USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 28
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trustees of the Newark Academy, and one of the committee on its rebuilding in 1792, after the building had been burned by the British. He died November 4, 1822, leav- ing among other bequests the sum of $4 .- oco for the care of the poor children of Newark. His eldest son, Nicholas Gou- verneur Ogden, was for many years a partner of John Jacob Astor. Another son, Samuel Gouverneur Ogden, was one of the famous old merchants of New York City. He financed the famous "Miranda Expedition," the first and unsuccessful at- tempt to free South America from the yoke of Spain. The first wife of Mr. Ogden was Eliza Lewis, granddaughter of Francis Lew- is, a Signer of the Declaration of Indepen- dence. After her death in 1836, Mr. Og- cien married Julia Fairlie, daughter of Ma- jor James Fairlie, of the American army.
BEDLE, Joseph Dorsett, LL.D.,
Distinguished Jurist, Governor.
So just and upright a judge, so patriotic and able a Governor, was Judge and Gov- ernor Bedle, that after surrendering the responsibilities of three high offices and re- tiring to private professional life, he was more securely intrenched in public esteem than before he was literally swept into the Governor's chair, by one of the largest ma- jorities ever given a Governor of New Jer- sey up to that time. He was one of the youngest judges that ever sat upon the bench of the highest tribunal in the State, being but thirty-four years of age when lie was appointed in 1865 by Governor Joel Parker, an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey. It could not be expected that so young a man would manifest as judge that profundity of learn- ing, that grasp of thought, and that richi ex- perience that can only be gained by long years of practice, but he put his best met- tle to the task and satisfied his friends that he had the true ability which makes a great
Dr. Ogden was a member of the board of jurist. His earlier decisions settled several
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points of law in regard to taxation and were unanimously concurred in by the court. His mind, ever active, broadened and deepened during his ten years upon the bench, and grasped the great truth that to excel as a judge he must combine sound argument, quickness of perception, a keen appreciation of the facts of every cause, and seize upon the salient points and principles involved in each case. He was a just judge, with one abiding rule-to ascertain the right in a suit, and then dispense justice so the right might be protected. His opinions were able, strong, vigorous and convincing, received the confidence of the bar, and have stood the test of time. As Governor of the State his administration was marked by ability, pru- dence, and a patriotism inspired by a sin- cere concern for the public welfare. His aims were high, and his lofty, statesmanlike views won him the unbounded respect and regard of the entire State, irrespective of party.
Admirable as was his public career, it did not constitute his sole claim to a place among New Jersey's honored men. He was a great lawyer, and as head of an important law firm in Jersey City was counsel for many great companies, and connected with many cases celebrated in judicial records ; and as a man he was one of the most genial and lovable, impressing his kindness of heart upon all who came in contact with him.
The Bedle family is of English origin, and its representatives were among the earliest settlers of New Jersey. The father of Judge Bedle, Thomas I. Bedle, was a merchant, and married Hannah Dorsett, whose ancestors came from Bermuda to Monmouth county, New Jersey, more than a century and a half ago.
Judge and Governor Joseph Dorsett Be- dle was born at Middletown Point ( Mata- wan), Monmouth county, New Jersey, Jan- uary 5, 1831, and died October 21, 1894, mourned by all who knew him, honored by all who love justice and integrity, and se-
curc in a fame that is a part of the history of the State. The local common schools fur- nished his elementary education, and this was supplemented by attendance at the Mid- dletown Point Academy. With this prepa- ration he read law for about five years with Hon. William L. Dayton, at Trenton, spent one winter in the Law School at Ballston Spa, New York, and for a short time studied with Hon. Henry S. Little, of Matawan. His plan of study was a wide and compre- hensive one, and when he was admitted to practice in June, 1853, he was admirably equipped for his professional labors. He opened an office in Middletown Point, but early in 1855 removed to Freehold, the coun- ty seat of Monmouth county. Here, by continuous devotion to the highest demands of his profession, by an ability equal to the severest requirements, and an integrity that was never deflected from the true line of duty, he won his way into the front rank of a body of men who, collectively, were the ablest lawyers of the State. His practice and reputation grew apace, and he soon be- came one of the recognized leaders of the New Jersey bar, and in the use of that wis- dom, culture and legal knowledge which study, thought and active experience had given him, he found his usefulness measured only by the limits of the wide field in which he labored. Endowed by nature with a sound judgment and an accurate and dis- criminating mind, hc fearcd not the labori- ous attention to details necessary to equip him for the various cases that he undertook ; and with these qualities, he was ever guided by that unvarying sense and appreciation of moral right which tolerated the employment of only those means that would bear the closest investigation and most rigid exam- ination, and by that fairness of intention that neither sought nor required disguise. Popular passion never swayed his judg- ment; neither personal ambition nor the applause of the hour ever moved or de- terred him-he was essentially and intensely individual. The same intuition and fore-
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sight which worked out for him his own course and determined his own position, recognized and protected the rights of oth- ers.
