USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 40
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and investigation which have since distinguished him as a profound lawyer. He afterward removed to Montgomery, where he re- mained a number of years in the successful practice of his profes- sion. Thence he changed his residence to Mobile, his present home.
In 1845, he was the nominee of the Democratic party for Con- gress, in the Mobile District, and was elected over his Whig com- petitor, William D. Dunn, Esq. While in Congress, he made an able speech, and offered important amendments on the Oregon question, which largely attracted public notice. He justly ranked among the sensible members of the House, and great deference was paid to his arguments and opinions. A vacancy occurring on the bench of the Supreme Court, by the death of Judge Gold- thwaite, Mr. Dargan was elected by the Legislature at the session of 1847, to fill the place; and on the resignation of Judge Collier in 1849, he became Chief Justice. After remaining on the bench of the Supreme Court several years, he resigned, and resumed his professional labors. He was elected a delegate from Mo- bile to the Convention of 1861, and voted for the ordinance of secession. At the first election by the people of Repre- sentatives in the Confederate Congress, he was returned from the Mobile District, and served through the term, giving the full measure of his great powers to the cause of the South. He de- clined a reelection, and has since been in private life, successfully engaged in legal practice.
In person, Judge Dargan has a dull and unattractive look, as if he was always drowsy, and dissatisfied with things about him. His conversation is sluggish, and he appears to be in a reverie most of his time, when he is without a law-book in his hand, and when not engaged in Court. There, he wakes up, and when he takes his stand at the advocate's desk in the Supreme Court, to make an argument, a transformation comes over him, and the purest logic and the boldest grasp of thought come to his aid as if by intuition. There his great attainments as a jurist fully appear, and his face is luminous with intellectual life until he closes his argument, and then he looks sleepy again.
ARCHIBALD GILCHRIST, of Lowndes, succeeded Dr. Berney in the Senate, and took his seat at the session of 1844, and served in 1845, and then retired to private life, not long after which he died.
Mr. Gilchrist was from North Carolina, where he studied law. After he came to Alabama he practiced his profession, and sus- tained a good rank at the bar. He was a Whig in politics, quiet and reserved, but very attentive to public business. Occasionally he shared in discussion, and displayed ability, with a clear under-
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standing of State policy, and the best interests of the people. He was strongly opposed to a law passed a few years previously for the redemption of real estate which had been sold by legal pro- cess, after the Tennessee plan, and through his efforts and influ- ence a bill for its repeal passed the Senate; but was defeated in the House. He was a gentleman of strong convictions and fixed purpose in the prosecution of his objects, in his private, profes- sional and legislative capacity, and was much respected for his virtues.
SAMPSON W. HARRIS, of Coosa, was a native of Georgia, and a graduate of the University of that State. He was a son of the Hon. Stephen W. Harris, a Judge of the Superior Court from 1813 to 1816, whose death in 1822 was considered a great loss to the State.
In September, 1831, the first Internal Improvement Conven- vention ever held in Georgia, assembled at Eatonton, where Mr. S. W. Harris resided, of which he was appointed one of the three Secretaries. Wylie W. Mason, Esq., afterward a Chancellor in Alabama, was a member of that Convention.
About the year 1838, Mr. Harris settled in Wetumpka, in the practice of the law, and at once took high position. A Democrat, he soon attracted popular notice, first in a State Convention held at Tuskaloosa, where he made a speech which placed him at once on the road to preferment. In 1841, as noticed in another place in this volume, he was elected Solicitor of the Eighth Circuit, the duties of which office he discharged with such ability, and faith- ness, that the partiality of friends, more than any desire on his part, presented him as a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court, in which election he was defeated. In 1844, he succeeded Mr. Yancey in the Senate, for the District of Coosa and Autauga, and again in 1845. The session of the latter year terminated his con- nection with the State Legislature, and his rapidly developed powers sought a wider field, where he might win laurels more suited, it may be, to his taste and ambition.
