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 4
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" 'Tis a common proof That lowliness is young Ambition's ladder."
With untiring energy and industry, Barker sus- tained himself with credit and honor until October, 1830, when he was admitted to the bar. He had been a close and ardent student,-with his legal studies he had investigated the politics of the nation, the origin of parties, he had carefully marked their distinctive characteristics, and their influence. From reason, conviction and inclination, he early attached himself to the Democratic party.
George J. Bryan, Esq., in his interesting memoir of Mr. Barker, thus speaks of his early politics :
" At the time of his arrival in Buffalo, the State was agitated by the conflicting strife of three political parties : the Jackson, or Democratic party, the Na- tional Republicans, and the Anti-Masonic party. In his district, the eighth senatorial, the Anti-Masonic party prevailed by a very large majority, over both the others, and the Democratic party was the smallest of the three. Actuated by no motive but principle, he did not hesitate in which of these parties to enroll himself ; regardless of interest, immediate or remote, and fully sensible of the hopeless minority of the De- mocratic party, he fearlessly entered its ranks, and with all his energy, zeal and ability, entered into the support of General Jackson and the principles of the Democracy."
There was something in the name and fame of "Old Hickory," as he was familiarly called in those days, peculiarly attractive to young and ardent minds like Barker's; nor can it be denied that the experienced,
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the middle-aged. and the old, were equally fascinated by the prompt and undaunted valor and Roman hero- ism of him who in youth swore "by the Eternal," that he would make his way to fame.
Immediately after being called to the bar, he formed a copartnership with his friend and patron, S. G. Austen, Esq. Though the Erie bar had not at- tained that high reputation for ability which has since distinguished it, yet at that period, Barker was obliged to contend with men of eminent and powerful abilities, experience and learning; but he entered the arena with confidence, and he at once assumed a position of great respectability at the bar.
The first official position which he occupied, was that of clerk of Buffalo village, to which position he was appointed in 1829. This office did not in any degree interfere with his legal labors, and his pro- fessional advancement was unusually rapid. There were in the character and manners of Barker features which were highly attractive ; prominent among these, was the singular grace of his conversation which abounded in wit, fully instinct with a variety of knowledge, diversified with reading and anecdotes of rare interest. There were times in the latter part of his life when he was not in a pleasant humor-times when a habit which all who knew him regretted, caused clouds to settle over a temperament bright, clear, and, at times, even beautiful.
The selfishness with which he was sometimes charged, did not really exist in his character. Those who knew him best, insist that he was generous to a fault. An instance is related which occurred in his early practice that illustrates very many of the ten- dencies of his character.
In October, 1832, he was detained at Albany for two or three days, awaiting the arrival of certain persons with whom he had important business. At this time a Court of Oyer and Terminer was in session in that city, at which the late Judge James Vander-
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poel presided. The next morning after his arrival, he sought the court room for the purpose of passing away the time in observing the proceedings of the court. His route led him by the old Albany jail. Just before reaching that grim receptacle of crime and misery, two officers, having in charge a pale young man, ap- parently about twenty-one years of age, came from the prison, stepped upon the walk directly in front of him, and moved in the same direction he was going. The prisoner was of middling size, slender in form, with agreeable, pleasant features. As he reached the street, the pleasant sunlight, the pure, soft air of that October morning, seemed to exhilarate him, and his dark eyes glanced with something like happiness, as he lifted them to the clear sky, "where all things are free." The three persons walked with a rapid pace towards the court house ; they had proceeded but a short distance, when they were met by a very respec- tably appearing, decently clad woman, about forty years of age. The moment her eyes fell upon the prisoner, she sprang forward and clasped him in her arms, exclaiming,
"O George! George ! My boy ! my son !"
The sudden appearance of the woman caused the officers to halt.
"Mother, why did you not wait at the court house for me ?" said the prisoner, endeavoring to smother his emotions.
"Because I did not see you there, George; and I thought perhaps you might not have your trial to- day, after all, and I started to see you at the jail. O my boy ! my darling !" said the poor woman, her voice now broken with sobs ; "are they going to try you now ?"'
