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 5
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The canvass, however, resulted in the election of Mr. Barker by a very decided majority, and the County of Erie was added to the Democratic counties of the State by his popularity.
He entered the Legislature, January 5th, 1836. Such were the circumstances under which he was elected, that they tended greatly to enhance his popu- larity in that body. In both branches the Democratic party were largely in the majority ; and he thus com- menced his legislative career with every prestige of party success in his favor. William L. Marcy was then governor, John Tracy, of Chenango, was lieu- tenant-governor, and Charles Humphrey, of Tomp- kins, was speaker of the house. As a presiding offi- cer Mr. Humphrey had few equals in the State. He was a lawyer of profound understanding, of fine par- 4
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liamentary abilities, possessing that quick and rapid perception so necessary to the presiding officer of a deliberative body, while his manners, address and comprehensiveness of mind, adapted him to the position which he occupied.
Mr. Barker was now in the twenty-eighth year of his age ; he had already attained a high position as a lawyer, and the legislative abilities which he developed in the Assembly gave him a high reputation as a legis- lator. Although some of his speeches had a sort of parliamentary preamble to them, a certain air of af- fected modesty and ostentatious trifling, yet he en- riched every subject to which he applied himself, by the vigor of his thought and the beauty of his lan- guage. His speeches were always better than his writing.
Young as Mr. Barker was, on his first entrance into the Assembly he was honored by the second posi- tion on the Committee of Ways and Means and that of Colleges and Academies. His industry and devo- tion to the duties thus imposed upon him were soon publicly acknowledged.
Among the members of this legislature was Preston King, who after that period was elected to many high and distinguished positions. He was then the leader of the Democratic party in the House ; perfectly skilled in all the detail of politics and the subtleties of parliamentary proceedings, a close, terse and method- ical debater, it is not strange that he should have oc- cupied a commanding position. Richard P. Marvin, now and for many years a distinguished judge of the supreme court for the eighth judicial district, Mark H. Sibley, Luther Bradish and George W. Patterson were also members of the House at this time.
Among such men George P. Barker made his entry into public life. His first speech was delivered Jan- uary 16th, 1836, on the bill for the relief of the city of New York, which had been a short time previously visited by a terrible fire. It was characterized by
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great modesty, yet it commanded the attention of the House for its firmness and high-toned liberality. This speech was followed by other speeches, delivered at intervals during the session, all which tended largely to enhance his popularity. In those speeches lie ex- hibited that clear discrimination, that facility of com- prehending seemingly anomalous facts, that knowl- edge of political economy and statistics, which are not often united with a mind so imaginative as his. They were struck out in the conflict of mind with mind, in the heat of debate, without that preparation which a writer would have given to the subjects; and yet they have the methodical arrangement, the elaborate strength of a carefully prepared essay ; and the thoughit may be indulged, that had he lived the recluse student, had he turned his attention to recon- dite studies, he would have enriched his country's literature, or added new treasures to science ; but the bar would have wanted one of her brightest orna- ments.
Without attempting to follow him through all his legislative career, it is perhaps enough to say, that in every position or phase of that career he was fully equal to each emergency that presented itself. Some- times he indulged in an exuberant humor ; some- times his vanity led him to exhibit the facility with which he could round a period, the dexterity with . which he could argue, object, or rejoin ; but this was rare, and often when apparently most unprepared he exhibited fresh powers of mind which had not before been exerted.
On retiring from the Legislature, his profession be- came the all-engrossing theme of his life. This was partly from professional ambition, and partly from that characteristic which absolutely compelled him to enter ardently into anything which he undertook to do. He carried to the bar a knowledge of the law, which gave him great power and weight, and yet per-
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haps his strength did not consist so much in his legal learning as in his ability to deal with the facts and circumstances of a case before a jury.
It has been said that he was not a laborious stu- dent, but it is certain that he devoted much time to silent study-that he read with pleasure and profit the productions of elegant and accomplished scholars, historians and logicians, while he was a close and critical legal student. His legal arguments, prepared for the court, in banc, abounded with the knowledge, the philosophy, and the reasons of the law; thus proving that there were hours which he devoted to the severest mental labor.
