USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 51
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JOSEPH W. LESSENE, of Mobile, was a native of South Caro- lina, and educated at Columbia College in that State. He married a daughter of Dr. William Cooper, President of the Institution. He settled in Mobile to pursue the practice of the law previous to 1840, as he that year participated in the Whig Conventions, and in April, 1841, was selected to deliver a eulogy on President. Harrison, a task which he handsomely performed, as the published address will show. Mr. Lessene was a gentleman of fine literary taste and cultivation.
At the session of 1847, he was elected Chancellor of the South- ern Division, to succeed Chancellor Crenshaw, deceased. A few years thereafter, he aspired to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, but was defeated. He then resigned his seat on the Chan- cery Bench. While on a fishing excursion, he and others were
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drowned in Mobile Bay. Chancellor Lessene was an accom- plished gentleman, somewhat reserved in manner, yet, when bet- ter known, quite social and agreeable. His melancholly fate was much regretted by the public. He was a State Rights Democrat.
JOHN EDMUND MOORE, a member of the House from Lauder- dale, in 1847, was defeated for Judge of the Fifth Circuit, by Judge S. C. Posey. He was a native of North-Alabama, and a son of Dr. Alfred Moore, of Madison county. He served through the session with activity and intelligence in the dispatch of public business, and was elected to the Circuit Bench in 1854. He was an aspirant for the nomination for Governor, but the choice of the Democratic Convention fell on Gov. A. B. Moore. He occupied some position of trust during the war; but his health declined, and he died about its close. He possessed a good deal of energy in the prosecution of his plans, and was an affable and companion- able gentleman.
OTHER ELECTIONS.
At the session of 1847, Gen. Thomas A. Walker was elected Judge of the Fourth Circuit, over the Hon. George W. Lane. Both of these gentlemen have been sketched on a different oc- casion.
For Solicitor-General of the Sixth Circuit, Mr. Platt, received 66 votes, which elected him over Mr. Ralston, who received 44 votes, and Mr. Jarnigan, who received 12 votes.
William S. Mudd, of Jefferson, was elected Solicitor of the Third Circuit, and Alexander B. Forney, of Lowndes, was elected Solicitor of the Second Circuit.
Samuel G. Frierson, Esq., and Jefferson C. Van Dyke, Esq., having, for many years, held the respective offices of State Treas- urer and Comptroller of Public Accounts, were not candidates in 1847 for reelection. Joel Riggs was elected Comptroller, after a stubborn contest; and William Graham, of Autauga, was elected State Treasurer. Upon the recommendation of Gov. Martin, these offices had been reorganized upon an improved footing, and the salaries increased.
Col. Marion A. Baldwin was elected Attorney-General, over Henry C. Semple and George Taylor, Esqrs., his competitors.
WILLIAM E. CLARKE was elected Solicitor of the Second Cir- cuit, over several competitors. He had previously held the office some months under Executive appointment, and at the Fall riding proved himself a vigilant and effective prosecuting officer. He subsequently added to his reputation in this respect, and contrib- uted, by his zeal and ability, to the faithful administration of public
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justice. After his term of office expired, he declined a reëlection, and devoted himself more exclusively to the practice of law in Marengo and the adjoining counties, until the events of 1860, connected with the Presidential election, interrupted his engage- ments.
He was elected a delegate of the Convention of 1861, and voted for the Ordinance of Secession. In the same year he was elected a Senator from Marengo and Greene counties, which place he con- tinued to hold until the last session under the Confederate Gov- ernment. When Mr. Jemison was elected, in 1863, to the Con- federate Senate, Mr. Clarke succeeded him as Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Taxation, to which responsible position he brought ability and business qualities of no ordinary grade. His speeches were always brief and to the point-never for dis- play-and for that reason had more influence.
Mr. Clarke is a native of Virginia, and came to Alabama when a young man, and now resides in Demopolis, pursuing his profes- sion earnestly and successfully. In politics, he has always been a Democrat. His uncle, Robert Clarke, Esq., a gentleman of great worth and popularity, represented Marengo in 1838 and 1839.
