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 51
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The early Missouri Reports and many of the Federal Reports will verify these facts. In both the State and Federal forums, these "legal gladiators" inet armed for the fray, and when they mnet "you found no child's play there."
It is to be seen that in the settlement of these vexed questions, the civil law, the "Customs of Paris, " the relative rights of husband and wife under the civil law, the rules of descent, the questions growing out of community property, the cessions and treaties between nations, the construction of acts of Congress, and treaties, confirmations, plats and surveys, and now and then complicated by some local enactment devised in the wis- dom - (excuse wisdom) of our Legislature - all these matters came in question.
But time at last "makes all things even;" our limitation laws, at first twenty years, then, since 1847, ten years, have put to rest most of these legal conflicts, and with them repose many eminent lawyers who engaged in these struggles.
SEMINARY AND OTHER LANDS.
When Missouri became a State of the Union, March 6, 1820, the act of admission granted to the State the sixteenth section in every township not otherwise disposed of, and if disposed of, then other lands equivalent thereto, for the use of schools in the sev- eral townships. The same act granted, with certain provisions for the use of the State, not exceeding twelve salt springs, with six sections of land adjoining each spring, called "saline lands." The sanie act also granted to the State four sections of land, to establish the seat of government thereon, the lands to be selected by, and held under the directions of the Legislature.
The same act granted thirty-six sections of land, or one full township, to be designated by the "President of the United States, together with other lands," theretofore granted,
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
for the use of a "seminary of learning;" the titles were vested in the Legislature, to be used solely for the purpose named, known as "seminary" or "university" lands. All these lands have been selected, reported and properly applied to the named purposes.
NEW MADRID LOCATIONS.
This class of lands originated by what the old writers would term the "act of God." In 1811, an earthquake destroyed the village of Mew Madrid, with much of the land around it. Congress, in its liberality, by an act declared that all persons so injured, or their legal representatives, should have in exchange for their injured land, other lands to be selected out of the public domain, fixing quantities, etc. The several acts of Congress upon this subject, provided the necessary machinery to carry out the pur- poses of the grant, created the necessary officers and tribunals to hear and determine the rights of parties and lists of injured lands with names of original owners were reported to the proper department at Washington. The newly selected lands were platted, surveyed and reported, upon which patents were issued to the original owner of the injured land, "or his legal representative."
This class of claims attracted many speculators, who purchased the original lands from the owners, their heirs, devisees and grantees. Many conflicts grew up, several different claims of title sometimes would appear coming from the same source. Persons holding the title to injured land by regular conveyance, were recognized as "legal representatives" of original owners.
No end to the frauds, perjury, forgery, tricks and other indiscretions were said to be practiced in these cases. The courts, both State and Federal, were the arenas in which many a hot battle was fought between the legal giants of those days, over these disputed claims.
Great necessities make great generals, it is said; so great necessities make great lawyers. The French and Spanish claims, together with New Madrid locations, made the necessity, and the bench and bar furnished the rest.
These lands are mostly located along the rivers. Limitation has about quieted the conflicts.
MILITARY BOUNTY LANDS.
This class of lands in Missouri are located in the counties of Chariton, parts of Ran- dolph, Linn, Carroll and Livingston, known as the "military district," and furnishes an interesting history among land titles.
Congress set apart large tracts of rich lands in Illinois, Arkansas and Missouri, to be surveyed and given as a bounty to the soldiers of the War of 1812, which England thien called tlic "late war." This is the same war that Justin Butterfield "opposed" years after. When asked how lie stood on the Mexican War, he replied that lie "opposed the late war, and had been politically d-d ever since; now, by the eternals, I am in favor of war, pestilence and famine."
The manier in which these lands were given out to the soldiers, was by lot; each sol- dier drew not less than 160 acres; 110 soldier ever drew, in person, his own land, but some one else drew it in his absence for him, and generally some one else appropriated said land to himself, for him. Patents were issued to each soldier, signed by President Monroe, along in 1818-19, and corded up at Washington.
