History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 102

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 102

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In 1805 a post-office was established in St. Louis, and Judge Easton was appointed the first postmaster, a proof that the government reposed the utmost confidence in his patriotism and integrity. His popularity and influence in the Territory grad- ually increased, and in 1814 he was elected delegate to Congress and served four years. Upon the organ- ization of the State government in 1821 he was ap- pointed attorney-general, and continued in that office until 1826. He died at St. Charles, Mo., July 5, 1834.

During this long and varied career Mr. Easton was actively engaged in the practice of his profession, and was indisputably the leading lawyer of the Territory. He was noted morc for the soundness and vigor of his intellect than for eloquence, although he was not without many of the graces of oratory. He expressed himself with extraordinary clearness and force, and would have been esteemed a strong debater at any bar in the country. But his chief excellence con- sisted in his fine executive and administrative talents. He discharged the duties of every one of the many and important offices he held with distinguished ability and unimpeached fidelity.

Judge Easton was a man of very kind heart, and was charitable to the full extent of his means. He and his accomplished wife (who was a native of New York) dispensed a most generous hospitality, and few strangers of note· visited St. Louis without re- ceiving an invitation to his house.

He left a large family. The oldest son, Col. A. R. Easton, is still living. There were seven daughters ; one married the Hon. T. L. Anderson, of Palmyra, Mo .; another became the wife of the Hon. H. S. Geyer ; the third married Archibald Gamble, a brother of Governor Gamble ; another was the wife of Major Sibley, of St. Charles. Mrs. Sibley was a lady of fine literary taste, and with her husband founded and endowed the Lindenwood Female Seminary at St. Charles, which became and is yet noted as an insti- tution of learning.

Judge Easton engaged largely in real estate specu- lation, his partner being William Russell, father-in- law of the late Hon. Thomas Allen. They owned the ground on which the present city of Alton, Ill., is situated. The city was named after Judge Easton's oldest son, and several of its streets after members of his family.

Col. Easton was a man of fine appearance. The portrait which accompanies this sketch is an excellent likeness, and is from a miniature taken when he was about forty years old.

Col. Alton R. Easton, the oldest son of Rufus Easton, was born in St. Louis, June 23, 1807. His early education was received at a private school con- ducted by Rev. Salmon Giddings, after leaving which he spent two years with the Rev. Dr. Townsend, a cultivated gentleman, who kept a select school on his farm on Shoal Creek, a tributary of the Kaskaskia River, Illinois. Here young Easton was instructed in the ordinary English branches and the classics. In 1823, in company with a son of Dr. Townsend, he was sent East to complete his education. The journey was made by carriage, but the usual rate of travel was so slow that the boys walked most of the way, and actually traversed the greater part of the distance through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio on foot. At Cleveland, desiring to enjoy a new phase of travel, they took a sloop for Buffalo, and there rejoined their escort. The trip ended at Bloomfield, N. J., where for a year young Easton attended an academical school taught by the Rev. Dr. Perrine, and then in 1824 entered the Military Academy at West Point. At the end of two and a half years, however, owing to a misunderstanding with the authorities of the insti- tution, he resigned, and in the winter of 1827 re- turned to St. Louis and engaged in the study of medi- cine with Dr. Samuel Merry. This well-remembered gentleman was also receiver of public money, and as he was in poor health, Easton was often left in charge of the office, and ultimately became practically the receiver himself.

Several years of this confining service affected his health unfavorably, and he left the office and for four years was engaged almost exclusively in hunting and fishing. He is wont to say that this was the most pleasant and interesting period of his life. This regimen and his campaigning in the Mexican war fully restored his health, and since the latter period he has scarcely known what sickness is.

In 1832 he started with his rifle, a solitary volun- teer, to engage in the Black Hawk war, but pcace was concluded before he reached the field of action. About the year 1833 the "St. Louis Grays" were

A. R. Easton C

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VENIUS

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organized and became the crack company of the city, and Mr. Easton was for many years their captain. The organization of other companies in due season necessitated the formation of a regiment, and Capt. Easton was chosen colonel of the famous " St. Louis Legion." In May, 1846, when Gen. Taylor, after the brilliant battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, appealed to Gen. Gaines for reinforcements, the Legion promptly responded to the requisition of Gen. Gaines. Within three days the regiment was recruited to about nine hundred men and was on its way down the river for Mexico, with Col. Easton in command. The Legion spent the summer at Bureto, on the Rio Grande, far from the theatre of war, and in the fall returned to St. Louis, without having participated in any engage- ments.

