USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 80
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WILLIAM M. BROOKS was elected Solicitor in 1840, and again in 1844. In 1857, he was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court. He belonged to the Southern wing of the Democratic party, which supported Mr. Breckinridge for President, and was a delegate to the Charleston and Baltimore Conventions of 1860. In 1861, he was a delegate from Perry county, and was President of the Con- vention which passed the Ordinance of Secession.
LEWIS L. CATO served in the Senate from Barbour county, from 1862 to 1865, with great efficiency, and was heard with pleas- ure on all questions which he thought proper to discuss. He was dignified and courteous, rigidly adhering to parliamentary law. He died from paralysis since the war.
WILLIAM H. CHAMBERS, of Barbour, was a Georgian, a mem- ber of the bar, and also a successful merchant at Eufaula. He was highly educated, and served in the Legislature in 1859 and 1863, with reputation. He was a Christian gentleman of great suavity of manner.
DAVID CLOPTON, a native of Georgia, was educated at Ran- dolph Macon College, Virginia. In 1859, he was elected to Con- gress. In 1860, he was appointed by Gov. Moore, a Commissioner to Delaware, in view of the great Southern movement. He is a gentleman of eminent abilities, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and President of the Board of Trustees of
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East-Alabama College. From Eufaula he removed to Mont- gomery, where he now resides.
ROBERT H. ERWIN, of Wilcox, came to the House in 1853, and to the Senate in 1863. Well educated, of noble qualities of mind and heart, he sustained a high rank in public and social life. He married a daughter of James Tait, Esq., a wealthy planter of Wil- cox, and is now (1872) a member of a commission house in Mobile.
JOHN FORSYTH, of Mobile, son of the late Hon. John Forsyth, of Georgia, was an officer in the Mexican war, in which he acted with much gallantry. For many years he has stood at the head of the Democrtic press of Alabama, as editor of the "Mobile Register," a thoroughly informed politician, who was appointed by President Pierce, Minister to Mexico, in charge of important negotiations in 1856.
In 1859, Mr. Forsyth was elected to the House from Mobile, and fully sustained his high reputation. He was decidedly South- ern in his principles and feelings, and advocated, through the press and in the Legislature, the doctrine of State Rights. In 1860, he was a delegate to the Charleston Convention, and sup- ported Mr. Douglas for the Presidency.
Soon after the Confederate Government was formed, President Davis appointed Mr. Forsyth, ex-Gov. Roman of Louisiana, and the Hon. Martin J. Crawford of Georgia, Commissioners to visit Washington City, and offer to negotiate with President Lincoln, touching a peaceful and honorable arrangement of the differences growing out of the secession of the Southern States, which offer was rejected. During the war, and throughout the severe ordeal to which the Southern people have been subjected, Mr. Forsyth has been a fearless champion of the Constitution, and one of the ablest vindicators of the South.
SAMUEL A. HALE was editor of the "Flag of the Union," at Tuskaloosa, where I formed his acquaintance in 1837. He and Mr. James Phelan were afterward elected Public Printers. He sold out his interest in the office to John McCormick, Esq., about 1843, and then removed to Livingston, where he has since been engaged in the practice of the law.
In justice to Mr. Hale, it may be said, that he was uniformly opposed to what he considered the extravagant assumptions and pretensions of the State Rights party, "which culminated (to use his own language) in the secession of the Southern States- the most stupendous act of folly the world has ever seen. If the headstone of my grave should bear no other inscription, I would have it there recorded, that I was opposed to secession."
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
WILLIAM PINCKNEY JACK, a native of East-Tennessee, and connected with large family influences, was elected to the House from Franklin county in 1857, and served through the called ses- sion of 1860. He was a young man of ability and resolution, and assisted in maturing the measures necessary to protect the State. Although his future in public life seemed inviting, he re- tired after a short service, to resume the labors of his profession.
LEVI W. LAWLER, of Talladega, in early life, was Receiver of the Land Office at Mardisville, with great business qualities, which have led him to success and prosperity. He was elected a Briga- dier-General of militia, and when the troubles of the South began to multiply, he took an extreme position with those who ultimately led Alabama out of the Union. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and belongs to the old commercial house of Baker, Law- ler & Co., in Mobile.