JOHN M. JARNIGAN was a son of the Hon. Spencer Jarnigan, a Senator in Congress from Tennessee, in 1843-'47, who was re- garded as one of the strong men of his day in that State, in the Whig party. I saw the father and son in Tuskaloosa, about the year 1845, prospecting for a location for the latter. Mobile was selected as the point at which he settled in the practice of the law. But his effort, if he made any, was a failure, resulting, no little, from unsteady habits. He left Alabama, and joined the expedi- tion to Sonora, on the Pacific coast, and was a member of the paper Cabinet of President Walker of fillibustering celebrity- perhaps Secretary of War. Since this movement, I lost all traces of Mr. Jarnigan.
WILLIAM S. MUDD, of Jefferson, entered the House as a mem- ber at the session of 1843, and was reelected in 1844, and again in 1845. He was elected Solicitor in 1847, and filled the office with efficiency for eight years. In 1851, he was the candidate of the Compromise party for Congress, and made a strong canvass, but was defeated by S. W. Harris. He succeeded the Hon. George D. Shortridge as Judge of the Third Circuit in 1855, and has been on the bench continually from that time to the present (1871.) In 1865, he was a delegate in the Convention to carry out the policy of President Johnson for re-organizing the State, and took an active part in that body.
Judge Mudd was raised and educated in Alabama. He was a
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Whig under the old party organization, but he was personally popular at home, where the Democrats had a majority, and seldom failed of an election. He was never an extreme man in his polit- ical sentiments, but conservative and cautious. In discharging the various public trusts confided to him, he has acted with uni- form integrity of character. He is direct, straightforward, and frank in his intercourse with his fellow-men, unpretending and respectful. As a member of the Legislature, he faithfully repre- sented the will of his constituents, whenever that will was known. He still resides in Jefferson county, highly respected among a people who have known him from boyhood.
ALEXANDER B. FORNEY, of Lowndes, completed his educa- tion as a member of the graduating class of 1838, in the Uni- versity. of Alabama, where he received the degree of Master of Arts. He was a son of the Hon. Daniel M. Forney, who was a Representative in Congress from North Carolina, 1815-'18.
Mr. A. B. Forney was elected to the House in 1847, which was his first and only session. Being a new member, and promoted to an office which would likely engross his thoughts and labors in the future, he did not participate to much extent in the business of the House beyond voting. He possessed a well-balanced mind, a good personal figure, and was a gentleman in his deportment. He made a faithful and efficient representative of the State in the prosecution of crime. While his friends looked forward to still higher advancement for him, and to many days of enjoyment and usefulness, he was cut off in the morning of life, just as his faculties began to expand in a public career.
JOEL RIGGS, the new Comptroller of Public Accounts, con- tinued in office, by successive elections, until 1855, when his polit- ical principles or prejudices led him into an alliance with the Know-Nothing party, and occasioned his defeat for a still further reëlection.
Mr. Riggs was a Tennesseean by birth, but came to Alabama when young, and was sent to the Military Academy at West- Point, where he received his education. For several years he was Teller in the State Bank, and was noted for the accuracy with which he kept his accounts. As Comptroller, he managed the affairs of his office with great regularity, bringing order out of confusion, and introducing system, of which very little had been practiced for years. He opened an entirely new set of books, and digested the tax returns with little or no help. As the head of his department, he stood at his desk from morn till night, render- ing to the State honest services for the compensation he received. His official reports showed the results, in the information they fur-
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nished as a basis for estimating the public revenue from taxation, and other sources, to replenish the Treasury. Clerks had little to do in preparing these statements, as in later days.
After leaving the office of Comptroller, Mr. Riggs became con- nected with the "Mail," a newspaper, of which he was one of the editors. His health had been feeble for many years, rendering him somewhat unsocial; but with his books and business he was always on good terms. He died in 1865, after a lingering illness.
Before he removed from Tuskaloosa, Mr. Riggs married a daughter of Junius A. Moore, Esq., and niece of Judge Alexan- der B. Clitherall. Mrs. Clitherall, the mother of the Judge, was an English lady, and for many years a correspondent of Hannah More, the celebrated authoress.
WILLIAM GRAHAM, of Autauga, was a native of North Caro- lina, and a brother of Daniel Graham, who was many years' Sec- retary of State of Tennessee. He was also a brother of John G. Graham, formerly of Alabama, but now a citizen of Texas, and of Mr. Samuel S. Graham, of Coosa county.
