USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > History of Stephenson County, Illinois : a record of its settlement, organization, and three-quarters of a century of progress > Part 24
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At the first session of court in 1839, according to the records, the following attorneys were present and connected with cases: Seth B. Farwell, Martin P. Sweet, Thomas J. Turner, Campbell, Drummond, Tonlin and Kemble. Mr. Sweet still lived in Winnebago County and as Mr. Turner had not yet been admitted to practice, Mr. Farwell was the only member of the Freeport bar. Mr. Purinton arrived four months later. At that day it was the custom of the lawyers to follow the judge around the circuit, and a few were here in 1839 from other counties.
There were 35 cases in the docket in 1835, seventeen of which were appeals for justice courts. Thirteen were dismissed for want of jurisdiction, because the cases had been improperly brought to that court. According to Mr. Bur- chards' report, "In the short three days session, the grand jury returned four in- dictments, two criminal trials were had, six judgments were taken by default and one judgment rendered in an appeal case for $3.1834 and costs.
The second term of court lasted two days. The attorneys present and be- fore the court were Martin P. Sweet and George Purinton of Freeport. States Attorney F. S. Hall, and Jason Marsh, of Rockford, and Campbell and Drum- mond, of Jo Daviess County. Writing of these early attorneys, Mr. H. C. Burchard, in 1896, said, "People who heard Thompson Campbell and E. D. Baker in the noted trials at the old courtroom still speak of their wit, readiness in repartee, and wonderful power in addressing a jury. Eloquence in those early days, as in these later ones, must have exercised 'its magic influence when E. D. Baker, fresh from Springfield, had but to unstrap his trunk at a Galena Hotel, and without the aid of patronage or local friends to start his boom, could by voice and speech, win as he did his nomination and election to Con- gress from this district. It is not more surprising that afterwards a brief so- journ on the Pacific coast sent him to the United States Senate, and that he there acquired a national reputation as an orator and statesman.
Thereupon, Campbell became states attorney for the judicial circuit and was elected to Congress in 1850. Later he served as secretary of state and moved to California. Mr. Drummond must have then exhibited that legal knowledge, sound judgment and argumentative ability which later characterized his rul- ings as a federal judge. James S., Loop was able to state his client's case more clearly and to present its salient points more concisely than any other advocate at the bar. Marsh, Burnop, and Night, considered the ablest chancery lawyers in the circuit, attended from term to term. E. B. Washburn prosecuted a suit with the same zeal and tenacity that he displayed in after years in political life."
With such associates and antagonists, it is not surprising that Martin P. Sweet and Thomas J. Turner grew to become and ranked among the foremost
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advocates and most successful lawyers in northern Illinois. Their selection as candidates of their parties for Congress-Sweet in 1844 and again in 1850, and Turner in 1846-shows the popularity they attained at this period and the high estimation of their abilities.
By 1850, in addition to Sweet, Turner, Farwell and Purinton and other distinguished men joined the Freeport bar. Among these were: Thomas F. Goodhue, Charles Betts, F. W. S. Brawley, Charles F. Bagg, John A. Clark, John Coates and Charles Clark. Before 1857, they were joined by Hiram Bright, U. D. Meacham, J. B. Smith, Samuel Saukey, J. C. Kean, E. P. par- ton, J. M. Bailey and H. C. Burchard.
At the December term of court in 1857, there were 302 cases at common law on the docket and 49 in chancery. At the April term 1858, there were 392 at common law and chancery cases reached 183 the next year. Many of the chancery cases were mortgage foreclosures. These hard times with numerous financial entanglements made 1857-1858 the golden period of the bar. Mr. Burchard said in 1896: "Although the number of lawyers has considerably in- creased, scarcely one-fourth as many cases are now entered upon the docket as in 1857 and 1858. It is claimed that there is much less legal business and litigation in Stephenson County than in adjourning counties. While this is injurious to the profession it is no loss to the community. The discourage- ment and the decrease of litigation is beneficial. Many who formerly practiced at our bar were noted for compromising and dismissing suits which they com- menced. The lawyers deserve the blessing of peacemakers, because they were successful in efforts to adjust and settle, rather than litigate conflicting claims." Mr. Burchard adds, "The lawyers of Freeport, and especially those who came here at an early day and grew up with the county, have always taken a leading part in matters that concerned the prosperity of the city. Scarcely one of our business enterprises has been planned and consummated without their counsel and assistance giving it legal shape. They were associated with business men and often selected as spokesmen for them in all efforts to secure the location of public buildings, institutions, railroads to be built and manufacturies to be established."
