USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 64
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was changed to Sanford. He was a Democrat, and a useful, in- dustrious member of the Senate, bringing to the discharge of his duties a large experience in public affairs, and an honest purpose. In the two last sessions that I served with him, he was often called to the Chair, and displayed intelligence and promptness in the ad- ministration of parliamentary law, giving entire satisfaction to the Senate. He still resides in Fayette, among a people who have long honored him with their confidence, and whose interests he has faithfully served.
WILLIAM F. PERRY, elected Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion, was a teacher of high grade, and brought to the arduous task of launching the new school system, abilities that were considered equal to the labor. He was reelected in 1857, and continued to discharge the duties of his station for some time, with general sat- isfaction to the Legislature and people.
In 1862, he entered the Confederate army, and was advanced to the rank of Brigadier-General, which position he held at the surrender, in 1865. He now resides in Kentucky.
Gen. Perry married Miss Brown, a daughter of George P. Brown, Esq., a lawyer from Kentucky, who settled at an early day in Talladega, and was justly regarded as one of the most tal- ented men in the State. Mr. Brown died in' 1839, universally re- spected in his life, and regretted in his death. His wife was one of the accomplished daughters of the Hon. Thomas Chilton, a gentleman greatly distinguished in his day as a lawyer, as a mem- ber of Congress, and as a minister of the Gospel.
ANDREW A. LIPSCOMB, LL. D. was born and educated in Vir- ginia. He came to Alabama in early manhood, with rare faculties for public usefulness. For profound and varied learning, he, per- haps, has no superior in the country. His pulpit ministrations, his labors as a teacher in schools, seminaries, and colleges, his accomplishments as a writer, the grandeur of his thoughts, and the earnestness of his soul for the welfare of men, for their moral and spiritual illumination, breathed in words of music, place him in the front rank of scholars and divines in this or any other age. To such a character, it is scarcely possible to do justice by any effort at description, however strong the desire. No connected narrative of his life or employments will be attempted. Mere fragments must suffice.
A Southern gentleman informed me that while he was on a visit to the city of New York, in 1857, he called at the large publishing house of Messrs. Harper & Brothers, and was politely shown through by Mr. Fletcher Harper, one of the partners. On seeing the presses at work, throwing off the monthly edition of
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175,000 copies of the "Magazine," the visitor remarked to his gentlemanly guide, that he was surprised to find any one man competent to write the articles which appeared in the magazine under the head of "Editor's Table," containing such a variety of learning and research in literature, in science, and philosophy, all marked with intellect of the highest order. Mr. Harper replied that no one man wrote these articles; that the publishers had en- gaged the very ablest men in different parts of the country to con- tribute in this department, such as Dr. Lipscomb, of Alabama, and men of that superior class.
About the year 1859, Dr. Lipscomb was formally invited by the Trustees of the University of Georgia to accept the new office of Chancellor of that institution. Since that time, he has resided at Athens, performing the duties of that honorable and useful po- sition, much to the prosperity and influence of a seat of learning over which eminent scholars have presided :
1. Josiah Meigs, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astron- omy in Yale College. He was President of Franklin College, or University of Georgia, from 1801 to 1811, when he resigned.
2. Dr. Brown, Professor of Moral Philosophy, Columbia Col- lege, South Carolina, succeeded, and resigned in 1816.
3. Dr. Finley, of New Jersey, was then elected President, who died in 1819.
4. In 1819, Dr. Moses Waddel, of South Carolina, took charge of the University, and resigned in 1829. He was brother-in-law of the Hon. John C. Calhoun.
5. Dr. Alonzo Church, of Brattleborough, Vermont, was the next President, who died in 1859.
In November, 1860, by special invitation of a committee of the Georgia Legislature, Dr. Lipscomb delivered a discourse before that body in the Representative Hall, which was listened to with almost breathless attention from first to last, occupying nearly two hours. The audience was not limited to members of the General Assembly, nor to official persons, but included a large concourse of citizens and visitors. It was afterward published by order of the Legislature, and will ever rank as one of the grandest pro- ductions of the human mind.
