USA > Missouri > Ray County > History of Ray county, Mo. > Part 57
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residing with her youngest son, near Rushville, west of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the subject of this sketch are now alive. The oldest brother, Dr. Thomas S. Doniphan, father of Colonel John Doniphan, of St. Joseph, Missouri, served as a surgeon in the war of 1812, and died near the old homestead in Kentucky.
Upon the widow now devolved the responsibility of providing for and educating her seven children, and right nobly did she discharge her trust. Alexander being the youngest child, the solicitude of his mother centered in him, and until his ninth year she carefully supervised his training. At that age, he was sent to his older brother, George, then living at Augusta, Kentucky, where he received the best educational training the village could supply. When he was fourteen years old the Methodists established a college at Augusta, and from this institution he graduated in 1827, with distinguished honors, being then in the nineteenth year of his age. Orville H. Browning, secretary of the interior under President Lincoln; Charles Clark, late governor of Mississippi; Alex. M. Spencer, late mayor of Cin- cinnati; and others who afterwards became more or less distinguished, were schoolmates of young Doniphan. After graduating, he devoted himself for six months to the study of ancient and modern history, and began the study of law in 1828, under the learned and able jurist, Martin Marshall, of Augusta, through whom he received a thorough training in common and statute law, obtaining a license to practice in the states of Ohio and Kentucky in the fall of 1829, at the age of twenty-one. During the winter of the latter year, he traveled extensively in the western and southern states, and located at Lexington, Missouri, in the spring of 1830. He had spent his patrimony and more, in acquiring an education and in fitting himself for his profession and when he reached Missouri, without either money to maintain himself or friends, or acquaintances to assist him, he was entirely dependent on those qualities that have never betrayed him-energy, perseverance and intellectual endowments. They proved equal to the emergency, and he succeeded well in Lexington; but he determined, for reasons satisfactory to himself, to change his residence to Liberty, Missouri, which he did in 1833. Here he remained for thirty years, devoting the vigor of his younger manhood, and the experience of his maturer years, to the practice of the law, in which he rapidly rose to eminence.
With an ambition modified and restrained by sound judgment, an intel- lect capable of grasping and mastering the most intricate and abstruse propositions of law, a mind trained to reason correctly and reflect coolly, and an impulsive and impressive oratory, it is not strange that he won his way to distinction at the bar without the use of those arguments to which the weak resort. He grew in popular favor by the generous impulses of his own nature, and the superiority of his talents, and it is a singular fact
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that, though he was at times opposed in sentiment to the great body of his old associates and constituents, he never forfeited the affection of his friends or the respect of his enemies. In 1836, he was elected to represent Clay county in the ninth general assembly of Missouri, and, though young, he made a creditable record in that body. Twice afterward, in 1840 and in 1854, he was chosen to fill the same position, which he always did with honor to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. In December, 1837, he married Jane Thornton, daughter of John Thornton, a well known, respected pioneer of Clay county. Mrs. Doniphan was a lady of refined sentiment, cultivated taste, and purity of character.
In the same year in which Colonel Doniphan was married, Governor Boggs called out a strong militia force to quell the disturbances of the Mormons at a place in Caldwell county, Missouri, by them called Far West. The defiant attitude of these people threatened to result in local war. General Doniphan commanded a brigade under Major-General Lucas, and by his address and soldierly bearing succeeded in bringing them to submission without bloodshed. About the middle of May, 1846, Governor Edwards, of Missouri, made a requisition for volunteers to join General Kearney in his expedition to New Mexico. General Doniphan joined Captain O. P. Moss' company from Clay county as a private. On the 18th of June, eight companies, which were to compose the 1st regi- ment, having arrived, an election of officers was had, which resulted in the choice of A. W. Doniphan as colonel. In taking charge of the regi- ment, Colonel Doniphan temporarily abandoned a lucrative practice and a young family, to which he was tenderly devoted, to lend his aid in sub- duing the enemies of his country. The expedition was commanded by General Kearney until Santa Fe was reached, when that gallant officer took a portion of the command and went to California, leaving Colonel Doniphan, the first regiment and all other forces in New Mexico. It was the design of Colonel Doniphan to march upon Chihuahua as soon as Colonel Price, who was known to be bringing reinforcements, should arrive to take command of Santa Fe; but on the 11th of October he received instructions from General Kearney to proceed to the country of the Navajos, a brave, war-like, and semi-civilized tribe of Indians, whose territory lay on the western slope of the Cordilleras, and chastise and sub- due them. Winter was approaching; the mountain summits were almost inaccessible; the dangers and difficulties were formidable, but the courage and intrepidity of General Doniphan did not allow him to count the cost. He therefore set about the execution of his orders with all possible dis- patch, and, after a wearisome and exhausting march, reached the Nava- jos' country, and secured a treaty of amity. He then turned his face toward the Del Norte again to prepare for his expedition against Chihua- hua, reaching Valverde about the 10th of December. Doniphan was
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to press on to Saltillo to join the forces of General Wool. The enter- prise was fraught with danger, but this fact operated as a stimulus to excite rather than as a difficulty to daunt the young warrior and his gal- lant followers. He set out with eleven hundred and fifty men, including the first Missouri, one hundred men from the second Missouri, and two companies of the Missouri artillery battalion. On Christmas day a part of his command was attacked by twelve hundred Mexicans at Brazito. The engagement was short, sharp and decisive. In half an hour the Mexicans were forced from the field, leaving their dead and wounded where they fell.
