USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. I > Part 25
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"The justices of sessions were usually men of fair intelligence, good judgment and some judicial experience as justices of the peace. Occasionally a good lawyer occupied the position.
"Upon one occasion the late Col. Benjamin Bennett of Ham- mondsport, a good lawyer, brave soldier and generous friend, served in this capacity at a court sessions held at Bath. An indictment for perjury was on trial. Guy H. McMaster, of pleasant memory, was county judge. Many vexatious, intricate and troublesome questions were developed at the trial; for some reason the county judge re- quested Bennett to charge the jury. This was unexpected, but after a moment's hesitation he undertook the task. All who listened to that charge were surprised; that sleepy court seemed invested. with new vigor and intelligence; the facts were marshaled by a judicial mind, fairly and without prejudice; the cobwebs of sophistry were Vol. I-12
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carefully brushed away, and the law applicable to the case clearly and intelligently stated. All were amazed at the ability then dis- played. The jury retired, and within a reasonable time returned with a verdict. One of the jurymen afterwards said that charge made the case as clear as a bell.
"The present and last justices of sessions of this county are Delwin C. Barney of West Union and Frederick W. Speer of Caton. Who the first were I am unable to say ; perhaps our mutual friend, A. J. McCall, will tell us in the Bath Plaindealer. A complete list of all who have served in this capacity in this county should be pre- served by the county bar association or some historical society. It will be of interest in the future.
"With the close of the present year the court of sessions, of which the justices of sessions have been so prominent, will cease to exist and also the general term of the supreme court, the superior court of New York and Buffalo, the court of common pleas, the most ancient of all; the city court of Brooklyn, the court of oyer and terminer and the circuit court. Other courts will take their places. We shall not be without courts. But the experiences, hopes, defeats, joys and sorrows born of the courts that are passing away will be and abide with us."
One June 21, 1796, the first court of general sessions in Steu- ben county was organized. George Hornell, Uriah Stephens and Abel White, justices of the peace, were qualified as justices of ses- sions, and acted in that capacity. The first grand jury of the coun- ty, which served at this term of court, was composed of the follow- ing citizens of the county, namely: John Sheather, foreman ; Charles Cameron, George McClure, John Cooper, Samuel Miller, Isaac Mullender, John Stearns, Justus Woolcott, John Coudry, John Van Devanter, Alexander Fullerton, Amariah Hammond, John Seeley and Samuel Shannon. This grand jury presented two in- dictments, and were thereupon discharged.
Under the "Duke's laws," the provisions for the proofs of last wills and testaments and the granting of letters of administration upon the estates of intestates were vested in the courts of sessions, but the growth of the colony, and the expense and delay in trans- ferring the records and proceedings to be registered in the office of records, gradually led to the vesting of this jurisdiction exclusively with the governor. To facilitate the business, he appointed persons to discharge the duties so devolved upon him in particular parts of the state, who were termed delegates, and in course of time the term surrogate (from surrogatus, which means a substitute, deputy or delegate) gradually came into use to designate this class of public offices, and has so continued. In 1787 an act was passed directing that surrogates should thereafter be appointed in every county in the state, and under the first constitution they were chosen by the council of appointment for an unlimited period. Under the second constitution they were appointed by the governor and senate for a period of four years. Stephen Ross was the first surrogate of Steu- ben county ; he was appointed March 31, 1796, by Governor John' Jay and the senate.
SURROGATES AND COUNTY JUDGES.
The constitution of 1846 abolished the office of surrogate, except in counties where the population exceeds forty thousand, and de-
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volved its duties on the county judge; in counties exceeding that number, the legislature may authorize the election of a surrogate. Hon. Ansel J. McCall was appointed surrogate of Steuben county on February 3, 1844, by Governor William C. Bouek, and upon the expiration of his term in 1848, the duties of the office devolved on the county judge.
Hon. David McMaster, the first county judge elected in the county under the constitution of 1846, assumed the duties of an elected surrogate January 1, 1847. The county judge continued to discharge. the duties of surrogate and hold his courts in Steuben county until 1884. The legislature of 1883, by its enactment of Chapter 309, provided for the election of a surrogate, distinct from the county. judge. The county then had a population of more than eighty thousand. The act took effect January 1, 1884, except that it provided for the election of a surrogate at the general election in 1883. Hon. Guy H. MeMaster was the first elected surrogate of the county. The office of surrogate in this county is now distinct from that of county judge, unless the incumbent is absent or disqualified, in which event the county judge discharges the duties and functions of the surrogate. ,
PAST AND PRESENT PRACTITIONERS.