Early in the following year a requisition for volun- teers was made, and St. Louis raised a battalion, with Col. Easton in command, and dispatched it southward. The force crossed the plains from Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fé. While on the march Col. Easton in- dulged his passion for hunting, and won much renown among the men of his command by shooting buffalo and other game. One of his adventures resembled, but greatly eclipsed, Putnam's exploit with the wolf. A wolf which he was pursuing suddenly disappeared in a cavern in one of the " salt licks" common to the West. He fired and killed him, and sent a companion down who dragged him out. A growl indicated the presence of another animal, and he shot, killed, and dragged out another. To his great surprise another savage demonstration was heard in the cavern, and a third shot resulted in the death and dragging forth of a third wolf.

On arriving at Santa Fé affairs were found in an extremely unsettled condition, and Col. Easton took the reins as military Governor and restored order. On being relieved by Gen. Sterling Price, lie led his command to Chihuahua, arriving there in March, 1848. The rumors of an armistice then prevailing prevented the battalion from engaging in any military movements, although there was brisk fighting at Santa Cruz, only sixty miles away. Peace having been declared the regiment was ordered home, and was mustered out of the service in October, 1848.

Though in the service for a considerable period be- fore war was declared, and long after the war was over, it so happened that Col. Easton saw no fight- ing whatever, notwithstanding the fact that in his two periods of service he probably traveled farther for a chance to fight than any officer in the army.

Upon returning from Mexico, Col. Easton resumed his field sports, and was a familiar figure in all the

unsettled portions of St. Louis and the adjacent coun- ties. He was particularly expert with the rifle, and there were few men in the Southwest who were better marksmen. It is still his delight to talk of his ex- ploits with rod and gun, and even yet lie often in- dulges in his favorite pastimes. It is his custom annually to go into a " fall encampment" with certain of his sporting friends, who have built club-houses near Grand Tower, Mo., and on the Black River, Ark.

When the Territory of New Mexico was organized, President Fillmore offered him the secretaryship, but he declined the honor. In 1853, Mr. Fillmore ap- pointed him assistant treasurer of the United States, at the request of Maj. H. S. Turner, who had re- signed, and he retained this office until removed by President Pierce. After the war Col. Easton was strenuously urged to run for Congress, but declined.

From 1860 to 1864 he was a member of the county court. During his term the court-house was finished, and the insane asylum was in process of building.

When the street railway system was established in St. Louis, Col. Easton subscribed to the stock of several companies, and succeeded B. Gratz Brown in the presidency of the Citizens' Railway. From 1861 to 1864 he was inspector-general of the State of Mis- souri, under the celebrated "Order No. 96," which authorized the equipment and maintenance of a body of troops raised in Missouri under the authority of the Federal government, and bearing allegiance there- to, but to be employed exclusively for the defense of the State. In this capacity Col. Easton showed great ability as an organizer, and rendered the Union cause the most indefatigable and efficient service, his duties at times leading him into situations of extreme per- sonal peril. His commission was signed by Governor Gamble, and he subsequently learned with pride that it was the first one issued by that official under the order in question.

For several years Col. Easton was the agent of Mrs. Tyler, of Kentucky, and efficiently managed that lady's vast estate. In 1873 he was appointed assessor of internal revenue by President Grant, of his own motion, and without the customary consultation with the Missouri delegation. When Grant lived in St. Louis and was but a retired army captain, Col. Easton had rendered him many services. Notably when a member of the county court he had advocated (though unsuccessfully) Grant's appointment as county engi- neer. Col. Easton held this office until it was legis- lated out of existence, and soon after that event was appointed pension agent by President Grant, who was

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still anxious to show his regard for an old and trusty friend. He was often consulted by the President concerning appointments in St. Louis, and his recom- mendations were usually concurred in. To show the estimation in which he was held by the administration the following graceful note is appended :

" TREASURY DEPARTMENT, " WASHINGTON, May 7, 1875.