In 1847, Mr. Harris was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Congress, in the Third District, and was elected, if I mistake not, without much show of opposition. In 1849, he defeated Judge John S. Hunter, who was an antagonist of no ordinary strength. In 1851, his opponent was Judge William S Mudd, who with the issue pending that year, was the most popular man that could be placed in competition with him, and he was defeated by Mr. Harris. In 1853, his opponent was Judge Moore, of Lowndes, who shared the like fate. In 1855, by a new arrangement of the district, he was thrown upon several counties of territory new to him, and he had to confront a new political organization, the Know-
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Nothing or American party, headed by Col. William B. Martin, of Benton. That was a year of much political excitement and ac- tivity, and for sometime, during the Spring and early Summer, the future of parties and aspirants was veiled in uncertainty. Mr. Harris was timid and easily alarmed, and that was the time for the exhibition of his great powers before the people. I re- member the day that he and his competitor, Col. Martin, opened the canvass, at Nixburg, in Coosa county. By consent, among sev- eral of his friends, Mr. Harris was to be alarmed to a degree that would arouse him. This was not hard to do, when he came to look over the large concourse of people in attendance, many of them from adjoining counties, and the debate opened under the firm belief of Mr. Harris that it would give direction to the can- vass and the result, which I have no doubt was the case. His speech, on that occasion, astonished even his most sanguine friends, in the force and power of his arguments; and yet the softness and elegance of his manner as a public speaker, was fully preserved. The people turned out en masse, and would follow him from one appointment to another to hear this wonderful orator. He de- feated his opponent by a majority of 800 votes. This was his last canvass, and it is quite probable that, by its extraordinary labors, his health was impaired, so that he did not long survive. He served the people ten years in Congress, and died at the city of Washington, during the Winter of 1856-'7, an humble Christian, leaning on the merits of his Redeemer.
The foregoing sketch of Mr. Harris' public life and positions vindicates, in unmistakeable terms, the character of the man, and his high grade of talents. Well educated, with the advantages of much reading and study, which accorded with his taste and habits, he was fitted for any position in the State. In person, he was tall and spare, with a fine head and face, while his manners were graceful and captivating, his voice soft and musical, and his con- versational powers of a high order. All these advantages were at his command in social life, and with men of every station; and then, when he came upon the hustings, and with the conviction that what he would say was to have its influence in the success or failure of the principles he had adopted, as the best for the ad- ministration of the Government, he was instructive and eloquent.
In Congress, Mr. Harris spoke a few times, and at every effort advanced further to the front rank of speakers in that body. But with all his vast powers and attainments, he was indolent, and this indulgence, or rather injustice to himself, eclipsed greatly the rising splendor of his political star. He did not take the commanding position in the councils of the nation that was his due, nor in any public situation that he held, and therefore he was never known or appreciated as he should have been. Let him be aroused to a
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proper sense of the importance of an occasion, and he was a full match in all that constitutes an able, eloquent speaker, with any man of his day in the State. He died in the meridian of life.
At an early age, Mr. Harris married Miss Thomas, an accom- plished lady, of Athens, Georgia. One of his sons, Sampson W. Harris, jr., commanded the 6th Georgia Regiment in the late war, as the successor of Gen. A. H. Colquitt, promoted. He now re- sides at West-Point, Chambers county, engaged in the practice of the law. Another son, Dr. Hugh Nisbet Harris, married a daugh- ter of the Hon. B. C. Yancey, and resides at Athens.
SIDNEY C. POSEY, of Lauderdale, served in the Senate at the session of 1837, to supply the place of Mr. McVay, who, as Pres- ident of the Senate, succeeded to the Executive on the resigna- tion of Gov. Clay, at the called session, June, 1837, when he was elected a Senator in Congress. The next year, Mr. Posey with- drew, that Mr. Mc Vay might resume his seat in the Senate, which he had so long and worthily filled. But in 1844, the latter, from the infirmities of age, had retired altogether from public life, and Mr. Posey again returned to the Senate. It was a beautiful instance of liberality, amounting almost to the affection of father and son, the junior giving way cheerfully to the venerable senior, whose services had been demanded and faithfully rendered for so noted a period.