" Yes, mother, I am to be tried to-day ; but calm yourself, I trust all will be well with me, for God above us knows that I am not guilty," said the young man.
"You guilty, George ? you guilty ?" O no, no ! you are not. You cannot be guilty, you are so good,
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so true-there-there now you look just as you used to when on your knees I taught you your first little prayer, in our dear old "-
"Come, come, woman, stand aside, and don't hinder us any longer ; the young man is wanted up yonder," said one of the officers, pointing towards the court house.
"O, sir," said the woman, turning to the speaker, " do see that he is not injured-he is innocent, I know he is."
"How do you know that, woman ?" gruffly asked the other officer, "maybe you can swear for him."
" Because-because I am his mother, and-and I taught him his prayers and"-
"Yes, yes, we know all about that. You ain't the first good mother that's had a bad boy for a son, a real rum one at that," said the first officer. "Come on, my covey. Twelve men have something to say about your case." "
Barker's progress was arrested by this pathetic scene, of which he had so singularly become a silent witness. Deeply touched by the appear- ance of the mother and the son, he followed them to the court house. Just before ascending the stairs which led to the court room the young man paused a moment :
"Mother," said he, "is Mr. Aikin going to under- take my defense ?"
"Not unless we pay him in advance, and-and- we have no money, you know."
"O God, have mercy on me ! What shall I do ?" said the young man, losing control of himself in his mental agony.
"Come along ; don't stop to blubber here. The court will appoint some one to defend you," said one of the officers, seizing the prisoner by the collar, and urging him up the stairs, followed by his weeping, trembling mother.
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He was soon seated in the prisoners' box, to await the proceedings of the court.
The young lawyer followed the officer into the court room, and seated himself within the bar. He had now a better opportunity for observing the young man, who had recovered, in a measure, his com- posure. The pallor which overspread his counte- nance, had given way to a slight flush ; his clear eye, delicate and finely molded features, bespoke intelligence, but not guilt. It was a face to be studied, and it was studied by Barker. "If that young man is guilty of any serious crime, then I am no judge of features," he thought.
Court had not yet opened for the day; a few law -. yers were in the bar; the officers in attendance were lounging carelessly on the benches ; some of the jury had found their way into their seats, and were con- versing in a low tone with one another, occasionally glancing at the prisoner in the box ; while the specta- tors present regarded him as a being whose trial was, perhaps, to afford them some amusement or pastime. The circumstances which surrounded him-the place he occupied-caused them to regard him as a felon who only awaited a trial to be sent to a felon's doom.
Presently a loud rap announced the approach of the judge ; the usual proclamation was made, and the court was ready for business.
"Sheriff," said the District-Attorney, "is George Ames in court ?"
"He is," was the reply.
"I now move the trial of George Ames, indicted for burglary in the first degree," said the attorney for the people.
"Has the prisoner counsel ?" asked the judge.
"Have you counsel, Ames ?" asked the District-At- torney.
"No, sir; I expected Mr. Aikin to defend me, but he refuses now," said the young man.
" Why does he refuse ?" asked the court.
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" Because I have no money to pay him," was the reply.
" Then, as you have no means to employ counsel, the court will see that you have counsel."
Judge Vanderpoel now addressed a respectably appearing lawyer present, and asked him to under- take the defense of Ames, but he declined, alleging that he had pressing business ; the court then applied to another, who also declined ; finally there was no one in the bar who would undertake the defense. The judge appeared to be puzzled.
" Gentlemen," said he, " I do not desire to compel any person to defend this man, but''-
Just at this moment a small sized, sharp-featured, shrewd appearing lawyer entered the bar. There was a kind of avoirdupois look about him, and his eyes ap- peared like a pair of nicely balanced scales, made for the purpose of weighing the amount of coin one hap- pened to have in his possession. As they glanced at a person, his eyebrows were raised or lowered, in pro- portion to what he conceived the man had in his pockets, and they seemed to say: "Ah, he has so much ;" or, "Oh, he has only a-ah, let me see again, oh, yes, has only a very little." He was well known at the Albany bar forty years ago, as a thriving law- yer who forgot everything in his fees.