Mr. Graham, the new State Treasurer, was so competent and faithful in office, that he retained it for a period of ten years, with- out opposition, and then declined a reelection. His business habits, and his skill in accounts, his fidelity, his scrupulous neat- ness in keeping his books, all in the finest lines and figures, yet all intelligible and all exact to the fraction of a cent, made him a valuable officer to the State, and the loss of his services, by retire- ment, was a subject of much public regret.
For many years he had been clerk of the Circuit Court of Montgomery county, was always popular, and yet always quiet and taciturn, without ever using any art at electioneering, as the term is generally understood. He had fixed principles of recti- tude, and a method of managing his affairs, from which he never departed. Even his personal movements were under the same rigid discipline. I have seen him walk a great deal, but never in a hurry beyond a regular gait. I have seen him ride much, but he never put his horse beyond a walk. He was firm and patient in adhering to his rules of action. The night before his first election, when his friends thought he had strong opposition, they asked him to meet them in consultation as to the best means of success. He replied that it was his night for going to church, and that he would leave the election to the chapter of accidents.
After a long life of faithful public service, and suffering at times the antagonisms of fortune, this good member of the Pres- byterian Church descended to his grave several years ago, leaving a spotless name as a heritage to his family and numerous de- scendants,
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HENRY C. SEMPLE was born and educated in Virginia, and is descended from an old, and a long line of ancestors distinguished for talent and high-toned bearing. He married a daughter of Lorenzo James, and has mingled prominently in the highest so- cial circles of Montgomery, and is highly esteemed for his intelli- gence and his virtues.
In the reconstruction measures, he first acted in favor of organ- ization under the programme of Congress, and was a member of the Convention which formed the present Constitution of Ala- bama, though it is not such an instrument as he tried to make it, and against it he protested. Soon after the Convention adjourned, he separated himself from all connection (whatever it may have been) with that party, and has since maintained a firm opposition to the measures of the party of reconstruction. Those who knew Mr. Sample had confidence in his good intentions, and in his de- sire to promote the interests of the people, and to avert a greater calamity to his State.
Mr. Sample came to Montgomery as a young lawyer a few years before he ran for the office of Attorney-General, in 1847, and still resides in the city, engaged in his profession, in the prime of life.
GEORGE TAYLOR, who was defeated for Attorney-General in 1847, was a member of the bar of Alabama for a few years, first settling at Wetumpka, and afterward removing to Montgomery. Soon after his unsuccessful attempt to obtain office at the hands of the Legislature, he left the State, and fixed his residence in Brooklyn, New York, where he took strong position in the Dem- cratic party, and was elected to Congress where he served one or two terms, throughout which he closely adhered to that organiza- tion.
ALBERT G. GOOCH, although not a member of the Legislature, held important positions which justly entitle him to a place in this volume. He came from Virginia to Alabama, and in 1835 was a clerk in the store of Thomas H. Herndon, a large merchant at Erie, then the county-site of Greene county. An offer having been made him by Henry Minor, Esq., Clerk of the Supreme Court, Mr. Gooch accepted it, and changed his residence to Tns- kaloosa in 1836. When the author first became acquainted with him he was Secretary to Gov. McVay in 1837, and for a while he continued as Secretary in the Executive Department after the accession of Gov. Bagby. But a more lucrative situation awaited him from Judge Crawford, who appointed him Clerk of the United States Court for the Middle District of Alabama, in which office he realized probably not less than twenty thousand dollars as his regular fees in bankruptcy, during the operation of the 31
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bankrupt law of 1841. Mr. Gooch was a competent and faithful clerk, and very prudent in the management of his affairs.
His circumstances being independent, he married Miss Mar- garet Barr, a lady of fine literary culture, and of great personal worth, a sister of John G. Barr, Esq. He was next appointed by Mr. Lyon, Assistant Commissioner in charge of the assets of the State Bank, and performed the duties devolving on him with marked integrity. In the prime of life, Mr. Gooch died at Tus- kaloosa, about 1st of January, 1858, to the grief of friends and the regret of the entire community. He was the model of an upright gentleman-quiet, dignified and courteous; and his mem- ory will be held in the highest respect by those who knew him, including the best men of the State, many of whom were his per- sonal friends.