Brief sketches should here be given of the early leaders of the Freeport bar : Thomas J. Turner, born in Ohio, in 1815, lived on a farm in Pennsylvania for a while and came west at the age of 18. After spending short periods in Chicago, La Porte County, Indiana, and in the lead mine county about Galena, he came into Stephenson County in 1836, building a mill in Rock Run. In 1837, he secured the contract to build the Stephenson County courthouse, and it is thought that litgation arising from this contract induced him to take up the study of law. He studied law in much the same way as Patrick Henry and Abraham Lincoln did, becoming, in fact, a self-made lawyer. Mr. Burchard says of him: "He was tall, erect, athletic and graceful. He was most effective as a jury lawyer. In 1845 Governor Ford appointed him states attorney for the 6th judicial circuit. He managed, or assisted, in the trial at Rock Island, of the murderers of Colonel Davenport. His ability and fearlessness in prose- cuting the gang of murderers and horse thieves that then infested northern Illinois made him hosts of friends in this congressional district. His nomina-
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tion and election to Congress in 1846 was a natural consequence. Upon the organization of the town of Freeport in 1850. Mr. Turner was elected presi- dent of the board of trustees. In 1854, he became an active opponent of those who supported the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas and Nebraska Bill. He replied briefly to a four hours' speech in its justification made by Stephen A. Douglas in front of the old Pennsylvania House, then standing on the present site of Munn's building. He was sent the following fall to the Legislature as an Anti-Nebraska democrat, and voted first for Lin- coln and then for Trumbull for senator. He procured the passage of a bill introduced by him to create the city of Freeport by special charter, and was afterwards elected the city's first mayor. Early in 1861, he was a member of the Peace Conference at Washington, and later was elected and commissioned colonel of the Fifteenth Illinois Volunteers. He resigned the service in 1862 on account of ill health. He was chairman of the republican state central committee in 1864, a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1870, and in the Legislature in 1871. He died on the third day of April, 1874, at Hot Springs, where hopeless of other relief, he had gone for the purpose of regaining health. He will always be remembered as one of the pioneers in the early settlements of Stephenson County, and as contributing, by his per- sonal efforts, as much, or more, than any other citizen of the prosperity and permanent growth of Freeport."
COURT.
Hon. Martin P. Sweet was one of the early leaders of the Stephenson County Bar. He was a native of New York and after farming and preaching, he began the practice of law in Freeport in 1840. He was a noted whig leader and twice was honored by his party as its candidate for Congress. The best summary of his career as a lawyer is that given by his centemporary, Hon. Thomas J. Turner, at a meeting of the Stephenson County Bar Association, after Mr. Sweets death : "It is difficult for me to find words to express what we all feel on this solemn occasion. Hon. Martin P. Sweet is dead. We shall not again hear from his lips the burning eloquence that in times past has thrilled the court and the bar, as he held up to view the enormities of crimes which he had been called on to prosecute; or, the melting pathos with which he captivated the sympathies of jury and people, while defending those he regarded innocent. Few men ever possessed that magnetic power which chains an audience in a greater degree than did our departed friend. It is not alone at the bar that he has left his impress as a leading mind. In the arena of politics, and in the sacred desk, he was alike conspicuous. Logical in argument, terrible in invective and quick in repartee, he carried the judgments of a jury or an audience; or, failing here, his quick sympathies and deep pathos led them along against the conviction of judgment. Such was Martin P. Sweet as an orator and an advocate. A self- made man, he surmounted difficulties which would discourage and defeat others and reach a position at the bar. Second to none, and established a reputation as an orator of which any men among us might feel proud.
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On opening an office in Freeport, he soon secured a remunerative practice, and took a first rank at the bar throughout the circuit. His services were sought whenever important cases were to be tried, or legal ability was required. Among the traits of character which endeared Mr. Sweet to the members of his pro- fession, were his urbane manners, his nice sense of professional honor and his kind and cautious bearing toward those who were opposed to him. In these re- spects, he has done much to raise the standard of professional ethics.
