USA > New York > Madison County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York > Part 51
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 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
494
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
to judge clearly of the right and wrong of cases. His integrity was un- questioned and his decisions generally satisfactory. In 1819 he con- veyed his estate to his son and passed much of his time thereafter in traveling. Finally settling in Schenectady he died there April 13, 1837.
Gerrit Smith, son of Peter Smith, was born in Utica March 6, 1797. His life as a citizen of Madison county has been described at length in the preceding history of Smithfield, and his name is placed in this chapter only because he was admitted to practice in the State and Fed- eral courts in 1853. Although he never regularly studied law, he had made himself familiar with its main principles and " became a lawyer through a steady, healthy growth of intellect." As a philanthropist of broad views, as a gifted and persistent opponent of slavery, sectarian- ism and all forms of wrong, and as an advocate of the broadest liberty of mind and conscience, Mr. Smith's reputation was co-extensive with the country.
The distinguished jurist, Greene Carrier Bronson, was for a time a resident of Peterboro, Madison county. He was born in Simsbury, Conn., in November, 1789. His educational opportunities were limited, but he richly endowed himself by reading and study in after life. He removed to Peterboro and studied law with John P. Sherwood in Ver- non, Oneida county. In due time he was admitted to practice and be- came a worthy associate of the great lawyers and jurists of his time. In 1819 he was appointed surrogate of Oneida county, and in 1824 he settled in Utica, after which his connection with Madison county ceased. He was elected attorney-general of the State in 1829, was elevated to the supreme bench in 1836, and in 1847 to the bench of the Court of Appeals. After his resignation in 1851, he removed to New York city, where he was further honored with official station. It was written of Judge Bronson that " In the department of judicial duty he was justly pre-eminent and his opinions are models of excellence. In conciseness and perspicuity of expression, in terseness and directness of style, in compactness and force of logic, in sturdy vigor of intellect, and in the stern sense of justice," he was unsurpassed. He died in New York September 3, 1863.
One of the foremost of the many eminent lawyers who have shed lustre upon the bar of this State was Joshua Austin Spencer, who though not a native of this county and residing here during the most conspicuous part of his career, is nevertheless entitled to this reference. He was born in Great Barrington, Mass., May 13, 1790, and in 1808,
495
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
when he was eighteen years old, he removed to Lenox. His oppor- tunities for obtaining education were limited, but his energy and strength of intellect enabled him to rise above all obstacles. After working as a clerk and as a carpenter's apprentice he took up the study of law with his elder brother. Soon afterward he served a term in the army in the war of 1812. In 1814 he married Clarissa Phelps of Lenox. After his admission to the bar he practiced for a time with his brother, but in 1820 formed a partnership with William H. Maynard and settled in Utica. In 1841 he was appointed U. S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, and in 1845 was elected State senator, where he performed most efficient service on the judiciary committee. He also held the office of mayor of Utica. He died in that city April 25, 1857.
Elisha Payne of Hamilton was one of the earliest judges of the Court of Common Pleas in this county, receiving his appointment from Gov. Morgan Lewis March 31, 1806. He held the office with honor and ability nine years. Judge Payne was a son of Abram Payne, who died in Hamilton in 1801. In 1795 Elisha bought lot No. 2, which included half the site of Hamilton village, and gave the name to the place in honor of Alexander Hamilton. Mr. Payne's useful life was character- ized by earnest and unselfish efforts for the advancement of education and morality, and it was largely due to him that the Seminary was located in Hamilton. Other details of his life are given in the history of that town in earlier chapters.
Judge John McLean was once a resident in Eaton, this county. He was a native of New Jersey and was a brother of the late Noah McLean of Eaton. He went with his parents to Virginia, later to Kentucky, and finally to Ohio, where he was admitted to the bar in 1807. He be- gan practice in Lebanon in that State and in 1812 was elected to Con- gress; in 1816 he was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and in 1823 was postmaster-general. In 1829 he was appointed by Presi- dent Jackson a justice of the United States Supreme Court. He died in Cincinnati in 1861.
