USA > New York > Saratoga County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York > Part 47
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
John W. Taylor was born in that part of Ballston now the town of Charlton, March 26, 1784, the son of Judge John Taylor. After being graduated from Union College in 1803, he studied law and practiced in partnership with Samuel Cook at Court House Hill. His career as a practicing lawyer was brief, however. Removing to Jessup's Landing he embarked in the lumber trade. In 1811 and 1812 he served in the Assembly, in 1812 was sent to Congress, and was re-elected for ten con- secutive terms. In the meantime he returned to reside at his old home in Ballston, and in 1819 located at Ballston Spa. Twice he was elected speaker of the House of Representatives-first in 1821 for the second session of the Sixteenth Congress to succeed Henry Clay, who had re- signed; and again in 1825, for the full term of the Nineteenth Congress. In 1840 Mr. Taylor was elected to the State Senate, but resigned August 19, 1842. Soon after he removed to Cleveland, O., where his death occurred September 18, 1854. It is a fact worthy of note that John W. Taylor was the only representative from the State of New York who ever was chosen speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress.
Thomas J. Marvin was born at East Line, in the town of Malta, in June, 1803, and was the son of William Marvin, a merchant and tavern- keeper there. He was educated, first at the famous old Ballston Acad- emy, then at Union College, from which he was graduated in 1826. Immediately entering, as a student, the office of William L. F. Warren at Saratoga Springs, he was admitted to the bar in 1829. In 1836 Gov- ernor Marcy appointed him a judge of Common Pleas, and from 1838 to 1847, when that court was abolished by the constitution, he was pre- siding judge. Aside from his legal career, Judge Marvin was a joint proprietor of the United States hotel at Saratoga Springs from 1832 to 1852, the last ten years managing that famous resort in partnership
Thes. Amania
429
THE BENCH AND BAR
with his brother, James M. Marvin. He died December 29, 1852, in his fiftieth year, hardly having passed the prime of a vigorous and most useful life.
Judge Marvin was a man of quick perceptions and was deeply read in the law. He was quick to see a point and to act upon it. When he saw that the quick con- struction of the law led to a certain end, though it might clash with the public de- mands or his own private wishes, he fearlessly did his duty. 1
John K. Porter was one of the most illustrious legal lights ever pro- duced by Saratoga county. He was a son of Dr. Elijah Porter and a grandson of Major Moses Porter, of Revolutionary fame, and was born at Waterford, Saratoga county, January 12, 1819. He died in 1896. Without attempting, in this brief review, to do anything more than to touch upon some of the most important epochs in his remarkable ca- reer, we will pass over his early studies under Prof. David McNeice at Waterford, at Lansingburgh Academy, again at Waterford under Prof. Taylor Lewis, and finally at Union College, from which he was grad- uated in 1837, after a two years' course. Beginning the study of the law under Nicholas B. Doe and Richard B. Kimball, he soon afterward be came a member of that firm, and before being admitted as an attorney in the Supreme Court, his wonderful talents were recognized by Judge Willard, who permitted him to practice in the Court of Oyer and Ter- miner. He soon came in contact with many of the most brilliant law- yers in the State, who found in him an adversary worthy of their steel. In 1840 he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court, and at once assumed a place among the most formidable leaders in the pro- fession, though the youngest of them all. He was engaged in the trial of many causes of great public interests. In 1846 he represented Sar- atoga county in the constitutional convention. In 1847 he married a daughter of Hon. Eli M. Todd of Waterford, and the following year removed to Albany, where he practiced in partnership with such law- yers as Nicholas Hill and Peter Cagger. In 1864 he became a judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, by appointment of Governor Fenton, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Henry R. Sel- den, and the following year was elected to the position by an over- whelming majority over Martin Grover. In 1867 Union College con- ferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. In January, 1868, he resigned the Court of Appeals justiceship, removed to New York and engaged in practice as the head of the firm of Porter, Lowrey, Loren
1 Enos R. Mann's " Bench and Bar of Saratoga County.".
430
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
& Stonc. In the celebrated case of Theodore Tilton against Henry Ward Beecher he was associated with William M. Evarts and others in the defense. His greatness as a lawyer was never brought into ques- tion.