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Not one soldier in five hundred ever saw his patent, or the land he drew. These sol- diers lived in the older States, and of course, knew nothing about lands in Missouri or Illinois. Here was a grand opening for speculators. The soldier or his heirs would gen- erally sell out to the first and last man he met.
Some of the recited considerations in these old deeds are amusing. "One rifle and powder horn," "eight coon skins and a shoat," "one fox hound called buck, " "one 'heffer caff' and two 'barrer' hogs." One other reported case recites as a consideration, "a bushel and a half of guber peas."
. These considerations were considered about fair prices for the lands, especially in view of the fact that the soldier assumed the right to sell again to the next man he met. The records of these old deeds, made in 1819 and 1820, show wonderful conflicts of title, all starting from the same soldier.
Nearly all these lands in Missouri remained vacant for a long time, and were repeat- edly sold for taxes and bid off by some tax title speculator. When the country began to settle, the settlers would buy one of the tax titles and take possession; then some specu- lator claiming to own some one or two branches of the inany patent titles, would sue; then we had patent against tax, and tax against patent. While the soldier in Carolina was eat- ing his "gubers," others out here were eating each other up over his land.
This state of things, however, was put to rest by the short limitation law of two years, applicable to this class of lands, enacted in 1865. They do accuse the writer of being the author of the "short limitation," whereof he speaketh not.
"STATE LANDS."
By act of Congress, September 4, 1841, 500,000 acres of land were granted to the State of Missouri, called "State lands," which under the grant were to be selected and reported to the government, under the direction of the Legislature of the State.
By act of Legislature, February 27, 1843, many of these lands were selected and located in the counties of Platte, Buchanan, Andrew and Holt.
Again by act, March 13, 1845, of these 500,000 acres not located, the counties of Clinton, Gentry and DeKalb were added to the list as suitable for location.
Again by act, March 28, 1845, Nodaway and Atchison were added to the list as good territory for the location. All these State lands have been disposed of under provisions of various acts, which may be found in the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1855, Vol. II., pages 982 to 1004.
This class may be called local, and much to the disgust of some lawyers, has furnished no litigation of consequence.
SWAMP LANDS.
This class covers inany thousand acres of land. The lands not being fit for occupancy or cultivation and not salable, the government, to get rid of thein, by act of Congress, September 28, 1850, granted to Arkansas and other States, all the swamp lands in their respective limits. The act reads, to "reclaim the swamps and overflowed lands within their limits." The grant, as determined by our courts, imposed no trust or conditions upon the States, but granted the lands, to be managed and disposed of as the State Legis- lature might in its judgment (not wisdom) deein best.
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
The grant required the States to select, locate, survey, plat, map and report properly certified lists of the swamp lands. It is needless to say that in these selections, inade by local parties, acting for the best interest for their county, many tracts turn out to be high and dry.
The State, by act of Legislature in 1851, and by several subsequent confirmatory acts, passed the full title to these lands to the several counties in the State.
The County Courts are made the authorized agency, with defined powers of disposition, with regard to this class of lands. The grants to the counties provide that the net proceeds of sales, "shall be paid into the county treasury and become a part of the common school fund of the county."
Some of the counties, as the writer remembers, during the time special legislation was permitted, obtained grants from the Legislature freed from this trust school fund, but wliere the general law prevails, our courts hold that the County Courts occupy a trust position with regard to the lands; that they have no power to dispose of the same, or the proceeds, other than by the mode and for the purpose specified. They can not give away, donate or misapply the lands or proceeds thereof; so determined by the Supreme Court in Stur- geon versus Hampton, 88 Missouri Reports, 203. In this case Chariton County attempted to dispose of her swamp lands to certain railroad companies. The acts were held ultra vires. The writer took a hand in that fight on behalf of the school fund.
RAILROAD GRANTS.
Congress, by act, June 10, 1852, and February 9, 1853, granted to this State an indefinite number of tracts of land to aid in the construction of projected railroads. The grant gave every alternate section of even numbers, lying within six miles of the road on either side, and where the designated quantity could not be found within that limit, the deficiency was to be made up of other lands undisposed of, within fifteen uniles on either side of the road.
