A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 95

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 95

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This society has had an uninterrupted ca- reer of activity and usefulness and is one of the most prosperous and influential in the State. The regular monthly meetings, with the exception of the September one, are held in Brooklyn, at the residences of the members, that of September being held in one of the river towns, generally Newburgh. Once each year a large meeting is held to which the neighboring dental societies are invited and papers of special value are presented. These meetings attract eminent dentists from differ- ent parts of the country and are anticipated with great interest throughout the profession.

As stated above, this society has been most influential in the affairs of the Dental Society of the State of New York, four of its Brook- lyn members having been called to serve in the capacity of President, viz .: W. B. Hurd, C. A. Marvin, O. E. Hill and F. T. Van Woert. H. G. Mirick was its Treasurer for several years and until his retirement from the prac- tice of his profession, while William Jarvie has been a member of the Board of Censors and of the New York State Dental Examining Board for the last twenty-six years.

Members of this society have also been called upon to fill positions of prominence and responsibility in the New York Odontological Society. C. A. Marvin, W. B. Hurd, O. E. Hill, William Jarvie and A. H. Brockway have been its Presidents, H. G. Mirick and F. C. Walker have been its Treasurers, while Will- iam Jarvie and William J. Turner have edited its transactions for several years.

It now has enrolled 123 names upon its list of members. Its officers are: President, William J. Turner; Vice-President, F. P. Hamlet ; Recording Secretary, Ellison Hillyer ; Corresponding Secretary, H. P. Gould ; Treas- urer, R. G. Hutchinson, Jr .; Librarian, R. C. Brewster ; Censors, William Jarvie, E. L. Rip- pier, F. B. Keppy, O. E. Houghton and G. W. Knight ; Executive Committee, F. C. Walker, D. W. Barker and C. F. Ash.

Perhaps no better idea can be obtained of

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the rapid advancement in dental standards than by a brief resume of legislation regulating the practice of dentistry in this State. The law of New York is generally conceded to be the most comprehensive of all, and nearer the ideal than that of any other State. In the var- ious movements to obtain this result the den- tists of Brooklyn have always taken a promi- nent part. In response to an informal call a meeting composed of dentists representing various sections of the State was held on De- cember 17. 1867, at Utica, New York, to con- sider the desirability of securing a law that should regulate the practice of dentistry in this State. Such a law was drafted, passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor April 7, 1868. It was entitled "An Act to incor- porate dental societies for the purpose of im- proving and regulating the practice of den- tistry in the State," and under its provisions a society was to be formed in each of the eight judicial districts, and eight delegates from each of these societies were to meet in Albany and organize a State society. This provision of the bill was carried out and "The Dental So- ciety of the State of New York" was organized at Albany June 30, 1868.

Prior to this time there were but few den- tal schools, and many of the prominent and most able dentists had received their instruc- tion and early experience in the offices of pri- vate preceptors. In order that such might re- ceive a degree after proper examination, on April 21, 1870, the dental law was amended, providing for a Board of Censors and the con- ferring of the degree of MI. D. S. ( Master of Dental Surgery ) in the following words :

SECTION 8. The State Dental Society, or- ganized as aforesaid, at its first meeting shall appoint eight censors, one from each of the said district societies, who shall constitute a State Board of Censors, and at the first meet- ing of said board the members shall be divided into four classes, to serve one, two, three and four years, respectively, and said State Dental Society shall, at each annual meeting thereaf- ter, appoint two censors, to serve each four years and until their successors shall be cho-

sen, and fill all vacancies that may have oc- curred in the board by death or otherwise. Each district society shall be entitled to one and only one member of said Board of Censors. Said Board of Censors shall meet at least once in each year, at such time and place as they shall designate, and being thus met, they, or a majority of them, shall carefully and impar- tially examine all persons who are entitled to examination under the provisions of this act. and who shall present themselves for that pur- pose, and report their opinion in writing to the President of said State Dental Society, and on the recommendation of said board it shall be the duty of the President, aforesaid, to is- sue a diploma to such person or persons, coun- . tersigned by the secretary, and bearing the seal of said society, conferring upon him the degree of "Master of Dental Surgery" (M. D. S.), and it shall not be lawful for any other society, college or corporation to grant to any person the said degree of "Master of Dental Surgery."

SEC. 9. All dentists in regular practice at the time of the passage of this act, and all persons who shall have received a diploma from any dental college in this State, and all students who shall have studied and practiced dental surgery with some accredited dentist or den- tists for the term of four years, shall be enti- tled to an examination by said Board of Cen- sors. Deductions from such term of four years shall be made in either of the following cases :

I. If the student, after the age of sixteen, shall have pursued any of the studies usual in the colleges of this State, the period not ex- ceeding one year during which he shall have pursued such studies shall be deducted.

