History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 12

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084

USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 12

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almost as frequently, in the political annals of our State, as upon the records of our courts. As lawyers they were eminent; as statesmen many of them became illustrious."

In addition to those named, the records of the courts show the following named as practicing here between the years 1831 to 1841: Edward J. Phillips, Henry E. Dummer, William L. May, Josephus Hewitt, Charles Emerson, David Prickett, Jesse B. Thomas, D. B. Campbell, Justin Butterfield, Antrim Campbell, John D. Urquhart, John C. Doremus, James C. Conkling, Charles R. Wells, Schuyler Strong, B. S. Ed- wards, and W. J. Gatewood, a list of which the Bar of any county might be proud.

During the latter part of this decade, the United States Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of Illinois were removed from Vandalia to Springfield. Isaac N. Arnold, in an address delivered before the Illinois State Bar Associa- tion, at Springfield, January 7, 1881, says:

"I wish, with the graphic power, of Sir Walter Scott, I could call up a picture of the United States Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of Illinois, and the lawyers then practicing before them, as they were in 1839, and on during the following years. If we could, in fancy, enter the United States Circuit Court room in this city, in June, 1839, we should be impressed with the majestic figure, imposing presence and dignified bearing of the presiding judge, John McLean, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. His person and face were often compared to Wash- ington's-whom he is said to have strikingly re- sembled."

"Nathaniel Pope, the District Judge, was shorter and stouter in person, more blunt and sturdy in manner, and not so familiar with the law books, the cases, and literature of the law, but of a most clear, vigorous and logical mind. If we enter their court, then held, if I am not mistaken, in one of the churches in this city, we should find Ferris Foreman, then United States District Attorney, prosecuting the case of " The United States vs. Gratiot," then a historic name in Missouri and the Northwest, in a case arising under a lease, by the Government, of a portion of the lead inines of Galena. We should hear the late Judge Breese making a very learned argument for the defense. If we lingered until the next case was called, we should hear the sharp, clear, ringing voice of Stephen T. Logan opening his case. If we remained until the trial ended, we should concur in the remark that this small, red-haired man, inferior in person, but with an eye whose keenness indicated his sharp

HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

and incisive intellect; this little man, take him all in all, was then the best nisi-prius lawyer in the State, and it would be difficult to find his superior anywhere. Among the leading practi- tioners in the court in Springfield in 1839, were Logan, Lincoln, Baker, Trumbull, Butterfield & Collins, Spring & Goodrich, Cowles & Krum, Davis, Hardin, Browning, and Archy Williams." "To a contemporary of those early members of the Bar, the roll of attorneys admitted in those days bring up sad and pleasant memories. On that roll, in 1836, you find the name of Thomas Drummond, now a venerable Judge of the North- ern District of our State; David Davis, late Judge, and now Senator; Archy Williams and Anthony Thornton. In 1837 I find the names of Abraham Lincoln, William A. Richardson, Lyman Trumbull, Mahlon D. Ogden, Joseph Gillespie; and in 1838, Justin Butterfield, James A. McDougall, Hugh T. Dickey, Schuyler Strong, John J. Hardin, Judge E. Peck, J. Young Scam- mon, and others, and from that time on, the names become more numerous."

Continuing his reminiscenses, Mr. Arnold said: " In those early days it was my habit, and that, also, of those practicing in the United States Court, to come to Springfield twice each year, to attend the semi-annual terms of court held in June and December. We made our trips in Frink & Walker's coaches, and I have known the December trip to take five days and nights, dragging drearily through the mud and sleet, and there was an amount of discomfort, vexa- tion and annoyance about it sufficient to exhaust the patience of the most amiable. I think I have noticed that some of my impulsive brethren of the Chicago Bar have become less profane since the rail-cars have been substituted for the stage-coaches. But the June journey was as agreeable as the December trip was repulsive. A four-in-hand with splendid horses, the best of Troy coaches, good company, the exhilaration of great speed over an elastic road, much of it a turf of grass, often crushing under our wheels the most beautiful wild flowers, every grove fragrant with blossoms, framed in the richest green, our roads not fenced in by narrow lanes, but with freedom to choose our route; here and there a picturesque log-cabin, covered with vines; the boys and girls on their way to the log-schools, and the lusty farmer digging his fortune out of the rich earth. Everything fresh and new, full of young life and enthusiasm, these June trips to Springfield would, I think, compare favorably even with those we made to-day in a luxurious Pullman car. But there

were exceptions to these enjoyments; sometimes a torrent of rain would in a few hours so swell the streams that the log bridges and banks would be entirely submerged, and a stream which a few hours before was nearly dry, became a foaming torrent. Fording, at such times, was never agreeable, and sometimes a little dan- gerous.

