USA > New Jersey > Salem County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 1 > Part 84
USA > New Jersey > Gloucester County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 1 > Part 84
USA > New Jersey > Cumberland County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 1 > Part 84
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CHAPTER LIX.
BAR OF SALEM COUNTY.
OF those lawyers who practiced in Salem County prior to the year 1776 little can now be ascertained concerning either their personal history or profes- sional career. The only source from which any anthentic information can be gained is the incoul- plete records of the colonial courts, and from them nothing more than the names of the attorneys who practiced in those early days can be learned. Still, as it may prove interesting to the present generation to know who, in the remote past, carried on the legal warfare of the county, it may be well to give, at the end of this short sketch of the bar, a list of the at- torneys as their names appear upon the court records, commencing with the book of minutes of the Court of Common Pleas and General Quarter Sessions of the year 1707, which is the oldest book of court records preserved among the archives in the Salem County clerk's office. As these records, however, fur- nish no means of ascertaining whom among these attorneys properly belonged to Salem County, no at- tempt will be made to distinguish those lawyers who permanently resided in Salem from those who merely attended the circuit, but the list will comprise the names of all those who, at any time, appear as prac- ticing attorneys from 1707 to 1776.
Of the bench of Salem County there is not much to be said, as in the whole history of the county it has had but one representative in the Supreme Court of the State, the Hon. William S. Clawson, of whom appropriate mention will be made, and there have been but two member- of the Court of Errors and Appeals from the county, the Hon. Joseph L. Risley and the Hon. Thomas Sinnickson. Judge Sinnick- son belonged to one of the earliest families settling in this county, and was a man very highly respected and looked up to by the general community, and while on the bench was justly distinguished for his sterling good sense and reliable judgment ; but as neither he nor Judge Risley were members of the bar, any de- tailed account of them would hardly be appropriate in an article confined strictly to members of the legal profession.
" With considerable labor and expense I have ob- tained the foregoing. I regret that I could not get the truck- and fruit-growers to discriminate the produce of the different articles by them raised, but SAMUEL LEAK was one of the first lawyers resi- dent in Salem County of whom any authentic infor- in Salein, about the commencement of the Revolution- I am inclined to think that the estimates are fair and reasonable. I regret that I could not in any way . mation has been handed down. He began the practice ascertain the value of the different kinds of poultry
$13,000.00
Leather.
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GENERAL HISTORY.
-
ary war. llo was born in Cumberland County, in 1748, and received his education at Princeton College, graduating in the class of 1774. After passing through the usual period of study he was license.las an attor- ney, in 1776, and as a counselor in 1780. Immedi- ately upon his admission to the bar he settled in Salem, and practiced law there until his removal to Trenton, in 1785, where he continued to reside until his death. From the frequency with which his name appears upon the court records he must have, during his residence in Salem County, enjoyed a large prac- tice. In 1778 he was appointed by the court to prose- cute the pleas for that county, and hell that office for one year. He was a man of peculiar personal ap- pearance, and of very eccentric habits. As a lawyer he is said to have carried the citing of cases to an ex- cess, so much so that it is related of him that when he had a case of importance, so many were his books of reference that his colored servant was obliged to bring them into court in a wheelbarrow. He died in Trenton, in 1820.
cation, devoted to literary pursuits, of very pleasing manners, but rather eccentric, and absent-minded. As he was possessed of an independent income, and not obliged to look to his profession as a means of support, he was able to devote his time and attention to pursuits more congenial to his natural tastes and inclinations. He died, suddenly, in Philadelphia, while on a visit there, July 13, 1833. He was buried in the Episcopal churchyard in Salem.
JOSIAH HARRISON, a son of Capt. Jotham Harri- son, was born in Essex County, N. J., in the year 1776. He was graduated at Princeton College, in the class of 1795, and in 1797 commenced his professional studies, in the office of Alexander C. Me Whorter, in Newark, N. J. Upon the completion of his term, in 1800, he received his license as an attorney, and as a counselor in 1803. In 1801, a good opening for a young lawyer presenting itself in Salem, occasioned by the death of Abijah Whiting. he settled in that county, and began his professional career. He resided there but a short time when he married Isabella Dick, ABIJAH WHITING practiced law in Salem in the latter part of the last century. He was born in Rhode Island, and was a graduate of the University of that i State, now known as Brown University. He pur- sued his professional studies in the office of Richard a daughter of Dr. Samuel Dick, a citizen of Salem, and a man very prominent in the affairs of New Jer- sey during the war of our independence. Mr. Harri- son, during his residence in Salem, built up a large and successful practice. About the year 1816 he be- Horatio Stockton, and received his license as an attor- came engaged in a controversy concerning the val- ney in 1796, and as a counselor in 1799. Soon after | idity of the will of his wife's uncle. The will was his admission to the bar he came to Salem. and open- . drawn up and witnessed by him, and an effort was ing a law-office, in a short time obtained a large and
, made on the part of other relatives to break it. The lucrative practice, not only in the county but through- . contest was a long and bitter one, and after being out the entire southern portion of the State. Mr. Whiting was a young man of marked ability and promise, and had not death ent short his professional career so carly he would no doubt have obtained a high position among the leading lawyers of this State. He died, Oct. 3, 1800, in his thirty-third year, and was buried in St. John's Episcopal churchyard, in Salem.
