USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Memorial history of Syracuse, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 53
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
pronounced it an evasion of the Constitution of the State, and was unmoved by the arguments in its favor urged by Senators of both parties. Tie was the author of the banking act passed in 1875. While in the Senate he was surprised by a movement of the military officers of Central New York to secure his appointment to the command of the Sixth Division of the National Guard on the resignation in 1874 of Major-General Barnum, in consequence of his removal from the State. Sen- ator Wood, though often applied to, would not consent to be his successor, and Governor Dix sent in his name for the Major-Generalship of that division without his concurrence. The Senate at once confirmed the nomination with much enthusiasm. Editorial congratulations poured in from every quarter. In a leading article on the subject the Albany Evening Journal used the following lan- guage, which illustrates the spirit of the press generally :
" It is not singular that the military element of Onondaga and Central New York should seek, as they have been seeking for months, the consent of Senator Wood to take their command. The plumes and the epaulettes are no work of his. But the solchers knew that whatever he undertakes he pushes with irrepressible energy; and if he had not trained on the tented field, or flashed his sword in the pageant of parade, they had seen his successful generalship in other spheres. If skill in tae- tics were an essential qualification then no man could surpass him. If understanding of strategy were needful then he was a master. If capacity for fighting were required then he was just the man. * * In the Legislature he has stood as a sort of a corps of observation, watching against im -. proper measures. He has deployed his forces against all forms of jobs. Ile has beat the long roll and mustered the columns whenever there was danger. Ile has posted his pickets, kept up his line of sentinels, slept on his arms, and has been constantly on the alert for every exigency.
The territory of the Sixth Division comprised the counties of Broome, Cayuga, Chenango. Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Seneca, Tioga, Tompkins, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, Ontario, Wayne, Jefferson, St. Lawrence, and Lewis. The able efficiency of Sena- tor Wood and his spotless public record had made a deep impression upon the minds of all who were desirous of a higher code of political ethics, especially those in the city of New York, who were seeking to purify the ermine and to alleviate the burdens of taxation. Soon after his appointment as Major-General, Senator Wood was the recipient, from the New York City Council of Political Re- form. of a costly sword, with the inscription on the blade : " May this sword be drawn only to enforce righteous laws," and with the engraved inscription on the box inclosing the sword : " Presented to Ma- jor-General Daniel P. Wood, by the New York City Council of Political Reform, in recognition of his eminent services in 1572, 1373, and 1874, as a member of the State Senate, in favor of reform legisla- tion, especially for the city of New York." The presentation was made by Judge Emutt, at a gather. ing of the prominent merchants, bankers, and lawyers of the metropolis, in an address containing this endorsement :
" The Governor having selected you for a responsible military office in the State, we, your friends, feel great pleasure in testifying to you the satisfaction that appointment gives us, and our sense of frielity with which you maintained the cause of reform and good government, and watched for the approach of the enemies of that cause, and served the State, perhaps, more efficiently than any other man in the Legislature during the period we have passed through, so full of events of in- portance, which have taxed the energies of men both in and out of the Legislature to prevent bad government, and bring us to the point we have reached in reform and reconstruction of municipal af- fairs."
The following is a passage in the felicitous response of General Wood on that occasion :
" I recall with the greatest pleasure and gratitude the conspicuous and efficient service per- formed by the New York Council of Political Reform with others, in the overthrow of that dynasty of corrupt and bad men, who had fastened like vampires upon the body politic of this great metrop- olis, consuming its substance, and wichling its vast political machinery and official patronage in such a manner as enabled it to subject to its blighting control the government and finances of the entire State; a dynasty so well entrenched and fortified that it had come to consider itself, and well nigh to be conceded to be, financially invincible and politically omnipotent. The endorsement of my political course by such a body of patriotic men, laboring thus unselfishly for the general good, had it been expressed in a less costly way, by a simple resolution of approved, would have been all, and more than all, my feeble efforts have deserved."
