USA > New York > Westchester County > Westchester county in history; manual and civil list, past and present. County history: towns, hamlets, villages and cities, Volume II > Part 15
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and liberality prevails in this pro- fession to a greater extent than in any other, and we are sure that the subject of this sketch realizes and appreciates the fact that the Bar of Rockland County accords to him a position foremost among all its mem- bers, and is proud of the lustre of his brilliant record, and of the prominence which is his because he has earned it, not only in his sphere of action in his own county, but everywhere where his services have been required.
"Blessed with a good constitution and splendid physique, he possesses the ability and strength which have enabled him to succeed in every un- dertaking. Besides the duties of his Congressional and professional life, his presence is demanded and his voice is heard frequently upon civic and social occasions. As a trial lawyer Judge Tompkins has no superior and few equals in the Judicial District within which his labors are princi- pally confined. In the examination of witnesses he is shrewd, alert, and incisive. In argument to a jury he is a marvel of freshness, simplicity and power. He always knows his juror and talks to him. His argu- ments are replete with illustrations which find their 'duplicate in the ex- periences of the individual juror. History, poetry and anecdote are brought into requisition by this mas- ter of the legal art, and all are blended in a production of argu- ment, appeal, pathos, denunciation and eloquence which are sure to win a good case and save a poor one from utter destruction. And with all this rare and brilliant experience, Judge Tompkins is still a young man, and with the continuance of health and strength is surely des- tined to accomplish vastly more than he has already achieved in the suc. cesses of the past and present."
Judge Tompkins' nomination as a candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court for the recently created Ninth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland and Putnam, was made unanimously in the convention held in White Plains, in this county, in the summer of 1906, and his elec- tion followed, he leading his associ- ates on the ticket in the voting, as his popularity suggested he would do.
From the beginning of his practice he has been a successful lawyer, and for some years past and until his ele- vation to the Supreme Court Bench, the acknowledged leader of the Rock- land County Bar. His work as a trial lawyer was large, covering the counties of Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Westchester, New York and Kings, in many instances trying cases as counsel for other lawyers. He was regarded as one of the best trial lawyers along the Hudson River.
He has also an enviable reputation as a ready speaker, logical and witty, making him in constant demand for orations and addresses, on various subjects, throughout the State. He delivered the address at the dedica- tion of the monument to General Kilpatrick at West Point, N. Y., and at the opening of the Stony Point Reservation was one of the orators, and has been orator on many other occasions.
With all his political activity and varied law practice, he has always been very popular in the county and outside of the county where he is known. No worthy appeal for help was ever made to him in vain. There are hundreds of instances where he has aided those in need, and espe- cially young men who have been struggling for a start in life. He has always been the friend of and a sympathizer with the working man- always willing to respond to any de- mand that might be made upon him. Having himself come up from the ranks and accomplished what he has by the hardest kind of work, perse- verance and industry, he appreciates and understands the difficulties and embarrassments of those who from the beginning struggle for success in life.
Judge Tompkins has always been very active in fraternal organiza- tions, having been District Deputy Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of the branches of that order; for several years was a representative and prominent officer in the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the State of New York, and has been Grand Master of the same order. He is also a member, and has been a prominent officer, of
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the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a favorite orator at functions of this order; and a mem- ber of the Foresters of America, Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men, and other similar so- cieties, as well as social organiza- tions. Is president of the Nyack Board of Education, a member and trustee of the First Baptist Church of Nyack, a director of the Rockland County Trust Company, and a mem- ber and director of the Young Men's Christian Association of Nyack.
Fordham University, New York City, at its sixty-fifth annual com- mencement, held in June, 1910, con- ferred upon Justice Tompkins the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
On invitation of the committee ap- pointed by the Supreme Court and Surrogate's Court, Justice Tompkins delivered the principal oration at the special services held in memory of the late Hon. Theodore Hannibal Silkman, former Surrogate of West- chester County, at the County Court House in White Plains, November 18, 1910.
Justice Tompkins, who was as- signed by the Appellate Division for December, 1910, to the criminal de- partment in the City of New York, was, at the end of the term, pre- sented by members of the New York December panel of jurors with handsome rosewood gavel, mounted with silver, in recognition of the Jus- tice's ability and well-known cour- tesies. The gavel was inscribed with the Justice's name, date, and the names of the jurors.