In March, 1865, Governor Parker nomi- nated and the Senate confirmed Mr. Bedle as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, to succeed Hon. Elias B. Ogden, a distinguished judge who had died. In this new office the analytical power of his mind had full play. The manner in which his duties and labors were performed in an official position above all exposed to the scrutiny of brother judges and the criticism of an intelligent bar, affords a test of char- acter, of legal knowledge and of judicial integrity. The circuit of Judge Bedle em- braced the counties of Hudson, Bergen and Passaic, and he therefore changed his place of residence to Jersey City, which remained his home from that time. We quote the following from "The New Jersey Law Journal :"
"The judicial career of Judge Bedle covered about ten years during which time, in the Su- preme Court and the Court of Errors and Ap- peals and at the circuits, he gained a high repu- tation for a most faithful, intelligent and just administration of the duties of his office. He had strong common sense, a clear knowledge of the law, a fearless integrity, and in the trial of jury cases his judicial qualities were pre-eminent. His prominence on the bench and satisfactory per- formance of his duties naturally drew the atten- tion of the public toward him, and in such a way that, while upon a second term, having been re- appointed judge, there grew up a strong disposi- tion to clect him Governor. The country was then very much depressed, and there was a ten- dency in the minds of the people to select an ex- ecutive who had been out of the arena of poli- tics. Although Judge Bedle had always been a Democrat, yet no partisanship had been shown on the bench and he was looked upon as able to satisfy their demands. The Democratic Con- vention nominated him for Governor the fall of 1874, and he was elected by the largest ma- jority ever given a Governor up to that time- 13,233-over a very popular competitor, the Hon. George A. Halsey. Previous to his nomination he publicly announced, in answer to a letter ad- dressed to him on the subject, that he was not a
candidate, and although if nominated he would not decline, yet he would take no part in the campaign, but would continue to perform the du- ties of his office as usual, making no personal ef- fort whatever for his election; and that if the people determined that he should serve them a, Governor he would then resign his office as judge, and obey their will. He strictly carried out his purposes without swerving, and was elected to the office of Governor untrammeled and without any entanglements. No person could have entered upon the office of Governor with more independence than he. A writer, in a bi- ography of hin says: 'Most unmistakably was he called to his honorable post by the popular voice, whose expectations were in no sense dis appointed. His administration from the first was marked by ability, prudence and a patriotism in- spired by an earnest desire for the public we !- fare.' He took an active part in behalf of the State in promoting the success of the great Cen - tennial in Philadelphia, in 1876, and much of the honor of the State in that exhibition was due to hin .. During his term occurred the famous riots of 1877. His management at that time, both of the civil and military power of the State, showed a judgment and prudence of the highest type. and resulted in the complete preservation of the peace of the State and the opening of the great lines of travel therein. As Governor, he was al- ways a foe' to extravagance, and fraud, and his administration was wise, pure and economical. Upon his retirement from office in January, 1878, he resumed, in Jersey City, the practice of law. and from that time to the present has been ac- tively engaged therein. At the close of his terit as Governor he declined to return to the bench, although then offered a reappointment, prefer- ring to pursue his profession while in health and vigor and in the full maturity of middle agc. His success as a practitioner justified his conclu- sion, and no lawyer in the State had more im- portant matters in his hands than he, in all the branches of the law. It has been said of him : 'As a judge on the bench, as Governor of the State, in his practice at the bar, and in his de- portment as a citizen, the weight of exalted character was always conspicuous on his side of the scales. Judge Bedle is an instance of a man who, at a comparatively early age, achieves the highest honors of his State, apparently without having passed through any of the highways and byways of the politician. Such instances in these days are so rare that they must be set down as exceptional in the history of politics in this or any other country. His progress to the high post- tions he has occupied has been quiet, dignified,
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and, we may say, almost noiseless. We at no mme find him pushing himself into any of the high places he has occupied. A most worthy ex- ample, surely, and one which we generally have to seek for in the passed and better times of the republic."