In 1869 the Trust and Deposit Company of Onondaga was organized with Mr. Wood as one of the Vice-Presidents, and his connection with that institution continued till his death. The company acts as an agent in making investments, as an administrator of estates, and has a depository for funds
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
and other valuables. After his retirement from the Senate till his death he was President of the Onondaga County Savings Bank, of which he was one of the incorporators in . 855. He was also a Director in the New York State Banking Company, incorporated in 1852, and re-organized under its present title twenty years afterward. He was President of the Highland Solar Salt Manufacturing Company, of which he was one of the organizers. He was prominently interested in the Genesee and Water Street Railroad, and in the railway running from Syracuse to its suburb, the village of Geddes, of both of which he was one of the originators. He was the principal owner in, and President and principal manager of the Metallic Burial Casket Manufacturing Company, of New York city, which presented to the government the casket for the remains of President Garfield. and the case. sent out for the bodies of the De Long Arctic Expedition. General Wood was a man of pleasing address and kindly disposition, and popular with all classes. His life was intertwined with the growth of Syracuse and its institutions in many ways. Of his children three died in infancy: the others are : Frank Wood ; Mary Clifton Wood, wife of Prof. George Williams, of Johns Hop- kins University ; and Cornelia Longstreet Wood, who married A. Ames Ilowlett, of Syracuse, and died May 4, 1890.
General Wood died at his residence in James street, of paralysis of the brain, on May 1, 1891, much lamented by all who knew him.
HAMILTON BURDICK was born at West Winfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., February II. 1816. His father, Adam Burdick, a native of Hopkinton, R. I., was born December 31. 1759. and at the age of sixteen entered the American army of the Revolution, serving three years in the ranks, and being under the command of Benedict Arnold at the time of Arnold's treacherous desertion to the British. In camp at West Point with Washington, he was brought into personal contact with the aids-de-camp Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton, after the latter of whom Hamilton Burdick was named. His mother, Lodema Lee, was born near Albany, N. Y., February 27, 1770, and was of the family from which sprang the distinguished Confederate. General Robert E. Lee.
At sixteen, after a somewhat desultory course of study at the local district school, Mr. Burdick determined upon securing a more thorough education, preparatory to the study and practice of the law, the profession he had even then resolved to follow. His family circumstances were of such a nature that he was at once thrown upon his own resources to obtain the means of prosecuting hi- studies, but by the exercise of a rigid economy, and by persevering and diligent effort, he was ena- bled to spend two years at the Bridgewater Academy and a year at the Hamilton Academy (now known as the Colgate Institute), from which he graduated at nineteen. Ile then entered the office of Andrew Thompson, at Bridgewater. Oneida county, and commenced the study of law. Later he continued his studies with Hon. Philo Gridley, at Hamilton, and with John Bradish, at Utica. In 1640 he was admitted to practice as attorney and solicitor, and three years later as counselor in all the courts of the State. In September, IS40, he opened an office at West Winfield, where he re- mained until May, 1843.
On the 6th of October, 1541, Mr. Burdick married Elvira Woodworth, of Bridgewater, N. Y., a descendant of the poet Woodworth, author of " The Old Oaken Bucket." Of this union two chil- dren were born, the first, Frances E., now the wife of Charles Nukerck Clark, of Dubuque, Iowa. and the second, Edward II , who married Elizabeth Hall, a daughter of IIon. Benjamin F. Hall, of Auburn, N. Y.
After three years of successful practice at West Winfield Mr. Burdick formed a partnership with the late Kowland II. Gardner and came to Syracuse, where he has since resided. The firm of Gard- ner & Burdick existed unchanged for twenty-seven years being at the time of its dissolution, in is;o. the oldest law firm in the city. Mr. Burdick practiced his profession alone from 1970 to 1375 , when his son Edward was admitted to the Bar and was taken into partnership, the new firm continuing until January 1, 1890.
