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 9
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This encouraged him, so he commenced pleading cases before the Justice Courts. He studied law, or said he did, and when the county was organized became a full-fledged lawyer, being then about thirty-six years of age. He held many offices, being Justice of the Peace, Circuit and County Clerk, Treasurer, etc. He also edited the Paris Mer- cury, helped to organize the Christian Church in Paris and was for a long time Circuit Attorney, traveling over twelve ocunties to prosecute offenders.
His was a long and eventful career, as he lived to be over ninety. Like Rip Van Winkle, he slept for a number of years-six or eight. During this time he was in a semi- dormant state. At the end of the period he aroused himself and was livelier than ever before. This occurred about the time he was eighty-five years old. He was full of spirit and fun, enjoyed jokes and pranks, and this trait was even more marked in his old age than in his younger days. He never was very much of a lawyer, yet he had a long and varied practice. It is related that Judge Jack Gordon, himself a fine lawyer, was appointed to examine Mr. Abernathy when he applied for admission to the bar. He talked with the candidate and finding his legal knowledge deficient, asked him if he could sing and dance, which being answered in the affirmative, reported to the Court that the candidate knew little of the common law, "but was h-1 on the statutes," and all through his long career at the bar "Abbie" relied on the statutes and paid little attention to any- thing else, save the Supreme Court reports. He raised quite a family of accomplished daughters, one of whom inarried Hugh Glenn, who became a noted California ranchman. The stories that are told of "Abbie" are many, but space forbids repeating them here.
Col. Phil Williams. Another of the early lawyers of Monroe County who lived to a ripe old age was Col. Phil. Williams. He settled in Paris soon after it was laid out and there he died in 1881 at the age of eighty. He amassed a fortune of $150,000, by strict economy and diligence in his profession. It is my understanding that he never married; at least he had no children, and lived a very quiet life.
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THE EARLY BAR OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI.
William J. Howell. One of the inen who gave character and standing to the bar of Northeast Missouri was William J. Howell. He was a thorough lawyer, skillful and learned. He was not an orator, but few men were his equals in the examination of witnesses and the management of cases. His shrewdness was the envy of many other practitioners. He seemed to have the faculty of smelling fraud, deceit or any trickery, and he knew just how to meet these. One well acquainted with him would know by the twinkle of his small gray eyes that he knew he was on the right scent. Though, as stated above, he was not an orator, yet he was an effective speaker, as he familiarly talked over the facts in liis case with the jury and reasoned with them in a way difficult to resist. In personal appearance, in his later years, he resembled in a striking manner the pictures of Gen. R. E. Lee. He had also many quaint and peculiar expressions, although his conversation showed the man of broad and varied knowledge and culture. The writer was once demanding $500, in the settlement of a case against Maj. Howell's client, when he remarked, "Oh, roost a little lower and we'll crawl to you." In discussing Judge Redd's fondness for ancient things, the Major said, "Yes, he thinks the black letter law only, worthy of consideration."
When a small boy he camne in 1813 from Kentucky with his father, who settled on a farm in Marion County, but from youth the subject of this sketch was thirsting for an education, and improved every opportunity. Before he was of age lie was elected Circuit Clerk of Monroe County. Afterward he studied law in the office of Uriel Wright of Pal- myra, and as soon as admitted to practice he settled in Paris. He acquired practice and rose rapidly. Before the war he owned 4,000 acres of land and was a large slave holder, but he was a staunch Union man. About 1844 he was elected to the Legislature and was a party to the change of county boundary lines, giving a strip on the north to Shelby, still called " Howell's Cut-off." This displeased his constituents and the Major afterward re- marked: "I lopped off a piece of the county and so my constituents lopped mne off." Maj. Howell was a manly man. He had a large family, his daughters, especially, being noted for their culture, refinement and womanly grace. At over three score and ten he departed this life, at peace with the universe, and mourned by a wide circle of friends.
Samuel A. Rawlings was a brilliant man, a little erratic, but possessed not only of good parts but he had most of the manly virtues. He studied in Palmyra and practiced in Paris, until the war broke out, when his impetuous Southern blood rushed him into the Confed- erate Arıny, where he did gallant service and won the rank of Colonel. After the war he settled in Shelbina and became editor of the Democrat, and continued in this position until he died in 1875. Before the war he represented his County in the Legislature and made an excellent record. Col. Rawlings was an ambitious man and was several times defeated for office, which saddened him. His mind was well disciplined, stored with knowledge, and he was a good speaker and a fine writer. He left a widow and a large family of small chil- dren, all of whom are now intelligent and useful citizens.