On the 28th of February, 1847, near the city of Chihuahua, was fought the battle of Sacramento. Having traversed an unknown territory with a handful of troops, surrounded by enemies, and liable at any time to be attacked by a superior force, Colonel Doniphan was not now to be intimi- dated by a prospect, even of immediate peril. The American force num- bered nine hundred and twenty-four effective men of all arms. The
Mexican troops, under Major General Jose A. Hiredia, numbered four thousand, two hundred and twenty. Notwithstanding the superior force of the enemy, the fact that he had chosen his own position and fortified it well, such was the tact of General Doniphan that, after an engagement of three and a half hours, the Mexicans were utterly routed, with a loss of three hundred and twenty killed, five hundred and sixty wounded, and seventy-two prisoners, together with a large quantity of specie, stores, stock, guns and other munitions of war. The American loss was two killed and eleven wounded, three of the latter mortally. The city of Chihuahua was entered next day. Here Colonel Doniphan had hoped to join General Wool, but learned that he was at Saltillo, besieged by Santa Anna. This, however, proved to be untrue, and in a few days he heard of the victory at Buena Vista, and not long afterward of the battle of Cerro Gordo. The war was now virtually closed, and the troops slowly made their way to New Orleans, where they were mustered out of service, June 28, 1847. Upon their return to Missouri, the citizens of St. Louis gave the soldiers a grand reception, and they were welcomed by Senator Benton in a speech, to which Colonel Doniphan responded. Everywhere the commander and his heroic army were received with demonstrations of honor, showing that the people appreciated the dangers they had encountered and the results they had achieved. Colonel Doniphan returned to his home at Liberty, and resumed the practice of law. He remained in Liberty till in 1863, when he returned to St. Louis, where he remained till 1869. In 1861 he was one of the five delegates appointed to represent Missouri in the celebrated peace conference, and was one of the five from the border states, who, by special invitation, held an interview with President Lincoln, to counsel and advise as to the best method of
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preserving peace, maintaining the Union, and settling the difficulties that then environed the nation, and the only one now living. It was while absent on this mission that he was chosen to represent his senatorial dis- trict in the state convention. By his marriage to Miss Thornton, the Col- onel had two sons, to whose training he devoted much time and labor, but both died in youth. To his wife he was most warmly devoted, and her death, which occurred July 19, 1873, left him depressed and stricken. Before her death both he and his wife united with the Christian Church.
In 1869 Colonel Doniphan returned to Western Missouri, and located in Richmond, where he now (1881) resides. Colonel Doniphan was a man of great physical strength, as his erect carriage, firm, elastic step, and graceful, easy movement, at the age of seventy-three, evince. He is six feet three inches in hight, compactly built, with a large frame and well developed muscles. Of an impulsive nature, which is restained by reason and an overmastering will power; brave, fearless, true to his con- victions of right and duty, a sincere friend, a frank and open foe, he has gathered about him a host of friends, whose confidence and esteem are his highest eulogium.
HON. GEORGE W. DUNN.
