USA > Georgia > The bench and bar of Georgia: memoirs and sketches. With an appendix, containing a court roll from 1790-1857, etc., volume II > Part 16
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NOTE TO THE MEMOIR OF J. M. KELLY.
Supposing it might gratify members of the bar, the author annexes a table showing the number of cases taken up by writs of error to the Supreme Court of Georgia, the names of the several judges of the Superior Court who certified the bills of exceptions, and a statement opposite to each name of the judgments below affirmed and those reversed since the organization of the Supreme Court in 1846, including the cases reported from 1 Kelly to 19 Georgia Reports, 1856 :-
.
133
LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR.
CIRCUIT JUDGES. CASES. AFF'D. REV'D.
CIRCUIT JUDGES.
CASES. AFF'D. REV'D.
1. Alexander,
133
65
68
20. Jackson, H. R. 21
13
8
2. Andrews, 15
8
7 21. Jackson, J.
40
24
16
3. Baxter, 15 9
6 22. Johnson,
23
12
11
4. Brown, E. R. 1
1
23. Love,
8
3
5
5. Bull,
25
13
12 24. Lumpkin,
48
19
29
6. Conc,
1
1
25. Merriwether,
42
21
21
7. Crawford,
26
16
10
26. Perkins,
86
38 48
8. Dougherty, 25
10
15
27. Powers,
148
71
77
9. - Fleming,
47
. 32
15
28. Sayre,
27
10
17
10. Floyd,
97
49
48
29. Scarborough,
24
14
10
11. Gamble,
6
4
2
30. Stark,
134
81
53
12. Gibson,
1
1
31. Starnes,
17
14
3
13. Hansell,
18
8
10
32. Taylor,
7
3
4
14. Hardeman,
20
11
9
33. Thomas,
4
3
1
15. Hill,
100
52
48
34. Trippe,
40
16
24
16. Holt,
50
32
18
35. Warner, O.
23
16
7
17. Hooper,
4
2
2
36. Warren,
113
55
58
18. Irwin,
23
15
8
37. Worrill,
55
29
26
19. Iverson,
93
49
34
38. Wright,
49
20
29
Total,
1604 836
768
XXI.
LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR.
THE correspondence in this memoir - bears such complete and honorable testimony to the merits of Judge LAMAR, that nothing can be added to place his character to better advantage before the public. The author is indebted to the late Richard K. Hines, Esq., for prompt replies when the plan of this work was first announced. His letters derive a melancholy interest from the fact that the same hand which had engaged to chronicle the worth of his friend Lamar has now the opportunity of paying a just tribute to his own excellent character, when he himself is in the grave.
Although the letters of Mr. Hines were intended for the eye of the author alone, there is no impropriety in submitting them entire, except the passages which do the author more than justice ; and,
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BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA.
lest the omission of these might imply a force of compliment not in the language used, nothing has been suppressed. Death has im- parted its seal to the manuscript, and makes that precious which from a living source might be regarded as mere empty laudation. It is soothing to listen to friendly words which can never be recalled :-
MACON, January 27, 1851.
DEAR SIR :- Your esteemed favor of 21st inst. was duly to hand, and contents noticed. I am glad that you have undertaken the work of pre- paring memoirs of the Bench and Bar of our State who are now numbered among the dead. The undertaking is a noble one, and it is in good hands. I have no doubt you will meet with all the aid in prosecuting it that you will desire.
My time is so absorbed in business that I cannot promise to furnish any information except in relation to Judge Lamar. My obligations to him while living were such, and my admiration of the man so great, that I feel it to be a duty to lay aside every thing else, to procure you as far as practicable the materials for delineating the character of one so pure and exalted. I have applied to Dr. Lamar, his brother, to furnish me the in- cidents of his early life. He has promptly consented to hand me, in a few days, what facts and incidents he may be able to group together. I have also written to Henry B. Holcombe, now of Mobile, formerly of Augusta,-an intimate friend of Judge Lamar, and with whom he corre- sponded regularly,-for any letters or information which he has that might be serviceable in preparing your notice of him. I will likewise have the files of the Milledgeville newspapers examined, and send you copies of several decisions of his which gained him high renown as a jurist,-also copies of the resolutions adopted by the Ocmulgee bar on the occasion of his melancholy death, and the epitaph which the bar of Milledgeville indited for his monument; and all other information which I can get from any quarter shall be placed at your disposal.
