USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > The bench and bar of Litchfield County, Connecticut, 1709-1909 : biographical sketches of members, history and catalogue of the Litchfield Law School, historical notes > Part 10
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
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PRACTICE.
Statutory provisions and the advance of legal science, as well as a more just sense of what is due to the best interest of litigation, have made great changes in the course of proceedings before the Courts, during the last fifty years. Then, it was customary for counsel to take advantage of any trivial omission which could be found in the proceedings, and a case never came to trial until every possible effort for abatement or delay, had been exhausted. Our Statute in relation to amendments had not then received so liberal a construction, nor was it in itself so liberal in its provisions as it now is ; and thus opportunity was afforded for the display of much ingenuity in the prosecution of dilatory pleas.
Then, there were no statutory provisions relating to injunctions. All the power which the Court had in that matter being that with which it was invested by the common law as a Court of Equity, and hence, very little will be found in our Reports on this subject, until about 1826. after the Statute authorizing the judges to grant tem- porary injunctions had been passed. This Statute was introduced into the legislature by Judge Swift, who was a member for several sessions after his retirement from the bench. Since then many cases relating to this branch of jurisprudence, have been before our Courts.
Probably more than half the suits commenced in our County Courts, fifty years ago, were brought to enforce the collection of debts, and in some localities this was a profitable business. The County Court then had jurisdiction in all cases where the matter in demand exceeded the sum of fifteen dollars, and this brought into it a great number of suits now tried by single justices, and accounts for the great diminution in the number of cases now brought here.
Piles of learning were devoted to destruction by the edict of the legislature, admitting parties and other persons in interest to be heard as witnesses. The nicest and most refined legal questions were frequently brought before the Courts for decision in matters relating to the interest of witnesses, but now they are almost for- gotten by the most learned of the profession.
THE AUTHORITIES THEN IN USE.
The Statutes then in force were the Revision of 1808, by far the most elaborate and complete of any ever published. It contains a complete history of the legislation of Connecticut on all subjects of statutory enactment from the first, and is still a useful book for study by the profession. The principal labor of its preparation for publication was performed by Thomas Day.
Comparatively few American authorities were cited in our
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Courts, then. Mr. Day had published four volumes of Day's Re- ports, and then had suspended further publication for want of en- couragement. The Legislature, in 1815, had authorized the Court to appoint a Reporter, and had given him a salary. Under such an appointment, Mr. Day had commenced publishing the Connecticut Reports, and had published three volumes of them, when he publish- ed the fifth of Day, thus filling the gap between the fourth of Day and the first of Connecticut. The N. Y. Reports, by Caine and Johnson, down to the 12th of Johnson, and twelve volumes of the Massachusetts Reports, were out, and these, with our Reports, were about the only American authorities which were cited in our Courts Not a single American elementary work had then been published, ex- cept Swift's System and Swift's Evidence. The English Reports from Burrows down, including Douglas', Cowper's, Term, and East's Reports, down to the 12th volume, with Blackstone's Commentaries, which were always on the table, were the staple authorities of the times. I remark in passing, that Judge Reeve said that he consider- ed Cowper's Reports the best that had then been published of the decisions of the Court of King's bench.
But it is time to speak of the warriors in those bloodless forensic battles which were fought on this field, fifty years ago. They are all fresh in my memory, but they have passed from the stage of life. I have delayed this part of my undertaking to the last moment, from the mere dread of entering upon it. I feel it to be a very difficult task to present the lawyers of those days to the profession now. in anything like their just attitude. Men of the highest attainments at the bar are entirely different from each other. Many little things which cannot be detailed enter into the composition of the characters of different men. The same qualities mingle in unequal proportions in different persons and I feel embarrassed in every way as I ap- proach the task of speaking of the professional gentlemen who manned the post of duty on this field, fifty years ago.
There were then, as now, two clases of the profession here. One class had a local practice, being principally engaged in causes arising in their immediate locality. The practice of the other class was co-extensive with the power of their ability and not always confined to the county-of this later class there were several here.