carried through the courts of New Jersey was finally -- removed into the United States District Court, where a decree was made establishing the validity of the will. A new trial, however, having been granted, a compromise was afterwards effected between the con- testing parties. The case is considered a leading one -- upon the matters in controversy, and is reported in RICHARD BURCHAN was born in the year 1760, and was admitted as an attorney in 1787. His name . appears upon the court records of Salem County as 3 Wash. C. C. R., p. 580, Harrison rs. Rowan. In 1817, while the trial was going on, Mr. Harrison's wife died, and although he survived her many years a practicing lawyer from that period until the time of the never married again. Shortly after his wife's his death. Little is known concerning him as a lawyer at the present day, except that he is said to have been a man of so passionate and sareastic a nature as to interfere materially with his practice
before the courts. He died, Nov. 17, 1801, and was | State, which position he held until 1842, having pub- buried in the Episcopal churchyard in Salem.
death he removed to Camden. N. J., where, in addi- tion to the practice of law, he edited a newspaper, and carried on a general publishing business. In 1837 he was appointed reporter of the Supreme Court of this lished during that period four volumes of the State law reports. He afterward returned to Salem, and continued to reside there the remaining years of his life. He did not again engage in active practice, but spent his declining years in gathering together a large library of standard works, and in indulging his literary tastes. He was a man of strong religious
JAMES KINSEY, a son of Chief Justice Kinsey, was born in Burlington County, N. J., Nov. 26, 1768. He read law with his father, and was admitted as an at- torney in 1790. and as a counselor in 1794. Mr. Kinsey settled in Salem, at that time a favorite place of residence for young men about to enter upon their professional life. Shortly after his arrival there he ' convictions, and an active and consistent member of married Miss Rebecca Trenchard, a daughter of Maj. the Episcopal Church, the interests of which he was largely instrumental in furthering in the southern part of the State. He was for a long time senior George Trenchard, a young lady of wealth and good family. Mr. Kinsey never attained much eminence as a lawyer. He was, however, a man of fine edu- . warden of St. John's Episcopal Church. Salem. He
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HISTORY OF SALEM COUNTY.
died Sept. 26, 1865, at the ripe old age of eighty- ninc.
he was recalled. Not long after this he removed Camden, and practiced there, holding at one time ti office of pro-veutor of the pleas for that county. H. lied in 1553, in his sixty-fifth year.
WILLIAM N. JEFFERS Was a native of New York, and a member of the bar of that State. Early in life he removed to the West, intending to settle there. AARON OGDEN DAYTON is said to have been th most brilliant lawyer over resident in Salem. IF was a son of Elias B. Dayton, of Elizabethtown, N. J .. and was born in the year 1796. Immediately upon h . graduation from Princeton College, in the class of 1313, he entered the law office of Aaron Ogden, and after completing the usual course of study was ad- mitted as an attorney in 1817, and was made a conn- selor in 1820. Not long after his admission to the bar of this State he went to Cincinnati, with the in- tention of permanently residing there. He, however. remained there but a short time, and upon returning to New Jersey selected Salem as his place of resi- dence, and somewhere about the year 1822 began the practice of law there. Mr. Dayton was quite unpr - possessing in his personal appearance, but of poli-hed and cultivated mauners, an able and eloquent speaker. a man well versed in polite literature and in the art -. being himself an amateur artist of quite a good deal Hle finally selected Cincinnati, and, opening a law office. practiced in that city for a short time with marked success; after remaining in Cincinnati some time he concluded to discontinue practice here, and returning to New Jersey was admitted as an at- torney in 1814, and received his license as a coun- solor in 1817. In 1834 he was called to the degree of sergeant. Immediately upon his admission to the bar of this State he came to Salem and commenced the practice of law there. Ele was very soon recog- nized as a lawyer of ability, and in a short time ob- tained a large and lucrative practice. By those who remember him when a resident of Salem he is said to have been a man of remarkably fine personal ap- pearance, always well dressed, and possessing very winning and gentlemanly manners, He was a bril- liant and eloquent speaker, exercising. in a marked degree, persuasive powers over both the court and jury. In professional intercourse with his clients he . of merit. One of his productions, a copy of a por- trait of Oliver Cromwell, by Vandyke, is still pie- served, and is at present in the possession