In private life, he was generous and urbane and had many friends, with few, if any, enemies. In death, the bar has lost one of its brightest ornaments, the city a good citizen and a zealous friend, and the county and the state an able defender of their rights. There is still another circle that mourns him with a deeper grief-the charmed circle of the home.
Let us, my brethren of the bar, while our eyes are suffused with tears, and our hearts bowed with sorrow over his grave, resolve to emulate his virtues, to follow his example and avoid and forget his faults, if he had any, so that when our work on earth is done and when our names may be mentioned, as the name of our departed friend is mentioned today, with baled breath and choked ut- terance, it may be said of us, our work is finished ; it is well done."
At the close of Mrs. Turner's eulogy, the judge of the circuit court said : "As an effective speaker and legal orator, he had no superior, and at times he was the leading genius, outstripping all others in the circuit. It is probable, we may never look upon his like again."
COURT AND BAR.
Hon. Horatio C. Burchard was one of the distinguished members of the Ste- . phenson County bar for over fifty-two years. He was born in Marshall, Oneida County, New York, in 1825. His father came west to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1840. Mr. Burchard was graduated from Hamilton College, New York, in 1850. He was admitted to the bar in 1852, and began practice in Monroe, Wisconsin. In 1854, he came to Freeport and was principal of the Union school. In 1855 he resumed the practice of law, the firm being Turner and Burchard, his partner being Thomas J. Turner. In 1856, the firm was Turner, Burchard & Barton. From 1864 to 1874, the firm was Burchard, Barton & Barnum. In 1857, Mr. Burchard was county school commissioner; in 1862, and 1864, he was elected to the legislature. For four years he was a trustee of the Illinois Industrial Uni- versity, now the University of Illinois.
In 1869, when Hon. E. B. Washburn was given a post in the Cabinet, Mr. Burchard was elected to Congress. The speaker, James G. Blaine, appointed him a member of the Committee on Banking and Currency, of which James A. Garfield was chairman. Later, for eight years he served on the committee on ways and means. For ten years, 1869 to 1879, Mr. Burchard was recognized as one of the able men in Congress.
In 1879, Mr. Burchard was appointed director of the United States Mints by President Hayes. In this department he distinguished himself by his thor- ough mastery of the finances of the United States, and by his five elaborate re- ports to Congress. As director of the United States Mints, Mr. Burchard served
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from 1879 to 1885; when a democratic president made a change in the appoint- ment. In 1886 he was appointed by Governor Oglesby on a commission to re- vise the revenue laws of Illinois. He was elected to the membership in the International Statistical Institute in 1837.
In 1886 Mr. Burchard resumed his law practice in Freeport. In -?- , he formed a partnership with Hon. Louis H. Burrell, the firm name being Burchard & Burrell. Mr. Burchard continued his law business till his death in -?-. He was a man of whom Stephenson County was always proud, having won distinction as a teacher, as a lawyer, as a statesman and an administrator.
Judge Charles Betts was an active member of the Freeport bar from 1848 to 1880 when he retired. Born in Batavia, New York, in 1824. He was ad- mitted to the bar in that state in 1847. He came to Freeport in 1848 and was successful from the start. In 1852 he was the nominee of the whig party for State Auditor. During the political revolution of 1856-1858, when many dem- ocrats became republicans, Mr. Betts, being a great admirer of Stephen A. Doug- las, became a democrat. In 1870 he was the democratic candidate for Congress in the district and reduced the republican majority from 10,000 to 5,000
H. M. Barnum, a native of Vermont, has graduated from Middlebury Col- lege in 1858, came to Freeport in 1859 and was admitted to the bar in 1861. From 1861 to 1864 he was a teacher in the city schools, part of that time principal of the high school. In 1864 he entered the law firm of Burchard & Barton. In. 1867 he was city attorney, was a member of the board of education and the library board.