"DEAR SIR,-The President directs me to tender you the office of collector of internal revenue at St. Louis, vice Maguire, resigned, and I beg to add an expression of my official and per- sonal desire that you may see proper to accept the same.

" Please regard this communication as confidential, and answer by telegraph. The word 'yes' will he regarded as acceptance.

" Very truly yours, "B. H. BRISTOW, Secretary.

" ALTON EASTON, EsQ., St. Louis, Mo."

Col. Easton did not accept the position, but at the expiration of his term as pension agent, in 1877, re- tired to private life, and has spent the succceding inter- val in the enjoyment of well-earned ease. His years considerably exceed the Psalmist's limit, but he is yet vigorous in body and mind. When in the prime of life he wandered and hunted over the very spot where his large but modest residence now stands in West St. Louis, on a busy avenue called by his name, and so designated because of the respect which his townspeople entertain for him personally and their appreciation of his many and distinguished public ser- vices. Col. Easton is one of the few remaining links that connect the present with the Territorial period of the State, and in a long and singularly interesting career he has won and retained the high regard of two generations of his fellow-men.

Incidental reference has been made to Judge Silas Bent as a lawyer of eminence. His father, also named Silas, was born in Sudbury, Mass., in 1744, and was commander of the " Boston Tea Party." The sub- ject of this sketch, one of seven children, was born in 1768, educated at Rutland, moved to Ohio in 1788, and afterwards to Virginia, where he married Martha Kerr. In 1804, after holding various sur- veyorships and associate judgeships, he was appointed chief deputy surveyor for Upper Louisiana by Albert Gallatin. In 1807 he was made first judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the district of St. Louis. The next year he became auditor of public accounts. In 1809, with Bernard Pratte and Louis Labeaume as associates, he was appointed presiding judge of the St. Louis court, and signed the first town charter. In 1811 he was again public auditor and first judge of the courts, and in 1813 became supreme judge of the Territory, was recommissioned, and held the office until it was abolished by the

admission of Missouri. Then he was appointed clerk of the St. Louis County Court, which place he retained until his death in November, 1827. His public duties were most onerous, and were ably and honestly performed. Of his seven children, the third, John, born in 1803, and admitted to the Missouri bar in 1824, gave great promise, and was very popular in St. Louis, where he lield the office of circuit attor- ney, and at one time represented the district in the Legislature. He died in 1845. Charles Bent be- came Governor of New Mexico, and was murdered in a Mexican outbreak at Taos in 1847.1 Julia mar- ried Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, during whose term the " Mormon excitement" occurred, and who in 1849 moved to California, settling in the Sacramento valley, where he died a few years later. The other children werc Lucy, Dorcas, William W., Mary, George, Rob- ert, Edward, and Silas.

Thomas Hart Benton came to St. Louis in 1813, and began the practice of the law. How large a part he played at the bar of St. Louis and in the councils of the nation his biography, on another page, relates in full. The mention of Benton recalls the Lucases, his lifelong enemies, whose lives are also given in full in another place. Charles Lucas, the son, who fell beneath Benton's pistol, was of great promise as a young lawyer, and seems to have been his father's favorite child up to the time of his unhappy fate. He, like his brother James, began his education at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, passed the bar in 1814, was at once elected to the Legislature, and soon after appointed United States attorney for the Terri- tory. It was his rapid advancement in political honors which probably earned him the hatred of Benton, who saw in him a formidable rival for that senator- ship which was the goal of his own ambitions. Judge Lucas at least secmed to think so, and never relented

1 Charles, William W., and some of the younger hrothers were among the bravest of the mountain men who fought Indians, led parties across the plains, pierced the loveliest valleys and climbed the steepest slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Their deeds are forever a part of those stormy days of warfare with Blackfoot, Comanche, and other trihes of fierce warriors. They rank with Milton Sublette and his brothers Andrew, Saul, and William, with St. Vrain and Bonneville. They were traders, explorers, heroes, and the inen whom they led were absolutely fearless, infinitely fertile in resource. Capt. Charles Bent was once seen to charge alone and check fifty Indians. His genius in Indian warfare was of the first rank. In 1829, with sixty men, he defeated over five hundred well-armed Indians on the Cimaron River. William W. Bent and two companions, while trapping beaver in New Mexico, were once attacked hy two hundred warriors, hut built a breastwork of stones, fought them for three days, and finally drove off their assailants. It was a time when the sons of the hest families of St. Louis were on the frontiers. William W. Bent died in Colorado, May 19, 1869.