The grant placed the lands in the hands of the State, to be given to the companies owning the proposed roads, upon such terms and conditions as the Legislature mnight impose.
This grant was made before the roads were constructed, which, of course, necessitated the location and construction of the road before it could be known where to locate the lands, and to pass the titles to the companies.
Many methods were arranged by various acts of the Legislature, under which the roads were to be located, tlie lands selected, mapped, lists made, and the proper reports furnished . to both the State and Federal governments.
One of the conditions imposed by the State on the roads, was that no title should pass to the companies until a certain number of iniles of road should be finished and accepted by the Governor; then for that distance and to that extent, the titles to selected lands should pass.
Millions of acres of valuable lands passed to railroad companies under these grants. 'The Hannibal & St. Joseph, over 200 miles through the State; the North Missouri, the Iron Mountain, the Missouri Pacific, including its Sontliwestern branch, were all favored by this magnificent bounty.
This class of titles being very short and simple, have furnished but very little litiga- tion; a few conflicts between the swamp land and railroad grants have reached the courts.
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LAND LAWS OF MISSOURI.
Time and opportunity will not now permit of even a hasty reference to many distinct classes of land titles in the State, not herein mentioned. No mention is made of the dis- position of the great public domain-the surveys and public sales and private entries of public lands, pre-emptions, the "graduated lands," the "agriculture lands," homesteads, and many other classes too numerous to mention, all derived from the general government under various acts of Congress. Nor can anything now be said as to titles derived from and through our local laws, such as homesteads, adverse possessions under limitation laws, dower, courtesy, recording acts, tax titles and hundreds of other matters pertaining to land titles in Missouri, that are necessarily omitted.
At another time, with better opportunities, the writer would take pleasure in present- ing an article upon this important subject, in better form and substance.
Brookfield, Mo., January, 1898.
THE PETTIS BAR.
BY HENRY LAMM.
T THE early material for the annals of the Pettis bar rests in tradition chiefly and the facts are either covered with dust and wholly lost or, at best, dimly remembered. My own inemory goes no further back than the early part of 1869 and had one access to the rich store of reminiscences carried to the grave by such venerated pioneers as George Heard, Major William Gentry, Gen. George R. Smith and Mentor Thomson, it would have been possible to have put more life and color into any picture, at best faint and in dim outline, attempted to be drawn of the old times or of the old timers; for George Heard settled in Pettis County early in 1835, General Smith in 1833, Mentor Thomson in 1834 and Major Gentry in 1824, and in matters pertaining to ancient local history, each could have borrowed and used with propriety the laconic but adequate language of the great Roman in his im- mortal narrative of the Gallic war, "all of which I saw and most of which I was." These inen took, not only a broad, but an intense interest in affairs, were deeply impressed by passing and changing events, knew and remembered well the early men and their environ- ments, talked of them as fondly as old men recall the melodies of their youth and the scenes and faces of their childhood, and, having become veritable treasure houses of biographical and historical data, they took with them to oblivion the last eyes that saw, the last ears that heard and the last tongues that with words of realistic warmth and due accuracy could speak of the old lawyers of the old Pettis bar.
Pettis County was carved out of Cooper and Saline in 1833 and by legislative act its tem- porary seat of government was fixed at St. Helena. It seems that Ramey and Wasson built a water grist mill on Muddy Creek to accommodate the settlers who were tired of going for flour so far as Boonville. To this mill, a store was added by Clifton and Watson Wood. To this, was further added a straggling dwelling or so and, among others, one belonging to James Ramey. The place was known as "Pin Hook " in the early records, but the mnem- ory of no man has preserved the reason why. It seems, however, that the people inore ill1- mediately interested (whether they looked on the name as trivial, or came to consider it as smacking of ridicule or obloquy, is unknown) being impressed with the mournful fate of Bonaparte, gave the place the name of St. Helena in memory of the gloomy and rocky isle where liis good enemies after Waterloo, remembering Elba, put him. The Legislature taking advantage of thic dwelling of James Ramey, without any design probably to appro- priate it to public use or disturb the peace of his family against his consent, solemnly cuacted tliat "the courts to be holden in said county shall be held at the house of James Ramey until the tribunal transacting county business for said county shall fix a temporary seat of justice for said county." Having first obtained legal permission to hold theili- selves, the courts were holden accordingly.
