against Democrat Benjamin Dean. Initially the count showed that Dean was ahead by 44 votes. Dean's margin shrank to seven votes after a recount. A committee reviewing the election results found that 25 votes were cast for Field in the 4th District. The Board of Canvassers determined that those were votes that were intended to be made for Field and the Boston Board of Aldermen voted to include those votes. After the final count, Field was declared the winner by five votes. Dean contested the election in the House of Representatives regarding the results of the election. Massachusetts Congressman Benjamin Butler, a Republican at the time, had a personal dislike of Field, according to news accounts of the time, and supported efforts to unseat Field in the House. The Committee on Elections held hearings on the matter and voted 6-5 to unseat Field and seat Dean instead. On March 27, 1878, the House voted 120-119 in favor of Dean with Republican Butler voting in the majority. After initially supporting Field, Rep. James T. Jones of Alabama flipped his vote to Dean, saying that even though the facts supported Field, "that he had no right to have opinions of his own, and had surrendered them to the dictates of his colleagues." In the 1878 elections, Field faced off with Dean in a rematch. The election included allegations from Butler that Field held anti-Irish views as he had once