2. If the student, after the age of six- teen, shall have attended a complete course of lectures of any incorporated dental or medical college in this State, or elsewhere. one year shall be deducted.

The examinations by this board were so thorough and of such a high standard. and its decisions so fair and evidently free from få- voritism, that the degree has always been held in great esteem and was sought for even by many graduates of dental schools who had already the degree of D. D. S. ( Doctor of Den- tal Surgery).

On June 20, 1879, the Governor signed an amendment which required every dentist then

623

DENTISTS IN BROOKLYN.

in practice within the State to register within sixty days, and permitting no one thereafter to commence the practice of dentistry unless having a dental or medical degree. The amendment was as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any person to prac- tice dentistry in the State of New York for fee or reward unless he shall have received a proper diploma or certificate of qualification from the State Dental Society, or from the faculty of a reputable dental or medical col- lege recognized as such by said societies, pro- vided that nothing in this section shall apply to persons now engaged in the practice of den- tistry in the State of New York; and that

Every person practicing dentistry within this State shall within sixty days after the passage of this act register in the office of the Clerk of the county where located.

On May 12, 1895. the law was again amended so that "the Board of Censors" be- came "the Board of Dental Examiners" to be appointed by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York from nominations twice the number of vacancies to be filled, made by the State Dental Society. No person was allowed to commence the prac- tice of dentistry unless he had received a license to practice dentistry from the regents upon the recommendation of the Board of Ex- aminers. The board was allowed to examine for a license only those who had received a degree from a registered dental school, or those who had been practicing legally in some other State for a period of not less than five years. The dental schools were not allowed to graduate any in 1898 who had not had the equivalent of one year in a high school three years previous to the conferring of the degree ; in 1899 two years in a high school, and in 1900 a full high-school course. Provisions were made for revocation of licenses and for penal-

ties for infractions of the law. In 1899 an interchange of licenses to practice dentistry was effected between New Jersey and New York, by which dentists who had been licensed to practice in this State would be licensed to practice in New Jersey without further ex- amination, and, vice versa, those who had been licensed in New Jersey would be licensed to practice in this State without further examina- tion. This is the only case in which such an interchange in dentistry or medicine is prac- ticed, but negotiations are on foot by which it is hoped to extend it to other States. On March 28, 1901, the law was yet further amended, allowing the Board of Examiners to recommend to the regents for a license only those who had a dental degree, and also allow- ing the regents to confer the degree of D. D. S. in lieu of the M. D. S which had been con- ferred by the State Dental Society.

Probably no other profession ever made the rapid advance in science and art that den- tistry has. Scarcely born at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the close of it sees it securely recognized as one of the learned professions. In 1828, when the first dentist of whom we have any knowledge came to Brooklyn, there was not a single dental society in the country, there was no dental literature, neither was there a dental school. Intercourse among members of the profession was almost unknown, and what little did exist was marked by constraint, secrecy and jealousy. Now there are about five hundred dentists in this city ; there are one hundred and sixty-seven dental societies throughout the country, and eighty-eight dental schools, and twenty-three journals devoted to the profession. Every- where professional courtesy and liberality is the rule, and a spirit of mutual interchange of knowledge and sympathy abounds.

CHAPTER LIII.

THE BENCH AND BAR.

THE OLD COURTS AND JUDGES-ALDEN T. SPOONER, JUDGE FURMAN-THE TILTON- BEECHER CASE-JUDGE NEILSON, JUDGE BEACH-A GROUP OF MODERN JUDGES AND JURISTS.

HE first court house in Kings county was inaugurated in Gravesend in 1668, and there the seat of jus- tice remained until 1686, when it was removed to Flatbush. In 1832 it was finally located in Brooklyn, when Judge John Dikeman opened the first session. At that time the Brooklyn bar was represented by thirty-three members, and if all reports are true there were even then too many council- ors for the extent of business. There had been three court houses in Flatbush. The first, a plain little building, was torn down in 1758 and replaced by a large structure which was part court house and part jail and cost the ratepayers $448. During the occu- pation the British officers often used the court room for balls and entertainments. In 1792 it was condemned as antiquated and in such a poor condition as to be not worth repairing, and in the following year a new building was erected, which served until it was burned to the ground in 1832. When the embers of that conflagration died out the glory of Flatbush as a seat of justice passed away. In its day it had been the scene of many brilliant forensic displays. Egbert Benson, John Marshall, John Jay. Joseph Story, Oliver Ellsworth, Bushrod Washington, Samuel Nelson, Brock- holst Livingston, John Sloss Hobert, James - Kent, Ambrose Spencer, William L. Marcy,

Eseck Cowan, John W. Edmonds, Ogden Ed- wards and many other historic Judges have presided over its courts. The Judges of the higher courts prior to the legal changes im- posed by the onstitution in 1846 were :

JUDICIAL OFFICERS (WEST RIDING, UNDER THE "DUKE'S LAWS.")