Upon his return to the private practice of his profession, Judge Bedle was engaged with some of the most important cases in the State at that time. Notable among these may be mentioned those of the arbitration between the State and the Morris & Es- sex Railroad Company; the litigation be- tween the New Jersey Junction and Na- tional Docks Railway Company; and the proceedings for contempt against the late Governor Price, in all of which he was eminently successful. With the exception of giving advice and making occasional ad- dresses during important campaigns, and the memorable struggle which resulted in the defeat of the late Governor Abbett for the position of United States Senator in 1887, in which he was the controlling fac- tor, he took little part in politics. Three times positions were offered him after his retirement from the governorship, but he consistently refused them. He was offered reappointment to the bench, and President Cleveland, among other posts, offered him Russian and Austrian missions, but his only public office was as a member of the consti- tutional commission, whose work was com- pleted shortly before his death. During the summer of 1894, Judge Bedle complained of illness which he attributed to overwork; he took his annual vacation in July, instead of later, as had been his custom, and find- ing no improvement from the rest he had taken, consulted a physician upon his return, but it was then already too late to cure the fatal malady with which he had been strick- en. For many years, and until his death, he was a ruling elder in the First Presby- terian Church of Jersey City ; he was elect- ed a delegate to the Presbyterian General Assembly, at Portland, Oregon, to take part in the famous trial of Dr. Briggs for heresy,
but lack of time prevented him from ac- cepting this office. Had he chosen to devote himself to a business life, Judge Bedle would undoubtedly have achieved a propor- tionate eminence in that field. As it was, he was a member of important directorates, the most notable of these being the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company, the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, and the First National Bank of Jersey City.
To illustrate the public opinion of Judge Bedle, we quote from an article which ap- peared in "The New York World," June 9, 1889 :
"There were some striking features about Gov- ernor Bedle's administration that will not pass out of popular recollection. It was one of those administrations that make history, and make it in a dignified, decorous and unobtrusive manner. It has been remarked that the Bedle administration was old-fashioned and behind modern politics in its nature. That is the machine way of regard- ing it. If to make an administration noticeable for its manliness, its care for the public interest, and its emphatic and earnest stand for the right and the patriotic all the time, is old-fashioned, then possibly the designation is just. But such a handling of State matters as Governor Bedle's can never be outgrown. It was so solid and sub. stantial, and its results so far reaching. that the student of his commonwealth will always dwell with pleasure on the pages that tell the story of the Executive Chamber from 1874 to 1878. Be- fore Governor Bedle's time it was customary for the Legislature to make appropriations and then allow those appropriations to be exceeded over and over again without a murmur. Governor Bedle revolutionized that custom. Before he ap- proved the very first appropriation, he summoned the legislative committee and the parties who were to expend the appropriations, and stated that he could not affix his signature to the meas- ure unless it were specifically provided that the appropriation should not be exceeded under any circumstances. The wisdom of this course, which has been adopted to a large degree by all of his successors, is too well recognized to need com- ment. It was one of those modest strokes of public policy that leaves its impress for a gen- eration to come. In the Delaware Fishery ques- tion, he was the first to recommend that the prob- lem. which was becoming more and more trouble- some. be relegated to the United States Su- preme Court. He looked at affairs of State not so
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much from the political standpoint, as iroin that of equity and jurisprudence. His one aim was to transact his duties in such a way as best to conserve the good of the people, and his whole administration rounded itself out upon that basis. In his inaugural address, Governor Bedle took up the topic of the day (financial depression) boldly yet cautiously. To quote from it: 'All extrav- igance, abuse and fraud, whether in national, State or local governments, must meet public con- demnation. Relief. however, cannot come alone from legislation or the strictest faithfulness in of- fice. These, like medicine to the human system, may assist in the recovery, but there must be time for the natural laws of trade to operate; the people must live less expensively : must be sat- isfied with legitimate and regular earnings, as distinguished from speculative; must avoid ex- travagance of all kinds and practice close econo- my. With conduct like this on their part, aided by legislation, both national and State, solely for the public welfare and not for a mere partisan purpose, together with a faithful performance of official duty, there need be no ground for dis- couragement or doubt of a reasonable speedy restoration to a sound condition.' There was nothing in the gubernatorial career of Mr. Be- dle of which he was more proud than his par- ticipation in the unveiling of the statue of John Witherspoon, at Fairmount, Philadelphia, in Oc tober, 1876. The oration was a decidedly bril- liant effort. as well as a most excellent review of Witherspoon's career historically. It was also while Governor that Mr. Bedle made the opening address at the big industrial exhibition at Newark."