Early impressed with the dignity of the law as a profession, and imbued with a desire to follow a pursuit consonant with his bent of mind. and which would afford opportunities for the employ
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
ment of his best faculties, Mr. Burdick chose his profession at an age when young men are most often building air castles and contemplating their future careers with indeterminate minds, and with tireless diligence and energy pursued his well considered course to the attainment of his ambition. Without aspirations as an orator his aim was to be thorough in research, sound in counsel, and loyal to the interests of his clients. How well he has achieved his ambition is evinced by the respect ac- corded to his legal opinions and reliance placed upon his counsel. His conservatism and love of truth have always made him a safe counselor, while his diligent study and natural power of discrim- ination have enabled him to grasp, with comparative ease. complex legal propositions, and to apply the fundamental principles of the law to novel cases with a certainty that would be impossible to a less log- ical order of mind. By his integrity of purpose, and faithful adherence to high moral principles in the practice of his profession, he has always comm inded the respect and confidence of his clients and of his fellow lawyers, and has always been recognized as one who sought a reputation for sound legal judg- ment rather than for brilliancy as an advocate. Beneath a quiet and somewhat reserved demeanor there exists a genial kindliness and a keen sense of humor, which has made his intercourse with his fellow men enjoyable without detracting from his dignity and influence.
In politics a Democrat, Mr. Burdick for many years took a prominent part in the affairs of his party, and was a candidate for several city and county offices, having been twice elected Supervisor at a period when party feeling ran high and the Republican majority was thought to be insuperable. As one of the oldest members of the Onondaga County Bar Mr. Burdick was recently called upon to read be- fore that association a piper upon his " Reminiscences of the Bar," and of his practice, in which he . reviewed the changes in practice since his admission to the Bar, recounted anecdotes of the older lawyers, and called to mind many early and interesting cases in his own experience. The following extracts from this address clearly show his quiet humor and aptness for narrating local events of great historical interest : * "Shortly after the organization of the county there came to Onondaga Hollow the first, and then only, lawyer and member of its Bar, Thaddeus M. Wood, who continued to reside in the county and practice his profession until his death in 1836. * The first case of local inter- * est after the organization of the county was before a justice at Salina. The justice, administering the rigorous law of the time, sentenced the prisoner, who was convicted, to be whipped, and for the want of a constable did the whipping hanseif. The first Circuit Court was held in the corn-house of Gen- eral Danforth, at the " Hollow," on the gtst of July, 1794, Hon. Egoert Benson of the Supreme Court presiding. One case was tried, by lawyers from Herkimer and Whitestown, Thomas K. Gould and Arthur Breeze, who were the only attorneys present. One bill of indictment was found against James Fitzgerald for assault and battery with intent to rob one Andrew Mccarthy. The prisoner was convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment in the county jail at Herkimer. The Court fined nineteen petit jurors twenty shillings each, and four grand jurors twenty shillings each, and three justices thirty shillings each, for absence. From that time on the Circuit Courts held one term a year, at private houses, until the court-house was built at Onondaga Hill, in 1805 ; and there courts were held until the building of a new court-house, on the line between the two villages of Salina and Syracuse.
" It might, perhaps, be interesting to know whether, in the almost half century since I became a member of the Bar, the lawyers have increased faster than the clients ; and whether the standard of property qualifications to make a client desirable and profitable is the same now as in the old days, not on my own account as much as on the account of the two or three hundred practitioners whose shingles now adorn the conspicuous places upon the most stately and impressive buildings of the city or towns where they carry on their business through the media of telephones, typewriters, shorthand re- porters, and all the moslern devices for a mihilating tine an I space. In 1343 the first Circuit Court was held by the lon. Daniel Moseley, who resided at Onondura Hill, and the whole number of cases on the calendar was 69. A comparison of that calendar with that of the last January Circuit, containing 400 cases may throw some light upon the question of the relative increase of attorneys and clients