FORDING SALT CREEK.

"I recall a ludicrous incident on our way to Springfield, I think, in June, 1842. We had a coach, crowded with passengers, most of us lawyers, on our way to the United States Court. In passing from Peoria to Springfield, we attempted to ford one of these streams which had been lately raised so that its banks were nearly a quarter of a mile apart. When we had driven half across the horses left the track, got into a bad slough, and were stalled. All efforts to extricate the coach failed, and, at length, the driver gave up the attempt in despair; said he must take off the horses and go to the next sta- tion for help; those who chose might mount a horse and ride ashore; or, if they preferred, might wade ashore or stay in the coach until he returned, or wait until another coach, which was behind, should come up; we might wait for it, provided we were not carried down the stream by the current. Some decided to try their for- tunes on a stage horse; others stripped off trousers, boots ond stockings, and taking their coat-tails under ther arms, started to wade ashore. Old Dr. Maxwell was of our party, a very stout gentleman, with short legs, and weighing near three hundred pounds. The doctor sat by the window of the coach, grimly watching the various groups, and turning his eyes now to the equestrians, and now to those buffeting the cur- rent on foot, and envying some of the long- legged gentlemen who were struggling towards the shore. Seeing the doctor unusually grave, a friend called to him:

" What is the matter, doctor?" " Why don't you come on ? "

"I don't like the aspect." said he. "The diagnosis is threatening. My legs are too short to wade, and there is not a horse in the team that can carry my weight through this current. Sink or swim; survive or perish; I shall stick to the ship."

" Well," replied an irreverent and saucy young lawyer, " if you are washed away and cast ashore by the current, I should like to have the opinion of Judge Dickey (not the present Chief Justice) whether you would not be flotsam and jetsam,

HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

and belong, medicine and all, to the sovereign people of Illinois?"

"Fortunately, our driver soon returned and res- cued onr genial doctor.

"I must not omit to mention the old-fashioned, generous hospitality of Springfield-hospitality proverbial to this day throughout the State. Among others, I recall, with a sad pleasure, the dinners and evening parties given by Mrs. Lin- coln. In her modest and simple home, everything orderly and refined, there was always, on the part of both host and hostess, a cordial and hearty Wes- tern welcome, which put every guest perfectly at ease. Mrs. Lincoln's table was famed for the excellence of many rare Kentucky dishes, and in season, it was loaded with venison, wild turkeys, prairie chickens, quail and other game, which was then abundant. Yet it was her genial man- ners and ever-kind welcome, and Mr. Lincoln's wit and humor, anecdote and unrivalled conver- sation, which formed the chief attraction. We read much of "merrie England," but I doubt if there was ever anything more "merrie" than Springfield in those days. As, to-day, I walk your streets, and visit the capital, and your court rooms, as I enter the old home of Lincoln, for the first time since 1860, memories of the past come thronging back; I see his tall form, his merry laugh breaks upon my ear; I seem to hear the voice of Douglas, of Baker, of Hardin, and of Logan!

"How are we startled in the wind's low tones By voices that are gone."

"Nor, in recalling the past, must I forget the hospitable home of Judge Treat, who, to-day, as then, in his ample library, may well say:

" That place that does contain,

My books, the best companions, is to me A glorious court, where hourly I converse With the old sages and philosophers."

