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 21
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Humble as I esteem myself to be, if the grim messenger had made choice of myself instead of my honored and distinguished friend, some- thing tells me that ANDREW J. MILLER would have been heard in this chamber doing full justice to what little merit I might have possessed. Such is my opinion of the kindness of his nature and of the warmth and generosity of his noble heart.
Nearly nineteen years ago I first formed an acquaintance with our lamented friend, both of us then being members of the General Assem- bly. On first acquaintance I was strongly impressed with his honesty and ability, and the most friendly relations have existed between us ever since.
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I have been with him at the bar, served with him here four years ago when he was the presiding officer of this body, and again during this session ; and all I have seen or known of him only serves to increase the high opinion I formed of him on first acquaintance.
I need not repeat what has been so feelingly and eloquently said by Senators who have preceded me, but will add that in all the great efforts made within the last twenty-five years, calculated to promote the interest and power of Georgia, ANDREW J. MILLER acted a miost conspicuous part ; and to write his history would be to write the history of Georgia during that time. He loved Georgia, and Georgians were proud of him and will mourn his death ; but, though dead, his reputation will live. His virtues and noble deeds are engraved upon the tablets of their hearts.
But a few days since he was here,-our constant associate and friend, mingling in our social converse and leading in our councils. We leaned upon his wisdom and experience as a legislator for guidance and safety. But, now he has gone, who will be the strength of our weakness and the star of our night ? We shall never see him again,-never hear him an- swer to the call of his name,-never greet him or hear his eloquent voice ringing in this chamber. He is done with earth and all its petty strifes. As a mortal, never will he behold his friends on earth, gaze upon and ad- mire the brilliant stars which beautify and adorn our night, or the glorious sun which lights up our day as he rides in his majesty from his eastern to his western horizon. But it is a consolation to believe that "it is not all of life to live." Our friend, while in life, drank from many a cup of pleasure, of preferment, and honor. But his joys were mortal,-but a moment compared with that eternity of bliss which is promised to the faithful, and which I humbly pray he may enjoy.
I will close what I have to say on this solemn occasion in the prayerful language of poetry :--
" Farewell, gallant eagle ! thou'rt buried in light ; God speed thee to heaven, lost star of our night."
On motion, the resolutions were sent to the house, and the Senate adjourned.
In the House of Representatives, Mr. MILLEDGE arose, and made the following remarks upon the death of his lamented colleague, ANDREW J. MILLER :-
SIR :- I rise to perform a painful, heart-rending duty. A day or two since, I was shocked by the rumor that my colleague, the Hon. A. J. MILLER, had left this world for a better one, and was sleeping the last sleep ; yet a hope, a false hope, lingered in my bosom, that it might be a mere unfounded report. But yesterday I received intelligence that on Sunday morning, surrounded by his family and that community he had so faithfully served, he breathed his last, and expired in the arms of his friends. A week since, he was unwell here, and, apprehensive that serious sickness might ensue, he said if God willed he should die, let him die in the bosom of his family. His prayers were answered.
On Monday he was in the court-room, attending to his business. On Tuesday he was confined to his bed, and in a few days he was lying a cold, inanimate corpse. I deem it my duty, sir, to give a short history of his political life.
In 1836, he was sent as a Representative from the county of Richmond, when Gordon, Hill, Jenkins, Harris, Stephens, and many other distin-
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guished men represented the different counties, when the great enterprise of the Western and Atlantic Railroad was projected. He manifested indomitable energy in aiding the accomplishment of this immense work.
In 1837, he was returned to the Senate, and the records show that he was immediately accorded a place in the first rank. Doubts and difficul- ties disappeared before his untiring energy. For many years, he was presiding officer, and in that capacity he was eminently successful. He was an oracle upon legal points, and his decisions were always final. Few did more for the honor and prosperity of the State. Many have had more eloquence, more genius, but none have manifested more continued assidu- ousness, more elaborate preparation for acting. I do not say too much when I say, a more useful man could not be found, nor have legislative records ever shown one more liberal, high-minded, and patriotic. Party spirit, even when raging fearfully high, never moved him. With his eyes fastened on the greatest interests of the State, he pursued his course with unswerving devotion. As a politician, he was firm, strongly devoted to his principles ; yet during my whole acquaintance with him I never knew his conduct to his opponents to be characterized by littleness or injustice. Always fair and open, he wished every man to think for himself.