John Manning,

James Hubbard,

Richard Betts,

Ellert Elbertson,

Samuel Spicer,

James Cortelleau,

Rulof Martin.

JUSTICES UNDER THE COMMISSION OF GOV- ERNOR ANDROS, 1688.

Stephen Van Cortland, Judge of the Court of Pleas.

James Cortelleaut,

William Morris,

Gerardus Beekman,

Nicholas Stillwell.

JUSTICE OF THE QUORUM.

Under the law of 1691, and the ordinance of 1699: Gerardus Beekman.

JUDGES OF TIJE COMMON PLEAS.

APPOINTED

Gerardus Beekman 1700

Jacobus Van Cortland Oct. 1702

Nicholas Stillwell 1710

Cornelius Sebring. Nov. 13, 1716

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THE BENCH AND BAR.

APPOINTED

Cornelius van Brunt. 1718

Peter Strycker 1720

Daniel Polhemus 1722

Peter Cortileau.

1724

Samuel Garretsen. 1729

Ryck Suydam 1732

Christopher Codwise. Feb. 24, 1738

Johannes Lott.

1742

Abraham Lott.

1745

Isaac Seabring.

1749-'52

Samuel Garretsen, Barnabus Ryder, Chas. De Bevoise, 1752-61 Oct. 13, 1749

Abraham Schenck. . Oct. 9, 1767

John Lefferts . May 9, 1770

John Lefferts, Jeremiah Remsen, Philip

Nagil

1770-77

Englebert Lott, Jeremiah Vanderbilt,

Theodorus Polhemus

1777-80

JUDGES OF THE COMMON PLEAS

(since the

Revolution).

APPOINTED

Nicholas Covenhoven March 28, 1785

Johannes E. Lott.

.June II, 1793

John Skillman March 15, 1805

Wm. Furman.

Feb'y 28, 1808

Leffert Lefferts Feb'y 10, 1823

Peter Radcliff Feb'y 21, 1827

John Dikeman April 21, 1830

Nathan B. Morse. April 30, 1833

John A. Lott. April 18, 1838

John Greenwood. . Jan. 27, 1843

John Vanderbilt May 1, 1844

COUNTY JUDGES UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1846.

ELECTED

William Rockwell June, 1847

Samuel E. Johnson. .Oct. 1848

Henry A. Moore Nov. 1851

Samuel D. Morris Nov. 1855

Samuel Garrison Nov. 1859

John Dikeman Nov. 1863

James Troy. Nov. 1867

Henry A. Moore Nov. 1871

Gerardus Beekman. 1700

ELECTED

Jacobus Van Cortland. 1702

Cornelius Seabring. 1716

Cornelius Van Brunt. 1718

Peter Strycker

1720

Daniel Polhemus. 1722

Peter Cortilleau 1724

Samuel Garretson 1729

Ryck Suydam. 1732

Christopher Codwise. 1738

Johannes Lott. 1742

Abraham Lott. 1745

Isaac Seabring

1749

Samuel Garretson, Barnabus Ryder, and Chas. De Bevoise. 1749-1761

Abraham Schenck. 1767

John Lefferts.

1779

John Lefferts, Jeremiah Remsen and

Philip Nagil.

1770-1777

Englebert Cowenhoven. 1785

Johannes E. Lott. 1793

John Skillman 1805

William Furman 1808

Leffert Lefferts.

1823

Peter Radcliff.

1827

John Dikeman 1830

Nathan B. Morse. 1833

John A. Lott.

1838

Jolın Greenwood. 1843

John Vanderbilt

1844

Under the Constitution of 1846 the follow- ing county Judges held office :

William Rockwell. 1847

Samuel E. Johnson 1848

Henry A. Moore 1851

Samuel D. Morris. 1855

Samuel Garrison 1859

John Dikeman 1863

James Troy. . 1867

Henry A. Moore 1871

Henry A. Moore 1877

Henry A. Moore. 1885

Henry A. Moore. 1889

William B. Hurd 1895

Joseph Aspinall 1895

626

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

In 1848 the Supreme Court of the State was organized, and under it the following jus- tices were elected in the Second Judicial Dis- trict, which included Kings county :

Selah B. Strong, Presiding Justice, 1848. William T. McCoun, 1848.