George Washington Dunn, the present judge of the fifth judicial cir- cuit of Missouri, was born near Harrodsburg, Mercer county, Kentucky, October 15, 1815. His father, Major Lemuel Dunn, a pioneer farmer of Kentucky, was the son of Michael Dunn, of Irish parentage, but a native of Virginia, and a noble defender of his country in the war for the inde- pendence of the American colonies. The mother of the subject of this sketch-whose maiden name was Sarah Read Campbell-was also a native Virginian, of Irish descent. Her father, John Campbell, was also a soldier in the war of the revolution. Major Dunn died in 1829, leaving his family in limited circumstances, on a farm, when George was only fourteen years old. Young as he was, he worked diligently through the summer, and attended school during the winter. He acquired such edu- cation as the family's finances would allow, at Cane Run Academy, Mer- cer county, excelling in mathematics. Although unable to take the full course at one of the higher institutions of learning, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge led him to eschew the usual pastimes of youth, and to devote every spare hour to study; and thus his ardor, close applica- tion, and self-denial made up for what his poverty disallowed. His men- tal tastes were of a very high order, far exceeding that of ordinary young men, and leading him into the advanced classics, law, general literature, and especially into the flowery fields of poetry, enabling him to
" Touch the heart, or fire the imagination at will."
At the age of nineteen he engaged as clerk in a dry goods store, at
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Nicholasville, Jessamine county, Kentucky; but he carried with him his books, which he continued, at every opportunity, to closely read and care- fully study. At twenty, he began the study of the law, with the deter- mination to allow no obstacle not absolutely insurmountable to prevent him from becoming, at least, a respectable lawyer. He continued the study of law with unyielding tenacity for three years, only interrupted by regular intervals of school teaching, which he was compelled to follow for a support. In that time he attended the law department of Transylvania University, and was a member of the class of 1836 and 1837. Among his classmates were Beriah McGoffin, afterward governor of Kentucky; Richard Yates, afterward governor of Illinois; the present Hon. Otho R. Singleton, of Mississippi; Reverend Jonathan E. Spillman, of Kentucky, and the present Hon. Samuel H. Woodson, of Missouri. At the close of the term he was licensed to practice law, by Judges Robertson and Mar- shall.
In the spring of 1839, Mr. Dunn settled in Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, and, opening a law office, practiced his profession in all the counties of the fifth judicial circuit. In the spring of 1861, he was appointed circuit attorney to fill a vacancy, and in 1844, was elected to that'office without opposition, and filled it until 1848. During those seven years, besides being the prosecutor in all criminal cases in the circuit, he satisfactorily attended to a large practice in the civil cases. Judge Dunn had as his contemporaries at the bar many of the most eminent lawyers in the west, among whom were the following: Colonel A. W. Doniphan, Hon. David R. Atchison, Hon. Wm. T. Wood, Governor Peter H. Bur- nett, Hon. James H. Birch, Governor Willard P. Hall, Hon. Robert D. Ray, General B. F. Stringfellow, and others. In 1848, he was appointed judge of the fifth judicial circuit as successor of Hon. Austin A. King, who was that year elected governor of the state. He was elected judge of the same circuit in 1851, and again in 1857. In 1861, Judge Dunn retired from office, declining to take the test oath required of offi- cers by the state convention of that year, and resumed the practice of law. In 1863, he was again elected judge of his old circuit by a large majority, and remained on the bench until 1865, when he, with others was thrown out of office by the vacating ordinance of the state convention. He again returned to the practice of his profession, and followed it until 1874, when he was elected without opposition as judge of the fifth judicial circuit, which position he now holds, having been again elected at the general election in November, 1880.
Whether as advocate or judge, few lawyers of this country hold higher rank than does Judge Dunn. The prime of his life has been spent at the bar and on the bench, and his contests have been with the most eminent lawyers of his time. His success as a lawyer, and his standing as a citi-
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zen are attested by his long continuance in office, in the affection of his fellow-attorneys; in his reputation throughout Missouri for ability and integrity, and in the universal confidence reposed in him by the people of his district. A late writer said of him: "He only sought the honors of the law." The compliment is only half true. While no lawyer is insen- sible to "the honors of the law," Judge Dunn has striven to honor the law more than to seek its honors. As a judge, he comprehends at once the law and facts of the case; and his analytical honors enable him to develop the points with such clearness and force, that his decisions commend themselves alike to the bar and to the people, being always fortified by both the law and the facts.