" Mr. K.," said the judge, addressing this lawyer, " the court desire you to undertake the defense of George Ames, the prisoner at the bar."
" Ah, yes; your honors can always command my poor services in that way, but I have seen the prisoner before, and I think in view of his circumstances-his means-I mean, the nature of his great offense, that he had better plead guilty and done with it."
A sob of deep, heart-broken anguish, resounded through the court room ; it was from the poor mother who heard in this the knell of her son's doom.
" If the court please, I will undertake the defense
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of that young man," said Barker, in a voice whose tones attracted the attention of every one in the court room.
"The court are unacquainted with you, sir, and we desire that the prisoner should be ably defended," said the judge, in a tone that clearly indicated his surprise.
"If your honors please, I said I would undertake his defense, and I now say that he shall be fairly, if not ably defended ; and I say more, he shall not be convicted unless his guilt be made apparent."
"Do you desire the assistance of Mr. K. ? " asked the judge.
"No; if your honors please, I will assume the en- tire responsibility of this defense."
The judge signified his assent.
Edward Livingston was then District-Attorney of Albany County. He was learned and eminent in his profession, eloquent at the bar, a pleasing speaker in the popular assembly, a politician of rare capacity and many executive endowments, a formidable prosecut- ing officer. He represented Albany in the Legislature several years, and in 1837 was chosen Speaker of the Assembly, discharging the duties of that distinguished position with marked ability.
Such was the man with whom the young lawyer was about to contend.
"I ask your honors to postpone this trial until to- morrow morning, to give me an opportunity of con- sulting with the prisoner," said Barker.
As Mr. Livingston made no opposition to this mo- tion, it was granted.
Language cannot describe the surprise, joy and gratitude of the young man and his mother at this unexpected appearance of a defender. A short con- sultation with them, convinced the lawyer that his client was not guilty, although he was surrounded by a train of circumstances which seemed to point with
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almost indubitable certainty to him, as a young but hardened criminal.
He was the only son of the poor woman present, and she was a widow. Their residence was at Fort Ann, in the County of Washington. A few days be- fore the commission of the crime with which he was charged, he came to Albany for the purpose of obtain- ing employment ; here he soon made the acquaintance of a very friendly appearing man, who apparently took much interest in him and kindly offered to assist him in obtaining employment. One evening he was invited by this friend to accompany him and examine some personal property which was then in a certain building that he had rented. Although it was quite late when this proposal was made, George assented. On their way, his friend overtook two persons with whom he was acquainted, and whom he invited to ac- company them ; they consented ; and in a few minutes the young man and his companions found themselves in the rear of a large building. His friend now in- formed him that he greatly desired to enter the build- ing, which was his store ; but as he had forgot the key, he produced a small iron bar which he handed to George, directing him to pry open the shutters to one of the windows and force his way into the building, promising to reward him very liberally for his trouble. In a moment, the young man understood that he was in the presence of burglars, and, horror stricken at the thought, he attempted to rush from their presence ; but ere he had made two steps, he received a heavy blow upon the head, which felled him to the earth in- sensible. When he returned to consciousness, he was at the police office, with a bandage about his head. As soon as he was able to be moved, he was con- ducted before a magistrate, and his examination took place. From the testimony, he learned that the build- ing was broken open and entered, and that he was one of the persons charged with the crime of breaking it open. All of the wretches succeeded in making their
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escape, excepting one who was arrested the next morn- . ing ; turning State's evidence, he implicated young Ames in the crime, alleging that he entered the store, that while there, he stumbled over some object and fell ; his head striking the corner of the counter ren- dered him insensible, that when they made their exit from the building they removed their wounded com- panion, intending to convey him to a place of secrecy until he recovered ; but when they had proceeded a few paces from the building they were alarmed and hastily fled, leaving him on the ground where he was discovered by the police. Such was the evidence of the man before the magistrate.
