History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 104

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 104

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In 1823 he had married Miss Julia D. Coalter, of South Carolina, one of five sisters, all of whom were united in marriage to men of note. One became the wife of William C. Preston, of South Carolina; an- other of Chancellor Harper, a distinguished judge of the same State; and a third married Dr. Means, a wealthy South Carolinian, whose brother was Gov- ernor. One of them, in 1827, became the wife of Hamilton R. Gamble, afterwards provisional Governor of Missouri in war times. It is of this lady that several biographers relate a romantic story, stating that Edward Bates fell deeply in love with her and proposed, but was refused. He continued his suit, and her high regard for him then led her to disclose to him the fact that she loved Hamilton R. Gamble, but would never marry him because of his dissipated habits. With characteristic magnanimity Bates then sought Gamble, pleaded with him, stood by him, got him to sign the pledge and keep it, and in brief re- formed him, so that he afterwards, in 1827, married Miss Coalter. If the story is not true it ought to be, for such devotion to duty and friendship was a marked trait of Edward Bates. At his death he left six sons and two daughters. He never sought wealthı, and in fact owned hardly any property. Though he held so many public offices, he was always poorer when he left than when he entered them ; though he earned such large sums in his practice, the demands of charity and friendship kept equal pace with his income.

As a lawyer, Judge Bates was an earnest, practical reasoner, and a hard student upon his cases. The finer graces of oratory were his, and though Geyer, Easton, Gamble, and Joshua Barton probably pos- sessed a more strictly legal analysis, no lawyer of his time was more persuasively eloquent. Some of his forensic efforts may well be classed among the fairest blossoms of eloquence. In public life Mr. Bates was not a violent factionist, but he was a strong adherent of whatever cause he espoused. For many years he was a liberal contributor to the columns of the Mis- souri Republican, and his discussion of public questions. always attracted and commanded attention from the

1466

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

force and vigor of his writings, which were character- ized by a fresh, original, and captivating style. He despised the arts of the mere politician ; a demagogue found no toleration in his sight. Indeed, Mr. Bates, by his great abilities, his profound reflection, his com- prehensive views of political economy, had entitled himself to be regarded as a just and eminent states- man. In his youth he published a violent denunci- atory pamphlet against Col. Benton, but in after-life expressed his regret. His old friend, John F. Darby, says, " Mr. Bates won great distinction by presiding at a meeting held at Chicago for commercial and in- ternal improvement purposes. Men of genius and cultivated talents were there, and they were astonished to find a man of such splendid eloquence and elegant elocution and force of delivery among Western dele- gates. It is said, so thrilling was his address, that the reporters themselves, pausing for a moment, were so charmed that they forgot to take down his words." He presided over the national Whig Convention in the year that President Buchanan was nominated by the Democracy. He then returned home and followed his professional pursuits, and in a measure retired from politics, but he was never withdrawn so far as to cease to write occasional essays and make public speeches. Though always in a popular minority, he did more during the Jackson days to shape affairs than any other man in Missouri. He was small in figure, wore the customary broadcloth coat with gold buttons, and ruffled shirt, and seemed a notable per- son in any assemblage .. With all his modesty, tact, and suavity, there were times, in the heat of party conflict, when he was threatened with violence, but his courage never faltered, and in every instance he quelled the rioters.

Mr. Bates never fought a duel, but when in Con- gress, when Missouri was still a Territory, he promptly resented a supposed slight to the constituency repre- sented by him by challenging George McDuffie, the eminent Democratic orator and leader, of South Car- olina, who was at that time chairman of the Commit- tee of Ways and Means. "I see," said Bates, rising in his seat, " that the chair has not the will to protect Missouri from insult in my person ; let the gentleman avow himself, and I will protect myself, sir." Mc- Duffie rose and the challenge forthwith passed. The South Carolinian made handsome explanations, show- ing that he had no purpose of insulting Missouri or aggrieving Mr. Bates, but was simply giving effect to a parliamentary stratagem, and so the hostile meeting was avoided.