The health of Dr. Lipscomb having been impaired by his official labors, he visited Europe in the Summer of 1868, from which he wrote many interesting letters for publication, giving an account of the institutions of learning he had visited, the ancient establishments, libraries, and works of note he had seen, together with descriptions of his journeys from important points, and other matters which, dressed up in his fascinating style, were truly in- teresting. Most of these "Letters" were addressed to the Senior
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Class of the University, and if collected, would form a very in- structive volume.
For the last thirty years, Dr. Lipscomb has been a contributor to the literary and religious reviews, and other periodicals of the country : and in all this time, and upon the great variety of sub- jects which he has examined as a scholar and philosopher, not one of his articles has been written carelessly. He never suffers any- thing to go from his pen that is attenuated from neglect. No doubt he composes rapidly, yet he is always master of style and taste equal to the finest belles-lettres standard. In this respect, he is probably in advance of any writer of the day.
Such has been the reputation of Dr. Lipscomb as an orator, and as a mature scholar, that he has been called upon with great fre- quency to address literary societies at college commencements, and other similar audiences, even in different States. In Alabama and Georgia, especially, these compliments have been quite pro- fuse. In 1845, he was selected by the Erosophic and Philoma- thic Societies of the University of Alabama, and on the 19th of December, 1845, he delivered an address on the "Morbid Exhi- bitions of the Mind," which was published in a pamphlet of 34 pages. A' committee, consisting of M. B. Wellborn, A. L. Har- alson, and O. C. Hall, on the part of the Erosophic, and of E. R. Ware, J. C. Billingslea, and T. J. Molton, on the part of the Phi- lomathic Society, applied to Dr. Lipscomb for a copy of the address, which was furnished, with the remark, "I feel reluctant to have it published, prepared, as it was, in great haste, and amid numerous interruptions; but believing that you are entitled to the disposition of it, I waive all personal considerations, and accede to your wishes."
The pulpit discourses, literary addresses, and various contribu- tions to the press, by Dr. Lipscomb, if collected, would form sev- eral volumes in print.
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
Session of 1853 Concluded-Senators and Representatives Sketched.
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At the session of 1853, several new Senators took their seats. Some of these, and others who have not been included in these "Reminiscences," are here briefly introduced.
WILLIAM A. ASHLEY, of Conecuh, was the youngest man in the Senate, although he had served through the sessions of 1849 and 1851. What he lacked in experience, he made up in ability. He took an efficient part in legislation, and was a good debater. The confidence and expectations of his constituents were fully justified by his public course. After serving his term of four years in the Senate, he retired, to engage more earnestly in his large planting pursuits. Like his father, he was a Whig in poli- tics, and, like him, had represented the people of Conecuh in the other end of the Capitol. They were both men of influence.
In 1865, I met Mr. Ashley in the Senate, to which he had been elected from Conecuh, Covington, and Coffee, and we served together two years, were upon the same committee, and, in fact, messed together at the same hotel. I thus had an opportunity of knowing his many fine qualities, which I duly appreciated. His capacity as a legislator had been increased by experience, though it had always been respectable. In his friendships, he was faith- ful and sincere.
While, in 1860, he voted for Bell, the Union candidate for President, and was opposed to secession in 1861, Mr. Ashley did not falter a moment in sustaining .the Southern cause throughout the hard struggle. His wealth and his personal services were devoted to the public defense. When the Reconstruction policy of Congress came, like manacles, upon the "rebel States," he de- nounced it in no measured terms.
Mr. Ashley was educated at the Knoxville University, East- Tennessee. While completing his term in the Senate, his health began to fail, and in 1869, he died-not only a loss to his family and friends, but to the State at large. He had not attained the meridian of life, before he was called from the scene of his use- fulness.
SAMUEL R. BLAKE, of Dallas, was a North Carolinian, and was raised in the vicinity of Wilmington. His father afterward re- moved to Macon, Georgia, where he married a second time, and
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became a party in a very extensive litigation, which can be seen in the Georgia Reports-Beall vs. Blake. His son accompanied him to Macon, where he opened a law office, and for several years practiced in Bibb and the adjoining counties, with a splendor of eloquence on some occasions which astonished while it delighted his listeners. At this period, he seems to have cultivated the style of which the great Irish orator, Phillips, is the model. With experience, he no doubt corrected this excess of imagina- tion, and became more solid in his forensic displays.