Upon the subject of the practitioners before the courts of Stou- ben county, it is not deemed advisable, pertinent or desirable to refer to the ability, characteristics, success or failure of any particular individual. The judgment, analysis or conclusion of any writer in such matters may be honestly and fairly made, yet admiration or prejudice may unintentionally elevate or depress.
As to the lawyers in the first century after the organization of the county, whose activities were exclusively devoted to their profes- sion, few are subjects of positive knowledge, and necessarily but lit- tle is known of them. In most mental pursuits an opportunity is afforded for achieving something which may remain as a memorial of the life and labors of the mind that created it. The sculptor, painter or mechanic has the satisfaction of knowing that his efforts are embodied and adequately represented in what he has produced ; but the life and efforts of the lawyer are usually devoted to attaining results that cease to be of interest when the end is accomplished. It matters not how industrious may be his efforts, how great may be his talents, how extensive his learning or unwearied his devotion, unless he has had leisure and ability to compose literary, judicial or, kindred works, he can leave little behind him that will interest, at- tract or repel posterity, or which will serve to show of what he was or was not capable. A forensic argument or the occasional report of a trial may survive him, but such fragmentary memorials soon van- ish into thin air, and of themselves are sufficient to prove that a man had attained to commanding eminence in a profession where general excellence depends upon the possession and thorough cultiva- tion of so many qualities. Even those endowments which are looked upon as the highest in this most difficult and onerous profession, which are deemed the greatest, because the most essential, and in which the chief excellence of a lawyer lies, are not those which at- tract general attention or lead to public renown. The foreshadow- ing sagacity that perceives in advance all the probable exigencies of
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a case; the close attention which suffers nothing to escape and in a trial keeps every faculty intent upon the case as it progresses; the cool collectedness, which is never disturbed by the unexpected dis- closures of evidence, or embarrassed by a legal objection, but is able at the instant to meet each emergency and put the best aspect upon it; the skilful and adroit management of partial, prejudiced, thoughtless or dishonest witnesses, and the ability and power at the close of a trial, or upon an argument, of resolving a complicated mass of facts and statements into their due relation to each other, and of deducing the principles which grow out of the case, and by which it must be governed, together with the ability and power of using his learning and shrewdness with nice and discriminating judgment-all these are the qualities which secure the successful end aimed at in every legal controversy, but are not those which invite the plaudits of the multitude. This eminent professional merit, the fruit of a strong natural ability, coupled with great industry and experience, has during the lifetime of its possessor but a few select admirers, and when he has passed away from the stage of life there is nothing but uncertain and vagne recollections to mark his course as he floats down the stream of time until he is lost in the mist and clouds that finally enshroud all that is even traditional.
By what will that most learned and distinguished judge of the New York court of appeals, Hon. Francis M. Finch, be longest and most universally remembered-his learned opinions delivered from the bench of that court or of his poetical effusion, "The Blue and the Gray?" Will the rare forensic powers, success and ability at the bar, the charming and gifted eloquence of Hon. Samuel H. Hammond live as long and be as affectionately cherished as his charming "Hills, Lakes and Forest Streams?" By what will Hon. Guy H. McMaster be best known ; by his achievements at the bar as a lawyer, or on the benchi as a judge, or as the author of the "Old Continentals" or the "Pioneer History of Steuben County?" The cold labor of the law- yer is lost in the flowery fields of literature.
At the first term of the court of common pleas and of general sessions these lawyers appeared in due form-Nathaniel W. Howell, Vincent Mathews. William Stuart, William B. Verplanck, David Jones, Peter Masterton, Thomas Morris, Stephen Ross and David Powers. William Stuart presented to the courts letters patent, and the great seal of the state of New York, constituting him assistant attorney general for the counties of Onondaga, Ontario, Tioga and Steuben. He discharged the duties of district attorney of the coun- ty. This office was afterwards abolished, and on April 4, 1801, the office of district attorney created. By a law passed in April, 1818, each of the counties of the state was entitled to a district attorney. During the second constitution, district attorneys were appointed by the court of general sessions in each county. Daniel Cruger was the first district attorney so appointed, the date of his appointment being June 11, 1818. Alfred P. Ferris was the first elected district attorney, being chosen in June, 1847, under the constitution of 1846. Since then the incumbents of this office have been elected by the people and are usually men of fair ability.
