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 45

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 45


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desire to be one. He regarded politics, in the detail, as a kind of machine, whose motive power is petty ambition, lubricated by intrigue, deceit and men- dacity, which, by a strange metamorphose, often changes pigmies into giants, who, in the language of Bacon, "have not their thoughts established by learn- ing, in the love and apprehension of duty, nor ever look abroad into universality, do refer all things to themselves, and thrust themselves into the center of the world, as if all time should meet in them and their fortunes, never caring, in all tempest, what becomes of the ship of State, so that they may save themselves in the boat of their own fortunes."


Alvah Worden was born at Milton, in the county of Saratoga, June 11, 1798. At the age of fourteen he entered Milton Academy, then a very flourishing insti- tion for young men, where he prepared to enter the junior class of Union College. But instead of going to college, he decided to follow the medical profession, and commenced his studies with the late Doctor John Bennett, of Ballston Spa, one of the most eminent and honored physicians in the State.


During his studentship at Milton, his mind was attracted to the study of natural science, especially of chemistry, and he made considerable progress in agricultural chemistry, which then began to be studied in the State. Some of his letters on this subject, written to the late Jesse Buell, in 1838, exhibit much research and reflection.


After pursuing his studies with Doctor Bennett for some time, he became satisfied that the life of a prac- ticing physician would not be agreeable to him, and he abandoned the study of medicine, with a view of turning his attention to mercantile pursuits. While at Ballston, he made the acquaintance of the late George Leitch, of Auburn, then one of the great mer- chants of western New York. Pleased with the appearance of young Worden, he invited him to enter his store as a clerk, promising to advance his interest


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as fast as would be practicable. The invitation was accepted, and Worden soon assumed the entire charge of Mr. Leitch's extensive business. He continued with him until the old Bank of Auburn was es- tablished, when he was solicited to accept the posi- tion of teller in that institution. Yielding to the request of the directory, he entered upon the dis- charge of his new duties with those business qualifica- tions which soon rendered him invaluable to the bank, and gained him many friends with the public. After discharging the duties of teller two years, he decided to commence the mercantile business on his own ac- count. Accordingly, he left the bank, much to the regret of the directory, who offered additional induce- ments for him to remain, opened an extensive store, and soon became the leading merchant, and an emi- nent citizen of Auburn. In all matters connected with the prosperity and advancement of that village, he exhibited those strong mental traits which afterwards distinguished him at the bar.


So extensive and prosperous was his business, that he sought other avenues in which to invest his gains. He purchased a cotton factory which had been established by a company at Auburn, and introduced into the prison at that place, the business of weaving cotton, which for a time became almost the sole em- ployment of the convicts.


In the year 1824, he married a daughter of the late Elijah Miller, of Auburn, a lady of many personal attractions and accomplishments, who is still living. Mrs. William H. Seward was her sister.


After continuing in business several years with great success, a revulsion in the commercial world occurred, which caused a decline in cotton. This led to the unavoidable failure of Mr. Worden. His partner availed himself of the insolvent laws, which Worden declined to do; on the contrary, he surrendered to his creditors all of his property, including his furniture and silver plate; determined to do all that he could


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towards paying his indebtedness. Having thus been repulsed in his first movement in the battle of life, he undauntedly surveyed the field and made ready for another onset. In deciding upon a future occupation, he chose the legal profession, and without a dollar in in the world, and heavily in debt, he commenced pre- paring for it


Amid the cares of his business career, he found time to study the contents of a library which he had collected with the judgment and taste of a scholar ; his mind was enlarged by experience, disciplined by a thorough education, and ripened by contact with the world. Although he was then thirty-four years of age, he was in every way qualified to commence the study of a profession congenial to his taste, and to which he seemed to be directed by destiny.


Soon after commencing his studies he was elected a justice of the peace at Auburn. The income from this office, with some agencies which he obtained, enabled him to support his family while pursuing his studies. It is said that the manner in which he dis- charged his official duties disclosed his unusual abil- ities and attracted the attention of the members of the bar who appeared before him in the trial of causes.


