History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 77

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882

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For something over two years he worked in the land office. Careful, painstaking and accu- rate in his duties, he speedily became head clerk of the office, and continued in that posi- tion till the removal of the office to Detroit, when he elected to stay in Monroe. Even at the date of his arrival the unkempt little vil- lage was enjoying what in these days would be called a " boom." Every boat and every stage brought adventurers and pioneers, all anxious to reap those sudden fortunes which rumor in the East had it were to be picked up "out west." The location of the land office in Mon- roe made it a central point for them, and Gros. venor's position in the land office soon gave him an intimate knowledge of the outlying country and the quality of the lands. He began bar- gaining for himself and shortly became the pos- sessor of considerable property.

After the removal of the land office he began the study of the law, which he pursued for the next four years under various preceptors. At different times during these four years he was employed and a student in the office of Robert McClelland (afterward Governor of Michigan and Secretary of the Interior under President Pierce), Wing & McClelland (Warner Wing being later a judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan), Alpbeus Felch (later Governor and United States Senator), and David A. Noble (afterwards a member of Congress). At his examination for admission to the bar, Judge Fletcher presided, and the examining committee consisted of Alpheus Felch, Jefferson G. Thur- ber and Hiram Stone. During his years of study he had been engaged in the sale of land, had worked as an accountant, and had for a

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time held the position of clerk to the commis- sioner of internal improvements, and while in that office had been an earnest advocate of the Michigan Southern Railroad. He also during this time had married Miss Harriet Wood, oldest daughter of Colonel Wood (September 14th, 1837), and commenced housekeeping in a small house south of the present site of the court house.

After his examination and admission to the bar he associated himself with David A. Noble and began the practice of his profession. This partnership continued for eight years, during which time his wife died (1845).

The straggling and rude village had mean- time grown and extended till it had become a quasi rival of Detroit. The Territory bad become a member of the Commonwealth of States, and in its councils Monroe held a prominent place, owing to the ability of its publie men. The names of the lawyers men- tioned above, all of whom have filled a large space in the history of Michigan, will serve to show the ability of the bar at that period. To those names may be added that of Isaac P. Christiancy. He came to Monroe, having be- gun his legal studies in the East, obtained a position in the land office and for some time was a fellow elerk with Grosvenor. He read law while employed as clerk, was early ad- mitted to the bar, practiced his profession here till the re-organization of the supreme court in 1858 when he was elected one of its justices, a position he filled with honor till 1875 when he was elected a United States senator, and later resigned this to accept the appointment of minister to Peru.

At that time in Michigan, as well as in other Western States, the prominent lawyers "rode the circuits," i. e. followed the judges from one county to another and plead cases for clients in several counties. The early court calendars of Monroe county show that lawyers from Detroit made frequent appearances in Monroe, while the leading Monroe lawyers likewise went to Washtenaw and Lenawee counties. Common law pleadings had undergone but limited modifi- cation, and the writing in an attorney's office was much greater than now. Upon the younger lawyers devolved to a large extent the practice before justices of the peace. These were widely scattered. There was one in Milan, one in Dundee, one in Flat Rock, one at Oakville, one

in Erie and another at Whiteford. The roads in many cases were bridle paths through the woods, and when these became quagmires through long-continued rains it sometimes bap- pened that the traveler was compelled at night- fall to fasten his horse and "camp out," listen- ing to the howls of wild animals during the night and resuming his journey when daylight permitted him to find his way.

It was in this rugged school that Colonel Grosvenor began as a lawyer and gained his experience. Professional success is a growth ; ofttimes a slow one, and its rewards some- times seem strangely delayed. The strength of the bar made progress difficult for a young man, but it was through these years that the subject of this sketch formed those habits of research, and acquired that intimate familiarity with the principles of the common law, that stood him in so good stead in the time to come.