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THE PETTIS BAR.
In July, 1833, John F. Ryland, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, appeared at St. Helena and at the house of said James. I have been told that he then lived in Fayette in Howard County, but this may be an error, as his long-time home was Lexington and Howard County was not in our circuit. He was a spare, tall, decided man and a jurist whose merits as a lawyer and man finally elevated him to the Supreme Bench of the State. His judicial mantle, descending upon his son, John E. Ryland, has long been worthily worn by him. It is more than likely he traveled in a gig and a long ways to reach St. Helena, and he must have been a man of wiry endurance; for the roads, if any, were new and rough, the streams bridgeless and the circuit to which Pettis County was assigned was composed of Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Ray, Jackson and Saline Counties, which coun- ties, it must be remembered, were much larger than now. Be that as it may, on his advent at Mr. Ramey's in July, three score and four years ago, the curtain was rung up and the Pettis bar had a chance to make its first bow on the stage. With Judge Ryland, and more than probably on horseback, came Henderson Young of Lexington and James H. Birch of Fayette, both of whom were riding the circuit with the Judge. As they are the only two lawyers enrolled at that term, and as the grand jury reported no business and was at once discharged, and as the only case (Head versus Williams) disposed of was an appeal from a Justice Court, which was dismissed by consent, and as court promptly ad- journed with that entry, it seems historically fair to conclude that the Pettis bar, as such, however much it had the opportunity to make its bow, made none, and that Messrs. Young and Birch, more than likely, came as companions for Judge Ryland and stopped at the new court en route to some more luxuriant field of litigation in some older county. It is fair to conclude that there was no licensed attorney residing in the county, or he would scarcely have inissed so auspicious an occasion for enrollinent. Gen. George R. Smith came from Kentucky the same year and was enrolled later.
These two visiting attorneys were men of note. Henderson Young became Judge of this circuit and served with credit on the bench from 1849 to 1854, and the early history of Missouri is replete with incidents in the varied career of that versatile, restless and ambi- tious man, James H. Birch. He was a man of noticeable dignity of manners and person, an aspiring but rather unsuccessful politician who died some fifteen years ago at the home of his son and namesake at Plattsburg, Missouri. It has been related to ine that to the day of his death he affected the courtly blue coat and brass buttons and high stock of the old- time gentleman, and the dignified and impressive forms of speech belonging to the times of the stately minuet. When the son of an old-time friend called on him shortly before his death, he said with grave courtliness: "I am delighted, sir, to greet the distinguished son of iny cherished friend and on your return you will do me the kindness, sir, to make my compliments altogether acceptable to your father." Speaking at another time of his po- litical career, he said: "I have had, sir, in my long and eventful life the devoted services of faithful and intelligent friends. No man ever had more enthusiastic and loyal follow- ers than I, but the trouble with me, sir, has been that I have not had enough of them."
While bred to the bar, and while enrolling himself in 1833 as a practicing attorney, it does not appear that General Smith, during the fifty years of his residence in Pettis County, followed his profession. The demands of active business affairs, the ambition for political activity, the large interest he took in governmental and State policies, the hon- ors and burdens that came to him as a man of affairs, as railroad promoter and the founder and builder of Sedalia, allured this remarkable and truly great mnan from a profession so
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
exacting in its demands as the law, and to which he could not have been less than an ornament.
