USA > New York > Courts and lawyers of New York; a history, 1609-1925, Volume II > Part 45
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Judicial Department, and served until December 31, 1909. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1894.
Garret James Garretson was born at Newtown, New York, July 16, 1847, and was educated at Flushing Institute. He was admitted to the bar in 1869. He was Surrogate in 1880, County Judge 1885-96, and Justice of the Supreme Court 1896-1910, and was reelected in 1910, and retired December 31, 1917, on reaching the age limit. He died July 9, 1922.
Michael Henry Hirschberg was born in Newburgh, New York, April 12, 1847; graduated Newburgh Academy, 1862; read law in private office; was admitted to bar in 1868; was Special County Judge of Orange County in 1875; District Attorney for three terms, was delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1894; and was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, in 1896. He was designated to the Appellate bench by Governor Roosevelt in 1900, and was appointed Presiding Justice, Second Department, by Governor Odell in 1904. He served as such until 1910, but was transferred to the Ninth Judicial District, of the Second Judicial Department, in 1907, and retired on December 31, 1917, on reaching the age limit.
Josiah Taylor Marean was born in Maine, Broome County, New York, April 30, 1842. He graduated at State Normal School, Albany, in 1862; was admitted to bar in 1866, and from 1867 to 1899 he practiced law in Brooklyn. He was District Attorney of Kings County in 1897, and became a Justice of the Supreme Court on January 1, 1899. He reached the age limit in 1912. He died February 8, 1922.
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their own handwriting, though it was not until 1908 that the typewriter displaced pen and ink for these important record- ings. Much more than 100,000 wills have been probated in the Surrogate's Court of Kings County, during the one hun- dred and thirty-eight years of its existence.
Many changes have taken place in the business methods of this court during the last thirty-five years. In 1889 the court occupied the easterly side of the lower floor of the Hall of Records. The surrogate's bench faced the westerly side, making discernment of faces difficult in glaring sunlight. Improvement came under Surrogate Abbott, who moved the bench to the southerly end of the room. The business offices of the court were quite inadequate at that time, and the em- barrassment of officials in transacting business increased until in 1902, the building was extended to Livingston Street. The enlargement brought rearrangement of quarters, and the Sur- rogate's Court was given the entire second floor. The old wooden file boxes and closets gave way to fireproof boxes
Almet Francis Jenks was born in Brooklyn, May 21, 1853. After grad- uating from Yale in 1875, he studied law at Columbia College Law School, graduating in 1877, in which year he was admitted to the bar. He was Assistant District-Attorney, Kings County, 1884-86; Corporation Counsel of Brooklyn, 1886-93; Judge-Advocate-General of New York. 1891-95; member Constitutional Convention, 1894; Assistant Corporation Counsel, Greater New York, in charge of Brooklyn office, 1898; Justice Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, for full term of fourteen years from 1898, and was reelected in 1912 for further term. He was appointed to Appellate Division, Second Department, in 1900, became Presiding Justice of it in 19II, and served in that responsibility until 1921, when he resigned. He died September 18, 1924.
William Joseph Kelly was born in Brooklyn April 13, 1860. He was educated in Brooklyn schools; was admitted to the bar in 1881, and prac- ticed in New York and Brooklyn until 1903, when he was elected to the bench of the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District. He was reelected in 1917, and in 1919 became Presiding Justice of the Second Judicial Depart- ment, Appellate Division.
Joseph Arthur Burr, also a native of Brooklyn, born September II, 1850, was educated at Yale and Columbia, graduating from Columbia Law School in 1873. He began to practice law in Brooklyn in 1874. Twenty-two years later, in 1896, he became Corporation Counsel. In 1904 he was elected Justice of the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, and was
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and cabinets, and the difficulties of filing, indexing, accessi- bility and preservation were reduced to the minimum. The longest will contest recorded in Kings County was concern- ing the will of James Stewart; it began on November 1, 1888; was closed on September 12, 1889; the record contained 2,430 printed pages, in four quarto volumes; and more than one hundred witnesses were examined, many several times re- called. The extent of the work of the Surrogate's Court may be gauged by the following statistics : During the year ended December 31, 1894, 15,156 folios of testimony were taken; in the year ended December 31, 1910, 14,966 folios were taken; and the yearly average over the seventeen years period was 13,070 folios. The increase since has been proportionate with the growth of the city. The present surrogate is George A. Wingate, who was elected in 1919 for a term of six years. If the judiciary bill of 1925 should be approved by the people, however, the surrogates of the counties of Bronx, Kings and Queens, as well as New York, will be elected for a term of
designated to Appellate Division, Second Department, in 1908. He died April 18, 1915.