Before his entrance into the Senate, Mr. Posey had been elected Judge of the County Court of Lauderdale county, rela- tive to which event in his early life an incident is worthy of pre- servation for the moral it conveys.
Mr. Posey had just come to the bar, a young man without pat- rimony or patronage. An election was to be made by the Legis- ture of County Court Judge, an office which he thought he could fill, and desiring it, he set out for Tuskaloosa to try his fortunes in seeking it. But the members of his county were committed to others who had assisted in their election, and he had little to hope from that quarter. He arrived at Tuskaloosa on Saturday even- ing, and on Sunday morning, as was his habit, he went to the Methodist Church, where he knew nobody, except that he had seen, and been introduced to, Judge Collier, in the Fall riding of the Circuit Court. He advanced pretty well forward in the aisle of the Church, and had taken his seat, soon after which the Judge entered, and took his accustomed seat near by, and, as soon as the congregation was dismissed, approached him in a friendly way, making inquiries after his health, and introduced him to some six or eight gentlemen who were members of the Legislature. He began to feel relieved of the discouragements under which he had labored for several days, and concluded that he was yet some-
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thing, and had some prospects. He was invited, and went to din- ner with the Judge, and several prominent members of the Leg- islature, whose acquaintance he formed on the occasion. This opened the way to an extension of intercourse, and he was elected to the office. The recognition by Judge Collier had given him standing and weight among gentlemen to whom he was previously a stranger, and the office itself proved a good starting point in his profession, which led to success.
What a scene is here presented, and what remarkable influences sometimes grow out of a few kind words! A Judge residing at the Seat of Government, goes to a distant county in the State to administer law and justice. A young member of the bar, modest and sensitive, is introduced to him on the Circuit, and is gratified at the honor. It was a mere courtesy for the time being, and no particular value was attached to it by either party, for such intro- ductions were common. But in the lapse of years, that Circuit Judge becomes Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and then Governor of the State, leaving a bright record of ability, virtue, and fidelity, in all the relations of life; and better than all, a Christian example, which will long exert a sweet influence on the public mind. His young professional brother, whose fortunes were dated in the sanctuary, whither he had repaired to worship his Maker on the Sabbath, has since received promotion, honors, and prosperity, as the result of that kindly interview, prompted by a generous, loving spirit, which never failed to make others happy. What a precious example, and how soothing the memory, now that the death of both parties has consecrated it as a lesson to survivors! Men of experience and position should be encour- aged by it to bestow a few gentle words, if nothing more, to strengthen young men, whose souls often languish in the begin- ning of life for the want of friendly recognition.
Serving through the session of 1845, Judge Posey was, in 1847, elected by the Legislature Judge of the Circuit Court, a position which he filled with legal ability. At the end of the term he was defeated before the people, to whom the election of Circuit Judges had been transferred.
Judge Posey was a member of the National Demoeratic Con- vention in 1860, and participated in the nomination of Judge Douglas for the Presidency, for whom he voted. In 1861, he was a delegate from Lauderdale, in the Convention which passed the Ordinance of Secession, against which measure he opposed his counsels and his vote without avail. Also, the same year, he was elected to the House, and, as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, he rendered signal service, by his experience and patriotism, in providing the means necessary for the public defense; always true to his State, and going to the full extent of
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maintaining her organization. After the surrender, and in the Provisional Government, he was appointed a Judge of the Circuit Court, which office he held until the election, when he was defeated by Judge William B. Wood, of Florence, a gentleman who, to a long established personal influence, added a good mili- tary name in the Confederate service. This terminated the public life of Judge Posey, and in a year or two thereafter he died.
For about forty years he was connected with public employ- ments in the State, and maintained throughout an unblemished character, both as a man and as a Christian. In person, he was tall, something over six feet. His manner was quiet, thoughtful, and dignified, rather reserved, especially in his public intercourse; but in the private circle of his friends, he was communicative and humorous. In public speaking, he was deliberate and advisory, rather in a conversational tone-never rash in his opinions or in action -- but firm in adhering to his principles. He succeeded in accumulating a good property a few miles from Florence, where he dispensed an unaffected, substantial hospitality to his friends, as the writer can testify.
