History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 26

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224

USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 26
USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 26

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Some, without any legal education or training, prac- ticed as amateur attorneys, doing a sort of law busi- ness for their less informed neighbors and attending to small causes in justices' and other inferior courts. Such in many instances stood in the way of the regu- lar profession.

A prejudice existed against the legal fraternity at an early day, which in New England for a time as- sumed quite a bitter form. It was felt there and more or less in all the colonies till after the Revolution. This prejudice grew out of the antagonism between the laboring and professional classes at a period when the majority belonged to the former and were strug- gling hard against the adversities of a new country. Lawyers were looked upon by them as a class of peo- ple trying to get their living without work, and, withal, feeling themselves somewhat superior beings. This prejudice prevailed in New Jersey as early as 1769, and after the Revolution was fanned into a fresh flame, both against the lawyers and the courts, on account of their agency in enforcing the payment of debts and contracts when the people were greatly impover- ished on account of the war. A notable illustration of this occurred in this county. The people at that time were clamorous for stay laws. Abraham Clark, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a member of the Legislature, aud sided with the pop- ular feeling. He was supposed to have been the au- thor of a bill entitled " An Act tor Regulating and Shortening the Proceedings of the Courts of Law," afterwards known as " Clark's Law." It did not pass, but in advocating it its author made the remark, " If it succeeds, it will tear off the ruffles from the law- yers' wrists."

The custom of wearing not only ruffled wristbands,

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BENCH AND BAR OF UNION COUNTY.

but ruffled bosoms, prevailed at that day. Barristers in court also wore gowns and wigs. " When sitting in court the justices of the Supreme Court wore a robe of office, and commonly a wig, although it is not probable that, like their brethren in England, they considered it necessary to carry four of these indis- pensable articles, namely, the brown scratch wig for the morning when not in court ; the powdered dress wig for dinner ; the tie wig, with the black coif, when sitting on the civil side of the court; and the full buttoned one for the criminal side."

The following custom, however, did prevail until within the memory of many now living : " The ordi- nance establishing the circuits required the high sheriff, justices of the peace, the mayor and aldermen of any corporation within the counties, and all officers of any of the courts to be attending on the chief jus- tice and other justices going the circuit at his coming into and leaving the several counties, and during his abode within the same; and the practice, as it was in England until the introduction of railways, was for the sheriff, with as many justices and other gentlemen on horseback as he could conveniently collect, to await the arrival of the judge at the county line, to which he was in like mauner escorted by the officers of the adjoining county, and escort him to his lodgings. At the opening and closing of the court from day to day, the sheriff and coustables, with their staves of office, escorted him from and to his place of lodging to the court-house, as was indeed the usual custom until very recently." 1

We append a list of the lawyers of this bar, so far as a record can be found of them, together with the dates of their admission to practice, to which are added some biographical sketches both of lawyers and judges.

List of Members of the Bar of Union County from 1774 to 1881.

Robert Ogden, Jr. Matthias Williamson, November T., 1774.

William Livingston, Jr., May T., 1780.

Juhu Dellart, May T., 1783.

Aaron Ogden, September T., 1784.

Nehemiah Wade, September T., 1784.

Jacob Dellart, April T., 1786.

Benjamin Clark, September T., 1788.

Isaac II. Williamsou, April T., 1791, April T., 1796.

Matthias Dellart, April T., 1791. Caleb Ilalsted, Jr., May T., 1791. Thomas L. Oguen, April T., 1795.

Jub S. Ilalsted, April T., 1793, September T., 1799.

David B. Ogdeu, September T., 1796, September T., 1799.

William Chetwood, September T, 1796, September T., 1799.

Wilham R. Williamson, May T., 1799. Thomas Y. How, May T., 1799.

George C. Barber, February T., 1801.

Elias 1. Dayton, February T., 1801. Aaron Coe, November T., 1801. Lewis Morris Ogden, November T., 1805.

Smith Scudder, September T., 1808, February T., 1814.

Elias D. Woodruff, November T., 1808. Matthias O. Halsted, November T., 1814, February T., 1818.

Matthias Ogden, November T., 1814, February T., 1818.

Oliver S. Halsted, November T., 1814. November T., 1×17. Francis C. F Randolph, May T., 1816, September T., 1819. Wilham Halsted, Jr., November T., 1816, November T., 1x19. Aaron O Dayton, November T., 1817, May T., 1821. Ezekiel S. Hamre, May T., 1818.

Jolın J. Chetwood, November T., 1821, February T., 1825. Damel Haines, November T., 1823. November T., 1826. Elias B. D. Ogden, May T., 1824, February T., 1829.

