USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 57
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MILTON S. LATHAM, defeated Solicitor, was a law student of Judge Heydenfeldt, then of Russell county. He came to the State a young man and a stranger, and for a time engaged in teach- ing school. He was a gentleman of quiet, rather steady deport- ment in this canvass, and maintained throughout the evidences of much self-respect. He had a comely person, well-developed, and dressed neatly.
A few months after his defeat, Mr. Latham called in the Cap- itol, on his way to California. A gentleman conversing with him expressed his surprise at his going. He replied that he would not live in a State where Johnson Hooper could beat him for So- licitor. He went to California, and in a year or two was elected to Congress, and served a term in the House of Representatives, upon the expiration of which he was nominated by the Demo- cratic party, and elected Governor of the State. Soon after his inauguration, he was elected by the Legislature a United States Senator for a term of six years.
Seldom has a young man in this country made such strides in the line of honorable preferment as Milton S. Latham. His speeches while in Congress were of a very respectable character. Indeed, his whole career stamps him at once as being no ordinary man. He entered the list in that far-off State, where every avenue leading to preferment was crowded with aspirants-many of them old and experienced politicians-and yet he outstripped them all, and took the first position in the State, while yet a young man. He is now a banker in San Francisco, and among the fore- most in large financial enterprises.
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ANDREW BOWIE is a lawyer of Talladega, and a South Caro- linian by birth and education. He is a son of the late Chancellor Bowie, and has always been regarded as a gentleman of solid worth, and has attained a prominent position at the bar.
WILLIAM S. EARNEST, of Jefferson, was in 1851 elected a mem- ber of the House, and served through the session in a very cred- itable manner, taking part in the proceedings and debates of that exciting period.
In 1853, he was a candidate for Governor against Gov. Winston, receiving 10,157 votes. He advocated a system of internal im- provement, with the aid of the State. In 1860, he supported John Bell for President, and was elected a delegate to the Con- vention of 1861, and voted against the Ordinance of Secession. Mr. Earnest was from East-Tennessee, and is allied to a large family connection and influence in Greene county, the founder of which settled there about the close of the Revolutionary War. He came to Alabama in 1834, and has succeeded very well in his, vocation as a lawyer,
CHAPTER XXIX.
Personal Sketches of the Legislature of 1849.
In adhering to the plan of this work, it is necessary to notice a number of gentlemen who served at the session of the Legisla- ture of 1849, not heretofore included in the sketches. Among these are four Senators :
WILLIAM S. COMPTON was elected in 1849, from Morgan and Limestone, and served only one session. He had held the office of Judge of the County Court, and was for some time Teller, and afterward Cashier of the Branch Bank at Decatur. His feeble health, while in the Legislature, made his intercourse with his fellow-members rather limited; but he possessed financial views and attainments which rendered his services valuable in that de- partment of Legislation, and gave direction to the policy first adopted in chartering the Southern Bank, which gave to the people
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of Alabama banks of the best character, and a sound circulating medium.
His health continued to decline, and he subsequently removed to Texas, where, in a few years, he died. He was a respected member and minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Christian gentleman of unpretending piety and rare merit.
CADE M. GODBOLD was elected to the House from Baldwin county, in 1837, and reelected in 1838. In 1849, he was returned to the Senate, and served one session. Upon the election of Mr. Pierce as President, he was appointed United States Marshal for the Southern District of Alabama, and continued to hold the office until the passage of the Ordinance of Secession, in 1861.
Col. Godbold has also been extensively engaged in business, in and about Mobile, and was, for several years elected by the Legis- lature a Director in the Branch Bank in that city. He is a South Carolinian, with business habits and qualities of a respectable or- der, and was faithful in the discharge of his public duty. While in the Legislature, he seldom or never spoke upon the floor, unless in explanation of some report from committee. He was a Demo- crat, firmly and understandingly devoted to principle, and in a quiet, conversational, ordinary way, wielded no little influence in the counsels of his party. He now resides in Mobile.
