USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > Memorial of the city and county hall opening ceremonies, Buffalo, N.Y. > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
I tried my first case in a Court of Record in December, 1845, before H. K. Smith, Recorder and a jury. Judge Daniels was my opponent. I was in excellent health and perfectly sober, and yet I
20
127
remember that it was with great difficulty that I could stand upon my feet when addressing the court or jury; there was a weak- ness in my knees, and a general feeling of feebleness. I was de- feated by a decision of the court upon a question of law; but on appeal to the Supreme Court I reversed the Recorder and succeeded in the case.
ALL MY ASSOCIATIONS
with the Bar of Erie County have been pleasing and enjoyable. I have received the greatest kindness from Bench and Bar. In many a warin contest honorable blows have been taken and given; and self-respect and friendship maintained. I think this Bar is noted for its liberal practice; and I commend this to its younger mem- bers as more profitable and agreeable in the long run than technical or sharp practice.
The code and rules furnish a general guide in the practice; but there are constantly springing up matters for which there is no written rule and you must rely upon the word of promise of your adversary; see to it that your promise be kept. In all things in- volving the merits of your case, consult your client's interest; in matters of practice consult your own convenience and pleasure.
Before me, on my right, is a small band of my brothers, with gray hairs. I am hastening on and will soon join them. I see the crowd coming up the hill on the other side; I say to you, welcome ; but hasten slowly ; do not turn us away. Be kind to us; we would linger yet awhile about the scenes with which we have been so long familiar. This social gathering marks an era in the Bar of Erie County. The movement to form a Bar Association meets with my hearty approval. Let it embrace all; and its object. be to elevate and improve us all, not to push down any. From the social feeling which begins here to-night the best of results will flow, if properly cultivated. Therefore, cherish this and organize. I thank you for the attention you have given me, and bid you all good-night.
Mr. Gurney, being called upon, said :
ADDRESS OF W. H. GURNEY, ESQ.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Erie County Bar: I did not expect to be called upon to speak to you to-night, indeed, in all this talk about the "old members" and the "young mem- bers" of the Bar, I hardly know where I belong. Until the last few days I supposed I ranked with the young members-among the boys-but when we took leave of the old Court House, and were formed by Gen. Scroggs in Military order, or in Masonic order, the boys in front and the old men in the rear, I was, to my surprise, nearer the rear than the front; there were more boys in front of me than old men behind me.
128
Mr. Chairman, I was admitted in the class of 1860, a class en- titled to some recognition at your hands, and I believe, sir, I am the only representative of that distinguished class present this evening, and I propose to say something in its defense. We have heard to- night of those admitted prior to 1850, and of the young members -but of the class of '60, we have, until now, heard nothing.
For the last four days we have been constantly reminded of the old members-of how those old men practiced law. Why, Mr. Pres- ident, those old fellows undoubtedly, did nobly in their day and generation-we do nobly in ours. When they point us to their eloquent Barker, we can show them a dozen eloquent Barkers. When they point to their Dudley Marvins, we can point to a score of Marvins. When they point to lawyers who won verdicts from juries by the mere force of their eloquence, we can show a dozen who do that every day. . When they show you a lawyer who could get verdicts and could not keep them, we can show his counterpart to-day. When they point with pride to the honest and able judges, with an equal degree of pride we can direct attention to our accom- plished, honest and able judges.
Practicing law in those days and to-day is a different matter; as an illustration, in those days when they desired to follow their causes to the Court of Last Resort-then the Court for the Correction of Errors-it took them a week, by the then most expeditious mode of traveling, the stage-coach or the packet-boat, to reach Albany. Now we go to bed in Buffalo in the evening, and are in Albany the next morning, ready to argue our causes. There has been a change in mode and manner of practicing law. Those old men so noble and efficient in their age and day of the world, would be as much out of place in this, as would the stage-coach and packet-boat as a mode for speedy travel.