Judge Samuel Nelson was a law student in Madison county, town of Madison, and married the daughter of his preceptor, Judge David Woods, an early attorney of that town. Judge Nelson was born in Hebron, Washington county, N. Y., in 1792, and graduated from Mid- dlebury College, Vermont, in 1813; he was admitted to the bar in 1817, and settled in Cortland, where he was a successful practitioner. After holding several minor offices he was appointed a Circuit Court judge in
496
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
1823, judge of the State Supreme Court in 1831, and was made chief justice in 1837. In 1845 he was appointed by President Tyler a justice of the United States Supreme Court.
The town and village of Hamilton has given to the bar of the county a number of prominent lawyers. Among the earliest as well as the ablest of these were Nathaniel King and Thomas H. Hubbard, both of whom were highly respected and honored by their fellow citizens. Nathaniel King was born in Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y., Decem- ber 26, 1767, and graduated from Yale College in 1792. He at once studied and passed through a law course and in February, 1797, settled in Hamilton and began practice. Upon the erection of Chenango county in 1788 he was elected one of the first assemblymen from that county, and again represented the county in 1800 and 1802. He had a taste for military affairs and early received the appointment of colonel in the militia, subsequently rising to the rank of major-general, in which capacity he served at Sackett's Harbor in the war of 1812. In 1809 he was appointed district attorney of the Ninth district, which in- cluded Madison, Cayuga, Chenango, Onondaga, and Cortland counties. He was one of the board of trustees that founded Hamilton Academy in 1818, and the first teacher in that institution, for which vocation he was thoroughly adapted. He died in Hamilton July 25, 1848.
Thomas Hill Hubbard was born in New Haven, Conn., December 6, 1781. He was a son of Rev. Bela Hubbard, D. D., a distinguished Episcopal divine of that city and graduated from Yale in 1799. He immediately began the study of law in Troy, and after his admission to the bar in 1804 or 1805, he settled in Hamilton and began practice, remaining there about twenty years and until 1824, when he removed to Utica and continued practice there until his death. He was the first surrogate of Madison county, holding that office from March 26, 1806, to February 26, 1816. At that time he was appointed district attorney of the Sixth district, which included seven counties; when each county was made a separate district in 1818 he continued as the first district attorney of Madison county. He was presidential elector in 1812, in 1844, and again in 1852. Upon his removal to Utica he formed a part- nership with Greene C. Bronson and was honored with other offices in that county. He died May 21, 1857.
Another early lawyer of Hamilton was John G. Stower, who was a student with Mr. Hubbard, and after his admission to the bar formed a partnership with his preceptor, which continued until Mr. Hubbard
497
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
removed to Utica. Mr. Stower was surrogate of Madison county from February 9, 1821, to April 13, 1827 ; representative in Congress from 1827 to 1829, and in April of the latter year was appointed United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He was elected State senator in 1833 and held the office continuously until his resigna- tion in September, 1835. Mr. Stower was an able and conscientious lawyer. His death took place December 20, 1850.
Philo Gridley was for a short period associated with Mr. Stower as a partner in law practice and held the office of district attorney of Madi- son county for a term after 1829. He subsequently removed to Utica and was appointed circuit judge of the Fifth Circuit July 17, 1838, and was elected Supreme Court judge June 7, 1847.
One of the most prominent jurists of this State was for a number of years a member of the bar of Madison county and a resident of Hamil- ton village. Charles Mason was born in Plattsburg, N. Y., July 18, 1810, and after obtaining an academical education, studied law with Hon. William Ruger, of Watertown. Upon the appointment of Philo Gridley as circuit judge in 1838, calling him from Hamilton, Mr. Mason removed to that village and took his place. In 1845 he was appointed district attorney of Madison county and relinquished the office to accept that of justice of the Supreme Court for the Sixth Judicial District, to which he was elected in June, 1847. By two re-elections he was retained in this high office twenty-two years. In January, 1868, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Court of Appeals occasioned by the death of Judge Wright. In 1870 he was appointed clerk of the United States Circuit Court, removing to Utica to perform the duties of the office. He died in that city while still filling the position on May 31, 1879.
John Foote was a son of Isaac Foote, a leading citizen of the town of Smyrna, Chenango county, where he settled in 1795, was born in Col- chester, Conn., April 30, 1786, and studied law in the office of Thomas H. Hubbard in Hamilton, and began practice about the year 1813. He continued in business more than half a century. He was the father of John J. Foote, a successful merchant of Hamilton, who held the offices of State senator and presidential elector.
