USA > New York > Oneida County > Utica > Memorial history of Utica, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 48
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Foremost among the new comers for the year 1820 I introduce Eb- enezer Griffin, a gifted lawyer who for a few years adorned the bar of Oneida, but removed so long since that not many of the present gener- ation have any knowledge of him. The account I present is drawn almost wholly from the " Bench and Bar " of Proctor. He was born in Cherry Valley, July 29, 1789. While quite young he removed with his father to Clinton in this county and there he was prepared for col- lege. He entered Union and soon gained the reputation of a close and thorough student. Desiring, however, to enter his chosen profession with as little delay as possible he left college two years and a half after entering and immediately commenced his legal studies with Mr. Hotch- kiss, of Clinton. The degree of A.M. was subsequently conferred on him by the authorities of Hamilton College. In due time he was pre- pared for the bar and was admitted at the July term of the Supreme
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EBENEZER GRIFFIN.
Court in 1811. He began practice at Clinton ; but his growing repu- tation demanded a more extensive field and in June, 1820, he opened an office in Utica. In 1821 he was appointed examiner and master in chancery. In April of the following year he formed a business connec- tion with William H. Maynard, succeeding therein to Mr. Talcott, just appointed attorney-general. While here, and still more after his re- moval to New York city in 1825, he was engaged in a large and exten- sive practice. His reputation extended throughout the State, and his practice in the Court for the Correction of Errors, in the Supreme Court, and in the various Circuits in the State was equaled by few lawyers then at the bar. He seemed, says Proctor, almost ubiquitous : now in Buffalo, then at Bath, then at Albany, then at New York. Among the many important cases in which he was retained that of the Bank of Utica vs. Wager tended most, as Mr. Proctor tells us, to in- crease and extend his reputation. It was tried at Utica in November, 1821, before Hon. Jonas Platt, Circuit judge. Judge Platt ordered a verdict for the bank subject to the opinion of the Supreme Court. It was argued before that tribunal in May, 1824. Henry R. Storrs opened the argument for the plaintiff and Joshua A. Spencer for the de- fence. Mr. Griffin made the closing argument for the defence. When he arose to address the court many supposed that the subject had been exhausted by Mr. Spencer, that whatever else might be said would be but the work of supererogation. A few moments, however, sufficed to con- vince all present that, as by intuition, Mr. Griffin had penetrated deeper into the subject, had more fully and logically grasped the great questions of the case, than either of the other counsel. His argument was one of the most able, profound, and elaborate ever heard at the bar of this State. Every authority bearing on the matter, whether American, English, or French, was fully considered, examined, and digested. It was lengthy, yet did not touch upon anything which could excite the fancy or please the imagination. It contained nothing but logic and learning ; yet the court and bar listened with deep and unwearied atten- tion. The court sustained him in his view of the case, the judgment being pronounced by Chief Justice Savage. An appeal was taken to the Court of Errors and the case was argued in December, 1826. The argument of Mr. Griffin was superior even to that which he had made
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before the Supreme Court. He seemed to rise with the occasion and to gain mental power as it was demanded, and he was again victorious. But his victory was purchased at a fearful expense. So great were his labors in the preparation and trial that a cerebral agitation soon fol- lowed, which at times through life quite unsettled his splendid mind. Mr. Griffin continued to live in New York until 1842, when he removed to Rochester and resided there until his death. This occurred on the 22d of January, 1861, in his seventy-third year. Mr. Griffin was quite agreeable in his intercourse, was tall and heavy in person, weighing at least 220 pounds, and yet quite prepossessing. Politically he belonged to the famous high-minded gentlemen.
A lawyer admitted to practice in 1820 was Charles Pinckney Kirk- land, son of Joseph Kirkland. He was born in New Hartford in 1797, graduated at Hamilton College in 1816, and entered upon legal study in the office of his father. Admitted to the bar he was received into partnership with the latter and remained with him until the year 1830, soon after which time he united in practice with William J. Bacon. About 1851 he removed to the city of New York. During the whole of his residence in Utica and for some time longer he was engaged un- ceasingly in his professional duties, was a diligent worker, an honest business man, and took high rank throughout the State as a skillful ad- vocate and a wise and trusty counselor. As a politician he was fair and unprejudiced. In 1838 he was mayor of Utica and in 1846 was a member of the convention to revise the constitution. For many years he was a trustee of Hamilton College and received from that institution, as he did likewise from Columbia, the degree of LL.D. A trustee also of other educational, manufacturing, and commercial corporations he was actively concerned in every means devised for the good of the place in which he lived. Afterward in New York his influence and his usefulness were not less than they had been in Utica. One daugh- ter alone survives of several children. His wife, a daughter of Maj. James Kip, died quite recently.