It seems proper for the class of '60 occupying the prominent mid- dle position that they do, to say this. We can say, to the old men of our day that we do not think you have passed the days of your usefulness, but that your opinions are not as vigorous as they were formerly. We can say to the boys-but in view of the able speeches we have had from them to-night, it would be a bold man that would say anything to them, except to congratulate them-to the student we say, it is to the class of '60 that they must look for the redress of those unpleasant things which surround the life of the student; the members of that class have not forgotten the days when they were students. Many of the obstacles that the class of '60 encountered exist no more-the life of a student now, is compara- tively pleasant, when contrasted with the time when the class of '60 were students. But evils still exist, and it shall be the special mission of the class of '60 to see them removed.
129
Mr. Josiah Cook, after being excused two or three times, finally yielded to the call for a speech, and spoke thus :
ADDRESS OF JOSIAH COOK, ESQ.
Mr. Chairman and Brethren of the Bar: I thank you for the compliment you have been pleased to pay me in calling upon me to address you. I do, indeed, appreciate the compliment, when I look about me and see the vast number of learned gentlemen I am addressing.
Brethren, I have met the members of the Erie County Bar on more than twenty different occasions, called together to exchange condolences upon the death of some brother, and to walk in pro- cession to the depositing of the remains of those deceased brethren in their last resting-place. I remember the last meeting for that purpose was to pay the last tribute of respect to that bright spirit, the lamented Folsom.
And when we gathered at the " Old Court House " for the pur- pose of marching from there to the new Temple of Justice, was there one in that vast assemblage who did not heave the sigh of bereavement as they took the last look at the old structure? Not one. And it occurred to me that, as every occasion upon which the Erie County Bar had met in a body, had been one of sorrow, it was about time that we met for the purpose of having a social time. It was these reflections which prompted me to offer the resolution that we meet at this banquet table. We are here, and I have been pleased by the general good-feeling which has prevailed, and again to see the large attendance here to-night. This is a meeting of the Erie County Bar, which will not soon be forgotten; it is the first of the kind, and, I hope, not the last. I am pleased at the very large attendance here, of what may be termed, the young members of the Bar, and, while listening to the speeches of several of them here this evening, it occurred to me that Erie county might well be proud of the young men who are coming up to associate with and take the places of the older members, when they should be called to their fathers. In conclusion, allow me to suggest to the younger members who have been talking much about Roman law and lawyers, that they had better give their attention to Buffalo law and lawyers, for, after they have practiced at the Buffalo Bar for twenty years, as I have, they will find that the Buffalo lawyers will keep them so busy, that they will have little time to devote to Justinian et al.
Gentlemen, I bid you good-night.
1
130
The chairman referred to the law firm of Fillmore, Hall & Haven and to Thomas J. Sizer as having been a student with them and having for a time the charge of their law business, and asked to hear something from him. Mr. Sizer in response said:
ADDRESS OF T. J. SIZER.
The chairman's allusion to my former connection with the dis- tinguished law firm requires me to say something. I had not thought but that many others present, as Mr. Sprague, Mr. Parker, and others, were students with that firm, but, thinking of it, there is only Dennis Bowen present whom I remember as a student with me.
Mr. Fillmore was one of the best of lawyers. It seemed so to me then ; and I know it better as I have had better opportunities for observation and comparison. It has, by many, been supposed that he was chiefly a statesman. I think him more pre-eminent as a lawyer-one of the best, if not the best, whom I have ever person- ally known. His method was admirable. He seemed rather slow and cautious, but in reality progressed through his examination of a case with dispatch, and came to his conclusion with remarkable certainty and confidence, because his system was so good and thorough. He noted, but laid aside, each irrelevant question, and, following the principle of the case, knew, with confidence, the true conclusion when it was reached. I know this from my own good opportunities for observing. He was always a student, always a learner, always acquiring.
Judge Hall had remarkable qualities. His instinctive knowl- edge of law was wonderful; and his off-hand opinion on any point almost invariably accurate. He wrote a beautiful hand, and more rapidly than any one I ever knew, and could transact business with wonderful dispatch and correctness. If cornered, or pressed for time, he could do more in an hour, and do it well, than many a one could do in a whole day.