Fifty years after the first session of the court of common pleas in Steuben county, the bar of the county included the following law- yers : Edward : Howell, William Howell, Robert Campbell, Jr.,
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Charles W. Campbell, George C. Edwards, Samuel H. Hammond, Ziba A. Leland, David McMaster, Jr., David Rumsey, Jr., Lazarus H. Read, Morris Brown, Alfred P. Ferris, William Woods, James Birdsall, Andrew G. Chatfield, Ansel J. McCall, James Faulkner, Jacob Larrowe, William M. Hawley, George T. Spencer, Washing- ton Barnes, Thomas A. Johnson, Henry G. Cotton, John Baldwin, Nathan Osborne, Robert L. Brundage, Thomas J. Reynolds, Na- thaniel Finch, George B. Bradley, Ferral C. Dininny, John W. Dininny, William B. Jones, F. R. E. Cornell, Peter Masten, Chris: John McDowell, A. J. C. Edwards, A. C. Montgomery, William Irvine, Henry M. Hyde, John K. Hale, Joseph Herron, John May- nard, Robert B. Van Valkenburg, Charles H. Berry, C. N. Water- man, Dexter Straight, Daniel F. Brown, Robert M. Lyon, Adin M. Spooner, John Cook, Anson Gibbs, Vincent M. Coryell, Henry W. Rogers, Joseph G. Masten, Samuel S. Haight, Dominick T. Blake, Cuthbert Harrison, John Ostrander, William B. Rochester, Henry Baldwin, Horace Bernis, Asa Adams, C. F. Platt and William M. Nichols.
During the sixty years now closing the following have been members of the Steuben county bar, although, possibly, some de- serving names have been omitted from the list: William Rumsey, Guy H. McMaster, Charles F. Kingsley, William B. Ruggles, John Foster Parkhurst, Charles H. McMaster, Humphrey MeMaster, George E. McMaster, William A. Dawson, John H. Butler, Orange S. Searl, Byron L. Smith, Amaziah S. Kendall, William F. McNa- mara, Francis A. Williams, Leslie C. Kendall, Henry Sherwood, Ellsworth D. Mills, Charles H. Thomson, Thomas H. Thomson, Will- iam K. Logie, A. S. MeKay, S. D. Clinton, Eli Soule, Allen M. Burrell, Perry Hallett, Josiah D. Millard, Horaee Bemis, Harlo Hakes, James H. Stephens, William E. Bonham, Rodney Dennis, Wesley Brown, Miles W. Hawley, Winfield S. Newman, Frank H. Robinson, Daniel L. Benton, Charles Conderman, Henry N. Platt, Homer Holliday, DeMerville Page, Harvey D. Waldo, Daniel D. Waldo, Andrew J. Brundage, John C. Van Loon, Montgomery Tol- bert, George S. Jones, Sylvester D. Lewis, Benjamin Bennett, Mar- tin R. Miller and Edward Hassett.
All of these have been "carried up" to that just "tribunal where every right decree stands unreversed and every wrong is righted," and the following are awaiting the eall of the calendar: George B. Bradley, Alphonso M. Burrell, Eugene T. Hollis, Silas Kellogg, Irvin W. Near, John F. Little, Charles W. Stevens, Edwin C. Eng- lish, Andrew A. White, A. J. Wright, Horaee D. Baldwin, Delmar M. Darrin, Henry W. Sanford, Reuben E. Robie, William H. Nieh- ols, William W. Clark, E. B. Ross. Joseph Westeott, Reuben R. Lyon, Clarence Willis, James MeCall, C. W. Stanton, John C. Bostleman, James O. Sebring, Fay P. Rathbun, George N. Orcutt, John Griffin, Warren W. Oxx, James A. Parsons, Edwin S. Brown, Almon W. Burrell, Thomas Shannon, Monroe Wheeler, W. J. Cheney, Manley A. MeDowell, Hugh W. Darrin, Edwin C. Smith, Fary B. Beecher, Burton W. Sly, Severett J. Simpson, Isaac N. Baker, John W. Hollis, Charles L. Crane, Stephen S. Read, Carter R. Kingsley, Wilbur P. Fish, Lewis H. Clark, Harry L. Allen, Charles E. Beard, James A. Parsons, Fred W. Hastings, William N. Halloek, Guy W. Cheney, Frank H. Ferris, William J. Tully, Neil
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W. Andrews, Henry V. Pratt, Hiram A. Baker, H. A. Hemenway, Shirley E. Brown, C. C. Bill, Thomas Flaherty, Edward D. Van Orsdale, F. E. Whiteman, Jay H. Stevens, William McGreevy, Thomas Laverne, Clyde E. Shults, F. H. Hausner, Thomas F. Rog- ers, Willard S. Reed, Murray E. Page, M. F. McNamara, Frank J. Saxton, L. W. Wellington, Walter S. Drew, Ross W. Stephens, James J. O'Brien, J. B. Hargrave, Egbert Shoemaker, J. E. B. Santee, Claude Stowell, Fred Robins, Waldo W. Willard, F. C. William, Floyd G. Greene, James N. Robinson, Frank J. Nelson, Acton M. Hill, James T. Foody, R. V. Woodbury, John C. Wheeler, Frank G. Kellogg, Charles J. Clark, Adelbert Ferry, M. C. Powell, Maurice Kelly, Fay H. White, William S. Charles, John M. Finch, William Moore, James H. Clancy, Milo M. Acker, Francis M. Cameron, M. C. Almy, Charles C. Burrell, T. P. McGannon, Charles A. Dolson, Edwin L. Dolson and Lucius A. Waldo.
