USA > New York > Saratoga County > The bench and bar of Saratoga County, or, Reminiscences of the judiciary, and scenes in the court room : from the organization of the county to the present time > Part 8
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In 1841, the heirs of Peter R. Kissam, by John Brotherson, their attorney, began a suit in eject- ment against James Jones and others to recover two eighty acre lots in the fifth allotment of the patent of Kayaderosseras, and lying within the bounds of the present town of Clifton Park. Kis- sam was a descendant of Peter Rutger, who inher- ited the estate of Adrian Hooglandt, one of the
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original patentees, and succeeded to the title of the lands in question by inheritance from him. It was alleged that Kissam died seized of the title and that it therenpon descended upon to the present plain- tiffs. The suit thus brought was destined to occupy the attention of the Circuit and Supreme Courts and the Court of Appeals for over thirty years. The defendants who occupied the premises under show of title from Noah Taylor, made a vigorous defense of their rights, as they claimed. The lots in ques- tion were designated as "A" and "B." The vil- lage of Jonesville is built upon the former. Upon the first trial, before Judge Willard, it appearing that the defendant had been in possession since 1797, a nonsuit was entered. The higher court sent it back for a new trial, holding that a jury must pass on the question of adverse possession, it being a question of fact. In 1845, Jones having sold the premises to Elisha G. Shepherd, each of the heirs brought a new suit against him. We will follow the history of that in which Eliza A. Vrooman was plaintiff, as giving the details of these protracted suits. Peter R. Kissan: died in 1799. His daugh- ter, Catharine, married Philip Brotherson in 1801, and was the mother of the claimants. At the date of her marriage she was under twenty one years of age. She died in 1822, and Brotherson in 1854. Taylor had purchased the lands from William Bray ton in 1797 and sold them to Jones about 1800, and died in 1802. The courts held that if Taylor did not sell until after September, 1801, the statue of
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limitations would not run against Mrs Brotherson during her coverture, and that her husband had a life estate in the property. After his death other suits were brought, making nineteen in all, each heir claiming 1-100 of the lands in dispute. Al- though the defendants and their ancestors and grant- ors had been in possession for half a century they were liable to lose their land, because this decision settled that a wife's coverture worked againstadverse possession. It also exploded two other popular delusions : viz. that a party must have a deed in order to secure title by adverse possession ; and, also, that if a party has been in possession for twenty years under a deed, the title becomes per- fect. Several very old gentlemen were sworn, and their recollections as to the Taylor-Jones purchase were very conflicting. With such evidence three juries found in favor of the plaintiff. Two verdicts were set aside, but that rendered at the September Circuit, 1861, was sustained, and a final judgment was entered in Saratoga county, July 12, 1875, by a remittitur from the Court of Appeals, awarding Mrs. Vrooman $490 as her portion of the value of the real estate in suit. Shepherd and Mrs. Vroo- man are both dead, and proceedings are pending between their representatives to offset Shepherd's costs in former suits against her judgment. Suits brought by the other heirs against Shepherd and Eliphalet King are yet pending in various stages. Brayton's title on which the defendants relied was founded on an unrecorded deed from Benjamin
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Kissam to him, dated 1794. Benjamin Kissaın was a brother of Peter R., and a co-heir in the estate. He was a noted New York lawyer of the last cen- tury. Alexander Hamilton studied law in his office. . He was an ancestor of Gov. Hoffman. This deed was found in a garret in Jonesville, after the first suit, and the plaintiff's stoutly maintained that it was bogus, for, if genuine, it was fatal to their case by supplying the missing color of title on which to base adverse possession in the defendants in the several suits. The plaintiff's were represented by John Brotherson, William McMurray, William Hay, Daniel Cady, Azor Tabor and other distin- guished lawyers. The defendants had the services of Chesselden Ellis, David Buel, John K. Porter, I. C. Ormsby and Gen. Bullard. All the original parties are dead, and also many of the second gen- eration ; and death has made several inroads into the list of counselors engaged in it. But this legal duel of over thirty years duration has been mainly conducted by Messrs. Brotherson and Bullard.
The constitution of 1846 having dissolved the Cir- cnit Court as it then existed, on the 26th of May, 1847, Judge Willard dismissed the term, and Mr. Horton made the following entry in concluding the minutes : "Court adjourned sine die. The last term held under the old constitution."
CHAPTER XII.
TIIE SARATOGA BAR UNDER THE OLD CONSTITUTION.
