The bench and bar of New-York. Containing biographical sketches of eminent judges, and lawyers of the New-York bar, incidents of the important trials in which they were engaged, and anecdotes connected with their professional, political and judicial career, Part 3

Author: Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. cn
Publication date: 1870
Publisher: New York, Diossy & company
Number of Pages: 812


USA > New York > The bench and bar of New-York. Containing biographical sketches of eminent judges, and lawyers of the New-York bar, incidents of the important trials in which they were engaged, and anecdotes connected with their professional, political and judicial career > Part 3


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The election of 1840 resulted in the triumph of the Whig party, and the election of General Harrison.


One of the first acts of President Harrison was to appoint Mr. Hoffman United States District-Attorney. The duties of this office were congenial to his taste, and in the discharge of them, new professional honors awaited him. As has already been said, at the expi- ration of Mr. Maxwell's term as District-Attorney of New York City, in 1829, Mr. Hoffman succeeded him. The experience of six years in the discharge of this office gave him peculiar qualifications for the office which General Harrison bestowed upon him.


He continued to discharge the duties of this office for a little over a year after the accession of Mr. Tyler to the presidential chair, when he resigned. Though "one of the great lights of the Whig party," after retiring from Congress in 1841, he mingled but little in active politics.


In the fall of 1854 he was elected Attorney-General of the State, and served the usual term of two years. This was the last official position which Mr. Hoffman held. From the time of his leaving Congress, almost up to the very hour when death fell upon him, he was engaged in his professional duties.


As has been well said of him by another : "The


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OGDEN HOFFMAN.


great triumphs of Ogden Hoffman were at the bar, and it is no disparagement to others to say, that there he was unequaled. His legal erudition was laid deep in the foundations of great elemental truths. It may be said of him-to borrow the idea of one who combined the philosophy of law with sagacious states- manship-that as lawyer his mind was not confined within the narrow sphere of the every-day practice of our courts ; but it arose to the lofty hights of the great principles of national and public morality."


As one of the leading journals of the City of New York remarked at the time of his death :


"No man in our city has ever had a larger circle of personal friends. No man in the practice of the law in this State enjoyed more universally, the un- qualified affection of the members of his profession. His social qualities were of the highest order. Indeed, his genial and kindly nature influenced him in his course in politics as much as in private life, and saved him from the hostility of opponents."


As an evidence of the truth of this remark, as soon as his death was announced in the city, the Demo- cratic General Committee immediately assembled. Lorenzo B. Shepard took the chair, and John Coch- rane offered the following resolution :


" Resolved, That the members of this committee have heard with emotions of regret of the decease of ยท Hon. Ogden Hoffman, late Attorney-General of the State, and for many years a representative in Congress from the City of New York; that his uniform frank- ness and courtesy of character, his honest devotion to the constitution of the country, his services rendered as an officer in the navy of the United States with the gallant Decatur, with his large abilities and capabil- ities for future usefulness, all combine to impress us with the loss we have sustained in common with the citizens of this State."


This resolution, originating as it did, from political


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THE BENCH AND BAR.


opponents with whom Mr. Hoffman had often met in the collisions of party strife, is one of the most beau- tiful commentaries upon his life and character which could be offered or produced.


In person, Mr. Hoffman was slightly above the medium hight, full proportioned and erect. Two years before his death, an article descriptive of his personal appearance appeared in one of the New York papers.


"Who is that merry-faced, laughing-eyed, slouchy looking elderly gentleman, with thin whitish hair, for whom everybody in the crowd makes way about the City Hall steps, and who pause in their conversation to look at and bow to ? Who is it? A pretty ques- tion to ask about one of the most beloved of men-one of the most popular, and who for this year, and one to come, will occupy the next highest position in the United States to the Cabinet Attorney-General. You only whisper the question, for not to know him will unquestionably argue yourself unknown.


"He has been in the legislature, he has been Dis- trict-Attorney in two counties, he has been United States District-Attorney and member of Congress, before occupying his present office, which was never so well adorned. He has a future, too, of promise, for he has already been named for Governor and Vice- President.