A. M. Alexander was a noble specimen of manhood, large, fine-looking, intelligent, kind, noble. Born in Kentucky, raised in Monroe County, educated at the University of Virginia, he commenced practice at the close of the war, at the age of thirty, and rapidly attained distinction. In 1875 he was one of the distinguished members of the Constitu- tional Convention; served as Prosecuting Attorney three or four terins, and was one term in Congress. He was a good lawyer and a very able prosecutor, the enemy of everything wrong. About 1873 he was chosen Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows in this State, and his brethren in that order always idolized him. His sudden death a few
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years ago was a great shock to the community. He raised two sons, but Paul, a brilliant young lawyer of Kansas City, died suddenly, like his father, and the other is the editor of the Paris Mercury.
THE HANNIBAL BAR.
In the later years there has been much inore litigation in the Hannibal Court of Common Pleas than in the Circuit Court at Palmyra, the county seat of Marion, and there has always been a good bar at the former place.
Richard F. Richmond. Among the earliest members of the bar at Hannibal was Rich- ard F. Richmond, a very brilliant man, whose father was a Massachusetts Yankee who went to Kentucky, and there the subject of this sketch was born, grew to manhood and became a lawyer. At thirty, when he settled in Hannibal, he had already become distinguished. In 1844 he was elected to the Legislature, in which body he was a leader and a staunch friend of Col. Benton. With his eloquence he could move a jury and carry an audience almost as he pleased. He was humorous, brilliant and a splendid story-teller. He died inany years since.
Al. Lamb. Of this gentleman, perhaps the greatest lawyer that ever practiced in Marion County, the writer has not been able to find any definite data. He was regarded by the bar as a power. He served one term in Congress, and died fifteen or twenty years ago at a ripe old age. He was of good build and size, with a massive brain.
R. F. Lakeman was a lawyer of ability and standing, who reflected credit on his town. He was a polished mian, and one of the finest conversationalists of his generation. He was largely connected with the building of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and of the eastern end of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas also. As a State Senator from 1876 to 1880 he discharged his duties faithfully and with credit. He died about fifteen years ago before reaching old age.
William P. Harrison. Another brilliant lawyer who shed luster upon the Marion bar was William P. Harrison. His perception was so quick that when on the bench he always saw the conclusion to which an argument tended long before it was completed, and often anticipated and helped out the slower lawyers. He had a very extensive practice and was on the bench or at the bar from 1848 to 1890. He died at a ripe old age. During life he held inany positions of trust from Register of the Land Office at Palmyra, appointed by President Pierce, to Judge of the Circuit Court, and everywhere he discharged his duties with fidelity and great ability. He was an unconditional Union man and was aide to Gov. Hall with the rank of Colonel.
Wm. H. Hatch. This gentleman gained a national reputation in politics and as a statesman, and in his best days was a magnificent looking inan and a fine orator, and always courteous and pleasant. He came from the Blue Grass State and settled in Hannibal in the 'fifties and was elected Circuit Attorney before the war, in which position he gained a fine reputation as a prosecutor, but the war came on and he went South. After the close of the war, when "Peace again spread her white wings o'er the land," he resumed practice in Hannibal and became especially noted as a criminal lawyer, but his celebrity was greater as a political speaker. After repeated efforts, in 1878 he secured the Democratic nomination for Congress, and held his place in that body until 1895, and there lie gained his greatest distinction. In 1892 he was a candidate for Speaker, and was often called upon by the
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THE EARLY BAR OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI.
Speaker to preside over the House. Col. Hatch was a man of great force and power, and his friends were numbered by the tens of thousands. He died at his home in the late fall of 1896.
THE LEWIS COUNTY BAR.
At an early date there were a number of strong and brilliant lawyers at Monticello, the judicial seat of Lewis County.