JUDGE COULD.
The Honorable James Gould had undoubtedly stood at the head of the profession in this state, both as an advocate and a lawyer, previous to his elevation to the bench of the Supreme Court. After his retirement from that position he professed to have retired from practice, and devoted himself principally to giving law lectures to
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students, but in two cases in this county, and one in Hartford County, he came to the bar and conducted the trials. One was the case of the Phoenix Bank against Governor Wolcott and others, in which the Governor endeavored to avoid payment of a debt for which he was only a surety, on the grounds of usury. It was a proceeding in equity, and the argument of Judge Gould was exceedingly able and elaborate. He occasionally indulged in keen, cutting sarcasnis, which pointed strongly to the Honorable defendant who was present. His argument was what Cotton Mather would call "a luculent com- mentary" on the law of usury. The case was decided in favor of the Bank.
The other was a trial to the jury in which a very intimate friend of Judge Gould was a party, and in this case his professional emi- nence was exhibited in a very striking manner. In his argument he was entirely unimpassioned, and remarkably clear in his illustra- tions. He stood much of the time with his hand on a book, which stood on one end, on the table before him, and I do not remember that he made a single gesture during the whole time of his argu- ment. He occupied the attention of the court and jury for an hour and a half, and it was the last case he tried. He was a perfect master of the most effective method of delivery. In his written opinions while on the bench there is sometimes an involution of thought and language as well as a prolongation of sentences which renders neces- sary the strictest attention while reading to work out the true mean- ing, but in his oral deliveries he had such a perfect mastery of the laws of accent, emphasis and cadence as to make his meaning in- telligible to the most careless hearer. The exhibition of his ability in this case was an appropriate closing effort of a long career of high professional eminence.
There were a few other members of the bar, not reaching the eminence of Judge Gould, yet whose practice was co-extensive with the county and extended sometimes into other counties. The names of the following gentlemen now occur to me as belonging to that class: Noah B. Benedict, Asa Bacon, Elijah Sterling. David S. Boardman and Phineas Miner. I have not included the name of Jabez W. Huntington, for the reason that he was then a young man and had not, by any means, reached the high standing which he afterwards attained. He was engaged in very many of the cases tried, but very often as a volunteer in aid of some young beginner who had sought his help, which under such circumstances he was always willing to render. For the same reason I have omitted the late Chief Justice Church because he was then just beginning to obtain a good professional standing, and was called to the bench of the Supreme Court which he afterwards greatly adorned before he had obtained the high rank as a lawyer which otherwise surely awaited him.
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NOAH B. BENEDICT.
From my best recollection of the standing of the first lawyers at the bar in those olden times, I am inclined to award the first place as an advocate to Noah B. Benedict. He had every advantage which a fine personal appearance could give him, not very tall, but well proportioned, with a countenance of great beauty, indicating kind- ness of feeling and intelligence of mind. His arguments produced conviction in the minds of the triers more by insinuation than by impression. He was earnest, but seldom impassioned, mild and winning in his manner, and thus worked his way as by stealth to the heart and convictions of the court and jury. I remember a case on trial in which he was opposed by Boardman ; and Benedict, who was for the defendant on the trial, contested the points inch by inch as they arose in the case. During an intermission some one asked Boardman how they were getting along with their case. He replied impatiently, "Not very well. Benedict is as ingenious as the devil can make him, and he plagues us to death." Ile was engaged in nearly all the important cases tried in all the courts, and his practice was extensive in New Haven and Fairfield counties. He attended the session of the Supreme Court at Litchfield in 1831 and argued several cases, but left on account of illness before the term closed. In a short time I heard he was dead. He had reached the age of sixty-one years. In the case of Fairman vs. Bacon the last case but one which Mr. Benedict argued. Judge Daggett, in giving the opinion of the court, pays the following tribute to his memory: "I have, in this opinion, made great use of a brief furnished by the late. lamented Mr. Benedict, because I found it presented the argument in that terse, yet luminous view of which that gentleman was so conspicuous, and by which the court were so often instructed and enlightened, and rarely more so than in this, one of his last efforts."