"He is the best orator in the State by all odds. He speaks with great ease and fluency, in choice language, in well-rounded sentences, and with a grace of gesture and dignity of manner. He can be gay, witty and pathetic, but chiefly excels in the latter. Few who heard his defense of Richard P. Robinson, can forget his 'My poor boy.' "


It may well be said of Mr. Hoffman, that he was "not of great property, but rich in integrity." He never aspired to riches, he saw around him, on every side, too much of vulgar wealth, too many instances


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of plowmen turned lords, too much tawdry display in those whom fortune relieved of poverty, while she left to them their reeking vulgarity, to desire that kind of distinction.


How many there are in the great metropolis who have bartered happiness, soul, body, manhood, every- thing, to become wealthy, and who count their wealth by millions, yet cannot purchase with it all, two simple lines that record the fame of Ogden Hoffman.


Mr. Hoffman continued to wear the armor of the bar-to be a contestant in that arena to which he was drawn by his youthful ambition, and where he made his name memorable and historic, until, like a gallant veteran, he fell on the field of his glory.


He died suddenly on the second day of May, 1856, in the sixty-third year of his age.


The general demonstration of public and private sorrow that followed the announcement of his death, attested the estimation in which he was held.


A large meeting of the New York City bar was immediately convened at the City Hall. All the courts in session in the city immediately adjourned, and in many parts of the city business was suspended.


A committee consisting of Ambrose L. Jordon, Joseph Blunt, J. W. Edmonds, Charles O'Conor, Francis B. Cutting and Daniel Lord, were appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the high respect which his surviving brethren of the bar entertained for his memory, and their grief at his loss.


Since that period, the chairman of that committee and several of its members have followed him to the bar of that dread Being to whom the distinctions of earth are nothing, at whose right hand are eternal pleasures and glories.


The demonstration at Mr. Hoffman's funeral has never been equaled in the city, since Hamilton went to his grave.


Mr. Hoffman left one son, who is the present Judge


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THE BENCH AND BAR.


Ogden Hoffman of the United States District Court for California-a son worthy of his honored father.


The character of Ogden Hoffman, whether as the lawyer, legislator, orator, or the private citizen - the husband-the father-the Christian gentleman, is certainly one to be studied-to be admired-to be imitated. 1


GEORGE P. BARKER.


His Character .- Parentage .- Dr. Payson .- Enters Amherst College .- Interesting Incident, nearly resulting in his Expulsion .- His Able and Successful Defense .- . Is Transferred to Union College .- Gains the Friendship of Dr. Nott .- Thrown on his own Resources .- Commences the Study of Law while in College .- Alonzo C. Page .- Tries Law Suits in Schenectady .- Incident .- Graduates .-- Removes to Buffalo .- Millard Fillmore .- Barker is Admitted to the Bar .- Commences Prac- tice at Buffalo .- Becomes Singularly Engaged in an Important Criminal Trial at Albany .- Touching Incident .- Edward Livingston .- Gratifying Results of the Trial .- Appointed District-Attorney .- Elected to the Legislature .- His Political and Professional Career .- Contest for Mayor .- Election of 1840 .- Appointed Attorney-General .- Action of the Buffalo Bar .- Election of 1844 .- Re-appointed District-Attorney .- His Health .- Case of Pollock .- Interesting Incident .- Syra- cuse Convention .- His Last Political Speech .- His Death .- Proceedings of the Bar in Relation to his Death .- Conclusion.


DISTINGUISHED as George P. Barker was in his profession, yet such was his versatility, that the linea- ments of his mind and character appear with as much advantage in the politician and legislator, as they do in the lawyer. His early participation in the political contests of the State rendered his intellect active, saga- cious, and inventive, without extinguishing and para- lyzing sentiment and truth-without creating that in- satiable ambition for power and place, which so often ends in cold selfishness, a degraded submission to the corrupting details of party drill, and in a dislike for all the private avocations of life.