In the autumn of 1836, his political friends ten- dered him the nomination for Congress, but so en- grossed had he now become with his professional duties, that he was compelled to decline.
In April, 1837, he formed a copartnership with the late Seth E. Sill and Seth C. Hawley, under the firm name of Barker, Hawley & Sill. This firm soon be- came distinguished for the extensive legal ability which it combined. Mr. Hawley, however, retired from it in the fall of 1839, and the business was con- tinued under the name of Barker & Sill, until the former was elected to the office of Attorney-General, in 1842.
Mr. Sill, on the adoption of the constitution of 1846, was elected a justice of the supreme court for the . eighth judicial district. He was a lawyer of fine legal attainments-a judge who adorned the bench-and whose opinions enriched the legal learning of the State. He died on the fifteenth day of September, 1851 ; his death was regretted by the bench and bar throughout the State.
In the spring of 1840, the first popular election for a Mayor of Buffalo occurred. Mr. Barker was nomi- nated by the Democracy as their candidate for that office. Sheldon Thompson, a highly respectable citi-
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zen of that city was the opposing candidate. The canvass was closely and even bitterly contested. The great wealth, extensive acquaintance, and personal merit of Mr. Thompson, with the additional circum- stance, that he was connected with the dominant party in the city, rendered him a powerful competitor. Under all these disadvantages, Mr. Barker entered the contest, and such was his popularity, that he was defeated by a majority of only ten.
In the presidential campaign of 1840, he entered the canvass with all the ardent zeal of his nature. The brilliant and stirring speeches which he delivered in various parts of the State, aroused the Democratic legions to renewed action ; until they moved with their accustomed activity over fields consecrated by former victories, inspired by the genius of their great party leaders ; but in vain, the popular tide was against them ; - the new tactics of the Whig leaders prevailed, and the Democratic party was everywhere defeated.
But the Democracy of New York retired in good order from the field, and in the election of 1842, they were once more triumphant in the State. To this result, perhaps, no man in Western New York contributed more than Mr. Barker.
There were an unusual number of men of talent elected to the Assembly at this election ; among whom were Horatio Seymour, John A. Dix, Michael Hoffman, and Samuel G. Hathaway.
At a caucus of the Democratic members of the As- sembly, held February 4, 1843, Mr. Barker was nomi- nated for Attorney-General ; his competitors being no less distinguished personages than Samuel Beardley and Robert H. Morris. The former had discharged the duties of that office with singular ability, during the previous term ; but Mr. Barker's eminent services in the preceding campaign and in that of 1840,-his brilliant reputation as a lawyer and orator, rendered
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him the most popular candidate for the office, and, on the third ballot, he was nominated. When this result was announced, the audience gave a long and rapturous cheer, exhibiting the deep regard which the masses entertained for the name of George P. Barker.
Sanford E. Church, the present Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, though then one of the youngest members of the House, contributed much to this result.
In the fall of 1842 Mr. Church was elected to the Assembly from the County of Orleans, which was strongly Whig in its sentiments, and, of course, op- posed to him; his election was due to his own great personal popularity -a popularity which has never deserted him. The speech which "the young mem ber from Orleans" made in favor of Mr. Barker greatly aided him.
One of the most pleasant circumstances connected with Mr. Barker's appointment, was the manner in which the intelligence of the event was received by the Buffalo bar, the leading members of which united in a letter of congratulation addressed to him, in the most delicate language referring to his high profes- sional standing, and his popularity in private life, regretting that "the relations which had so long, and so happily continued between them, should for a time be terminated," concluding in an invitation to partake of a public banquet with them, at some time to be named by him.
Mr. Barker replied to this note in a happy and elo- quent manner, exhibiting his deep appreciation of the friendship which prompted this congratulation. He felt compelled to decline the invitation to join in the banquet.