From Georgia he removed to Alabama, where, by some turn of fortune, he became a planter of considerable means. His youth- ful aspirations had cooled down into a thoughtful, even reserved, mood, so much so that it was with difficulty that he could be pre- vailed on to take part in the political contests of the day. When aroused, however, he showed game in spirit, and vigor in action. In 1853, he was elected to the Senate, and had the unusual honor of being appointed Chairman of the Judiciary Committee at the first and only session in which he served. His reports sustained his character for ability and industry, while in debate he had to grapple with such men as Thomas H. Watts, James D. Webb, B. H. Baker, and Charles McLemore, the foremost minds of the Senate; and in the Legislative strife, he was always equal to the emergency, which is no small praise.
Mr. Blake had a very engaging personal address, and was a re- fined, elegant gentleman in social life, and in the public service. He was much respected by those who knew him. In 1860, he removed to Texas.
GEN. JACOB TIPTON BRADFORD, of Talladega, elected in 1853, served through his term of four years in the Senate with diligence and activity as a legislator. He had great experience in public affairs, was master of all political questions, and could give such information relative to men and events as to make his society profitable to a seeker of that kind of knowledge.
He was a Tennesseean by birth. His family, the Tiptons and Bradfords, held a leading position in the State. The annals of Tennessee show much of the history, the actings and public em- ployments represented by his name. Born in the vicinity of Mor- ristown, he was raised and grew up to manhood there and in the vicinity of McMinnville. In youth, he was generally known by the short name of Tip. Like many of the sons of his native State, who are found in Indiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Ala- bama, whose energy of character has a fair prospect of reward, he tried his fortunes elsewhere, after closing a mercantile business at Winchester.
About the year 1830, he married Miss Taul, an accomplished
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and intelligent lady, daughter of Col. Micah Taul, formerly a member of Congress from Kentucky. Not long afterward, he was appointed by President Jackson, Register of the Land Office, then at Montevallo, but subsequently removed to Mardisville, for the Tallapoosa Land District; a situation which he held for many years ; and although a Whig in politics, such was his efficiency as a public officer, and the strength of his personal character, and that of his family name, that he was retained amid the party ran- cor of that day. Indeed, he was invulnerable, and I never heard of any movement to displace him.
In 1836, he was elected Major-General of the Eighth Division of Alabama militia, and he forthwith procured suitable equipments. At a military review in 1838 I had the pleasure of seeing him in full uniform, every inch a chief, mounted on a noble charger, and surrounded by a brilliant staff, the only full display of that rank I had ever seen. The sight was rare then; for few Major-Generals went to the expense of equipping themselves, or the trouble to attend reviews. But Gen. Bradford did, and so did Brigadier- General McClellan, and they were together, each with his staff; and to complete the array there was also present the Adjutant and Inspector, Gen. James G. Carroll. As I then pondered in my mind, I mentally exclaimed, What a collection of fine-looking men, well mounted, on richly comparisoned steeds, with chapeaus, swords, gold lace, and epaulets and sashes, with whatever else was necessary for officers of this rank !
By an act of the General Assembly, passed in 1836, Generals Bradford and Crabb were appointed to digest and prepare a Mili- tary Code, which they submitted in the Fall of 1837, and it was adopted, and known for years as Bradford's and Crabb's Digest.
General Bradford continued to cooperate with the Whig party until 1851, when the questions of absorbing interest to the South brought him into alliance with the Democratic party. His per- sonal relations and influences all the while were the same, and al- ways respectable, giving him in all assemblages, Whig or Demo- cratic, a commanding position in society.
In 1860, he was a delegate to the National Convention at Charleston, participating warmly with the leading minds of that exciting period, in measures to save the country, if possible, from the dangers which menaced it. After secession, in 1861, when the State assumed the proprietorship of the public domain within her limits, he was elected Commissioner of the General Land- Office, a place which he held through the war. His health had been long in a decline, and losing his excellent wife, he died a short time after the war ended.