Lorenzo Sherwood, who removed to De Ruyter from Hoosick, N. Y., and practiced there a few years, took up his residence in Hamilton in the winter of 1839-40 and began business in company with James W. Nye, who had studied with him in De Ruyter. After about ten years
32
-
498
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
of business association, Mr. Sherwood removed to Texas on account of fear of consumption. Mr. Nye continued in practice until his election to the office of surrogate in 1844. In 1847 he was elected county judge. Soon after the close of his term in this office he removed to Syracuse and subsequently to New York city.
In 1845 Albert N. Sheldon and James E. Eldredge formed a partner- ship for the practice of law in Hamilton, which was dissolved three years later. Mr. Sheldon was elected district attorney in 1859 and held the office one term only, and is still in practice in Hamilton. Mr. Eldredge was elected to the Assembly in 1816, 1827, and 1829, and in 1833 was elected county judge, holding the office one term only. He died September 15, 1864.
Henry C. Goodwin was born in De Ruyter June 25, 1824, received an academical education and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He was the first district attorney under the constitution of 1846, elected in June, 1847, and held the office one term. He was elected to Congress in November 1854, upon the resignation of Gerrit Smith, and was re- elected for the next term. His promising life was cut short by death November 12, 1864, at thirty-six years of age.
David J. Mitchell was for a time a partner with Mr. Goodwin in Ham- ilton and early evinced the possession of legal talent of the highest order. He soon removed to Syracuse and became a partner with Judge Daniel Pratt and Wilber M. Brown, a firm which gained wide celebrity. Mr. Mitchell was noted for his effective eloquence before juries. He died September 22, 1874, when only forty-seven years of age.
John Adams Smith was an early practitioner in Hamilton and for a time in company with Thomas H. Hubbard.
Joseph Mason, born in Plattsburg March 31, 1828, settled in Hamil- ton to study law with his eminent brother, Charles Mason, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1849. He began practice there the same year, was elected justice of the peace in 1849, at the age of twenty-one years and held the office two or three terms. He was elected county judge in 1863, held the office one term, and in 1878 was elected to Congress.
David G. Wellington, who was for a number of years a partner with Mr. Mason, was born in Cazenovia January 8, 1838, and graduated from the seminary in that village. After his admission to the bar he was elected justice in 1866 and held the office until his election to the As- sembly in 1867; to the latter office he was again chosen in 1874. His partnership with Mr. Mason began in 1876.
499
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
After the village of Morrisville was made the county seat in 1817 the natural tendency of many of the prominent lawyers of the county was towards that place for the practice of their profession. The first law- yer to settle in the village was Andrew S. Sloan, who came from Mans- field, Conn. He graduated from Williams College in 1813, studied law in Waterford, Conn., and settled in Morrisville in 1819, where he re- sided until his death in 1857. He held the office of county clerk six years, and was first judge of the county. Associated with him several years was Hugh Halsey, who came from Long Island; he returned thither after a few years and subsequently held the office of surrogate, and died there.
Epenetus Holmes settled in Morrisville as a contemporary with Mr. Sloan. He was born at Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y., December 1, 1784. With limited educational opportunities he studied law and was admitted to the bar at Schaghticoke, N. Y., and there practiced until his removal to Morrisville. He served as justice of the peace, and for several years was clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Chosen a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, he sat about ten years on the bench. He died in 1861. He was father of Sidney T. Holmes, who was one of the strongest men professionally of the Madison county bar. Enthusiastic in study, with a quick and active mental equipment, he rapidly advanced to the front rank among the lawyers of this vicinity. He was elected county judge in 1851 and served twelve years with rare ability. In 1865 he was elected to Congress from this district and was no less successful as a legislator than as a lawyer and jurist. Later in his life he removed to Bay City, Michigan, where he continued the suc- cess attained here.
A. Lawrence Foster studied law in Vernon and settled in Morrisville about 1827, where he was successful in his profession. Active in poli- tics in the Whig party, they elected him to Congress in 1840. At the close of his term he settled permanently in Virginia.