Mr. Barker's unswerving devotion to the Demo- cratic party was, with him, the offspring of disinter- ested patriotism. Fearless in attacking its enemies, dexterous in defense, maintaining its principles with rare intellectual resources, he united his name with those great politicians who have rendered that party


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THE BENCH AND BAR.


formidable and enduring through so many years, and who, whatever may have been their real or supposed political errors, have sustained the democracy, "with poetry, eloquence, and learning; with the graces of wit, the glow of imagination, the power of philosophy, the strength of reason and logic." In the earnestness of debate, in the struggles of the forum, though often opposed by the most distinguished talents, he had few superiors ; while as a private citizen, in the social walks of life, he commanded that respect which his abilities secured him at the bar, or in legislative halls. At times, however, his character, public as well as private, was assailed with singular malignity and pertinacity, by those recriminations of party abuse, which unfortunately are so inseparable from political contests, and which to those who are not ut- terly callous are almost beyond endurance, and in which no term of reproach is too severe, no vitupera- tion too excessive ; so that, as has been well said, the history of most politicians can be written in three sen- tences : They were born-they quarreled-they died.


There was, in the character of Mr. Barker, a frank- ness which unveiled his faults ; thus rendering him vulnerable to the attack of his enemies. But to the keen and quick susceptibilities of his nature, there was allied an independence, which turned the edge of detraction, causing the malevolence of envy, which snarls at all above it, to pass harmlessly by him.


To say that his character was above reproach would simply be saying that he was not human ; but to say that he possessed many virtues, many quali- ties that redeemed his faults, that among the elo- quent, the gifted, and the refined, he was always an equal and a favorite-to say that his faults are in oblivion, is no overdrawn panegyric-it is but a truth- ful appeal to the adorner and beautifier of the dead- the gathering of those pearls which were the rich earn- ings of his life, for a votive offering to his memory.


George Payson Barker was the only child of pa-


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GEORGE P. BARKER.


rents who, contented with a small income, were inde- pendent-who, happy in themselves, were free from ambition, and "the mad'ning crowd's ignoble strife." The only wealth which they could give their son was the memory of their inflexible integrity, and their un- sullied name. He was born at Rindge, in the State of New Hampshire, on the twenty-fifth day of October, 1807. His mother was a sister of the celebrated Dr. Payson, in whom high attainments and rare intellect- ual powers were blended with the love of God, the love of man, and the love of duty; who preached with power and effect, because he gave himself with a single heart to his sacred office, and who wrote, prompted by " those inspirations which flow from the Rock of Ages."


While George was quite young, Dr. Payson ob- served in him a mind susceptible of the highest culti- vation, and he determined to give him those advant- ages for an education which the limited means of his pa- rents denied him. One year and a half the doctor him- self superintended the studies of his nephew. It was a fortunate circumstance in the life of Mr. Barker that the foundation of his education was laid by the hands of such a mental architect as was Dr. Payson, whose instruction dilated, nourished, and elicited the powers of his pupil's intellect, while it gave ardor to his heart, and quickened his young mind to a consciousness of its onward, lofty nature, of its affinity for all that is beautiful, to raise its aim and hope to progress and enlargement. George was also encouraged by his uncle, to practice those athletic exercises and accom- plishments which develop the physical powers, while they give grace and elegance to the person.


Such was the progress which young Barker made in his studies that, in 1823, he was admitted to Am- herst College. Soon after his entrance into this insti- tution, an incident occurred, which came near result- ing in his expulsion. There was a student in the college at this time, by the name of Collins. He pos-


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sessed much physical power, and, conscious of his great strength, he was bold, impudent, and tyrannical to all who did not possess the courage and strength to resent his swaggering insolence. This person soon commenced asserting his supposed superiority over young Barker, who, for the sake of avoiding a colli- sion, submitted patiently to the assumptions of the bully, hoping that time would change his conduct towards him. At length this insolence became so in- supportable that George was advised, by one of the students, to resent this treatment, even at the expense of a fight, "for you must not submit to this conduct any longer," said he.


"If I fight him I shall be expelled," was the reply.


"I don't believe you will be expelled ; at any rate you must take your chances on that, for you cannot remain here, under these circumstances."


" I will report him to the faculty," said George.


"And be laughed at by all the students in the col- lege," said his friend.


"Well," said Barker, after a moment's reflection, his fine eyes flashing fire, "the next time Collins gives me any of his insolence, I will thrash him, or he shall me, expulsion or no expulsion."


"Are you sure you can do it ?" asked his friend.


"Wait and see ;" was the laconic reply, and the young men parted.