The lawyers did not thrive at St. Helena. In November, 1833, an unfortunate fel- low by the name of Chew was indicted for assault to kill and on due motion the Court indicated a disposition to have his body seized and brought before the altar of justice, by issuing a capias. It seems that said Chew was about the only bad man in the county at the time; for he was also defendant in the only civil suit then pending, which, it must be said in his behalf, was dismissed and so court closed again for the term, in one day's session and no fees for anybody. So it went on until 1835, with a day or two term at most, Judge Ryland presiding and doubtless ready for business-a group of lawyers from Boonville, Fayette or Lexington present, coming and going with His Honor-and the local bar a fact, possible, but non-existent. Pettis County was then put in the Sixth Circuit, which extended southward to the Arkansas line through Polk, Greene and Barry (since cut into divers and sundry populous counties) and north to the Missouri River; the county seat was moved six miles away and established at Georgetown, where it remained until 1864, and 110 crow that flaps its lazy wings over the cornfields of the Muddy bottoms has an eye alert enough to detect a vestige or trace of the first home of our bar, St. Helena -its inill of justice with its grist mill also, the house of said Ramey, the store with its very name, have one and all become a ghostly memory of faded and fading dimness.
When the court moved to its new home at Georgetown, a sprightly village soon grew up and the prospects of the Pettis bar brightened. George Heard came here from Fayette, under the advice of Governor Reynolds, and built the first house in the new county seat in 1835, and was duly enrolled as a practicing attorney. It is not likely that there was enough business to support him. The richer and older river towns, Lexington and Boon- ville, as well as Fayette, had lawyers of established fame and ability. John R. French, of Lexington; Peyton R. Hayden, Wash. Adams, John C. Miller and Joseph L. Stephens, of Boonville; John M. Bryant, of. Marshall, and Mark Means, of Warsaw, all trained lawyers, with others rode this circuit, and a young attorney would be handicapped. He taught school to aid in getting on, and he used to relate with great pleasure that his patrons were accommodating enough to permit him to adjourn school, once in awhile, and go away to try a law suit. He was a typical, old-time, common law lawyer, whose realın of jurispru- dence was bounded on four sides by the horn books, Blackstone and Chitty, which he liad at his fingers' ends. Hc was highly sensitive, having little toleration for wit or humor, or the play of ridicule, which they touched his dignity or lowered thic gravity of the case. Hc was an honest, temperatc, affable, painstaking man, of most charming manners, a courteous, liospitable and Christian gentleman, who accumulated a comfortable fortune in liis profession and by judicions investments. He was the father and the Mentor of our bar, and when lic died a few years ago, lie left a memory behind him which was the pride and solacc, not only of his sons, but of the whole community as well. Which he became better established lic rode the circuit with the others, and he has told inc that on these cir- cuit ridings from court to court on horseback, he would be gone frequently six weeks, with his papers and change of shirts in his saddle bags.
'The most annoying rival of George Heard was Reece Hughes, who made 110 preten- sion to tlic law as a science. He was simply a prodigy of natural justice. Hc was droll in his wit, with a keen sense of the ridiculous, and a telling aptness of illustration. In the lower courts, where litigation thien, as a rule, ended, hc was to be feared. He was a large
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THE PETTIS BAR.
man, with a soft voice, a laughing eye and a homely manner, who never lost his temper. He was always friendly with the jury. They called him "Reece." They laughed at his jokes, smiled when he looked serious, and agreed with him when he made fun of Brother Heard's Blackstone and said Heard's client was "always in a fuss." Heard brought a suit for one Moss against Dickenson, for putting his (Dickenson's) fence over the line onto Moss' land. Hughes appeared for Dickenson. Heard, based on some evidence, argued to the jury that every time Hughes' client replaced the bottom rails, under pretense of repairs, he "inched over" on Moss' side until he had thus seized an extra acre. Hughes effectually parried this damaging fact by saying to the jury that liis client, as they observed, was cross-eyed, so that if he had gotten over the line it was the fault of nature, and read to the jury, from Heard's copy of Blackstone, that a man was not to be held responsible for an injury resulting from the act of God; and aside from that, his client was too simple to conceive of such a strategy for land getting; and so cunning a scheme could only occur to the mind of a smart lawyer, and he supposed that accounted for the way Brother Heard had acquired a large farm out on the prairie. Whereat, the Justice of the Peace began to grab up his statutes to read the riot act, as he saw Heard seize his chair for an assault. Hughes, however, calmed the troubled waters by saying, "Come, Heard, don't let's fight; we are not hired by these fellows to do that; let them do the fighting while we take the land."
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