The years that succeeded were just such years as fall to every busy man. Each repre- sents its fifty two weeks of varied toil, cheered by the sun of success or darkened by the cloud of failure, but no salient incidents rise, like hills, above the level plain of early life. When the partnership between Noble and Grosvenor was dissolved a new one was formed with Talcott E. Wing, Esq., which existed for eight years. In the meantime one famous trial, The Supervisors of the County of Monroe vs. Harry V. Man, in which Grosvenor, representing the plaintiff, was pitted against nearly the entire bar of the county, had served to give him the reputation he has ever since maintained, of be- ing a "fighter " to the very end and fertile in resources. This case also gave him something more than local fame, and his practice began to grow. On May 22, 1849, he married Miss Sarah A. Wood, a sister of his first wife.

Succeeding his connection with Judge Wing he became associated with John R. Rauch, Esq., in a partnership which continued for nearly fifteen years, until Colonel Grosvenor went to the Legislature in 1871. In 1859 he became the owner of "Fair Oaks Farm" (so named from the resemblance of some portions of it to the famous battle-field of Mcclellan's Peninsular campaign, in which Colonel Grosve- nor participated), where he now resides.

With no longing for political honors, be had still been an indefatigable worker in every campaign. A believer in the prosperous future

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. .

of the city of his home, he was largely instru- mental in procuring and framing the early charters under which its government was administered, and held at one time the position of recorder. This was under a charter which made the recorder a judge of the mayor's court, organized after the manner of city police courts, but with a more extended jurisdiction, taking cognizance of civil as well as criminal canses under ordinances. The old docket of this court, with the ink upon its pages faded by time, is still on file in the office of the county clerk. Under the operation of the old militia law, one of whose provisions was the " general muster " or training day, famous in song and story among the records of the Nation's earlier years, he took much interest in military in- struction ; and later, when independent compa- nies began to be organized, was active in the formation of one in Monroe, and became one of its officers.

When, on that spring Sabbath in 1861, the echoes of the shot fired across Charleston har- bor at Sumter, rolled through the North like an electric shock, and we realized that war to save the Nation had become a stern necessity, Michigan began the enlistment and organiza- tion of troops. One regiment of three months' men was accepted by the Government. Under the first call from Washington, shortly before the expiration of the term of the three months' regiment, the First Michigan Volunteers went forward, and the Second, Third and Fourth were in proces of organization. These were rapidly filled and forwarded. Meantime the skeletons of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh regi- ments, the commissioned and non-commis- sioned officers, were designated, and in a camp of instruction at Fort Wayne, near Detroit. Officers of military experience were scarce; no war had occurred during the lifetime of the active men of that day, excepting our brief trouble with Mexico, and the knowledge gained in general musters and independent companies was of importance. In the course of his life, Grosvenor had commanded not only a company, but had likewise been both a colonel and a brigadier general of the State militia, and in view of his military knowledge he was commissioned colonel of the Seventh, hav- ing early offered his services to the Governor.

When news of the first Bull Run reached the State, Governor Blair ordered these three

regiments filled up as soon as possible. In less than fifty days all three were complete. The rendezvous of the Seventh was at Monroe, and here Colonel Grosvenor organized and set up the regiment It was mustered on Sep- tember 5, 1861, and at once proceeded to Wash- ington. It remained there but a little over twenty-four hours, then started on a march through Maryland as the escort of a battery, and on arrival at its destination encamped near Leesburg and became a part of General Stone's corps of observation. Rumors pre- vailed of a rebel advance on the other side of the Potomac, and some of the troops were thrown across the river. It was in this move- ment that the battle of Ball's Bluff was fought. After the passage into Virginia, for a time Colonel Grosvenor performed the duties of a brigadier-general, having charge of the advance till the general crossed the river. After this the regiment went into winter quarters, where it remained until early spring. Then it pro- ceeded up the Potomac to Harper's Ferry and up the Shenandoah to Winchester, whence it was recalled to Washington to participate in the Peninsular campaign. Embarking on transports it proceeded to Fortress Monroe, arriving the day following the memorable con- test between the Monitor and the Merrimac. It was pushed forward immediately and par- ticipated in the siege of Yorktown, April 4th to May 5th ; on May 7th it was engaged in the battle of West Point, and then proceeded up the peninsula, building roads and camping among the miasmatie vapors of the Chicka- hominy swamps. May 31st found the regi- ment in sight of Richmond at Fair Oaks Sta- tion, and Colonel Grosvenor suffering from an attack of cholera morbus. Lying under a tree, under the influence of opiates, while the regi- ment went forward to take its place in the line, he was shortly aroused by the sound of infantry firing in the advance. Hastily climbing on his horse he started for the battle. He soon came up with his regiment, and was at its head in the charge described in glowing terms by the historian Lossing. For a month after the battle of Fair Oaks the regiment remained encamped on the Chickahominy. The sultry southern sun beating down upon the swamp's bred disease, and was more fatal to the unaceli- mated northern troops than the rebel bullets. During this time Colonel Grosvenor began to

