USA > Missouri > The history of the bench and bar of Missouri : With reminiscences of the prominent lawyers of the past, and a record of the law's leaders of the present > Part 15
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94
105
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE CRIMINAL PRACTICE.
as the "John Finnigan " who had escaped from Eureka, Kan., in 1880. There had been a reward offered by the Santa Fe Railroad Company for the Finnigan who had escaped.
John Finnigan, at the time of the charge made against him by the salesman, was the owner of several express and package wagons, and was doing a transporting business between the hotels and railroads at Dallas. On notification, the Sheriff of Eureka visited Texas and identified Mr. Finnigan as the man who had escaped from the Eureka jail in 1880. A contest was made by Finnigan to prevent his being taken away. To increase the strength of the case against him, the deputy Sheriff, in charge of the jail at the time of the escape, was sent for, and he also identified Mr. Finnigan as the man who had escaped. Finnigan's reputation in Dallas being good, and the magistrate being reluctant to send him away, the Sheriff from Eureka made a statement to the court, that during the incarceration of the man "Finnigan " in jail at Eureka, an operation had been performed upon him which left a scar on his right groin, and that if this man had a scar on him of like character, it would go far towards corroborating his statement. Upon examination, it was found that Finnigan had a scar located in the same place. This was sufficient to expel all doubts, and John Finnigan was taken to Eureka, Kan., under a requisition, to be tried upon the indictment for burglary found in 1880.
In August, 1880, John Finnigan, the party taken from Texas, was keeping a livery stable at the junction of Olive Street and Lindell Avenue, in the City of St. Louis. He had two brothers living there, one engaged for many years with a leading St. Louis carpet establishment, and the other in the restaurant business on St. Charles Street. He was honored and respected, and had never been accused of any offense. I went to Eureka and undertook his defense. The testimony presented many remarkable phases. Before my arrival at Eureka, at the request of the defendant, the Court asked a local attorney to prepare an affidavit requesting a short delay. This was signed by Mr. Finnigan, and the signature had an after-bearing on the case which will be seen. The trial was conducted prin- cipally by Mr. Sterry, representing the Santa Fe Railroad Company, associated with two other local attorneys and the public prosecutor. Mr. Sterry is the attorney who so ably prose- cuted the State vs. Mrs. Walkup, tried in Kansas, and charged with poisoning her hus- band. After proof of the burglary, they introduced Mr. Bradish, who arrested "John Fill- nigan" in 1880, searched his person and took him to jail. He identified the defendant as the man he arrested. Another witness, Mr. M. J. Vernon, testified he was present at the time of the arrest and assisted in it. He described the man he arrested and how he was dressed; said he had a small scar on the forehead, just under the hair; that he was positive the defendant at the bar was the man he helped to arrest; that he saw the defendant in Texas; that he went there for the purpose of seeing if he were the man he had formerly arrested, and who had escaped from the jail; that he was sent by the deputy Sheriff; that he identified him as soon as he saw him; that he was positive, but of course might be mistaken. Another witness by the name of Ellington, saw the prisoner at the time of the arrest in 1880. He identified the defendant as being the same man. Dr. Wakefield testi- fied that he was called to see one "John Finnigan" in jail at Eureka in 1880; that he lanced an abscess in the right groin. "I have seen this man since he was brought here from Texas," the doctor said. "The scar is about in the same location where I lanced, and it is my judgment that it is the scar left from my lance. I think he is the inan, because of the scar, in connection with other circumstances. I might be mistaken; I know from the books that mistakes in identity have often occurred." Besides these parties, the Justice
-
106
THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
who heard the preliminary examination in the ease, identified the defendant as the man who was present in his eourt in 1880; said he looked like an old friend of his. Mr. West- brook, another witness, near whose house the arrest took place, identified the defendant as the one who was arrested. E. Ames, during the time a prisoner in the jail, also identified defendant as the one who escaped. General Rogers, County Attorney, who attended the preliminaly examination, identified defendant as the man who was a prisoner in 1880, though he said he might be inistaken. Two other citizens testified to the same faets. W. E. Doud, publisher of the paper at that time, was so positive that the prisoner at the bar was the same man he had seen in the Justice's office and had escaped in 1880, that he could not be mistaken. He said that if every man in Eureka thought different, that he would think the same. Deputy Sheriff Wallace and two other citizens, Diekson and Biby by name, swore to the same faets.