You would do well to write to Major Joel Crawford, now of Early county, who was a copartner of Judge Lamar, and familiar with his whole career from his commencement of life, and who, I am sure, will take great pleasure in furnishing you with any information he has. So soon as I can collect such materials as may be within my reach, you will hear from me again. Meanwhile, if you have not written to Mrs. Lamar, the judge's widow,* now residing at Oxford, let me know; and, if you desire it, I will get Dr. Lamar to apply to her for any letters, papers, or other information which she may have.
If you intend to embellish your book with likenesses of the subjects of your notices, I think Mrs. Lamar has a very faithful one of her husband. I will take the liberty of suggesting that this would be very desirable, no doubt, to the family of the parties and to the public, and would very much enhance the estimation of the book and the sale of it, if the addi- tional expense would not be very great.
Excuse this desultory epistle, as our court is in session, and I have
* Since intermarried with Hiram B. Troutman, Esq.
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LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR.
been forced to write in great haste ; and believe me to be, very truly, yours, &c.
R. K. HINES.
In due time, another letter was received by the author from Mr. Hines, enclosing one from Mr. Holcombe, cashier of the Branch Bank of Alabama at Mobile :-
MACON, March 1, 1851. 1
' DEAR SIR :- I cannot forego the pleasure of submitting to you at once the enclosed letter from Henry C. Holcombe, Esq., now of Mobile, whose opinions of your forthcoming work you cannot fail to appreciate, especially when assured, as I take great pleasure in stating, that the same opinion is expressed by all who have heard of your undertaking. As I have not time to copy, you will please preserve and return the letter to me when you return other papers that I shall send you soon, I hope, for the memoir of Judge Lamar. I wrote to Mrs. Lamar for his portrait, and will keep it until you want it. Gen. M. B. Lamar is expected here in a few days. He, and Dr. Thomas B. Lamar, with whom I have communicated freely, will prepare a sketch of the judge, which I will send you in due time, with other papers now being gathered up.
On the other side you will find the inscription on the monument over his grave. He was buried in the common graveyard at Milledgeville. The epitaph was written by Major Iverson L. Harris, and adopted by the local members of the Milledgeville bar, where he lived and died.
Yours, very truly, R. K. HINES.
As Mr. Holcombe is still living, (a very upright and intelligent gentleman, who might not be gratified to see his very partial opi- nions of the author in print,) certain portions of his letter to Mr. Hines are omitted. The following extract is dated Mobile, Febru- ary 23, 1851 :-
In regard to any agency I can bear in placing Major Miller in posses- sion of facts and incidents to enable him to elucidate the true character of the late Judge Lamar, you and he may rest assured that my will is good to do all I can. In such a cause I can truly say that no "toil would be too great, no task too hard," that I would not encounter with delight. But I presume you know well the peculiar nature of the relations which existed between Judge Lamar and myself from our first acquaintance- which was in our youth, say in 1818-to the time of his death, -a friend- ship which was stronger than relation by blood,-a friendship which was entitled to the more sacred designation of LOVE, at least on my part. My heart bears witness to the intensity of my affection for him while living, and my veneration and profound respect for his memory since his death.
Indeed, I could not write out my full views of the character of Lamar in a manner that others could appreciate. On that subject I should incur the charge of enthusiasm, if not of outright devotion to the man. If I were to say, or to write, that all that my friend lacked to make him the first man in America was a high official position, you and our old friends and
.
136
BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA.
contemporaries would laugh at mc, and sct me down either as a very poor judge of men, or as demented ; and yet this would be my summing up of the elements composing the mind and character of Lucius Q. C. Lamar. If I were to add that, to a capacity towering above even the then recog- nised " great" of the land, my friend had a heart and affections moulded to almost angelic purity, and, as events proved, too large and bountiful to bear the clayey tenement which confined them, my credit for sanity would be wholly lost ; and yet I would dare assert this, too.