The action taken by the St. Louis bar on Mr. Bates' death evinced the greatest regard for his mem-

ory. Two meetings were held, and speeches were made by Col. James O. Broadhead, Samuel T. Glover, Judge S. M. Breckinridge, John F. Darby, and others. All were glowing eulogies, called forth by his long and splendid career ; all dwelt with especial affection on his personal virtues. One spcaker closed by say- ing, " He was a bold, brave, good man. In all re- lations of life it may be said of Mr. Bates that he performed his duty to his family, as a citizen, and to his God. It is well to record the fact that here was a man without advantages, without, as I am told, a classical education, without any adventitious aid, a mere youth seeking his fortune in the West, without pretensions, without assumption or arrogance, but by the native force of his intellect, and by an honest, conscientious, upright life, mounting up from the lowest to the highest round of the ladder of fame."

With all this evidence regarding the character and achievements of this great man, it is a pity that a record of his most famous speeches has not been kept. There was, for instance, the celebrated Mon- tesquieu trial in 1850, one of the most dramatic and widely-known cases of modern times. Judge J. B. Colt presided. James R. Lackland and Uriel Wright represented the State, and Edward Bates, H. S. Geyer, Wilson Primm, and Charles Gibson the defense. The latter, in 1878, being then the only surviving counsel, contributed an account of the trial to the Missouri Historical Society.1

1 No event in the criminal annals of St. Louis ever created such an intense feeling in the community as the Montesquieu murder, or City Hotel tragedy, as it was popularly called. On the morning of Sunday, Oct. 28, 1849, two young French noble- men, Gonsalve and Raymond de Montesquieu, arrived in St. Louis and stopped at Barnum's City Hotel. They had come to this country the preceding June for recreation and pleasure, and had traveled leisurely westward, Chicago having been the last stopping-place. Gonsalve was about twenty-eight years old, and his brother was two years his junior. Both were lib- erally supplied with money. Among their effects were capa- cious wardrobes, a number of guns, and an extensive hunting equipment. They were assigned a room situated on a hall leading from a back piazza. Directly opposite, but in a room opening directly on the piazza, Albert Jones, H. M. Henderson, and Capt. Wm. Hubbell slept, and in another room, the window of which overlooked the piazza, were T. Kirby Barnum, nephew of the proprietor of the hotel, and Mr. Macomber, the steward.

Between eleven and twelve o'clock on the night of Monday, October 29th, while young Barnum and Macomber were pre- paring for bed, they were startled by a tapping on the window- pane, and the curtains being drawn aside they saw the two young Frenchmen on the piazza, one of them armed with a gun. Simultaneously with the discovery one of the Frenchmen fired, the contents mortally wounding Barnum and giving Ma- comber a flesh-wound on the wrist.

Aroused by the report of the gun, Jones, Henderson, and Hubbell opened the door of their room, and werc immediately

1467

BENCH AND BAR.

A bronze statue has been erected to Edward Bates' memory in Forest Park, and the St. Louis Law Library has a fine portrait of this distinguished advocate. In his long life many persons afterwards noted were his

fired upon, Jones being instantly killed, and the others slightly wounded. The brothers returned to their room after the shoot- ing, and were subsequently arrested there.

The homicide was at first regarded as a mystery, as the Mon- tesquieus were perfectly sober, and had had no intercourse or communication whatever with the five men who were shot. At the time of their arrest the younger brother stated that Gon- salve had recently displayed symptoms of insanity, and the latter, exculpating his brother from all blaine, said he was con- trolled by an irresistible inclination to kill two men; that he started out to do so, and that his brother merely followed to prevent a tragedy, but it was consummated before he (Ray- mond) could interfere.

After the tragedy public indignation ran so high that the jail was surrounded, and efforts were made to obtain possession of the Montesquieu brothers, but these were foiled by the jailer and sheriff, who, between seven and eight o'clock on the even- ing of the day succceding the homicide, and while the crowd were assembling around the jail walls, deeming it unsafe to keep the prisoners longer in jail, quietly took them from their cells, conveyed them over the back wall, through the church- yard to Fifth Street, where cabs were in waiting, and conveyed them to Jefferson Barracks. On the way to the barracks the elder of the two seemed perfectly composed, and when they reached the gate took advantage of the sheriff's absence from the cab, sprang from his seat, and made a slight effort to es- cape. The younger appeared very much frightened, and used every precaution while being conducted from the jail to avoid recognition. Between one and two o'clock A.M. on the Friday following they were returned to the jail.