Soon after his incarceration, George wrote to his mother ; the poor woman came to the city, employed the lawyer who has been referred to, but because they had no funds to pay him he abandoned the defense. By a singular intervention of Providence, George P. Barker had now become his counsel. The story of the young man carried conviction with it, and aroused all the generous sympathy of the young lawyer's nature. Ascertaining the name of the surgeon who dressed the wound of Ames, he immediately called upon him ; he was a gentleman of intelligence and skill ; he distinctly recollected the circumstance of dressing the prisoner's head, and the nature of his wound, and did not hesitate to state that it could not have been inflicted by a fall-that it must have been the result of a blow from a club or some heavy instru- ment.
The next morning the trial began. Mr. Livingston conducted the prosecution with great ability ; he firmly believed the prisoner guilty, and therefore omitted nothing that tended to convict him. Entering upon the trial without any introduction to the young stranger who thus singularly became his opponent, he did not stop to consider or care who he was. The case, however, had proceeded but a short time before he was aware that he had no common intellect to deal
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with, and he conceived a high respect for him, who- ever he might be.
The cross-examination of the convict witness was most searching and effectual. . The keen eyes of Bar- ker seemed to pierce his very soul, from the com- mencement to the end, they were not removed from him. At first, he sustained himself with a balance and composure which seemed to baffle his interrogator, but at length, he stumbled, hesitated, and became con- fused, and when he left the witness box, it was evident that his testimony had been materially shaken. The cross-examination of the proprietor of the store which had been entered, elicited the fact that no blood was found in the store; that the corner of the counter against which the witness had testified Ames had fallen, did not exhibit the least appearance of any such occurrence. The officer who first discovered the prisoner on his cross-examination testified that on the spot where his head rested, a large pool of blood had gathered.
At length the District-Attorney rested. Barker, in a short, plain and concise statement, presented the theory of his defense to the jury. The only witness whom he called was the surgeon, whose evidence cor- responded with the statement he had previously made, establishing the fact that the wound on the head of Ames could not have been made as the witness for the people had sworn-that it was inflicted by a club, or some heavy instrument, and he gave his reasons on which his opinion was founded, clearly and intelli- gibly.
With this evidence, the young lawyer rested his case and went to the jury. In his whole subsequent professional career, he never made a more successful or a more brilliant defense. In the language of one of the journals of the day, "his summing up of the evidence was a splendid effort." Many of the jurors were present when he made his generous offer to de- fend the prisoner, and they were conscious that he
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was acting from the sympathy and generosity of his nature ; they therefore believed him sincere in his state- ments. He contended that there was no evidence whatever against the young man, except that he was found wounded near the place where the crime was committed-that the uncorroborated evidence of the convict witness was not sufficient to convict ; besides, that witness was contradicted by the surgeon, and al- so the circumstances. He dwelt with much emphasis upon the fact that no blood was discovered in the store, because the wound was of such a nature that it must have bled copiously when it was first received. That a large quantity of blood was discovered under his head when found by the officer, established the fact that he received the blow where he fell ; especially as there was no evidence that blood was found in any other place.
Those who knew George P. Barker, can well under- stand the nature of his address and its effect upon the the jury. Mr. Livingston's reply was all that could be expected from a lawyer so distinguished; but the defense of his opponent had taken him by surprise ; it was an effort which would have been creditable to the most eminent member of the Albany bar, and he saw that it had made an impression upon the jury. His argument was keen, searching, and profound. The charge of Judge Vanderpoel was, as the charges of that learned and able judge always were, a close adhesion to the law and his duty, impartially and fairly discharged.
The jury retired, and after an hour's absence, re- turned into court with a verdict of not guilty. The great, the rich reward of Barker was the almost frantic joy with which the verdict was received by the mother and son.