ASA BACON.
Asa Bacon was a native of Canterbury and came to Litchfield as early as 1806, after a short period of practice at East Haven, and, for a while, was a partner of Judge Gould. In 1820 he had become a leading spirit at the bar. He had a fine personal appearance, being tall and well proportioned, and usually richly dressed. The first time I saw him before the jury his head was well cased in powder and pomatum, and a long queue was dangling at his back ; but he soon laid aside this conformity to old time fashions, although he was the last member of the bar to do so. He was undoubtedly a very hard student, and his briefs were the result of extensive and faithful study, but was after all an interesting speaker. He would sometimes
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interlude his arguments with specimens of drollery and flashes of wit. and the expectation that these would be put forth secured a very strict attention from all his hearers. He frequently quoted passages of scripture, and commented upon them, not always irreverently, but sometimes with rather unbecoming levity. He was a mortal enemy of universal suffrage, and once in commenting upon the para- ble of talents he called the bailee of one talent who had hid it in the earth a universal suffrage man. He was a genial, jolly, com- panionable man, and although not addicted to excessive liberality in his benefactions, still kept himself in good standing while he re- mained here. When he had reached the age of sixty years he was appointed president of the Branch of the Phoenix Bank, located in Litchfield, and after that was never seen professionally engaged in Court. The last years of his life were spent in New Haven where he died at a very advanced age.
GENERAL STERLING
General Elisha Sterling was a native of Lyme and a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1787. He studied law with the Hon. John Canfield of Sharon, who was his father-in-law, and settled in Salisbury in 1791. He was a man of high order of talent, and had he addressed himself solely to professional points would probably have stood at the head of the bar in this county. But he loved money and gave much of his time to different kinds of business, and acquired great wealth for those times. Notwithstanding this propensity he had an extensive practice and was engaged in most of the cases coming from the northern portions of the county. He was a ready speaker, not very select in the choice of words and not eloquent by any established rule of elocution, but there was a kind of impetuosity in his manner, accompanied by a rapid but dis- tinet utterance of language which gave him popularity as an advo- cate. He was appointed State's Attorney in 1814. and held the office six years when Seth P. Beers. Esq., was appointed in his place. He retired from practice soon after, and died in 1836, at the age of seventy-two years. His wealth enabled him to indulge the strong taste he had for a handsome style of living and equipage, and in that direction his mind had strong aristocratical tendencies.
JUDGE BOARDMAN
David S. Boardman was a native of New Milford and settled there in the practice of law after his admission to the bar in 1795.
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He was a man of retiring disposition, in no way giving showy dis- play of his powers, but he was a finished legal scholar, and was deemed a very safe and prudent professional adviser. He had a very nice literary taste, and the least grammatical blunder by a judge or lawyer attracted his attention and frequently his ridicule. His argu- ments were pointed specimens of perspicuity, precision and force, but he failed to attract much attention as an advocate through a defect of vocal power. His voice was feeble and could scarcely be heard except by those who were near him. He had a high char- acter for moral rectitude, and his four or five years service at the head of the County Court gave it a dignity and moral power which in other years it had scarcely obtained. Sketches from his pen, descriptive of some of the members of the bar in this County of the last century were published in one of our county papers, some twenty years ago, and they are of the deepest interest to those whose tastes lead them in that direction of historic inquiry. They were originally in letters written to myself, and were afterwards with his consent prepared for the press and published in the paper and in pamphlet form. He was a College classmate of Asa Bacon and they were warm personal friends. He lived to the great age of ninety-seven years.
PHINEAS MINER.