L. R. DAVIS, of Limestone, was elected to the House in 1849. He was a son of Capt. Nicholas Davis, the veteran Whig leader, and had the same politics. When the son began his first service in the Capitol, such men as Capt. Abercrombie, George N. Stew- art, Robert Jemison, Gen. Dent, and Dr. Ware, were in the front rank of the Whig party, then in its greatest prosperity, as proved by the election of Mr. Clemens to the United States Senate, over Gov. Fitzpatrick, which was conceded to be a Whig victory. Mr. Davis, by his fine talents and address, contributed no little to the success of his party. At the same session, the Whigs also elected Johnson J. Hooper, Solicitor, over several Democratic competitors.
Mr. Davis was again returned to the House in 1861, finding a great change in political classifications. Instead of Democratic and Whig, Union and Southern Rights, or Fire-eaters as they ex- isted ten or twelve years previously, he beheld all former party distinctions obliterated, and all standing shoulder to shoulder in support of a common cause for self-government. Though proba- bly not sanctioning the first steps, yet when the secession of Ala- bama was declared, Mr. Davis gave his heart and his exertions to his native State, and to the Southern movement.
He married a daughter of Capt. Abercrombie, and now edits with ability the "Limestone News," published at Athens; a faith-
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ful co-laborer with the Democratic and Conservative party. He is a gentleman of the loftiest character, inherited from a noble ancestry.
GEORGE W. GUNN, of Macon, succeeded Mr. Scott, and served a term of four years. He is a lawyer, and a minister of the Bap- tist order; and belonging to both professions, it will readily be concluded that he had the gift of speech; and indeed, this was true, and it was equal to any ordinary demand.
Mr. Gunn was efficient as a legislator in the preparation of busi- ness, and he never hesitated in explaining or defending his reports and positions, or attacking those of others if they did not suit him. In 1851, he reached the prominent place of Chairman of the Judi- ciary Committee, and applied himself assiduously to its onerous duties. He was a Whig, and at this time his party had the ascend- ency in the Senate, which afforded him, in his position, a wide field of action as a debater, and as a leader in business, which was fully occupied.
On the death of Mr. Nathaniel H. Clanton, the Senator from Macon in 1855, Mr. Gunn was elected his successor, and served through the balance of that session with his usual efficiency. His extensive reading, and fine business qualifications, enabled him to grasp the subject-matter of a proposition readily, and his powder being always dry, he seldom missed fire when he took the floor. His close attention to business had detracted somewhat from his cultivation of manners, and his social qualities, except in the domes- tic circle, when business was laid aside, and then he could make himself quite agreeable. He still resides in Macon county, en- gaged in the practice of the law, among a people who often hon- ored him with their confidence, and to whose interest he was always true.
LEONARD TARRANT, of Talladega, took his seat in 1849, and served four years, participating freely in the proceedings and labors of the Senate, though he seldom engaged in debate. He had been a member of the House, from Shelby, in days gone by, and filled the office of Judge of the County Court of that county.
Upon the execution of a treaty with the Creek Indians in Ala- bama, President Jackson appointed him Agent to superintend the sale of their reservations by the heads of families of that tribe, and in this labor he was engaged for two or three years. The duties that devolved upon him were responsible and delicate, in standing between the land-buyers, with their cunning, and the ignorant Indians, and fully tested his character for unswerving integrity in the difficult path, both by temptations and bribes on the one hand, and threats on the other. "The President's confi- dence was unshaken, and Judge Tarrant finished his task.
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It was said in those days, that in conversing with a gentleman on the subject of the Creek lands, and the allegations of corrup- tion and collusion between agents and purchasers, President Jack- son remarked, that every agent he had commissioned had disap- pointed him, except one, and he was a Methodist preacher. That preacher was Judge Tarrant.
Up to 1836, he had been a Democrat; but in that year he es- poused the cause of Judge White for the Presidency, and became in full alliance with the Whig party. His convictions were strong and decided, with some of the weakness of prejudice and self- esteem in political opinion and action, so that he became firmly fixed and settled in his opposition to the Democratic party, and gave the whole influence of his character to war upon it. But this was the result of honest conviction and patriotic purpose, so far as these could govern in the mind of one in array against principles which he had espoused and supported for a life-time.