The officers and private soldiers of the famous Seventy-ninth Regiment Scotch Highlanders are wont to boast that though they may not individually have performed acts of valor on the ensanguined field, yet never has their plaid been dishonored in any of the battles of the last two centuries where it has ralied to the charge under the banner of St. George. At Fontenoy and Blenheim, on the Span- ish peninsula and at Waterloo, on the Crimea and before Lucknow their pibroch sounded the blasts of victory, and as the soldier of to-day reads the tales of the brave deeds of his predecessors under the folds of the regimental colors he resolves anew to emulate their valor.
So should the present members of the Saratoga county bar as they read the life stories of the ear- nest men of by-gone days who gave to it a state and national reputation nerve themselves anew to devote their whole energies to their noble profession. As we have followed the history of the courts, we have read the names of the intellectual giants who have plead at its bar. Since the era of the present court house we have noted the distinguished counselors
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who have appeared on the minutes in connection with trials had in the several courts. But there still remain others of whom our county should be proud, who entered upon a successful practice after an admission of our Common Plea.
By the rules of the old practice attorneys' clerks had to serve a full apprenticeship of seven years to the law before they could aspire to admission to the bar of the Supreme Court. A college diploma was afterwards decreed to be a substitute for four years of this course of study. Those who did not thus take the classical door could enter the forum through a term of five years served in practicing acceptedly at the bar of Common Pleas until they were sufficiently educated in the law to entitle them to the degree of attorney and counselor. By refer-
ence to the roll of admission of attorneys to the Common Pleas bar in this county and the minutes of the several courts it will appear that in the first decade after the building of the court house in Ballston Spa the leading attorneys were Azariah W. Odell, Samuel Young, Alpheus Goodrich, Oran G. Otis and Thomas Palmer of Ballston Spa ; Richard M. Livingston of Schuylerville ; William L. F. Warren, Aaron Blake and Esek Cowen of Saratoga Springs ; Joshna Bloore, Joshua Mande- ville, Nicholas B. Doe, George W. Kirtland, John L. Viele, Samuel G Huntington and the Van Schoonhovens of Waterford ; Wessell Ganzevoort and the farmer lawyers, William and John Met- calf, of Northumberland ; and George Palmer of
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Stillwater. At the January Common Pleas, 1823, on motion of Mr. Huntington, William Hay, jr., of Glen's Falls, was admitted to our county bar. He subsequently removed to Ballston Spa and afterwards to Saratoga Springs, where he took and maintained a front position in the legal profession. At the April term, 1824, Judiah Ellsworth and John L. Koon took the oath of office as attorneys. Mr. Koon was a cousin of Dr. Morgan Lewis of Ballston Spa, and of the late John Lewis of Schuy- lerville. He was famous for his great muscular strength. He had an office for some years at Nassau, and was district attorney of Rensselaer county from 1836 to 1839. He afterwards removed to Albany, where he practiced law until his death. Mr. Ellsworth was a successful lawyer at Saratoga Springs for many years and was quite noted as a whig politician. He was appointed examiner in chancery in 1828 and master in 1832, and repre- sented the second district of this county in the leg-
islature of 1860. He is yet a hard working lawyer living at Luzerne, Warren county. In April, 1825, Tayler Lewis of Fort Miller was admitted. From the minutes it appears he soon gained a good prac- tice, which, however, he relinquished and became Prof. Lewis of Union College. The law lost an able and eloquent advocate in giving to the field of belles lettres the first American Hebrew scholar of the age. Michael Hoffman, the Ajax of the Her- kimer county bar, was a native of Halfmoon and in the early professional career practiced in this
6*
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county. Alvan Worden, of Ontario county, was a native of Milton. After an admission to the bar in this county he removed to the western part of the state, where he attained popularity and fame. He was a member of the legislature for several years, and served in the constitutional convention of 1846.
At the April term, 1826, Anson Brown and Clark S. Grinnell were sworn as attorneys. Mr. Brown entered upon a good practice in Ballston Spa. In 1838, he was selected to congress, and died June 14, 1840, at the early age of 40 years. Mr. Grin- nell enjoyed a fine field for practice in this and Fulton counties, living at Northampton, after his removal from Providence. The name of Judge Deodatus Wright appears as his having been admitted in 1827. (I learn, incidentally, that Judge Wright while a student at law tried a cause in the old court house, by the grace of the court, previous to 1816.) While living in Albany he attained a wide celebrity both as a jurist and an advocate. Few are aware, however, that he was a native of Charlton in this county. Chesselden Ellis of Waterford, afterwards member of congress, was admitted in April, 1829, and Judge Thomas J. Marvin in August of that year. At the April term 1830, on exhibition of their certificates from the Supreme Court Nicholas Hill, jr. and John W. Thompson were sworn as attorneys in this county. Mr. Hill began his practice at Amsterdam, and soon after removed to Saratoga Springs. After several years he established himself at Albany as
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a member of the eminent legal firm of Hill, Cagger & Porter. Mr Thompson began the practice of the law under favorable auspices. He was surrogate of the county for thirteen years from 1834. For many years he has been engaged in banking as president of the Ballston Spa National Bank. Older members of the bar and other citizens of the county will remember the eccentric George T. Wright, "Orator," of Clifton Park, who was admitted in 1831 on proof of loss of his certificate. Judge John A. Corey and James B. McCrea were received at the bar in December, 1831, and Sey . mour St. John, afterwards a judge of Common Pleas, in April, 1832.