Stephen P. Nash, who died at Bernardsville, N. J., June 4, 1898, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, though a native of Albany, where he was born August 26, 1821, was for many years a leading practitioner of Saratoga county. He was a son of David Nash and Hannah Payn. Educated at the Albany Academy and, after his father's death and the removal of his mother to Saratoga Springs, at the French College at Chambly, Canada, he began the study of law under Esek Cowen, was admitted to the bar in 1843, and at once, without further examination, received from Chancellor Walworth his license as solicitor and counsel in chancery. During his clerkship he had assisted Justice Cowen and Nicholas Hill in their labors on "Cowen and Hill's Notes on Phillips' Evidence." Upon his admission to the bar Mr. Nash formed a partner- ship with Judge Augustus Bockes, but soon removed to Albany to be- come junior partner to Mr. Hill, then State reporter, whom he assisted in the later volumes of his reports. In 1845 he removed to New York city, becoming a member of the firin of Walker & Nash. Shortly afterward, with Gilbert M. Speir, afterward a judge of the New York Superior Court, he formed the firm of Spier & Nash, and seventeen years later, with Edward H. Owen and Joseph H. Gray, the firm of Owen, Nash & Gray. On the dissolution of that partnership he formed with his son, John McL. Nash, and George C. Holt, the firm of Nash & Holt; with his son and J. P. Kingsford, the firm of Nash & Kings- ford; and finally with his son and Charles L. Jones the firm of S. P. & J. McL. Nash.
Mr. Nash's admission to the chancery bar, prior to the abolition of that court by the Constitution of 1846, may to some extent explain the bent of his studies. While he had a varied experience in all branches of civil jurisprudence, he has distinguished himself in a special way in the line of cases which involve equity and the remedies by which equit- able, as distinguished from purely legal, rights are enforced. A con- tributor to the New York Sun, speaking of Mr. Nash's services, said :
By the death of Stephen P. Nash, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, the American bar has lost one of its most distinguished members. Mr. Nash was par- ticularly well trained in equity jurisprudence and in those branches of legal learning which have their roots in the ecclesiastical law of England. He was also a real es-
431
THE BENCH AND BAR.
tate lawyer of exceptional ability. He was a man of refinement as well as strength, and his courteous demeanor and kindly manners might well be imitated by many young lawyers of the present day who seem to think that brusqueness or rudeness and greatness go together. In the Board of Trustees of Columbia College, where Mr. Nash had occupied a seat for thirty years, his loss will be greatly felt.
William Hay, son of James Hay, born at Cambridge, N. Y., Septem- ber 10, 1793, began the study of law in 1808, at the age of fifteen years, in the office of Henry O. Martindale at Glens Falls, whither his parents had removed when he was a child. In 1812, soon after his admission to practice, he located at Caldwell; served a short time in the war of 1812; in 1819 and 1820 edited the Warren Patriot at Lake George; in 1822 removed to Glens Falls, where he was elected to the Assembly. From 1837 to 1840 he practiced at Ballston Spa, and from 1840 to the time of his death, February 12, 1870, lived at Saratoga Springs. He was an authority on American history, and during the latter year of his life collected a vast amount of data which he had hoped to incorporate into a history of Saratoga county. "His memory was something ex- traordinary, his industry in research indefatigable, and his mind was stored with the choicest cullings from the wide fields of literature and belles-lettres." One of his daughters, Mary Payne Hay, became the wife of Hon. Augustus Bockes.
George Gordon Scott, who died at his home in Ballston Spa in 1886, aged seventy-five years, was for many years prior to that time the sole survivor not only of the old Common Pleas bench, but of the fifteen New York State senators who up to that time had been chosen from Saratoga county. Judge Scott was born in the town of Ballston May 11, 1811, the son of James Scott and grandson of George Scott.1 He was graduated from Union college in 1831, when he began the study of the law with Palmer & Goodrich at Ballston Spa, and later with Brown & Thompson, at the same place. In 1834 he was admitted to the bar; January 23, 1839, married Lucy Pitkin Lee, daughter of the Hon. Joel Lee. In 1838 Governor Marcy commissioned him judge of the county courts, but he resigned before the expiration of his term. In 1856 and 1857 he served in the Assembly; and the two following years was a member of the State Senate. Removing to the town of Ballston in 1859, he served as supervisor from that town for several years. At the centennial celebration in Ballston in 1876 he delivered a historical ad- dress, which has formed the foundation of much of the valuable and in-
1 Incidents in the early career of the Scott family are contained in Chapter VI.
432
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
teresting information incorporated into this work. He was a man of keen intellect, a just judge and as a lawyer, a man of rare ability. Judge Scott left a son, James L. Scott, now in practice at Ballston Spa.