Joseph F. Randolph, May T., 1825, May T., 1828. William W Corriell. September T., 1827.

Francis B. Chetwood, November T., 1828, November T., 1831.

Aaron O. DeHart, November T., 182x, May T., 1835.

Cornelius Boice, September T., 1x29, November T., 1832.

Thomas P. Phinney, February T., 1831.

Wi liam Mansfield Scmlder, November T., 1831, May T., 1839.

T Ginbons Trumbull, February T., 1832, February T., 1836.

Matthias O. Dayton, November T., 1832.

Edward Y. Rogers, November T., 1833. November T., 1836.

Isaac H. Williamson, Jr., February T., 1836, September T., 1839.

Jobu Chetwood, September T., 1836, September T., 1839.

Robert D Spencer, September T., 1836, April T., 1846.

Juhu R. Crane, November T., 1836.

Isnac W. Scudder, May T., 1838, May T., 1844.

William F. Day, November T., 1838.

James R. Meeker, November T., 1840, November T., 1843.

Isaac Coles, May T , 1841.

Joseph Annin, November T., 1842, January T., 1846.

Ezia Darby, February T , 1×43, April T., 1846.

Stephen P Brittan, Jr., January T., 1846.

John Chetwood, Jr., July T , 1849.

William A Coursen, April T., 1x51.

Amlrew Dutcher, July T., 1851.

William B Meeker, February T., 1852.

T Henry Stone, November T., 1859.

Benjamin Williamson, Jr., November T., 1859.

Bradbury C. Chetwood, February T., 1861, February T., 1864.

Samuel D. Haiues, February T., 1x64.

Of the above list the following were called to the degrees of sergeants-at-law, viz .:

Rubert Ogden, Jr., May T., 17N(.

Aaron Ogilen, Septruiber T., 1792.

Matthias Williamson, May T., 1797.

Isaac H. Williamson, May T., 1804.

William Chetwinnl, February T., 1816.

Oliver S. Halsted, February T., 1834

William Halstead, Jr , February T., 1834.

John J. Chetwoud, Septem1 er T., 1837.

Daniel Haines, September T., 18.37.

Elias B. D. Ogden, September T., 1837.

David Ogden, Jolın Chetwood, Joseph F. Ran- dolph, Elias B. D. Ogden, and Daniel Haines were associate justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Robert D. Spencer was law reporter, ap- pointed Oct. 28, 1842.

Members of the Present Bar of Union County.

English, James R., admitted as attorney June T., 1864; admitted as counselor June T., 1867.

Wiliamson, Benjamin, November T., 1830, November T., 1833. Runyan, Enos W., June T., 1854, Jutie T., 1857.

Magie, William Jay, February T., 1856, February T., 1859. Alward, Joseph, Noveumber T .. 1857, February T., 1862. Chetwind, Robert E., Juue T., 1861, June T ; 1864. Ronyau. Nelson, February T., 1862, June T., 18G5. Berry, Garret, November T., 1-63, November T., 1866.

Atwater, Edward S, June T., 1866, February T., 1870. Bergen, Frank, November T., 1873, November T., 1876. English, Nicholas C. J., November T., 1568, Noveasber T., 1871.

English, Theodore C., Jnue T, 1876, Juue T., 1881.

Fay, J. Augustus. Jr., February T., 1866, February T., 1869. Gerter, James J , June T, 1876, not a counselor.

1 Elmer's Reminiscences, p. 15.

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HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

Green, Robert S., November T., 1853, November T., 1856. Gilhooly, P. Hamilton, June T., 1873, February T., 1877. Hodges, Thorndyke D., June T., 1870, June T., 1873. Liudabury, Richard V., February T., 1874, February T., 1877. Cross, Joseph, Jr., June T., 1868, November T., 1x71. Marsh, Fred. C., February T., 1878, February T., 1881. McCormick, Thomas F., November T., 1871, November T., 1874. Noe, Louis H., November T., 1869, November T., 1878. Norman, Zerman, November T., 1874.

Parrot, George T., November T., 1873, February T., 1877.

Richarda, Howard, February T., 1870.

Swift. C. Addison, February T., 1880; not a counselor.

Wilson, William P., Juve T., 1870, Juue T., 1873.

Wilson, William R., November T., 1875, November T., 1878. Wood, Edward M., November T., 1878.

Durand, James H., November T., 1868. Lindsay, Gilbert R., November T., 1867, November T., 1870. Lupton, Leslie. November T., 1867, November T., 1870.

