History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I, Part 66

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 840

USA > New Jersey > Essex County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I > Part 66
USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I > Part 66

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had it been made a few years later, would not, pro- bably, have been reversed. In 1844 he was a member of the Convention to frame a new Constitution for the State, and took a very active and prominent part in the proceedings on that occasion. On retiring from the Bench in 1846, he resumed the practice of his pro- fession, but in a very limited way. Never having been a man of vigorous health, he was, although now in his seventieth year, apparently as capable as ever of mental labor, and Princeton College, which had, in 1841, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D., ap- pointed him, in 1847, together with James S. Green and Richard S. Field, Esquires, professor of law, in the hope of establishing a permanent law school at Prince-

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

ton. These gentlemen all accepted their several ap- pointments, and began the next year a course of lec- tures on the different branches of Law. The school was not, however, a success. During the first five years of its existence, six young gentlemen received the degree of LL. B. It was discontinued in 1855 for want of sufficient encouragement.

In politics, Judge Hornblower was a Federalist, and afterwards a Whig and Republican. His anti-slavery feelings were very strong. In 1856 he was chairman of the New Jersey delegation, and Vice-President of the Philadelphia t'onvention that nominated General Fremont for the Presidency, on the Republican ticket. He was one of the Presidential electors in 1820, and cast his vote for James Monroe. In 1860 he was President of the Electoral College of New Jersey which cast the vote of that State for Lincoln and Hamlin. For more than fifty years he was a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Newark. Of the American Bible Society, he was one of the original members; and of the New Jersey Colonization Society, as well as the Society for promoting Collegiate and Theological Education in the West, he was for many years president. To the New Jersey Historical Society he was greatly devoted, and was its president from its foundation to the time of his death. Judge Field in an address before that Society, on the Life and Character of Chief Justice Hornblower, says : "One . duties of his high and responsible office. of the most conspicuous traits in the character of the Chief Justice was his perfect honesty. I do not believe a more honest man ever lived. It was in him an intellectual as well as a moral attribute. He loved truth for its own sake. He always strove patiently to find it. He wonkl follow it, lead where it might. It was a great element of strength in his character. It led him always to right conclusions. There was a guilelessness and simplicity of character about him, too, that was beautiful. He had nothing to conceal. He did not repel intrusion into his inmost thoughts and feelings. He was, indeed a book, 'known and read of all men.' Of him it might be truly said : ' His heart was in his mouth.' The utterances of his tongue were the pure fresh coinage of his mind."

Soon after his admission to the bar, Mr. Hornblow- er married the daughter of Dr. William Burnet, of Belleville and the grand-daughter of Dr. William Burnet, Surgeon General of the Continental Army. She died leaving him with a large family of children. Some years after her decease, he married the daughter of Colonel John Kinney, of Speedwell, near Morris- town. In all his domestic and social relations he was eminently happy. His home was for him the most delightful place in the world, and it is said that while preparing his cases and writing his opinions, he preferred to have his wife and children about him. Chief Justice Hornblower died January 11th, 186-4, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.

which provides that Justices of the Supreme Court, Chancellors, and Judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals, shall be nominated by the Governor, and appointed by him with the advice and consent of the Senate. On the expiration of Chief Justice Horn- blower's second term, Mr. Green succeeded him, November 2, 1846, and served two full terms with great distinction. In 1861 he was appointed Chan- eellor by Governor Olden, but, before completing his term of office, was obliged to resign in consequence of ill health. His death occurred in Trenton, December 19, 1876.

EDWARD W. WHELPLEY was appointed successor to Chief Justice Green, January 31, 1861, and heki office until February 21, 1864, when he died, after more than a year's suffering under the malady known as "Bright's Disease." At the time of his appoint- ment as Chief Justice, he was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and had occupied a seat upon the Bench since Sept 9, 1858.