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suffer seriously from scurvy. His teeth bc- came loosened, and the external manifestations of the disease increased in violence. When the movement across the peninsula to the new base upon the James River began, he was scarcely able to sit upon his horse ; but in this condition he led his regiment through the battles of Peach Orchard and Savage Station on June 29th ; White Oak Swamp and Glendale on June 30th ; Malvern Hill on July Ist, and then accompanied the army to Harrison's Landing. The exposure and fighting of the seven days before going into camp at Harrison's had seriously told upon him in his exhausted con- dition, and he was informed by the surgeon that he must make a speedy choice between a change of climate and a coffin. He applied for leave of absence, but, under Halleck's orders, a furlough was denied. This left the alternative between resignation of his command or a death from the scurry, which had now attacked his bowels. On July 7th he resigned his commis- sion and started for Fortress Monroe. Here he took transport for Washington. The jour- ney so exhausted him that he was compelled to undergo medical treatment for a month before he was able to proceed. Under the advice of his physician he went to the mountains of Pennsylvania. Here he remained for a week, but not deriving the benefit which he had expected, began to consider his case as a hope- less one and was anxious to finish his journey, that he might die at home. The trip to Cleve- land proved so severe that he was again com- pelled to rest. As soon as he had recuperated a little he once more resumed his way, and finally reached Monroe, haggard, emaciated, full of sores, with teeth dropping out, and an apparently incurable internal disorder. For a time he looked forward to death as the prob- able termination, but under the tender minis trations of home, hope began to regain an ascendancy, and he even anticipated resuming . a position in the army. The colonel of the Fourth regiment had fallen in battle, and Colonel Grosvenor was offered a commission as its commander. He accepted the offer, hoping to speedily be able to go to the front. But as the time passed he became convinced that the effects of his disease were incurable, that further campaigning was a simple impos- sibility, that a month's exposure in the field or

on the march would be undoubtedly fatal, and he was compelled to decline the proffered position.

Little by little, as his feeble state permitted, he gathered up the threads of civic life, which he had thrown down to enter the service of his country, and resumed the practice of his pro- fession. In 1868 he built the residence on the west side of the public square which he occu- pied as a.home for seventeen years. In 1870 he received the nomination of the Republican party for representative in the State legisla- ture, and although the county was overw helm . ingly Democratic, was elected. That same fall there was elected as commissioner of the State land office upon the Republican ticket a Captain Edmonds. During the session of the legislature, Edmonds' administration of his office was such as to call for sharp criticism both as to his moral character and official in- tegrity. Reports of his misdemeanors became so prevalent as to challenge the attention of the legislature, and after deliberation, it was determined by the House of Representatives to present articles of impeachment to the Senate. The House selected Colonel Grosvenor as chair- man of the managers of the impeachment trial at the bar of the Senate, his associates being Representatives B. W. Huston, jr., and Lyman A. Cochrane.