Shafer, Thomas H., September T., 1843; not a counsellor. Vail, Benjamin A., November T., 1868, November T., 1871.

Ward, Clarence D., November T., 1881.

Bolton, James C., November T., 1870.

Butts, Alexander B.

Coward, Joseph B., November T., 1858. Good, Peter P., June T., 1870, November T., 1873. Hetfield, Walter L., February T., 1879.

Jackson, John H., June T., 1872, June T., 1878.

Marsh, Craig A., 1879.

Maxson, William B., June T., 1867, February T., 1875. Stewart, S. L.

Stillman, William M., June T., 1880. Trimmer, Martin L., 1868. Voorhees, Foster M., June T., 1880; not a counselor.

Rosa, llenry C., June T., 1880.

Van Winkle, John H., February T., 1866, February T., 1869.

Snydam, George P., 1872.

Goud, Peter P., June T, 1870, June T., 1873.

GOVERNOR WILLIAM LIVINGSTON was a member of this bar. He was born in 1724, graduated at Yale College in 1741, studied law in New York with James Alexander, and attained to considerable prominence as a lawyer there before he removed to Elizabeth Town. The principal monument of his legal attain- ments in early manhood is found in his " Answer" to the Elizabeth Town Bill in Chancery, prepared by him at the instance of the town committee in 1750. He was then about twenty-six years of age. He soon after settled in Elizabeth Town, and practiced law in the courts of New Jersey and New York till the con- flict between the colonies and the mother-country opened to him a more brilliant field in the public ser- vice. He entered with all his energy into the struggle of the colonies for independence, being on all local committees from the time of the passage of the Stamp Act to the beginning of actnal hostilities, when, with a general's commission, he was placed in command of the important post at his own town to thwart the movements of the enemy from Staten Island. With John DeHart, Stephen Crane, and Richard Smith, he was a delegate to the first General Congress in 1774, and a member of the Council of Safety and the Provincial Congress of New Jersey. William Franklin, the apostate son of the great patriot, Ben- jamin Franklin, had been the last colonial Governor, and in his adherence to the British had thrown every obstacle in the way of popular rights. The people had deposed him, taken the reins into their own

hands, organized a Provincial Congress in place of his arbitrary Legislature, adopted a Republican con- stitution, and when a suitable chief magistrate was wanted for the new-born State Livingston was called for, and found to be the man for the situation. He was chosen the first Governor of the State of New Jersey, Aug. 31, 1776, and by successive elections was kept in the office till the close of his life, a period of four- teen years. " It was certainly a most happy Provi- dence," says a late writer, "that gave to New Jersey during the trying time of the Revolution, and for several following years, a Governor so well fitted by his character and acquirements not only to inspire the people with courage and perseverance, and to co- operate heartily with Washington during all the changes of a war to which they were especially ex- posed, but to guide the Legislature in the inaugura- tion of the new and untried system of government. Chosen but for a single year, it was important to have a man of sufficient popularity to secure a re-election in spite of the cavils of those whose plans he found it necessary to oppose. With but the smallest amount of power or patronage, and besides his important ju- dicial functions as chancellor and ordinary, being only the presiding officer of the Legislative Council, with only a casting vote, it was equally important to have a man of decided Republican principles and sound legal attainments, that he might exercise a salutary influence over legislation so liable to take a wrong direction. All these qualities were combined in Livingston, and although his writings show how much he was dissatisfied with those legislative meas- ures which interfered so wrongfully between debtor and creditor, it is evident from an inspection of the statutes enacted while he was Governor that many of the most important of them were drawn by him, or underwent his careful revision."

He opposed the passage of the laws making the depreciated Continental money a legal tender, and, with reference to this matter, nttered a sentiment worthy to be engraved over every hall of legislation in the world : "No acts of Assembly have hitherto been able to reconcile me to cheating according to law, or convince me that human legislation can alter the immutable duties of morality." It was this kind of legislation that he satirized in the following verse :

" For useless a house-door, e'en if he would lock it, When any insolent legislative brother Can legally enter into a man's pocket And preamble all hia cash into another."

As soon as peace was proclaimed Governor Liv- ingston left Trenton, where he had resided for three years, and returned to his house at Elizabeth Town. He was glad to be able to relinquish his wandering life, to enter again his deserted library, and to em- ploy some of his leisure in restoring the comforts of home. A letter to his wife, written in 1783, shows that he was attached with strong interest to his home, both as a place of security for his two unmarried

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daughters, and to place his wife in an independent situation in case of his decease. He says, " I have a good estate left, if I can but get the time to put it in order."