MERCER BEASLEY, the present Chief Justice ot New Jersey, received his appointment March &, 1864; was reappointed in 1871, again reappointed in 1878, so that, up to the present time, 1884, he has been on the bench more than twenty years. Though well advanced in life, he is physically and mentally full of vigor, and quite as devoted as ever to the

Associate Justices of the Supreme Court .- The Constitution of New Jersey adopted July 2, 1776, makes no mention of the Supreme Court except to declare that "The Judge- of the Supreme Court shall continue in office for seven years." Who these Judges might be, or how many, does not appear, and is not provided for. It is true that this Constitution provides: "Section XXI. That all the laws of this province, contained in the edition lately published by Mr. Allison (January 1, 1776) shall be and remain in full force, until altered by the legislature of this colony (such only excepted as are incompatible with this charter) and shall be, according as heretofore, regarded in all respects by all civil officers, and others, the good people of this province." What appears to be the first aet passed by the first legislature under the Constitution is as follows : "Be it therefore enact- ed by the Council and General Assembly of this State, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that the several Courts of Law and Equity of this State, shall be confirmed and established and continued to be held with like powers under the pre- sent government, as they were held at and before the Declaration of Independence lately made by the honorable the Continental Congress."

There can be but little doubt that between October 2, 1704, and November 6, 1705, the Supreme Court was composed of a Chief Justice and one Associate Justice, Mompesson and l'inhorne. Judge Field, in his " Provincial Courts of New Jersey," says that

HENRY WOODHULL GREEN was the first Chief Justice appointed under the Constitution of 1444, they " were the only judges during the administration

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of Lord Cornbury." These two gentlemen were ver- tainly on the Bench during all that period, which terminated in 170%; but the records of the Supreme Court show that on November 6, 1705, two Associate Judges were appointed, and that on November 6, 1706, another Associate Justice was appointed, show- ing that the number of justices was not confined to two. To what number the judges composing the Supreme Court was limited, does not appear in the Ordinance of Cornbury of 1704, nor in the Ordinance of Hunter of 1714, nor in the Ordinance of Burnet of 1724, 1725, and 1728. That this Court was limited to a Chief Justice and two Associates until 1795, can- not be doubted. In that year, it was made, by an Art of the General Assembly, to consist of a thief Justice and three AAssociate Justices. On the 10th of March 1806, this Aet was repeaken, and the number of AAssociate Justices was reduced to two. In 1838, the number was increased to four. In 1855, it was increased to six, and in 1875, to eight.

The list of these Justices is quite long. Very few of them were residents of Essex County, and as has been elsewhere said, in speaking of the Chief Justices, the design and limits of this work will admit of little more than the nwntion of the names of those who are not, or who have not been, citizens of that county.

WILLIAM PINHORNE was the first Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, receiving his appointment October 2, 1704. On the removal of Lord Cornbury from the Governorship, Pinhorne' who was President of the Council, became acting governor until the arrival of Governor Hunter from England. Though not a lawyer, he was a man of wealth and influence, as well as the father-in-law of Chief Justice Mompesson, who married one of his daughters.

WILLIAM SANFORD was commissioned November 6, 1705. He was a great friend of Lord Corubury, and was expelled from the Assembly, of which he was a member, for defending the disgraceful conduct of that functionary.

ANDREW BOWNE was also commissioned Novem- ber 6, 1705.

DANIEL VOXE received his appointment Novem- lær 6, 1706. He was a physician, and Governor of West Jersey from 1687 to 1690. His son, of the same name, became also an Associate Justice.

THOMAS REVEL was commissioned June 7, 170%. A friend of Lord Cornbury.

DANIEL LEEDS, commissioned with Revel, June 7, 1708, and also a friend of Cornbury.

PETER SOUMANS, another friend of Cornbury, was appointed April 5, 1710. He was indicted for perjury and acquitted. The House of Assembly declared that lie owed his escape to a packed jury.

lyon Hroby was likewise a friend of Cornbury, and was commissioned in company with Soumans, April 5, 1710.

LEWIS MORRIS was appointed as Associate Justice

in 1×11. He was, as has been elsewhere said, ex- pelled from Lord Cornbury's Council, doubtless be- cause he was an honest. fearless man ; but he subse- quently caused Cornbury to be ousted from the gubernatorial chair. Ile was subsequently appointed Chief Justice of New York, and at a later period Governor and Chancellor of New Jersey.

THOMAS FARMAR received his commission Octo- ber 22, 1711. He is elsewhere spoken of as Chief Justice, to which office he was appointed in 172 -.

PETER BARD was appointed Associate Justice in 1721.

DANIEL COXE, son of Dr. David Coxe, mentioned above, was commissioned Associate Justice August 1, 1734, and remained upon the Bench until his death in 1739. He was Speaker of the House of Assembly, and although, in that position, he gave much offence to Governor Hunter, he is spoken of as a man of great ability and integrity.