His career as Attorney-General loses nothing in comparison with the great and gifted lawyers who preceded him. At the bar of the Supreme Court in banc, at the various circuits of the State, he came in contact with its ablest lawyers, and his friends had the proud satisfaction of knowing that the greater the
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occasion, the greater appeared his capacity for meet- ing it.
In the fall of 1843, a great Democratic meeting was held in the City of Buffalo ; by a general invita- tion, Mr. Barker was invited to address it. Accepting the invitation, he delivered a speech which is still fresh in the recollection of many who were present. Its power of appeal was unequaled, and told with great effect upon his audience. In the language of The Buffalo Courier, "There were passages in it that woke the fiery enthusiasm of the old Democracy of Buffalo-there were also passages that brought unbid- den tears to the cheeks of veterans in the Democratic ranks, who surrounded him; it was full of feeling and truth-it went to the hearts of those who heard it."
In the year 1845, he was again appointed District- Attorney for the County of Erie; but his health, which for some time had been impaired by his con- stant devotion to business, rendered it difficult for him to discharge the duties of the office, and his exer- tions to do so were at the expense of his vital energies ; but he did not falter in the discharge of his duties until the nineteenth day of September, 1846. On that day, as he was commencing the trial of an important suit, he was seized with convulsions, which, after some duration, were followed by a heavy slumber. At length he recovered, but with no perceptible diminu- tion of his mental powers, excepting a certain depres- sion of mental spirits.
The bright, cheerful, almost electrical flow of spirits was gone, the exquisite playfulness of his nature was changed. There were, doubtless, excesses which led to this-the one vice of social life-which delights to fasten on the brilliant and gifted; as it were, to gloat over the stupendous ruins it has made.
After his recovery, he again entered the profes- sional arena with renewed vigor; but in March, 1847, he was again attacked with the same disease, but with
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accelerated violence. His strong and vigorous phys- ical nature, however, enabled him again to triumph over disease, and to once more resume the duties of his profession. But it was plain to his friends that the inevitable destroyer had marked him for its victim, and they urged him to relinquish all business, and to devote his time to travel.
For a long time he resisted their appeals ; at last he yielded, and he visited New England-the home of his youth-and amid the thronging memories of the past, he seemed to forget the disease which had preyed upon him. After an absence of three months, with improved health, he returned to his home, and, con- trary to the advice of his friends, once more resumed the duties of his profession. But alas ; its duties were so severe that a relapse soon ensued, and he was once more prostrated by disease. Like the soldier who returns to the field ere his wounds are healed, so Bar- ker, before his disease was removed, left his room to enter again those forensic contests, in which so many years of his life had been spent.
The last case which he ever conducted at the cir- cuit, was the People against Pollock, indicted and tried for attempting the life of E. R. Jewett, one of the proprietors of The Buffalo Advertiser. Pollock was a young midshipman. His social relations and the intrepid nature of the attempted assassination im- parted to the case unusual interest.
Mr. Fillmore appeared for the defendant. The effort which he made has seldom been equaled at any bar. The best efforts of his long and varied profes- sional life did not possess more strength and power. It was singular that Mr. Barker was the first antag- onist whom he encountered at the bar in the com- mencement of his professional life. Devious, ardent and devoted had been the struggle of each since that period ; and now, at that very bar, where, amid the ambition and enthusiasm of their youth, they had met as contestants, they again met, for the last
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time. It was the destiny of one to fall in the midst of the strength of his manhood, while the other retired from the arena, to be raised, by a great Republic, to its highest honors, and in the enjoyment of rest un- broken by the toils of public life, in his dignified re- treat from the scenes of ambition, the cares of the statesman, to continue in the affections and esteem of a people who ever delighted to honor him.
Mr. Barker, though in feeble health, followed Mr. Fillmore's address to the jury. At first his powerful intellect seemed to glimmer with uncertain light, but at length it began to send forth a steadier flame. The artful regularity, the polished excellence, the ex- quisite modulation returned, and those powers which had been passive under disease resumed their force, and George P. Barker was himself again. Again, the court, bar, jury and spectators, were held en- tranced by an oratory which had ever filled them with pleasure and delight. But it was the brilliant gleam of the intellect flashing out for the last time over the ruins of a prostrated physical nature, the bright sun- beams playing around the caverns of death.