On January 26, 1911, Justice Tompkins found awaiting him at his hotel, in White Plains, a large bou- quet of flowers, the gift of a panel of Westchester County jurors drawn to serve during a murder trial, to ex- press to the Justice the jurors' ap- preciation of many acts of kindness shown by him to them throughout a prolonged trial.
To accommodate resident lawyers, and other members of the bar, Jus- tice Tompkins, in the spring of 1911, voluntarily began holding special sessions of the Supreme Court in Yonkers on Saturdays. Because he did this, which was not required of him, he received a vote of thanks at a public meeting of members of the bar residing in Yonkers.
Justice Tompkins was orator at Memorial Day exercises of the G. A. R., in Yonkers, May, 1911.
Gov. Dix assigned Justice Tomp- kins to preside over several criminal terms of the Supreme Court, First Judicial District, New York city.
He was married on May 18, 1889, to Miss Jeanie C. Logan, daughter of James and Hannah Logan, of Tarrytown, in this county. Two chil- dren were born of the union and are alive. The family residence is in the village of Nyack.
HON. JOSEPH MORSCHAUSER.
When Joseph Morschauser, then a newly elected Justice of the Supreme Court, began his judicial duties in Westchester County, in the early part of 1907, he was comparatively a stranger to the people of the county.
He had been a successful prac- ticing attorney in the city of Pough- keepsie for more than twenty years, and had filled successively the offices of Justice of the Peace, Recorder and City Judge in Poughkeepsie, at- taining among the lawyers of that community a distinction which won for him the Republican nomination and election to the Supreme Court bench in the Ninth Judicial District.
Judge Morschauser had presided in the courts of Westchester County but a very short time before he had com- manded the confidence and affection of the members of the bar and the good opinion of all who came in con- tact with him. He soon came to be known as an honest, capable, and sympathetic, yet dignified, Judge, a student of the law and of human na- ture, and a man of great feeling and tenderness of heart. As the people of Westchester County learned more of Judge Morschauser, they were bet- ter able to understand the reason for his popularity and success in the com- munity where he had spent his life and which gave him to the bench of this district.
Born of sturdy, thrifty German parentage on a farm a few miles from Poughkeepsie in 1863, and learning, as a poor, hard-working boy, the great lesson of industry and self-reliance, Joseph Morschauser re- ceived from his father and mother an upright character, vigorous intellect,
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robust physique and consuming am- bition.
Desiring to become a lawyer, he left the farm, went to work in the city, earned the money which paid for his schooling, and in three years had met the educational tests which enabled him to begin the study of law in the office of County Judge Daniel W. Guernsey. In 1884 he was admitted to the bar, and one of the three examiners, appointed by the late Justice Barnard, of Poughkeep- sie, who passed on the young man's qualifications, was the Hon. Isaac N. Mills, who, at a subsequent date, was nominated for Supreme Court Jus- tice on the same ticket with Joseph Morschauser.
During the twenty-three years in which he was engaged in the practice of law in the courts of Dutchess County, Judge Morschauser took part in the most important litigations and was highly successful in winning judgments for his clients. A born fighter and indefatigable worker, he never went into court without having his case thoroughly prepared, and it was seldom that an adversary was able to surprise him. If there were surprises, they were usually in favor of his client, for Joseph Morschauser knew every strong point in his own case and every weakness of his op- ponent.
In 1884 he was elected Justice of the Peace in Poughkeepsie, and, after two terms, was elected Recorder of the city, an office in which he was brought intimately into contact with all phases of human nature, and in which he was immensely successful in dealing wisely and justly with the great variety of cases that came be- fore him every day.
When the social evil in Poughkeep- sie made it necessary for him to choose between the citizens who had taken a stand for law and order and the element who were profiting from the evil, with their powerful and threatening friends, Judge Mors- chauser strictly enforced the law and sent the dive-keepers to jail.
Later, the office of Recorder was changed by the Legislature to City Judge, but without change in the incumbent, and Judge Morschauser was successfully occupying that office when, in 1906, he was called to the
more important duties and broader popularity of the Supreme Court.
