History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 26

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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and the Constitution of the United States, and the gates of Hell could not prevail against him.

Nathaniel Wright was one of the old-time lawyers, having begun the practice of law in 1817, and retiring from the Bar about the year 1842. He was a native of New Hampshire, and his early life was passed upon his father's farm. The poorer sons of New England had not many privileges of education, and young Wright began his schooling by studying with his arithmetic in one hand, while the other guided a plough. The cornfield, however, has some advantages over the modern built schoolhouse, as this pupil by his early training built up a physical frame, capable of almost unlimited endurance. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1811, and set out to seek his fortune. He taught school in Portland, Maine. Here he made the acquaintance of a young man named Bellamy Storer, and they became fast friends. They afterward met in the Far West, in a flourishing village of abont nine thousand inhabitants, by the name of Cincinnati. Here they cast their lots, the friendship of their early days was renewed, and there was no break in its chain during life. In his Portland school Mr. Wright was much attracted by a bright sunny-haired lad, of whom he was afterward accustomed often to speak. This little fellow had pleasing ways, and possessed a rare intelligence. His name was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. From Portland Mr. Wright went to Virginia, and taught school among the mountains of the Blue Ridge, within sight of the locality afterward to become celebrated as the battlefield of Bull Run. The term of his engagement here completed, he set out for Ohio. His sojourn in Virginia had been a delightful one, as he enjoyed to the fullest extent the rare old Southern hospitality, and when he left them, he felt as though he was leaving home. He had formed strong ties with those among he had been thrown, and as he set forth upon his solitary way to that distant country of which but little was known, his heart misgave him. As the winding road was lost among the mountains, he turned in his saddle for a last look upon the spot where he had spent so many pleasant days. No wonder, perhaps, that a momentary weakness overcame him, for it required a strong self- reliance thus to take up the battle with the world. His earthly possessions he car- ried upon his person, and upon the beast he bestrode ; but he bore with him a stout heart, and he was of the stuff of which the pioneers of the forest land were made. After a long and wearisome journey, he reached Cincinnati at night, with a five-dollar gold piece and a Spanish quarter of a dollar in his pocket. By mistake he gave the drayman, who carried his belongings up to the hotel, the gold piece instead of the quarter, and that honest son of toil did not re-appear upon any subsequent occasion to rectify the mistake. His first experience of Cincinnati life was a long, severe fit of illness. But in his untried home he found true friends, whose kindness was always a subject of grateful remembrance As he began the practice of his pro- fession, people soon began to discover his sterling qualities. His perfect integrity impressed every one with confidence. Whatever he said was implicitly trusted. Business men soon found that their affairs, in his hands, were in such keeping that they need not give themselves further concern, nor worry lest inattention, or want of zeal, should be disastrous to them. Nor were there any who had more faith in him than the members of his own profession. It has been said of him, that no higher-toned lawyer ever practiced at this Bar. He was not what is called a quick or brilliant man, but he had the genius of unwearied industry, and indefatigable perseverance. He never let go anything until it was completely finished. His methods of thought were slow, but thoroughly careful. He examined a question deliberately, but clear through, upon all sides, in every possible view, considered every minute particular, and then decided correctly. His law was profound philos- ophy. When he applied his powers of discrimination to reported cases to discover their weight as authority, his manner of ascertaining the relation, and pointing out the bearing of, particular facts, to a given decision, was a marvel of light, thrown

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upon the apparently inconsistent. He retired from the active practice of the law about the year 1842, but the love of his chosen profession never waned, and it was always a delight to him to discuss the law, as it was to him one of the exact sciences. He lived to a ripe old age, and died in 1875 in his eighty-seventh year.

John 'C. Wright was long an honored and honorable citizen of Cincinnati. He was judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and long an editor of the Cincinnati Gazette, one of the earliest and most influential public prints of the city, and which still lives under the shaded title of the Commercial Gazette. Judge Wright was elected a member of Congress from the Steubenville District in October, 1820, to serve for two years from March 4, 1821. The election was very close, in fact being disputed upon street corners, and other like places where affairs of national impor- tance are settled, though no legal action was ever taken in the premises. Such, however, was the high sense of honor in this distinguished citizen, that he declined to accept a public position, upon a seemingly doubtful, or even disputed, title. Upon receiving his certificate of election from the governor of the State, he returned his answer in the following letter :

