Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 145

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360

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Judge Tracy, in pronouncing the opinion of the Court, said : " The defendant had intrusted the execution of the contract, to safely carry the plaintiff to his destination, to the driver of the car, and he was under his protection. Any breach of contract committed by the driver was a breach committed by the defend- ant, the railroad company. The plaintiff was injured while on the defendant's cars by the act of the driver, the agent to whom the defendant had intrusted the execution of the contract. It is the defendant's failure to carry safely and without injury that constitutes the breach, rendering tho railroad company liable for damages; and it is no defense that that failnro was the result of tho willful or malicious act of the servant, the driver and conductor."

The following are among the cases in which Judge Tracy wrote opinions-nearly all of them the prevailing opinion Faricell et al. v. The Traders' National Bank, applt., 90th N. Y. 483; Manning v. Gould, 90th N. Y., 476; Ellis v. Horrman, 9th N. Y., 466; Holsman v. St. John, 90th N. Y., 461; Everson v. Powers, 89th, N. Y., 527; Conger v. Duryee, 90th N. Y., 594.

In private life Judge Tracy is social and hospitable. No man enjoys the society of his friends more fully. It has been sni l that "without a social side, or social nature, there is wanting that rounded fullness that marks tho perfectly developed man, judge, lawyer or layman." In his domestic relations, Jade Tracy is fortunate and happy, and is not wanting a social sido or a social nature, for in them he is peculiarly fortunate And happy.

In 1850 he was united by marriage to Miss Delinda E. Catlin, a sister of General Isaac S. Catlin, ex-District Attorney of the County of Kings, and one of tho ablest members of its Bar. Judge 'Tracy has three children, two daughters and a son.

Like many men distingnished for high intellectual qualities. Judge Tracy is fond of agricultural pursuits. Few men are better judges of the blood, breed and valuo of live stock than he. and he is an acknowledged authority in theso important matters

In the interim of professional and judicial labor, he has spent much time in the superintendence and cultivation of a fert lo

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and delightful farm near Owego, New York. After retiring from the Bench in 1882, as he could not resist his love for the profes- sion, he decided to resume it again; accordingly he formed a copartnership with William C. De Witt, Esq., and his son, F. B. Tracy, and opened an office in Brooklyn. This was an advantageous and fortunate business relation, combining a strength and variety of talent, learning and influence which gives it high rank in the profession, and is justly appreciated at home and abroad.

Unfortunately for Judge Tracy, his devotion to his judicial la- bors and duties impaired his health to such an extent that he was incapacitated for business; but a total abnegation from all busi- ness for a time, judicious medical treatment, and a tour to Europe nearly restored him to health; and he is once more in the discharge of those professional duties he loves so well, and by which he has gained the high honors he so enjoys.

JOHN WINSLOW.

THE professional life of John Winslow covers an important period in the history of Kings County, especially its legal history, and deserves a place in this work. Born of New England parentage, his youth and early manhood were passed in Massa- chusetts, in Newton, near Boston. After attending public schools, he entered the private school of Mr. M. S. Rice, at Newton Centre; and, afterwards that of his brother, Gardner Rice, known as the Holliston Academy. Upon determining to prepare for college, he entered Phillip's Academy at Andover, Mass., then, as now, a celebrated classical school, and remained there two years. Mr. Winslow refers to his life at Andover with pleasure. He attended the recent centennial of Phillip's Academy, and made an address, which is to be published by the corpora- tion, with others delivered on that occasion. Mr. Winslow entered Brown University, being attracted there by Dr. Wayland, the then President, for whom Mr. Winslow ever entertained the greatest respect and regard. In September, 1850, Mr. Winslow entered Harvard Law School, at Cambridge, Mass., where he remained two years and graduated, receiving the degree of LL.B. While at the law school his most intimate friend and room-mate was the Hon. E. L. Pierce, of Milton, Mass., the biographer of Charles Sumner.

When in the law school, Pierce and Winslow become well known, not only as faithful students, but as pronounced anti- slavery men. In the debates, in what was known as the Parlia- ment, they were expected to maintain the Anti-slavery Free Soil side of all questions touching that issue.