With powerful vigor, with the animated elocution of his best days, he pressed the conviction of Pollock. He succeeded, and the young man was sentenced to the State prison for a long term of years. Through the intervention of friends he received a pardon after the accession of Governor Young to the executive chair of the State.
Though Mr. Barker's health was exceedingly fee- ble, he represented the County of Erie in the State Convention held at Syracuse, September 29th, 1847, a few weeks after the trial of Pollock. This Convention attracted a large attendance of the most distinguished Democrats in the State ; among whom were Martin Grover, now a judge of the Court of Appeals, James C. Smith, a distinguished lawyer, and now an eminent judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and many others. It was with pain that these time-honored as-
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sociates of Barker witnessed the ravages which dis- ease had made upon him.
The Convention was held at that period when the great schism in the Democratic party began to mani- fest itself as a forthcoming event. This gave the as- sembly an interest, which was keenly felt by Barker. He took a conspicuous part in its organization, helping to prepare resolutions, but he was compelled to leave before its adjournment. Returning home, he sub- mitted to the most skillful medical treatment, and the tenderest attention was bestowed upon him; he gained so much in strength that the hopes of his friends were revived, and he was enabled to give some trifling attention to such matters of business as seemed impossible to disregard.
In the ensuing October the General Term of the Supreme Court for the eighth district commenced its session at Buffalo. During this term Mr. Barker assisted in arguing two important causes, at the con- clusion of which he left the forum forever. Soon after this he was attacked with a lingering fever, which con- tinued, with various phases, until the 27th day of January, 1848, when he expired.
WILLIAM G. BRYAN.
Characteristics .- Governor Seymour .- Remarks on his Character .- Birthplace. - Parents .- llis Early Education .- Apprenticeship to the Printing Business .- Commences the Study of Law .- Obstacles in his Way .- Continues the Study of Law with Judge Taggart .- Admitted to the Bar .- A Partner of General Martin- dale .- Ogden Land Company Litigation .- Mr. Bryan's Connection with it .- Company Attempts to Remove the Indians from Their Reservation .- Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior .- General Denver .- Caroline Parker, the Educated Indian Girl .- Her Influence in the Controversy .- Mr. Bryan Sustains the Indians .- With Messrs. Martindale and Follett, Visits the President .- Pro- ceedings at Washington .- Mr. Bryan's Connection with the Legal Profession .- His Political Career .- His Character as a Writer .- As Speaker .- His Speech on the Death of Lincoln .- His Speech on Laying the Corner Stone of the New York Institution for the Blind .- Letter of George W. Clinton .- Speech Before the Genesee Agricultural Society .- Lecture on Edmund Burke .- Fennimore Cooper. -Oliver Cromwell .- Mr. Bryan's Marriage .- His Tragic Death .- Funeral Re- flections.
EUROPEANS of thought and culture visiting our national capitol express great surprise and disappoint- ment at the absence of eminent ability in our halls of Congress. Neither the Senate chamber, which once resounded with the eloquence of such intellectual giants as Clay, Webster and Calhoun, nor the pop- ular branch of our national Legislature, which in times past was dignified by men of historic reputation, like John Quincy Adams, and John Randolph, of Roanoke, now impress the spectator with any extraordinary re- spect for the talents and attainments of the men who make the laws and are supposed to govern the desti- nies of the republic. Neither in statesmanship, nor in
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ability as debaters, nor in the graces of scholarship, do those who are at the head of the nation come up to the generally accepted high position conceded to our country among the principal powers of Christendom. We know better than our visitors how to account for this apparent decadence in our nation. We know that so flagrantly corrupt has become the machinery of party politics, that with rare exceptions the best men, the really ablest men in our land are not now as of old to be found in official positions. Yet, neither in the learned professions, nor in the army, or in the navy, nor in those who adorn the mechanic arts, or in the great mass of our business and industrial classes, do we discover any signs of this falling off in the standard of patriotism, intellectual ability, develop- ment and progression which is requisite for our con- tinued national advancement. So distasteful, how- ever, to men of superior ability and character is the odious doctrine, that in politics the end justifies the means, that they prefer the independence of private life to that surrender of their self-respect and even honor that is too often demanded of those who seek political advancement. Too often, alas, much too often, as we read of gross corruption among those in high places, are we reminded of the truth of the old adage, that the post of honor is in a private sta- tion.