John A. Corey, the second judge of the Saratoga County Court, suc- ceeding Augustus Bockes, was the son of Daniel Corey of Greenwich, N. Y., and was born November 5, 1805. He came to Saratoga Springs in 1824, was employed for a while by the Saratoga Sentinel, then studied law with Judge Cowen, Judiah Ellsworth and Nicholas Hill. In 1835 he was admitted to the bar; in 1838 was appointed examiner in chancery; from 1844 to 1853 published the Saratoga Republican, was justice of the peace several years, and upon the resignation of Augustus Bockes as county judge, was appointed to fill the unexpired term. In 1855 President Pierce offered him the governorship of the territory of Kansas, but he declined the honor. In 1856 he was appointed United States commissioner, serving as such until his death in 1873.
James B. Mckean, county judge from 1855 to 1859, organizer and first colonel of the Seventy seventh Regiment New York Volunteers in the Rebellion,1 studied law with General Bullard at Waterford and was admitted to the bar in 1847. In 1855 he was one of the founders of the Republican party, and in 1858 was elected to Congress. He was re-elected in 1860, but left Washington to come home and organize the regiment which he led to the front. At the conclusion of his term in Congress he resumed the practice of his profession; accepted from President Grant the office of chief justice of Utah, and he doubtless was the first federal officer in that territory to comprehend the full im- port of the designs of Brigham Young. At the conclusion of his term of office he located in Salt Lake City, where for many years he prac- ticed his profession.
John W. Crane, county judge from 1859 to 1863, and from 1877 to 1882, was born at West Milton, September 30, 1827, the son of Justus Crane. He was educated at Smith & Bang's and Prof. Hancock's acad- emies at Saratoga Springs, studied law with William M. Searing and William A. Beach, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and besides serving as county judge has filled other local offices. He still enjoys a large practice at Saratoga Springs.
John C. Hulbert, county judge from 1863 to 1871, was born in Pitts- ford, Vt., February 12, 1817, the son of Luther Hulbert; was educated at Saratoga Springs; served an apprenticeship in the office of the Balls-
1 See Chapter XII.
CHARLES S. LESTER.
433
THE BENCH AND BAR.
ton Spa Gazette; studied law with Thomas J. Marvin, Nicholas Hill and William A. Beach; was admitted to the bar in 1836, and was sur- rogate from 1847 to 1856.
Charles S. Lester, who is still enjoying active practice at Saratoga Springs, was county judge from 1871 to 1876. He was born in Wor- cester, Mass., in March, 1825, and was educated in the Salem academy. His father died while Charles S. Lester was a child, and the latter was placed in charge of his maternal uncle, Judge John Willard, then resid- ing at Salem. Young Lester began the study of his profession in the office of Crary & Fairchild at Salem, in 1842, continuing his studies in the office of Judge Willard, who in the meantime had removed to Sara toga Springs. In 1846 he was admitted to the bar, and soon formed a partnership with William Cullen Bockes, brother of Judge Augustus Bockes. Subsequent partnerships were formed with Frederick S. Root, A. L. Bartlett, and Alembert Pond. In 1859 he was elected district attorney; in 1870 was elected county judge, was re-elected three years later and served two terms. Judge Lester for more than a score of years has been associated in practice with his eldest son, Charles C. Lester, and their practice for many years has been very heavy and lucrative. He is esteemed as one of the soundest members of the Sara- toga county bar. His three sons, Charles C., Willard and James W., are also attorneys and prominent citizens of the county. The latter is major in the Second Regiment of New York Volenteers, which served in the war with Spain.
Jesse S. L'Amoreaux, born in Wilton, December 11, 1837, and ed- ucated at the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, at first taught school in his native town and at Schuylerville. Studying law with Lewis & Welles at the latter place he was admitted to the bar, and in 1858 re- moved to Ballston Spa, where he practiced successively in partnership with C. C. Hill, George W. Chapman, Alvah C. Dake and Seth Wha- len. Since 1885 he has practiced his profession independently. He became a charter member of the Bar Association of New York State. He served as judge of Saratoga county from 1883 to 1889, has been attorney for the First National bank of Ballston Spa since its organ- ization, and in 1887 was the candidate of the Republican party for State comptroller. Judge L'Amoreaux is acknowledged to be one of the most sagacious members of the bar of Saratoga county.