In politics Judge Dunn has always been a democrat, faithfully adhering to, and supporting the principles of his party in its darkest days. He is not a partisan, however, and freely accords the right of individual opinion, holding the man all the more honorable for a candid, outspoken, but respectful expression of his honest convictions. Granting that the judi- ciary is not a "political" office, in the vulgar meaning of that term, Judge Dunn has nover been a candidate for any political position. He was a member of the state convention of 1861, called to consider the rela- tions existing between the state of Missouri and the federal government. In that body he voted against secession, as well as against all other radical measures. Judge Dunn has ever exhibited a deep interest in the cause of education, and has been a warm friend of all educational institutions. When a young lawyer he became a member of Richmond Lodge, No. 57, A. F. & A. M., and at different times has held various important offices in that body. He is also a member of the Presbyterian Church. On the 19th day of May, 1841, at Nicholasville, Kentucky, George W. Dunn was united in marriage with Miss Susan Martha Henderson, daughter of Bennett Henderson, and grand-daughter of Colonel Joseph Crockett, an officer in the Revolutionary war. They have had five chil- dren, only one of whom, John Henderson Dunn, is now living. Judge Dunn has always evinced a taste for literature, which he has cultivated to a high degree. He has divided his affections between the goddess of justice and the fair nymph of poesy, and without having slighted either, shows that he has knelt at the shrine of both. He has given to the public many poetical effusions; gems in verse, of rare beauty and acknowledged merit. Judge Blackstone, on taking up the law, bade " fare- well to his muse," but Judge Dunn continued to woo the winsome god- dess; and while he will long be remembered as one of the ablest jurists of his day, he will not be soon forgotten as one of the genuine verse writers of the land, and the only poet who has found in the prosy pro- ceedings of a court of justice, themes for poetical song. "The Temple of Justice," written by him a few years ago, and dedicated to the bench
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and bar, has been widely published and admired, and [we deem it emi- nently appropriate to reproduce it here:
THE TEMPLE OF JUSTICE.
DEDICATED TO THE BENCH AND BAR.
There stood in Eden once, as legends tell, A regal temple bathed in heaven's own light; But when our happy parents sinned and fell, That temple felt the avenging curse and blight; And would have sunk in deep and endless night; But God in mercy had its fragments thrown O'er all the earth; and now they greet our sight, Where'er we go in every clime and zone; Each fragment of that temple is a precious stone.
In after ages on Moriah's brow
King Solomon a wondrous temple raised; Built as was shown upon the mount; and now We do not marvel that the nations gazed Entranced; or that the Queen of Sheba praised The master architect; for ne'er before Had earth's admiring millions stood amazed In view of such a structure; never more
Perhaps will such a temple greet us on time's shore.
But we are workmen on a temple too, A glorious temple shielding human rights; And if we labor as good men and true,
Our consciences will bring us such delights As duty faithfully performed invites.
Then bring for this grand temple precious things- Sapphires and rubies, emeralds, chrysolites. We do not build on vain imaginings;
We trace the streams of truth to their celestial springs.
Through coming ages will our temple stand, The grandest product of man's mind and heart.
Its dome and spire point to the better land; Its walls and towers attest the builder's art. I only ask to bear an humble part In fashioning the work-to have my name Inscribed upon its walls ere I depart; I ask but this, and make no other claim To that which heroes bleed for and the world calls Fame. Richmond, Missouri, April 10, 1875.
We close this sketch with another of his gems, showing that the robe of ermine fits him no more gracefully than does the chaplet of poesy:
THE ERMINE AND THE HARP. The Ermine's hue of spotless white Invokes the wearer's earnest ken, As law and equity unite To shield and bless the sons of men;
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For heaven-born truth by right prevails And baffles every crafty scheme, When justice holds the impartial scales And mercy's tears bedew the beam.
Fraud writhes beneath the jurist's feet, And falsehood from his presence flies; Twin sisters these that dare not meet The piercing glances of his eyes; And fetters that the strong apply To feeble limbs are snapped in twain, And wrong's foul emblems scattered, lie Around the bondsman's broken chain.