HON. ROBERT B. LINDSAY is a native of Scotland, where he enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education. From his fourth to his thirtieth year, he was connected with schools-first as a pupil, and next as a teacher. The latter employment he pursued for some years after he emigrated to Alabama. He located in Tuscumbia, where he engaged successfully in the practice of the law. In the meantime, he married a daughter of Anthony Win- ston, Esq., a wealthy planter of North-Alabama.
In 1853, Mr. Lindsay was elected to the House from Franklin, and in 1857, to the Senate. He was an Elector on the Douglas ticket in 1860. In 1865, he was again returned to the Senate, and applied himself with diligence and ability to the work of legislation. He was a fine debater, clear in his statements and conclusions, and dignified in his address, always exercising a marked influence by his superior information and conservative views. At the Democratic State Convention, in September, 1870, he was nominated for Governor. He prosecuted the canvass ably and earnestly, and in November, he was elected over the incum- bent, Gov. William H. Smith, the Radical candidate. At the proper time, he was installed in office, and after some delay, at one time likely to produce disagreeable consequences, the public records and property were turned over to him by his predecessor.
Gov. Lindsay has encountered with firmness many obstacles in his administration. Actuated by a patriotic desire to do right, and to serve the public faithfully, he was content with one term, and refused to permit his name to be used in the Nominating Conven- tion of 1872. His happiness will be sought in retirement, and not in public strife.
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
DR. E. H. MOREN, a highly educated gentleman and accom- plished physician, is a native of Virginia. Feeble health, at- tended by occasional bleeding at the lungs, induced him to travel extensively in the South, in the hope of improvement. Finding that the climate of Alabama agreed with him, he settled in Bibb county, in 1851, where, in 1860, he married Mary Frances, daugh- ter of S. W. Davidson, Esq., a planter of large property and in- fluence.
He was first returned to the Senate in 1861, and served contin- uously until the close of the session of 1866. He was a member of the Committee on Finance and Taxation, and by his zeal, intel- ligence, and activity, afforded valuable aid in devising a system of revenue at a time when the Treasury of Alabama was exhausted, and the public credit in imminent peril. He was Chairman of the Joint Committee on Retrenchment, and in February, 1866, he made a scrutinizing report, which may be seen on the Senate Journal, page 290.
In September, 1870, he was nominated by the Democratic and Conservative party as a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor. He boldly met the issues of the canvass, by addressing large mul- titudes of the people. The cadidates for State offices adverse to the Radical party were elected-the official vote for Lieutenant- Governor being, for E. H. Moren, 78,681, and for P. Burton, 74,- 304-majority, 4,377.
The Legislature convened about the 20th of November, and the law required that the votes should be counted in joint meet- ing of the two Houses, during the first week of the session. In the meantime, Gov. Smith, the Radical incumbent, obtained an injunction from Chancellor Saffold, directed to R. N. Barr, Presi- dent of the Senate, commanding him to abstain from counting the votes for Governor and State Treasurer until further judicial orders. When the hour of 2 o'clock arrived, on Saturday, the last day, as designated by the President of the Senate, the latter informed the two Houses in Convention, that, in obedience to the injunction served on him, for alleged illegality in the election, he would decline counting the votes for Governor and Treasurer, but was willing to count the votes for the other State officers. On examination of the returns, it was declared that, for Secretary of State, J. J. Parker had received 76,721 votes, and J. T. Rapier, 72,538; and for Attorney-General, John W. A. Sanford had re- ceived 77,736 votes, and Joshua Morse, 74,423. The two gen- tlemen having a majority were announced as duly elected.