Nathan B. Morse, of Brooklyn, 1848.

Seward Barculo, 1848.

John W. Brown, elected 1849.

Selah B. Strong, re-elected in 1851.

Gilbert Dean, appointed 1854, after Bar- culo's death.

William Rockwell, of Brooklyn, elected 1853.

James Emmott, elected 1855.

Lucien Birdseye, appointed 1856.

John A. Lott, of Brooklyn, elected 1856.

William W. Scrugham, elected 1859.

Joseph F. Barnard, elected 1863.

Jasper W. Gilbert, of Brooklyn, elected 1865.

William Fullerton, appointed 1867, after Scrugham's death.

Abraham B. Tappen, elected 1867.

Calvin E. Pratt, of Brooklyn, elected 1869.

Jackson O. Dykman, elected 1875.

Erastus Cooke, of Brooklyn, elected 1879.

Edgar M. Cullen, of Brooklyn, elected 1880.

Charles F. Browne, elected 1882.

Willard Bartlett, of Brooklyn, elected 1884.

William J. Gaynor, of Brooklyn, elected 1893.

William D. Dickey, elected 1895.

Wilmot M. Smith, of Patchogue, elected 1895.

Martin J. Keogh, elected 1895; Augustus Van Wyck, Nathaniel H. Clement and William J. Osborne, former Judges of the City Court, became Supreme Court Justices January I, 1896, by virtue of section 5, title VI of the Revised Constitution.

Garret J. Garretson, elected 1896.

William W. Goodrich, of Brooklyn, ap- pointed 1896.

Michael Hirschberg, elected 1896.

Samuel T. Maddox, elected 1896.

Jesse Johnson, appointed after death of Justice Osborne, 1897.

We do not propose following in this chap- ter the record of the various courts in which justice has been administered in Kings coun- ty, our purpose being mainly to speak of some of the men. who were and are leaders of the local bench and bar, and who by their judicial and impassioned expounding of the principles of the law, or their clear and cogent utter- ances when charging a jury, or by impas- sioned argument or ingenious tactics have won victories at the bar for the cause of their clients or the public weal, have won for the bar of Kings county a measure of fame that is not surpassed in any other section of the United States. The keynote to the structure thus raised to. such noble proportions was struck by Judge Egbert Benson when he ad- dressed the grand jury at Flatbush June 6, 1800, as follows, to quote a most striking passage from his charge: "In proportion as your county, gentlemen, increases in wealth and population ; as it advances in public im- provement, in education, in arts, science, com- mercial prosperity, which must flow from its unsurpassed resources, there will be a cor- responding growth of crime-the inseparable companion of great public prosperity.

"Your county, gentlemen, over which the smoke of battlefields has but recently floated, has before it a magnificent future. Upon grand juries ; upon courts of justice ; upon all officers of courts, and upon all persons con- nected with the administration of the laws, rest solemn responsibilities, which are to tell on that future; for now is the seed time, --- now is the ground fallow which is to. yield fruit for generations to come. See to it, then, gentlemen, that the responsibility with which the law clothes you is properly executed and directed."

One of the earliest of the recognized lead- ers of the bar was John Wells, who was born at Cherry Valley in 1770. He was the son

627

THE BENCH AND BAR.

of Robert Wells, a prosperous farmer, who was murdered along with eleven members of his family in 1778 by a horde of Indians under Joseph Brant,-the sad incident being now spoken of as the Cherry Valley Massacre. John Wells would have shared the fate of the oth- ers had he not been in Schenectady attend- ing school. He was taken to Brooklyn by an aunt, educated at Princeton, studied for the

ERECTED

.. .........

JOHN WELLS.