COL. CHARLES T. POLLARD has wielded so large an influence, and has been so long connected with railroads, with finance and public improvements generally, that his name ought to appear among the leading men of Alabama. A Virginian by birth, he came to Montgomery more than thirty years ago, and engaged in commercial pursuits, in which he was successful. At a time of great disaster, when merchants and business men generally were swept overboard by the hurricane which prostrated most of the Banks, Col. Pollard weathered the storm, and his march has ever been onward, until he has reached the very pinnacle, which gives command in society and in the transactions of men.
With the West-Point and Montgemery Railroad he became identified at a period when its affairs languished, and by his skill and enterprise, as President, he gave it new life, and brought it to completion. He has been at the head of other enterprises of the kind, always providing the means, in Europe and in this country, to carry out his plans. His integrity of character has been the foundation of success. His accumulations have been legitimate and ample. In hospitality, and in the splendor of his household; in his large family connection, and in all that consti- tutes a true man, crowned with enjoyments in social life, his example has been a triumph. Montgomery is indebted to him for much of her prosperity. He still resides there in the midst of his usefulness, actively occupied in promoting good works.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
Session of 1847 Adjourned-Leading Measures- Gov. Clay and other Public Characters Noticed.
The leading measures at the session of 1847 related to the Banks, and the establishment of a system of revenue that should defray the expenses of the Government, and maintain the public faith. To these questions the members applied themselves earn- estly, through the action of Committees, and otherwise.
A new revenue bill was reported by Mr. Jemison, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, intended to raise a fund suffi- cient to pay the expenses of the State Government, the interest upon the trust funds, (16th Section and University,) and interest on the State bonds, leaving the remaining assets of the Banks to be used for the redemption of the outstanding indebtedness. The 16th Section Fund was taken charge of by the State, and the public faith pledged for the payment of the interest annually, to the trustees of the proper townships, for school purposes.
BANK COMMISSIONERS.
The liquidation of the State Bank and Branches had progressed by regular steps, one leading to another, and at each session since 1842 additional legislation was necessary, from a new stand-point in the status of these institutions, to meet the existing state of things. At the session of 1845, the whole assets of the Banks were placed in the hands of three Commissioners, clothed with large and delicate powers in their management. The manner in which they discharged the trust, fully justified the confidence reposed in them, and the policy of the legislation under which they acted. They came forth at this session with an exhibit of their actings and doings under the commission, which was clear and satisfactory, and a formal recognition of the able and faithful manner in which the Commissioners had proceeded from first to last, was made by the Legislature; and one step further was taken, by constituting Francis S. Lyon, Esq., sole Commissioner and Trustee to apply the remaining assets of the Banks, with power and discretion as to settlements with debtors, in buying exchange, and taking up the indebtedness of the State, as he thought best for the public interest. No higher proof of confidence could be given by the Legislature, and no man in the State more deserved it.
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After retiring from the Bank Commission, Mr. Clay and Mr. Cooper have not been connected with public affairs. Deeming the present occasion suitable, a personal notice of these gentlemen is here given.
CLEMENT C. CLAY was born and educated in Virginia, settled in Alabama while it was in a Territorial condition, making Hunts- ville his place of residence. In 1819, he was a delegate from Madison county, in the Convention which formed the Constitution, under which Alabama was admitted as a State.
With great energy of character, and with a laudable ambition, he pushed himself forward at the bar and in the public service, until his success was fully established. In those days a resort to the code of honor was quite common between gentlemen who had controversies of a personal nature to settle. An affair of this kind, in his early life, led to a hostile meeting with Dr. Waddy Tate, of Limestone, in which both were severely wounded, though with no permanent injury.