The President, and all the members of the Senate, except Mr. A. N. Worthy, of Pike, belonged to the Radical or Republican party, then withdrew from the House, in order to prevent the re- turns for Governor and Treasurer being counted. Perhaps a few
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
Radical Senators lingered in the House. In the meantime, the Lieutenant-Governor elect having been notified by a Committee, appeared in the House, as in joint meeting, and took the oath of office, and forthwith assumed the chair as presiding officer. He directed the Secretary of State, C. A. Miller, to furnish the re- turns for Governor and Treasurer, which being done, they were counted and the result declared-for Robert B. Lindsay, 76,977 votes, and for William H. Smith, 75,568, showing a majority of 1,429 for Mr. Lindsay, who was proclaimed as duly elected Gov- ernor. For State Treasurer, the vote stood, for James F. Grant, 76,902; for Arthur Bingham, 74,376-showing a majority of 2,526, for the former, who was declared duly elected. Where- upon, a Committee at once waited upon the Governor elect, and escorted him to the Representative Chamber, as in presence of the two Houses, when he was duly installed into the Executive office. This consummation quieted a very great excitement in the public mind, as the proceedings by injunction were known to be frivolous, and intended to defeat the popular will as expressed at the ballot-box, thereby seeking to retain the Executive and the Treasury in the hands of a party who had been condemned by the people. For this peaceful and just termination of a bitter contest, Dr. Moren, the Lieutenant-Governor, is entitled to the public thanks.
He has presided over the Senate during his first term in a manner so able and satisfactory that, in June, 1872, he was nom- inated by a State Convention for reelection to the office, and at the present writing, (October, 1872) his prospects are encouraging for a renewal of the public confidence.
Such is the brief record of a gentleman who is entitled to high rank for uprightness, and for intelligence and public spirit in a legislative capacity. The author of this work had the pleasure of serving with Dr. Moren six sessions in the Senate, and had ample opportunity to know his true character.
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Governors Parsons and Patton-Conclusion-Deferred Sketches.
LEWIS E. PARSONS, a native of the State of New York, settled in Talladega, in 1841, where he established himself in the prac- tice of the law. He rose rapidly, and was successful in his pro- fession. A firm and decided Whig, in politics, without any com- promise or concession, he was defeated for the Legislature on the American ticket, in 1855. In 1859, he was elected to the House of Representatives; and in 1860, he allied himself with the Dem- ocratic party as the best means, in his judgment, to save the country from threatened danger. In 1860, he was a delegate to the Balti- more Convention which supported Mr. Douglas for the Presidency. As a Representative in the Legislature, in 1863, he took a high position among men of talent and strong debating powers. From that time his character, as a public man, has been favorably known to the people of Alabama.
He has uniformly been a Union man, without disguise, though offering no factious opposition to the majority. All parties be- lieved him honest, and only conservative in his views. When, in the Summer of 1865, President Johnson announced his policy of reorganizing the seceded States, Mr. Parsons was appointed Provisional Governor of Alabama, with every token of public approbation.
On the 20th of July, Gov. Parsons issued his proclamation, di- recting an election to be held in each county, on the 3d of August, for delegates to a State Convention, to assemble on the 12th of September, 1865. A summary of proceedings thereafter is given in a published manifesto issued by Gov. Parsons on the 20th De- cember, 1865, formally relinquishing the Provisional Government, and concluding as follows:
The said Convention, in which the wisdom and patriotism of the people of Ala- bama are admirably blended, assembled at the Capitol on the day indicated, and was duly organized, each county in the State being represented by the same num- ber of delegates as Representatives in the General Assembly of said State, on the 11th day of January, 1861; and after making many important changes of the Con- stitution of the State, among which are :
An ordinance in relation to the institution of slavery, and the abolition thereof; An ordinance declaring the Ordinance of Secession null and void;
An ordinance declaring null and void certain ordinances and other proceedings
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
of a Convention of the State of Alabama, adopted in January and March, A. D. 1861;
Au ordinance declaring the war debt void, and for other purposes;
An ordinance concerning election of State, county, and municipal officers, and members of Congress, and for the assembling of the Legislature, at the Capitol, on the third Monday in November, 1865;
Adjourned to reassemble at the call of the Hon. Benjamin Fitzpatrick, Presi- dent of the Convention, at any time before the first day of September, A. D. 1866;
That the Legislature assembled on the day appointed, to-wit: the 20th of No- vember, A. D. 1865, and was organized according to the Constitution and laws of the State;
That among other acts, it adopted joint resolutions of the General Assembly of Alabama, ratifying an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, ap- proved December 2d, 1865; and an act to protect freedmen in their rights of per- son and property in this State ;
That Senators and Representatives have been elected by the people and State, to the Congress of the United States ;
That the President of the United States has been officially advised, from time to time, of the foregoing acts performed for the purpose of restoring our beloved State to her proper relation to the Federal Union ;
That on the 10th day of December, 1865, the President of the United States authorised the inauguration of the Hon. Robert M. Patton, Governor elect of the State of Alabama, at such time as might be indicated by the Legislature;
That said inauguration took place on the 13th day of December, 1865, in the presence of a Convention of the Houses of the General Assembly of this State, in the hall of the House of Representatives, and, in accordance with the time- honored usage of this State, the great seal of the State was delivered to him as Governor of Alabama, by the Provisional Governor;
That on the 18th of December, instant, at the hour of 11 P. M., the Provisional Governor received a telegram from the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, dated at Washington on that day, informing him that " the time had arrived when, in the judgment of the President of the United States, the care and conduct of the proper affairs of the State of Alabama may be remitted to the Constitutional authority, chosen by the people thereof, without danger to the peace and safety of the United States. By direction of the Presi- dent, therefore, you are relieved from the trust which was heretofore reposed in you as Provisional Governor of Alabama. Whenever the Governor elect shall have accepted and become qualified to discharge the duties of the Executive office, you will transfer the papers and property of the State now in your custody, to his Excellency the Governor elect."