of one of Salem's lawyers. Although Mr. Dayton was ju-tly considered a brilliant lawyer, yet, owing to a natural distaste to the practice of law, he did not attain to as much eminence in his profession as he would undoubt- edly have done had he devoted his entire time and attention to it. His natural inclinations led him to take an active interest in politics. In 1823 he repre- sented Salem County in the House of Assembly. In 1825 he removed from Salem to Jersey City, and in the following year took up his residence in New York City. Not long after this he abandoned law, in a great measure, and devoted himself almost exclu- sively to political life. In 1828 he was elected by the Democratic party to the New York State Legis- lature; subsequently he held several other important public positions, till in 1838, he was appointed to the office of fourth auditor of the Treasury Department at Washington, which ofice be filled satisfactorily for the term of twenty years, notwithstanding the ad- ministration had during that time undergone voriou: changes. While holding this office he married a Salem lady, Miss Mary Tuft, a daughter of John Tuft, Esq. Mr. Dayton died in Washington in 1858.
is said to have had the faculty (certainly for a lawyer a most fortunate one) of always inspiring them with the utmost confidence in his skill as an advocate, and ability as a lawyer. Indeed, so strong was this feel- ing, that when vanquished they never attributed their defeat either to his want of skill or careful attention. So powerful, indeed, was Mr. Jeifers' influence over one of the judges of the Supreme Court, that in 1820 the lawyers of Salem and Cumberland Counties pro- cured a law to be passed compelling the judges to in- terchange their circuits, in order to avoid trying causes before the judge whom Mr. Jeffers controlled. Mr. Jeffers was also distinguished for his activity and zeal as a politician, and for several years he represented Salem County in the House of Assembly. In 1828 he was nominated by the Democratic party for Con- gress, but proved to be an un-ucee-ful candidate. Again, in 1830, he received the congressional nom- ination from his party, and for the second time met with defeat at the polls. In addition to the practice | of law he was largely instrumental in the formation and incorporation of a company, chartered under the name of the Salem Steam-Mill and Banking Com- pany. The concern did a general banking business, and at the same time carried on a cotton-mill. This enterprise, however, did not prove successful, and HON, WILLIAM J. SHINN .-- Judge Shinn, whose antecedents were English, was the son of Gen. I-aiah and Elizabeth Jenk- Shinn, and born at Woodstown in 1790. He was for a long period of years one of the most influential and useful men of his section, serving the publie in various capacities, but more particularly as judge of the Court of Common Plea .. elected to the last position in 1811, by an unprece- in a short time the company went to pieces under unfavorable circumstances. The mill was subse- . quently changed to a grist-mill. It is still in active operation, and is known as the old white stone mill. In the early part of President Jackson's administra- tion Mr. Jeffers received an appointment as minister to one of the South American republics, and hal , member of Assembly, and State Senator. He was started for his destination, when, for reasons consid- ered of sufficient importance by the administration, ; dentedly large vote, and regarded by Governor Strat-
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GENERAL HISTORY.
tun as one of his most trusted counselors. His name was also agitated for the gubernatorial chair, but never pressed by his friends, though admirably fitted by his abilities and address for the position. Judge Shinn wielded an extended influence in his portion of the State. Ilis intimate knowledge of public business and high personal character caused his opinion fre- quently to be sought in the solution of difficult ques- tions. His services were also invaluable in the settle- ment of estates and business of a similar nature. This was no less a tribute to his signal abilities than to his unquestioned integrity and kindly nature.
Judge Shinn was, on the 18th of February, 1817, married to Miss Margaret Carpenter Woodnut. daughter of James Mason and Margaret C. Wood- nut, of Salem, N. J. Four children of this mar- riage lived to maturity .- Emmeline W., Samuel S., Mary W. (who married Dr. T. S. Reed, of Philadel- phia, and was the mother of four children, of whom Dr. Charles H. Reed and Emmeline S. Bedell sur- vive), and Martha W. (who married Dr. I. D. Claw- son). The latter years of Judge Shiun's life were almost wholly engrossed by his duties as president of the Woodstown National Bank, which he faithfully performed until his death, on the 10th of February, 1863, at the age of seventy-eight years. He was father-in-law to the late Hlou. I. D. Clawson, former member of Congre -- , and uncle to the late William S. Clawson, judge of the Supreme Court of the State.