Positions of honor and trust seemed to be at his command. In 1819, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, of the Fifth Circuit; in 1827, was elected a Representative in the Legislature ; and in 1829, he was elected to Congress from the Huntsville Dis- trict, and was reelected in 1831 and 1833. In 1835 he canvassed the State, and was elected Governor by a large majority over Gen. Enoch Parsons, of Monroe county. Upon the resignation of the Hon. John Mckinley, he was elected a Senator in Congress at the called session of the Legislature, in June 1837, in which ca- pacity he served until the Fall of 1841, when he resigned. Sub- sequently he was but little engaged in public life, except in 1843, when he served a few months on the Bench of the Supreme Court, under the appointment of Gov. Fitzpatrick.
A new Digest of the Laws of Alabama having been authorized by the Legislature, since that by John G. Aikin, Esq., Gov. Clay was appointed to prepare the work, and at the session of 1842 he reported the manuscript, which, after examination by the Judiciary Committee, was accepted and approved by the Legislature. In 1843 it was published, and has been used as authority in the Courts ever since.
During his administration as Governor, in 1836, the Creek In- dians within the limits of Alabama became hostile. As Com- mander-in-chief of the State, Gov. Clay ordered out troops and took the field in person, in active cooperation with Major-General Scott, and Major-General Jesup, of the United States army, who subsequently took command of the volunteers from Alabama and the adjoining States, to operate against the Indians. From May until about the first of August the disturbances continued to pre-
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama. 485
vail, and many skirmishes and a few battles took place, as the In- dian mode of warfare, laying in ambush, dodging behind trees, and then hiding in thickets and swamps, so that they could not be pursued by artillery, cavalry, or even infantry, evaded open con- tact with the troops. At length the Indians submitted, and were removed west of the Mississippi, thus relieving Alabama of a most impracticable and dangerous population.
From the time he entered public life until its close, embracing a period of about twenty-five years, in the Legislature, on the bench, in both branches of Congress, and in the State Executive, no man was more zealous, more active, and more efficient in ad- vancing the interests of the people of Alabama, than Gov. Clay. Through his exertions in Congress, for the passage of the preëm- tion laws discriminating in favor of settlers, thousands and per- haps tens of thousands have secured homes on the public domain, which otherwise they would have been unable to obtain. His industry knew no limit, and throughout his whole career, he care- fully investigated all matters in hand, and then, with a resolution which never faltered, he marched directly to his object. While toiling for the good of others, he was not wholly indifferent to reward, that honorable reward which a manly ambition covets, the approbation and support of the people in his public measures. This he received to an extent which few men have been per- mitted to enjoy. As a patriot, he was jealous of the honor of his country, as his speeches in Congress, and communications to the General Assembly, afford evidence. From youth to old age, he contended for liberty in the broadest and best sense of the term- liberty of speech and of the press, and the rights of the States and of individuals, all guaranteed by the Constitution which he had assisted in framing for the government of Alabama, and by the Federal Constitution, which he had sworn to support.
But a change came over the land. North-Alabama was in- vaded by Federal troops, and his home in Huntsville was seized, and he himself put under military arrest. Indignities were heaped upon this venerable public servant and Christian gentle- man. Soon after the fall of Nashville, in February, 1862, the so-called Union army occupied North-Alabama, spreading devas- tation everywhere in their march. No attempt will be made here to describe the atrocities committed under the United States flag which was raised at the headquarters of that most hateful of all tyrants, Gen. O. M. Mitchell, the post commander at Huntsville. When he relinguished the chair of Astronomy, at Cincinnati, for the epaulettes of a field officer, he became at once transformed into a ferocious monster, insulting helpless women, and domineer- ing over all classes subject to his rule. A few months thereafter it pleased Heaven to remove him to another world, and Hilton
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Head, in South Carolina, where he had renewed his abominations, witnessed his last agony on earth.
But there was a master-spirit behind the scenes, who will now be brought to view in the following precious document :
TREATMENT OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE SOUTH-IMPORTANT LETTER FROM GENERAL SHERMAN.
From the Nashville Times.]
We have gained possession of the important letter published below, and give it to our readers who, after perusing it, will know more of the temper and charac- ter of the commander of the grand military division of the Mississippi than they have known herotofore .. The letter was not designed for publication, having been addressed to his Adjutant-General, in reply to certain interrogatories relative to the course to be pursued by subordinate commanders of military districts to- ward disloyal inhabitants. We will add that as we consider our readers sensible men and women, no comments are necessary:
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