At this time the Supreme Court of the State was composed of four judges, three of whom were Whigs, and the fourth a Democrat. When Governor Carlin came into office in 1838, he claimed the right to appoint a new secretary before any vacancy existed. He nominated John A. McClernand; but the Senate, by a vote of twenty-two to eighteen, declared that the ex- ecutive did not possess the power to nominate a secretary, except in case of vacancy, and they therefore rejected the nomination. After the adjournment of the legislature he undertook to appoint MeClernand as secretary, who thereupon demanded possession of the office, but was re- fused. MeClernand then filed an information,

in the nature of a quo warrantos before Judge Breese, in the Circuit Court of Fayette county, who decided in his favor. Field took an appeal to the Supreme Court, where the decision was reversed. Aside from the political questions involved, the case was of considerable import- anee. Able counsel appeared on each side. For the appellant, were Cyrus Walker, Justin Butterfield and Levi Davis. For the appellee, Stephen A. Douglas, James Shields and Wick- liffe Kitchell, the Attorney-General. Wilson and Lockwood, the Whig judges, concurred, and Smith dissented. Brown being connected with the relator, declined to sit in the cause. The court decided that the Governor did not possess the power to remove the Secretary of State at his pleasure; that when that officer was once appointed, he continued in office during good behavior, or until the legislature limited the term or authorized some publie functionary to remove him. The decision caused great ex- citement in political circles against the "Whig Court," because it prevented the Democrats from occupying one of the principal offices of the government; and it had a considerable influ- ence in causing the reorganization of that tri- bunal.

Edward J. Phillips, one of the first to com- mence here the practice of law in the second decade, was a man of fine personal appearance, above the average in scholarship, and a fine business man. He continued the practice of his profession but a short time, and then secured a position in the State bank, and as an officer of that institution was exceedingly popular as he was also in social life.

Edward Jones commenced the practice of law in Springfield as a partner of George Forquer. Edward Jones was born at Georgetown, D. C., May 8, 1811. He commenced his education at a classical academy in his native town, and made good progress in his studies, but having a strong predilection for military life, he entered a select military school at the seat of the National Gov- ernment. After completing his academie studies, he commenced reading law in the office of John Marbury, and afterwards attended the Virginia Law School at Winchester. He was admitted to practice at the Bar in March, 1830, just two months before he was nineteen years of age. Being of an active and energetic temperament, he turned his face to the great West, and, in the following May, settled in Illinois, fixing his residence at Springfield.

During the troubles of the frontier growing out of the Black Hawk war, he exhibited his

HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

natural fondness for military life, by serving in the campaigns of 1831 and 1832.

In the spring of 1834, Judge Lockwood ten- dered him the appointment of Clerk of the Cir- cuit Court of Tazewell county, and he removed to Pekin, the county seat of that county. After holding the office about three years and a half, he resigned and resumed the practice of law. This he continued to do honorably and success- fully until the call for volunteers in the Mexi- can war in June, 1846, aroused his patriotic feel- ings. He at once raised a company, which became Company F, of Colonel Baker's regi- ment. He first served with his regiment under General Taylor and then under General Scott. He was engaged in the storming of Vera Cruz and the memorable battle of Cerro Gordo. The term of service of his regiment having expired, he was reluctantly compelled to return home. The remaining volunteers of that regiment have a vivid recollection of his bravery, fortitude, gen- erosity and kindness, as well as military skill.

For some years after his return from Mexico, and until his health failed him, he was a success- ful practitioner. Mr. Jones had the reputation, which he richly deserved, as one of the finest men in his profession. He had a purely legal mind, and this natural aptitude he had diligently improved by his professional studies. His knowledge of the principals and practice of law was so intimate and thorough that he could give an extemporaneous opinion upon any case sub- mitted to him, and it was very seldom that an after consultation of authorities made a change of opinion necessary. llis fame as a special pleader was wide-spread. He was considered a Fabius in defense-being remarkably successful in delaying the contest till the most propitious moment.

Edward Jones was eminently social in his na- ture, and was surrounded by hosts of friends who prized his society to the last. Even after his health had so far failed him as to render him unfit for his professional duties, his friends still crowded their business upon him. His attach- ment to the community in which he lived was ardent and unchanging. Whoever traduced it might expect to meet him as its defender.

Edward Jones died December 20, 1857, and was buried in Pekin, Tazewell county. The estimation in which he was held by the Bar in that place was embodied in a series of resolu- tions, one of which said : "We have found him a noble and powerful advocate, scorning to do anything unprofessional-eloquent, profound in argument, unanswerable in reasoning, and

ever successful in the fierce conflict of intellect with intellect."