James J. Lindley, who was born in Ohio and studied law in the office of Anderson & Dryden at Palmyra, and then opened his office at Monticello in 1845. He was poor, and for a time was unable to pay his board, but his landlord patiently waited on him, seeing, no doubt, that the youth had good material in his make-up. Soon he got a start, and being bright, resourceful and a fine talker, he gained practice rapidly. In 1848 he was elected Circuit Attorney for eight counties, in which position he earned great distinction for a young man. In 1853 he had to resign the Attorneyship to take a seat in Congress, having been elected as a Whig over Claib Jackson in a strong Democratic district. In 1857 he went to Davenport, Iowa, and formed a partnership with J. F. Dillon, who afterward became very distinguished as a United States Judge and a legal writer. But in 1864 Lind- ley returned to Missouri and settled in St. Louis, and the next year he was elected one of the Circuit Judges for that city, which position he held for twelve years. Everywhere he was popular, for he was both brilliant and agreeable. The writer campaigned with him in 1888 and found him one of the most genial, lovable old mnen le ever inet. He died in St. Louis a few years since.
James S. Green. As a reasoner, a logician and a ready and winning debater, the man whose name heads this sketch was the equal, if not the superior, of any who ever lived in this State, and in the United States Senate he found no superior in the degree of influence wielded. He was not an orator, yet he had a good voice, a clear and distinct enunciation, and was always entertaining, chiefly because he crowded so much thought into a few words. The " Old Dominion " was the land of his nativity. From it he migrated to Lewis County in 1838, when he had reached his majority. There he worked on a farm and ran a saw- mill, studying law at intervals; sometimes by the light of burning chips and bark in the old-fashioned fireplace. It was in the early forties that he became a member of the bar, and in 1844 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, in which body he took high rank as a debater. During the winter previous to the meeting of the Convention, he acted as a Clerk in the Legislature. As a lawyer he soon proved himself able to cope with any and all of the great men who then adorned the profession in Northern Missouri. With- out apparently paying any attention to the trial of a case, he would yet grasp every feature of it and present it to the jury in a masterly manner. His home was at Monticello. In 1846 he was elected to Congress and re-elected in 1848, where he gained much reputation. In 1853 President Pierce appointed him Minister to New Granada, but this position did not suit him, and he returned soon. Again in 1856 he was elected to Congress, but before taking his seat was chosen Senator, and in that body demonstrated his abillity to grapple with the "Little Giant " (Douglass), with Senators Seward, Sumner and all the other great men of that distinguished body, and could present questions more clearly and logically than any of them. He was an ultra "State's Rights " Democrat and favored secession, and in 1861 was expelled from the Senate for disloyalty. This was practically the end of his brief but remarkable career. He went South, but found no field suitable to the display of his
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great talcuts. After the war he located in St. Louis, but irregular habits had undermined his health and he died in January, 1870, at the age of fifty-two. The writer never saw him but once, and that was in the fall of 1867 at a term of court at Monticello, and he was impressed with the fact that Ex-Senator Green had the highest head above the eyes he had ever seen.
Among the valuable papers in the possession of James T. Lloyd is a deed executed in August, 1868, conveying to Mr. Lloyd's father a portion of the land which comes to him froin his father's estate, by Hon. James S. Green and wife. This is a valuable paper because it furnishes a perfect autograph of Gen. Green.
Addison Reese came to Lewis County from Harrison County, Ky., and was for many years-about sixteen-on the bench in Northeast Missouri. He married Miss Margaret Hunt, who came from New York, and after a long and successful career at the bar and on the bench lie died in St. Louis in 1882. One of his sons is now, or was recently, a lawyer at Warsaw, Mo. Judge Reese maintained an excellent reputation, as a man, a judge and a practitioner. The man should always be first, for it is of infinitely more importance that one be a manly man than that he be a great lawyer or a great anything else.
James Ellison. Born in Ireland in 1805, James Ellison was brought to America while a child by his parents, who settled in Ohio, and there the future jurist and father of jurists, grew to manhood, studied and laid the foundation for his future usefulness. He was ad- mitted to the bar when twenty-five years of age, and practiced in the Buckeye State five years. Then the fever that carried so many young men West attacked him, and we next find him near the present site of Canton, Mo., where he lived, and a few years ago he died. He served a term in each house of the Legislature, and also a term on the bench. In all these positions he maintained a high character for probity and ability. He was considered a clear-headed and impartial Judge, uninfluenced by any consideration other than a desire to do right. Thirteen children were born to him, four of whom are now prominent in the legal profession, to-wit: James, a Judge of the Kansas City Court of Appeals; Andrew, who has been on the circuit bench for twenty years; George, a lawyer of Canton, and William, a member of the bar of Maryville. Their inother's maiden name was Martha Cowgill, of Clark County. Judge Ellison was a lover of books, especially of poetry and of Bobby Burns lie was exceptionally fond and could quote his poetry by the hour. There was enough of the Irish brogue in his speech to make him all the inore interesting.