In my opinion, as a judge, he erred in elaborating his decisions, and in the conscientiousness with which he investigated authorities. I think he would have been entirely safe in relying more on the ex- cellence of his own intuitive perceptions and knowledge, and that his great abilities would have been better appreciated, and his health preserved.
Mr. Haven was perhaps more known as a lawyer than either of his partners by those here present, and he has already been well and truly described. His pleasant manner in all his professional work most agreeably impressed everybody, and undoubtedly had a most excellent effect on this Bar. But Mr. Haven was a remarka- ble worker. He seemed to love work for its own sake; and I think he erred in making it too constant and continuous. He would to the very last, spend long evenings in his office in the work of copying papers.
131
I have felt very much interested here to-night in the appeals of the students and younger members of the Bar for sympathy and encouragement. It is not always easy to find satisfactory methods by which to express these. The young must not suppose that they alone are subject to embarrassment, and that they alone experience these wants.
Since the Banquet, the chairman has received a letter from Hon. Henry E. Davies, formerly a Buffalonian, but now of New York. The older residents of Buffalo will remember Mr. Davies as a prom- ising young lawyer, who began his professional career a half a cen- tury ago, and who held the office of clerk and attorney of the village corporation of Buffalo in 1826, or fifty years ago. Judge Davies has since then become eminent as a lawyer and jurist, and has been a member of the Court of Appeals. It is to Judge Davies that Mr. Geo. Wadsworth referred in his address at the Banquet, as having left his seat on the Bench, when a Buffalo case was called, in which he had been counsel many years before. Judge Davies is now full of years and is crowned with well-earned laurels, won in the pro- fession, and on the Bench. His letter to Mr. Sprague here follows:
LETTER OF HON. HENRY E. DAVIES.
NEW YORK, March 27, 1876.
Hon. E. C. SPRAGUE, Buffalo, N. Y .:
My Dear Sir : On the afternoon of the fourteenth of March, instant, I had the honor to receive from the committee of the Bar of Erie County an invi- tation to a dinner, to be given that evening at the Tifft House. For this remembrance of the Bar of Erie County, permit me to express my grateful acknowledgments, and the regret I have deeply felt that it was not in my power to be present on this interesting occasion.
I have read with great interest the proceedings of the meeting of the Bar of Erie County, held at the old Court House, in Buffalo, on Saturday the eleventh day of March, inst. It would have been peculiarly gratifying to my feelings to have been present on that occasion. The scene calls back to my memory the fact, that fifty years since I made my first professional speech in that room, before the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County, and the subsequent events of my professional life have never effaced the interest of that, to me, memorable occasion.
You will permit me to express to the Bar of Erie County, through you, and to the chairman of the meeting referred to, my grateful acknowledgments for the notice taken of my connection with the Bar of your county. I shall hope, at no distant day, personally to interchange congratulations with you upon your removal from the old to the new Court House, where I hope you will all achieve great professional honors and be rewarded with the approving voice of a grateful and faithfully served community. I have the honor to be, with great respect,
Very truly yours, HENRY E. DAVIES.
132
ANOTHER BANQUET.
THE ATTACHES OF THE COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE CELEBRATE THEIR REMOVAL.
THE gentlemen connected with the County Clerk's office cele- brated the transition from the old to the new, in a somewhat select and private social reunion. The affair was confined to the clerk, his deputies and employees, the ex-county clerks, and former attaches of the office, with a few invited guests, and came off Thursday evening, March 16.
The party assembled in the old clerk's office at half-past seven o'clock and organized, by the appointment of George L. Remington, Esq., the County Clerk, as chairman. On taking the chair, Mr. Remington said that in leaving the old quarters he had no regrets to offer. There was nothing about it to claim endearment except the recollections and associations formed there. In leaving this old building for the more noble structure, he said: Let us deter- mine to so shape our lives that in the end we go to buildings more spacious, to palaces more grand and which shall remain eternal.