Henry E. Dummer was a man of superior talents, a fine lawyer and scholar, and exceed- ingly refined in manner. He was a native of Maine, and had drifted West in 1832. In the spring of this year he was in Cincinnati, and noticing the advertisement of a boat going up the Sangamon river, determined to take passage to the new country. Arriving here in due time, he soon formed a partnership with John T. Stuart, this relation continuing but a short time. After dissolution of the co-partner- ship, Mr. Dummer went to Jacksonville, where he remained a short time, and then drifted on to Beardstown. In this latter city he married, set- tled down and became eminently successful in the practice of his profession. From Beards- town he returned to Jacksonville and became a member of the firm of Dummer, Brown & Kirby. He died about 1877.

Stephen T. Logan .- This celebrated lawyer and jurist, who long stood at the head of the Illinois Bar, was born in Franklin county, Ken- tucky, on February 24, 1800, and was descended from a good family of Scotch-Irish origin. He was the eldest, and, we believe, the only son of David Logan-a man of strong sense and ster- ling integrity, who died about the year 1821. His grandfather, Colonel John Logan, was one of the leading pioneers of Kentucky, who fig- ured prominently in the Indian wars of the period, was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1799, and held, during several years, the important office of State Treasurer. Ilis mother, Mary Trigg, was the daughter of Colonel Stephen Trigg (a native of Virginia), who was killed at the memorable battle of the Blue Licks, in August, 1782.

When Stephen Trigg Logan was two years old, his parents removed to Lincoln county, where his mother died a few years later, leaving him a half orphan at a tender age. He received his early education in Frankfort, Kentucky, where he was also employed as a clerk in the office of the Secretary of that Commonwealth, under Martin D. Hardin, father to Colonel John J. Hardin, of Illinois. In 1817 young Logan went to Glasgow, the seat of justice of Barren county, and studied law under the tuition of his uncle, Judge Christopher Tompkins. About two years afterward, and before attaining his majority, he was admitted to the Bar, but did not immediately commence practice.

On June 25, 1823, Mr. Logan was married to America T. Bush, daughter of William Bush,

HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

Esq., of Glasgow, by whom he had eight chil- dren -four sons and four daughters-only two of whom survive, namely: Sarah (Mrs. Lamon), and Jennie (Mrs. Coleman). About the time of his marriage he was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney for the Glasgow Circuit, and discharged the responsible duties of his position with marked fidelity and ability.

In May, 1832, he removed with his family to Illinois, and settled at Springfield, where he ever afterward resided. Here he first formed a co-partnership with the Hon. William S. May, and resumed the active practice of his profes- sion in the spring of 1833. Subsequently, at different times, he was associated with E. D). Baker, Abraham Lincoln, and Milton Hay.

In 1835 Logan was elected to the office of Cir- cuit Judge, and remained on the bench two years, when he resigned and resumed legal prac- tice. In 1839 he was again elected judge, but declined to serve. In 1842 he was elected a representative from Sangamon county in the Illinois Legislature, and re- elected in 1844 and 1846, serving throughout with great credit and success. In 1847 he was a leading member of the convention which formed the State Consti- tution, popularly known as the Constitution of 1848. During the latter year he became a can- didate for Congress in the Springfield district, in opposition to the late Hon. T. L. Harris. In 1854 Judge Logan was again returned to the legislature; and in 1860 he was a delegate from the State at large to the Chicago Republican Convention, which nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency. In February 1861, he was one of the five Commissioners from Illinois to the National Peace Congress at Washington city, and distinguished himself by his eloquence and patriotism in that historic assembly.

Subsequent to 1861, Judge Logan, having acquired both fame and fortune, withdrew from political and professional life, and passed the evening of his days in dignified retirement. His death occurred after a brief illness, at his residence in Springfield, on July 17, 1880, in the 81st year of his age. His obsequies were appro- propriately celebrated (the religious services being conducted by the Reverend J. B. Allen of the Christian Church ), and his mortal re- mains were followed to their last resting place in Oak Ridge Cemetery, by a large concourse of sorrowing friends and legal associates, including many of the most distinguished men of the State.