It seems appropriate that the address de- livered by the Rev. Charles Herr, D. D., at the funeral of Judge Bedle, should appear here, at least in part :
"We are gathered around the casket of a great man. He had not the fate of most of us, who are hid in the multitude and live lives un- searched by the strong light of publicity. To have lived many years full out in the unimpeded gaze of his fellow men, lifted by his gifts, ac- quirements and public services into the cynosure of observant and challenging eyes, and then to be lamented and honored in his death by the worthiest and best. and to be most tenderly mourned by those who most possessed the ines- timable privilege of his friendship-these are the signs of a great man. For, overwhelming, per- haps ambitious and destructive, energy is not greatness; a sublime, perhaps immortal, genius is
not greatness. But to have lived a large life of manifold activities and eminent usefulness, o: shining prominence in professional and public spheres; to have preserved its continuity of aim and character to the end, and rounded it up with- out a blemish and without a fall ; to be attended to the grave by those who at once admire and love-these are a convincing claim to greatness. Men often need the witchery of time's soft touch to appreciate the worth of those who are gone. Let us now know that a prince and a great man is fallen this day in Israel. He won distinction by a union of rare natural capacity and rarer un- remitting toil. He sustained its tremendous de- mands by force of will, by energy of action, by a consummate strength of character, by broad and varied knowledge, by a mind conspicuous for its sure and exact processes and for a won- derful analytical power, and by a capacity for toiling terribly. Only the smallest soul could en- vy his elevation, because it was achieved and maintained by such a royal intellect and such a royal manhood. What words shall describe his personality? That geniality of salutation that projected beams of sunshine upon every one lie greeted; that hearty interest in others' welfare and unforgetfulness of their troubles which made him cheerful and hope-giving when his own spirit was heavy; that helpfulness and sympathy which made his counsel so grateful and his relief so prized; that rare grace of rectitude that would apologize to the humblest for a wrong lie may have done hastily or unconsciously; that manly humility, without the shadow of cant, that made him solemn always at the receipt of any public honor or any private kindness; that de- lightful flow of talk from a mind full, sagacious, alert, and at home in almost every department of thought; that wisdom which so illuminated per- plexities and pierced so easily to the root of things ; that noble manhood that could blaze with scarifying indignation against evil and could ac. knowledge and expiate its own error ; the tender, devoted husband and father, whom no speech could portray with appropriate delicacy and ade- quate representation of his strength and charm: the wise, kind, faithful friend, who created for himself in the hearts of others a tenderness of respect and gratefulness of appreciation inex- pressible ; before our imagination he rises easily in his vivid, fascinating, distinguished, versatile, noble personality, rich with intellectual powers and affectionate graces. In the last analysis, god- ly sincerity is the clue to Mr. Bedle's life."