RICHARD STOCKTON FIELD, a son of Robert C. Field, of White Hill, Burlington Co., N. J., received his education at Princeton College, and was graduated from that institution in the class of 1821. He read law with his uncle, Richard Stockton, the signer, and was admitted as an attorney in 1825, and as a counselor in 1828. In 1637 he was called to the degree of sergeant. Mr. Field commenced his professional life in Salem, which, about that time, seemed to be a place very attrac- tive to young lawyers of promise and talent ; the Salem courts being at that time considered superior to any in the circuit, in point of legal business, and in the number of important cases brought to trial. There certainly was more litigation, and the law business transacted was much greater then than it has been of late years. Mr. Field practiced law in Salem, very successfully, for about eight years, and married from that place Miss Mary Ritche, a young lady of culti- vation and wealth. In 1832 he removed to Prince- ton, which became his place of permanent residence. Mr. Field probably attained as much distinction in his profession as any of the lawyers who have ever resided in Salem. In 1887 he was elected on the Whig ticket as member of Assembly from Middlesex County, and in 1838, while a member of the House, was made attorney-general of the State, which office he ably filled for three years. In 1562 he was ap- pointed by Governor Olden to fill the seat in the United States Senate made vacant by the death of the Hon. John R. Thompson. Mr. Field identified
himself' with the Republican party, and during his term in the Senate was one of the warmest defenders of the course and policy of that party, and an ardent supporter and friend of President Lincoln, who, upon the expiration of his term (there being no hope of a re election to the Senate, as the Legislature was strongly Democratic, appointed him United States district judge for New Jersey. Mr. Field proved himself well fitted for this office, and ably fulfilled the duties devolved upon him until his death, in 1870. Ile was also the author of an interesting and ex- haustive work on the Provincial courts of New Jer- sey. Mr. Field was a man of the highest cultivation, and of exquisite taste. His grounds at Princeton were beautified by the most perfect collection of trees and plants in the State, and it was one of the most attractive and beautiful spots in Princeton. His death, which was very sudden and attended with quite melancholy circumstances, happened while he was opening court, April 20, 1870.
ALPHONSO L. EAKIN, a son of Samuel Eakin, of Mount Holly, was born in the province of Lorraine, France, the 27th day of June, 1799, where, at that time, his father held a position under the United States government.
When quite a young man he came to Salem and read law in the office of William N. Jeffers. Upon the completion of his studies he was licensed as an attorney, in 1822, and as a counselor in 1825. He continued to reside and practice law in Salem from the time of his admission until his death. Mr. Eakin was a very successful lawyer, and enjoyed the repu- tation of being one of the most careful and accurate attorneys in the State, always coming into court with his cases carefully prepared. He was especially well informed in all points pertaining to the practice of law. Actively engaged in his profession for almost forty-five years, he accumulated, through careful at- tention to business and prudent investments, a large fortune. He died on the 29th day of October, 1866, in his sixty-seventh year, and was buried in the Pres- . byterian graveyard, Salem, N. J.
FRANCIS L. MACCULLOCH practiced law in Salem for a long series of years, and has always been re- garded as a lawyer of undoubted integrity, and as a counselor of sound and reliable judgment. He was by birth a native of Scotland, and was born in the year 1801, a short time before his father, George Mac- culoch, came to America. Upon their arrival in this country his family settled in Morristown, N. J.
Mr. Macculloch was licensed as an attorney in 1823, and as a counselor in 1826. Upon his admis- sion to the bar he settled in Salem, and practiced there continuously till the time of his death. He built up a large and profitable law business, extend- ing pretty extensively throughout the southern coun- ties of the State. He took rank among the members of his profession as a lawyer of a good deal more than ordinary legal talents. For several terms he
346
HISTORY OF SALEM COUNTY.
held the office of prosecutor of the pleas, performing the duties connected with that office with his ac- customel skill and ability. He died July 16. 1859, universally liked and lamented as a man, and regarded as au upright and conscientious lawyer.
better conducted. or more satisfactory in its result -. " Mr. Thompson also took an active interest in poli- ties, and in 1838 was nominated by the Democratic party as their candidate for Congress, He was de- feated by the late Thoms Jones Yorke, the candi- date ot the Whig party. Mr. Thompson died in Salem, Nov. 8, 1859, in his fifty-fourth year.