On the twenty-ninth day of August, 1833, on report from his examiners, Messrs Brown and Kirt- land, William Augustus Beach was admitted to practice and signed the roll of attorneys. He early took a front position at the bar of the Supreme Court, to which he was in due time admitted, and whether as a member of the successive legal firms of Beach & Bockes, Saratoga Springs ; Beach & Smith, Troy ; or Beach & Brown, New York, he has ever been considered one of the most gifted sons of Saratoga county. In August, 1834, Cicero Love- ridge and Joseph W. Loomis entered the forum. After practicing for several years at the county seat Loomis removed to Syracuse. In April, 1834, Benjamin H. Austin and James M. Andrews of Saratoga Springs were admitted after due examin- ation. Mr. Austin removed to Buffalo, but Mr.
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Andrews remained at Saratoga Springs, leading a rural life rather than one of devotion to his early profession. At the December term of the same year, George G. Scott of Ballston Spa was admitted on certificate from the Supreme Court. He served on the bench of Common Pleas from 1838 to 1841, when he resigned and resumed to the practice of his profession, which he as since continuously fol- lowed. He has been twice member of assembly, has served one term in the state senate and for sev- enteen successive years has been supervisor of his native town.
In December, 1836, Sidney J. Cowen and Abel Meeker were examined and admitted to practice. Mr. Cowen was a young man of signal ability, and his early death robbed the bar of one of its bright- est ornaments. Mr. Meeker served as a magistrate several years in Ballston, and is now a resident of Rochester. John C. Hulbert, Richard B. Kimball and Thomas Rogers also sustained a good exam- ination and were sworn as attorneys. Hon. Martin I. Townsend of Troy, made his first appearance in our county courts at the same term. Mr. Hulbert has since been surrogate and county judge, and Mr. Rogers, (who was a step-son of Judge Cowen) took a prominent position at the Iowa bar. Mr. . Kimball, after a few year's practice at Waterford, removed to New York and turned his thoughts into the more congenial field of literature. Several excellent novels have emanated his pen, of which ."St. Leger" is the most generally known at this
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day. His brother, Elijah H. Kimball, was a mem- ber of the legal firm of Doe & Kimball for several years, and then gravitated to the metropolis where he took quite a prominent place at the bar. At the August Common Pleas, 1838, Cyrus K. Corliss and Orville J. Harmon took the official oath. Mr. Har- mon has since been Recorder of the city of Oswego. For several years he has been deeply interested in Sunday school work.
At the April term, 1839,"John K. Porter and William T. Odell presented their certificates from the Supreme Court and were admitted in Common Pleas. Mr. Porter entered immediately on a lucra- tive practice in Waterford. Several years later he removed to Albany, having formed a law partner- ship with Nicholas Hill, jr. and Peter Cagger. Having twice been elevated to the bench of the Court of Appeals he, in each instance, resigned his seat and returned to his large professional duties. He now resides in the city of New York, and, as a member of the legal firm of Porter, Lowry, Soren and Stone, his clientage is probably one of the best in the country. Perry G. Ellsworth was admitted to the bar of this county in December, 1840. A few years later he removed to Plattsburg, where he was elected county judge of Clinton county. Subse- quently he made' his residence in Ithaca and has sil ce served a term as judge of Tompkins county. Gen. Edward F. Bullard's experience as a lawyer dates back to April, 1841, having been admitted at the same time with Callender Beecher, Orville
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Chittenden and William T. Seymour. Mr. Beecher was one of the "Argonauts of '49," and early fell a victim to the malarial fevers of Colifornia. Another gifted son of Saratoga who fell a victim to the "Cali- fornia fever" was John H. Beach, a brother of Wil liam A. Beach. He died in San Francisco in 1850, and his remains lie in the Yerba Buena cemetery. He was a young man of excellent talent. Mr. Chit- tenden has since served one term as surrogate of Albany county. Mr. Seymour turned his attention to banking and was for many years cashier of the Saratoga County Bank at Waterford. He was sheriff of this county in 1852-3. At the August term, 1841, Francis S. Waldron of Waterford was admitted to practice. He formed a law partner- ship with John K. Porter which continued until the latter'sCremoval to Albany. Mr. Waldron is a gentleman of quiet habits, retiring manners and of a literary turn of thought. Possessed of a fair for- tune, he devotes his time rather to study than the practice of his profession. Nevertheless he has a clientage who place strong reliance on the sagacity and soundness of his counsel.