This was the testimony of the first day, and covered the State's case. It looked almost like there was no chance for my elient. On eross-examination, however, most of these parties adınitted that there might be a mistake; that the intervention of three years made it possi- ble, but that they never had seen so striking a likeness as that between the defendant at the bar and the prisoner who escaped in 1880. The feeling in the community was that my client was the guilty man and ought to be punished for the burglary. John Finnigan, in 1880, in connection with his livery stable in the City of St. Louis, conducted an undertak- ing business. Now, the truth was, that Mr. Finnigan was in St. Louis on the day of the burglary, and had never been in Kansas in his life. Mr. Frank Ferber, of that eity, a butelier, was a witness, and he took his books with him and showed an entry where he had inade a sale to Mr. Finnigan in person on the very day of the burglary and larceny at the depot in Eureka. John B. Meer, an Olive Street grocer, living a short distance from Mr. Finnigan, also testified as to his presence on that day in his grocery establishment, and his books showed, from day to day in that month, purchases inade by Mr. Finnigan. Mr. William Proetor established Finnigan's presence in his office on that day in superintending the making and delivery of a deed of trust on some property upon which he had borrowed some money. Mr. John H. Williams, engaged in the lumber business and who had kept his horse for years with Mr. Finnigan, had loaned $500 to Finnigan the very week that this burglary took place, and had taken his deed of trust, as above referred to, for its payment, and had conversed with Mr. Finnigan on the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th days of August, 1880. 'T'lie deed of trust and record were given in evidence. Both of Mr. Finnigan's brothers testified as to his presence at his house during that week, and one of the Finni- gans having made a purchase for his brother from a St. Louis firm. A strange physical faet went further than all else to strengthen this alibi. It seems that Mr. Ballis had lost a eliild during the month of August, 1880, and that Mr. Finnigan had been engaged to aet as 1111- dertaker. Now, by a fortunate coincidence, the burial permit issued to Jolin Finnigan upon this ehild was dated the very day of the burglary at Eureka, and the certificate from the Register's office with John Finnigan's signature was duly established in evidence. In that connection, the relatives of the child testified as to the faets of the burial also, and one to the faet of sitting up with the dead body. Two other citizens, whose names I have for- gotten, testified to their having business dealings with Finnigan the week of this trans- action. And quite a number of depositions were taken to establish Mr. Finnigan's good character. Upon examination of the hotel register at Enreka, wherein the alleged "Jolin Finnigan" and his companion had registered their names in 1880, and comparison with the
107
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE CRIMINAL PRACTICE.
signature of John Finnigan signed to the affidavit referred to above, it was found that the handwriting was entirely dissimilar, and experts so testified. To close this remarkable case, testimony was then presented which established that the wound on the groin of the defendant was not made by a lance, but by his having been thrown from a wagon and dragged some distance over a stubblefield, he holding on to the lines. The result was as might be expected. I think this is a remarkable case; and though at first it looked very dark for Mr. Finnigan, yet the sky brightened and he reached the goal of freedom. At the close of the defendant's testimony there were no persons more surprised thereat than Mr. Sterry and his associates. To their credit, however, it may be said they were also highly pleased to see Mr. Finnigan escape from his unfortunate and dangerous situation.
But after all, the most interesting and instructive recollections I have are connected with the Duestrow murder case. I have not the time nor space to refer to it at length in this article. The facts and circumstances of his trial, conviction and execution are still fresh in the memory of at least every lawyer in this State. It affords a subject worthy of more length than the requirements of this article permits. One thing, however, in that case is different in its final scene from any that I can remember. I know of no instance of another case where the lawyer performed the last sad rites at the grave, and because of that fact and by request I close this article with my
REMARKS AT THE GRAVE OF ARTHUR DUESTROW.
