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 16
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David Barton was born in Tennessee. He was an Indian ranger in the War of 1812 and came to Missouri at an early period. He became very popular on account of his oratorical ability and was chosen Delegate to the State Convention to frame the Constitution, which met in 1820, and became its presiding officer. He was elected as the first Senator from the State and made considerable reputation by his eloquence in the Senate. He was also Judge of the Circuit Court in St. Louis, but resigned in December, 1817. He died in September, 1837.
Joshua Barton, tlie brotlier of David, studied law in the office of Rufus Easton. He was less eloquent but more logical than his brother and stood very high at the bar. He was Secretary of State for a short time and afterwards appointed United States District Attorney. He lost his life in a duel in 1823.
Robert Wash was born in Virginia in 1790, graduated in William and Mary College in 1808, and at the close of the War of 1812, emigrated to St. Louis, where lie was appointed United States District Attorney. He was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri shortly after the organization of the State and resigned the office in May, 1837. His opin- ions while on the bench were generally acceptable to the profession. He was a kind- hearted man and very generous and hospitable. He died in November, 1856, in his sixty- sixth year.
Henry S. Geyer was born in Maryland in 1790, volunteered in the War of 1812, and at tlie close of tlic war removed to St. Louis. He was chosen Captain of the first inilitary company west of the Mississippi River and was known generally by that title. He was a inem11ber of tlic Convention which framed thic State Constitution in 1820 and served in the Legislature three terms, and was Speaker of the House, an office which he filled with distin- gnislied ability. In 1825 he published a digest of the laws of Missouri. He was a man of great talent and thorough equipment as a lawyer and was retained in nearly all the impor-
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tant land suits growing out of the Spanish grants and New Madrid locations and was very successful in handling such cases against the leading lawyers of the country. He was a logical, argumentative speaker and a man of dignified and reserved character. Judge Bay, in his work, "The Bench and Bar of Missouri," says: "If called upon to decide who in our judgment was the greatest lawyer at the Missouri bar, we should unhesitatingly say Henry S. Geyer; not that he was the superior of Gamble, Leonard, or Field, in his knowledge of law relating to real estate; not that he was the equal of Josiah Spalding as a commercial lawyer; nor the equal of Edward Bates in impassioned eloquence; yet, taking everything into consideration, he was the superior of all." He was elected to the United States Senate in 1851. He died in St. Louis March 5, 1859, at the age of sixty-one.
Edward Bates. Born in Virginia, September 4, 1793, of Quaker ancestors, Edward Bates came to Missouri in 1814, studied law with Rufus Easton and was admitted to the bar in 1816. In 1820 was chosen Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention and the same year was appointed Attorney General of the State. He was a member of the first Legislature of Missouri and afterwards United States Attorney for the Missouri District. In 1827 he was elected to Congress, in 1830 was sent to the State Senate, and in 1834 to the Legislature, and in 1850 was tendered a seat in President Filmore's Cabinet, which he declined. In 1853 he was elected Judge of the St. Louis Land Court, was President of the Whig National Convention in Baltimore in 1856, and in 1861 was chosen by Mr. Lincoln as Attorney General. Mr. Bates was a man of great eloquence, a fluent and facile speaker, a lawyer of great power and erudition and ranked with such inen as Geyer, Gamble, Leonard and Field. He was a man of refinement and dignity and of great kindness of heart and was idolized by the people of St. Louis. He died in St. Louis March 25, 1869, at the age of seventy-six. A bronze statue of him stands at the entrance of Forest Park.
Hamilton R. Gamble was born in Virginia, November 29, 1798, and educated at Hamp- den Sidney College, Virginia. In 1818 came to St. Louis, but in a short time removed to old Franklin in Howard County, where he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney. In 1824 he was appointed Secretary of State and removed to St. Charles, then the seat of government. Soon after he returned to St. Louis. In 1846 he was elected to the Legislature. In 1851 he was elected to the Supreme Court, but resigned in 1855. During the War of the Rebel- lion he was a most intense Union man and largely influenced the people of the State to remain in the Union. The State Convention called for the purpose of passing an ordinance of secession met in Jefferson City, February 28, 1861, with a large majority of the Convent- tion in favor of the Union, determined that Missouri should not secede, and on July 22 re- assembled and deposed Governor Jackson and the other State officers and organized a pro- visional government and elected Judge Gamble Governor and Willard P. Hall as Lieutenant Governor. Governor Gamble's administration as Governor was marked with great ability. It was largely his great common sense and good judgment that carried us safely through the trying period of the war. He was very successful as a lawyer, being retained in almost all important cases in St. Louis. He had a clear, logical mind, a very retentive memory and great power of analysis, and his briefs and arguments and opinions on the Supreme Benchi show that he was thoroughly familiar with legal principles. He was not an orator in the ordinary sense of the word, but manifested great sagacity in the presentation of his cases. He died in Washington, January 21, 1864. On the day of his burial business in St. Louis was suspended, public buildings and stores draped in mourning and people generally man- ifested their sorrow at his decease and affection for his memory by attending the funeral.