Thomas Hunt Flandrau was the son of Elias F. Flandrau, of New Rochelle, Westchester County, N. Y., whose ancestors had been living in that place since the immigration of Jacques Flandrau, a Huguenot from Rochelle in France, in 1686. Elias F. died within a year after his
5II
THOMAS H. FLANDRAU.
removal to Oneida County, when his widow and children took up their residence in Utica. His son, who was born in New Rochelle, Sep- tember 8, 1801, was fitted for college in the juvenile academy of Mr. White and entered Hamilton in the sophomore year. His collegiate course was chiefly distinguished by his attainments in mathematics, though his standing as a classical scholar and a writer was more than ordinary, while among his companions he was noted also for his re- markable powers as a talker. After leaving the institution with one of its highest honors he bent himself to the law in the office of Nathan Williams. These studies completed he united in its practice with Rod- erick Morrison, in the second story of a building on the east side of Genesee street nearly opposite the postoffice. They were not there over two years when Col. Aaron Burr, who in the course of his attend- ance on the courts had made the acquaintance of Mr. Flandrau, and being impressed with his superior gifts invited him to join him in busi- ness in New York. He at once entered upon this new connection and reaped a few years of valuable discipline, in which his mental and in- dustrial capacities were thoroughly tasked, wherein he was often placed in opposition with such men as David B. Ogden and Chancellor Jones, and where his intellectual and professional accomplishments procured him a high reputation.
In 1825 he was married and not long afterward came back to Utica. 3 But about the time its city charter took effect he withdrew from the place and made his home in Waterville, for he dis- trusted a city government and was wary of holding property that was subject to the taxation of a council of aldermen. After years of absence, clouded by turns of sickness, and wanting in the displays of genius he had before and which he subsequently manifested he returned in 1845 to his earlier residence ; and then, having passed three busy years in practice, he fixed himself at Whitesboro. There he died rather suddenly on January 2, 1855. From the estimate of his professional character - istics prepared by the late Benjamin F. Cooper we extract the fol- lowing :
" As a writer Mr. Flandrau was distinguished for his method, for his singularly precise, felicitous, and appropriate language. Whatever fell from his pen was classical and finished. He was rarely under the neces- sity of correcting an expression; his ideas fell unconsciously, as it
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were, into line, and when committed to paper were ready for the press. He had, too, the rare capacity of writing a short article at the moment, and needed not the labor of curtailment and condensation. These characteristics of his miscellaneous writings are to be seen also in his legal papers. In the preparation of them he had few equals. His bills in chancery and his pleadings, and even his drafts of affidavits, were so impressed with the above mentioned qualities that they might be studied, not only as specimens of legal skill, but even as models of composition. As a speaker, also, Mr. Flandrau was noted for his rapid analysis, acute discrimination, uncommon method, and clear and happy expression. In fact so simple was he in his clearness, so orderly, so accurate, and yet so strong that most men might be deceived and think that in his forensic displays there was nothing extraordinary. It was left to the circle of his professional brethren to judge of him with a more just appreciation. It was these traits which made him eminently successful with juries, while at the same time his correct taste, well-balanced mind, and high cultiva- tion prevented his obtaining that degree of popularity with the multitude which was sometimes accorded to men who were greatly his inferiors. Methodical as he was mentally he was so in few other respects. In refer- ence to most matters of life he had all the want of order that has too often been the attendant of exalted genius. In his earlier years it seemed as if he never ate nor slept when others did. "Often," says Mr. Cooper, " have I known him to keep his companions awake to the small hours of the night with his extraordinary colloquial powers ; and when at length they began to think of their pillows he would rise from his seat with the remark that he thought he would go and visit some one of his associates, deeming them apparently as sleepless in their nature as he was himself. When and where he read it was difficult to ascertain, yet he never seemed to be wanting in a knowledge of facts. How he studied it was not so difficult to understand, for that was done by thinking, and much of it, too, when he lay in bed. Yet his acquirements were by no means. small, even outside of the range of his legal ones. He was a mathema- tician, a mechanician, a classical scholar, and a poet."