" The organisation of the courts and the practice as it existed when I was admitted as attorney and solicitor in Chancery, in rato, and as they hunil existed for many years, were so entirely different from the practice of the present day that it may be interesting to the younger members, who have never had occasion to know what and how different the lawyer's work was, to consider some of the proceedings of those days, Perhaps I cannot better illustrate this difference than by briefly reciting the incidents of a case of my own shortly after I cante to Syracuse. Parties holding promisory notes against my clients commenced an action at law for their collection. The substantial defense was usury, but, as the practice then was, the defendants could not offer themselves as witnesses to prove the usury, nor couldl they call the plaintiffs ; and in this case there was no other way in which proof
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
could be made to sustain the defense, there being no other witnesses to the transaction. A bill in Chancery was therefore filed by my clients to compel the plaintiffs in the action at law to cancel and surrender up the usurious paper. A temporary injunction was obtained from Judge Moseley at On- ondaga Hill, and the bill of complaint served. To this bill the defendants in equity were required to answer to the charges of usury, and to the interrogating clauses in relation to the same matter. When the answer was put in it was regular and sufficient in form and substance. except as to the specific charges and interrogations as to the usury. Exceptions were served to the sufficiency of the answer, and the matter was taken to a Master in Chancery, before whom the argument was had, The Master sustained the exceptions, and directed the defendants to answer over within twenty days, or have the bill of complaint taken as confessed against them. An appeal was taken to the Vice- Chancellor, then at Geneva. The Vice-Chancellor reversed the ruling of the Master, and held the answer to be sufficient. The complainant appealed from this decision to Chancellor Walworth, at Albany, who stood the Vice-Chancellor on his head and affirmed the ruling of the Master. When the case was called by the Chancellor Mr. Julius Rhodes, then a famous Chancery lawyer, at Albany, answered for the defendants, stating that he appeared on their behalf, but did not see or know of any counselor from Onondaga county who might represent the complainants. I had not then been form- ally admitted as counselor in Chancery, and in answering for the complainants I stated the fact to the Chancellor. He kindly suggested that if I was qualified and entitled to be admitted he would make an order for my examination, and hold the case until afternoon, when I could bring in my cer- tificate froin the examiner. Writing out an order, he sent me to the late Judge Amasa J. Parker. who proceeded at once to give me a most thorough examination, and signed the proper certificates. Presenting the certificate to the Court in the afternoon. I took the oath of office, and proceeded with the argument of the case before a critical audience of learned counselors, among whom I remember was a no less distinguished personage than Daniel Webster. The case is reported in the 11th of Paige. Afterwards, when the amended answer came to be served, it was defective in the same par- ticular as before, and I filed exceptions accordingly. The Master held it insufficient, as in the first instance, and on the appeal to the Vice-Chancellor he was about to reverse the decision, as on the formal appeal, but after hearing the opinion of Chancellor Walworth read he, with ill-concealed cha- grin, announced that he must, under the circumstances, reverse himself, and affirm the Master's rul- ing. The solicitor for the defendants was the late Horace P. Winsor, then practicing at James- ville, and when a copy of the decision was served upon him he took occasion to heap upon my head the thunders of his wrath, saying that if any man was ever justitied in shooting another he was in shooting me, and he guessed he would do it, too. Shortly afterwards he came to my office and sug- gusted a "settlement " of the whole matter, and the litigation was brought .to an end as to both ac- tions by the cancellation and surrender of the usurious notes and the payment, by his clients, of all the costs. And so the case was won without the swearing of a witness.
" Born in the year of the cold summer, 1816, I was admitted to the Bar at twenty-four, in Jan- uary, 1840, and I have a very vivid recollection of the occasion of my examination. The class, num- bering thirty, was composed of young men from all parts of the State, who had passed the long ap- prenticeship of from four to seven years. After the examination we invited the examiners to partake of a cold collation, and in a spirit of wild extravagance invested in several bottles of champagne. The first case of any moment in which I appeared was commenced over fifty years ago, and is still pending, never having been discontinued or tried. It was a suit against a cousin of Judge Gridley, , of Oneida county, and when it came up for trial the Judge announced his relationship to the party defendant and declined to hear the case, suggesting a change of venue to Herkimer county. The change was made, but when the case came up there it appeared that the action was against an officer of Oneida county, and the Court refused to hear it, as it was subject to local jurisdiction, and there the matter now stands.