Joseph Aspinall, who was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court, Sec- ond Judicial District, in 1906, for fourteen years from January I, 1907, graduated from Columbia Law School in 1875. He was member of Assem- bly, 1888-89; of State Senate, 1892-93, and County Judge of Kings County, 1896-97.
Frederick Evan Crane, a graduate of Columbia Law School, was admit- ted to the bar in 1889, in which year he graduated. He practiced in Brook- lyn until 1901; was County Judge, Kings County, 1901-06, and was a Justice of the Supreme Court, Second District, 1907-17. In 1917 he was promoted to the Court of Appeals, being designated by the Governor on January 16, 1917, in place of Frank H. Hiscock, who became Chief Judge. Judge Crane was elected for full term in 1920 as an Associate Judge.
Edward Beers Thomas was born in Cortland, New York, August 4, 1848. Educated at Yale, class of 1870, he was admitted to bar in that year. He was State Senator, 1881-85; removed from Norwich to Brooklyn in 1885; was United States District Judge, Eastern District of New York, 1898-1906; Justice of Supreme Court of New York, Second District, from 1907 to December 31, 1918, when he reached the age limit.
Townsend Scudder was born at Northport, Suffolk County, New York, July 26, 1865; graduated in law from Columbia in 1888; was Counsel of Queens County, 1896-1900; Member of Congress, 1889-1901, and 1903-05;
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fourteen years. Section 13 of said bill has a paragraph which reads: "The Legislature may provide for the election of an additional surrogate in any county having a population of more than one million." Kings and New York are the only counties that come into this category.
QUEENS COUNTY.
Queens County, one of the original twelve county divisions organized on November 1, 1683, had an original area of 250,000 acres, or 396 square miles. Its area in 1920 was 105 square miles. As originally subdivided, Queens County had five townships : Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, Hempstead and Oyster Bay. North Hempstead was separated from Hemp- stead in 1784, and these two townships, with Oyster Bay, were taken away from Queens in 1899 to create Nassau County. Newtown included all of the present Long Island City, as well as the Second Ward of Queens Borough, and in
and was elected in November, 1906, to bench of Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, for term that expired in 1920.
Lester Williams Clark was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, January 22, 1854; graduated at Harvard in 1875; and in law at Columbia in 1878. Admitted to bar in 1878, and practiced in New York until 1907, when he became Supreme Court Justice, Second District, and served until December 31, 1920. He died September 22, 1922.
William John Carr, born in Brooklyn, October 10, 1862; admitted to bar in 1884, and practiced at Brooklyn; became an authority on corpo- ration law. Was Clerk of Supreme Court, Kings County, 1891; Commis- sioner, U. S. Circuit Court, Brooklyn, 1895; Assistant Corporation Counsel of New York, 1898, and Justice of the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District, in 1907. He was designated to the Appellate Division, Supreme Court, Second Department, in 1910. He died August 5, 1917.
Luke D. Stapleton, born at Brooklyn, December II, 1869, was student at New York University Law School in 1891; was First Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of New York, 1898-1901. He was appointed to Supreme Court, by Governor Hughes, on March 10, 1908, and was elected in Novem- ber of same for full term of fourteen years. He was designated to the Appellate Division, Second Department, in 1914. Resigned from the Supreme Court in 1917 and resumed practice. He died February 12, 1923.
Harrington Putnam was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, June 29, 1851, scion of an illustrious family. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1876; was admitted to bar in same year, and practiced in New York and Brooklyn. He was appointed to the Supreme Court bench, Second District, in 1909, and was elected in 1910, and was twice designated to the
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1683 its population was ninety families. The other townships were those that constituted the north riding of Yorkshire.
During the period of the North Riding (1665-1683) courts were held at Jamaica. In January, 1666, the Sessions House and prison was built in Jamaica, the people of that village agreeing to keep it in good repair if they might have the use of it on Sundays for religious meetings. This county building served the North Riding, and the subsequent Queens County until 1710, before it had reached such a state of dilapidation that the supervisors deemed it better to build anew than to repair it. They were authorized to sell the old building and purchase a new one. However, no action seems to have been taken, for as late as 1724 "the Assembly passed an act author- izing the justices to repair, furnish and complete the build- ings as they stood." The prison was no longer secure; in 1738 two prisoners "broke jail," and thereafter such occur- rences were not infrequent. During the Revolution the old
Appellate Division, Second Department, before he reached the age limit at the end of 1921.