I consider it an incontrovertible principle in our Government, that the people are the only true source of political power. If this be correct, no person can possibly take upon himself the discharge of any public function or duty, without being called to its exercise by an universal expression of the public will in his favor. It is supposed the late election for a representative to Congress, from the Fourth District, does not furnish evidence of such unequivocal expression of the public will in favor of any one. The canvass was very close, and, I am informed, serious doubts are entertained by some of the electors as to the result. The legal right to a seat is declared to be in me by the executive authority, and your certificate would enable me to pro- ceed to the exercises of the duties of a representative; yet I do not feel willing to occupy any office of trust or honor upon doubtful authority, nor could I do so without violating what I con- ceive to be sound principle. By restoring again to the people. from whom it emanated, the doubt- ful authority conferred upon me, a fair opportunity is afforded them of disposing of it, according to their will. Impressed with these considerations, I resign my seat as a representative of the State of Ohio, in Congress, and request you to accept this as the act of resignation. I feel less reluctance in calling on the people to proceed to a new election, as no reason is perceived for holding it before the next annual period for holding elections, on the second Tuesday in Octo- ber. I am, sir, with great respect, Your obedient servant,

J. C. WRIGHT.

Such a course is so entirely novel, in political life, so completely foreign to all preconceived notions of the rights, duties and obligations, the individual ele- vated to distinguished place by the suffrage of his constituents, as those rights, duties and obligations are understood at the present day, that we contemplate, with amazement, the fact that a duly elected member of Congress should decline office merely because an antiquated sense of honor, or some shallow notion of integrity, led him to question his own title.

Vachel Worthington, son of James Tolly Worthington and Margaret S. Worth- ington, was born February 2, 1802, near Crab Orchard, Ky. After having studied at Centre College, Danville, Ky., he entered Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., and was there graduated in July, 1822. After graduation he studied law in Lexington, Ky., under the tutorage of John Boyle, then chief justice of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky. Having been admitted to the Bar, his first professional business was to attend to some affairs of his father at Rome, Ga. These being satisfactorily settled, he moved to Cincinnati in 1824, and established his office first on the north side of Fourth street west of Main, whence he removed, at the time the present church edifice of the First Presbyterian Church was erected, to an office in the second story of the building known as No. 21 West Third street. A few years later he moved his office to the ground floor of the same building; and this office he occupied for the remainder of his professional life.

On May 25, 1825, he married Mary Ann Burnet, daughter of Judge Jacob Bur- net, then one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and one of the most emi-

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nent of the lawyers of that day. Of this marriage five children were born, four of whom died in infancy; the other, James Tolly Worthington, his second child and eldest son, is still living, and practicing law in New York City. This first wife died on October 25, 1834, and on January 10, 1839, Mr. Worthington married Julia Wiggins, daughter of Samuel Wiggins, of Cincinnati. Four children were born of this marriage, of whom one died in childhood, and three-Edward, Julia (wife of Wm. P. Anderson) and William-still survive.

In the reported decisions of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Vachel Worthington's name appears first in connection with the case of Jacob Burnet v. the Corporation of Cincinnati, decided at December term, 1827 [3 Ohio, 73]; and last, in connec- tion with the case of The State of Ohio, on relation of the City of Cincinnati v. Joseph B. Humphreys, anditor of Hamilton county [25 Ohio St., 520], decided November 9, 1875.

Soon after locating in Cincinnati, Mr. Worthington formed a partnership with Thomas Longworth, a brother of Nicholas Longworth. This connection lasted but a very short time, and thereafter, until 1851, Mr. Worthington practiced alone. In that year he associated with him his eldest son, James T. Worthington, and Stan- ley Matthews, afterward one of the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, under the firm style of Worthington & Matthews. In June, 1861, Mr. Matthews joined the army, and was not thereafter actively associated with this firm. The firm name remained the same until 1863, when it was changed to V. & J. T. Worthington. In 1865 James T. Worthington removed to New York, and at that time Vachel Worthington voluntarily withdrew from the active practice of his profession. In 1869, when his youngest son, William, was admitted to the Bar, he again put on the harness, that he might assist his son in the beginning of his career. He continued to practice until the latter part of 1876, when a fall down a flight of stairs at his residence so impaired his strength that thereafter professional work was impossible. He died on July 7, 1877, from physical infirmities prematurely induced by this accident.

Mr. Worthington had no political aspirations or ambition, his life being devoted wholly to his profession, in which, early in his career, he gained a place in the front rank, and maintained it to the close. To do this he had to contend with an array of brilliant intellect, mental force and professional ability which made the Cincinnati Bar of those days phenomenal, including in its roll, among others of acknowledged ability, the names of Lytle, Benham, Wright (Nathaniel and John C.), Storer, Fox, Este, Chase, Henry Stanbury, and Thomas Ewing.