" The firm of Gardner & Burdick was formed in May, IS43, and we came immediately to Syra- cuse. Our joint income the first year was about $150. Philo N. Rust, the renowned hotel-keeper, pronounced the fiat against us the first year, and was reported to have said at a bird supper at the Syracuse House-D. D. Ilillis, Judge Pratt, and others being present as guests-that Gardner & Burdick could not succeed or live in Syracuse unless they joined the " bar " suppers at his hotel, where champagne was as free as water. But we managed to get our share of the business and hold out without the champagne, and so proved the prophecy false. As an incident in politics I might mention that the first election after I came here was held at the old Court - House, and I could not get to the polls to vote on account of the Sult Point moh that surrounded the place. A man named Boynton. living here about that time, who was a litigant in an important law suit with Thaddeus M. Wood, used so say that the three words in the language indicative of the greatest wickedness were ' Salt Point, Thad. Wood, and-the devil!' * *
" The late Rowland HI. Gardner, my partner for twenty-seven years, was a good trial lawyer, always ready for a speech, an ! his a Idresse's to juries were productive of marked effect upon their verdicts. Original and witty he was a great lover of fun, in or out of court, and saw the ridiculous and amusing side of things with a promptness that enabled him to turn the tide in his own favor in many adverse situations. He was, too, a good stump politician, and had many a tilt with strong a Iversaries in. defense of his political faith. AAs Indian agent he was much esteemed by the tribe under his charge. In the face of strong political opposition he was elected District Attorney,
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
and filled the office with credit to himself and to the people. Both before and afterwards he had occasion to defend miny prisoners charged with crime, and never failed in doing his whole duty by each. I remember that in our earlier experience here a man was indicted for burg- lary, and the Court assigned Mr Gardner to defend him. Mr. Gardner said it was his first case of the kind, and desired to know of the Court what course to pursue. Judge Moseley very promptly replied: "It is your duty to clear the defendant, it you can do so." The case proceeded to trial, and after the prosecution rested the prisoner wished to consult with his counsel as to his defense, and was allowed to go out into the hall of the old Court-House to do so. He wanted to know if the Court would send him to the State prison if convicted, and for how long. He had no witnesses, and MIr. Gardner informed him of the certainty of his being sent to prison for a term of years. The prisoner said he could never go to prison, and without ceremony proceeded to leave the Court-Ilouse on a run, soon distancing all pursuers. Upon returning to the court room Mr. Gardner reported to the Court that the prisoner had given leg-bail, whereupon the jury was discharged and the court adjourned."
At the ripe age of seventy-five Mr. Burdick still continues in practice with the same zealous inter- est in his profession and the cause of his clients he has evinced during the many years of his eventful professional life. Ilis belief in Christianity and high standard of moral worth is sound and broad in comprehension, while his ideas on all subjects of personal interest are liberal and clear. His wife and family are worshippers in the Episcopal faith and he has long attended and aided in the support of that society, being for many years vestryman of St. James's church in this city under the teachings and influence of the late Dr. Gregory and the Rev. J. M. Clark, now occupying a prominent position in the diocese of Central New York.
H TON. CARROLL E. SMITH, only child of Vivus W. and Caroline (Earll) Smith, was born in Syracuse, December 25, 1832, and has been a life-long resident of this city. His ancestors were ently settlers of Massachusetts, and prominently identified with the primitive development and history of New England. His mother, who was married in February, 1830, was the only daughter of Hon. Jonas Earll, jr., of Onondaga llill. She died in April, 1335. Ilis father, who was born in Lanesboro, Berkshire county, Mass., January 27, 1804, a son of Silas Smith, was a distinguished journalist and an influential politician of this city and county. As editor of the Syracuse Journal for twenty-five years Vivus W. Smith wielded a controlling influence in Whig and Republican political circles, not only in Onondaga county, but throughout the State of New York, and with his pen ar- dently advocated the cause of purity, reform, and economy in public affairs. After a year spent in , the law office of Governor George N. Briggs, at Lanesboro, he engaged in newspaper work in West- field, Mass .. and a little later removed to Onondaga Hill and bought out the Onondaga Journal which he published for two years. Upon the removal of the county scat to Syracuse he came thither and established, with John F. Wyman, the Onondaga Standard. In 1838 he founded, in partner- ship with his brother, Silas F., the Western State Journal, a paper of Whig proclivities, which is now continued under the name of the Syracuse Daily and Weekly Journal. After the death of his first wife he married (June, 1839) Miss Theodora, daughter of Davenport Morey, of this city, by whom he had three children, viz .: Fillmore M., Seward V., and Florence A. Ile was at various tintes County Clerk, Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs, and Canal Appraiser. Mr. Smith died in 1961, at the age of seventy-seven years.
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