O, bring my harp! Its chords shall send Exultant notes to greet all ears, Notes, whose rich harmonies will blend With music sounding from the spheres; For right has triumphed over wrong, And justice holds unbroken sway; The victory demands a song, A sweet song that will live for aye.
ROBERT SEVIER.
Robert Sevier, eldest son of Valentine Sevier, Esq., was born October 13, 1807, in Greenville, Tennessee. His grandfather, Robert Sevier, with several brothers, left his home in Tennessee to join the American army of the Revolution, and served with distinction in North Carolina against Cornwallis. The elder Robert Sevier held a commission as colonel of volunteers, and held this command at the battle of King's Mountain, where he received wounds of which he soon afterwards died. These brothers were also held in high estimation in civil life; one of them, John Sevier, was governor of Tennessee, after the war. Robert Sevier, the subject of our sketch, was entered a cadet at West Point, in 1824, and was graduated in 1828, brevet second lieutenant, and July 1, 1828, sec- ond lieutenant sixth infantry, joining his regiment at Jefferson barracks, Missouri. He served with the expedition on the upper Arkansas in 1829; Ft. Leavenworth, in 1829-32; in the Black Hawk war in 1832 against Sac and Fox Indians; Ft. Leavenworth in 1832-34; Jefferson barracks in 1834-36; Camp Sabine and Ft. Jessup, Louisiana, in 1836. Adjutant sixth infantry, from August 1, 1836, to October 31, 1837; in Florida war in 1837; resigned, October 31, 1837.
After his resignation, he remained two years in Tennessee. He spent the winter of 1839-40 in Liberty, Clay county, Missouri, seeking a loca- tion for business. In 1840 he entered into the mercantile business in Rich- mond, Missouri, where his remaining years were passed. In 1845, he was elected clerk of the circuit court and cx-officio recorder of deeds of Ray county, which office he retained for twenty years. In 1865 the con-
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stitutional convention of Missouri removed such officers then in commis- sion as refused to take and subscribe the oath of loyalty. Major Sevier was removed, and thereafter persistently remained in private life, although often solicited to occupy positions of trust, living on his farm. In 1851 he married Miss Ann H. Sibley, who died January 20, 1852. The issue of this marriage is Charles Sevier, a very worthy gentleman, occupying the paternal home at this time, with an interesting family; and a daughter, Isabel, who died at the age of nine. His second marriage was with Mrs. Maria Embree, a sister of ex-Governor Austin A. King, of Missouri. This lady survives him. Inheriting the talents and disposi- tion of such an ancestry, his aspirations, even in boyhood, could be only of a high character. Having a vigorous mind, and using wisely his fine advantages in the acquisition of an education, his manhood was matured in the highest meaning of the word. Many graduates will readily remem- ber their associations with him; his genial disposition; his amusing stories; his soldierly bearing-and these reminiscences must needs be very pleasant. During his term of military service, the army was small, and pro- motion slow; opportunities for gaining distinction were seldom found, and many young officers, who had families, retired to civil life. Major Sevier was in many respects well suited for military duty; he was remarkably intelligent, patient, brave, and uncomplaining. He retired from the ser- vice amidst the regrets of his army associates, and was welcomed into civil life by a large circle of friends. The evidences of the value of one's education are not to be sought for in military history alone. In the peace- ful pursuits of private life, the man who acts well his part, educating his children in the fear and love of God; desciplining them to pass through the trials of life bravely and honestly; manifesting by every foot-fall in the pathway of life a true and determined integrity and usefulness, is by no means to be placed in low estimation. Such men build up and strengthen the free institutions of our country; adding to her wealth and honor, her usefulness to mankind, her reputation for good among the people of every land.
It is difficult to find a better reputation than established by Major Sevier during his life-time. Every tongue is ready in his praise. The history of his honest, cheerful manhood, so gracious to his fellow-citizens, seems well written in every heart; and his disposition to kindness made any busi- ness intercourse with him very pleasant. The business and professional men of Richmond, Missouri, are widely known as gentlemen of the highest standing, and the great esteem in which they held Major Sevier, speaks loudly in his praise. He was never at loss for an agreeable subject of conversation; an interview with him never failed to please, as well as to instruct. He was a most sincere believer in the truth of the revealed re- ligion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and an honest professor thereof. He
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