The Fordham University, at its sixty-fifth annual commencement, held in June, 1910, conferred upon Justice Morschauser the honorary de- gree of Doctor of Laws.
The parents of Judge Morschauser were Joseph and Henrietta (Rotman) Morschauser, both of whom were na- tives of Germany. He married, January 27, 1889, Miss Katherine W. Bauer, daughter of Joseph Bauer, a merchant of Poughkeepsie. They have one son, Joseph C. H. Mors- chauser, aged fifteen years, who is a student at Riverview Military Academy in Poughkeepsie.
HON. ISAAC N. MILLS.
Isaac N. Mills, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Ninth Judi- cial District, was born in Thompson, Windham County, Conn., on Septem- ber 10, 1851.
At the age of seventeen he entered the Providence Conference Seminary, at Greenwich, Rhode Island; taught district school, working evenings to keep up with his class; graduated in 1870. Graduated from Amherst Col- lege in 1874. In 1876 graduated from Columbia College Law School, and in the same year was admitted to the bar and became a resident of Mount Vernon, in this county. Was a member of the legal firm of Mills & Wood until 1882. Made a reputa- tion as a trial lawyer. In 1883, at the general election, he was chosen County Judge; this position he re- tained until 1896. He was elected a State Senator and served during the years 1901-2-a two years' term. In 1906 he was elected to his present position.
He is a student, well learned in the law, and is considered one of the ablest jurists in the State. He has had the deciding of many important cases, involving intricate questions of law, and his decisions have been generally upheld.
HON. WILLIAM P. PLATT.
William Popham Platt, County Judge, former District-Attorney, etc., was born in White Plains (where he yet resides), on May 16, 1858, a son of Judge Lewis Canfield and Laura (Sherbrook Popham) Platt.
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His father was a lawyer of the old | Democratic ticket. He was elected, school and highly respected for his many good qualities, and was the first person elected as Surrogate of this County.
He comes of good Revolutionary stock, relatives on both his paternal and maternal sides having served in the Continental Army. His father's grandfather was able offi- an cer serving in Col. Pierre Van Cort- land's Third Westchester Militia Regiment. Another relative, Jona- than Platt, was member of the Com- mittee of Safety and member of the Convention forming the State.
His maternal grandfather held the office of Postmaster in Scarsdale in 1850 and later.
He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and on graduating began the study of law in the office of his father, who had for clients most of the prominent residents in the County. Ît is said that many a farmer felt asif he could not rest easy unless his will had been drawn by Lawyer Lew. Platt, of White Plains. The present Judge Platt can credit much of his popu- larity to the well wishes of these men, irrespective of political party association, and relatives who were loyal admirers of his father.
In 1879 Mr. Platt was admitted to practice at the bar, and in the same year his father made him his partner, under the firm name of L. C. and W. P. Platt, and the new firm con- tinued in the confidences of the pub- lic. When the elder member of the firm died, in 1893, his son succeeded to the practice, which had steadily grown; soon. after Mr. Platt formed a partnership with Farrington M. Thompson, and the firm of Platt & Thompson took a position of promi- nence; the partnership continued un- til Mr. Platt took office as County Judge in 1902.
The firm of Platt & Thompson had an extensive practice in the Surro- gate's Court. As a criminal lawyer, Mr. Platt developed with the years, and in many important criminal cases tried in the County he figured for the defense successfully.
and at the expiration of the term he was re-elected, serving until 1896. In 1895 he was the unsuccessful nominee of his party for County Juage; though he ran far ahead of his associates upon the ticket, he went down with the other nominees of the party.
As District Attorney he secured many indictments and successfully prosecuted many important cases, in his endeavor to let no guilty man es- cape.
On retiring from the District At- torneyship he appeared for the de- fense in cases that became quite famous, such as the Peter James case, the burglar who was put on trial for shooting and killing grocer Walker B. Adams, at Bedford Sta- tion, on August 19, 1896; in the case of James Kelly, accused of mur- dering his father-in-law.
In November, 1901, Mr. Platt was the nominee of the Democratic party for County Judge, in opposition to Judge Smith Lent, who had just served a term in that office and was a candidate for re-election. Mr. Platt was elected, he being the only nomi- nee of the Democratic side success- ful; this victory in great part being attributed to personal popularity.