After a thorough preparatory course, he was ad- mitted to the bar and commenced his practice at Au- rora, Cayuga county.


At this time, there was a large amount of litigation resulting from the financial difficulties of the country, and the demand for legal talent was never greater.


For a time, Mr. Worden's business was confined to Justices' Courts and to the Court of Common Pleas of Cayuga county ; but the decided ability which he exhibited in the trial of causes in these courts drew the attention of the public to him, and he soon found himself engaged in a very respectable practice in the Supreme Court, with the reputation of a safe and suc- cessful lawyer. His business continued to increase, so


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that he began to attend the circuits of the adjoining counties.


At length he was engaged in an important suit which was tried at the Ontario Circuit, where he was opposed by the late Mark H. Sibley, then one of the distinguished lawyers of western New York.


The case was contested inch by inch, with rare skill and great determination, resulting in a verdict for Mr. Worden.


Soon after this trial, Mr. Sibley invited Mr. Worden to enter into partnership with him ; after mature de- liberation the invitation was accepted, and in the year 1835, Alvah Worden became a resident of Canandai- gua, and a partner of Mark H. Sibley.


. It is not invidious to say that the firm of Worden & Sibley combined as much forensic power as any which at that time existed in the State. Canan- daigua was then the home of John C. Spencer, Dud- ley Marvin, Sibley, Wilson, and others, whose names have shed a luster on their profession.


Surrounded by such men, Mr. Worden rapidly rose to eminence, and soon began to appear in the circuits at Rochester, Auburn, Penn Yan, Bath, and other counties. He did not, however, appear at the bar of the General Term until he had been at Canan- daigua a year and a half; after that time he was occasionally engaged in that court. But it was not until his argument in the celebrated case of Griffith v. Reed, that he attained any eminence as a General Term lawyer. His effort in that case gave him a po- sition among the most prominent members of his profession in the State.


It was a case which involved several hundred thousand dollars, and the fortune of many well known business men in western New York. It had been tried before Addison Gardner, Vincent Mathews, and Orlan- do Hastings, as referees, who had been appointed to hear and determine the same. Their report being against Mr. Worden's client, the cause was appealed


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to the Supreme Court. In due time it was noticed for argument at Utica, where a term of the old Supreme Court was held once in a year. With case and brief he attended, prepared for the contest.


In those days, the judges and lawyers attending the term at Utica, stopped at Bagg's hotel, but as Mr. Worden's trunk which contained his best apparel had been miscarried, and he was dressed in a common traveling suit, he did not deem himself sufficiently well attired to appear at a fashionable hotel filled with the most eminent men in the State. Accordingly he sought a more obscure stopping place, to await the arrival of his trunk. His case was one of the earliest on the calendar, and he was compelled to proceed to the court room before the arrival of his trunk, "accoutered as he was." Fortunately, his papers were in a package which he carried with him.


He was then a stranger to nearly all the lawyers present, and taking a retired seat in the court room, he awaited the call of his case. At length it was reached ; with great modesty, but not without self-pos- session, he came forward and opened the argument.


Many were the half sneering glances which several foppish young lawyers within the bar cast upon the plainly dressed, ordinary looking lawyer who stood before the court. They were surprised at his temerity in appearing against one of the most distin- guished lawyers in the State.


"I wonder who that fellow is?" asked one of the young attorneys of a companion.


"Oh, he is some ambitious village lawyer who is desirous of being heard before the General Term, and having his name appear in the reports; but I rather think he don't know who he has got to deal with, or he would have restrained his vaunting ambition, which he'll find has o'erleaped itself in this instance," was the reply.


In a short time however, the young men learned


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that the man before them commanded the attention of the judges and the bar, and that the great lawyer opposed to him was not, after all, so much his supe- rior. He proceeded with great caution, cited his authorities with care, and commented upon them from written points, with a plain but effective ora- tory. As he had the closing argument, his speech was brief.