In May, 1787, he was appointed by the Legislature one of the delegates to the convention assembled to form the Constitution of the United States. He took his seat in June, was a constant attendant npon its deliberations, affixed his name to the draught finally agreed upon, and was a decided advocate of its ratifi- cation by the States. In his message to the Legisla- ture, in August, 1788, he heartily congratulated the members of that body npon the ratification of the Constitution, and thanked God that he had lived to see it. In 1788, Yale College conferred npon him the degree of LL.D. His wife died in 1789, and he himself departed this life on June 25, 1790, aged sixty-six years.

Governor Livingston had thirteen children, of whom six died before him. One son, Brockholst Livingston, became a distinguished lawyer in New York, was several years one of the judges of the Su- preme Court of that State, and from 1807 until his death in 1823 one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.

HON. ELIAS BOUDINOT, LL.D .- The father, grand- father, and great-grandfather of this distinguished man all bore the name of Elias. The latter was a Huguenot who emigrated from France in 1686, shortly after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Elias Bondinot, the subject of this notice, was born in Philadelphia April 21 (O. S.), 1740. Having studied law with his brother-in-law, Richard Stock- ton, Esq., at Princeton, he was licensed in November, 1760, and commenced practice in Elizabeth Town. He married, April 21, 1762, Hannah A., sister of Hon. Richard Stockton. Dr. Hatfield says, " He resided at first in a smaller, and then in a larger house on Jersey Street, both of which he bonght of Alderman Samuel Woodruff or his heirs, in the latter of which Mr. Woodruff lived until his decease. He attached himself to the Presbyterian Church, and was chosen at the age of twenty-five president of the board of trustees."

At the commencement of hostilities with Great Britain, Mr. Bondinot devoted himself heartily to the cause of his country. After serving on the staff of Gen. Livingston, he was appointed by Congress, June 6, 1777, commissary-general of prisoners, in which capacity he served until the summer of 1778, when, having been appointed to represent the State in Con- gress, he took his seat July 7th, retiring at the ex- piration of the year. He was reappointed Nov. 2, 1781, and again Oct. 30, 1782. He was chosen presi- dent of Congress Nov. 4, 1782, and when the treaty of peace with Great Britain was ratified, April 15, 1783, he had the honor of affixing to it his signature.

having been elected to the First, Second, and Third Congresses. At the expiration of his third term of service he was appointed, Nov. 1, 1795, to succeed Henry William De Saussure as superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, to which place he then removed. As a testimony of his kind feel- ings towards his former townsmen he forwarded, as a gift, to the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church a pair of cut-glass chandeliers, and in the accom- panying letter said of the church, "The many happy hours I have spent there make the remembrance of having been one of their society among the substan- tial pleasures of my life."

From the trustees of Yale College he received, in 1790, the well-deserved compliment of the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In 1805 he retired from public life, and located himself at Burlington, N. J., where, on the 28th of October, 1808, Mrs. Boudinot was seized with apoplexy, and departed this life in the seventy-third year of her age. His eldest daugh- ter, Susan Vergerean (born Dec. 21, 1764), had been married in 1784 to William Bradford, Esq., attorney- general of Pennsylvania, and subsequently of the United States. She was left a widow Aug. 23. 1795, and became, after her mother's decease, her father's housekeeper till his death, Oct. 24, 1821, in the eighty-second year of his age. She survived her father, and died Nov. 30, 1854. His only other child, Anna Maria, was born April 11, 1772, and died Sept. 3, 1774.

Mr. Boudinot, after his retirement, devoted himself to a life of Christian beneficence. In 1772 he was chosen a trustee of the College of New Jersey, in which office he continued until his death, founding in 1805, at an expense of three thousand dollars, the Cabinet of Natural History. In 1812 he became a corporate member of the American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions, and in 1816 the first president of the American Bible Society, contribu- ting to its funds ten thousand dollars, and aiding also in the erection of the first Bible House. In his will, having made ample provision for his danghter during her lifetime, he bestowed his large estate on various institutions connected with the church and the cause of education.

He wrote and published, in 1790, "The Age of Revelation, or the Age of Reason shown to be an Age of Infidelity ;" 1793, a Fourth of July oration, deliv- ered at Elizabeth Town before the New Jersey So- ciety of the Cincinnati ; 1806, " The Life of the Rev. William Tennent ;" 1811, an address delivered before the New Jersey Bible Society ; in 1815, " Second Ad- vent of the Messiah ;" 1816, " A Star in the West, or An humble Attempt to discern the lost Ten Tribes of Israel," still bringing forth fruit in old age. His monument at Burlington bears this inscription :

" Here lies the remaine ot the Honorable Elias Boudinot, LL.D. Born on the 2d day of May, A. D. 1740. He died on the 24th day of Oct., A. D.