At the time of their arrest the statements of the Montes- quieus as to their birth and social position in France were re- ceived with incredulity, it being generally believed that they were desperadocs, but a few weeks later their claims were substan- tiated, as the following extract from the Missouri Republican will show :

"The deplorable and almost incomprehensible event which produced so much sensation in the public mind a few weeks ago, and so much grief in several families, seems to have ex- cited equal sensation and grief in France. The last steamer brings out from Mr. Rives, our minister at Paris, a letter of his own to Senator Benton, with many letters and official docu- ments to himself and others to Senator Benton, Senator Cass, and the Hon. Mr. Winthrop, on the subject of this most melan- choly occurrence. The letters make known the fact that the father of these young gentlemen (the late Count Montesquieu) labored under insanity, and destroyed his own life two years ago, and that their elder brother is now insane in Paris, and hence raise the irresistible inference that inherited insanity must have broken out in the two brothers at St. Louis. All the letters speak of them in the same terins as being remarkable for the amiability of their characters and their 'mild and inof- fensive manners;' that they came to the United States for in- formation and recreation, and especially to sce the Western country, and with ample means and credit. They descend from a family in France not only of great historic fame, but dis- tinguished for private virtues.

" The celebrated Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, author of the ' Maxims,' is their grandfather on the mother's side; the present Duke de la Rochefoucauld writes in their behalf as

students, as will be seen hereafter. One of these was Col. Jo Davis, of Fayette, born in 1804, who died in 1871.

The Gamble brothers, Hamilton R. and Archibald, were distinguished for character and ability, and upon the first fell the burden of state in those " times that

nephews; the Gen. Oudinot, Duke of Reggio, and Gen. Arrigri, Duke of Padua, also in their behalf as relations. The Count Montesquieu himself belonged to the distinguished family of that name. Many Americans in Paris, among them Mr. Wil- liam H. Aspinwall, of New York, also writes, and with all the deep feeling which the view of the agonized condition of the unhappy mother and relations so naturally inspires. These letters and official attestations have all been forwarded to St. Louis, to have their effect in explaining a transaction which seemed to be incomprehensible."

In the latter part of December, 1849, Lewis Borg, vice-consul of France at the port of New York, and Justin Paillaird, of Paris, arrived at St. Louis, M. Borg being commissioned to in- vestigate the Montesquieu tragedy, and his companion being an intimate friend of the young men involved in the melancholy affair. The effect of the letters from abroad and the visit of Messrs. Borg and Paillaird was to change public sentiment in regard to the guilt and character of the accused, and it was not strange that in each of two trials the juries failed to agree upon a verdict. In the first trial the jury stood seven for acquitting and five for convicting Gonsalve, and eight for acquitting and four for convicting Raymond. In the case of Gonsalve the jury divided upon his insanity, and in the case of Raymond they divided upon the dying declaration of Barnum and Macomber's testimony as given before the coroner and recorder. Barnum and Macomber identified Raymond as the person who fired into their room, but the fact that at the time of the shooting Bar- num and Macomber were in a lighted room, the defendants in the dark upon the piazza, and the alarm of the persons in the room when they saw a man approach the window with a gun in his hand, their hasty observation and precipitate retreat, the similarity in the appearance of the two brothers, the excite- ment of Barnum and Macomber at the time of recognition on the night of the occurrence, the fact that both were identified at different periods on that night as the "man" who shot, that but one gun, double-barreled, was discharged, and if both shot they would necessarily have had to use the same piece, that at the time of the arrest Raymond denied he had shot, and stated that his brother did it, that Gonsalve admitted he killed both men, and exonerated his brother, were all considered by the jury, and caused the division upon the conviction of Raymond.

This first trial occupied four weeks, and was concluded April 20, 1850. On the next trial, which took place two weeks later, the jury, after being out forty hours, also disagreed, the vote being nine for conviction and three for acquittal in the cases of both of the brothers.

A few weeks after the second trial the Governor pardoned Gonsalve on the ground of his insanity at the time of commit- ting the murder, and shortly thereafter he pardoned the younger brother on the ground of " a general belief that he did not par- ticipate in the homicide whereof he stands indicted, and that a further prosecution of these indictments will not accomplish any of the objects of public justice, but will result only in re- newed trouble and increased expense to the State." The brothers Montesquieu sailed for France from New York imme- diately after being set free. Gonsalve afterwards died a raving maniac.