Marcus T. Reynolds appeared against him, reply- ing with that vigor and intellectual force for which he was so distinguished. Extensive legal reading and long attendance upon the highest courts in the State had rendered him familiar with almost every reported case, and the circumstances under which it arose. He never appeared to greater advantage than on this occasion. His apparent superiority over his oppo- nents was noticed by the bar, and it was felt by the court ; but unfortunately for him, in closing his argu- ment, he took occasion to allude to what he said the effect would be on commercial transactions, should the court be against him, but he left the case in ap- parent triumph.


When Mr. Worden arose to conclude the argument, there were many in the court room who regretted to see one so humble attempt to answer an argument of such power and eloquence ; to them, he seemed like one about to immolate himself in a vain attempt to save his clients. But he entered on his remarks with the calm confidence of one who could rely upon himself in any emergency; he had not pro- ceeded far, before he began to strike out bright, strong, original thoughts, and to bring up argu- ments from depths which his opponent had not at- tempted to sound. When replying to the authorities referred to by Mr. Reynolds, he did so with great skill and with the nicest discrimination, ingeniously and with precise logic detaching the points which diverged from the case at bar. But when he alluded to the effect of the decision to be made on the commer-


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cial relations of the country, his superiority was man- ifest, and he arose to a point in the case which Mr. Reynolds had not reached. The bar waked up as from an apparent slumber. Greene C. Bronson, then one of the judges, leaned forward in his chair, made a few notes, and said :


"Mr. Worden, will you please repeat what you have just stated? I am not quite confident I fully understand you."


The scene was changed, the battle fought, the victory won-and completely won.


During this argument, there was seated within the bar, a friend of Mr. Worden-one who through all the phases of his life had admired and honored him, never doubting his ultimate success at the bar. With many fears for his friend, he listened to the splendid argument of Mr. Reynolds,-he felt its power-saw its effect on the court and bar-knew the gigantic effort which must be made to overcome it, and with breathless anxiety awaited the result. As Mr. Wor- den arose in strength-as he gradually gained the em- inence on which his opponent stood, and then soared above him, reaching the point of triumph, tears of joy trickled down his cheeks, and his bosom heaved with those unutterable emotions which none but those generous and noble minds can feel, whose deep-toned sensibility teaches them how to be a friend. Mr. Worden was fully sustained by the court, and from that time to the close of his life, the judiciary of the State, as well as his brethren of the bar, regarded him as one of its gifted lawyers.


It is, perhaps, proper to add, in the language of another, that " Efforts have been made, but without success, to obtain a reversal of the opinion of Judge Bronson ; once in the Court for the Correction of Errors, in the case of Sudam v. Westfall, 2 Denio, 205. Judge Gardiner at that time was the presiding officer of the court, and brought his great influence to bear on the question, to sustain the decision which he


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had made as referee in the case of Griffith v. Reed, honestly believing that his was founded on established precedent; but the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Sudam v. Westfall was only reversed by distinguishing it from Griffith v. Reed. The same question was again presented for adjudication in the Court of Appeals, in the case of Wright v. Garling- house, 26 N. Y., 539 ; the judgment of the Supreme Court in the second district reversed, and the doctrine settled in the case of Griffith v. Reed maintained and declared to be the law of the State."


Those, however, who heard Mr. Worden's argu- ment in the case of De Bow ยป. The People, 1 Denio, 9, assert that it was the ablest argument of his life. It evidently produced an impression on the court, for it went with him, and the opinion of Mr. Justice Bronson is well worth reading, though it was over- ruled by the Court for the Correction of Errors in the case of Gifford v. Livingston, and in Warren v. Beers, but by a divided court, in which strong and powerful opinions for sustaining it were given by several of its ablest members.


No questions have been more seriously litigated in this State, than those reported in 1 Denio, 9; 21 Wend., 502; and the examination of the opinions delivered in these cases, and in that of the 26 N. Y., 539, would repay the legal student for his trouble.