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
Rufus Pettibone, who was born in Connecticut in 1784, graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1805, studied law in New York and was admitted to the bar in 1809 and was elected to the State Legislature in New York in 1812. He removed to St. Louis in May, 1818, and became the partner of Colonel Rufus Easton, who was at that time one of the most prominent lawyers of the St. Louis bar. He was appointed Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, which was then composed of the counties of Ralls, Pike, Lincoln, St. Charles, Montgomery, Callaway and Gasconade. His first court was held in Louisiana, Pike County, in February, 1821, and in 1823 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Bench of the State, which he held until July, 1825. He was a ripe scholar and sound lawyer and died July 31, 1825. He died in St Louis in 1852.
Josiah Spalding was a native of Connecticut and removed to St. Louis in the winter of 1819-20. He had a logical, analytical mind and was very successful at the bar, devoting his attention more particularly to commercial law. He was a very industrious man and always thoroughly prepared in his cases and was a true and consistent Christian and regarded by all who knew as a strong and safe counsellor. He died in St. Louis in 1852.
James H. Peck came to St. Louis about the time of the organization of the State gov- ernment. He was appointed Judge of the Federal Court at St. Louis in 1826. Articles of impeachment were preferred against him charging him with tyranny, oppression and usurpa- tion of power, growing out of difficulty with Luke Lawless, then a prominent member of the bar. As the case involved questions of great importance in regard to the power to punish contempt and the liberty of the press, such men as Messrs. Buchanan, Stores, McDuffie, Spencer and Wyckliffe were managers to conduct the prosecution. Mr. Peck was defended by Mr. Meredith of Pennsylvania, and William Wirt of Virginia. Among the members of the High Court of Impeachment were Webster, Livingston, Chase and other eminent jurists. The trial occupied six weeks and resulted in Judge Peck's acquittal.
Luke Lawless was born in Ireland in 1781; graduated at the Dublin University and volunteered in the army of Napoleon. About 1824 he immigrated to St. Louis, where lie remained till his death. In 1837 he was appointed Judge of the St. Louis Circuit Court. He was a fine linguist and thoroughly versed in both civil and common law and ranked among the best members of the bar of his time. He died in 1846 at the age of sixty-five.
Beverly Allen was born in Virginia in 1800, graduated at Princeton College, studied law with Judge Upshur and came to St. Louis in 1827. He was appointed in 1827 United States District Attorney by President J. Q. Adams. He also filled the offices of State Attorney, member City Council, and the State Senate. He ranked among the leading law- yers of the State and was grave, dignified and courteous. He was a forcible, logical forensic debater. He died September 12, 1845, in the forty-fifth year of his age.
John F. Darby was born in North Carolina, December 10, 1803. He first came to St. Louis in 1818. He read law in the office of Jolin J. Crittenden of Kentucky, and returned to St. Louis in 1826 and was admitted to the bar in 1827. He served four terms as Mayor of St. Louis, from 1835 to 1840. He was a member of the State Senate in 1838, and intro- duced the bill incorporating tlic St. Louis Law Library. He was elected to Congress front the First District in 1850 and continued in full practice to the time of his death. He was successful as a lawyer and was engaged as counsel in many of the New Madrid and Spanish land grant cases. He dicd in 1882, beloved and esteemed by all who knew him.