CHAPTER X.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
CALLS UPON THE COUNTRY DOCTOR-FIRST PHYSICIANS IN STEU- BEN-EDUCATING THE COUNTRY DOCTOR-CAME PREVIOUS TO 1830-COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES-REFORMS DEMANDED- HEROES IN THE WAR-REFORM LEGISLATION SUGGESTED.
It is difficult and hazardous to attempt, even briefly, the an- nals of the medical profession in Steuben, or any other county, at this day. So many distinct, separate, antagonistic and warring schools, systems, cults and practices claim and contend for recog- nition and primacy, each having its faithful, honest and intelligent adherents, followers and patrons.
To attempt to enumerate all of these distinct cults is difficult and dangerous, if perchance some are omitted. In every con- siderable community, settlement, village, town and city earnest mem- bers of the "healing art" (art is the proper word) are found; disci- ples and vigorous practitioners of allopathy, homeopathy, hydrop- athy, electropathy, osteopathy, botanic, Thompsonian, magnetic, mediumistic, spiritualistic, Christian Science, mental suggestion, sacred relics, shrineistic, faith curists and the eclectic system (which is said to include all). Each has its merits; each has scored its triumphs together; a record of courageous intelligence and independence, of ancient and exploded ideas and barbarous remedies. The surgeon and bone-setter has availed himself of the merciful aid of the anaesthetic and by it becomes the welcome friend instead of the dreaded minister to the misfortunes of the race.
The field of activity of the dentist, germain to that of the physician and unknown to the early dweller of the county, though not connected with any particular cult or system, has developed as a great relief to and supplied the defects of many neglected and misused mouths. The dentist has displaced and banished the in- strument of necessary torture, used by the old-school doctors, with the aid and appliance of later day intelligence and inventions.
CALLS UPON THE COUNTRY DOCTOR.
The nature and cause of the diseases and injuries of the first settlers and early pioneers of this county are here noticed, and the account will disclose the ability and resources of the physicians who had only such assistance and aids as the sparsely inhabited
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localities afforded. The Indians, wild animals and enormous rep- tiles made but little necessity for the services of the physician; but rather the exposure to inclement weather, insufficient warmth .and clothing, lack of sufficient and nourishing food, and the malig- nant fevers due to want of proper sanitary attention, decaying vegetation, stagnant pools, fetid swamps, made the life of the early doctor one of great labor and responsibility. It is true that in the felling of trees, hauling, rolling and skidding and floating of logs, faulty construction of mills and carelessly built bridges there were real dangers and the causes of much surgery and earnest attention for the pioneer doctor of this and adjoining counties.
Of all the true heroes, unselfish and self-sacrificing men of the new country, the country doctor was the noblest of them all, with courage and self-denial, obeying the calls of duty and hu- manity, to which he has devoted his life; through storm and sun- shine, over trackless snowy wastes, through ice and half-frozen streams, relying on marked trees and uncertain trails; in dark and starless nights, depending upon the sagacity of his faithful horse; muffled in his heavy great coat, woolen cap, warm mittens, with comforter wrapped about his face and neck; climbing steep moun- tain sides, through windfalls and thorny underbrush, the stillness of the more than plutonian darkness, broken only by the sighing of the evergreen forest, the snarling, screaming panther or the howling wolf. He was equipped with his saddle-bags, in which were stored his medicines, remedies, instruments and other ap- pliances of his occupation, and with his portmanteau strapped be- hind his saddle in which was a change of clothing if necessary, a chunk of cold cooked meat, a loaf of bread and a flask of invigorat- ing spirits-so he pursued his journey and labor of duty until he reached the log habitation of the struggling and suffering settler, perhaps to mend a broken bone; or combat with an obstinate and home remedy defying fever; or perchance to assist in the entrance to this mysterious life of a fellow mortal, bringing hope, love and comfort to its toiling parents ; perhaps to make painless and pleas- ant, with words of comfort and cheer, the exit of a loving parent or child, and console the survivor because of the event, the common lot of mortals. Here "love is the noblest healing art."