At his death the lawyers residing at Utica declared in a resolution that, in gentlemanly deportment in his profession, in rigid and accurate investigation of legal questions, in logical reasoning, in precision and
513
SAMUEL BEARDSLEY.
force of language, and in the zealous performance of his professional duties, he left no superior at the bar of Oneida County.
Samuel Beardsley was born at Hoosick in Rensselaer County, Febru- ary 6, 1790, but while an infant his parents moved to Monticello in Otsego County. Samuel attended a common school in winter and in summer he worked on a farm. But his love of knowledge was strong and he sought every opportunity of acquiring it. For a time he en- gaged in teaching, but at length decided to enter the medical profession and began his studies with Dr. Joseph White, of Cherry Valley. While thus employed it was his fortune to be present at some important trials at Cooperstown. He watched them with the deepest interest and was so fascinated as to lose all love for medicine, and to direct his hopes and ambition toward the bar. At one of these trials he made the ac- quaintance of Judge Hathaway, of Rome, signified to him his desire to study law, and was invited to enter his office. He was then eighteen. Fortunate in the choice of a preceptor of learning and skill, and who became deeply interested in him, the young student made rapid pro- ficiency, supporting himself meanwhile by teaching a select school. Having been admitted to practice in 1815 he located at Watertown, but only remained there one year, when he returned to Rome to pursue his profession. For a time he was the partner of James Lynch and was afterward alone. The industry and energy of the student he kept up when he became a lawyer. From the commencement he was dis- tinguished for unusual vigor of intellect, constant labor, and untiring perseverance. In the language of one of his eulogists : he began with study, he continued with study, he ended with study. These qualities at once placed him in the highest rank of the profession and this posi- tion he steadily maintained to the time of his death. Method and order marked the preparation of his causes ; hence his labor was effective, and each step was the firm foundation for another. He never addressed the fancy of his audience. Clear argumentation and a bold, indignant denunciation of wrong were his chief weapons and in his hands they were almost uniformly fatal to an undeserving adversary. In February, 1821, Mr. Beardsley was appointed district attorney of Oneida County, succeeding Nathan Williams, and he continued to discharge the du- ties until October, 1825, when his term of office expired. As an evi-
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dence of his familiarity with all the forms and technicalities which then formed a part of the system of law and of the modes of procedure in criminal cases Mr. Proctor relates the following: On one occasion, in draughting an indictment for arson in the first degree, the district attorney omitted an allegation which the lawyer defending believed to be fatal ; but having some doubt he consulted Joshua A. Spencer on the point. That sagacious man, after examining it some time, replied : ‘ Well, I think, though Archbold and Chitty may both sustain you, yet if Beards- ley insists that he is correct I should prefer his opinion to theirs.' The lawyer, however, made his motion to quash the indictment. A long and interesting argument followed ; but Mr. Beardsley's knowledge of the criminal law gave him a decided advantage. The authorities were as familiar to him as the schoolboy's every day lesson and he sustained the indictment.
At the first election held under the constitution of 1822 Mr. Beards- ley was chosen senator for the Fifth District and took his seat on the Ist of the ensuing January, but in the arrangement of classes by lot he fell into that class whose term of service was limited to a single year. It was this year (1823) that he transferred his residence to Utica, taking as his partner Thomas S. Williams. On the death of Morris S. Miller in No- vember, 1824, the position of first judge of the county was tendered him, but he preferred to retain the more active labors of prosecuting at- torney. In March, 1823, he was appointed by President Adams United States attorney for the Northern District of New York. He held the post until November, 1830, when he was elected by the Democrats to represent them in Congress. As representative he was four times elected-in 1830, 1832, 1834, and 1842. In all of the exciting ques tions that were agitated during the administration of General Jackson he was the uncompromising friend of the President and enjoyed his in- timate confidence. He believed that the existence of a moneyed insti- tution like the United States Bank in a government such as ours was at war with the principles upon which the government was founded. In April, 1834, he delivered a speech on the currency which attracted great attention throughout the country for its vehemence and fiery de- nunciation. In the course of it he said : "Sooner than extend the ex- istence of the bank of the United States let it perish, and in its fall carry
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SAMUEL BEARDSLEY.