1468

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

tricd men's souls" in the early period of the civil war. Their ancestry was of sturdy Virginian stock. The grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1752, set- tling in Pennsylvania, but ten years later returned to Europe. His eldest son came back to America, fought in the Revolutionary war, and afterwards was Pro- fessor of Latin and Greek in the University of Penn- sylvania. A younger son, Joseph, was the father of the subjects of our sketch. Hc, while in Ireland, married Anne Hamilton, and in 1784 reached Amer- ica, settling in Winchester, Va., where seven children, of whom Hamilton Rowan was the youngest, were born and reared under the strictest religious influences, Joseph Gamble being ruling clder in the Presbyterian Church. Hamilton's birth occurred Nov. 29, 1798. His education was chiefly obtained at Hampden-Sid- ney College, and he was admitted to practice when he was but eighteen years of age; before he was twenty- one he had been licensed as a lawyer in three States, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri, arriving in Mis- souri in 1818. Some time previously his elder brother Archibald, a well-trained and successful young lawyer, had located in St. Louis, was then clerk of the Circuit Court, and appointed Hamilton as his deputy. At that time the entire territory north of the Missouri River was divided into two counties, Howard and St. Charles, and young Gamble soon removed to Old Franklin, the chief town of the former, where he was appointed prosecuting attorney for the circuit. His official duties required thousands of miles of travel on horseback each ycar, his only law-books being such as he could carry in his saddle-bags. Social tempta- tions in this frontier life were natural, and for a time the brilliant attorney yielded to them, but, as related elsewhere, the influences of love and friendship caused a complete reform. In 1824 he was appointed by Governor Frederick Bates Secretary of State, and removed to St. Charles, the temporary seat of govern- ment. After the death of Governor Bates, which soon occurred, he settled in St. Louis, and his great success as a lawyer dates from that period. He at once became engaged in active competition for profes- sional honors and rewards with such men as Benton, Geyer, the Bartons, Robert Wash, and others, and was fully their pccr. Devoting his attention chiefly to land cases, lie seldom addresscd a jury, but was re- tained in all the important land suits, followed them to the Supreme Court, argucd thiem in person, and became widely known as a jurist. He was slow of speech and not eloquent, but no man had greater ca- pacity for clear, brief, and logical statement of facts and law. Herein lay his strength and his reputation.

In 1832-33 he aided to defend Judge Carr, then

under impeachment; in 1846 he was sent to the Legislature to assist in revising the laws, and his services were extremely useful. Five years later (in . 1851) a place was vacant on the Supreme Bench of the State, and Mr. Gamble, though belonging to the Whig party, then hopelessly in the minority, was elected, receiving over forty thousand Democratic votes, and, to still further emphasize this tribute to his worth, his associates on the bench chose him as presiding judge. Ill health led to his resignation in 1855, after which he only appeared in a few import- ant cases in the United States Supreme Court. His opinions, delivered while presiding judge, were note- worthy both in style and matter. About 1858, Gov- ernor Gamble removed to Philadelphia to educate his children, and was still there when the war-clouds began to gather. When the Legislature of Missouri passed an act to call together a "State Convention," Judge Gamble hastcned home, found anarchy impending and dissension everywhere, addresscd a meeting of the citizens at the court-house the very next evening after his arrival, and proclaimed his unswerving fidelity to the Union. It is impossible to estimate the value of this one man's words at such a crisis ; they rallicd the Union men and strengthened their cause immeasurably. When the convention met the Unionists had a ma- jority. Judge Gamble took a prominent part in the deliberations, and was unanimously chosen provisional Governor after the flight of Governor Claiborne Jack- son. This was in July, 1861. The eyes of all Union men turned to Hamilton Rowan Gamble as their surcst and wisest counselor. He shrank from the difficult task, and accepted it only when convinced that it was his duty. This period properly belongs to the political history of the State. It is sufficient to say that Governor Gamble won fitting place in the list of " war Governors."