Wilson Primm was born in St. Louis in 1810; studied law with Edward Bates and began to practice in St. Louis when admitted to the bar in 1831. At one time he was in
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partnership with the Hon. Charles D. Drake. He was a strong advocate of public improve- ments and of the common school system, and did much to advance both. In 1834 he was elected to the General Assembly of Missouri, and in 1862 was elected Judge of the St. Louis Criminal Court, where he remained for thirteen years. He was a man of great accomplish- ments and geniality of manner, a beautiful and eloquent speaker, fine linguist and thor- oughly grounded in the principles of the law. He died January, 1878, at the age of sixty- eight.
Bryan Mullanphy was born of Irish parentage in Baltimore in 1809. He was educated in France and England and began to practice in St. Louis. He was a man of studions habits, a good legal mind and an impressive speaker, and thoroughly familiar with the principles of the law. In 1840 he was elected to the St. Louis Circuit Bench. He was a inan of eccentric disposition and frequently appeared discourteous, but in reality was a man of great charity. He was elected Mayor of St. Louis in 1847. He left by will one-third of his property to the City of St. Louis in trust to constitute a fund to furnishi relief to all poor emigrants and travelers coming into St. Louis on their way, bona fide, to settle in the West, which trust is still being executed by the city, and is known as the Mullanphy Emi- grant Relief Fund. He died in June, 1851.
James B. Bowlin was born in Virginia in 1804; received an ordinary English education ; studied law and was licensed to practice in 1826. In October, 1833, he came to St. Louis and opened a law office and soon gained a fair practice. He became editor of the Missouri Argus. Was elected Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, and in 1836 was elected to the Legislature. In 1837 was appointed District Attorney for St. Louis. He was elected Judge of the Criminal Court in St. Louis and afterwards, in 1842, was elected to Congress, where he served for four terms. In 1854 he was appointed Minister resident to New Granada, and in 1858 Commissioner to Paraguay. While Judge of the Criminal Court he contributed much by his coolness and bravery to stamp out violence and crime. In all the positions which he held he was faithful, competent and upright; in his intercourse with his fellow men he was very popular and stood very high in the estimation of his fellow citizens. He died July 19, 1874.
Lewis V. Bogy was born in Missouri in 1813, graduated at law school of the Transyl- vania University, Kentucky, in 1835, opened a law office in St. Louis in 1835 and con- tinued in practice till 1849. He was elected to the Legislature in 1840. In 1849 he removed to Ste. Genevieve. In 1867 he was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs by President Johnson. In 1873 he was elected United States Senator. He was a inan of ability and an earnest, fluent speaker. His practice at the bar was confined to land suits. He did not devote his life to the profession, but paid much attention to other pursuits and to politics. He died in St. Louis in 1877.
Charles D. Drake was born in Ohio in 1810, became a cadet in the United States Navy, which he left in 1834 and located in Springfield, Ill., to practice law. In the same year he moved to St. Louis and formed a law partnership with Wilson Primm. In 1847 he removed to Cincinnati, but returned to St. Louis in 1850, entering into partnership with John S. Darby. In 1854 he published his work on attachments which has passed through seventeen editions and is a standard on this subject. He was a member of the Missouri Legislature of 1859-60 and also of the State Convention of 1861 to its close in 1864. He was elected to the Constitutional Convention of 1865, and was a very active and influential member of said Convention. In 1867 he was elected United States Senator, which he held till Decein-
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ber, 1870, when he resigned to accept the office of Chief Justice of the Court of Claims, which he held for many years, and after retiring from the bench lived in the City of Wash- ington. Mr. Drake was one of the early founders of the St. Louis Law Library, and prob- ably it would not have survived without his aid. He was a inan of positive convictions and thoroughly versed in the principles of the law. He was very outspoken and impressed his convictions on others. He was a fine lawyer, and although very set in his views and opinions, he had many friends and stood high in the estimation of the public. He died in Washington in April, 1892, and was buried in St. Louis.
Trusten Polk was born in Delaware in 1811, graduated at Yale, studied law in Delaware and emigrated to St. Louis in 1835. Was City Counselor of St. Louis in 1843 and in 1856 was elected Governor of the State, defeating Colonel Benton. A short time afterwards was elected to the United States Senate, where he served until the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, when he resigned. He was a sound lawyer and close, logical reasoner. He was very popular with the junior members of the bar, because he so frequently displayed his friendship for them. He was a man of high sense of honor and of great courtesy. He died in St. Louis in 1876.