RICHARD P. THOMPSON WAS born in Salem County. March 11, 1805. His family is one of the oldest in the county, tracing back its lineage in a direct line HENRY T. ELLETE WAS born in Salem County, N. J., and is a direet descendant from Samuel Car- penter and Deputy Governor Thomas Lloyd, both of whom were intimately associated with William Penn in the formation of his colony: Although he never practiced law in Salem, still, it seems proper to men- tion him in this connection as a man who has attained a high position as a lawyer, and thereby reflected credit upon his native county. He began the study of law in the office of Richard T. Field, when in Salem, and upon the removal of the latter to Prince- ton went with him and finished his term of study there. IIe was licensed as an attorney in 1833. and as a counselor in 1836. Upon his admission to the bar he selected Bridgeton, Cumberland Co., as a place of residence, and practiced there till 1837, when he removed to Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Miss. In 1838 he married his first wife, Rebecca C. Seeley, a daughter of ex-Governor Elias P. Seeley, of Bridge- ton, N. J. During his residence at Port Gibson he filled a number of important public positions ; among others he was for several years a member of the State Legislature. In 1846 he was nominated for Congress, and succeeded Jefferson Davis in the House of Rep- resentatives, but after serving one term declined a ienomination, on account of private matters and a large legal business, which demanded his whole time and attention. In 1859 he was tendered by President Buchanan the mission to the Argentine Republic, but for the same reasons declined accepting it. About the commencement of our late eivil war, at the time when Jefferson Davis was forming his cabinet, he telegraphed to Mr. Ellett to come to Montgomery. Ala., offering him the postmaster-gen- eralship of the Confederacy. He replied, promptly declining. After the close of the war he was made a the State of Mississippi. In 1868 he, together with Judge Harris, one of his associates on the bench. re- signed his position, and, removing with him to Mem- phis, Tenn., entered into a law partnership which lasted until the death of Judge Harris. Mr. Ellett still resides in Memphis, and enjoys a large and lucrative practice, both in the State and United States Supreme Courts. For many years he has been considered one of the leading men of the Southwest, and has always held a high place in the estimation of the people of that section as a successful and eminent lawyer, and as a gentleman of undoubted integrity and honor. to John Fenwick (the founder of Salemi and Samuel Hedge, who came over in the same ship, and who married his daughter, Anne Fenwick. Mr. Thomp- son entered upon the suidy of law in the office of William N. Jeffers, was admitted as an attorney in 1825, and in 1828 received his license as eoun- selor. Settling in his native place he very soon ac- quired a prominent position both as a politician and as a lawyer. He was a man of fine personal appear- ance, an able and eloquent speaker, and a lawyer of fair legal talents, especially eminent, however, as an advocate. Being endowed with a fine flow of lan- guage he was able to exercise a great deal of influ- ence over a jury. lle prosecuted the pleas of Salem County, for several terms, in a competent and efficient manner. In 1844, while holding the above office, he received at the hands of Governor Ilaines the ap- pointment of attorney-general, to fill the vacaney caused by the death of Attorney-General Molleson. Upon the expiration of his term as attorney-general, he attempted to resume his former office as prosecutor of the pleas, but was restrained from so doing by a writ of quo warranto issued by the Supreme Court at the instance of the late Judge Clawson, who, during the interim, had been acting as prosecutor. Upon the case being argued before the court it was decided that the two offices were incompatible, and could not bouli be held by one person at the same time, and thus by accepting the attorney-generalship he relinquished all right to the office of prosecutor. In 1852, Mr. Thompson was for the second time made attorney- general, receiving the appointment from Governor Fort. Upon his nomination being confirmed by the Senate he entered upon the duties of the office, and held it for the entire term. It was in 1852, while holding the office, that Mr. Thompson was called | judge of the High Court of Errors and Appeals of upon to prosecute one of the most celebrated criminal cases ever tried in the courts of Salem County. A man by the name of Samuel Treadway was indicted for the murder of his wife, and brought to trial. Mr. Thompson managed the ea-e on behalf of the State, and Mr. Macculloch appeared for the prisoner. The case, which was warmly contested and ably argued on both sides, resulted in the conviction of Tread- way, who, afterwards confessing his guilt, was exe- euted. This was the second and last time capital punishment was inflicted in that county. The case was tried before the late Judge Elmer. who, in his "Reminiscences," in speaking of this trial, says, WILLIAM S. CLAWSON was born in Woodstown, Salem County, N. J., in the year 1812. He received his education at Princeton College, and, upon gradu- "No case ever tried before me, during an experience on the bench for more than fourteen years, was ever
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