At that time there were many students in the law school from the South, who were fiery advocates of the Southern view. It was then the fashion for Northern men to advocate or apolo- gize for the same vicw. The result was, Pierce and Winslow became rather marked men among the multitude, as composing the free soil minority. When the time came for writing prize dissertations, the Southern students, who were generally ambitious, entered the race for the prizes. Pierce and Winslow thought the minority ought to be heard from, and so agreed to write; Mr. Pierce taking one topic, "The consideration of a Con- tract at Law and Equity;" and Mr. Winslow the other, " The responsibility of a Principal for the Acts and representations of his Agents." The minority, that had been so often pitched into in debates, had the grim satisfaction of winning the prizes. In this connection Mr. Winslow had the pleasure of receiving a letter of congratulation from the late Professor Theophilus Parsons, then of the law school, and author of "Parsons on Contracts" and other well known legal works. Professor Parsons availed himself of both dissertations in writing his work on Contracts.

Upon leaving the law school, Mr. Winslow was admitted to the Bar in Brooklyn, in 1852, and commenced the practice of

law with his late brother, Hon. D. C. Winslow. In the follow- ing year he was appointed Assistant District Attorney, when Gen. Harmanus B. Duryea was District Attorney. The latter's health not being firm, Mr. Winslow had thrown upon him large responsibilities, which, with the energy of young manhood to aid him, he was glad to assume. In 1855 Mr. Winslow was appointed Corporation Attorney, at the request of Mayor George Hall, whose legal adviser he was during the Mayor's term. In 1859 Mr. Winslow was elected, on the Republican ticket, Dis- trict Attorney of Kings County for a term of three years, begin- ning January 1st, 1860. It is the testimony of the Bar, and of the Press, that Kings County never had a more faithful and cffi- cient District Attorney.

"We have had repeatedly," says the Brooklyn Eagle, February 11, 1861, speaking of his success and ability in the discharge of his duties in his first term, "the satisfaction of commending the vigor with which public justice has been administered by the public prosecutor of this county, and the list of public offenders who have been punished, will tend to enforce the solemn truth that the way of the transgressor is hard, especially under the regime of District Attorney Winslow and Judge Garrison. The whole number of convictions within the year was 315; and, among the criminals who have been convicted, were several notorious offenders, now doing the State some service at Sing Sing. The number of persons acquitted on trial was but fourteen -- a fact which forcibly shows two things: that few innocent persons have been subjected to prosecution, and that few guilty ones have escaped their deserts. It is a remarkable fact that of the whole number of persons tried under indictments last year in the city of New York, one in every five was acquitted; while in Brooklyn the ratio was but one in twenty-three." This statement, it will be observed, was for one year only, and is certainly very remarkable ; but it is still more remarkable, that the record of the convictions in Kings County, for every year that Mr. Winslow held the office, compares favorably with that.

In 1866 he formed a copartnership with Hon. Joshua M. Van Cott. This firm, their office being at 54 William street, New York, became one of the most distinguished in the city; the versatility of talent which it combined admirably fitted it for its large and extended clientage, each member of the firm bringing to it a degree of learning, patient industry and legal ability of the highest order. The records not only of the courts of New York City, but of Kings County, and other parts of the State, show the large amount and great importance of their business. This firm existed through the unusually long period of seventeen years. The reports of cases adjudicated in tho Court of Appeals and in the Supreme Court, as well as in the City and County Courts, illustrate their success in conducting litigation.

Among these cases was that of Hope vs. English, a libel suit; and the case of Sage vs. The City of Brooklyn (see "Important Trials"). Both of these cases were of unusual interest; the latter was very important to the owners of real estate in the city of Brooklyn under tax and assessment laws. It is just to MIr. Winslow to say that the management of these cases was, in a large measure, assigned to him alone; in both of them he was eminently successful.

In the spring of 1874 a vacancy occurred in the office of District Attorney, by the resignation of Thomas M. Rodman, and Mr. Winslow was appointed by Governor Dix in his place; his appointment dates May 9, 1874. The selection of Mr. Winslow to this office at this time, when several important indictments against publie officers were pending, was highly complimentary to him as a lawyer. The successful manner in which Mr. Winslow, as the prosecuting officer of tho county, conducted the trials of these indictments, proved him to be a faithful, independent and valuable public servant. These trials, which created much public excitement, as they involved the

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reputations of several public functionaries, upheld by powerful friends, who wielded much influence in the community, required of the public prosecutor courage and perseverance. The administration of this responsible office is necessarily aggressive and difficult; it is, or should be, regarded as quasi- judicial, requiring its incumbent to temper justice with mercy, and a clear, prompt and decisive application of legal know- ledge to the questions that arise before him.