Thomas B. Hudson was born in Tennessee in 1814. Received an academic education ; removed to St. Louis and was admitted to the bar in 1835. From 1842 to 1843 he was City Coun- selor of St. Louis and in 1842 was elected to the State Legislature. He was a very successful lawyer and a good parliamentarian and a ready and fluent debater. On the breaking out of the Mexican War he raised a company and accompanied Doniphan in his inarch to Chi- huahua and proved himself a gallant soldier. He was a man of social, genial disposition and a warm heart and was active in promoting public improvements, being at one time President of the North Missouri Railroad Company. He died in St. Louis in 1867 at the age of fifty-three.
Alexander Hamilton was born in Pennsylvania in 1812. Was educated in New Jersey and came to St. Louis in 1836 and was admitted to the bar in that year. From 1847 to 1857 he was Judge of the St. Louis Circuit Court. He was a fine lawyer, an industrious man and greatly esteemned by all who knew him for his kindly nature, his politeness and his inany good qualities. He died in St. Louis in 1882.
Uriel Wright was born in Virginia in 1805. In 1833 lie removed to Missouri and set- tled in Palmyra, Marion County. He represented that county in the Legislature in 1836-7. He soon afterwards moved to St. Louis, where he took a high stand at the bar, devoting his attention more particularly to criminal law. He had great knowledge of men which enabled him to select his juries with great skill, and as an orator he was without a peer. His prac- tice was not confined to criminal cases, as his success in civil cases was also great. He was perhaps the most eloquent man that ever practiced in St. Louis. He was called by Prentiss " The Orator of the Mississippi Valley." He died in 1869.
Montgomery Blair was born in Kentucky in 1813, graduated at West Point in 1835 and served in the Seminole War. Came to St. Louis in 1837 and was soon afterwards admitted to the bar. In 1839 lie was appointed United States District Attorney for Missouri. From 1843 till 1849 lie served as Judge of the St. Louis Court of Common Pleas. In 1852 he removed to Maryland and in 1855 was appointed solicitor of the United States Court of Claims. He served in the Cabinet of President Lincoln from 1861 till 1864 as Postmaster General. He was a man of integrity, courage, of great attainments as a lawyer and of great ability as a man.
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THE OLD BAR OF ST. LOUIS.
Myron Leslie was born in Vermont, came to St. Louis in 1838 and entered upon the practice. In 1842 he was appointed Circuit Attorney and afterwards elected to the State Senate. In 1845 was elected Delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was a sound lawyer and an eloquent and strong speaker. He died in St. Louis in March, 1854.
Thomas Tasker Gantt was born in 1814 in the District of Columbia; was educated at Georgetown College and West Point. In 1838 he was admitted to the bar in Maryland, and in May, 1839, removed to St. Louis. He was United States District Attorney from 1845 to 1849 and City Counselor in 1853 and 1856, and was a ineinber of the State Con- vention called by the General Assembly of Missouri in 1861 to pass an ordinance of seces- sion. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention which framed the present Constitution of the State in 1875. It was in this convention that the writer first became acquainted with Colonel Gantt. Both being from the same city we were thrown more or less together and a very pleasant acquaintance was begun and continued till Colonel Gantt's death. In 1876 he became Judge of the St. Louis Court of Appeals and served several years. He was the author of the provision in the Constitution for the separation of the City of St. Louis from the County, which was afterwards carried into effect by the adoption in 1876 of the Scheme and Charter which still governs the City of St. Louis. He was a man of very keen sense of justice and a high sense of honor and possessed great literary accomplishments as well as profound judicial knowledge. He was rather irascible at times and quick to resent an insult and also quick to forgive and acknowledge his wrong if con- vinced of the fact. He died in the City of St. Louis in April, 1889.
Albert Todd was born in New York in 1813, graduated from Yale in 1836; read law in New York and came to St. Louis in 1839. Was admitted to the bar in the following year and was engaged in practice till his death. He was a member of the Legislature in 1854, and a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1875 and a member of the Board of Free- holders which formed the present City Charter of St. Louis. My first acquaintance with Mr. Todd began when we were both members of the Constitutional Convention of Missouri-(1875) -from St. Louis and we were again associated as members of the Board of Freeholders which formed the St. Louis charter. The acquaintance thus began continued through Mr. Todd's life. He was a man of great learning and of the most genial disposition. His practice was largely confined to office practice but he was recognized as a proficient lawyer and a safe counselor. He was a public spirited inan and took great interest in the advancement of education and in measures which tended to promote the welfare of the city. He died in 1885.