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in his bitter hostility to and his relentless scorn of Benton. An instance of this occurred at a ball at the Planters' House, when Col. Benton was one of the invited guests. Judge Lucas was standing with his daughter at the head of the room when he saw Ben- ton. Anxious friends endeavored to prevent a " scene," with no avail. Making his way to where Col. Ben- ton stood, he coolly and deliberately surveyed him with the most contemptuous expression of counte- nance, and turning to his son James, in a distinct tone, and in his slightly broken accent, said, " It is a con-so-la-shion, my son, that whoever knows Measter Col. Thomas H. Benton knows him to be a rascail,- eh, my boy ?" Col. Benton thought it wiser to brook the insult than to resent it, and shortly after left the room. There are many stories told of Judge Lucas. He was a man of faultless integrity, of immovable opinions, and of a haughty imperiousness. Old citi- zens speak of him as a little, bent old man, with snow- white hair and sparkling jet-black eyes.

James H. Lucas assumed care of the extensive es- tate left by his father, and filled many positions of trust and honor.

Of J. H. Lucas' family, the eldest daughter married Dr. J. B. Johnson ; another married Silas Hicks, of New York, and some years after his death Judge Hagar, of San Francisco; J. B. C. Lucas possesses much of his father's business capacity ; Robert mar- ried Miss Clara Kennedy, daughter of Dr. Kennedy, of the United States army ; William, the eldest son, married a daughter of ex-Governor Horner, of Wis- consin, and is of a decided literary turn ; James, Joseph, and Henry are the other children. His do- mestic life was in all respects a fortunate and happy one. In 1870, Wilson McDonald, the sculptor, exe- cuted a bust of Mr. Lucas, which was formally pre- sented to him with a speech by Hon. John H. O'Neil.

In the Territorial days of Missouri three brothers, Joshua, David, and Isaac Barton, sons of a Baptist minister, were distinguished for their knowledge of the law, though David possessed the most talent, and was unquestionably one of the greatest men of his time. They were from the mountains of East Ten- nessee, where they had studied English law. Alex- ander Gray, James Peck, afterwards United States district judge for Missouri, and the three McGirk brothers, Matthias, Andrew, and Isaac, were also from this rugged region. The father of the Bartons, Rev. Isaac Barton, was born in Maryland in 1746, removed to North Carolina, and settled near Greenville, where David was born in 1783. Isaac Barton, the elder, afterwards moved to Jefferson County, Tenn., where he died in 1831; his wife Kcziah survived until

1845, dying at the age of ninety-one. This worthy couple had twelve children born to them. One son was killed in the war of 1812. David began his education at Greenville College, now in Tennessee, but then in North Carolina, Tennessee being a part of that State up to 1796. The inscription on the monument to his memory erected by the State says he "came to Missouri in 1800," but this is a mistake, as he was admitted to practice in 1810 in Tennessee, and reached St. Louis the following year. In the war of 1812 he was an Indian ranger, as were many of the most noted lawyers of the day in the West. The memory of Jo Daviess, of Ken- tucky, yet lingers in the State made famous by his eloquence and consecrated by his life-blood. The leaders of the St. Louis bar in 1804-15 were no less brave, though more fortunate. Some of them were as familiar with the rifle, the sword, and the dueling pistol as with their Blackstone and Kent, and were notable figures at hunts in canebrake and forest, and at turkey shoots in the villages. Shortly after David Barton's arrival, Col. Easton remarked that he would become a famous orator, and in a few years he was one of the best stump-speakers of his party. When the first Territorial Legislature met, of which sev- eral Tonnessce lawyers were members, an act was passed making the common law of England and British statutes, so far as not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, the law of the Territory. David Barton was immediately appointed circuit judge for St. Louis. In December, 1817, he found he could make more money in his private prac- tice, and resigned his office. The Superior Court and the Circuit Courts of St. Charles, Washington, and St. Louis often thereafter rang with his eloquent pleadings. At this time, and for some years after, he was the most popular man in the State. When the Constitutional Convention met in June, 1820, David Barton was elected presiding officer by a unanimous vote, and so many of the provisions of the State Con- stitution were framed by him that the instrument is still known as the " Barton Constitution." That au- tumn, while his courtesy and administrative ability were still fresh in the public mind, the General As- sembly met, and the election of David Barton as United States senator was by acclamation. Then followed that remarkable contest between Benton and Lucas, elsewhere more fully described. As is well known, Barton and Benton did not take their seats in the Senate until the passage of the Missouri Compro- mise, but in 1821 their first speeches gave them high rank as debaters, which they afterwards maintained throughout their public life.