Isaac M. Kapper was born in New York in 1864. He practiced law in Brooklyn, and in 1910 was elected to Supreme Court bench, Second District, for full term of fourteen years. He is still serving, having been reëlected. He was designated to the Appellate Division, Second Department, in 1923.
Abel Edward Blackmar was born at Newark, New York, August 21, 1852. He studied at Hamilton and Columbia Colleges, graduating in law from the latter in 1878. Practiced in New York until 1908, when he was elected to bench of Supreme Court, Second District, for term that expired 1922. He was designated to Appellate Division, Second Department, in 1918, and was Presiding Justice in 1921 and 1922. He reached the retiring age in 1922.
James C. Cropsey was Counsel to Brooklyn Police Department under administration of Mayor Schieren; became Commissioner of Police of New York, in 1910, and in 1916 was elected to Supreme Court bench, Second Judicial District, for fourteen years.
Norman Staunton Dike was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Brown University and in law from Columbia. He was Judge-Advocate- General of New York in 1894, and was prominent with Mr. Gaynor, in the action against McKane. He was Sheriff of Kings County in 1903; became County Judge in 1906, by appointment, and for six years, by elec- tion, in 1917. In 1919 he was elected to the Supreme Court bench, Second Judicial District, and his term expires in 1934.
The names and dates of appointment or election of the other justices of the Supreme Court are given in Note I.
JAMES C. CROPSEY
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court house was torn down by British soldiers, who needed the lumber for the construction of barracks and huts for the soldiers who were stationed in and near Jamaica.
Military courts and prisons were the vogue during the Revolutionary period, and for some time after peace was declared prisoners had to be guarded by militia units until · they could be sent to New York for incarceration in a secure prison. In 1784 the old Presbyterian Church in Jamaica was used as a court house, and in that consecrated building two robbers were tried and sentenced to be hanged.
In 1784 a movement to bring about the erection of a court house and jail on Hempstead Plains was initiated. The oppo- sition by Jamaica villagers, however, was strong. Neverthe- less, on March 3, 1785, the Legislature decided in favor of the former, and authorized the erection of court house and jail upon a site in the geographical centre of the county, or "within a mile of the Windmill Pond, at or near the house of Ben- jamin Cheeseman near the south bounds of North Hemp-
14. The most notable trial in Brooklyn and one of the most conspicuous in the United States, was that of Theodore Tilton against Henry Ward Beecher for $100,000 damages for the alleged alienation of his wife's affec- tions. Hints of a great scandal had appeared in a Wall Street paper, and finally the open charge was made of improper relations between Mrs. Tilton and the greatest preacher of the nineteenth century. The charge was care- fully examined by an investigating committee of Plymouth Church, whose report, exonerating their pastor, was unanimously adopted by the church members. A Congregational Council was then called to meet in Brooklyn, the largest and most distinguished in the annals of Congregationalism. Its Moderator was the Rev. Leonard W. Bacon; and, after an exhaustive examination, the Council declared its unanimous belief in the falsity of the accusation and declined to withdraw the right hand of fellowship. Undis- mayed by these manifestations the support for the accused, Tilton deter- mined to try conclusions by an action at law, and selected the City (not the Supreme) Court for the theatre of action. The suit opened by the service of summons and complaint about August 17, 1874, and the answer was veri- fied about ten days later. Then followed an application for a bill of par- ticulars, which was denied by the Special Term. An appeal was taken to the General Term of the City Court, which sustained the decision. The defendant then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the action of the City Court. A second application was sustained by the Special Term, but the order was reversed by the General Term, and the defendant's appeal to the Court of Appeals from this decision was denied. This consumed
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stead." Meanwhile, it was ordered that the court sessions should be held at Jamaica. The county building was erected and the jail occupied in 1787, Queens County prisoners in that year being transferred from the New York City jail.