The country doctor then, far more than now, exerted a greater influence with his patients, the rude and unlettered settels, than is now prevalent. He was their trusted adviser and mainstay in sickness and in health; their confidential friend and reliance in their daily life, in their business and pecuniary difficulties. He was their solace and comfort in the hour of dissolution, capable, faithful and honest. They believed in him; all could understand his exalted and commanding influence.
Many times the country doctor seemed harsh, domineering, unsympathetic, and was often accused of determined cruelty. In that his accusers were mistaken, for in a desperate emergency, or a mortal exigency, it became necessary to conceal or smother feel- ings of despair or want of confidence in the condition of the patient. If he gave vent to his feelings of sympathy, or displayed in any manner, however slight, lack of confidence in the success of his treatment all would be lost. Cowardice is infectious, courage
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and determination can be counted upon to end in success. Like the hero in the "Fencing Master":
If success you would win and wear, You must carry your sword in hand. You must fight for it, you must die for it; Lay down life at its command.
Unaided by consultation and illy provided with instruments, medicines and remedies, he fought a brave fight with disease and death. It is not to be assumed that these physicians were fault- less, or worthy of imitation in all of their conduct and lives; yet it is confidently claimed that they were brave, self-reliant and de- termined men, doing a laborious, important and often unrequited duty. Truly the pioneer physicians and those of the present day are worthy of a prominent place of honor, without individualizing or personally naming any one to the exclusion of another, in the annals of the county.
FIRST PHYSICIANS IN STEUBEN.
With Captain Williamson came Dr. Stockton, of New Jersey, and Dr. Schultze, a German. They were prominent, probably be- cause the only ones. Dr. Stockton settled at the mouth of a creek flowing into the Cohocton river, about two miles below the village of Bath. This creek is now called "Stocking" creek. Such is fame.
It is not the purpose of this work to mention the school or cult with which any individual physician sympathized, adhered to or practiced under-each, with his patients, had his ideas of which was best, and pursued it. To have a good knowledge of the nature, constitution and care of the body and mind of mankind in general was the first and most difficult acquisition. It began with the ancient delver, Hippocrates, before the birth of the Chris- tian era. A famous Greek physician, surnamed "the Father of Medicine," he is said to be the author of many surviving works- notably, treatises on "Ancient Medicines," "Diagnosis," "Epi- demics," "Treatment of Acute Diseases," and tracts on joints, fractures, wounds and surgical instruments; also, the "Oath and Law of the Guild." To understand and be familiar with the dis- coveries of William Harvey as to the circulation of the blood, and his essays on the motion of the heart and blood, and with the achievements of Edward Jenner for the protection and ameliora- tion of the human race a century ago, and the labor of Pasteur in the same direction for a like purpose, are now necessary fields of knowledge. Medicine is not yet an exact science; its disciples must be learned people, laboriously watching and studying and in- dustriously investigating each individual case, and, if possible, de- termining the cause of the trouble and the proper remedy for re- lief. Now the many notable medical schools and surgical insti- tutes, manned by the brightest minds and equipped with all the latest aids, information, inventions and investigations of the pres- ent age, afford invaluable assistance to the industrious and patient seeker for light to advance him in the most sacred occupation open to mortals. Such a profession is no place for augurs or charletans.
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EDUCATING THE COUNTRY DOCTOR.
Previous to the beginning of the nineteenth century the state of New York had done very little to encourage the science of medi- cine and surgery. In the New England states and Pennsylvania were at that day several celebrated medical schools. Very few young men had the time and means to go from their homes in western New York to those eities to fit and qualify themselves for a profession which afforded so little remuneration or indueement. The nearest medical school to Steuben county at that time was the medical department of the Fairfield Academy, in Herkimer county, New York, an excellent and meritorious institution, from which many skilful and learned medical meu were graduated. In that day the prevailing custom was for the young man who aspired to he a doctor of medicine to enter the office or residence (frequently both) of some worthy physician in his vicinity, and there read, study and make himself familiar for two or three years with the books of his preceptor's library, during that period accompanying him in his professional visits, and if very fortunate during his tutelage season, listening to the leetures and demonstrations of some competent person. At the close of his days of study and tutelage, and with the advice and consent of his instructor the young doctor would seek out a promising location and go to work in his most noble and useful field.
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