Judge Tarrant was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and maintained through many years a probity of Chris- tian character and position of usefulness which gave caste and beauty to his example; and after laboring to a good old age in the sacred desk, he died, leaving an unsullied name to the church and to the world, in both which he had acted no ordinary part. A good savor is diffused by the memory of such a man.
In the House of Representatives, sixteen members remain to be noticed in such manner as the facts seem to authorize.
THOMAS BRAZIER, of Shelby, was elected to the House in 1847, and again in 1849. He had repeatedly occupied places of public trust in his county, and was a man of much practical expe- rience in business, having grown to middle age in the industrious pursuits of life, which had brought him a good return.
He was for many years a leading man in Shelby, especially with the Democratic party, of which he was a member, and in the maintenance of his principles, firm and unyielding, which gave decision and tone to his character. He was active and attentive to his public duties, and represented well that class of plain, sen- sible men who are at all times an accession to the Legislature, and faithful to the public interests. Mr. Brazier was a State Rights man, and warmly devoted to the rights and interests of the South. He died a few years ago.
THOMAS R. CREWS, of Sumter, was a member of the House only at the session of 1849; but he is certainly entitled to a place in these "Reminiscences." He was a planter and a Christian gen- tleman, well educated, well read, affable in his deportment, and
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faithful in his friendships. Few men possessed more the elements of a useful, energetic citizen and Legislator. He was from North Carolina, and exhibited, in his manner and bearing, much of the caste of that people.
Mr. Crews was afterward elected Judge of the Probate Court of Sumter county, the duties of which he discharged with efficiency until the Summer of 1865, soon after which he died. For a long time his health had been declining, and for years, even in the Legislature, he was weakly and delicate, yet always cheerful and hopeful. There was a fire in his eye, and an innate activity of thought and conception which kept him up when others would have failed. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church.
FREDERICK F. FOSCUE, of Coosa, was a young lawyer, elected to the House in 1849 for the first time, but had been a candidate in 1847, when he was beaten a few votes. In 1853, having mar- ried, he removed to Marengo county; and being a Democrat, although in a county where parties were about equally balanced, his abilities as a stump speaker, and tact in winning votes, brought him forward for the House, and he was elected upon a divided ticket, with Dr. M. W. Creagh, and served through that laborious session with ability and success.
Soon after the session of 1853, Mr. Foscue removed to Texas, and settled in Smith county, where his force of character, already formed, brought him forward as a candidate for the Legislature. During the canvass I received a letter from him, in which he said that he was in his usual avocation, leading a "forlorn hope." But he succeded in beating down opposition to his principles, and went to the Legislature, and entered heartily into those measures which resulted in the Ordinance of Secession. His efforts did not stop here. He gave his services to the cause of the South, and, like many others, lost all upon the result.
Mr. Foscue was a native of North Carolina, and was probably connected with the extensive family name in Jones county. In Wheeler's History of North Carolina, it is shown that Frederick Foscue, in 1806 --- Lewis Foscue, in 1818 and 1819-and Nathan Foscue, in 1832, 1833, and 1834-were members of the Legisla- ture in that State from Jones county.
His mind was tolerably well cultivated, and he was industrious in acquiring information relative to his duties as a legislator. His lessons of life, in its earlier aspects, were taken from a stand-point not calculated to impress him favorably with the distinctions which exist in society; and thus he no doubt imbibed prejudices which gave tone to his character in the future. He had rigid notions of Government, its Constitution, its purposes, and the relative duties
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of the people. He was not an agrarian in practice, but he re- quired every man to perform service alike, without consulting the taste or convenience of society. Hence, he introduced, and had passed through the Legislature, a bill repealing all exemptions from road duty in Coosa county. The effect was to put a stop to preaching, and school-teaching, and grinding at the mills, on the days the roads were to be worked. At the next session, however, this law was repealed.