E. K. Sayer was a lawyer of somne prominence in Lewis County, a large land owner, and a man who stood high among the people. The most of his practice was shortly after the war.
Mat C. Hawkins. A good lawyer who practiced the profession mainly just before, dur- ing and just after the war, was Mat C. Hawkins. He was also an excellent physician and a fine business man. It is seldom that a man is a success in so many lines, but such was the case with this interesting gentleman, who had his home in Canton.
CLARK COUNTY.
The counties of Clark, Scotland and Knox were organized later than the others men- tioned, and licnec they did not so carly have a bar. Then the men of legal ability and attainments gathered at a few points and they were employed in all the surrounding counties. At the present time, lawyers of ability and learning may be found in every county seat, and in every town of consequence.
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THE EARLY BAR OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI.
Noah M. Givans. In Clark County Noah M. Givans became a prominent lawyer before the war. He is represented as a man of high character, a good, all-round prac- titioner and in every way worthy of being mentioned among inen of note. He held the position of Judge of Probate soon after that court was established in this State and dis- charged his duties well.
Ben E. Turner rose to distinction rapidly after he entered upon practice. He was born in Lewis County, March 18, 1850, and was reared upon his father's farin. How- ever, he ambitiously dreamed of a wider field and was a diligent student. He completed his studies and was admitted to the bar when he was barely of age. Practice came to him after lie opened his office in Kahoka, the seat of justice for Clark, and in 1874 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney and re-elected in 1876-78. The county was and is very close politically, sometimes one and sometimes the other party having the majority, and the fact that he was able to hold this position for three terms speaks well for his ability, fidelity and popularity. In 1880 he was elected Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, composed of Clark, Lewis, Scotland and Knox Counties, to which position he was re-elected in 1886. and again in 1892. About a year ago he died suddenly, in the prime of life, and Hon. Ed McKee, of Scotland County, was chosen to succeed him. Judge Turner was a mild and quiet but firm man and a most excellent Judge. Just before he died there seemed to be before him a bright future filled with many years of usefulness. He had a pleasant home and his hospitality the writer has enjoyed.
Levi P. Wagner appears to have been the only lawyer of Memphis, Scotland County, not still living, whose fame has reached the other part of the State. Whether he was related to Judge David Wagner, who so distinguished himself upon the Supreme Bench, the writer is not able to say, though he lias heard they were brothers. At least he was a man of character, a good lawyer, but of his lineage no record is at hand. He died some years ago at a good old age. Since the above was put in print, a son of Mr. Wagner told the writer that his father and the Judge were brothers.
Elias Vickers Wilson. Born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1822, educated at Miami University, admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court at Columbus in 1847, Elias Vick- ers Wilson, after practicing in his native State two years, settled in Edina, Knox County, Mo. There he soon demonstrated his ability, and practice came to him. Lawyers of merit usually consider it unprofessional to do anything like soliciting, and they never have a case until a client of his own accord seeks the practitioner of his choice. So young Wilson sat back and waited anxiously, how anxiously only the man who has had the experience knows, for the approach of the man in trouble asking for one learned in the law to help him out. How long he waited need not be told, but after he tried one case others came to him in rapid succession.
In 1865 he was appointed by Gov. Fletcher Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, to fill out the terin of Judge David Wagner, who had been elevated to the Supreme Bench, and afterward he was elected to the position. Taking this great and most responsible office under the unfavorable conditions during the excitement and bitterness of disfranchisement just after the war, he held it with dignity, and gained the reputation among political enemies, as well as friends, of being a just and impartial, as well as an able, Judge. He was a pleasant man, fond of a joke, but was rather gruff in manner. Some years since lie died at a ripe old age, leaving an honored memory.
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EARLY JUDGES.
Priestly H. McBride, of Columbia, was appointed Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, December 11, 1830. How large the circuit was does not appear by any data at hand; but Marion, and a year later, Monroe, and five years later, Shelby, were included as these counties were organized. He made a good record and was elected to the Supreme Bench.
David Todd also appears to have had in his circuit at one time all of Northeast Missouri. He was a distinguished lawyer in Kentucky before he came to this State, and he inaintained a high reputation after he settled in Missouri. It is said his mind was a storehouse of knowledge and that he was also a kind and benevolent man. He seems to have been admitted to the bar in 1810, and died at Columbia in 1859.