Phineas Miner, the last because the youngest of the class of lawyers to whom I have referred deserves a much more extended notice than I shall be able to give him. His amiable and genial temper as a man seemed to make him very popular as a lawyer. Fidelity to his client and a laborious attention to their interests was a marked trait in his professional career. He commenced practice in Winchester, his native town, and had there acquired a good stand- ing in his profession when he came to Litchfield in 1816. He had an extensive practice and was noted for the diligence with which he pressed every point, however unimportant, which could be made to tell in favor of his client. His arguments were generally ex- tended to a great length, and I have known him to receive a gentle hint from the Judge recommending a condensation of his thoughts. He died in 1839 at the age of sixty years, and Mr. Day, the Reporter, gives a flattering estimate of him in a foot note on the 134th page of the 13th volume of Connecticut Reports.
I am now to speak of a class of lawyers, much younger than those to whom I have already referred, but who had obtained a good standing at the bar fifty years ago.
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WILLIAM G. WILLIAMS.
Of New Hartford, stood as high as any member of this class. He belonged to the eminent and reputable Williams family of Massachu- setts, his father being a nephew of Colonel Ephriam Williams the founder of Williams College, and himself the first cousin of Bishop Williams of the Episcopal Church of Connecticut. As a special pleader he had no superior at the bar. He had a tolerably fair stand- ing as an advocate, and was indefatigable in pursuing to the last possible effort any purpose he had undertaken. If he failed in one form of action he would try another, and never gave up till further persistence was hopeless. He commenced business as a lawyer in Sharon, where he married, but after a few years he removed to New Hartford, where he remained during his life. He had scarcely reached the age of sixty years when he died.
JOHN STRONG, JR.,
Of Woodbury, his native town, was a lawyer of very fair standing. I remember once to have heard Judge Boardman say, that if he found John Strong differing from himself on a point, he always doubted the correctness of his own conclusions. He was a ready speaker and had a peculiar habit of looking all over the hall, fre- quently directly behind himself, while he was addressing the jury. His arguments were clear and logical, and he was always listened to by the court with attention. He had scarcely reached the age of fifty years when he died.
CALVIN BUTLER,
Of Plymouth, had a very good reputation as a lawyer. He also stood well with his fellow citizens of Plymouth, as he was often a member of the legislature, and he was of the convention of this state. He was also a member of the Senate in 1832. He had a part in all cases which came from that town and managed a trial very well. He was earnest in his manner of addressing the jury, and he was in full practice up to the time of his death, when he had reached the age of seventy-two years. He died suddenly, while away from home, and left behind a good record as a faithful law- yer and an honest man.
CYRUS SWAN,
Of Stonington, came to the bar of this county in 1798. He settled in Sharon, and continued in full practice for twenty years. He was
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appointed a judge of the county court in 1818, and reappointed for the succeeding year, but resigning the office before the close of the term. His health becoming intolerant of sedentary habits and re- quiring out-door pursuits, he never resumed full practice, although he occasionally appeared in trials where his old friends demanded his aid. His arguments were clear, sound and sensible, and were listened to with attention. His mind was well stored with sound legal maxims and his aim seemed to be to make a sensible applica- tion of these to the case in hand. He died in 1835 at the age of sixty-five years.
ANSEL STERLING.
A younger brother of the General, with whom he studied law. settled first in Salisbury, but in 1808 went to Sharon, where he spent his life. His talents were diversified, addicting himself readily to any pursuit which was a source of money making, in which he was very successful. As a lawyer, his forensic ability was of high order, nor was he deficient in legal science. His language flowed readily and rapidly, and sometimes his appeals to the jury were very effective. He was a member of Congress for two terms, and did not conceal his disappointment that he was not nominated for the third. That compliment was afforded him two years later, but he was defeated by Orange Merwin whom the federalists had placed on their ticket. He died at the age of seventy-two years, leaving a large estate and a numerous family.
JOSEPHI MILLER,
Of Winsted, who died recently in Michigan at a very advanced age. was a man of moral talent and of a higher order of legal acquire- ments than he usually had credit for. After the removal of Mr. Miller to Litchfield, his practice was large and continued to be so for several years. His arguments were short, compact and logical, and were listened to with attention and interest. In middle life he removed to Michigan, where he had a prosperous career.