From the time Judge Platt as- sumed office the practice in the County Court began to increase. When he was called to the bench the Court had on an average not much over twenty civil cases on the cal- endar for each term, and the Court held only four terms a year, no term being longer than four weeks. Grad- ually the business of the Court in- creased.
In 1908, Mr. Platt was a candidate to succeed himself. A movement was started having for its purpose the giving of a union renomination, of both the Democratic and Republican parties, to Judge Platt. For some reason, thought not necessary to ex- plain, this arrangement fell through, the Republican Organization deciding that it was best to nominate a full ticket including a candidate for County Judge. The result of the election proved this refusal to re- nominate the Judge bad judgment.
The ability he displayed in con- ducting cases attracted attention, and as a result he was, in 1890, asked to become a candidate for District Mr. Platt was re-elected by a Attorney of his home county, on the | handsome majority, he being the
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only nominee on the Democratic tick- et to win out. His opponent was District Attorney J. Addison Young, considered the strongest man his party could name for the office. The lesson this campaign taught was an important one, that the people are growing to dislike politics being mixed up too much with the Judi- ciary.
The County Court is growing into importance with every year, and law- yers are less inclined to shun it. A capable Judge has much to do with the apparent change. The term cal- endar has increased from twenty cases to one hundred and thirty and in some terms more. Now seven terms a year are held, one term fre- quently running into the next. So great is the volume of business de- manding immediate attention of the Court, that the same is now in ses- sion forty-six weeks during the year. Judge Platt is a faithful worker, and remains on the bench as long as he is needed there. His almost con- stant sittings gives him but little time off the bench to prepare his de- cisions, which are seldom, if ever, reversed.
Judge Platt is a member of the New York Society of the Sons of the American Revolution; his pa- ternal grandfather, Z. Platt, served as a captain in the American Revo- lution and his maternal great-grand- father also served in the same war as major and aide to Gen. Steuben, and his maternal grandfather fought on the right side in the War of 1812. He is a member of the Medico-Legal Society of the United States, a mem- ber of White Plains Lodge, No. 473, F. and A. M., a member of the Knoll- wood Club, a member of the Order of Elks, a member of the Democratic Club, and other organizations.
Judge Platt was married on Octo- ber 1, 1890, to Miss Sara Stuart Dean, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Moses W. and Sara Stuart Dean, of White Plains. Of this union there are two sons, Stewart Dean Platt and William P. Platt, Jr.
HON. FRANK V. MILLARD.
Frank Vincent Millard, Surrogate, President of the Board of Education, former Town Clerk, Supervisor, Presi- dential Elector, etc., was born Feb-
ruary 27, 1867, in Tarrytown, a son of James S. and Elizabeth A. (Purdy) Millard.
He received his preparatory educa- tion in the Tarrytown public schools and Irving Institute, entered Yale College, and graduated in the class of 1888. He studied law in the office of his father, one of the lead- ers of the Westchester County bar; on graduating from the Columbia Law School he was duly admitted to practice on February 13, 1890.
As a lawyer he has had even more than his share of legal practice, prin- cipally in Surrogate's Court and clos- ing of estates.
He had an early start in politics and from the beginning he took a prominent place in the councils of the Republican party. He reversed the adage, "Old men for counsel, young men for war." He was for both counsel and war.
In 1890, when only a few years beyond his majority, he ran for Town Clerk, and won by a good majority in the then Democratic town; he was re-elected to this office.
In 1892 he won again, running for Supervisor; his success in this under- taking surprised the wise-heads. For some time past none but Democrats had been elected Supervisor in this good old town; men with grey hair and beard and dignified manner, men fit to counsel a nation, had rep- resented this staid people in the County legislative body; now behold a stripling of a boy, only twenty- five years of age, is elected, and he a Republican, too, to appear and legislate for this the largest town in the County.
Nevertheless, this victory sent Mr. Millard's political stock booming. He was considered by many Republi- cans as their "coming Moses." He was level-headed and sensible. He took his honors meekly. After serv- ing his term as Supervisor, he stepped aside, for the time being, to give his undivided attention to his law prac- tice, which he prized above politics.