The trial was a cause celebre in Michigan. No precedents existed in the State; it was the first time in her history that a public officer had been impeached, and Edmonds was ably defended by Judge Shipman of Coldwater, who fought every inch of the ground. Although the House managers, led by Colonel Grosvenor, presented overwhelming proof upon every one of the eleven articles of impeachment, a two- thirds vote of the Senate was necessary to sustain the House, and in the face of the plea that sustaining the charges might injure the party, this two-thirds majority could not be obtained. The record of the impeachment trial, published by the State in two large vol- umes in 1871, is a monument of the ability dis- played by Colonel Grosvenor in the manage- ment of this unique and interesting occasion. It is probable that the precedents bearing upon the law of impeachment and the procedure upon the trial of such causes have never else- where been so exhaustively collated, not even

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

upon the trial of President Johnson, as by the attorneys for the prosecution and defense in the Edmonds case.

Upon the return of Colonel Grosvenor to Monroe at the close of the Edmonds trial, the partnership so long existing between him and Mr. Rauch was dissolved, and Colonel Grosve- nor became associated with Rufus E. Phinney, who had been previously superintendent of the public schools and had then but recently been admitted to the bar. This partnership con- tinned till Mr. Phinney was elected judge of probate and assumed the duties of that office, January 1, 1877. Shortly afterward the firm of Grosvenor & Landon was formed by Colonel Grosvenor and Hon. George M. Landon, then prosecuting attorney. This continued until the death of Judge Phinney in 1884, when Governor Begole appointed Mr. Landon judge of probate to fill the vacancy. Colonel Grosvenor then associated with him A. B. Bragdon, and in 1886, upon his admission to the bar, his son Elliot O. Grosvenor also be- came a member of the firm.

In 1884-5 Colonel Grosvenor built his present residence upon " Fair Oaks Farm " From his marriage in 1849 three living children survive: Irene Frances, who married H. B. Wheelock, Esq., of Chicago, Illinois, in 1886, and now re- sides there ; Elliot O, who graduated with honor from Michigan University as a B. A. in the class of 1885, was admitted to the bar and associated with his father in the practice of his profession in 1886, and the same year was married to Miss Minnie Hamilton of White Pigeon, Michigan ; and Winthrop W., now a student at college in Chicago, and who will have received his degree of D. D. S. by the time these lines see the light.

The forum where Colonel Grosvenor's life was passed, has been singularly lacking in cases of more than local fame, but for many years he has been found on one side or the other of the most important trials of the section. He was largely instrumental in unearthing the Ditch frauds and punishing the perpetrators ; conducted to a successful issue the case of Monroe County against the State of Michigan, in which he attacked the constitutionality of the law under which the State was endeavoring to collect some $30,000 from the county, after having bid in and sold the lands upon which the taxes had been levied; in 1884 he over-

threw the Drain law, under which attempts were being made to run drains through this and adjoining counties, and successfully de- fended in one and prosecuted in another of the most noteworthy murder trials in the history of the county. Previous to the reincorpora- tion of the city in 1873 under the general incorporation law, he was connected with the drafting of every charter under which its gov- ernment was administered ; its last special charter having been drawn and introduced by him while a member of the legislature of 1871. He was prominently identified with the move- ments which eventuated in the building of the Holly, Wayne and Monroe Railroad to the city, and the Toledo and Ann Arbor in the western part of the county, and his legal advice guided them through the formative stage. Dur- ing Judge Warner Wing's last illness Colonel Grosvenor performed the duties of the posi- tion, and after Judge Wing's death, became one of the counsel of the corporation.

The First Judicial Circuit of Michigan for many years was composed of the counties of Monroe, Lenawee and Hillsdale, while Wash- tenaw county was in the Fourth. In 1879 the legislature took Monroe from the First and Washtenaw from the Fourth and constituted the two counties into the Twenty-second Judi- cial Circuit. Colonel Grosvenor was put in nomination for judge of the new circuit by the Republican party. Both the Democratie and the Greenback parties had candidates who were strong and able men, and the election fol- lowed the general vote of the district, which is largely Democratic. In 1881 Colonel Grosve- nor was appointed a trustee of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Kalamazoo, and in 1887 was reappointed for a second term. He has manifested much interest in the welfare of the institution, and has been an indefatigable worker for its prosperity and success. He has been for many years the president of the Monroe County Bar Association.