JOHN HAMILTON Was commissioned Associate Jus- tice in 1735.

JOSEPH BONNEL was commissioned Associate Ju -- tice April 19, 1739.

JOHN ALLEN was commissioned Associate Justice November 6, 1739.

SAMUEL NEVILL was appointed Associate Justice January 16, 1745, and discharged the duties of his office for sixteen years. Before emigrating to America he was editor of the London Morning Post. While upon the Bench he published an edition of the laws of the Province in two volumes.

CHARLES READ was commissioned Associate Jus- tice, March 28, 1749. He was afterwards Chief Jus- tiev, and is elsewhere mentioned.

RICHARD SALTAR received his appointment May 2. 1754. During the absence of Chief Justice Robert Hunter Morris from the Bench while two years tov- ernor of Pennsylvania, Nevill and Read, his associ- ates, performed all his duties as Chief Justice ; and Read would, doubtless, have been appointed to his place, had his resignation been accepted (see R. II. Marris.)

JOHN BERRIES was appointed Associate Justice February 20, 1764.

DAVID OUDEN was born in Newark, Essex County, N. J., about the year 1707. He graduated from Yale College in 1725, and having studied in New York, returned to his native city and began the practice of his profession. He was a man of remarkable indus- try, and rapidly gained a high reputation as a lawyer. Ilis professional services were frequently sought by persons having business in the Courts of New York, where he was also highly esteemed for his legal abili- ty. On the 1sth of May, 1772, he was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and became distinguished for the accuracy of his judgment and the depth of his learning. He was not, however, to crown his life with the glory which had thus far at- tended it. He had been an intense loyalist during

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

the turbulent times that preceded the breaking out of the Revolution, and when that war became inevit- able, and he must either fight or fly, he sought refuge under the British flag in the City of New York, where he remained till the contest was at an end. Although past his seventieth year, he still possessed great activity of both mind and body. He became a member of the Board of Refugees, or Loyalists estab- lished in New York, and composed of delegates from the several Colonies. At this time he devised the outlines of a plan for the Government of America, after her submission to Great Britain, an event which he deemed "certain and soon to happen if proper measures were not neglected." This plan, fortunately, never needed, is given quite fully in " Sabine's American Loyalists."

Mr. Ogden, after the peace, went to England as agent for the New Jersey loyalists, to prosecute their claims for losses sustained by them during the war. He received compensation himself for the loss of his own large and valuable property, which was confis- cated by the State of New Jersey. After remaining in England until 1790 he returned to the United States and settled in Queens County, Long Island, where he lived till the time of his death, which occurred in 1800, at the age of ninety-three years. It is said that while a resident of Long Island, he sometimes visited Newark, where he was always kindly received.

RICHARD STOCKTON was appointed Associate .Ius- tice of the Supreme Court, February 28, 1774. ITis old preceptor, David Ogden, sat beside him on the Bench. Mr. Stoekton had already been a member of the Council, and in June, 1776, was elected a member of the General Congress, then sitting in Philadelphia. In New Jersey he is revered as one of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Independence. So highly was he esteemed as a lawyer and a judge that he was elected the first Chief Justice under the Con- stitution of 1776; a position which he declined, as elsewhere stated.

Associate Justices during and after the Revolu- tion .- SAMUEL TUCKER was elected Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, September 4, 1776. Men- tion of him has already been made in the introduc- tion to the list of Chief Justices, during the Revolu- tion.

FRANCIS HOPKINSON was, with Samuel Tucker, clected Associate Justice, September 4, 1776; and mention of him has also been made in the introdue- tion to the list of Chief Justices, during and after the Revolution.

ISAAC SMITH was elected Associate Justice, Febru- ary 15, 1777, and hell the office four terms, twenty- eight years in all, being the longest period that it has been held by any person. In 1805, the contest between the Whigs and Federalists became so bitter that, being a Federalist and in the minority, he was obliged to leave the seat which he had so long occu-

pied. He became the first President of the Trenton Banking Company, just established, and held that position till his death in 1807. Judge Smith was a physician, and continued the practice of his profession during his several terms of office.