There is another feature in Judge Posey's character which it would be unjust to omit here. When a young man he embraced the Christian religion, and as far back as 1829 took out license as a Methodist minister, which relation was cherished through life, adorning his path, and his positions of honor and trust, upon the Bench, in the public councils, and in all the relations of life. Such a man, as legislator, as Judge, as Christian minister, was Sidney C. Posey.
CALVIN C. SELLERS, of Wilcox, was for several years Clerk of the Circuit Court of that county, and possessed of fine clerical and business habits. He studied hard, and after his admission he took a high rank at the bar. In 1844, he was elected to the Sen- ate from the district comprised of Wilcox and Marengo counties, and served again through the session of 1845. In the Legislature he was prompt and intelligent, and shared in the debates with credit to himself; and socially, he was pleasant and affable. At these two sessions he made a good reputation as a legislator, and evinced considerable knowledge of Government.
In 1849, Mr. Sellers was the nominee of the Democratic party for Congress, in the Mobile District, and, after an animated con- test, was defeated by Judge Alston of Marengo, the Whig nom- inee. This ended his public life, and in a few years thereafter he died.
Mr. Sellers was tall, probably not less than six feet four inches, and had rather a majestic appearance. His voice was strong, and under good command, and he spoke with ease to himself and
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pleasure to his listeners. He had a laudable ambition for prefer- ment, and, while he exercised the privilege of expressing his opinions freely, he was quite prompt in resenting any liberty which an opponent might take with his character. He was a strong man, both intellectually and physically, but with a temper somewhat exacting and dictatorial. If this be a defect at all, it is frequently seen in men who are distinguished for energy and success. Were Mr. Sellers living, perhaps he would have no objection to be ranked in such company, and there, with all his good qualities, it is no in- justice to leave him.
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE.
A number of gentlemen, serving in 1844, have been noticed as of other sessions, and only some who then appeared for the first time, and others heretofore omitted, will be specially introduced in this chapter.
FRANKLIN W. BOWDON, of Talladega, was educated at the University of Alabama, and selected the law as his profession. In 1844, and again in 1845, he was elected to the House, and by the force of his talents and his skill in debate, he at once became prominent. At the session of 1845, he was the champion of "Re- moval," and, in framing the bill for that purpose, he used such phraseology as to combine the question of "Biennial Sessions," with that of "Removal," in such a compact form, the one absorb- ing the other, so that no vote of the House could be taken on either as a separate proposition, under the ruling of the Chair, but both had to stand or fall together. This stroke of generalship gained the day for the friends of "Removal." The efforts and success of Mr. Bowdon on this question rendered him exceedingly popular in East-Alabama, and his reward was not long deferred.
By the death of Gen. McConnell, at Washington City, in 1846, a vacancy occurred in the Seventh Congressional District, to sup- ply which a special election was ordered, when Mr. Bowdon and Mr. Thomas A. Walker, both Democrats, took the field in oppo- sition-the former prevailing. In 1847, Mr. Bowdon was reelected over Gen. J. T. Bradford, his Whig competitor, and in 1849, he defeated Samuel F. Rice, Esq., who had recently forsaken his Democratic friends; or rather, who canvassed the district as a Taylor Democrat.
While in Congress, Mr. Bowdon did not shrink from the discus- sions usual upon the floor. He was too self-reliant, and had too much force to feel or exhibit the least degree of timidity. He rushed at once into the melee, and gave blow for blow with the grace of a veteran gladiator. The bill to establish the Territorial
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Government of Oregon, introduced at the session of 1846-'7, con- tained this provision :
That in any Territory which may be secured to the United States from Mexico, slavery and involuntary servitude shall forever be prohibited.
While this bill was under consideration, January 16, 1847, Mr. Bowdon delivered a speech most elaborately prepared, and sup- ported by authorities, in opposition to this feature-the Wilmot proviso renewed.