Thus for nearly fifty years he has been an active practitioner in Monroe county. He has acquired and retained a lucrative and pleasant practice. As a lawyer his predominant char- acteristics have been earnestness, fidelity, acumen and industry. Thoroughly grounded in the principles of the common law of Eng- land (in his early practice he used to read Blackstone through once a year), his mind

MY celi & COMME

J.K.Campi MACJI.

yours Respectfully Gowy Morris

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THE BAR OF MONROE.

intuitively applies them to the matters sub- mitted to him, and his success in the Supreme court demonstrates the value of such knowl- edge and training. In the trial of causes he is dignified and urbane, but cool and wary, and on the alert to discover his opponent's weak point. Somewhat like the Englishman's bull- dog, he doesn't know when he is whipped, and has often plucked victory out of the very jaws of seeming defeat by his persistency and fertility of recourse. His unvarying courtesy and con- sideration to his brother attorneys, especially to those in their callow years, make him a pleasant opponent. His industry in the prep- aration of his cases is great, and his adversary is apt to find him armed at all points. As an advocate he is a modest but effective speaker, if anything rather too much inclined to con- dense his thought into weighty sentences. He eschews bombast and clap trap, and his ad- dresses and briefs are logical and to the point. He is not a believer in technicalities, preferring to try a cause upon the legal merits rather than win a victory by sharp practice.

But what a man does is not all of his life. Being as well as action is included in the sum of existence, and man frequently exercises as wide an influence and leaves his " footprints on the sands of time " as much by what he is as by his deeds. And when the "finis" shall be written against the record of his long and busy life, Colonel Grosvenor will be remembered not alone as the successful lawyer and the brave soldier, but as the kindly, helpful, honored, Christian man. Beneath the calin exterior has always beat a sympathetic heart to which no sufferer has ever appealed in vain. No client was ever left defenseless through lack of means, if injustice had been done him. The widow, the fatherless, the oppressed and the poor have found in him a champion; whose labors in their behalf was not measured by the length of their purse. The " under dog in the fight" is always sure of his practical sympathy. Early in life he joined the Presbyterian church, of which he continues a valued member.

Thus, still active and cheerful, honored and esteemed by all who know the depths of his nature, his laborious and stormy day is passing to a calm and peaceful sunset ; as he draws

" _ nearer to the wayside inn,

Where toil shall end and rest begin."

GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.

Among the few survivors of those who fifty years ago left their quiet homes, on the hill- sides and in the valleys of New England, to cast their lots with the then sparse population of Michigan and the great unsettled West, was Gouverneur Morris, the subject of this sketch.

Born in Springfield, Windsor county, Ver- mont, February 1, 1809, he was named for his great uncle, Gouverneur Morris, the statesman to whom President Madison gave the credit of clothing the constitution of the United States in its present form of words; who afterwards received from President Washington the ap- pointment of Minister to France, where, through all the bloody scenes of the French Revolution, he was the only representative of a foreign government who remained faithfully at his post of duty. General Lewis R. Morris, the father of Judge Morris, was a son of Richard Morris (at one time Chief Justice of the State of New York, and whose tablet, with that of his wife, is still seen in Trinity Churchyard, at the head of Wall street), was born in Wall street, in the city of New York. He joined the Revolutionary army at seventeen years of age as a lieutenant, continuing in service during the remainder of the war, at one time on the staff of General Schuyler, and later on the staff of General Clinton. While still holding his commission in the army (1781 and 1782) he acted as first assistant in the State Department of the Government, then known as the Depart- ment of Foreign Affairs, and in that position during the necessary absence of the secretary, Chancellor Livingston, many of the negotia- tions with the various European courts in rela- tion to our peace with Great Britain, and the recognition of our independence by other powers, were carried on under his supervision. Removing to Vermont, he was one of two delegates sent by that Territory to secure its admission as a State into the Union ; received from President Washington the appointment of its first United States Marshal ; was for thirteen sessions Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, and for six years member of Congress from that State. Judge Morris's mother, a woman of culture and refinement, was a daughter of Lieutenant-Governor Jona - than Hunt, of Vermont.

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History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 77

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: New York, Munsell & company Number of Pages: 882

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882