He was again called to serve his country in the Congress of the United States under the Constitution, | 1821. His life was an exhibition of fervent piety, of useful talent, and

II2

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

of extensive benevolence. His death was the triumph of Christian faith, the consummation of hope, the dawn and the pledge of endless felicity.

"To those who knew him not, no words can paint; And those who knew him, know all words are faint.

" Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that Dian is peace." 1

JOHN DEHART. EsQ., was a descendant of a very ancient family both in Elizabeth Town and New York. They were probably of French origin, though emigrating from Holland. Four brothers, Balthazar, As a lawyer Mr. Williamson gradually rose in his i profession till he came to occupy one of the first places at the bar. In 1816 he was elected to the Assembly, and while serving in that capacity, February, 1817, he was chosen Governor and (ex officio) Chancellor of Daniel, Matthias, and Jacobus, were early citizens of New Amsterdam. The former was engaged in the shipping business about 1658, in which he acquired wealth, and at the time of the English conquest re- sided on the south side of Wall Street. On April 3, | the State. He continued to hold these high offices by 1671, he became a property-owner in Elizabeth Town by the purchase of the house and plantation of Rich- ard Painter, one of the original Associates. He died the following year, and his brother Daniel, who was his executor, disposed of his property in the town. Daniel succeeded to his business, and died without issue late in 1689. He was a physician, and resided in New York. Balthazar had a son Matthias, who was the father of Capt. Matthias DeHart, born in 1667. The latter was the ancestor of the Elizabeth Town family.

John DeHart was born in Elizabeth Town in the year 1728, and had obtained considerable distinction at the bar previous to the beginning of the Revolu- tion. During the struggle he took an active part with the patriots, was member of the Continental Congress in 1775, a member of the Council of Safety and of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, and upon the adoption of the first constitution in 1776 was appointed Chief Justice of the State. In a letter written on the 16th of August, 1776, he acknowledged the " great honor" conferred upon him, and expressed the wish that his " abilities were equal to the high and important office." IIe, however, declined, and in January Robert Morris was appointed in his stead.

Upon the reorganization of the borough in 1789 Mr. DeHart was chosen mayor. He continued in that office until his death, June 1, 1795, in the sixty- seventh year of his age. His remains were deposited in the burial-ground of St. John's Church, of which he had long been a warden and an influential mem- ber. The following inscription was placed over his grave :

HON. ISAAC H. WILLIAMSON, LL.D .- Isaae Hal- sted Williamson was born in Elizabeth Town, N. J., Sept. 27, 1768. He was the grandson of William

Williamson, the first of the name who settled in the town, and the youngest son of Gen. Matthias Wil- liamson and Susannah Halsted. His childhood and youth were spent among the stirring scenes of the Revolution. He studied law with his elder brother, Matthias, and was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1791, and as a counselor in 1796, and opened a law- office in his native town, where he continued his resi- dence until his death.

consecutive elections until 1829, when he resumed his professional duties. In 1831 and 1832 he was a mem- ber of the State Council, and during four years (1830- 34) he was mayor of the borough of Elizabeth. (He had been a member of the corporation for many years, from 1795 onward.) After his able services in the State Council he was again urgently solicited to ae. cept of the governorship, but he declined all public offices, except in the last year of his life. Being elected to the Constitutional Convention which met at Trenton, May 14, 1844, he was unanimously chosen president of that body.

After an illness of eighteen months, which he bore with the utmost resignation and cheerfulness, he de- parted this life on July 10, 1844, universally lamented, as he had been universally honored and beloved. His remains were interred in the ancestral vault with dis- tinguished respect. The New Jersey bar, in express- ing sentiments appropriate to his death, said among other things,-

"The State mourns his loss. In all the relations of life, public and private, he has bequeathed to his countrymien an illustrious example. As a friend he was faithful and sincere; as a statesman, enlightened and patriotic; as a judge, profoundly learned, incorruptibly pure, in- flexildy just. The inimitable simplicity of his character, the artlessness of his hfe, the warmth and purity of his affections endeared him to the circle of his friends; his high and varied attainments command the respect of his associates. His long and emineot public services, his digu fied and enlightened and impartial administration of justice de- maud the gratitude of his fellow-citizens and of pusterity."

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History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 26

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts Number of Pages: 1224

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224