Thus, you will see that I could not be trusted to contribute to the work of our friend Miller with my pen. But, as to the correspondence between Judge Lamar and myself, it may be in my power to render some service, and I will review my ancient files-which will be no slight labor-so soon as I can find the time; and if, upon a reperusal of the letters, I conclude to submit them to Major Miller, I will enclose them to you for his use, under such injunctions as may be necessary. I will remark, however, that in re- moving from Georgia to Alabama, in 1839, a box containing much of my private manuscripts, and large files of the letters of my correspondents, was lost or mislaid on the journey, and I have never been able to recover it. I am satisfied that several of the letters of Lamar were among the papers : still, I am very sure that I have a number of his letters yet in my old files.
It may be remarked here that neither Mr. Hines nor Mr. Hol- combe ever furnished the author with any further materials for the biography of Judge Lamar. The leisure moment never arrived to accomplish what both no doubt sincerely desired in this respect. The author is grateful, however, for the small yet agreeable con- tributions they made to his stock. It is probable that Mr. Hol- combe did not succeed in finding the letters which he flattered him- self had escaped the accidental loss to which he referred. They would doubtless have afforded a better key and a more reliable transcript of character than if Judge Lamar had written for public inspection. In composing for the press, men are apt to draw more formally from the head, than spontaneously from the heart, to win public favor.
In answer to his request, the author has had the good fortune to receive from a valued correspondent* a sketch of Judge Lamar, which he takes pleasure in giving at length, as follows :-
This highly and justly distinguished jurist was a native of Warren county, but passed most of his youthful years in the county of Putnam. He was the oldest of four sons of John Lamar, a thrifty planter who re- sided on a valuable estate ten or twelve miles south of Eatonton long cnough to see a large family reared and educated, and the most of them advantageously settled in his own native State of Georgia. Though not a rich man, Mr. John Lamar, by dint of industry and good management, found means to give his children the best education which the schools of
Hon. Joel Crawford.
137
LUCIUS. Q. C. LAMAR.
the country afforded. None of them had the benefit of a college course, nor were they (it is believed) acquainted with the ancient classics, or any other language but English. But, if the children of this worthy man did not bring into practical life any great amount of literary and scientific lore, they certainly brought what was infinitely more valuable,-mind, morals, and most of the virtues which elevate and adorn it. In the regimen of no other family were strict veracity, "temperance in all things," probity and benevolence, more peremptorily and successfully inculcated ..
LUCIUS was born July 15, 1797, and from boyhood was a lover of books,- reading with good effect almost every thing that came within his reach,- but had a decided partiality for poetry, and other works of imagination. In after-life he was distinguished for his attainment in belles-lettres, for the classic purity of his compositions, and for forensic eloquence.
In 1816 he commenced the study of law in the office of Joel Crawford, at Milledgeville, where he read with great assiduity, and, among other acquisitions, became an accurate pleader. Having spent twelve months or more in this office, and wishing to complete his professional education, he repaired to the celebrated law-scool at Litchfield, in the State of Connec- ticut, in which Judges Reeve and Gould alternated in delivering a course of lectures. During a period of thirty years or more, the Litchfield school was almost the only institution of the kind, and by far the most famed, in the United States. It was sought by students from almost every part of the Union, and from no State, probably, in greater numbers than Georgia.
About the year 1818 or 1819, young Lamar was licensed " to plead and practise in the several courts of law and equity in this State," opened an office at Milledgeville, and, not many months thereafter, married Miss Bird, the daughter of an eminent physician of that place. Though few young lawyers have brought to the bar higher qualifications, he lacked some, and for a few years his prospects were any thing but bright. While others, with not a tithe of his genius or learning, were seen to be reaping rich harvests of fees and crowded with clients, he remained poor and almost briefless. How and why did this happen? Courage, truth, and honor were among the most conspicuous elements of his character, and he seemed to have the esteem and confidence of every one. But he could not court clients or solicit patronage : his characteristic independence and legitimate self-esteem would not tolerate even the semblance of unworthy condescension. He doubtless wanted what is commonly called address : he had no turn for frivolous chat, story-telling, anecdotes, &c. In short, he lacked those qualifications on which humbler natures rely for conci- liating popular favor.