Conspicuous in the long roll of eminent names that have conferred honor upon the legal profession in Western New York, stands that of the late William G. Bryan, of Batavia. His career, and the prom- inent traits of his character, strikingly confirm the justice of our preliminary remarks. Deriving no dignity or consequence from official position, he, by his own unaided exertions, achieved a reputa- tion as a lawyer, as an orator, as a scholar and a Christian gentleman, which enrolled him among the most honored and revered in our land. In the lan-
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guage of ex-Governor Seymour : "He was earnest, able, and chivalric. He made himself felt in every circle in which he moved. He gathered force and power as he moved on in the pathway of life, and I looked upon him as one who was to hold still more marked positions in our State and nation. God in his wisdom took him away when he seemed most needed by his family and State. We can only bow to His decree, and pray that in His mercy He may shape all this for our good."
Mr. Bryan was the son of William and Mary Bryan, and was born in the City of Brighton, England, on the eighteenth day of January, 1822. His father, who is still living, is a man of rare intellectual faculties, and although he has attained the advanced age of seventy-two years, is still in the vigorous enjoyment of all his mental and physical powers. His mother, who died in 1836, was a woman of very superior intel- ligence, beauty of person, and grace of manner. She realized the ideal of the poet who wrote :
None knew her but to love her ; None named her but to praise."
Mr. Bryan's father, believing that there were greater opportunities for the advancement of his children in the United States than in their native land, came to this country with his family in 1830, and after a brief residence in New York and Utica, settled finally in Le Roy, Genesee County, where he embarked in busi- ness as a cabinet maker. Appreciating fully the in- calculable advantages of education, he afforded to his children the important aids to be derived from the best private schools and academies. Consequently, the early advantages of young Bryan were excellent. They were fully improved, and largely promoted his success in after life. Owing, however, to the financial and general business depression and disasters of 1836
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and 1837, his father was unable to continue him any longer at the academy at Le Roy, which he had been attending. And so, with a stout heart and a deter- mination to make his way in the world, at the tender age of fifteen, in 1837, he commenced an apprentice- ship to the printing business with D. D. Waites, Esq., then and at present proprietor of The Republican Ad- vocate, published at Batavia. It soon became appa- rent that the profession of the law was the one best suited to his tastes and rapidly developing powers of mind, and he began to shape his studies and reading accordingly. In 1838, at the age of sixteen, he en- tered the office of Hon. Albert Smith, of Batavia, as a student of law. Never in the days of old, or in the present time, did student enter upon his studies with more enthusiasm, or with a nobler and firmer resolve, or with more hopefulness. His industry was untiring. He allowed no obstacles to discourage him. Teaching a district school by day reading law, history, biog- raphy and classical literature in the long, quiet hours of the night, attending lectures, and seeking the so- ciety of the learned, refined and pure minded, he soon began to make rapid and encouraging progression. He overcame the want of a collegiate education by his wonderful application, and attained a mastery not only of the English, but of the Latin and French lan- guages. He also obtained a command of eloquence and logic, which ultimately placed him in the front rank of his profession. He entered the office of Hon. Moses Taggart in 1840. The personal kindnesses of the judge so impressed the mind and heart of the youthful aspirant for professional honors, that he be- came, and continued until his death, one of Judge Taggart's most devoted friends. Quickly and pleas- antly glided away Mr. Bryan's student life, and he was admitted to practice when employed in the office of Messrs. Redfield & Pringle, at the land office in Batavia. He retained an interest in the business of
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