Otis P. Granger was born in Suffield, Conn., in February, 1796, and graduated from Williams College in 1816. He studied law, was ad- mitted to the bar and in 1821 settled in Morrisville, where he continued in active practice until 1845. He was an able counselor and enjoyed the full confidence of the community. He was appointed surrogate of the county in 1827 and held the office until 1840. After his retirement from practice before 1850 he was frequently consulted in cases of im- portance.
500
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Duane Brown removed from Brookfield about 1845 and bought out A. Lawrence Foster in Morrisville, continuing in successful practice until his death in March, 1857. Among his professional brethren he was considered one of the ablest lawyers of his time. He took little interest in politics and held no public office of importance.
William W. Farwell, who was a son-in-law of Judge Otis P. Granger, practiced in Morrisville about four years from 1854, when he removed to Chicago, where he was elected circuit judge. His business associate was Z. T. Bentley, who removed to Oneida and died there.
Alexander Cramphin, born in Maryland in 1828, studied law with Timothy Jenkins, at Oneida Castle, and with Duane Brown, in Morris- ville. After his admission to the bar he was elected justice of the peace and in 1868 was chosen district attorney. He died February 2, 1874.
Isaac Newton Messinger, who died in Oneida, March 11, 1895, in the seventy fifth year of his age, was for many years an honored member of the Madison county bar, and a valued citizen of Oneida. He was born in the town of Smithfield, this county, February 28, 18%1, the only child of Gen. John M. Messinger, one of the earliest settlers of the town of Lenox. The General was a native of Barre, Mass., and in the year 1808, removed to the town of Smithfield. He was a man of im- portance in his time, being actively interested in military affairs. He was one of the early sheriffs of Madison county; represented his dis- trict in the State Legislature, and occupied a prominent position in the county both politically and socially. I. Newton Messinger was a grad- uate of Hamilton College in the class of 1839, being a classmate of the late Judge Benjamin F. Chapman. He studied law and in July, 1843, was admitted to the bar. He opened the first law office in Oneida shortly after his admission, taking as partner Hon. Ithamar C. Sloan, a brilliant practitioner of wide reputation. In 1863 he formed a part- nership with James B. Jenkins, which was harmoniously and success- fully maintained for a period of ten years, when Mr. Messinger retired from active practice (1873). Mr. Messinger was for some time chief of the village fire department, and was much esteemed for his bravery in the face of danger and disaster. He was also one of the early village presidents, and during the Civil war gave valuable aid to the Union cause by raising troops. Prior to the birth of the Republican party he was a Democrat. He was Oneida's fourth postmaster, his commission bearing the signature of President Buchanan; he was also one of the
GERRIT A. FORBES.
501
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
earliest ticket agents and operators at the New York Central station.
Edward Frost Haskell, who died in Oneida November 2, 1892, in the thirty-ninth year of his age, was an honored member of the Madison county bar. He was born at Orange, N. J., October 21, 1853, a son of Llewellyn and Marianna (Frost) Haskell. His father was a New York merchant of large interests, and the owner and founder of Llew- ellyn Park in Orange. His mother was a native of Charleston, N. C., and came of the old Southern family of Frost. Mr. Haskell was pre- pared at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, and entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He began the study of law in the office of Hon. John E. Smith of Morrisville, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. Following his admission he formed a partnership with Judge Smith which continued five years, or until Mr. Haskell's election to the State Legislature in 1883. During their association Mr. Haskell acted as assistant district attorney, Mr. Smith being then the prosecuting officer. Mr. Haskell served two consecutive years in the Assembly, and was chairman of the Committee on Railroads. After his retirement from the Legislature he settled in Oneida where he enjoyed a large and lucra- tive practice until his untimely death. Mr. Haskell married in 1873, Mary E. Howe. Three children were born to them: Edna Rutledge, Florence, and Edward Llewellyn.