WILLIAM M. BURRALL,
A native, and through life a resident, of Canaan, was a lawyer of very extensive practice in one branch of business. He commenced a great many cases to the court, but never argued one on the final
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trial. He would sometimes argue motions for continuance, or for other purposes, and his success on such occasions showed that he had underrated his own powers. Although he did not argue his cases he was the master spirit in managing all the details of the trial, in what order witnesses should be called, and the points of testi- mony brought out. His associates depended greatly on his skill in conducting this part of the proceedings. He had a kind, affable and winning way in his social intercourse, and his offices were em- ployed in adjusting and settling legal controversies. He acted as committee and arbitrator in more cases than any other member of the bar of his time, and if a desire to make himself as indifferent as possible to all parties sometimes seemed to hold him back from de- cisive action, he always, in the end, showed true firmness and in- tegrity. He was an associate judge of the County Court from 1829 to 1836, and after that chief judge for ten years. He died at the age of seventy-seven years.
COLONEL WILLIAM COGGSWELL,
Of New Preston, a very worthy and respectable gentleman, was a member of the bar and was very seldom absent from the courts, He never engaged in the trial of a case, and very seldom spoke to the bench, but he was always a busy man in the court room. He was one of the electors who cast the vote of Connecticut for John Quincy Adams for President in 1824. He died before he had reached a very advanced age.
SETH P. BEERS.
When I came to the bar in 1820, Seth P. Beers, Esq., was in full practice. He was appointed State's Attorney soon after, but resign- ed in three years, having been appointed Commissioner of the School Fund, which office he held for twenty-five years. I have heard him say that some terms of the Court he had commenced as many as one hundred and fifty cases, and he was very thorough in all matters committed to his trust. His talents as an advocate were respectable, his briefs being very full and his knowledge of every minute point being very complete. It is hardly necessary to speak further of him as he lived down to a period within the memory of most of those who are present.
PERRY SMITH,
Of New Milford, held a somewhat prominent place at the bar and his practice was extensive. So many different estimates have been
SETH P. BEERS
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made of Mr. Smith's real qualities, that it is difficult to speak of him with any very strong assurance of correctness. That he had talents and friends the success he achieved both as a lawyer and a politician render certain, but those who remember the time of his professional experience, here, know that he had enemies. and such would be the natural result of the unrelenting bitterness with which he pursued his adversaries in his efforts before the courts. There was a bitter- ness in his invectives, a persistence in his persecutions, an implaca- bility in his enmities, which gave a decided character to his pro- fessional career, and which insured him the enmity of all against whom his efforts were directed. He was always listened to with a kind of inquisitiveness as to what new fountain of bitterness he would open, or what new invectives he would invent to pour out upon his adversary. These were sometimes directed against the opposing party, and upon the whole he incurred a great amount of hatred. I am only speaking of what occurred in court, and express- ing the opinion which we would form in witnessing his professional conflicts. It cannot be doubted that he had many friends and sup- porters outside of this scene of action and it is not likely that he was as warm and constant in his friendship as he was bitter and unre- lenting in his hatreds. After his election to the United States Senate he retired from the bar and was very seldom seen here.
ROGER MILLS
Of New Hartford, was at one time a partner of Mr. Williams, of whom we have already spoken, from whom he differed in every re- spect except that both held the position of honorable and worthy gentlemen. Mr. Mills was slow in his conception of thoughts, slow in all the movements of mind, and very slow in his delivery of his arguments, and yet when all his duties in a case were accomplished it would be seen that he had made a creditable effort and that he was far from being a lawyer of indifferent pretensions. His son of the same name succeded him in the practice of law at New Hartford, but has since moved to Wisconsin where he has had a successful career.
MICHAEL F. MILLS
Of Norfolk, was a somewhat prominent member at the bar, not because he had very much legal ability, but because he had the tact to make much show out of little substance. He never attempted to argue cases in the higher courts, but on the trial of motions as they came before the Courts, he was very prominent. We all thought
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