Mr. Foscue was scrupulously exact in voting, and favored no measure of policy, or appropriation, that did not come up to the standard of his ideas of right. The Compromise measures of 1850 excited his bitter opposition, as discriminating against the South, and gave a turn to his political views and feelings. He still resides in Texas.
GEORGE W. GOLDSBY, of Perry, was a lawyer, son of Colonel Thornton Goldsby, of Dallas, a gentleman of large enterprize and estate. He was highly educated at one of the Northern colleges, and, like many other young men raised in the South in those days, had too much to lean upon for a support, to develop properly his energies. He was elected in 1849, and reëlected in 1851, and a few years thereafter he died.
Mr. Goldsby was a gentleman of modest, unpretending address, and possessed a good heart, a kind disposition, and talents which, had he been thrown at once upon his own resources, would have worked his way to improvement, and probable distinction.
BENJAMIN L. GOODMAN, of Chambers, was a member only through the session of 1849. He was a Georgian, and a Whig, settled early in Chambers, and had success as a lawyer. In con- versation he was quite showy, and was quite pretentious, especially at the bar, where he was bold and positive in manner-a quality from which he derived so much practical benefit that it became his forte.
In the Legislature, Mr. Goodman took an active part, which his age and experience in political and professional life enabled him to sustain, so that his influence was felt and acknowledged. He was a ready, effective, though not a pleasant speaker, having taken his lessons mostly in the school of practical expediency. He re- moved to Texas not long after the session, with a large property acquired in an active career of law practice and trading, and in a few years he died.
BOLLING HALL, of Autauga, is a Georgian by birth, and a son of the Hon. Bolling Hall, who was a Representative in Congress from that State from 1811 to 1817.
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Mr. Hall was returned in 1849, and took the seat formerly and for many years occupied by Gen. C. M. Jackson, and brought to the discharge of his public duties a mind well improved, and well informed on the general topics of legislation and State policy. He was reelected in 1851, and took a leading part in the deliberations and tactics of that session. Again, in 1853, he was returned by a confiding constituency, and his experience and talents placed him in the front rank of the active, influential and working mem- bers of the House.
In 1860, Mr. Hall was brought out and supported by the coop- erationists, headed by Gov. Fitzpatrick in Autauga, for a seat in the Convention, but was beaten a few votes by Dr. Rives, his seccession opponent. On the passage of the Ordinance of Seces- sion, however, he went with the State, and gave several sons to the service of the Confederate States, besides devoting himself in many useful ways to the same cause.
He resides in Elmore county, a planter, a gentleman of a high order of intelligence and integrity of character. He was raised in Autauga from his youth. There have been few party conven- tions in the last quarter of a century, within the range of his legitimate sphere, in which he has not participated, always prom- inent, and able to sustain himself in debate upon the floor in the discussion of political questions. He is now under disabilities, in common with many other gentlemen; but still he has his influ- ence, and retains undiminished the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens.
JOHN T. HILL, of Sumter, served only at this session of the House, and filled a respectable place in its proceedings. His merit is indicated by his being appointed Chairman of the Com- mittee on Internal Improvement, an important one at this partic- ular juncture. He was a lawyer of fair attainments, was a Brig- adier-General of Militia, with an attractive person and address. His face carried the evidence of amiability, and he acted at all times with quiet thoughtfulness, rather slow in his movements, but seldom behind time.
In his day, General Hill was a leading Democrat, and exerted considerable influence in his county, but was more wedded to pro- fessional than public life. He had a fondness for ease, and with a pipe loaded with good tobacco, he enjoyed social intercourse, con- versed well, but slowly and cautiously, with a marked precision of language. He was raised and educated in North Carolina, and was a fine specimen of the gentleman of that State. He died many years ago.
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THOMAS E. IRBY, of Wilcox, a native of South Carolina, had served with distinction in the Mexican war, and was a young man of fine personal appearance, taking his seat under favorable auspices.
He was a planter, liberally educated, and was a good debater, presided often and well temporarily, in the Speaker's chair, and altogether justified the expectations that were entertained by his friends. His social qualities had been well cultivated, making him the centre of the circle of younger men, to which class he belonged.