John O. Mott, now occupying a local bench in New York city, is a grandson of Zebulon Mott of Halfmoon. He studied law with John K.
28
434
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Porter, was admitted to the bar in 1854, two years later was elected district attorney, and soon after the expiration of his term removed to New York, where he soon became recognized as one of the leaders of the metropolitan bar.
Chesselden Ellis was born in New Windsor, Vt., in 1808; was grad- uated from Union College in 1823, and having studied law with Hon. John Cramer of Waterford, was admitted to the bar in 1829. He was appointed district attorney April 25, 1837, upon the resignation of Nicholas Hill, but resigned the office in 1843 to take a seat in Congress. He was defeated for re-election in 1844, and the following year re- moved to New York city, where he practiced his profession until his death in 1854.
George S. Batcheller,1 who for several years had been one of the prominent representatives of the bar of Saratoga county, was honored, in 1875, by appointment as the American member of the Interna- tional Court at Cairo, Egypt, established that year upon the request of the khedive of Egypt. General Batcheller served in this office for several years, with great credit to himself and the government which appointed him. Judge Batcheller had served as member of assembly from Saratoga county in 1873 and 1874, and subsequently served in the same body in 1886 and in 1889. In the latter year he was appointed assistant secretary of the United States treasury, serving through the administration of President Benjamin Harrison. In 1897 President Mckinley reappointed him as a member of the International Court at Cairo where he is now serving.
Lewis Varney was born January 29, 1838, in Luzerne, Warren county, N. Y. After studying law in the office of Ellsworth & Butler at Saratoga Springs, he was admitted to the bar in May, 1861, and soon gained a lucrative practice. He won several notable cases early in his career. He was the sole delegate to the judicial convention of 1887 in favor of the nomination of Hon. John R. Putnam as justice of the Supreme Court. There was a deadlock between the two leading candidates, and by persistent work Mr. Varney, aided by John L. Henning, Hon. Edgar T. Brackett and eight others, won the nomina- tion for the candidate of his choice, who was also the choice of the leaders of the Saratoga bar. Mr. Varney was a staunch Republican, and served in the Assembly in 1890 and 1891. He introduced the bill abolishing the pensions of the judges of the Court of Appeals, securing
1 See Chapter XII.
435
THE BENCH AND BAR.
its passage after it had been unfavorably reported by the judiciary committee. He was married in 1864 to Miss Kate E. Hill, who, with a son and three daughters, survives him. Mr. Varney's death occurred at Saratoga Springs October 5, 1898.
Edgar Luyster Fursman of Troy, now a justice of the Supreme Court, was born in Saratoga county August 5, 1838, was educated in the Schuylerville and Greenwich academies, the New York Conference seminary at Charlotteville, and the Fort Edward Institute; studied law with Hon. A. D. Wait at Fort Edward; was admitted to practice in 1858 at Caldwell, N. Y., and practiced for several years at Schuyler- ville. In 1866 he removed to Troy, N. Y., where, in 1882, he was elected judge of Rensselaer county, and re-elected in 1888. In 1889 he was elevated to the Supreme bench; his term expires in 1903.
Edward Fitch Bullard, born at Schuylerville February 7, 1821, began the practice of law at Waterford in 1840. Four years later Governor Bouck appointed him examiner in chancery to succeed John K. Porter, and he held this office until it was abolished by the constitution of 1847. Mr. Bullard has with great industry and perseverance acquired and conducted a large practice. He is now in New York city.
Oliver L. Barbour, a nephew of and for many years confidential clerk to Chancellor Walworth, was born in Washington county in 1811, but removed to Saratoga when a boy. Though never engaged largely in the practice of his profession, he was the author, editor or compiler of the sixty-seven volumes of Barbour's Supreme Court Reports and three volumes of Chancery Reports, and numerous valuable legal works, a grand legacy left by him to the legal profession. His works have been highly commended by great jurists and other authorities of high repute.
Among others, of those deceased, was Judiah Ellsworth, of Saratoga Springs, a contemporary of Judge Esek Cowen. He practiced for many years in all the courts of the State, and will be well remembered by the older inhabitants of the county. In his time he was one of the leaders of the profession, and well known for his legal attainments, his oratorical ability and his quickness of apprehension. His name appears as one of the counsel engaged in numerous cases in the reports of the State through a period of many years.