Happily, Mr. Winslow brought to this office all these endow- ments.

His high reputation as a lawyer, his acknowledged abilities as a scholar, and the purity of his character as a private citizen, brought him so prominently before the public that, in the autumn of 1873, he was nominated by the Republicans of the 2d Judicial District for the office of Judge of the Supreme Court.

His party was largely in the minority, and though not elected, there was much in the result of the canvass, especially the large vote he received, that was gratifying to him-much that evinced his popularity as a man and as a lawyer.

In politics, Mr. Winslow is a Republican; though firm and undeviating in his principles, he is not aggressive. He very early allied himself with the friends of free soil and the oppo- nents of slavery ; on the breaking out of the Rebellion, few were more earnest and influential in the great work of preserving the Union than he. Though he did not enter the army, in his office of District Attorney, which he held when the war began, and as a publie speaker, he rendered services quite as important in the work of sustaining the government, by his eloquence, his vigorous and versatile pen, his influence and his means.

Soon after the dastardly attack of Preston S. Brooks upon Senator Sumner, an immense indignation meeting was held in the City Hall, in Brooklyn, for the purpose of denouncing the unprovoked and cruel assault on the illustrious Senator fron Massachusetts. It was one of the largest meetings ever as- sembled in Brooklyn. A series of stirring resolutions were adopted, and Mr. Winslow, being introduced by the chairman- the Mayor of the eity-advocated their adoption, in a speech which was not only warmly applauded, but produced a marked effect.

It was made at that period in the history of the Republic when patriotism is eloquent; when self-devotion is eloquent; when opposition to high-handed eneroachment upon the rights of others is eloquent. Mr. Winslow's speech was marked by clear conception, by sound reason, by stirring, impetuous and irresistible appeal, and by the fearless instincts of a patriot, as pleasing in diction as it was strong in argument. One of Mr. Winslow's most impressive efforts during the Civil War, was made at Fort Hamilton in May, 1861, on the occasion of the renewal of the oath of allegiance ot the officers and men who had recently formed the garrison at Fort Sumter, in obedience to an order of the Secretary of War. At the tap of the drum the battle-scarred veterans formed in line and marehed towards one end of the Fort, where they were drilled by Capt. Doubleday. It was un impressive scene, the drilling of those men, begrimed by the smoke of Sumter as its walls ernmbled around them, under the fire of rebel batteries. The drill over, the troops formed in line and came to a halt, when the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher offered a prayer, after which Mr. Winslow delivered a brief but impressive address, which touched all hearts. The occasion was well calculated to arouse every energy, every thought and feeling of an orator. At the conclu- sion of his speech, as District Attorney of Kings County Mr. Winslow administered the onth. It may well be said that the occasion was one of surpassing interest, and has passed into history.

Mr. Winslow is peculiarly happy as a speaker, not only at the Bar, but in the popular assembly; he always speaks to the point with animation, fervor and emphasis; his manner is uni-

fornily easy and natural, his diction chaste and unpretending, his gesticulation appropriate and impressive; never indulging in extravagant flights of imagination, giving utterance to eoarse invective or low and heartless ridicule, and never speaking merely for the purpose of display. At the Bar he always com- mands the respectful attention of the Court and jury. Space will not permit us even to allude to the large number of popular addresses of Mr. Winslow's on literary, scientific and educa- tional matters; these addresses alone, fairly reported, would form material for volumes. A few years ago there was a gather- ing of the old free soilers at Denners Landing, on the bay near Bosten. Charles Francis Adams presided; the occasion was a memorable one. Mr. Winslow's address on the attitude of John C. Calhoun towards the anti-slavery eause is spoken of as a masterly production. It is proper to add that he has been, and still is, a very active and industrious man; he wields the pen of an accomplished writer; and it is not extravagant to say that the productions of his pen have largely enriched the literature of his times. One of his latest contributions is an article on Rufus Choate in Judge Neilson's Memories of Cheate. In his student days, as we have seen, he achieved a triumph as a writer which would have been enviable to any law student.