"To say anything at the grave of Arthur Duestrow was something I had not thought of until this morning. But the circumstances surrounding his life since I met him the morning after the fatal tragedy, are of such a character as I think warrant me in making a few remarks which I deem due to his memory. No one has been his continuous associate since I took charge of his case but myself, and from my intimate knowledge of the man, and all the facts of his case, I wish to say here in the presence of his remains, that lie is the victim of a judicial murder. His offense in its every characteristic was apparently brutal, but God had afflicted him in a manner that should have inade him irresponsible in law, and the extent of his culpability should have been left to his maker. During his long, bitter and relentless prosecution, I never asked anything in his behalf further than incar- ceration in an insane asylum. I fully realized that there was the place humanity dictated his assignment. Time would then have been given to clearly establish what I have known from the first, that he was afflicted with that direst disease, insanity.
"It is claimed, my friends, that this is a triumph of the law and a just punishment of its victim. I say here in the presence of you few and in the presence of my God, of whom I have a full recognition, both as to his power and his mercy, that it is a disgrace to the humanity of the age-a triumph of ignorance and prejudice as against every effort of science and legal skill to protect a poor afflicted son of humanity. It is illustrative of a retrogres- sion to the cruel savagery of past ages. Every effort that I have made to get a just and humane view of this man's case has been thwarted by misrepresentation and abuse heaped upon him, which he had no power to repel and which I was powerless to counteract.
"The efforts of the inost skilled, careful and conscientious physicians were of no avail. All those expedients that years of wisdom and experience have incorporated into the law to protect the rights of the individual against aggressions of high power or the cry of the mob, have been treated, not only with indifference, but I may say, with contempt by the press and by subordinate and superior courts. Even the paltry bequest that Christianity
108
THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
guarantees to the condemned has been denied by a weak and vacillating Executive. This man was not allowed Christian preparation for death. Time was not granted to the few who were interested in his fate to consider the inatter at all. In his insane state, he imagined that he was another being than Arthur Duestrow. Whether the ininistrations of a Protestant clergyman or a Catholic priest could have helped him in his clouded intellect I know not; but the opinion of mankind has been that under such circumstances, it is bnt right for the authorities of a civilized State to guarantee it to the highest and the lowest alike. There are, my friends, none of the usual burial ceremonies here.
"Such being the case, it can hardly be deemed sacrilegious for me to cominend his soul to the merciful consideration of the great God. 'After life's fitful fever he sleeps well.' In the calm and dispassionate forum of scientific and historical investigation, the character of his act will be determined and his irresponsibility conceded. From ont the darkened intellect, as he stood on the scaffold, there came words of forgiveness to those by whom, in his imaginary character, he was being wronged. In the same spirit, it is not unbecoming for me to say-God forgive all those who have done wrong to the poor insane atom of humanity whose remains we consign to this lowly grave."
St. Louis, Mo., January, 1898.
THE OLD BAR OF ST. LOUIS.
BY GEORGE H. SHIELDS.
THE terms new and old are relative, and as this grand metropolis of the Mississippi basin is considerably over a hundred years old, it furnishes a broad field for compar- ison. More than three generations have passed since lawyers began to serve at the altar of the blind goddess Justice within the limits of this city. Even the oldest living member of the bar can remember when he was first beginning to practice, that there were heads white with age and forins bent with years of men who had passed their prime at the St. Louis bar, and had won laurels of affection and respect in their profession from the people. The bar is ever new, as aspiring energetic young inen ambitious for fame and fortune fill the places of those who pass away; and yet it is ever old, for there always linger those who have grown gray in its service, and who are regarded as the Nestors of the profession and looked up to with veneration and affection by their young associates. Some few members remain whose well spent years link the existing bar of St. Louis with its early history, and prove that the old is ever new and the new is ever old.
Who then compose the old bar of St. Louis? Where shall the line be drawn? Who shall assume to make the assignment to the respective classes ? Surely not I. Yet Death, with ruthless hand and inexorable exactness, sooner or later makes up the roll of the past, and leaves the present for a little while only to become the past to-morrow. Let us then consider that the living bar is the new, and that the honored dead compose the old. This will bring us close to some who were but yesterday with us, and carry us back to the earliest days of the history of our city. It will be impossible within the limits assigned to this article to speak of all who have graced the profession and whose lives and attainments have given character to the bar of St. Louis; still more impossible will it be to do full justice to the lives and careers of the eminent inen who will be mentioned, as only the merest outline can be given, and many may be overlooked whom a better informed biographer would in- clude. But the characters of those who have given tone to the bar of St. Louis and have passed from the scene of their activity to a higher plane of existence are not dependent upon the pen of an historian. They live in the memories of their friends, and no word here inscribed or omitted will add to their fame or detract from their glory.