Mr. Bowdon retired from Congress in 1851, with a decided rep- utation for abilities; but in the meantime his habits had become irregular, and disqualified him from the proper discharge of repre- sentative duties. Here is a warning to the young men of Ala- bama, and they should heed its teachings. Seldom has such a prodigy appeared upon the stage of action as Franklin W. Bow- don, in physical and mental endowments, coupled with the gifts of oratory. When in 1845 he was the bold and victorious leader of "Removal," he measured strength with such men as Samuel W. Inge and Joseph W. Taylor, the young giants in opposition. Be- fore the people he was invincible, and everywhere they crowded to hear him speak. In Congress he was a star, and shone brightly for a few short years, and returned a wreck. He removed to Texas, and in 1856 was on the Electoral Ticket for Buchanan and Breckinridge, and in a short time he died.
While rising in his profession, and just as his public life com- menced, Mr. Bowdon married a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Chilton, an accomplished and elegant lady who graced society at the Federal Capitol-a fine specimen of the Southern woman in person and in mind. Higher praise cannot be awarded.
DANIEL CHANDLER, of Mobile, was a native of Georgia, and graduated with the first honors of the University of that State. In 1831, he was elected by the Legislature Solicitor-General of the Northern Circuit, which was presided over by the Hon. Wil- liam H. Crawford as Judge of the Superior Court, who was Sec- retary of the Treasury from 1817 to 1825, during the administra- tion of President Monroe.
It was a striking picture to contemplate. The grand old man who had been President of the Senate, Minister to France in the reign of Napoleon; who had for a while been in charge of the War Department, then conducting the national finances with con- summate ability; then, of three candidates returned in 1825 to the House of Representatives, from whom a President was chosen; this great intellectual Colossus and physical giant, comparatively in ruins from an attack of paralysis in 1822, yet holding the scales of justice with an even hand, and a logical mind-sitting on the
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bench, exercising high Judicial authority, and the young prosecut- ing officer, gifted with a superior intellect, which was adorned by careful literary cultivation-both officers of the law, charged with their respective duties-one as the setting sun, reflecting back his golden light, and the other a rising star, to shine beautifully in the horizon when ascended to its zenith-these two extremes, age and youth, the one dwelling on the triumphs of the past, and the other cheered by the hopes of the future-such a combination was morally sublime, and rarely witnessed in the affairs of life. Yet it was so, and it is of Daniel Chandler that I am now to give a passing account, after his term of office expired.
In 1835, Mr. Chandler delivered an Address on Female Edu- cation, before the Demosthenian and Phi Kappa Societies of the University of Georgia, the character of which, as a literary per- formance, may be inferred from the following:
PHI KAPPA HALL, August 7, 1835.
On motion of the Hon. JOHN MCPHERSON BERRIEN, Resolved, That in consider- tion of the splendid manner in which Mr. DANIEL CHANDLER has discharged the appointment as Orator, from the Phi Kappa Society, to deliver an oration on the day of Commencement-a committee be deputed to wait on him and request a copy of his eloquent Address for publication.
Resolved, That 5,000 copies of the Address be published at the expense of the Society.
Mr. B. C. Yancey was one the committee who applied for the address, to whom a copy was furnished by Mr. Chandler.
The address when published formed a pamphlet of twenty-four pages. It was widely circulated, and through its inspiration the first "Female College" sprung into existence; for in the year 1836 the Legislature of Georgia incorporated the "Wesleyan Female College," at Macon, which is the pioneer of all institutions of its class-the acknowledged fruit of Mr. Chandler's discourse.
In the meantime, Mr. Chandler had made up his mind to change his residence to Mobile, Alabama, as a better field for the exercise of his professional talents. Before his departure from Georgia, the bar of the Northern Circuit tendered him the com- pliment of a public dinner, which he accepted. In the course of a few years, John A. Campbell, Esq., his brother-in-law, removed from Montgomery to Mobile, where the two relatives formed a partnership in the practice of the law, which continued until 1853, when Mr. Campbell was appointed an Associate Justice of · the Supreme Court of the United States.
At the session of 1844, Mr. Chandler immediately took rank with the active business members, and the best speakers in the House. His personal appearance was truly fine. A face more amiable in its expression never adorned any deliberative body. He was rather of a nervous temperament, and easily excited in
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