Another case might with propriety be cited, illus- trative of Mr. Worden's power of argument, which took place before Chancellor Walworth. During this argument, a gentleman of the bar remarked that there appeared to be no decision applicable to Mr. Worden's case, to which a distinguished lawyer replied :


"Perhaps not, but there will be soon, for such an argument will not fail to produce its effect upon the chancellor."


This remark was subsequently verified, for the chancellor decided the case in his favor.


A reference to all the important cases argued by


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Mr. Worden at the bar of the Supreme Court, Court of Errors, and of Appeals, would alone fill a volume.


While he was at the bar, the business of those courts was centralized and controlled by eminent "Term lawyers," who resided principally at Albany and New York. The ascendancy which Rufus W. Peckham, Nicholas Hill, Marcus T. Reynolds, Charles O'Conor, William Curtis Noyes, Daniel Lord, David Dudley Field, F. B. Cutting, J. W. Gerard, Samuel Stevens, and a few others, attained at the bar of these courts has passed into history. There were but few members of the country bar who presumed to enter the lists against these Jupiters of the profession. The immense number of heavy packages which they were constantly receiving from the country, marked "Pa- pers for the General Term," "Papers for the Court of Errors," &c., &c., exhibited the tribute which law- yers from all parts of the State paid them.


That Alvah Worden, on his first entrance into the profession, with no influence to sustain him-relying upon his own strength, boldly and successfully grappled with these great lawyers, is evidence enough of his superiority.


He had but little political ambition ; but from his position at the bar and his habits of public speaking, it was impossible for him to resist those allurements which politics have for lawyers. He identified him- self with the Whig party at its formation, but his time was so entirely occupied with the duties of his profession, that for several years he avoided all offers of official distinction.


In the fall of 1840, however, he accepted the nom- ination for Assembly from the Whigs of Ontario county, and was elected by a very large majority. At this time, Mark H. Sibley was one of the repre- sentatives of the seventh Senatorial district, having been elected in the autumn of 1840. He, however, resigned his seat on the twenty-third day of May, 1841, a few days before the adjournment of the Legis-


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lature. His business relations with Mr. Worden had terminated previously to this.


The latter, on taking his seat in the Legislature, was honored by the second position on the Com- mittee of Ways and Means. During this session he made few speeches, but they were on important ques- tions, and in support of certain bills which he had reported. Through his influence, several important laws were enacted, which pertained to the improve- ment of the legal and judicial system of the State. When the Legislature adjourned, he declared to a friend that he would never accept a seat in that body again. Returning home, he entirely discard- ed politics, until the autumn of 1844, when, at the earnest solicitation of his party, he again consented to represent them in the Legislature.


The session of 1845 was important and memorable. In it Mr. Worden occupied a very high and influen- tial position. Although the Whigs were in the minority in both branches of the Legislature, their party having been prostrated in the State and Nation by the defeat of Mr. Clay, such was the masterly management of John Young, Mr. Worden, and others, that defeat was turned into victory and a way opened for the resuscitation of an apparently life- less party.


Horatio Seymour was speaker of the Assembly, and the leader of the Democratic party in the State. The great question before the convention was the amendment of the Constitution. The Democracy in the State was then divided ; the great schism which eventually prostrated it, was then just developing itself. This was adroitly seized upon by the Whig leaders and turned to their permanent advantage.


No measure before the people was more popular than the proposed convention ; and some of the Dem- ocratic leaders assumed a position towards it that savored so much of hostility, that it greatly impaired the strength of their party.


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ALVAH WORDEN.


As has been said in another part of this work, the debate which took place in the Assembly on this question, attracted attention from all parts of the State. Mr. Young advocated the proposed conven- tion with great ability ; he was ably sustained by Mr. Worden and others. To the energy, talents, and un- wearied labors of these persons, the Whig party was indebted for its subsequent victory, and the State for whatever advantages have flowed from the Constitution which was subsequently adopted.


The convention bill finally passed both branches of the Legislature and became a law.