In 1857, having removed to Dallas county, Capt. Irby was again elected to the House, and reelected in 1859. He had ma- tured greatly in size and mental vigor, as well as in position. He allied himself with the extreme wing on Southern questions, and was active in the prosecution of his purposes. This was particu- larly the case in the State Convention of 1860, in which there was antagonism and political strife. In the deliberations, he ex- erted no little influence and tact. When the war opened, he at once took the field, and proved a gallant champion of the South- ern cause. He was advanced to the command of a regiment, and in one of the battles of Virginia he was killed-sealing with the blood of a noble, brave man, his devotion to his principles.
REUBEN MCDONALD, of Baldwin, served in the House at the session of 1847, and again in 1849. Being a bachelor of respect- able age, he concluded to marry, and try the consolations of pri- vate life, and did not appear again in the Legislature until 1861.
Mr. McDonald possesed traits of character which entitle him to remembrance. He was a rigid Democrat, even to stubbornness, and when he had an object to accomplish, he knew no such word as fail. Thus, in canvassing for a seat in the Legislature, and liv- ing on the coast, where many of the people could be reached by creeks, bays and inlets, he would load a craft with things useful to a candidate, and very convenient to extend his acquaintance and gain favor, making his trips to the Perdido, and up the streams, and all about where people were to be found, and then he distributed his cargo with such pleasant hospitality and good- will, that votes were his sure reward. His pursuit of the sover- eigns dispersed in the different sections of his large, and, to a great extent, thinly populated county, was most untiring, and he never considered his work done as long as one vote was in question.
If Mr. McDonald had his partialities, he had also his dislikes, but never to the detriment of the public prosperity, to which he contributed his time and his energies.
MOSES MCGUIRE, of Tuskaloosa, had a popularity, and a hold on public favor, which was so established that he either had the
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course to himself when racing for office, or, if any one ventured to compete with him, he was distanced to such an extent as to discourage any future hope of obtaining office before the same constituency. He was Clerk of the County Court when I first knew him, in 1837, a place he retained, by successive elections, until 1845, when he sought a change by offering himself a candi- date for Sheriff. Of course, he was elected, in spite of all the influences and combinations, for political effect, which could be brought to bear against him. He was a fixture, which no man could move, however herculean his strength on the hustings. The people stood by Mr. McGuire and cheered him on to victory, without his having to vary from the strictest line of rectitude en- joined by his membership in the Baptist Church.
Mr. McGuire was a Democrat, and such was his weight of char- acter, that he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1849, on a divided ticket, with Messrs. Jemison and Perkins, Whigs. . His long experience in the details of county police reg- ulations was a gain to the House relative to the Probate Court system, then about to be established. He was a useful, diligent member throughout the laborious session, always at his post, always in a good humor, and always voting with a sound judgment. Such was his legislative record.
In 1850, when the election of Judge of Probate was given to the people, Mr. McGuire was a candidate for that office, which was tantamount to an election. He continued to hold that place, with renewals at the ballot-box, until after the war. In 1865, he was elected to a seat in the Convention which formed the Consti- tution of that year. Having held office so long before the organ- ization of the Confederate Government, and during its existence, he is of course loaded with political disabilities, which must in future deprive the public of his valuable services, unless he shall be relieved by the pardoning power.
The question may be asked, What was the secret of his success throughout the whole thirty years in which he was Clerk, Sherift, Representative, and Judge, in Tuskaloosa county, without ever having been defeated in any election before the people? The answer is, that he was an honest, upright man, with a kind heart, a courteous address, and a friendly smile which pleased everybody, and convinced everybody that he was true and faithful. He was always to be found at his office, at all proper hours. He never loitered at the corners of the streets for idle conversation, but went directly from his office to his dwelling, and returned to his office, which he always kept in a neat condition, the records all beautifully complete, and all his papers so arranged that when he was called upon for any information, or for any paper, he could lay his hands upon it instantly. He made no charges for trifling ser-
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