Now, therefore, I, Lewis E. Parsons, as Provisional Governor, under the in- structions aforesaid, do by these presents, in this solemn and public manner, transfer the papers and property of the State, now in my custody, to his Excel- lency, Robert M. Patton, Governor of the State of Alaboma.
No attempt will be made here to give a history of the brief administration of Gov. Parsons, under the novel and peculiar cir- cumstances in which he was placed. The State Convention of September, over which the Hon. Benjamin Fitzpatrick presided, unanimously
Resolved, That this Convention express its confidence in the integrity, patriot- ism, and capacity, of Hon. Lewis E. Parsons, Provisional Governor of this State, and the members hereof acknowledge the courtesy and kindness which have uni- formly distinguished his conduct in his intercourse with them.
As evidence of a still higher degree of public favor, the Gen- eral Assembly, at its session in November and December, 1865,
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
unanimously elected ex-Gov. Parsons a Senator in the Congress of the United States for a term of six years. That he was not permitted by the powers at Washington to take his seat, does not impair the force of the compliment.
My purpose has been to make a brief record of the public life of ex-Gov. Parsons, without touching, in the smallest degree, the course of action he has thought proper to pursue on political ques- tions. Hitherto, the personal relations between him and the author of this work have been of the most friendly character, and they are still unchanged.
Intellectually, Gov. Parsons is a strong man. For thirty years he has been a citizen of Alabama, and a leading member of the bar, always maintaining a spotless name in his profession, and in the private walks of life. He married Miss Wake, of Kentucky, a lady of great intelligence and worth, who has greatly contrib- uted to his happiness. Possessing an easy fortune in retirement, he still pursues the labor of his profession with the industry of former years, and is noted for his kindness of heart, and for his liberal public charities.
ROBERT M. PATTON is a native of Virginia, and settled in Nort-Alabama as a merchant, in which pursuit he was quite successful. He has served a long time in the Legislature from Lauderdale. In 1847, he was a Whig member of the House, and in 1855, was elected to the Senate, about which time he at- tached himself to the Democratic party, when the American organization assumed such a formidable aspect in public affairs. In 1861, he was elected President of the Senate.
His course in the Senate was marked by great intelligence and propriety. He was to all intents and purposes a laborious and useful member, always ready to lend his counsels to the public good, and to support such measures as the welfare of the people demanded.
In 1865, he was brought forward for Governor, and was elected over Col. M. J. Bulger. He took charge of the Executive office in December, 1865, where he remained until July, 1868, when he was displaced by the Reconstruction measures of Congress. His administration was beset with many difficulties. The State had just passed through an exhausting struggle, which left her powerless, and at the feet of the conquerer. A military com- mander supervised his appointments to office, and almost every official act. Armed men were always present at the Capitol to inspire awe, and challenge obedience. Yet, calm, prudent, and with business tact and energy, he did the best which circumstances permitted. To do him complete justice would require a more extended notice than the present occasion would allow. His com-
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munications to the Legislature and his whole official record should pass in review, in order that a correct judgment might be formed of this good man, and patriotic citizen. He was always foremost in his public and private character, in relieving the necessitous classes of our people during and at the close of the war. He is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, and has long been connected with Sunday-schools. Such an example deserves the highest commend- ation,
CONCLUSION.