Mr. Noah P. Sprague was appointed vice-president and made brief remarks. In connection with the old building he had recol- lections both pleasant and sad. He came to Buffalo in 1824. In 1831 he became County Clerk, which office he held for three years, and, beginning with 1840, he held it for a second term. The first clerk of the county was Louis Le Couteulx, a polished gentleman of the old school, one of the French nobility, courteous and digni- fied, a very genial, excellent old man. When Mr. Sprague came to Buffalo it was a village of about two thousand inhabitants. He remembered talking with Gen. Joseph Clary, Mr. Barker, and David Burt, regretting the shabby appearance of the square in front of the Court House. Mr. Barker, then County Clerk, proposed that
133
they should get some trees to plant there; the next day they went out to the chestnut ridge and procured some trees which they planted in the square, some ten or twelve of which the speaker could recognize to-day. He thought it due to the Clerks of Erie county to say that they had been a line of honorable men, and he hoped that in the future the same integrity and capacity might be shown.
Mr. S. Cary Adams was chosen secretary, and in assuming the duties of the station, he said:
ADDRESS OF MR. ADAMS.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : I thank you for the honor of this appointment. For months I have been anxiously waiting and hoping to see the change take place, from the old to the new, as to all departments of public business, but as to none of them, with as much eagerness, as I have with respect to this office. As an out- sider during several years, I have witnessed the crowded condi- tion of affairs within these walls, and have felt that the records and files were being ruined for the want of proper accommodation. I remember well but a few years ago when the commissioners turned this then new building over to its uses as a Court House and Clerk's office. I felt then, as now, that it was a monstrosity, and wholly unfitted as a place in which to store public records.
My connection with this office began in January, 1859, and ended January, 1865. It was with me, as it is, and has been with all who are, and have been connected with it,
A TIME OF STEADY HARD WORK.
I found as you who are connected with it now find, that it is not a matter of pastime, but "that eternal vigilance is the price of safety," that the public interests require constant, continuous watchfulness so that no mistakes shall be allowed to creep into the records; that nothing shall be lost, and that all, so far as possible, may be kept as good as new.
It was my experience during my entire continuance in this office to find a public, willing to give all due credit for all honest endeavors to fairly discharge the duties of the position. Particu- larly was this the case with the gentlemen of the legal profession with whom I was brought in daily contact. These are the bright points in my memory connected with this building to which we are now about to bid farewell. These are the redeeming features connected with it. Robbed of these its memory would be hateful. As with myself, so no doubt it is with the rest of you.
134
But these memories, these recollections we shall take with us, and always cherish them. And as the new rooms to which we go are the more bright and the more beautiful, so also shall be these memories and these recollections.
Mr. Marcus Bartlett, the affable and obliging deputy clerk, was called upon to address the meeting in behalf of the employees of the office, and said :
ADDRESS OF MR. BARTLETT.
Mr. President and Gentlemen : I thank you for your courtesy in calling on me to make a few remarks on this occasion, and as I have not much to say I hope not to tire your patience. It may perhaps be thought by some that we are rather late in formally leaving our old place of business and taking possession of the new. But did they know the amount of labor that was necessary to be performed to remove the things that belong to this office to their new position, did they know that the County Clerk's office was kept open for business and transacted all that came promptly up to five o'clock Saturday evening, its usual hour of closing, and that it was open at the new building and everything in place and ready for business at the usual opening hour nine o'clock on Monday morn- ing, they would know that work had to be done, and when informed that there were eighty-three wagon loads of records and documents, they will discover just cause for this delay, and acknowledge that the work was performed quickly and quietly without even delaying any act of official business for a moment. And for this, great praise is due not only to the officials and employees, but to many of our outside friends whose business had made them familiar with the office, and who, taking an interest in its affairs, promptly tendered assistance and rendered efficient aid. And now we are ready to unite with our friends in taking a formal leave of our old quarters, and a formal possession of the new.
And here I beg leave to read a few lines of verse that I have hastily jotted down for the occasion :
Years ago I am told when our city was new, When our county was young and its records were few, Good men of the age, quite discerning and wise, In the light of the past saw the future arise.