Mr. Winslow has been largely identified with the organization of important public institutions in Brooklyn. He was one ot the five who signed the first eall for a public meeting te organize the Long Island Historical Society. The meeting met in the Hamilton Building, and was called to order by Mr. Winslow, who nominated Prof. C. E. West for chairman. He was for several years a Director and the Corresponding Secretary of the Society. And as chairman of the committee having charge of the matter relative to the motto of the Society for its senl, and which appears on the easterly wall of the Society's elegant building on Clinton street, adopted the following from Cicero, "Historia testis temporum." The flourishing New England Society in the city of Brooklyn, of which Mr. Winslow is a Director and first Vice-President, owes its existence to him mere than to any other one man. He was one of the original members of the Hamilton Club, of which he is a Director and is a member of its Executive Committee.

Mr. Winslow has just cause to feel some pride of ancestry; for, as Lord Bacon has said: "It is a reverend thing to see an ancient castle, or building not in deeay, or to see a fine timber- tree sound and perfect; how much more to behold an ancient noble family, which has stood against the waves and weathers of time !"'

lle can unerringly trace his genealogy on the paternal side to a very remote period of English history; and, as has well been said, "that of families bearing the Pilgrim name, there are none more identified with Pilgrim history than those of the honered name of Winslow; that the deseen lant Winslows may look with pride to their distinguished ancestors, who bore so important a part in planting the colony of New Plymouth." Edward Winslow, one of these ancestors, was one of the Pilgrims who landed from the Mayflower at Plymonth, Dec. 20, 1620 (O. S.) Ilis marriage with Mrs. White was the first that took place on the soil of New England; she was his second wife, and the widow of William White, one of the chief passengers of the Mayflower, who died about the 1st of March, 1621.

Edward Winslow, of Droitwich, England, was the father of the four brothers who came to l'lymouth, and became lea ling men, one of whom was Governor Winslow, and of the colony; from whom sprang a long line of honored descendants, among whom is Hon. John Winslow, whose biography we have thus imperfectly sketched. Mr. Winslow is still in the prime and vigor of manhood, possessing qualities that attract the highest esterm, and in the possession of that learning, ability and ex perience, which point to a fortunate, happy and prominent career in the future.

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BENJAMIN D. SILLIMAN.

Ir would be quite impossible to pursue the plan of our work without referring at some length to Mr. Silliman, at least to his public life; for that, like the lives of all public men, belongs to his fellow-citizens, and in this case to the profession of which he has been so long an honored member. It is, therefore, but an act of justice that we give some portions of his public life in this work, candidly, and with exact obedience to unvarnished facts.

His private life needs no description from us; it is written in the hearts and minds of his fellow-citizens in a better and stronger manner than could be done by the pen of the ablest writer. Besides, we lack that intimacy which would enable us to sketch it as it should be portrayed; yet we may venture the assertion that his professional and private life are in harmony.

Mr. Silliman was born at Newport, R. I., September 14, 1805. His father was Gold S. Silliman, of that place. His mother was Miss Hepsa Ely, daughter of Rev. David Ely, and a grand- daughter of Rev. Jedediah Mills. After due preparation he entered Yale College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1824. Mr. Silliman's father graduated at Yale in 1796; his grandfather, Gen. Gold S. Silliman, in 1752; his great-grand- father, Gen. Ebenezer Silliman, graduated at Yale in 1727. Mr. Silliman is also a nephew, we believe, of the late distinguished Professor Silliman. His maternal grandfather graduated at Yale in 1769, and his maternal great-grandfather in 1722. No name is more honored in the history of Yale College than that of Silli- man.

" Mr. Silliman," says his class biographer, "on leaving Yale College, pursued the study of law in the office of Chancellor Kent, and his son Wm. Kent, (afterwards a judge of the Supreme Court, ) in the city of New York. He was admitted to the Bar in May, 1829, and with the exception of a visit to Europe in 1848, has been steadily engaged in the practice of his profession in New York and Brooklyn from that time to the present. Though always taking a deep interest in politics, he has limited his par- ticipation therein mainly to the advocacy of principles through the press, and to services in conventions, State and National. He has generally declined public office, as inconsistent with his professional duties, though he has served in the Legislature, and as Attorney for the United States for the Eastern District of New York, which office he resigned in 1866; he was also ap- pointed, and acted, as a member of the Commission for the Re- vision of the Constitution of the State in 1873. He was nomi- nated by the Republican party as their candidate for Attorney- General in 1873, but the ticket (with the exception of two of the candidates, who had also been nominated by another party- the "Liberal Republican") was not successful.