down every bank in the Union. I say for one perish credit, perish commerce, perish the State institutions; give us a broken, decayed, worthless currency rather than the ignoble and corrupt tyranny of an irresponsible corporation." His opponents seized on the striking alter- native he presented and were long and bitter in their denunciations. Niles's Register, while commending the ability displayed in the speech, laments the expression by a man of Mr. Beardsley's poise, ability, and moderation of sentiments, such as those above quoted, as dangerous in their influence. It was in truth bold language, yet characteristic of its author, and uttered in the spirit of a Spartan virtue, which preferred liberty with poverty to the grandest luxury of despotism and corrup- tion. In January previous in a speech of great liberality he opposed a measure to restrain freedom of speech by the reporters of Congress. He stood by the right of petition in the face of the power which then controlled party politics, and even against some of his colleagues fron this State; he maintained the combat with all the ardor and energy of which he was master, and he had the satisfaction of knowing that his efforts were of service in preserving this sacred right unimpaired.
In January, 1834, Nathan Williams, judge of the Fifth Circuit, became disqualified by reason of age, and he therefore resigned. Gov- ernor Marcy immediately nominated Mr. Beardsley as his successor and the Senate promptly confirmed the nomination. As soon as the intel- ligence reached Washington Mr. Beardsley signified his intention to re- sign his seat in Congress. He was sent for by General Jackson, and in the presence of his Cabinet and some of the most eminent members of both Houses was urged to remain. He at length consented. No cir- cumstance in his congressional life more strongly exhibits his standing as a statesman and his importance to the administration and the party. Early in January, 1836, a vacancy occurred on the bench of the Supreme Court of New York, which was filled by the appointment of Greene C. Bronson, who was at that time attorney-general. Mr. Beardsley was at once appointed to succeed Mr. Bronson. The office of attorney-general was at that time one of great labor and responsibility. Nothing en- trusted to Mr. Beardsley was left undone ; all things proceeded sure and certain and with rapidity, yet according to law. His official term ex- pired on the last day of December, 1838, when he resumed practice ..
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Having been once more chosen to Congress in 1842 he withdrew in February, 1844, to accept the appointment at the hands of Governor Bouck of justice of the Supreme Court, a seat made vacant by the death of Eseck Cowan. For a judicial position he was remarkably adapted. His habits of patient and impartial investigation, his quick preception and accurate judgment, seemed to have formed him by nature for a judge. On the bench he was dignified and courteous ; his manner of listening to an argument elicited the confidence of the speaker and drew from him all that he desired the court to understand. He rose with great rapidity in public opinion and in the estimation of both bench and bar. On the retirement of Chief Justice Bronson in June, 1847, Judge Beardsley succeeded him, and was the last chief justice of the old Supreme Court, as he was also the chief of the judges under the organ- ization created to close up the business of the earlier tribunal. After retiring from the bench he pursued his profession for a year or two in New York, though his domicile was still in Utica, and to it he shortly returned. His efforts were now limited for the most part to arguments in important cases in the Court of Appeals. Here he maintained the very foremost rank, being second to none in compactness, vigor, and com- prehensiveness.
Though from this time forward Judge Beardsley held no public office he remained prominent in politics and impressed an influence on his party such as more pretentious and noisy men could never have exerted. As to the ability of Judge Beardsley, his learning in the law, the pains- taking faithfulness of his judicial functions, and the able decisions he uttered, all those most competent to speak united in declaring. "I think it could be safely said," remarks Judge Bacon, "there was not at the close of his life a more thoroughly read and firmly grounded lawyer in this State, nor one whose opinion carried greater weight with the courts." " I think," says Governor Seymour, "that he evinced his highest quali- ties in statesmanship. In public life he was bold, invasive, and self- reli- ant, and showed that he had resources and inventive genius to meet the varying exigencies of passing events. Here he sought no authorities, nor did he lean upon the assertions or opinions of others. I have known many of the prominent men of our land, and none of them excelled him in power of acting upon the public mind or in the high qualities de-
517
SAMUEL BEARDSLEY- JONAS PLATT.