A sketch of the old bar would not be complete without some reference to St. Louis in its earliest days. Being part of the Louisiana Purchase and having been under the laws of France and Spain before becoming a part of the great empire of the people, naturally all of the customs and habits of its early settlers were more or less tinged with the prin- ciples of the civil law. The emigrants from the Eastern States and from New England brought with them the common law, and this lack of homogenity among the people found expression in the complications which the lawyers of that day had to face. This was particularly manifested in the land titles.
(109)
110
THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
A lack of books of reference, and the general characteristics of a hardy, energetic pioneer people required quick wit, undaunted courage and thorough acquaintance with the general principles of law from those early lawyers, and a man won position as an attorney or counsellor then by reason of his merits alone. Of course, as has ever been the case, politics became a large part of the lawyer's life, and the fierce partisan conflicts of those days necessitated a wide acquaintance with the people. Advocacy was a far more prominent factor in the practice then than it has become in these days of the supremacy of the Press. The history of the early St. Louis bar develops not only many great lawyers but many fine orators. St. Louis being the center of business in the Territory, it naturally also became the center of litigation. As there were no collection agencies, few corporations, fewer banks and no trust companies or great corporate monopolies, and as land titles were unsettled or so complicated as to defy settlement, the profession of those early days offered greater inducements to the talented young men of the country than it does at the close of the nineteenth century.
The limits of this article confine ine to mere outline sketches of the old bar arranged as near as may be in the order of their coming to the St. Louis bar. It would be interest- ing to give anecdotes and incidents, but those inust be omitted .*
Rufus Easton was among the lawyers who came to St. Louis soon after the Louisiana Purchase in 1804. He was born in Connecticut in 1774, where he studied law, and came to St. Louis in 1804. He was appointed Judge of the Territory of Louisiana in 1805 and afterwards was appointed by President Jefferson United States Attorney. When the Post Office was established in St. Louis in 1808 he was appointed first Postmaster. In 1814 he was elected Delegate to Congress and served four years. In 1821 he was appointed Attor- ney General of the State and served till 1826. Mr. Easton was at the head of the bar in the Territory and did much to mould the laws and public sentiment of those early days. While not what is termed an eloquent speaker, he was noted for the clearness of his expression and power of analysis and his great executive ability. He died in 1834. His oldest son, Alton R. Easton, was born in St. Louis in 1807, and although not a lawyer became a very influential citizen and held many official positions. He served in the Mexican War and in 1853 was appointed Assistant Treasurer of the United States here. From 1860 to 1864 he was a inember of the County Court, and during the "late unpleas- antness " he was Inspector General of the State of Missouri and rendered efficient service in behalf of the Union. He was appointed by President Grant, Assessor of Internal Rev- enue, and afterwards Pension Agent. He retired to private life in 1877 and died a few years ago respected by the whole community. There are not many of the older members of the bar who do not remember Colonel A. R. Easton. The lives of these two inen, father and son, the first among the settlers of Missouri long before it became a State, and the other but a few years ago a prominent inan in our midst, remind us how short a time our State history really covers; and when we remember that Rufus Easton was born in 1774, two years before the Declaration of Independence, and that his son lived among us but yesterday, we have a new view of the shortness of time required to develop the greatest Nation on earth.
William C. Carr was born in Virginia in 1783; received an academic education. He came to Missouri in 1804 and was admitted to the bar. In 1826 he was appointed Judge
* For historical data I am indebted to the "Bench and Bar of Missouri," by Judge Bay, the "Bench and Bar of Missouri Cities," Scharff's "Saint Louis City and County," and the "United States Biographical Dictionary for Missouri."
111
THE OLD BAR OF ST. LOUIS.
of the St. Louis Circuit Court, which he held till 1833, when he resigned. He died in St. Louis March 31, 1851, in his sixty-eighth year.