Ezra Hunt was for many years one of the nisi prius Judges in Northeast Missouri. Born in Massachusetts seven years after our independence was acknowledged by England, he graduated with distinction at Harvard, and at the age of thirty settled in Pike County, Mo. He was a polished man and died at the age of seventy.
One of the Judges worthy of special mention and memory was Gilchrist Porter. He was a member of Congress at one time and presided at different times in two circuits in Northeast Missouri. Judge Porter was one of the most courtly, also hospitable, men this country has ever produced. He always and everywhere maintained the dignity and bear- ings of the best of the old style Virginia aristocracy. He has been dead but a few years.
Judges Redd, Harrison, Brace, Bacon, Ellison, Roy, Reese, Wilson and others are mentioned elsewhere.
For many of the foregoing facts the writer is indebted to the "Bench and Bar of Missouri," by Judge W. V. N. Bay, and to Hon. James T. Lloyd, of Shelbyville, for some facts; but for innch he has been compelled to rely on his memory, and if there are errors, as there must be many, it may be attributed to absence of accurate data, and his inability, after diligent inquiry, to find more correct information. He has tried to deal justly with all, and to select a few from the many things that might, and perhaps ought to be said, would space permit. He would have been gratified could he have given innch fuller accounts of inany of these great and worthy inen who have been so briefly mentioned, but he has done what he could.
The following is contributed by Hon. D. H. Moss, of Paris, Mo., who was elected, in 1868, Judge of the Circuit Court, composed of Marion, Ralls, Shelby, Monroe and Audrain Counties, but counted ont by Secretary of State Rodman, who threw out the vote of Monroe County. This from the pen of Judge Moss was not written for publication, but as inaterial to be worked over, but it is considered worthy to be published as it is.
John Heard was an old time lawyer, who was a man of high moral character, and of moderate ability as a lawyer. He resided in Paris for many years, was a Jackson Democrat and the first appointed State Register of Lands after the office was created by our State Legislature in 1848. He resided for many years at Independence, Mo., afterwards moved to Sacramento, Cal., and died there a few years ago at an old age.
N. B. Giddings. Another figure of the earlier days of Monroe County, was N. B. Gid- dings, a man of ordinary ability as a lawyer, but who stood well and belonged to an old and highly respected pioneer family. He was elected Captain of a volunteer company in 1846 that took part in the Mexican war. After he returned he located at Savannah, Andrew
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THE EARLY BAR OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI.
County, Mo., and died in 1897 at an old age, leaving as his town papers said, a splendid record of a useful and valuable life.
James Carr. A good deal could be said of James Carr. He camne to Missouri about 1850 from Pennsylvania and tauglit a country school in Monroe County for several years. As our prejudices ran pretty high in that day against what were called "Northern people," and Mr. Carr being young and green, quoted himself to the people here as being from Virginia, as he thought that would sound better to the chivalrous Southern people. Whilst teaching, he was reading law and was a close and persistent friend of Blackstone's Com- mentaries. After a few years he located in Paris to commence the battle for a living at the practice of the law. He had very little money and being compelled to practice a rigid economy, he got a sinall 14x14 office room, and not being able to afford a table he put a board on the arm of a "split bottom " rocking chair, and on that he for some time did his studying and writing. He never was, in iny judgment, a brilliant man, but he was possessed of a good mind and a firin memory, and being an industrious, persistent and good student, he managed to acquire a large store of valuable law book knowledge and it got to be said of him whilst he resided here that he knew a good deal of law. For some years, until the commencement of the war in 1861, he was in partnership withi L. A. Pindall. Mr. Carr was never in iny judgment a good or effective speaker, and not being a good judge of human nature, he did not understand as well as the average lawyer, how to manage jury cases. He found it a difficult task to compete with the average country lawyer, as inany who did not know as much law succeeded better in the practice; but he continued to fill his head with what the books said, and turning his attention especially to corporation law, just after the war in 1865 he was employed as attorney for the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad and moved from Paris to Hannibal, where he resided until he moved to St. Louis. Mr. Carr received for many years a good salary from the railroad company, and I believe, filled his position ably and faithfully. Finding corporation law suited to his talents and make-up as a lawyer, he made it the specialty in his profession and as such I think he stood well before the Courts and with the leading lawyers of St. Louis, especially in that department of the law. He succeeded in making money, and when he died a few years since in St. Louis left a good estate for his family. He was a man of high moral character and no man, I believe, was truer to his clients.
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