The next morning as Barker, in company with sev- eral of the students, was about entering the chapel, at the hour of morning prayer, Collins came hastily up to him, and attempted to crowd him from the walk. Failing in this attempt, he made another, but without success.


"Do you dare brave me in this way ?" said Collins, enraged at the firmness with which his attempt was resisted.


"I do, sir ; and I dare do more," said Barker.


"And pray, Mister what's your name, what do you propose to do ?" said Collins.


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GEORGE P. BARKER.


"To tell you that you are an insolent puppy !" was the reply.


"Take that," said Collins, striking Barker in the face with a pair of wet gloves which he held in his hand.


The next instant he received a blow from Barker which sent him reeling and bleeding to the ground. Recovering himself, Collins sprang at his assailant with the fury of a tiger ; but he had now found his match, and another heavy blow again prostrated him upon the ground. This time Barker followed up his advantage ; planting his knees on the breast of the enemy, he prepared for further vengeance ; but a cry for mercy now arrested the uplifted arm of George, in- stantly bringing back all the generous impulses of his nature. Releasing his now thoroughly conquered foe, he aided him in regaining his feet. Collins did not attempt to renew the contest, but slunk abashed and ashamed to his room. Fearing expulsion, he soon after left the college.


Barker was summoned before the faculty to show cause why he should not be expelled for disre- garding one of the rules of the college. He defended himself with such spirit and ability, that he won the admiration of the tribunal before which he stood. After his relation of the affair was concluded, he was asked by the president of the college, what he sup- posed his uncle, Dr. Payson, would say about his conduct ?


"I don't know what he would say, but I know this, had he been in my place, he would have repre- sented the church in two aspects," was the reply.


" What two aspects of the church would he have represented, sir?" asked one of the professors present.


" The church militant, and the church triumphant ; for he would have fought Collins as I did, but he would have thrashed him much worse than I did, or else I am mistaken in the blood of the Paysons," said George.


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THE BENCH AND BAR.


"Young man," replied the president, endeavoring to suppress a smile, "your uncle is a man of peace"-


" And of spirit," said George.


"Do not interrupt me, sir," said the president. "As I was saying, your uncle is a man of peace; he fights with the sword of the spirit, but with no carnal weapons, in obedience to that awful voice, which bade our fathers be nearest of the congregation to the vision. In future, curb your passion, and do not attempt the heroism of Hercules and Thesus. With old Polonius, I will now say, 'beware of entrance to a quarrel.' "


"I followed the advice of Polonius to the letter, and endeavored to avoid 'an entrance to a quarrel, but, being in, I bore it that the oppressor may beware of me.' Was not that his advice, sir ?" said George.


"You have made a good defense, sir,-a defense which smacks of the lawyer. Your uncle, I fear, will find you a disciple of Blackstone, instead of a student of theology. We excuse you this time, because the provocation which moved you was great."


With these remarks Barker was dismissed from further censure. This was the only quarrel in which he was engaged while at Amherst.


He was regarded as one of the most promising stu- dents in that institution. In the various literary exer- cises in which he engaged while there, he won the com- mendation of students and faculty. Dr. Payson was a warm personal friend of the late Dr. Nott, of Union College. Anxious to place his nephew under the in- structions of that truly eminent scholar, he procured his honorable discharge from Amherst, and in October, 1826, he was regularly entered a student at Union College ; here he maintained the high reputation which he had gained at Amherst. Unfortunately, however, when he had been at Schenectady a half year, pecu- niary embarrassments overtook his uncle, and during the remainder of his time in college, he was mainly dependent upon his own resources for support. But accepting this new turn of affairs with cheerfulness,


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GEORGE P. BARKER.


he encountered the difficulties in his way with that determination which caused them to yield before him.


Having decided to adopt the legal profession for his future occupation, he entered his name as a stu- dent at law, in the office of Hon. Alonzo C. Paige, of Schenectady, an able and distinguished member of the New York State bar, the author of Paige's Chan- cery Reports, and subsequently one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the State, for the fourth judicial district. He was a lawyer of extensive and varied learning, an efficient and gifted writer-a judge of great judicial ability blended with that high-toned courtesy which rendered him a favorite with the pro- fession. It was a fortunate circumstance for young Barker that he made the friendship of this eminent lawyer. Mr. Paige at once appreciated the active mind, the abilities and the industry of his student, and therefore encouraged and assisted the young man in various ways.