In 1827, Mr. Gamble was married at Columbia, S. C., to Miss Caroline J. Coalter, sister of Mrs. Edward Bates. He died on Jan. 31, 1864, worn out by arduous duties and anxiety. The city build- ings, stores, and many residences of St. Louis were draped in mourning, and business was suspended. The funeral cortege was over a mile long. Rev. Dr. Brooks delivered the sermon, and pulpit and the press united in cxpressing the general sorrow. The St. Louis bar assembled en masse, paid every possible tribute (Thomas T. Gantt pronounced the eulogy), and went in a body to his funcral. His full-length portrait hangs in the Mercantile Library. Lieuten- ant-Governor Willard P. Hall assumed the duties of chief magistrate, and proved faithful and efficient. The Missouri Republican said editorially, after

1469

BENCH AND BAR.

Governor Gamble's death, " A purer patriot, one more devoted to his country, a more sincere man, a better Christian has rarely taken his departure from among us. If he had not possessed these attributes it is unlikely that he would have endured the fiery ordeal with which embittered political malice pursued him to the last hour of his life, for he was not a politician. But he took upon himself the cares of State and the drudgery of office at a time when he might well be excused from it, and devoted all his energies, his life, to the redemption of the State from the troubles which encompassed it."

Governor Gamble's brother Archibald was born in Winchester, Frederick Co., Va., in 1791 or 1792, and came to St. Louis in 1816. He was a lawyer ; served for a year as clerk of the St. Louis Bank, then as deputy clerk under Clerk Marie P. Leduc in Judge David Barton's court. Governor William Clark appointed him clerk of Circuit Court and ex officio recorder of deeds of St. Louis County, an office he held for eighteen years, when J. F. Ruland succeeded him. In 1822 he married Louisa, third daughter of Col. Rufus Easton. He was long the efficient and active legal agent of the public schools. When Lafayette visited St. Louis in 1825, he was one of the alder- men, and aided in the reception. In 1836 he was a leading spirit in the railroad building movement. At one time he had charge of the St. Louis post-office, and was secretary of the Barton Convention in June, 1831. During the last twenty years of his life, which closed in September, 1866, he lived in comparative retirement, possessing abundant means. Like his brother, he was a strict and worthy member of the Presbyterian Church. When in the full vigor of his manhood no person was more closely identified with business enterprises and the growth of the community.

Hon. John F. Darby, who flourished so long and so genially, might be treated as the contemporary of almost any group of lawyers in St. Louis. His period of greatest activity, however, was from 1830 to 1842. Mr. Darby's name occurs in numerous places in this chapter, and a full biography of him will be found in the record of municipal history, dur- ing his administration as mayor of St. Louis.

Numbers of distinguished lawyers have been schcol-teachers in their early career. The comparative leisure afforded in small country schools makes this occupation a favorite stepping-stone from college to the bar. Even now the schools of the West contain many bright, ambitious young teachers who are spending their evenings and Saturdays in reading law, and who may be heard from hereafter as noted jurists. The Missouri bar has had several shining lights whose

earlier manhood was passed in pedagogic work. One of these was George Tompkins, for many years the presiding justice of the Supreme Court. Born in Caroline County, Va., in March, 1780, of sturdy Saxon stock, and in a family which was one of the earliest to settle in that region, he seems to have lacked a college training, but was a great reader and a hard student. About 1801 or 1802 he left Vir- ginia with but one hundred dollars, and removed to Kentucky, teaching school, and reading such books as he could obtain. He remained six or seven years in this State, most of the time in Jefferson County. Then he came to St. Louis, and was the second teacher in the public school, having succeeded a man named Ratchford. The school was in a room on Market Street, between Second and Third Streets. The popu- lation of the town was not over fourteen hundred, chiefly Creole French, there being only two American families there. He still read law in his leisure hours, and made diligent use of the few books obtainable. To train himself and others in the art and practice of public speaking he organized a debating society, the first on record west of the Mississippi. Joshua and David Barton, Edward Bates, Maj. O'Fallon, and other young men who afterwards did good public service participated in the. discussions. It is a pity that a full report of these meetings has not been pre- served. In school and in debating club young Mr. Tompkins exercised influence over many who after- wards became leading citizens of the metropolis. About 1812 or thereabouts his father's death left him heir to a share of the ancestral estate, but there were thirteen children, George being the youngest but onc, and he refused to receive any portion of it. In the expressive phrase of the West, he could easily " paddle his own canoe."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 104

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