But there was another peculiarity attached to this gifted young man which is very seldom seen in persons of his age and fervid temperament. It would seem that the tone of his nervous system was liable to accidental spells of depression, which not only impaired his capacity for social com- panionship, but, at times, the highest energies of his mind. At the bar, and elsewhere, when under the weight of this incubus, he has been known to betray a want of thought and of expertness in the transaction of busi- ness which, to those who knew him best, was astonishing. On one occasion, an important case of his being on trial in the county of Twiggs,-a case he had much at heart, and in which he had made great preparation,-when in the prescribed order of speaking it became his turn to address the special jury, he arose with perfect self-possession, and, having proceeded through an exordium of great appropriateness and beauty, suddenly came to a dead
138
BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA.
pause. No one knew the cause until he, with a humility and confusion of face that betrayed the deep mortification under which he suffered, de- clared, in an under-tone, to his associate counsel, that he could not proceed, and that the whole advocacy of the cause must fall into the hands of the associate.
In the summer of 1821, his first preceptor in the law, having retired from the practice some four or five years before, resumed it, and Lamar became his partner. This eopartnership, by its terms, was limited to three years ; and before the expiration of that time Lamar had so many opportunities of exhibiting proofs of his great professional ability, that he never afterward wanted clients or fees.
Mr. Lamar, doubtless, had ambition, -a legitimate ambition,-to acquire by meritorious actions that fame and fortune which may at all times be justly awarded to useful and brilliant achievements; but he had an in- superable aversion to catching office as a mere fortuitous windfall, or get- ting it by surrendering himself to the arbitrary management of a political party. Under the influence of such generous self-denial, he more than once refused his name as a candidate when success was little less than certain. His conduct when Thomas W. Cobb-about the fall of 1828- became a candidate for the bench of the Oemulgee circuit, will serve to exemplify some of the lofty traits which belonged to the character of Lamar.
Mr. Cobb was an experienced and, confessedly, an able lawyer,-had been for many years a respectable member of Congress, desired to continue in the public service, but, in the decline of life, preferred a station nearer home. That popularity, however, which carried him three terms to the House of Representatives, and afterward to the Senate of the United States, now forsook him. He was beaten on joint vote of the General Assembly by a large majority ; but, for some eause best known to himself, his successful opponent,* within a few days, resigned the commission of judge, and the vacancy had again to be filled. Cobb's friends again pre- sented his name, and Lamar was importuned to offer as the rival candidate. . Had he consented, his election was morally certain ; but he had a becom- ing respect for Mr. Cobb's seniority and past services, was no stranger to the unworthy motives of those who were most intent on a second defeat, nor to the plastieity of that illy-organized college of eleetors, the General Assembly. His refusal was peremptory, and Mr. Cobb was permitted. to take the office lie so much coveted.
Before the term for which Mr. Cobb had been elected expired, his death made a vacancy which Mr. Lamar could honorably consent to fill. He came, then, into office on such conditions as met his approbation, and continued, until the day of his own lamented death, to discharge its duties with signal ability, and with public applause which few in judicial stations have had the good fortune to receive.
The melancholy event of Judge Lamar's death (occasioned, as it was, by his own hand) filled the wide circle of his friends and acquaintances with lamentation and astonishment. He was yet a young man, with suffi- cient wealth for entire independence, unequalled popularity, a wife and children on whom he doted : no man, indeed, seemed to have more to attach him to life. To the inquiry everywhere made, "What could have caused the suicide ?" no satisfactory answer was given. Some supposed it to be religious frenzy, originating in recent and deep impressions on that sub-
* Judge Shorter. See his memoir.
139
LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR.
ject. One who knew him intimately has assigned that which was pro-' bably the true and only cause,-insanity, resulting from accidental derangement of cerebral organism. The disease of which the judge died may, therefore, be assumed as a natural one, and as explicable, on patho- logical principles, as apoplexy or any other malady of the brain.
Whatever may have been predicted of the eventful career of Judge Lamar had he lived longer and been placed in Congress, or on some other theatre favorable to the display of his splendid oratory and ardent patriotism, it is admitted that, both at the bar and on the bench, he attained the first rank. He presided with great dignity, and was most effective in the despatch of business. No one who knew the man ever ventured on an act of rudeness or disrespect to his court ; yet every per- son whose deportment was worthy of it had unfailing assurances of his kindness. His lectures of instruction to the grand juries, at the opening of a term, were delivered in admirable style; and his charges to special and petit juries, engaged in the trial of difficult and much-litigated cases, might well serve as models to any bench.
His manners in public and private life were wholly free from useless formality, but frank, bland, and refined. He left a young family of sons and daughters, who, under the judicious training of an intelligent, kind, and pious mother, give hopeful promise of future usefulness and respect- ability.