Here my task is finished, for the present, as to the Public Men of Alabama. I have passed over the ground covered by my "Reminiscences," and have noticed, to a greater or less ex- tent, several hundred characters, who have figured on the polit- ical arena. This task has been performed in a spirit of impar- tiality and faithfulness. The space between 1860 and 1865 has been left, in a great measure, unoccupied-the events and legis- lation of that period being of such a nature as to render the labor of condensation too delicate and responsible for the pen of the author, in view of the large quantity of matter before it was reached.
The Appendix will furnish a record copious in extent and va- riety, which it is believed will prove of general interest to the people of Alabama. No labor of this kind has ever before been attempted in the State to preserve the memory of so many actors on the public stage.
The author exceedingly regrets that the names of a number of gentlemen of whom special notices had been prepared in Chapters XLIII and XLIV, as the work was originally planned, do not appear in this volume. Should it be his fortune to come before the public, at another time, with additional "Reminiscences," for which abundant materials exist, the author will take pleasure in incorporating these memoirs, which now, for the want of space, are necessarily deferred. The best atonement he can make for the temporary omission, is to give the names embraced in the manuscript, which, from excess of quantity, has been abridged, so as to come within the limits of this volumne. Those names are the following:
1. Francis B. Clarke, of Mobile;
2. Nicholas Davis, Jr., of Limestone;
3. James W. Echols, of Macon;
4. Frederick G. Ferguson, of Macon;
5. William H. Forney, of Calhoun;
6. Charles P. Gage, of Mobile;
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
7. John Grant, of Mobile;
8. C. C. Huckabee, of Greene;
9. James Jackson, of Lauderdale;
10. John C. Judkins, of Macon;
11. John Y. Kilpatrick, of Clarke;
12. Samuel Leeper, of Shelby;
13. Robert F. Ligon, of Macon;
14. Wylie W. Mason, Chancellor;
15. J. C. Meadors, of Chambers;
16. Warner W. Meadors, of Chambers;
17. Americus C. Mitchell, of Barbour;
18. Sydenham Moore, of Greene; 19. Ezekiel A. Powell, of Tuskaloosa;
20. Richard H. Powell, of Bullock;
21. Daniel Pratt, of Autauga;
22. Turner Reavis, of Sumter;
23. William Richardson, of Limestone;
24. James L. Sheffield, of Marshall;
25. Martin L. Stansel, of Pickens;
26. Lewis Stone, of Pickens;
27. Dr. Frank W. Sykes, of Lawrence; 28. John R. Tompkins, of Sumter;
29. George S. Walden, of Talladega;
30. Robert B. Waller, of Greene;
31. Newton L. Whitfield, of Tuskaloosa;
32. Dr. Alfred M. Worthy, of Pike.
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APPENDIX.
AN ACT
To authorize WILLIAM GARRETT, late Secretary of State, to make certain lists from the Registers and Journals in the State Department and State Library, to aid in the completion of a roll of public officers and members of the Legislature in the State, to form a part of his Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama for thirty years.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Alabama, That WILLIAM GARRETT, of Coosa county, late Secretary of State, be, and he is, authorized to use and make extracts from any of the official Registers or Journals of the two Houses of the General Assembly in the State Department or State Library, in making a list of public officers and members of the General Assembly from the organization of the State Government, and that he shall be allowed to make such extracts free of charge or hindrance; Provided, That none of such Registers or Records shall be removed from the Capitol in making such lists.
Approved February 13, 1872.
I. ROLL OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
Names of Senators and Representatives in the Legislature of Alabama, from 1819 to 1872. [Names of Senators in Italics.]
I. AUTAUGA COUNTY.
1819-Howell Rose, Philips Fitzpatrick, Charles A. Dennis.
1820-Howell Rose, James Jackson, Philips Fitzpatrick.
1821-Howell Rhose, William R. Pickett, John Elmore.
1822-William R. Pickett, Philips Fitzpatrick.
1823-William R. Pickett. 1824-William R. Pickett.
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