MEMORIAL OF JOHN WELLS, IN ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK.

bar, and in 1791 was admitted to practice. His home then was in Brooklyn, and he had an office there as well as in New York. For a time little business came his way, but his literary ability attracted the attention of Alex- ander Hamilton, and he assisted that states- man in bringing out the "Federalist." But his opportunity came when Mr. Cheetham, editor of "The American Citizen," a New York newspaper, selected him for his legal adviser in a suit brought for libel against the paper by W. S. Smith, son-in-law of President

Adams. It was one of those peculiar suits which involved much more than appeared on the surface. A contemporary account says :

Mr. Cheetham, it is said, reasoning from the force with which Wells had wielded his pen in certain political and other articles, re- tained him as his counsel for the defense,-not merely his counsel, but the leading counsel in the case. This was a great surprise to all of Cheetham's friends; but the result shows he made no mistake in his selection of counsel. The cause came on for trial in the city of New York early in 1804. The prosecution was conducted by several of the ablest lawyers then at the bar. The defense of Cheetham by his young and apparently inexperienced coun- sel, as has well been said, was masterly; it would have added lustre to the reputation of Wirt. The result was highly favorable to his client. The damages against him were miti- gated to a trifle, compared with what was con- hdently expected on one side and feared on the other. Nothing could exceed the surprise which this splendid-we may say triumphant -defense created in the public mind ; and the young advocate at once took that high and commanding place at the bar for which his talents so admirably fitted him. From a stinted business and a few clients, whose visits had hitherto been "few and far between," he was daily. retained in cases of importance and of pecuniary value to him. Not long after the trial of Smith vs. Cheetham, he was retained in an important case tried at Flatbush, in which he displayed skill, learning and elo- quence that added largely to his fame. His opponent was Colonel Aaron Burr, who often appeared in the Kings county courts. After the trial Burr said, "I was aware of Mr. Wells' power and astonishing ability as a writer, but I did not think he possessed, as he really does, the genius of an Erskine as a lawyer."

From that time until the time of his death, in 1823, Mr. Wells was the acknowledged leader of the bar, not alone of Kings county, but of the State. For a time he was in part- nership with Josiah Ogden Hoffman, but as a rule he preferred to fight his battles single- handed. After his death his associates at the bar united in the erection of a memorial bust, which is still to be seen in St. Paul's Chapel, New York.

628

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

George M. Wood, born in Trenton, New Jersey, and who began to practice law in Brooklyn in 1837, was long famous as a local leader. Chancellor Walworth called him a "walking library of law," and the immortal Daniel Webster, seeing him apparently asleep in court while a case was going on in which they held opposite sides, said, "Pray don't wake him, for when George M. Wood is fully awake he is one of the most troublesome opponents I am in the habit of meeting." Mr. Wood died in 1861.

One of the last of the purely political Judges to hold office in the court at Flatbush was William Furman, who in 1808 became Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. It is not certain that he was ever bred to the law or knew much more about the profession than any educated gentleman miglit pick up in the course of his reading or association, yet he sat on the bench from 1808 until 1823, and won a most enviable record. One of the biographers of his son, Gabriel Furman, the well-known local antiquary, thus wrote of him :

He was a man of finished education ; strong, practical good sense. Paramount traits in his character were love of justice, perfect integrity, impartiality and a close perception of human nature. It will therefore be seen he possessed the qualities of a useful and up- right Judge; his popularity with the bar, and the high esteem in which he was held by the public, plainly attest his character as a Judge and as a private citizen. He represented Brooklyn on the Board of Kings County Su- pervisors for several successive years. In the fall of 1825 he was elected member of the Assembly from Kings county, entering upon his legislative duties January 3, 1826. That illustrious statesman, Samuel Young, was Speaker; the peculiarities of Mr. Young as a legislator have become matters of history. He was in every sense unlike Judge Furman, and yet there always existed a warm friendship between these gentlemen; there is one fact which attests this in a strong manner ; he was appointed by Mr. Young Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and second on the Com- mittee of Ways and Means.

Judge Furman was President of the Brook- lyn Fire Insurance Company, incorporated in 1824. There was scarcely any public improve- ment touching the welfare of the thien village of Brooklyn that Judge Furman was not more or less identified with. He was a lifelong, un- deviating friend of De Witt Clinton, strongly sustaining him in that great policy that inau- gurated and constructed the Erie Canal.

The legislative session of 1826 was one of the most exciting and important in the history of the State. The four-cornered Presidential conflict between General Jackson, Mr. Adams, Mr. Crawford and Mr. Clay culminated that year. It entered largely into the Legislature of the State, leading to frequent collisions. In these Judge Furman largely participated. On the whole he was one of the most active and influential members of that session. He was tendered the re-nomination the next year, but declined. Among his associates in the Assembly, whose names have passed into the history of the State, were Og'den Hoffman, then a resident of Orange county; Francis Granger, from Ontario; John Tracy, from Chenango; and Erastus Root, of Delaware. After retiring from the Legislature Judge Fur- man retired entirely into private life, a highly esteemed citizen, influential and active in all that concerned the interest and advancement of the society in which he moved.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 95

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188