Among the sons of Saratoga county who have gained distinction at its bar and conferred renown on it in return is Judge Augustus Bockes, who was admitted after examination in due form at the April term of Common Pleas in 1842. The late Thomas G. Young, and Henry W. Merrill of Sara toga Springs, and Stephen P. Nash, now of New York city, were admitted in August, 1842 ; and J.
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Oakley Nodyne, and Jacob W. Miller of Cohoes signed the roll in December of that year. Mr. Nodyne was at one time editor of the Ballston Journal, and afterwards removed to Brooklyn. Col. Miller established an office in Cohoes, in which the author served his clerkship. He wasa man of good talents and was deeply read in the law. Col. Benjamin C. Butler and David Maxwell are now popular summer resort hotel keepers at Luzerne and Corinth, N. Y., yet, nevertheless, they are both entitled to practice before the bar of justice ; Butler having been admitted in August, 1843, and Maxwell in December, 1845. Aaron B. Olmstead of Saratoga Springs, dates his legal practice from December, 1843, and the late Franklin Hoag of Oil City, Pa., and Augustus Haight, now of Oshkosh, Wis., were admitted in April, 1844. The late John Lewis of Schuylerville, and John Brotherson were admitted to the Common Pleas in April, 1845. The latter on his certificate from the Supreme Court, he having been in practice for several years previous in Schenectady. Since that date he has made his home in Ballston Spa. Mr. Brotherson enjoys an equally good reputation as a lawyer and a fox- hunter-never leaving the chase until the brush adorns his game pouch, or he has effectually holed his adversary.
Major Patrick H. Cowen and the late Hon. John H. White of Saratoga Springs, United States Com- missioner John T. Lamport of Troy, and the late Samuel H. Cook of Ballston Spa, were admitted on
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the report of the examining committee in Septem- ber, 1845. Ex speaker Truman G. Younglove of Crescent, was made an attorney at law in April, 1846 ; and on examination at the September term of that year Murray Hubbard of Waterford, and Nathan J. Johnson of Ballston Spa, were admitted to practice in Common Pleas. Mr. Hubbard prac- ticed law for several years successfully in Cohoes, and then became cashier of the Cohoes bank, which position he yet retains. Mr. Johnson has since been a professor in Fowler's law school and Judge of Fulton county. He served gallantly as a regi- mental and brigade commander in the late war, as his honorable wounds attest. The last class exam- ined and admitted was in the December Common Pleas, 1846. It consisted of Albert A. Moor, John A. Bryan, William E. Castle, Amos S. Maxwell, William C. Tibbetts, Charles R. Sanders and Isaac C. Ormsby. Mr. Moor is now a manufacturer living in Greenwich, Washington county ; John A. Bryan is a member of the legal firm of Therasson & Bryan, New York city ; William E. Castle was a cousin of Hon. Wm. A. Beach, and is since deceased ; as is also William C. Tibbetts, who was a son of the late Dr. William Tibbetts, of Mechan- icville. Mr. Ormsby is the present district attorney, whose fitness for that important office and his popu- larity are attested by his repeated re- elections by the people.
At this point, it is proper to digress from the chronological order and bear testimony to the
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merits of a son of Saratoga and a talented member of our early bar. Hon. John W. Taylor was born in Ballston, (now Charlton) March 26, 1784. He was the son of Judge John Taylor. After gradua- ting from Union college in 1803, he studied law and established an office in connection with Samuel Cook at Court House hill about the year 1806. They afterwards embarked in the lumber trade and Mr. Taylor removed to Jessup's Landing in Hadley, (now Corinth) to superintend the business. In 1811, he was elected to the state assembly and was re-elected the next year. In the fall of 1812 lie was chosen to represent the eleventh district (Sara- toga county) in the thirteenth congress. He re- moved, soon after, back to his former residence, and in 1819 to the house now occupied by. Justice John Brown in Ballston Spa. He was elected to congress for ten consecutive terms. Mr. Taylor was twice chosen speaker of the house of represen- tatives ; first of the sixteenth congress, in 1821, for the second session to succeed Hon. Henry Chy, who had resigned his seat; and, agam, in 1825 of the nineteenth congress, for the full term. In 1840 he was chosen state senator and served until August 19, 1842, when he resigned. He subsequently removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he died Sep-
tember 18, 1854. His remains are interred in the . cemetery at Ballston Spa, and a plain slab, mod- estly inscribed with his name and dates of birth and death, marks the last resting place of the venerable statesman, who was the only citizen of New York
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who erer held the third place in our government.