John R. Shepley was born in Massachusetts. When Maine became a State his father made that State his home, being a member of its first Constitutional Convention and Dis- trict Attorney of the United States and a meinber of Congress and Senate, and afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maine. John R. Shepley came to St. Louis in 1840 or 1841 and studied law for a while in the office of Mr. Henry S. Geyer and was adınit- ted to the bar of Missouri. He first formed a partnership with Mr. Spalding, and then with Mr. Haight, and later became the partner of Samuel T. Glover. Mr. Shepley was a gentle- man of high culture and of great legal attainments, uniformly kind and polite, and a man of great industry. He was cool in his judgment, scarcely ever losing self-control; was terse in statement, logical in argument and impressed the court and jury with the earnestness of his convictions of right. He died October 11, 1884, having practiced at the St. Louis bar for forty-four years. That bar expressed their opinion of Mr. Shepley in the following words: "He was a lawyer of profound and varied acquirements, imbued with the learning
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and spirit of the common law, versed alike in the intricate questions of titles to real estate, peculiar to this and kindred communities, in the rules which govern commercial transactions and in the maximns and principles of equity. His judgment of men and affairs, naturally acute and sound, was ripened by a wide experience. Thoroughly trained in youth in the exercise of a strong and clear intellect, he brought at that early day the culture of an older civilization to bear upon the problems of life in the young and vigorous West, and his own growth and prosperity kept pace with those of his adopted home. His reputation went far beyond that home, and reflected new lustre in the highest courts of the State and Nation upon a name which a venerated father and a distinguished brother had borne with honor upon the bench."
Britton A. Hill was born in New Jersey in 1816; admitted to the bar in New York in 1839, where he practiced two years, and, removed to St. Louis in 1841. He was a man of great ability and of force, of fine appearance and fluent diction and was very successful in the practice. He took an active interest in public questions. He was also a great reader and possessed fine literary attainments. Among his other works are "Liberty and Law" and "Absolute Money," which added to his reputation as a lawyer that of a political economist. He died in St. Louis in 1888.
Richard S. Blannerhassett was born in Ireland in May, 1811. In 1831 the family emi- grated to America and settled in western New York. Richard was admitted to the bar in 1835 and practiced in New York until 1841, when he came to St. Louis, where he remained till his death. From 1848 to 1850 he was City Counselor of St. Louis. . He was a man of close logical reasoning powers and eloquence, and particularly noted for his perfect self possession and command of his temper under all circumstances. He stood in the first rank of criminal lawyers of St. Louis. He was very generous and always ready to sacrifice himself to aid those in distress. He died December 5, 1857, in his forty-seventh year.
Charles C. Whittelsey was born in Connecticut in 1819; graduated at Yale and studied law in his native State. He came to St. Louis in 1841. In 1857 he published Whittelsey's Forin Book, which was of immense value not only to the bar but to probate judges, court officials, justices and administrators. In 1870 he published a work on General Practice, which was used generally by the bar throughout the State. He was Supreme Court Reporter fro111 1862 to 1867, inclusive. He was a man of a high sense of honor, scrupulously honest and was a hard working painstaking lawyer. He died in 1875.
Willis L. Williams. Born in North Carolina in 1809. Graduated at Amherst Col- lege. Removed to St. Louis in 1842. Was elected to the Legislature in 1844. He was a inan of great eloquence and of fine personal appearance, of unusual conversational powers and a inan of great kindness and generosity. As a lawyer he ranked high and was greatly beloved by the people. He died in St. Louis March 29, 1857, in his forty-eighth year.
John M. Krum was born in New York in 1810; was educated at Union College and came to the bar in New York. He moved to Alton, Ill., in 1832, where he began practice. He was the first Mayor of the town, and was such in 1837 when Lovejoy was killed. He came to St. Louis in 1842, where he continued to reside down to the time of his death. I11 1843 he was appointed Judge of the St. Louis Circuit Court. In 1848 he was elected Mayor of St. Louis. Was also a member of the School Board for ten years in succession. He took great interest in public inatters and was a member of the Democratic National Conventions of 1844, 1852, 1856, 1860. After the breaking out of the Rebellion he affiliated
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