Hon. James S. Cochran, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 1834, educated at Bethany College, Virginia, Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and the law school of Judge Brockenbaugh at Lexington, Kentucky, was admitted to the bar in Pitts- burg, in 1858, and that year came to Freeport. He entered upon the practice of his profession here at once and was eminently successful. He was state's at- torney for the county from 1872 to 1884, when he was elected to the state senate from the district of Stephenson, Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties. Eight of his nineteen bills became laws during the 35th session of the legislature. One law established "Arbor Day" and another provided that teachers could attend institutes without the deduction of pay. He was one of the ablest men this dis- trict ever sent to the state legislature. He was distinguished as a lawyer and as a legislator.
Judge John Coates came to Stephenson County in 1847 and entered the law office of Hon. T. J. Turner. He was elected county judge in 1853. He aided in the organization of the Second Presbyterian church. Throughout his long legal career, he was recognized as an able and conscientious attorney.
THE LYCEUM OF EARLY DAYS.
The first generation in Stephenson County had time for things intellectual. Through all the turmoil and hardships with Indians and wild animals, rude equipment and simple homes, the struggle with a wild soil and the dangers and perils of distant mills and markets, burst the spirit of culture from the old academies of the east. The education of the old academy of the east was the
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KOKTY AGRICULTURA
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STEPHENSON COUNTY'S FIRST COURTHOUSE, ERECTED IN 1838
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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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leaven that lifted up the frontier society from the lower levels of "mere" busi- ness and the struggle for daily bread. It was this irrepressible spirit that brought organized local lecture course committees, and brought to early the greatest stars of the American platform, musicians, lecturers, poets, reformers and states- men. Old Plymouth Hall audiences saw and heard, Ole Bull and Patti; Starr King and Bayard Taylor; E. P. Willett, Lowell and Emerson, and Giddings, Chase, Horace Greeley and Horace Mann. It is to be regretted that no later period has even approached to decade of 1850 to 1860 in the matter of Lyceum talent in this county. This is in part because the first generation contained that element of culture and the spirit of intellectualism that had been stimulated by a contact in the academies and colleges of the older states.
THE LECTURE COURSES.
Mrs. Oscar Taylor's explanation of Freeport's early lecture courses is full of interest and should serve as an inspiration to the people of today. "Where the Wilcoxen opera house now stands Mr. E. H. Hyde had erected a three story brick building, the upper story of which was intended for lectures, con- certs and other public gatherings. This was old Plymouth Hall, of which the town was justly proud. It was here that the Lombard brothers and the Baker family gave their musical entertainment as they traveled through this region season after season; and always welcome were the Hutchinson family, who came almost every year, bringing with them their old melodeon, opening every performance with "We're a band of brothers from the old Granite State." Strong anti-slavery men were all of them, and when they sang "There's a Good Time Coming Boys," there was a ring of faith and feeling in their voices that stirred the enthusiasm of their hearers, and in humorous parts the drollery of the brother Judson was irresistible. Dr. and Mrs. Beaumont, both sincere lovers of music, assisted in many of the home concerts of those days. The walls of Plymouth Hall, one never-to-be forgotten night, echoed to the tunes of Ole Bull's violin, and to the supremely beautiful voice of Adelina Patti, when that voice was the voice of a young girl of fourteen, even then so won- derful that her future world-wide fame seemed already assured. She was a lovely picture as she stood before the audience in a low-necked gown of light blue silk, ruffled from waist line to hem. Her great Italian eyes were velvety in their soft blackness and her black hair was worn in thick braids, while her features were of that delicate clear-cut beauty so familiar to us all in later years. The "Little Patti," as she was then called, was most friendly with her audience all the evening, and at the close of the concert she invited two young girls, whom she joined as the audience was dispering, to visit her at the Pennsylvania House next day. The invitation was, of course, joyfully accepted, but the unsophisticated western girls were amazed by the young prima donna's desperate flirtation with the handsome pianist who played her accom- paniments.