The first capital case tried in the new court house was that before Judge Robert Yates, of the Supreme Court, in Febru- ary, 1790, when two negresses, slaves, were convicted of arson and sentenced to be hanged on Friday, October 15, "at some public place in the neighborhood of the court house." On June II, 1791, Johan Hallett, the sheriff, "was paid eleven pounds and eight shillings for executing a wench, Nelly, and whipping sundry persons." Capital punishment was the penalty for many crimes that would now be among lesser offenses. On October 13, 1740, Richard Combs was hanged for burglary ; the same fate for a like offense befell William Guthrie and Joseph Alexander on November 2, 1784. All were hanged at Jamaica. Nellie, a slave, was hanged on Oc-
several weeks, and public opinion, which was largely on the side of Mr. Beecher, was weakened by what seemed to be dilatory tactics. Both sides were represented by most distinguished counsel. On behalf of Mr. Tilton were arrayed William A. Beach, a recent recruit from the Troy bar ; Wil- liam Fullerton, ex-Judge Roger E. Pryor, Samuel D. Morris, and Thomas E. Pearsall, the firm of Morris & Pearsall acting as the plaintiff's attorney. Representing Mr. Beecher were Thomas G. Shearman and John W. Ster- ling, the firm of Shearman and Sterling acting as defendant's attorneys, with William M. Evarts, afterwards United States Senator; John K. Porter, an ex-judge; Austin Abbott, brother of Lyman Abbott, Mr. Beecher's suc- cessor as pastor of Plymouth Church; Benjamin F. Tracy, afterwards a Judge of the Court of Appeals and Secretary of the Navy; and John L. Hill. Actively assisting these, though their names do not appear in the rec- ord, were Dr. Rossiter W. Raymond and Horatio C. King, then a young attorney. The City Court was composed of three judges: Joseph Neilson, Chief Judge; George G. Reynolds, and Alexander McCue. The calendar was called by Judge McCue, who was expected to try the case, but assigned to it at Judge Neilson's request to the latter, much to the disappointment of the best-informed lawyers, who regarded McCue, by reason of his younger age, keener insight and quick action, as better qualified to expedite what promised to be a lengthy trial, unless handled with firmness and prompt decision. Exceptions to this removal were overruled, and on January 5, 1875, Attorney Morris opened the case for the plaintiff. Several days were consumed in securing a jury, many men of high standing in the community being summarily challenged and rejected. The jury, as finally obtained,
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tober 15. 1790, for setting afire the house of Town Clerk Vanderbilt, which fire destroyed all of the town records.
For those awaiting trial, court days were hardly times of rejoicing; but for the general public the ceremonial that usually attended the coming of the Supreme Court justice, with all the glamour that villagers might feel when in the presence of the famous lawyers who usually "rode the cir- cuit," was such as to bring to the county town all who were able to come. It was a gala day,15 and no more riotous in New York State than such court days, or court weeks, were in the more sedate Massachusetts. The tavern keepers profited most by such gatherings, and at times the hilarity was apt to get beyond control. The unfortunate pilloried offenders and those in the stocks on such days had to live through it as best they could ; and whippings no doubt added to the excitements that followed these gala days. The last public whipping in Queens County took place in October, 1810, it is recorded.
On January 1, 1898, the townships of Flushing, Jamaica,
consisted of Chester Carpenter, foreman; Griffin B. Halstead, Henry Thyer, George Hull, Christopher Fitter, Samuel Flate, A. R. Case, Edward Wheelan, William H. Davis, John F. Taylor, William T. Jeffrey, and John McMurn.