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In 1823 a correspondent of the New York Adver- tiser gave the following graphic description of tlicse famous men : " It is striking to see the shyness which these two distinguished senators exhibit with regard to each other. On every political subject they are antipodes, and they seem to have for each other no great personal friendship. They never converse or associate cither in public or in private. In debate they are uniformly opposed on every subject, but still they never, even in direct and sharp replication, allude to each other in the ordinary way, as 'my honorable colleague,' or ' my friend, the senator from Missouri.' In no way are they ever known to recog- nize each other, either in friendship and courtesy or in avowed hostility. In person and mind they also differ. Benton is tall, large, and erect. Barton is thin and of rather low stature. Benton's education and genius fit him for activity and stirring life ; Bar- ton's for quiet and sedentary pursuits. The former is the more laborious, the latter is the more highly gifted. Both are literary, but the learning of the former is the result of the hard study of his later years, while that of the latter grew with the growth of his own mind, and is affiliated with it. Benton's speeches, and particularly his writings, remind one of extracts, abridgments, and labored compilations, while Barton's words and ideas flow easily from a native and inexhaustible fountain. Benton is am- bitious and aspiring ; his colleague, on the other hand, is careless of political fame and advancement. Ben- ton is lofty and imposing in his manner, and in temper high-toned, fierce, and contentious, while Barton is modest and unpretending, but dignified, cool, and resolute. Both of these gentlemen were born and educated in the old States, but have passed their lives chiefly in the new regions of the West, where they have filled with reputation the highest offices. Of the State of Missouri, which they now represent, they are eminently the founders, having been among the first to settle it, having framed its Constitution and established its laws, and having, as it is to be presumed, imparted much of their own strong and original character to its institutions and its population." It is evident from this that the per- sonal friendship which in 1820 made Barton throw the whole weight of his influence for Benton's elec- tion had greatly waned, and that the way was open- ing for the estrangement of 1825, and his subsequent philippic against his colleague. In reference to the quotation just made the St. Louis Republican com- mented as follows : " Col. Benton was not a member of the convention which formed the present Constitu- tion of Missouri, nor has he ever aoted in a legislative

capacity since his removal to the State. He never was what is termed a popular man with the people. They have always viewed him with distrust, and time in developing his character has not served to do away their apprehensions. The same feeling which has heretofore existed would now prevent his elevation to any office which depends upon a manifestation of the popular will."

In describing Barton's eloquence, Judge Bay, author of the "Bench and Bar of Missouri," says that his wit, sarcasm, and invectives were terrible, and even overpowering. Benton was the best logician, but was far inferior in pathos, vehemence, and imagination. For ten years Barton served in the United States Senate with zeal and efficiency, but the support he gave to Adams in 1825, as against Jackson, urging John Scott, Missouri's representative, to vote for the former, was fatal to his political future, and he retired from public life for some years. Before this, how- ever, he delivered his great speech, which was ranked at the time with Webster's famous reply to Hayne. Wrought up to the passionate heights of fearless and torrent-like oratory, he spared none of his opponents, not even Benton, whom he arraigned for official mis- conduct. The speech remains to this day a model of masterly invective and denunciation, and at this time he received the title of "Little Red," which clung to him the rest of his life. It was a rough-clad back- woodsman from Western Missouri who, after hearing this great speechi, shouted through the Senate galleries and the streets in wild excitement, " Hurrah for the Little Red!" and when asked for an explanation, said he once owned a little red rooster which whipped all its opponents, and that "was like Dave Barton !" When public feeling turned so strongly against Bar- ton that he was defcated, the opposition press called it a national calamity. The earnest leaders who after- wards organized the Whig party spoke with universal regret of his retirement.

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 102

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358