Edward Hempstead was born in New London, Conn., June 3, 1780; was admitted to the bar in 1801; came West and settled in St. Louis in 1805. In 1806 was appointed Deputy Attorney General for the district of St. Louis and St. Charles; from 1809 to 1811 was Attorney General for the Territory of Upper Louisiana. He was the first Delegate to Con- gress from west of the Mississippi and represented the Territory from 1811 to 1814. He died in St. Louis in August, 1817. He was a fine lawyer and thoroughly acquainted with the laws and regulations of the Territory and faithful to all the obligations lie assumed, professionally and politically. It was largely through his efforts that the early titles were confirmed to the settlers, and to him and Colonel Thomas F. Reddick our public schools owe their magnificent endowment through the confirmation acts and appropriation of lands to the public schools.
John B. C. Lucas was born in France in 1762; graduated as a lawyer in 1782; emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. Went to Congress from Pennsyl- vania, and in 1805 President Jefferson appointed him Judge of the United States Court in Upper Louisiana, when he settled in St. Louis, where he lived until his death. He also held the office of Commissioner of Land Titles and at the first State Legislature was candi- date for the United State Senate against Colonel Benton. He was a sound lawyer and a good Judge. He died at the age of eighty years, in 1842.
Silas Bent was born in Massachusetts in 1768. In 1788 he came to Ohio and in July, 1806, he was appointed by Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, Deputy Surveyor for the Territory, and removed to St. Louis September 17, 1806. In 1807 he was appointed first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Court of Quarter Sessions for the District of St. Louis. In 1809 was made Presiding Judge of the St. Louis Court of Common Pleas. He also held other public positions. On February 21, 1813, he was appointed by President Madison as Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri Territory and held the office until the admission of the State, when he was appointed Clerk of the St. Louis County Court, which he held until the time of his death. He was a man of extensive learning and an able jurist and of great executive ability. He died November 20, 1827, in the sixtiethi year of his age.
Thomas Hart Benton was born in North Carolina March 14, 1782, was admitted to the bar in 1808 in Tennessee, elected to Tennessee Legislature in 1811. He became aid de camp to General Jackson in the War of 1812 and became afterwards Colonel of a Tennessee regiment. He moved to St. Louis in 1813 and opened a law office. He also took an active interest in politics, and when in 1820 a Convention met and formed the Constitution for Missouri, the Legislature elected David Barton and Colonel Benton the first Senators. The State was admitted into the Union in 1821, and these Senators were seated. Colonel Benton continued to represent Missouri as Senator for thirty years, and his after life was rather that of a statesman than a lawyer. He was active in all the de- bates on the momentous questions which were before the people of the United States from 1820 to 1850. He was positive in his convictions, and never hesitated to express his views on public questions. He opposed the renewal of the charter of the old United States Bank, and was largely instrumental in its final overthrow. He was a "hard money" Dem- ocrat and was called "Old Bullion." He was particularly active in measures which he believed to be for the interests of the people of his State and the West generally and this
112
THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
was one of the elements of his popularity in the State. He was the advocate of a railroad across the Continent uniting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans long before such road was built. His continuous fight to expunge the resolutions of the Senate censuring President Andrew Jackson for usurpation of power, which was finally accomplished, shows the tena- city of liis character. It would be impossible within the limits of this article even to enumerate the many public acts of Colonel Benton. While he was a cold and reserved man and a man of great egotisin, and vindictive against his political enemies, he was a man of kind impulses and true to his friends, and in the later years of his life became reconciled to men whom he had regarded his enemies. While his opportunities to amass wealthı were great, he died poor. His "Thirty Years View" or "History of the Workings of the American Government from 1820 to 1850," and his "Abridgement of the Debates in Congress from the Foundation of the Government to 1856," are standard authorities and of great value to the statesman and the student of history. Mr. Benton was elected to Congress from St. Louis after he left the Senate and was defeated for Governor in 1856 by Governor Polk. He died in Washington City on April 10, 1858. In the old hall of Repre- sentatives at Washington each State can place two statues to commemorate its most prom- inent citizens. That of Thomas Hart Benton appropriately occupies one of those places from Missouri. As a boy I remember hearing him speak at New London, Ralls County, Mo., in 1856. He impressed me then as a very great man from his manner and gestures, and the clear enunciation of his words. I will always remember the sarcastic vigor with which he attacked his political opponents and defended liis own course as a public man.
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.