JOHN CLEVES SYMMES was also elected Associate Justice, February 15, 1777. Ile was a lawyer, resi- ding in Newton, Sussex County, N. J., and was one of the framers of the State Constitution of 1776. In 1784 and 1785 he was a delegate to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, at the same time holding his position on the Bench. In 1788, he was chosen by Congress one of the Judges of the Northwestern Territory, and soon after removed to Ohio, where, with other Jerseymen, he purchased of Congress a tract of land between the two Miami rivers, contain- ing 250,000 acres, now the site of the cities of Cincin- nati and Dayton. At the North Bend of the Ohio, he formed a settlement, afterwards well known as the residence of President William H. Harrison, who married a daughter of Judge Symmes. A son bear- ing the same name is noted for the theory that the earth is hollow and inhabited within.

JOHN CHETWOOD was elected Associate Justice, September 4, 1788, and occupied his seat upon the Bench until 1797, when he resigned in consequence of ill-health. It is said that being of Quaker descent, he resigned on account of his unwillingness to sentence a man to death. He was distinguished as a lawyer, and gave great satisfaction as a judge.

ANDREW KIRKPATRICK was elected November 8th, 1797, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Chetwood. He afterwards became Chief Jus- tiee. Further mention is made of him under the head of Chief Justices.

ELISHA BOUDINOT, a younger brother of Elias Boudinot, was born in Philadelphia in 1742. ITis an- cestors were French Huguenots, who fled to America, soon after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He received an excellent education and was learned in the law, although his name does not appear in the published list of Attorneys and Counselors of the Supreme Court. In 1792, however, he was called to be a sergeant-at-law, the highest degree in the Com- mon Law, as Doctor is in the Civil Law. Sergeants could not be regularly made, or appointed by rule of the Court, but on the recommendation of the judges, were called up by writ out of chancery, and then sworn. Examiners of students were appointed ex- clusively from the sergeants until . 1839, since which time no sergeants have been designated.

Mr. Boudinot began the practice of law in Newark, N. J., which was his residence during the greater part of his life. Hle acquired a high reputation as a lawyer, and was universally esteemed for his many excellent qualities. In 1798 an act was passed increasing the number of justices of the Supreme Court from three to four, and Mr. Boudinot was elected to the new seat, which he occupied for seven years. On retiring from

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the Bench, being well advanced in life, he undertook no more arduous labor. On the 12th of October, 1819, he died at his residence in Newark, in his seventy- seventh year.

WILLIAM S. PENNINGTON was elected Associate Justice, March 9, 1804. He became subsequently Governor and Chancellor. He is spoken of, at greater length, in the section entitled Chancellors of New Jer-

WILLIAM ROSSELL received his appointment as As- sociate Justice November 1, 1804. He was not a lawer by profession, but he possessed great common sense. When he retired from the Bench, a meeting of the bar adopted resolutions highly complimentary of his faithful performance of the duties of his office. In 1826, he was appointed Judge of the District Court of the United States for New Jersey. Ile died in 1840,

MAHLON DICKENSON became Associate Justice of the Supreme Court November 3, 1813. He was sub- sequently Governor and Chancellor. His name up- pears hereafter in the section entitled Chancellors of New Jersey.

SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD was elected Associate Jus- tive October 31, 1815. He afterwards became Governor and Chancellor ; and his name appears hereafter in the section entitled Chancellors of New Jersey.

GABRIEL H. FORD was appointed Associate Justice November 15, 1820. He was twice re-elected, hold- ing his otlice twenty-one years; and at the close of his third term, becoming somewhat deaf and feeble, he declined another re-nomination. He was a good lawyer, and gave great satisfaction as a judge, receiv- ing the compliments of the members of the bar on retiring from the Bench. He died in 1849, at the age of seventy-one years.

GEORGE K. DRAKE was commissioned as Associate Justice December 27, 1826. lle held his office but one term of seven years, in consequence of a decision which gave great offence to the political party to which he was opposed. He was twice elected a member of the General Assembly and was Speaker during the last two years of his service.

THOMAS C. RYERSON was elected Associate Justice to succeed Judge Drake, whose term had expired. His election was to him a complete surprise, and on account of his friendship for Judge Drake, he was at first, quite unwilling to accept the office. He was' however, induced to do so, after receiving a letter from Judge Drake, strongly urging him to accept, "and that promptly." He held the otlice, however, but four years, dying in August, 1838, llis ability as a lawyer and sound sense and learning as a judge won for him the esteem and confidence of the bench, the bar and the people.

several times in the legislature. In 1833, he was ap- pointed Attorney-General of the State, an office in which he desired to continue, rather than to assume that of a Justice of the Supreme Court. He died in 1862, at the advanced age of ninety-one years.