As a lawyer, he had no superior; he was sound as a counsellor and able as an advocate, ripe and mature in his judgment, and rarely ever failed. His is a noble example for young lawyers to follow. Let them be industrious, energetic, always prepared to produce their authorities, intimately acquainted with every branch of the profession, and they will attain position to be envied. As a man, he was all that was noble, kind, social, gentlemanly; and I never knew him to be angry. Amiable, easy of access to all, young and old, rich and poor, he was also a Christian. Many a widow and orphan, whom he in his charity has consoled, will fol- low him to the grave with tears and laments. He was a friend to all, and his advice sought by all. When matters of great importance were pending before the city authorities of Augusta, he was consulted to solve the diffi- culties. He was a friend to the merchant, to the farmer : in truth, sir, the whole city leaned upon him as the pillar that supported it; and now that sorrowing, grief-stricken city bewail and mourn his untimely loss. Sir, I cannot express all that I feel. I am unable to do justice to the sub- ject. I would rather go off in solitude and silence, and commune with my own thoughts in this great affliction, than be standing here trying to do justice to this great man, this statesman, this honest, truthful lawyer. But, sir, he was a Christian. He has been called to shut his eyes on the transitory things of this world, and I believe he has gone, where those go who trust in Jesus Christ, to reap the reward promised to the righteous.
Mr. THORNTON, of Muscogee, also addressed the House :--
MR. SPEAKER :- If tears are shed upon the banks of the Savannah, so likewise are tears shed upon the banks of the Chattahoochee. Not to Richmond county alone belongs the fame of our departed statesman. I claim him in the West as in the East. He was a Georgian, and as such his memory belongs to Georgia. He was, sir, the friend of woman; and I am glad that they, by their presence to-day, sanction the last act of respect paid to his name. He was the first who raised his arm and his voice to battle for woman's rights. For eighteen years he fought for the widow and her daughters, and he never would have ceased his efforts until he had carried his bill for the protection of their property. They
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should build him a monument, to commemorate his exertions in their behalf. He was their friend and advocate. But, sir, it is unnecessary to enumerate the many noble acts of this noble man. The judicial system bears his mark : it is the brightest monument that perpetuates his name. Death is always impressive; but when the good and gifted are so suddenly stricken it is doubly so.
" Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, And stars to set ; But thou, O Death, hast all seasons for thine own !"
The House then adjourned.
CITY COUNCIL OF MILLEDGEVILLE.
The Mayor and Aldermen of Milledgeville, recalling to remembrance the steadfast friendship manifested toward this city through a series of years, commencing in 1836 and continuing down to within a few days past, by the late ANDREW J. MILLER, Senator from the county of Rich- mond, cannot permit this hour of public grief, occasioned by his recent death, to pass, without mingling our sorrow with his own Augusta over his tomb :-
Resolved, That, having witnessed for near twenty years his untiring devotion to the interests of Georgia,-his zeal in promoting the prosperity of Augusta,-and having repeatedly received his aid and counsel in making this place worthy of being the permanent seat of Government,-he has placed this community under a debt of gratitude which made us respect and admire him while living, and will make us fondly cherish his memory now that he is no more.
Surely no other man was ever deplored, ever honored, to this extent in Georgia. A volume could not signify more. The press, in tones of genuine sympathy, gave forth its sorrow for the noble dead. Nothing need be, nothing can be, added to adorn the picture of so perfect a life, after what has been here collected from sources that command the respect of all men. ANDREW J. MILLER has been consigned to fame upon the record of his actions.
Although intended as a private letter, the writer* will assuredly pardon the use here made of it. The author had written to him, requesting any letters from Mr. Miller containing advice or direc- tions for the future, (which he was very competent to give his sons while they were from home obtaining their education,) the privacy of such epistles constituting their main charm. What is written for the public eye is more artificial, as everybody knows. An extract from the reply is here submitted :-
I find, after an examination, that I will be able to impart but little of the information you desire; for, not having long since arrived at the age of maturity, I have not devoted that attention to my father's political life that it merited. My knowledge of him was as a father, and, to some extent, as a lawyer. I regret that neither myself nor my brothers have
Frank H. Miller, Esq.