The interests of non-resident clients drew to the courts of our county the legal talent of the other counties of this state. In addition to those men- tioned in the preceding chapters in connection with the suits in which they appeared, the following gentlemen may be mentioned. many of whom gained a world-wide celebrity at the bar. and others who have sat on the bench and administered justice un- der the laws with credit to themselves and signal honor to the state. From Albany came Joseph W. Paddock. James Edwards. Israel Williams. Henry C. Whelpley. and Bradford R. Wood : Schenec- tady sent Edward Yates. Archibald L. Linn, Ste- phen A. Daggett. Alex. C. Gibson and Demetrius M. Chadsey : Rensselaer county sent from Troy Job Pierson. David L. Seymour. Judge George Gould. Corneliu- L. Tracy. Gardner Stow. Fran- cis N. Mann and Enoch H. Rosekrans Judge Stow was a native of Morean. and with Dr. Billy J. Clark and Rev. Lebbeus Armstrong formed the first temperance society in this county. He was
some time district attorney of Essex county. and afterwards removed to Troy. He was appointed attorney general in 1853. by Gov. Seymour. The two latter ar -- natives of this county : the former of Milton and the latter of Halfmoon. Judge Rose-
krans subsequently removed to Glen's Falls. whence.
also came Ira A. Paddock. Halsey R. Wing. Isaac Mott and Orange Ferriss. From Chester. Warren county, came Norman Fox. who afterwards entered
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the ministry and was for many years pastor of the Baptist church at Ballston Spa. From Amsterdam came Clark B. Cochrane and David P. Corey ; from Sandy Hill, Roswell Weston, Joseph B. Lathrop, Orville Clark. Charles Hughes and Henry B. Nor- thrup : from Johnstown, James McNeice, Duncan McMartin. McIntyre Fraser and Horace E. Smith ; from Poughkeepsie. Richard D. Davis and John T. N. Radcliffe : from Rochester, Judge Samuel L. Selden. George G. Munger and Nathaniel Bacon. Judge Bacon was a native of Ballston. He ulti. mately removed to Niles, Michigan, where he ranked as an able jurist. Dudley Burwell of Little Falls (who married the eldest daughter of Colonel Samuel Young, and is but recently deceased), Mar- cellus Weston of Broadalbin, John C. Spencer of Canandaigua, John Cochrane and Erastus Benedict of New York. also were among those who have stood before juries of Saratoga county under the old constitution and presented their client's cases with all their powers of eloquence, argument and casnistry.
With this chapter closes the history of our courts under the old constitution. The old practice with its interminable inventory of pleadings from the declaration to the surrebutter. its legal fictions and feigned issues, passed away July 1. 1848. and the imagined simpler forms of the "Pleadings under the Code of Procedure" took its place. Wher-in is the improvement will be better told in the twen- tieth century, by which time the successive legisla-
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tures will have amended the "perfect code," until it will resemble the wonderful pair of stockings, which the old lady made to serve her husband for fifteen years by knitting new feet every spring and new legs every other winter.
CHAPTER XIII. CRIMINAL TRIALS UNDER THE PRESENT CONSTITU- TION.
The legislature acting under the provisions of the new constitution passed an act May 12, 1847, pro - viding for the several courts, civil and criminal. First, there was to be the Court of Impeachment, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor, state senate and Judges of the Court of Appeals. Secondly, there was created the Court of Appeals, consisting of four judges to be elected by the people and four judges designated from the justices of the Supreme Court. Thirdly, the Supreme and Circuit Courts, to be held by the thirty-three justices of the Su- preme Court. Fourthly the County Court, to be held by the county judge. Fifthly, the Court of Oyer and Terminer to be held at the times appointed for holding Circuits, by the presiding justice of the Supreme Court, with the county judge and two justices of the peace designated by the people at the annual elections to hold Courts of Sessions. Sixthly, the Courts of Sessions to be held at the same times designated for holding County Courts, by the county judge and justices of sessions. The new Criminal Courts succeeded to the powers and duties of their respective predecessors, with the
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