William T. Odell was a contemporary of Judge Scott, became dis- trict attorney, and was a prominent lawyer and citizen of Ballston Spa for many years.
Isaac C. Ormsby of Waterford, whose death occurred a few years
436
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
since, acted as district attorney of the county. He was a popular officer and universally esteemed as a citizen and a lawyer.
Daniel Shepherd, at one time a partner of William A. Beach, obtained a prominent position at the bar. He was known for his legal attain- ments, as well as his literary ability. He died at a comparatively early age. His son, Augustine W. Shepherd, late corporation counsel of the village of Saratoga Springs, is now practicing at that place, and has in- herited much of the legal ability of his father.
Frederick S. Root, a contemporary of Judge C. S. Lester, practiced his profession at Saratoga Springs. Prior to his decease, which oc- curred when he was about forty years of age, he had attained a respected position at the bar.
Joseph A. Shoudy was at one time a partner of Lemuel B. Pike, and later of Frederick S. Root. He was much esteemed as a lawyer and a citizen. After practicing for several years at Saratoga Springs. he removed to New York City, and there became engaged in a successful business, which continued until his death.
Alembert Pond, at one time a partner of Judge C. S. Lester, and subsequently a member of the firm of Pond, French & Brackett, prac- ticed for many years at Saratoga Springs. He was a recognized leader of the bar, well known for his extraordinary industry and legal attain- ments. His preparation of cases for trial or argument in appellate courts was most exhaustive, and he was always regarded by his brother practitioners as a most formidable antagonist.
Among the well known and successful lawyers who have practiced in the county and are now deceased, we might also mention Henry W. Merrill, Franklin Hoag, John Van Rensselaer, William M. Searing, and James P. Butler. The son of the latter, Walter P. Butler, is now engaged in practice in Saratoga Springs.
Edgar T. Brackett was born at Emerson's Corners, Saratoga county, N. Y., July 30, 1853. In childhood he removed with his parents to Mount Vernon, Iowa, where in 1872 he was graduated from Cornell College of that place. In September of that year he removed to Sara- toga Springs and began the study of law in the office of Pond & French, being admitted to the bar in June, 1875. Since 1876 he has practiced law in Saratoga Springs, first as a member of the firm of Pond, French & Brackett, then as the head of the firm of. Brackett, Butler & Baucus. He is now practicing alone. In 1895 he was elected to represent the Twenty-eighth district in the New York State Senate and still serves in that capacity.
Sva hy E & Milhares D Brs
No let
19
Theo dore Afaitton
437
THE BENCH AND BAR.
John Foley began the study of the law in the office of L. B. Pike at Saratoga Springs, and was admitted to the bar in 1869. He served as justice of the peace for Saratoga Springs for four years; was a member of the board of education of that village for nine years; was elected district attorney in 1883, and was chosen State senator in 1887. He has served as president of the Citizens' National bank of Saratoga Springs since 1888. Mr. Foley is regarded as one of the most able lawyers in the State, and above all is esteemed as a man of profound integrity.
Theodore F. Hamilton, after being educated in the schools of New York city, began his business career as a reporter on the New York Sun. Subsequently he was engaged in mercantile life, after which he began the study of law with Starr & Hooker of New York and took a course in the law department of Hamilton college. In 1872 he began practice at Ballston Spa, and in 1886 located permanently at Saratoga Springs. He served three terms as district attorney being first elected in 1886. In recent years he has devoted much of his time to practice as attorney for the Fitchburg Railroad company. He is regarded as one of the keenest attorneys in this section of the State.
James Watson Verbeck, only son of William and Margaret A. (Gil- bert) Verbeck, was born in the town of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, N. Y., December 14, 1848. He moved with his parents to the old Huddleston homestead at The Geysers in the town of Saratoga Springs, purchased by his father, in 1858. Was prepared for college at Prof. Robb's Saratoga Collegiate institute; entered Union college in 1866 and was graduated from there in the classical course in 1870. He studied law with Judge Heath at Amsterdam, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar at Albany in June, 1874. He commenced the practice of law at Ballston Spa immediately after his admission, and has continued his practice there to the present time, making no particular branch of the law a specialty, and practicing as attorney and also as counsel in all the courts of the State. He has an excellent library, and has been industrious and successful. In politics he has been a lifelong and active Republican, and has always been much interested and active in educational matters.
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.