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preserved any of his letters written during our school and college days. We never supposed that a day would come when they would be valuable, and, like school-boys, manifested but little forethought.
*
Most of my father's political papers were at Milledgeville at the time of his death, and have never been recovered, or, rather, returned to his family. He was plain and unaffected in manners and speech, suiting the word to the thought and expressing it as plainly as possible. He rarely, if ever, used a metaphor, and never a hyperbole. Truth was ever clothed in its plainest garb, and honor ranked highest in the catalogue of human virtues.
As a father, he was all that could be desired,-kind, considerate, loving, and yet requiring implicit obedience. During the last year of his life he frequently regretted that he was unable to devote that time to his family which he desired and they had a right to claim. As a man, he was warm-hearted, generous, and confiding. As a lawyer, he was the earnest and impressive advocate of justice, ever mindful of his client's interest, though he deemed the duty to his God and to himself of a prior nature, and never, if he was aware of it, advocated an unjust cause. During the whole of thirty years' practice, he never appeared but three times in prosecutions for murder, and, on each occasion, appeared only upon the condition that, if from the evidence he believed the prisoner not guilty of the charge of murder, he should be allowed the privilege either of retiring from the case or stating his opinion to the jury.
As a statesman, it will be left for history to decide. He was ever to be found battling for the true interests of his State, and was always a true friend to woman. His most remarkable faculty was memory. He never forgot. He could remember the minutest details years after the event had occurred. As a practitioner of law, he possessed the faculty of ex- pressing every thing in few words,-which he ever found to his advantage, and particularly in equity practice.
He was of small stature and pleasant address, had blue eyes, which wore the appearance of gray as he grew older, large mouth and nose, and a lofty forehead, which expanded and grew broader the longer he lived. He had an amiable expression of countenance, though there ever ap- peared around his mouth those small lines which indicated decision of character.
To perpetuate his name and to testify their high regard, the Legislature, by act* of February 26, 1856, created a new county from parts of Baker and Early, and called it "Miller." This memoir could not be more gracefully concluded than by tran- scribing
An act to appropriate a sum of money to erect a monument in honor of Hon. A. J. Miller, deceased.
Whereas, It is a time-honored custom to provide for a suitable monu- ment to the memory of our deceased associates and to mark the place of their interment, and whereas, in the decease of our late friend and asso- ciate, the Hon. Andrew J. Miller, Senator from the county of Richmond, the General Assembly of the State of Georgia has lost one of its most
See Pamphlet Laws, compiled by John W. Duncan, Esq., p. 114. VOL. II .- 12
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faithful, efficient, and gifted members,-one whose services as a legis- lator and qualities as a man must leave their fixed impression upon the history of this State and the hearts of his countrymen,-
Therefore, this General Assembly do hereby enact, That the sum of two hundred dollars be, and is hereby, appropriated for the erection of a suitable monument of Georgia marble to mark the burial-place of the Honorable Andrew J. Miller, the Senator from the county of Richmond, having such inscription commemorative of the services of the deceased as may be ordered by the Honorable John Milledge and James Gardner, Esq.
Approved, March 3, 1856.
XXIV.
THOMAS D. MITCHELL.
THE gentleman whose brief career is under notice was born in Laurens district, South Carolina, in the year 1793. His father, William M. Mitchell, removed from Virginia prior to the Revolu- tion. On the score of birth nothing more is necessary to be stated, as no claim is set up on the ground of distinguished ancestry.
THOMAS D. MITCHELL became an orphan at a tender age. His education was respectable in the English branches,-nothing more. When about eighteen years of age, he came to Georgia and taught school in Montgomery county. On attaining the age of twenty- one, he returned to Carolina and obtained his small patrimony of about one thousand dollars. By no means provident, and being very liberal among his friends, he was soon relieved of his money. This brought him to school-teaching again, which he pursued a while in Abbeville district. Not satisfied, and wishing to im- prove his talents and condition, he visited Columbia during the session of the Legislature in 1818, and there formed the acquaint- ance of the Hon. Joel R. Poinsett, through whose influence he took charge of the English department of the academy, affording satisfaction to all concerned.