"The God of the widow and the orphan has sent you to us, sir, in our distress, and His blessing will descend upon you through all your days. We have
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no money with which to reward you; I have seen better days, but now I can only thank you from the very depth of my heart of hearts," said Mrs. Ames, on taking leave of Mr. Barker.
" Some time I shall reward you for what you have done for me," said young Ames ; the glittering drops which stood in his eyes, evidenced his deep gratitude ; and thus mother and son took their leave of their generous benefactor.
Years passed away, and this event was nearly for- gotten by Barker, in the vicissitudes of his profes- sional and political life. One morning in the winter of 1836, while he was member of Assembly, a well dressed, gentlemanly appearing man called at his room in Albany.
"Do you not remember me, Mr. Barker ?" said he.
"I do not," was the reply.
" My name is Ames-George Ames-whom you once defended against a serious charge in this city," said the man.
Another glance at his visitor convinced Barker that the prisoner whom he had defended for burglary, at Albany, was before him.
" I learned that you were in the city, and I could not refrain from calling upon you," said Ames.
He then in a few words informed his benefactor that he was a well-to-do farmer, that fortune had smiled upon him and given him prosperity. After conversing a half hour, he arose to take his leave.
"Here is a small package which my mother, my wife, and myself have made up for you. Do not open it until I have left-I trust it will convince you that my words to you have not been forgotten."
He took his leave and Barker opened the package ; to his surprise, he found it contained a bank bill for two hundred dollars.
Ames and his defender have both passed beyond the trials of earth ; but a son of the former still sur- vives, who treasures the name of George P. Barker
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with a sort of poetic reverence. To him the author is indebted for one of the most touching and agreeable incidents in the life of a distinguished lawyer. The trial which has been described resulted in a life friendship between Livingston and Barker.
In the autumn of 1831 the latter received the nomi- nation for member of Assembly for the County of Erie. His party was then in the minority, as we have seen, yet in Buffalo he received a very respectable majority, while in the county he greatly reduced the usual majority of the dominant party. In June, 1832, the partnership between Messrs. Barker & Austen was dissolved, and the former entered into a business ar- rangement with John T. Hudson, a very respectable member of the Erie bar. Barker was soon after ap- pointed Attorney for the city of Buffalo, and early in the year 1833 he received the appointment of District- Attorney for the County of Erie.
In discharging the duties of this office, he was brought more conspicuously before the people. He exhibited such remarkable powers as an advocate, such a polished yet practical and pointed elocution, that he at once arose to a commanding position at the bar, and participated in the honors and emoluments of his profession. It was a happy and peculiar quality of Mr. Barker, as a lawyer, to excite the esteem and command the confidence of the people.
"I like that Barker," said a farmer from one of the distant towns in the County of Erie, on his return from Buffalo, where he had been attending court as a juror ; "I like him because I think he is honest, that is, if a lawyer can be honest."
After discharging the duties of District-Attorney for three years, Mr. Barker resigned, and that accom- plished orator and lawyer, Henry K. Smith, was ap- pointed in his place.
In the summer of 1834 he was married to Miss Abby Coit, an accomplished and highly respected lady of Buffalo. His marriage greatly enhanced his
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happiness. In the domestic circle he ever found a refuge from the cares and labors of his professional and political life.
At an early period of his political career Mr. Barker became the leader of the Democracy in the County of Erie. His political sagacity, his intrepidity of character, and cool, discriminating judgment, pe- culiarly qualified him for that position, and under his guide the Democrats of that county soon became the victors, emerging from an almost hopeless minority.
In the fall of 1835 he was again nominated for the Assembly. It has been tersely but truthfully said, that envy, like a sore eye, is injured by anything that is bright. This proved true in the case of Mr. Barker. His rapid advancement in his profession, his many shining qualities as a speaker, presented him as a mark for envy, hatred and malice, to those who felt their inferiority to him. To defeat him every effort known to political warfare was resorted to. From the fledgling politician, who, like the young bird that could bite before it could fly, to the veteran, that knew when and where to fasten his fangs of malevolence, he was assailed with the most violent and bitter attacks.
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