Judge Bedle married, July 10, 1861, Al- thea F. Randolph, eldest daughter of Judge
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Bennington F. Randolph, then of Free- hold, New Jersey, and they had children : Bennington Randolph, member New York Stock Exchange, consul to Sheffield, Eng- land; Joseph Dorsett, lawyer, judge of the First District Court, Jersey City; Thomas Francis, asociated in partnership with his father ; Althea Randolph, who married Adolph Rusch, silk merchant, of New York City; Mary, deceased; and Randolpli, law- yer, of Jersey City.
It was a life of far reaching and con- tinued usefulness from which Judge Bedle was called late in 1894. Had any evidence been needed to show the high estimation in which he was held, it would have been sup- plied by the many expressions of grief and of respect with which the news of his death was received. The people, the press and the various organizations with which he had been connected gave formal expression to the feeling of general loss, and the Gover- nor of New Jersey issued a proclamation ordering all flags to be displayed at half mast and all public buildings to be draped in mourning for a period of thirty days. Resolutions of sympathy and respect were passed by the session of the First Presby- terian Church of Jersey City, the Bar As- sociation, the Society of the Cincinnati, and the boards of directors of the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, the United New Jersey Railway & Canal Company, and the First National Bank of Jersey City; - while to the stricken family a vast number of mes- sages of condolence were sent. Judge Be- dle gave the ripest fruits of his legal abili- ties and his stainless character to his native State, and his example is an illustrious pre- cedent worth more than books to the pro- fession of his laborious love; while to his family he left, in addition to ample means, a legacy of honorable reputation worth more than mines of wealth. Standing under the light of a life and character like this and viewing the ground in which they had grown, one cannot but feel that the best
types of manhood are created and developed on this American soil, and that what one has done worthily another may at least at- tempt. Viewed thus, the work of Joseph Dorsett Bedle is not yet done; for out of the past his memory arises in grand propor- tions and stands as an example and an in- centive to the youth of the generations that are to come.
HALSTED, Oliver Spencer,
First Chancellor Under New Constitution.
Oliver Spencer Halsted was born in Eliz- abethtown, New Jersey, September 22, 1792. He was a member of the prominent Halsted family of that place, and a brother of Wil- liam Halsted, a Member of Congress and author of "Halsted's Digest and Law Re- ports."
He was graduated from Princeton Col- lege in the class of 1810, and was a student in the famous Litchfield (Connecticut ) Law School. He was admitted to the bar as at- torney in 1814, and as counsellor in 1817, and entered upon practice in Newark, New Jersey. About ten years later he went to Gadsden, Alabama, where he practiced some two years, then returning to New Jersey. He was elected to the Assembly from Es- sex county in 1827, and surrogate in 1828. In 1834 he was a member of the Legisla- tive Council. He was the first recorder of the city of Newark on the adoption of its charter, in 1836, and was elected to the mayoralty in 1840. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention, and of its committee on suffrage qualification, and to him was committed the preparation of the convention address to the people.
He came to the position of Chancellor on February 5. 1845, under appointment by Governor Stratton. The fact that he was the first called to this important position un- der the new constitution, is of itself suf- ficient to indicate that he was a man held in the highest estimation at the bar and among
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leading men throughout the State. He proved remarkably industrious. He was fif- ty-three years of age when he came to the chancellorship, and his service extended over seven years. His decisions are reported in four volumes of reports edited by his son, George B. Halsted. Many of the cases ap- pear at great length, some filling fifty and even a hundred pages. Edward Quinton Keasbey, in his "Courts and Lawyers of New Jersey," 1912, says, "The opinions of Chancellor Halsted are clear and to the point. There is no attempt at display of learning, but whenever it is necessary there is a careful discussion of authorities." Many important questions came before him. In one of the first, there was an elaborate argument as to whether an impression on a deed without wax, was sufficient as the seal of a corporation. He said: "We have long since grown out of the substance or essence of Lord Coke's definition-the im- pression ; the question is, are we still in the wax? We have said by long practice that both these were not necessary. With which of them would Lord Coke have been the better satisfied? Clearly, with the impres- sion; nay, he would not have dispensed with that at all. I am of opinion that the impression of a distinctive corporation seal on an instrument calling for the seal of a corporation, is a lawful seal."
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