manded for leadership. His correct views of life, business, and public morals kept him from falling into questionable positions. His bearing, person, and mind fitted him to command and he always had a strong power over those with whom he acted ; those who may have differed from him felt the force and strength of his antagonism." As a private citizen he was exemplary in all the charities and amenities of society, both civil and religious. " I know of no one," remarked Governor Sey- mour, " who contributed more, by speech and example, to form and en- force the unwritten laws of just moral rectitude. No one did more to elevate the tone of morals in this city or to keep up the standard of good conduct and just dealings." Judge Denio did not hesitate to as- sert that he never knew a man having so many qualities worthy of imi- tation. And yet though so dear to his intimates, so kind and tender to his family, and although so neighborly in his general intercourse, and grateful for the confidence of private friendship-to his enemies, to those who crossed his path in hatred, he was stern in his wrath and sometimes aggressive in his resentments. The agony of his short but distressing sickness was endured with the fortitude of a martyr, and he expired on the 6th of May, 1860. The news of his death caused a pro- found sensation with the members of the bar in New York city, and all the courts that were then in session were suspended, and judges and law- yers concurred in praise of the deceased and in grief at their loss. A meeting for a similar purpose was held by the bar of Utica and its vicin- ity soon after. Arthur M. Beardsley, of Utica, is his only surviving child.
Jonas Platt, son of Zephaniah Platt, of Poughkeepsie, was born in that place June 30, 1769. He studied law with Col. Richard Varick, of New York, and was admitted to practice in 1790. The same year he married Helen, daughter of Henry Livingston, of Poughkeepsie, and sister of the wife of Arthur Breese, with whom he was soon to be asso- ciated in business . Early in 1791 he located in Whitesboro, seven years after its first settler, Hugh White, had planted his log cabin. On the 17th of February in that year he was appointed clerk of the county of Herkimer and held the office until Oneida was set off from it in 1798, and was also the first clerk of the new county. At the first Court of Record held within the present limits of Oneida, which was a term of
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
the Herkimer Common Pleas, held in January, 1794, he was clerk of the court, and at the first term of the Oneida Common Pleas held in May, 1798, he was placed on a committee to prepare rules for its guidance. In 1796 he represented the counties of Oneida and Onondaga in the State Assembly. In the Sixth National Congress, that of 1799-1801, he represented the Ninth District of New York. During the years 1810, 'II, '12, and '13 he was State senator from the Western District. His success as a candidate for senator and the proof it afforded of his. personal popularity in the old Western District, which, until the previous election, had been considered the stronghold of Democracy, or Repub- licanism as it was then termed, led to his being selected as a candidate for governor in 1810. This election was sharply contested and Mr. Platt was defeated by his rival, Daniel D. Tompkins. His career in the Senate is memorable for the part he took in the first legislative ac- tion on the subject of the Erie Canal. 'The facts as given in Renwick's. Life of De Witt Clinton are as follows : Thomas Eddy, on behalf of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, visited Albany in 1809 for the purpose of procuring the passage of a law authorizing the appoint- ment of commissioners to explore a route for a canal from Oneida Lake to Seneca River, with a view to the execution of the canal by that company. To Mr. Platt as the acknowledged leader of the Fed- eral party and its nominated candidate for the office of governor he applied for his influence. Mr. Platt, who knew the wants and wishes of the western part of the State better, perhaps, than any other person, and who had long considered the policy which the State ought to pursue in the premises, replied at once that "the company had dis- appointed public expectations, and that it would be inauspicious to pre- sent any project which should be subject to that corporation." As a substitute he proposed a plan for instituting a Board of Commissioners to examine and survey the whole route from the Hudson to Lake Ontario and to Lake Erie also. Mr. Eddy having been satisfied that this plan was to be preferred it was agreed on the suggestion of Mr. Platt to. call into their councils De Witt Clinton, who, at that moment, held a preponderating influence with the Democratic party. The result of the interview with the latter was that Platt forthwith presented in the Senate a resolution for the appointment of commissioners and the
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