Hon. Gerrit A. Forbes, justice of the Supreme Court, was born near Clockville, in the town of Lenox, May 30, 1836, a son of Isaac J. and Abigail (Sayles) Forbes, the former of whom was a son of Jacob, a farmer of Lenox, who reared a family of ten sons and three daughters, of whom Isaac J. was one of the youngest. The father of Jacob was of Scotch descent, and an early settler in the Mohawk Valley, where the family name, although Forbes in Scotland, took the form of For- bush. Isaac J. Forbes was born at Clockville, and died at Lafayette, Ind., in the forty-seventh year of his age. His wife was a daughter of Silas Sayles, once postmaster at Peterboro, and a granddaughter of William Sayles, a native of Connecticut, who came early to this region. Of the union of Isaac J. and Abigail (Sayles) Forbes eleven children were born, of whom Gerrit A. Forbes was the sixth in order of birth. His mother had been a schoolmate of the famous American philan- thropist, Gerrit Smith, and in his honor Judge Forbes was named. He was reared on his father's farm and in his youth received but a com- mon school education. In 1860, however, having a strong desire to embrace the legal profession, he began to read in the office of Hon. B. F. Chapman of Clockville, and was admitted in May, 1863. He formed
502
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
a partnership with Judge Chapman in August of the same year. Judge Forbes served as district attorney from 1871 to 1874, and was elected justice of the Supreme Court in November, 1887. In 1884 he had be- come the head of the law firm of Forbes, Brown & Tracy at Syracuse, taking the place of Hon. George N. Kennedy in the firm of Kennedy & Tracy. Since 1868 he has resided in Canastota, and during his long residence in that village has been prominently associated with many public spirited enterprises, and in all movements having for their aim the material prosperity and moral advancement of the community; he has served as president of the Board of Education twelve consecutive years. Judge Forbes married, July 10, 1862, Ellen Brooks, daughter of Colon and Matilda (Hills) Brooks of Clockville; of their union are two children: Maude I., wife of D. Fiske Kellogg, New York, and Claude L., a practicing attorney of Syracuse.
S. Perry Smith, long a well known and successful member of the bar of the county, was born in Nelson and a son of James and Sally Smith. Until he reached middle life he remained on the home farm of his father to care for his younger brothers, James W. and John E. Smith, after which he read law and practiced in Morrisville many years and until his death April 2, 1896. He was a Democrat and supported his party both at the polls and as a public speaker on many occasions. During the war of the Rebellion he was repeatedly elected supervisor of his native town, which was strongly Republican, and performed very effi- cient service in promoting enlistments for the Union armies. He was thrice married-first to Miranda Spencer, by whom there survived him a daughter, Mrs. George C. Wilbur, of Detroit; second to Sophia Pow- ers, and third to Ella Goodfellow, who now survives him and by whom he had three children: Samuel, Bertha and Paul, who reside with their mother in Oneida.
Nathaniel Foote settled in Morrisville in 1845, removing from Che- nango county. He continued in practice throughout his long life.
Joseph Clark, who is elsewhere mentioned as the founder of Clark- ville, in Brookfield, and who was county clerk twenty years, justice of the peace twenty-five years, supervisor fifteen years, and judge of the Court of Common Pleas more than ten years, was father of Lucius P. Clark, who was born in Clarkville, January 27, 1822. He received a part of his liberal education in the Pearl Street Academy in Albany, after which he returned to Clarkville, married and learned the carriage maker's trade, which he followed about eight years. He was then ap-
PERRY G. CHILDS.
503
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
pointed deputy county clerk and removed to Morrisville in 1850. Three years later he was elected county clerk and held the office three years. During this period of six years in the office he had given all spare time to the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He was nominated in 1856 by the Democrats for Congress and frequently nom- inated for the assembly. In 1873 he was again elected county clerk.
The village of Cazenovia was the county seat from 1810 to 1817 and during that period attracted thither a number of able lawyers, while in more recent years other have found remunerative practice in that sec- tion. Schuyler Van Rensselaer and Samuel Sidney Breese settled there before the close of the last century and were professionally en- gaged. Van Rensselaer remained only a short time. Mr. Breese was the first clerk of Chenango county, receiving his appointment in the year of the erection of the county, 1798. He remained in Cazenovia in practice to about 1808, when he removed to Oneida county and was there honored as a representative in the Constitutional Convention of 1821, and with election to the Assembly of 1828.
David Dearborn, David B. Johnson, and possibly other attorneys, settled there during the first decade of the present century. Mr. Dear- born and Mr. Johnson practiced many years and both their names ap- pear in the tax list of the place in 1811. Mr. Dearborn remained in the village until his death, July 22, 1847.
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.