The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on Mr. Silliman by Columbia College in 1873, and the like honorary degree was also conferred upon him by Yale College in 1874."

His characteristics as a lawyer-candidly presented-are ex- tended knowledge and a just estimate of fundamental prin- eiples; close acquaintance with cases and decisions; accuracy in forms and in the rules applicable both to the practice and the rights of the parties; indefatigable industry in his in- vestigations, which he conducts with clear discrimination and judgment. He states his points with singleness and perspicuity, sustaining them by fair and cogent argument, seldom failing to exhibit in their support the learning of the cases and the best reasoning of the judges. He is never guilty of unworthy finesse, of misrepresentation of facts, or of unjustifiable betrayal of the understanding into the power of misguided feeling; he is alike faithful to his client, the jury and the court, though by no means wanting in that policy and tact so necessary to the success- ful lawyer.

As a speaker at the Bar or in the public assembly, he has a full share of advantages, though he makes no pretension what- ever to oratory; indeed, he is unpretending in every phase of liíe, public or private.

A description of the important cases conducted by him in the various courts, State and Federal, would render this sketch too

voluminous; suffice it to say that the records of these courts, couched in plain, official language, form a valuable history of his career at the Bar. To say that Mr. Silliman is a polished scholar, with the instincts and tastes of a scholar, is only to reiterate what has been repeated of him by the press, by his contemporaries, and by the many public demonstrations of his scholarly attainments. His acquaintance with distinguished men, men of illustrious and historic name, has been, and still is, exceedingly large. His relation with Chancellor Kent, and his distinguished son, Judge William Kent, began when he was a student in their office; it ended only when death, the "great proprietor of life," removed those illustrious men from the world. These relations were reciprocal, and perhaps there is nothing that brings up so much pleasure from the past to Mr. Silliman as the memory of this friendship. Surely no man understood the character of the great commentator more thoroughly than he did; while his relations with Judge William Kent were very intimate, and their friendship mutually warm. This friendship was exhibited on the part of Judge Kent in many ways, prominently in a series of beautiful letters written by him, while traveling in Europe, to Mr. Silliman. In one of those letters he gave an admirable description of some of the English judges whom he met.

It is said by an excellent critic and litterateur that Judge Kent's letters to Mr. Silliman are most charming, and though all unstudied, and written in a sort of colloquial style, are yet masterpieces of English literature.

Judge Kent died at his country residence at Fishkill, Jannary 4, 1861. This sad event was the source of much grief to Mr. Silliman. The intelligence of his death reached the city of New York the next day, producing the most profound sorrow, not only with the members of the legal profession, but in all circles.

A meeting of the Bar called to express the feelings of the pro- fession on the death of their distinguished brother was held January 12, 1861; this meeting will always be remembered in legal history.

Hon. DANIEL P. INGRAHAM, of the Supreme Court, presided; the vice-presidents were Hon. SAMUEL R. BETTS, of the United States District Court ; Hon. MURRAY HOFFMAN, of the Superior Court ; Hon. GREENE C. BRONSON, ex-Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ; Hon. LEWIS B. WOODRUFF, of the Superior Court; Hon. CHARLES P. DALY, of the Common Pleas ; Hon. JOHN R. BRADY, of the Common Pleas ; DANIEL LORD, Esq. Secretaries: Hon. William Fullerton, Alexander Hamilton, Jr., J. C. Carter, Esq., and D. B. Eaton, Esq. After a series of resolutions had been presented to the meeting by John Van Buren, Mr. Silliman arose and moved their adoption. His address in doing this was an appropriate and feeling tribute to the memory of his distin- guished friend. He delineated the judicial and private character of Judge Kent in a manner so truthful that it was a perfect mental portrait. He said : " It might, perhaps, be difficult to say whether Judge Kent was more remarkable for his intellectual and professional or for his moral superiority; but that which, in this hour of bereavement, touches ns most nearly, is the sur- render which we must make to the remorseless grave of one whose gentle and generous naturc, whose genial sympathy, whose warm affections had so endeared him to us that our ad- miration of the lawyer, the jurist and the scholar was even exceeded by our attachment, by our love, for the man. He is cut off from us in the very glory of his manhood, with his faculties and his affections in the fullness of their strength and action ere age had dimmed their brilliancy, or impaired their power, or chilled their ardor.

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Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 145

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : Munsell Number of Pages: 1360

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360