From a number of able and eloquent memor- ial addresses, delivered by representative mem-

bers of the Bar and judiciary on the occasion of his decease, we have selected that of Joseph Wallace, Esq., made before the Common Coun- cil of Springfield, which presents, perhaps, the most elaborate and comprehensive analysis of Logan's character:

Mr. W. said :- "Sir, an old and eminent citi- zen, a great lawyer, one whose name fills a large space in the earlier judicial and legislative annals of our State, has gone from the Sanga- mon County Bar to the Bar of God. This re- gretful event was not wholly unexpected by his family and most intimate friends, and yet it is difficult to realize that he is indeed no more. In the language of the lamented E. D. Baker, 'It is not fit that such a man should pass unher- alded to the tomb ; it is not fit that such a life should steal unnoticed to its close; it is not fit that such a death should call forth no public lamentation.' Nor is it so. The public press of our own and other cities have already published eloquent and appreciative notices of the distin- guished dead; the members of our Bar have met in solemn conclave and placed upon record their high estimate of his public and private worth, and now we, the members of this Council, rep- resenting the Capital City of Illinois, wherein he made his home for nearly fifty years, and with whose history and growth he was prominently identified, would add our brief yet sincere tribute to his memory.

" I shall not enter here upon any recital of the events of Stephen T. Logan's long and honorable life, which opened February 24, 1800, and closed July 17, 1880; but I may be permitted to offer a hasty review of his personal and professional character, and to cast a flower on his bier, even though it has to-day been borne in sad array through the portals of the tomb.

" Whenever called upon to serve his fellow citizens in any public capacity, he responded to that call in a manner well calculated to reflect honor upon himself and conserve the public weal; but at no time in his history was he a pro- fessed politician or office seeker. He never wrote out his speeches for publication, and in- terspersed them at intervals with the words ' cheers ' and ' applause.' He never acquired the modern art of manipulating ' primaries ' and ' cau- cuses.' He had ' no hired retainers, no paid letter- writers, no array of college companions to quote, commend and herald his fame to the world.' He had little taste and less aptitude for the 'out of doors management, the electioneering leger- demain, and the wearisome correspondence with local great men'-all of which, at this day, are

HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

deemed requisite to political preferment and success. Nevertheless, his name and his deeds are inscribed in legible characters upon the offi- cial records of two States, and the inscriptions will not altogether fade.

" The controlling attachment of Judge Logan, however, was centered in the law; his mind was pre-eminently a legal one, and his political ambi- tion was rendered subordinate to his love for this science. His active forensic career extended over a period of nearly half a century, the larger part of which was passed in the State of Illinois, and in this city. But those who saw him only as 'an old man broken by the storms of state,' can form no just idea of his appearance when, in the plenitude of his physical and intellectual powers, he stood forth the facile princeps, the acknowledged leader of the Illinois Bar.

" A celebrated English critic (Hazlitt) has said, that ' great natural advantages are seldom combined with great acquired ones, because they render the labor requisite to attain the last, super- fluous and irksome.' This remark is not inappli- cable to Logan, since he made no pretensions to scholarship in any pedantic sense of the term. He never collected a library worthy of the name, and garnished it with rare and costly works. His reading was neither very varied nor classical; his researches were chiefly in the line of his pro- fession, ' but therein they were thorough.' His superior mental endowments enabled him to comprehend on a cursory examination what would require ordinary minds protracted labor to master. His intellect was not only capacious and vigorous, but it was emphatically quick, keen and subtle, and having been early accus- tomed to habits of close investigation, he could seize upon the knottiest problems of law and un- ravel them with the greatest facility. Under his magic touch 'all doubt and difficulty were at once dispelled, and the naked truth stood forth plainly and palpably defined.'

" In a court of justice, and especially a nisi prius court, Logan seemed most at home. In- deed, there was something exhilarating to him in the very atmosphere of the place. Here his exceptional talents were displayed in their best light, and here he might be studied to the best advantage. Entertaining and instructive it was to observe him before a jury engaged in the argument of some important cause. Resting one foot upon a chair, he begins with a few com- monplace remarks, uttered in a clear and con- versational tone. He then takes up the leading facts and strong points of his case, states them with singular perspicuity and force, dwells on

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History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 12

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084