The measure before this Legislature which was next in importance to the convention bill, was that of in- ternal improvements. This question was at that period one of vast importance-one that called into requisition all the energy and ability of statesmen and legislators. It was seized upon by politicians, entered into partizan strife, and of course became divested of interest to all except those engaged in the scramble for office. The measures over which so many contests occurred, so many elections were lost and won, have long since been settled, and we survey them now with much the same interest with which travelers regard historic ground and battle- fields of other days.


In the debates which occurred on the internal im- provements question, Mr. Worden exhibited the abil- ities of a statesman. Though he was accused of errors, and perhaps in many cases justly, yet like all prominent partizans, his political character will be varied by the lights and shades which political friends and enemies throw upon it; like all political leaders, he had frailties and virtues.


In the fall of 1845, he was again elected to the Assembly. The session to which he was elected com- menced January 3rd, 1846. It was not an important one, though many measures affecting the public inter- est were adopted. Mr. Worden occupied a responsi-


38


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ble position, and was regarded as a leader of his party in the State.


The act providing for a convention having become a law, a general election for choice of delegates to it, took place in May, 1846, each county sending dele- gates to correspond with its representation in the Assembly.


The election resulted in the choice of some of the most distinguished and able men in the State, a large proportion of whom were lawyers.


Alvah Worden and Robert C. Nicholson were elected delegates from Ontario county. Among the many eminent men who occupied seats in that con- vention, few were more thoroughly qualified for their position than Mr. Worden. He had been one of the most effective members of the Legislature which passed the bill providing for it; his influence and exertions aiding materially in its passage.


The convention assembled at the capitol in the city of Albany, on the first day of June, 1846. It was organized by the election of John Tracy, of Che- nango, as president.


The friends of Mr. Worden insisted upon present- ing his name as a candidate for speaker. The vote which he received, declared the high esteem in which he was held by the delegates assembled. He received the largest number of votes cast for any one candi- date, except for Mr. Tracy. From the opening of the convention until its final adjournment, a period of over three months, he labored industriously and un- ceasingly.


On the 13th of June, he introduced a resolution on the naturalization of citizens, supporting it in a speech of great power and force. At the conclusion of his remarks, it was, on motion of Mr. Chatfield, unan- imously adopted, and became one of the provisions of the new Constitution.


On the 30th of June, in Committee of the Whole, Mr. Worden delivered his great speech on the powers


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and duties of the executive. This question involved the limitation of the powers of the governor, the quali- fications which rendered a person eligible for that high office, and the term for which he should be elected. It elicited a debate of much more than ordinary inter- est ; the galleries, lobby, and every accessible place in the Assembly chamber were occupied by a crowd of interested and attentive listeners. The ablest mem- bers of the convention participated in it, among whom were Charles O'Conor, Ira Harris, Richard P. Marvin, John K. Porter and Alvah Worden.


It has been said that this debate exceeded in ability and eloquence any discussion which, previous to that time, had ever taken place in that chamber. It raised those who participated in it above the limits of local reputation, and entitled them to the rank of statesmen. Mr. Worden closed the debate ; he made no effort at display ; the State, its institutions, its policy, interests, and destiny, as connected with its executive, were the topics which claimed his attention, and he confined himself to those, with an intensity of thought, an earnestness of purpose, and a cogency of reasoning, which exhibited the statesman, patriot, and orator.


The same question occupied the attention of the convention on several occasions. On the 31st of July, it was again before the committee. The debate which took place on that occasion was closed by John K. Porter, who delivered a brilliant and effective speech.


This debate created considerable acrimony among those who participated in it, particularly between Mr. Worden and Mr. Porter; but the matter ended in a most amicable manner, it being one of those storms which often pass harmlessly over a deliberative body.


The attention of Mr. Worden was engrossed for a long time, in preparing a plan for a judiciary, and on the 6th of August, he submitted a report to the con- vention, which was marked for its clearness, expansive- ness, and ability. It subsequently received the ap- probation of many of the leading members of the con-




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