He continued his position as chair- man of the Republican Town Com- mittee and representative in the Re- publican County Committee; in 1896 he was chosen chairman of the County Committee, later retiring voluntarily in favor of his friend William L. Ward.
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He accepted appointment as coun- sel to the Town Board, to the Board of Assessors, to the Board of High- way Commissioners of both the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, to the Excise Board, to the Board of Health, to the Tarrytown Village Board of Trustees, and to various Village boards; counsel for the town of Mount Pleasant, counsel for the County Superintendent of the Poor; was elected a member of the Tarry- town Board of Education, which po- sition he has held for more than seventeen years, and was, in 1911, elected president of the Board; trus- tee and counsel of the Westchester County Savings Bank at Tarrytown. He was foreman of Hope Hose Com- pany, No. 1, eight years, many years has served as President of the local Exempt Firemen's Association and as engineer at the head of the local fire department. Filled the position of president of the local Young Men's Lyceum.
In 1900 he was elected on the Re- publican ticket as a Presidential Elector.
In 1906, when he was but thirty- nine years of age, Mr. Millard was elected Surrogate; a young man for so responsible a position, but the younger the better, we have found. Judge Silkman, who had just retired as Surrogate, was but thirty-six years of age when he was first elected.
As a Surrogate, Mr. Millard is very popular with members of the bar. He is always found prompt at his post in the discharge of his judicial duties. The courtesy, liberality and generosity, marking his career as a public official, contribute, in no small degree, to secure for him the position which his skill and ability, com- bined with his admitted sagacity and tact, fairly entitle him to. He is yet |
a valued adviser in the councils of his party, in which he is highly re- spected for his ready speech and free expression of honest opinion, and his associates in the party organization, the upholders of the integrity of the party, admit they owe him much for the steadiness and power which he has brought to bear in aid of the party's best interests.
In 1812 the Westchester County Bar Association adopted resolutions asking all political parties to unite in giving him a renomination for Surrogate.
He is a Mason of prominence, belonging to various branches of the order; besides being a member of Solomon's Lodge, No. 196, F. and A. M., is a member of Irving Chapter, of Westchester Com- mandery, Peekskill Council, is a 32 degree Mason, member of Mecca Temple Shrine, of Scottish Rite Con- sistory of New York, of O. D. O.'s of Mount Vernon, and has served as District Deputy Grand Master, 12th Masonic District. Belongs to the Westchester Lodge of Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. He was president of the Westchester County Bar Association, in 1908-9, and while such inaugurated a movement to es- tablish a State Supreme Court Library at White Plains. After the passage of the law creating such Library, he was appointed by the Governor as a trustee, and from the beginning has been chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Mr. Millard was married on De- cember 30, 1891, to Miss Grace Re- qua, daughter of Isaac Requa, of Tarrytown. There are three children -all girls: Grace R., born Septem- ber 22, 1893; Emily, born October 22, 1896, and Florence, born July 28, 1898.
Surrogate Millard has always re- sided in Tarrytown.
SUPREME COURT OFFICERS.
Charles J. F. Decker, Croton Falls, Clerk, Part 1; Franklin Montross, Peekskill, Part 2; Harvey Husted, White Plains, Stenographer ; William H. Carpenter, Jr., White plains, Stenographer ; Chester A. Smith, Peekskill, Stenographer.
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HARVEY HUSTED.
Harvey Husted was born in the year 1854, in the town of Mount Pleasant, where his father, Nathaniel W., kept a dry dock and coal yard, familiarly known as the Upper Land- ing. He was named after his mater- nal grandfather, Harvey Palmer, of Pleasantville.
Mr. Husted has the distinction of receiving the first official appoint- ment as Stenographer to the Su- preme, County, and Surrogate's Courts in Westchester County, and has continuously been between the bench and bar for 35 years.
When he entered the Courts thirty- five years ago, he says, the older members of the bar were in the habit of taking testimony of witnesses in longhand, with pens made from the quills of a goose, and the pens were made while the Court waited, and each lawyer prided himself on his ability to make a better pen than his brother lawyer, and to take in full the testimony of witnesses, and orten disputes occurred between the Court and counsel regarding the evi- dence that had been taken.
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