For upwards of thirty years Gen. Bradford was prominently connected with the politics and the public men of Alabama, with
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with a very extensive acquaintance. In conversation he was guarded, yet fluent and entertaining. While in the Senate, he took part in the debates, and was a good public speaker. Clear- headed, cool, always self-possessed, courageous, without bluster, he was respectful in his intercourse with men, and always main- tained the bearing of a gentleman. One son represents him, the Hon. Taul Bradford, of Talladega, a prominent lawyer, and mem- ber of the Legislature.
JAMES S. DICKINSON was, in 1853, the Senator from the Clarke District-his only term. His abilities as a lawyer, and his business capacity, were recognized by his appointment as Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Taxation. This gave him rank and influence on the floor. The duties of the place were competently performed. His address was pleasant.
In 1863, he was elected from the Mobile District to a seat in the Confederate Congress, of which body he was a member until its dissolution in April, 1865, when Gen. Lee's line of defense was broken, and the Federal army marched on Richmond. Since the war he has been engaged in the practice of the law in Clarke county. He has been always regarded with much public favor- being an agreeable companion, and honorable in all the relations of life. In politics he is a Democrat.
GEN. JOSEPH P. FRAZIER, of Jackson, was in the Senate when I became connected with the Legislature as Assistant Clerk of the House, in 1837, and served a term of three years. He was an officer in the Indian war, in Florida, 1836, where he made a rep- utation, and immediately upon his return he was elected a Major- General of militia. He was elected to the House in 1843, and has served in one branch or the other of the General Assembly almost every session to the close of 1853, which terminated his connection with the Senate. His name has frequently been on the Electoral ticket for President and Vice-President of the United States, and, of course, he was never defeated as such.
In January, 1852, he was President of the Democratic State Convention, and by his political strength and influence greatly aided in reorganizing the divided party. At the commencement of the session, in 1853, he was the nominee of the Democratic party for President of the Senate, but was defeated by Col. W. B. Martin. This was, no doubt, a disappointment to Gen. Frazier, as it was to his party friends, who thought his long term of service, added to the claims of the county of Jackson he had so long faith- fully represented, entitled him to the compliment, as he was amply qualified for the place.
Gen. Frazier possessed a very respectable order of intelligence,
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with much solidity of character, and fine practical business quali- ties as a legislator. In all deliberations with which he was con- nected, he took a leading part, and was certainly entitled to the appellation of a faithful public servant, honest and honorable in all the relations of life. He was commanding in his personal ap- pearance, and of dignified address, which would cause him to be noticed in any collection of men. His early habits of life, and strict devotion to business, made him somewhat unsocial, and he was not much inclined to mingle in society. He died several years ago.
DR. ALLEN KIMBALL, of Tallapoosa, by birth and education a Georgian, was elected to the Senate in 1853. He had served in the House through the sessions of 1844 and 1845. In the medi- cal profession, he was reported to be skillful. He certainly dis- played fair abilities in the Legislature, both on committees and in debate. But the leading quality for which he was particularly distinguished was his good humor and pleasant jokes, to which there seemed to be no limit. He had a good word and a merry thought on every occasion when such a disposition could be prop- erly indulged.
Dr. Kimball was a Whig, devoted to his party and his princi- ples-well skilled in management, and had great influence in the councils and movements of his party. His conversational powers were very attractive, and he was the life of every circle in which he moved.
In 1860, he voted for Mr. Bell for President, and in the Janu- ary Convention of 1861, he voted against the Ordinance of Seces- sion; but after the State had planted herself upon her sovereignty, he gave all the aid in his power for her safety and defense. As the result of the war, Dr. Kimball experienced his share of re- verses, and died in the early part of 1871.
JAMES D. WEBB, of Greene, educated at the University of Alabama, was a son of Judge William Y. Webb, and was distin- guished for his intellectual faculties when a mere youth. He served in the House as early as 1843, and at other periods, as a faithful Representative. He was a lawyer, and his professional character, promising and respectable from the start, was always advancing with his experience.