Ninety working days were consumed in the trial, much more time being occupied in interminable discussions on the admission of evidence than in the taking of testimony. It was not until July 24, 1875, that Judge Neil- son delivered his charge to the jury, when the weary twelve men were locked up for deliberation. Several days passed, the air being filled with rumors altogether mere guesswork-the jury being closely guarded-but Judge Neil- son refused to discharge them until further effort was made to arrive at a' verdict. On July Ist eleven of the jury sent a signed letter to the judge, saying it was impossible to agree, but one juror, John F. Taylor, urged a further continuance of their deliberations, stating that he felt they could profitably stay out longer. But on July 2 all the jury filed into court and stated that it was impossible to reach a verdict. They stood nine for the defendant, Mr. Beecher, and three for the plaintiff, Mr. Tilton. It was reported that at one period of their long confinement, they stood eleven for the defendant and one for the plaintiff. The feeling of disappointment in the court room was very keen and unmistakable that the jury had not promptly affirmed the innocence of the distinguished divine; and Judge Neilson himself, after the disagreement, expressed his unshaken confidence
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Newtown and Long Island City were consolidated with New York City, and became the borough of Queens; so that tech- nically Queens Borough is the county seat of Queens County ; but it may be deemed that Long Island City is the county seat. It was made so in 1874, and the courts are still held in that part of Queens. The Legislature in 1872 decided that the new county building for Queens County should be erected in Long Island City. The expenditure of $150,000 was author- ized, and the supervision of the work was vested in a com- mission of seven: Edward A. Lawrence, Carmen Cornelius, Robert Burroughs, Isaac Coles, Isaac H. Cocks, George H. Hunder and James Nostrand. The site was the square at the junction of Thomson and Jackson avenues. The court house erected was an imposing structure. It was not possible. however, to complete it without an additional appropriation. Altogether, the building cost was $276,000. The work was not carried to completion by the commissioners originally appointed, for when it became known that the first $150,000
in his innocence of the charge, stating to the writer as the crowd was leav- ing the court room that the fault lay in the selection of the jury. He evidently referred to the attitude of one of the jurymen who, after being sworn in and the trial was well under way, it was discovered, had frequently characterized Mr. Beecher as a sensationalist and mountebank. The infor- mation was communicated to the defendant's counsel, but they deemed it inexpedient to interrupt the trial. This one man was responsible for the disagreement.
The "Eagle," which was, throughout the legal contest and until his death the zealous friend and supporter of Mr. Beecher, made a very full report of the proceedings, which were a leading feature of the daily news in all the local papers throughout the six months. The action was never again pressed for trial. . Tilton, some years after the disagreement, went to Paris, where he resided in the Latin Quarter, and died their six or eight years ago (1903 or 1905) .- The "Brooklyn Eagle," issue of October 26, I9II, P. 3.
15. "On court days there was usually considerable excitement about the house and grounds. Farmers and others often made a holiday of it. Many resorted thither to transact business and meet acquaintances. Stands and booths for the sale of oysters, cake and beer, and other refreshments, abounded. Hilarity went beyond due bounds, according to a complaint made to General Jay, by Cadwallader D. Colden, Assistant Attorney-General (January 29, 1799), wherein he says that 'The court in Queens County is at all times the least orderly of any court I ever was in. The entry of the
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had been expended while the structure was still not much more than half completed, the commissioners were displaced by the supervisors of the county. Possession of the com- pleted building was taken by county officials in April, 1877. The edifice was three stories high, giving quarters for sheriff and supervisors on first floor, and courtrooms on second floor. In the rear was the jail. In 1903 this building was burned.
Queens County is one of the most rapidly-increasing sec- tions of Greater New York. Between 1920 and 1924 its popu- lation has increased more than 50 per cent, according to local estimates. Within a decade it will probably reach the priv- ileged status now possessed only by New York and Kings counties, and have more than a million inhabitants. Its growth at present is so rapid, that it is difficult to follow all the changes. In at least one department of Queens County, however, there has been little change during the last twenty years. County Judge Burt J. Humphrey, who was first elected in 1903, still presides over the Queens County Court; and Daniel Noble has presided over the Surrogate's Court for twenty-six years-since 1898.
At foot is given the list of county judges16 of Queens County since 1691, when Thomas Hicks became first judge of
court house is lined on court days with the stalls of dram sellers and filled with drunken people, so as to be almost impassable.' About 1825-27, when the sheriff was prohibited from selling liquors in the courthouse, he evaded the law by erecting a shed against the front of the building, and so sold liquors and passed it through a window into the courthouse."-"History of Queens County, New York," 1882, p. 52.
16. Judges, Queens County Courts-Under the Dongan Act of 1683, the County of Queens came into existence, taking all of the north riding of the shrievalty of Yorkshire, and Newtown. Courts of Sessions were held. In 1691, under William and Mary, and a new judicial code, Courts of Common Pleas were erected. The succession of Queens County judges of the Court of Common Pleas and its successor, the County Court, is as follows: Thomas Hicks, 1691; John Coe, 1699; Thomas Willett, 1702; John Coe, 1710; Thomas Willett, 1723; Isaac Hicks, 1730; David Jones, 1734; Isaac Hicks, 1738; James Hazzard, 1740; Thomas Hicks, 1748; John Lloyd, 1784; Ben- jamin Coe, 1793; John W. Seaman, 1806; Cary Dunn, Jr., 1809; Effing- ham Lawrence, 1818; James Lent, 1823; Singleton Mitchell, 1829; Ben-
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