Devoting all the time he could spare from his other studies to the law, he soon gained sufficient legal knowledge to enable him to successfully try causes in the minor courts of Schenectady.


The first case which he attempted to try, was in the defense of several college students arrested for a riot. Appearing before the magistrate on the day of the examination, armed with his authorities, he boldly took his seat at the table opposite the counsel for the prosecution, who was a lawyer that in justices' courts had attained considerable notoriety. At first the lawyer regarded his young antagonist with contempt ; he even attempted to try his wit upon "the unfledged nursling of the bar," as he called Barker. But he soon found in his young antagonist "a foeman worthy of his steel." When the prosecution closed the evidence, George moved for the discharge of the prisoners, on the ground that no riot had been estab- lished within the purview of the law. He sustained 3


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his points with an ingenious argument fortified by competent authority, and the court sustained him.


This trial was witnessed by a large number of stu- dents and many other spectators; its result placed George conspicuously before the public, while it ren- dered him famous in the college. From that time, he had more retainers than he could possibly attend to ; and though his receipts from them were considerable, they were not sufficient to defray all his expenses, and he was obliged to incur a small debt to the col- lege, which in a very short time after graduating he promptly paid.


Among his classmates were the late Preston King, Hon. Rufus W. Peckham, W. W. Campbell, Minthorne Tompkins, Ambrose Stevens and other gentlemen who are now, or have been, eminent before the public. Several gentlemen who afterwards became his fellow citizens at Buffalo were in college with him, members of a junior class.


On the 27th day of July, 1827, Mr. Barker gradu- ated with honor. He delivered a commencement ora- tion which revealed the energy and power of his mind -his refined taste, original thoughts, robed in a well tempered imagination. Soon after graduating, he visited Buffalo ; so pleased was he with the appear- ance of the village, as it was then, so palpably did he behold its future business developments, that he de- cided to make it his future home. On leaving Sche- nectady, Mr. Paige gave him a letter of introduction to the late Stephen G. Austen, Esq., a leading lawyer of the Buffalo bar, in whose office Barker immediately entered as a student at law. With the exception of Mr. Austen, he was a stranger in the new home which he had selected, and his means were exceedingly lim- ited. The struggles and difficulties which lay before him did not impede his progress; they rather accele- rated it. He at once engaged in the trial of causes before courts held by justices of the peace in the vil- lage, and in various parts of the county. The experi-


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GEORGE P. BARKER.


ence of several years' practice in these courts while in college, rendered him a strong advocate before them.


Hon. Millard Fillmore was then a young lawyer, just admitted to the bar; he was often an opponent of Barker, and it is said by those who witnessed their carly professional contests, that frequently, in the trial of a cause before a justice and a jury, intellectual powers and legal learning were exhibited by them which would have been creditable before any court. These young men were entirely different in their minds and intellectual development.


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As a speaker, Mr. Fillmore did not possess that brilliancy-that electrical influence over his auditors -which Barker did. But he possessed in a high de- gree, that weight and strength of intellect, that power of discovering what is prominent and commanding in a subject, and then seizing upon its good points, and of throwing lesser matters in the background ; thus securing unity and distinctness of impressions, and as a consequence, a powerful influence over his hearers. His arguments were always remarkable for the sound- ness of the principles on which they were based. He was the untiring, ever-watchful sentinel, who guarded his subject, and protected every avenue through which an opponent could approach it. These characteristics distinguished his legislative speeches, and tended to strengthen those able, learned and dignified State papers which emanated from his pen, in those days, when, as an American statesman, he stood conspicu- ous before his country and the world.


Mr. Barker invoked in support of his arguments, not only the muse of poetry, but the assistance of a subtle philosophy, and an eloquence which fascinated, charmed and subdued. The career of these young men, thus commenced, led to their future eminence and distinction ; the one to be admired as the law- yer and legislative orator, the other to be advanced through all the spheres of official position, until he occupied the executive chair of the nation. Both of


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them are characters worthy the imitation of young men. They were each the artificers of their own for- tunes, each attained their eminent positions unaided by friends or wealth. Their lives and career attest the glory of our institutions, proving the couplet of the old poet true :




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