While residing in Columbia, he employed his intervals of leisure in reading law under the direction of Col. Blanding, until the year 1820, when he again came to Georgia, and completed his legal studies in the office of Eli S. Shorter, Esq., at Eatonton. In the course of a few months, he applied for an examination in open
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court, which proving satisfactory, he was licensed to practise law, and for a short time located in Sandersville. Not being pleased with the prospect of business, he removed to Hartford in 1821, where he opened an office and continued to practise in Pulaski, and in the neighboring counties, until his death.
Owing to some difficulty on the circuit, Mr. Mitchell received a challenge from the late Robert Augustus Beall, Esquire. In March, 1825, a hostile meeting took place between them, at Ham- burg, South Carolina, and a couple of shots were exchanged with- out effect, when Col. Pace interposed, at the solicitation of all persons present, (except the immediate friends of the parties,) and a reconciliation was effected honorable to both gentlemen, who shook hands on the field. John P. Booth, Esq.,* was the acting friend of Mr. Mitchell on the occasion.
In politics Mr. Mitchell was a Clark man, and was elected by the Legislature, in 1825, Solicitor-General of the Southern circuit, receiving the commission of which a copy is here given :-
GEORGIA .- By his Excellency George M. Troup, Governor and Com- mander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of this State, and of the Militia thereof;
To THOMAS D. MITCHELL, Esquire,-greeting :
Whereas, the General Assembly of the State aforesaid did, by joint ballot of both branches thereof, on the twelfth day of November instant, confiding in the patriotism, judgment, abilities, and good conduct of you, the said Thomas D. Mitchell, elect you Solicitor-General of the Southern District of the State aforesaid :
These are therefore, in virtue of said election, to authorize and empower you, the said Thomas D. Mitchell, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said office of Solicitor-General, together with all and singular the rights, fees, profits, privileges, and emoluments thereto belonging or in any wise appertaining ; to act, plead, implead, sue, and prosecute all and every person or persons whatsoever, which now owe, and shall or may be due and in arrear to, the said State on any account whatsoever, and to prosecute all matters, criminal as well as civil, wherever the said State may be interested,- giving and hereby granting to you, the said Thomas D. Mitchell, full power and authority to act in the premises as Solicitor-General aforesaid. This commission to be and continue in force for the term of three years from the date of your said appointment.
Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, at the State-House in Milledgeville, this twelfth day of November, eighteen hundred and twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the fiftieth.
By the Governor : G. M. TROUP.
E. HAMILTON, Secretary of State.
* Afterward removed to Alabama, where he was elected a major-general of mili- tia, and judge of the circuit court.
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The duties of the office Mr. Mitchell discharged with marked energy. True, he was not skilled in criminal pleading; but what he lacked in formality and neatness in his official papers he made up by ingenuity and zeal in defending them against exceptions when assailed by the opposing counsel. He was not permitted to gain experience in his office ; for he had organized and waited upon but two or three grand juries, when his untimely death deprived the State of a bold and vigorous prosecuting officer.
Unfortunately, some comments made by Dr. Baber, * who attended as the surgeon of Maj. Beall at Hamburg, called forth a public card from Mr. Mitchell, which gave offence to Dr. Baber, who there- upon invited Mr. Mitchell to the field. The challenge was accepted ; and rifles, at ten paces, were the weapons selected by the party having the right to name them. The parties met at Hamburg, in March, 1826 ; and, on the second fire, Mr. Mitchell was mortally wounded,-being shot through the lungs,-and instantly expired.
The qualities of Mr. Mitchell may be thus summed up. He was exceedingly jealous of his reputation for courage, had an exalted sense of what was truly great in mankind, and a sincere contempt for trifles. In person he was rather homely,-even repulsive at first view, from his stern and haughty bearing, which instantly re- laxed upon acquaintance. His hair was sandy, and stood like por- cupine-quills, features rough, and his whole appearance the very reverse of effeminate beauty. He was somewhat dictatorial and rash in controversy, and was not much inclined to soothe where he had offended. Yet he would value an opponent with generous admira- tion where talent of a high order manifested itself. His attach- ments were for bold, energetic men of action who proceeded to their objects regardless of difficulty. At the head of a troop he would have charged with the impetuosity of Marshal Murat, or in council have executed a traitor with the composure of Gen. Harney. He possessed a strong voice,-terrible in passion, which usually made his efforts at the bar talked about and remembered. This
* Dr. Ambrose Baber was afterward a Senator in the Georgia Legislature, where his abilities shone conspicuously as Chairman of the Committee on Education. He was appointed by President Harrison, in 1841, chargé d'affaires to the Govern- ment of Sardinia. He was eminent in his profession, irritable and eccentric, but of untarnished honor. A patient having refused to take a dose of cyanide of potas- sium, Dr. B. swallowed it to convince him of its harmless character, and in a few minutes was a corpse ! A misprint in the Formula occasioned this fatal mistake, March 1, 1846. A handsome monument in Rose Hill Cemetery, near Macon, has been erected to his memory by the Masonic brotherhood. See " Biographical Sketch" of Dr. Baber, by Dr. C. B. Nottingham, p. 5.