With a keen sense of need and an honest good will, And perhaps of those times with an architect's skill, They planned and erected, by diligent work, This building, for Court House and office of Clerk.
'Twas a safe, noble structure, no doubt for its time; No doubt its projectors e'en thought it sublime, As a place for the records of mortgage and deed, The Clerk's office sure must be all they would need.
be
135
But Time, the great teacher that many despise, Gives knowledge and wisdom ofttimes to the wise, And happy the man, and the people, indeed, When truth comes so plain that though running they read.
This awkard, contracted, unhealthy, dark place, To both county and city became a disgrace, When those who kept pace with the marches of time, Planned and reared its successor, a model sublime.
And therefore we leave this old castle alone, With a joy in our hearts we are willing to own; Though memory whispers of many things here, Which time and our friendships have made doubly dear.
But ere we depart let us briefly review Those deeds of the past, we here learned to do, And see if perchance while the watchman has slept, Naught bad was engrossed where the records are kept.
Through dockets of judgments and libers of deeds, Through mortgage foreclosures and intricate leads, We have searched for the titles of houses and lands, To help those in trouble and strengthen their hands.
Faithful scribes we have been, at least tried to be, And to leave the best page where others could see, On the books of this office we oft would compete, But that does not prove all our records complete.
For the unwritten page to our minds may reveal Certain deeds which displayed less of wisdom than zeal. And the thought of them often our feelings have stirred, But we never were human unless we had erred.
If we often did wrong, we as oft would deplore, And like other transgressors the same things do o'er.] So with good and with bad we have jostled along, Ever striving for right but at times doing wrong.
May our good deeds stand forth in the strength of their might, And our bad ones be buried in Oblivion's night; And as we go forth from these walls with a sigh, Drop a tear of regret with our parting good-bye.
Messrs. Thomas B. Wright and Amos B. Tanner were then appointed marshals, and the employees and their guests, having been formed in procession, marched to the office in the new build- ing, where the meeting was re-organized, and the exercises opened with prayer invoked by Rev. James Remington, of Lancaster, father of the County Clerk.
Hon. Albert Haight, County Judge, then made some pleasant remarks, in the course of which he spoke of the City and County Hall as surpassing any other building in the country constructed for similar purposes. Heretofore the people of Buffalo had referred
136
to the public buildings with mortification, but now they were possessed of a structure of which they might well be proud. He congratulated the County Clerk and his employees upon the beautiful office to which they had been removed.
Alonzo Tanner, Esq., considered the new City and County Hall an honor to the citizens of Erie county and of Buffalo. There was no building that he knew of, unless it might be the Capitol at Washington, that could compare with its magnificence. Mr. Tan- ner spoke of his familiarity with the County Clerk's Office, and of the great increase of the business of the county since 1850. He agreed with what had been said, that there should not be a great amount of murmuring upon leaving the old quarters.
Mr. Bartlett, the deputy clerk, was again called upon and spoke as follows :
Mr. President and Gentlemen: Again I thank you for this mark of favor, and again, as I said before, I will endeavor to be brief, but it is well for me and perhaps better for you who are here assembled, that I am not a man of words ; that I am not an orator. For were I thus gifted I should endeavor at this time, in this place and on this occasion, surrounded as we are by all this grandeur and magnificence, to attempt in words to do justice to this building, its equipments, its architects, its projectors, its builders, and to all to whom we are indebted for its usefulness and beauty. But words as well as ideas fail me. We have here a safe receptacle for the most important documents of all the people of our county, the titles to their very homes; and I am proud to live in a county where its leading men conceived and carried out so successfully such a worthy and laudable undertaking. I am proud to be a tax-payer in Erie county in this one hundreth anniversary of our nation's independ- ence that I may assist in the erection of so noble a structure.
I will again conclude what I have to say in verse :
We have passed from the old, we have entered the new, And behold what a change, what a sight meets the view ! And the truth stands before us in splendor sublime That mind has kept pace with the marches of time.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.