WILLIAM L. DAYTON was chosen an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court February 28, 1838, being, at the time thirty-one years of age, and only five years a counselor at law. Ile was a member of the legislature by which he was elected. Finding the emoluments of the office insufficient to afford him a comfortable living he resigned it in 1841, and re- sumed the practice of the law. On the death of Samuel L. Sonthard in 1842, Mr. Dayton was ap- pointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy thus occasioned in the United States Senate; and in 1845, he was elected for a full term. In 1856 he was selected as a candidate for the Vice-Presidency by the convention which nominated John C. Fremont for President. In 1857 he was appointed Attorney General of the State, which office he held until 1861, when he was appointed by President Lincoln Minis- ter to France, where he died suddenly of apoplexy, December 1, 1864.

JAMES S. NEVIT'S was elected at joint meeting, Associate Justice November 15, 1838; and was again appointed by the Governor in 1545; serving fourteen years upon the Bench. On retiring, he resumed the practice of law, but not with great success, as is said.

DANIEL ELMER was chosen by the joint meeting, in 1841, an Associate Justice to succeed Judge Day- ton. He was a member of the couvention to form a new constitution in 1844. Before coming to the Bench, he had been an indefatigable lawyer, and his health was somewhat impaired by hard work. . The winter after the convention, he had an apopleetie at- tack, and was obliged to resign his office. He died in 1848.

IRA C. WHITEHEAD was chosen an Associate Jus- tice November 3, 1841. He was, at the time, a practicing lawyer in Morristown N. J., where he was highly esteemed. His term expired in 1848, and as all the judges, five in number, were Whigs, the Dem- ocratic party which had just come into power, de- manded one representative on the bench, and Judge Whitehead was retired. He resumed the practice of his profession, and with great success till his death in 1867.

THOMAS P'. CARPENTER received his commission as Associate Justice, February 5, 1845, and held office for one term of seven years, after which he resumed the practice of law. In 1838 he was appointed Prose- cutor of the Pleas of Gloucester County. He died March 20, 1876.

JOHN MOORE WHITE became an Associate Justice JOSEPH F. RANDOLPH was appointed Associate Justice, February 27, 1815, and sat upon the Bench one term of seven years. Hle was for several years Prosecutor of Monmouth County, and a member of February 28, 1838, at the age of G8 years. He served but one terin of seven years, when he retired from ae- tive employment of every kind. He was a good law- yer. and had represented the County of Gloucester ; the Constitutional Convention of 1844. From 1837 to

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

1843 he was a representative in Congress. His death occurred March 19, 1873.

ELIAS B. D. ODGEN was appointed by Governor Haines, successor to Judge Whitehead, November 3, 1848; was reappointed by Governor Price in 1855, and again reappointed by Governor Olden, November 5, 1862. lle was a member of the legislature, and in 1844, a member of the Constitutional Convention.

LUCIE'S QUINTIU'S CINCINNATI'S ELMER was ap- pointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, February 5, 1852. serving a term of seven years. He was, August 22, 1851, appointed vice William S. Clawson, deceased, and February 25, 1862, was reap- pointed for a full term, making his whole period of service on the Bench nearly fifteen years. From 1820 to 1823 inclusive, he was a member of the General Assembly, and during the last year, Speaker of the House. In 1824 he was Prosecutor of the Pleas for Cumberland County ; and in the same year was ap- pointed United States District Attorney for New Jersey, which office he held until 1829. In 1843 he was elected a member of Congress, and served one term. In 1850 he was appointed Attorney General of the State, and continued in that office until his eleva- tion to the Bench in 1852. In addition to his high reputation as a lawyer, a judge and a statesman, Mr. Elmer has won great distinction for his industry and skill as a writer. In 1869 he published a History of Cumberland County ; and in 1872, "The Constitution and Government of the Province of New Jersey," to which the compiler of these sketches is greatly in- debted. In 1838 he compiled a "Digest of the Laws of New Jersey " which has passed through several editions. He died March 11, 1883, at the age of ninety.

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History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I, Part 66

Author: Shaw, William H Publication date: 1884 Publisher: [United States :] Number of Pages: 840

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 840