After this testimony, from one so competent, establishing the high rank of Judge Lamar in the profession and also as a citizen, the attempt to improve the picture would be vain ; no room is left for art or friendship to throw further light on a character so nobly moulded. He was truly a man of great moral elevation, and universally beloved. His sensibilities were very acute, and his emulation was entirely unselfish. Aiming to extend the conquests of his profound intellect to the verge of human possibility, he overtasked his nervous system, resulting in that deplorable act which deprived his country and his friends of a pattern of excellence.' His fame secure, his virtues without a blemish, the memory of Judge Lamar will ever remain dear to the people of Georgia and to all who can rightly appreciate an exalted nature.
When quite young in his profession, Mr. Lamar was chosen by the Legislature to compile the laws of Georgia from 1810 to 1820. He arranged the several acts under their appropriate divisions, and made such references and explanations, in notes, as were necessary to show what had been repealed or modified. The result of his labors was reported to Gov. Clark in 1821, and by him submitted to the inspection of Simon Whitaker, James Camak, William Y. Hansell, and James Bozeman, Esquires, who, having carefully examined it, pronounced in its favor. It was then published in quarto form of thirteen hundred pages, and may be found occa- sionally in the clerks' and lawyers' offices. Its enormous bulk,
140
BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA.
owing to the avarice or bad taste of the printer, renders it a very inconvenient book to handle. It is vol. iii. of Georgia Statutes, so called by Mr. Prince in compiling his Digest,-Marbury and Crawford's being vol. i., and Clayton's vol. ii., to which may be added Dawson's, from 1820 to 1830, vol. iv., the last of the quartos. Prince, Hotchkiss, and Cobb have published Digests, retaining and classifying the statutes, or such portions as are of general operation. Mr. Lamar also revised Clayton's "Georgia Justice" about the year 1819,-now rarely found.
At the session of the Legislature in 1830, the vacancy in the judgeship of the Ocmulgee circuit was filled by the election of Mr. Lamar, who, up to that time, had never worn what he had long richly deserved,-the judicial robes. There were between thirty and forty ballotings before a choice was made,-Judge A. G. Saf- fold, who was the Executive appointee, and Mr. Lamar, both Troup men, and the late James Smith, Esquire, of the Clark party, as distinctions were then held, all competing for the office. A singular experiment was made, no doubt in a joke, but of the most glaring impropriety, to terminate the wearisome contest, of which the author ventures to give the particulars.
Under date of November 4, 1830, the Journal of the House (p. 124) states :-
Both branches of the General Assembly proceeded by joint ballot to the election of a judge, and the ballots being received and examined, after many unsuccessful ballotings by reason of neither candidate having a ma- jority of the whole number of votes, on motion, the President and mem- bers of the Senate withdrew, and the House adjourned until 8 o'clock this evening.
At the night session (Journal, p. 126) it is recorded :-
The clerk was again directed to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives were ready to receive them for the purpose of completing said elections ; which duty being performed, the President and members of Senate again attended, and, being convened in the Representative- Chamber, both branches of the General Assembly proceeded by joint ballot to the said elections ; and, the ballots being severally received and examined, it appeared that Lucius Q. C. Lamar, Esq., was duly elected Judge of the Superior Courts of the Ocmulgee circuit, to fill the vacancy of the Hon. Thomas W. Cobb, deceased; and that Col. William Ezzard was duly elected Brigadier-General of the 2d Brigade of the 7th Division, to fill the vacancy of Gen. Harrison Jones, removed.
In one of the ballotings-perhaps the thirty-fifth-several votes wrapped together were discovered by the examiners and tellers, who disclosed the same to the two Houses in convention. Of course,
141
LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR.
neither of the irregular ballots was counted ; but the deed excited general indignation. A joint committee was raised to inquire and report the facts. The test they adopted (though not appearing on the Journal) was in substance that every member should declare upon oath before the committee whether he knew who deposited more than one vote during the same ballot,-the assertion not to criminate himself. All passed through the ordeal except Mr. Har- dee, (now of Savannah,) who refused to take the oath, he having acquired a knowledge of the transgression in such way as to forbid the exposure. This led to a confession on 6th December, as ap- pears on the Journal, p. 271 :-
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