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was not always the case, however. He reserved his best thunder for suitable occasions, so that the blaze which he kindled was no artificial lightning, but the genuine flash, which scathed as it fell. Withal, he had a general bitterness in his composition, which had been increased, if not wholly generated, by the hardships of his youth, when his ambition needed only wealth, and the influence it secures, to enable him to reach the pinnacle of his desires. He could not bring himself down to the harsh level of things,-to the contracted, selfish ideas and sordid schemes of men as exhibited in their daily conduct. In his cases he was diligent enough ; but his preparation overshot the mark, and he continually longed for a trial where the character of the parties and the importance of the issue could really interest him and call forth his slumbering facul- ties. That opportunity, perhaps, was never afforded just as he would have it: therefore his mental powers were never brought into action with his soul fully aroused. In this respect, his expe- rience has been that of thousands of other young, ardent, restless minds, which have flitted in the legal drama for a season, and then disappeared, broken in hope and conscious of the vanity and perils of ambition.
The character of Mr. Mitchell is before the reader, appealing to his sympathy and respect for one who perished, in the thirty-third year of his age, a victim to the code of honor. He was never married; and the only relative within the knowledge of the author is Dr. Isaac W. Mitchell, his brother, who attended him on the field as surgeon when no professional skill could avail to preserve life. Dr. Mitchell resides in Thomas county, where he has amassed a very large fortune.
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XXV.
ROBERT RAYMOND REID.
AMONG the accomplished and elegant men who have filled public situations in Georgia, ROBERT RAYMOND REID stood pre- eminent in his day. He was born in Prince William's parish, in the State of South Carolina, on the 8th day of September, 1789. At the age of nine years he was sent to school at Beaufort, where he was rudely treated by his school-mates, and neglected by the indi- viduals who had charge of him at that tender age, away from his parents. His constitution was delicate, and he had more the ap- pearance of a girl than that of a boy,-a fact which gained him no protection from the tyranny of his comrades, who manifested their contempt for his effeminate person.
Referring to this period, and to other incidental matters, in his diary of January 19, 1828, Judge REID says :-
I was at last, after acquiring the character of a dull, lazy, and unprin- cipled child, taken home. My vices forsook me, and my joys returned. Let those who have children take care how they send them forth at a too early age to an unfeeling world ! I was again with my mother, and again, in reading, writing,-thinking rapturously,-looking at her benign face, listening to her voice, and imbibing her instructions, I was happy,-too happy !
About a year after, I was sent to Savannah, in Georgia, to the care of an aunt ; and there I was as miserable as before. The boys imposed upon me ; my cousins cheated and scorned me; my aunt and uncle neglected and starved me. After some time, I returned to my beloved home. I had no reputation for genius except at home. There I spoke to the admiration of my parents, and wrote both prose and poetry which they esteemed pro- digiously fine. I also had a turn for drawing, with which my mother was delighted. After a twelve-month passed in my heaven of home, I was taken by my father to Augusta. The scene was changed. I met kind- hearted boys, indulgent and friendly teachers, and kind friends. Among the first, James McLaws, always my friend, and afterward my brother- in-law ; John Powell, a fine lad, the victim of disease too soon. . My heart, which had always loved something or other,-now a boy and now a girl,-formed a strong attachment to -, but a stronger one for I never loved any being, except my mother, as well as I did We were at dancing-school together; and, though she never acknowledged her affection, and I did not declare my own, we both well knew how dear we were to each other.
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