In politics, he was a Whig, and was ready at all times to meet an opponent in discussion. While assailing the policy of the Dem- ocratic party, and denouncing their measures, he was at times so animated, and so carried away by his indignation, applying such terms of rebuke, that a hearer would conclude all personal court- esies were at an end after the debate. But such was not the fact.
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He would instantly resume his kind and friendly manner with gentlemen of the Democratic party, as if no sparring had taken place. His talents and his moral elevation always sustained him, and commanded respect.
In person, he was below the medium size, but well formed, and very graceful in all his movements, with an elasticity of address which gained universal favor. His conversational powers were very engaging. Courteous and pleasant in social intercourse, and not less so with his fellow-members of the Legislature, he was bold and fearless in presenting his views on any question where his sense of duty led.
Col. Webb was a delegate in the Convention of January, 1861, and took an active part in its proceedings. He supported the Ordinance of Secession, and when war ensued, he entered the service of the Confederate States, devoting himself faithfully to the cause. He had attained the rank of Colonel, when, in one of the battles, probably in Tennessee, he was killed while gallantly leading his command. I have endeavored to obtain his war record for insertion here, in justice to the memory of one of Alabama's noblest sons, but have failed.
Judge William P. Webb, of Eutaw, is a brother of Col. Webb, and his excellent qualities as a lawyer and citizen are in harmony with the character of his lamented kinsman.
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE.
The popular branch of the General Assembly contained a large amount of talent and experience, and many gentlemen who served through the session of 1853 have been previously noticed in this work-among whom were Major Hubbard, L. P. and Percy . Walker, John Cochran, James E. Belser, Thomas J. Judge, D. C. Humphreys, R. T. Scott, and others. There were many young members of promise, some of whom will be noticed in this chapter.
CHARLES A. ABERCOMBIE, of Macon, was connected with the large and influential family of his name. He was favored with an attractive person, had fine social qualities, was good-humored and companionable, though firm and positive in his convictions and conduct, but indulgent in his friendships.
He had been Sheriff of Macon county, and afterward, for three or four years, kept the Madison House, in Montgomery, which gave him an extensive acquaintance, decidedly favorable by the manner in which he dispensed the courtesies of his house. Re- turning to his county, he was, in 1853, elected to the House as a Whig, and served through the session, maintaining pleasant rela- tions with his fellow-members. He was no speaker, and did not
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occupy the floor in that capacity, but was otherwise not less effi- cient and useful. A few years thereafter, he removed to Texas, where he still resides.
ISAAC BELL, JR., of Mobile, was returned to the House in 1853, and served through. the session-his only one. He was a Northern man, and settled in the city of Mobile about the year 1840, and engaged in commercial pursuits, in which he was emi- nently successful.
Fully in alliance with the Democratic party, he had for years taken an active part in the political movements of the day, and in 1853, was placed on the ticket of his party, and elected. He had been well educated, especially in the commercial and banking departments. His general reading was good, and he brought to the discharge of his legislative duties business capacity and intel- ligence which, with high social qualities, made his service profit- able and pleasant. As a member of the Committee of Ways and Means (to which place he was assigned as the particular repre- sentative of the interest of Mobile in the matter of taxation), he rendered valuable aid, and exercised, in the deliberations of that Committee, a marked influence.
As Chairman of the Joint Committee upon the financial situa- tion exhibited in Mr. Lyon's report, he made a report to the House well digested, showing the progress for several years in reducing the public debt, which was much commended for its clearness, and full comprehension of the subject-matter. Mr. Bell was popular in the Legislature, and was selected, by the friends of the measure, to introduce a bill making a loan of $400,- 000 to the Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company, then much strait- ened; and the result proved the wisdom of the choice. He was · much enlisted in the passage of the bill, and when it was taken up for consideration, I shall never forget the flush of excitement under which he rose, and addressing the Chair, said-"That, Mr. Speaker, is my bill." Without much pretension to delivery, he addressed the House more in a colloquial style than with the for- mality of a set speech, and with such blandness of manner and earnest sincerity, that when he concluded, the bill, after being amended in some respects, and altogether agreeable to him, passed by a large majority.
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