In the autumn of 1854 the Young Men's Association secured for us a course of lectures from some of the most eminent literary men of the country. As the hotel accommodations were not above criticism, it was thought desirable
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that the lecturers should be entertained at private houses, and as Mr. Taylor was a member of the association he was among the first to proffer this hospi- tality. It so happened that when Horace Mann opened this lecture course he was for three days a guest in our old home on Adams street. I must own to being in quite a flurry over the thought of entertaining so distinguished a per- son, but well I remember how I was at once put at ease by the kindly smile and winning tones with which the stranger greeted me. There was something saint-like in his appearance, so frail was his health, so snowy his hair, and so gentle his whole bearing. His heart was in the educational work, which formed the subject of his lecture; but even more interesting to me was his quiet con- versation during the two following days. I almost felt myself one of the Con- cord circle as Mr. Mann shared with me his intimate acquaintance with Emer- son, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller and Hawthorne. Hawthorne's wife and Mrs. Mann were sisters, and Mr. Mann told me of Hawthorne's excessive shyness, how he would seldom join in conversation, but liked to sit apart, sometimes even getting behind a door.
Thoreau and his new book "Walden," then in press, received enthusiastic praise, as did Mr. Howe, the philanthropist, whom Mr. Mann dearly loved. He thought Mrs. Howe, who had been greatly admired as a society belle in New York, not altogether in sympathy with her husband's work for the blind, but has she not really proved herself a fitting wife for her noble husband? The Saturday Club of Boston, where the literary lights of New England gathered weekly for informal discussions, was also opened to me for the first time, so vividly that I seemed to know personally Longfellow, Whittier and Holmes, with other men whose names are now historic, but whose biographies had not then been lived.
Following Horace Mann came Bayard Taylor, who drew a crowded au- dience, and gave a most graphic and entertaining lecture upon his travels in Europe. There was great charm in his picturesque and magnetic personality, and pure cosmopolitan as he was, he seemed to bring his whole audience in touch with the great world. He was also a delightful guest, genial and witty, instantly at home with the friends whom I had asked to the house to meet him.
A little girl to whom he seemed the most wonderful man in the world, had listened with wide open eyes to all that he was relating of far-away lands, when, thinking it time that Freeport was heard from, she remarked: "Mr. Taylor, I don't believes you saw in Europe anything prettier than the egg my chicken laid." With quick responsiveness, Mr. Taylor admitted that an egg was really more wonderful than anything the art of man could produce.
.When Horace Greeley came the farmers flocked to hear the man who ad- vised everyone to go west. Plymouth Hall could not hold the crowd that gathered. To my mind, the disappointed ones did not lose much. Socially, Greeley was brusque and repellent, receiving with evident indifference the young men who called upon him. "What did those men come here for?" he asked when they left. "They came to see the great mogul," I answered which seemed to please him, as he laughed heartily. After his stay with us, and I had seen him carefully turn his necktie awry before sitting for his daguerrotype, I con- cluded that his reputed accentricities were but affectations.
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Later in the season we had George Sumner, of Boston, brother to Charles Sumner. For many years a resident in Dresden and Paris, he had the cap- tivating polish of manner, acquired in continental cities but his lecture, upon the political conditions of Europe, did not particularly appeal to his audience. Be- fore the lecture I had called Mr. Sumner's attention to an article in Putnam's Magazine on the Crimean war, giving a most vivid description of the battle of Sebastopol. "Is not that article wonderfully written," I asked him. "I did not find it so," he replied. In the dash to my enthusiasm I thought him over-critical, not dreaming, until he laughingly told me so the following year, that he was the writer of the brilliant article.
The lecture course of 1855 was opened by Starr King, who was entertained by Mr. Taylor and myself. I remember that Mr. King surprised me early in our conversation by the question, "How old do you think I am?" "From your appearance I should judge you to be a boy in your teens, but, of course, I know you must be older or you could not have achieved your reputation," I replied. "I am a long way of my teens," he said, "but my youthful aspect affords me great fun, as I had today when your husband walked through the car looking on either side but evidently seeing no one whom he could believe was the ex- pected individual. When I asked if he was looking for Mr. King you should have seen his look of surprise."
The editor of the Journal, in speaking of Ralph Waldo Emerson's lecture at Plymouth Hall, Freeport, said: "What we understood of it was excellent, and what we did not understand we suppose was excellent."
ADDAMS INSTITUTE.
The Addams Institute, an association of young men, was organized in 1852, and held its first meeting November 25, that year in the basement of the First Presbyterian church. J. C. Howells, president of the club, gave an inaugural address in "Danger and Weakness of Ignorance." At the second meeting the following question was discussed: "Resolved; that the intervention policy ad- vocated by Kossuth, is just and should be adopted by the United States."
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