Among those who studied law in his office, and under his instruction, were William S. Groesbeck, Stanley Matthews and Samuel S. Cox. He was the attorney in Cincinnati, of the United States Bank during its existence, and was the general solicitor of The Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company from an early date in its history to its fall, and under his direction and supervision its immense investments in real-estate mortgage securities, extending over the western States, were made.

In politics he was a Whig during the existence of that party, and after its disin- tegration his political sympathies were with the Democratic party; but he reserved and freely exercised his own independent judgment as to men and measures, and voted accordingly. Early in the "sixties" he was earnestly urged to accept a ten- dered nomination to the Bench, but could not be induced to give it any serious con- sideration. Except as hereinafter noted he took no prominent part in political movements but once, and that was when he was called to preside at a large and enthusiastic mass-meeting held in Market space on Fifth street between Main and Walnut, for the purpose of suggesting to and urging upon the National Convention, then soon to assemble, the nomination of Gen. Zachary Taylor for the Presidency.

He held public office but once. In the fall of 1873 he accepted the nomination on the Democratic ticket for the State Senate, and was elected. He gave to his leg-

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islative duties the same thorough and conscientious care and study that he had always given to his profession. From the days the regular and adjourned sessions of the Sixty-first General Assembly opened, until they respectively closed, he was constantly at Columbus; in the intervening recesses of the Legislature, during which others sought rest and relaxation in visiting their families, he was at work at the seat of Government, familiarizing himself with pending bills, and fitting himself for what he considered a proper performance of his legislative duties. His zeal and devotion so impressed itself on his associates that at the adjourned session a new " committee on statutes" was established, of which he was made chairman, and which had no light task in the remaining work of that General Assembly.

Probably the most noteworthy feature of his legislative career was the change then accomplished in the methods of municipal administration in Ohio. Prior to that time the city of Cincinnati had been constantly going beyond its means; float- ing debts were incurred, and frequent applications were made for the issue of bonds to pay off such liabilities. Such an appeal was made to the Sixty-first Gen- eral Assembly. Mr. Worthington urged that relief be granted only upon condition that the outstanding claims be scrutinized and audited by a special commission appointed for that purpose; that bonds be issued only to pay claims allowed by that commission; and that the law be so amended that thereafter no order for the expen- diture of money should have legal validity until there was money in the city treasury set apart to meet it. His views prevailed, and were embodied in the act of April 16, 1874 [71 Ohio Laws 80], commonly known as the " Worthington Law."

This system of " pay as you go" met with such public favor that in the follow- ing Legislature, the act of April 8, 1876 [73 Ohio Laws 125], known as the "Burns Law," in amending Sec. 663 of the then municipal code, extended its principles to all municipal corporations; and these provisions can now be found in Sec. 2699 and 2702 of the Revised Statutes.

Salmon P. Chase .- Those, whose years of intelligence embrace the ante-bellum period, can now scarcely believe, those, who have been born since the Rebellion, will never be able to comprehend, the condition of politics prior to 1861. There was then but one power, one interest, in the whole broad realm of the United States. All other rights, all other questions, sank into utter insignificance before it. Good men took the Bible, and expounded, so that it was clearly proven that the Deity created the earth for the express purpose of having slavery exist upon it. Great men took the Constitution of the United States, and expounded, so that the way- faring man could run and read, that there was nothing in particular which that sacred instrument guaranteed and protected, except slavery. Undeniable, that that venerated document was ordained by "We the People of the United States," among other things " to secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our pos- terity;" but the expounders, good and great, assumed that a certain portion of the " People," who had woolly heads and complexions a shade darker than that of the late Thomas Corwin, were neither "Ourselves " nor "Posterity," and therefore not entitled to secure any of the " blessings " of the said "Liberty."

Those who held to the contrary of these views were regarded as dangerous mem . bers of society. It is not nearly so wicked to be an Anarchist in these days, as it was to be an Abolitionist in those. Singular race of men! Hunted, outraged, abused, persecuted, but they did their perfect work. Few in number, feeble in power, Pariahs in politics, they have long since become extinct as a class, but their footprints may now be found in petrified outline upon the solid rock of the National Constitution.

Mr. Chase was in no sense an Abolitionist. He was too sound a Constitutional lawyer not to know that Abolition could only come, as it did, through war. But he was an earnest opponent of the further extension of this pernicious system. He did believe that, restricting it to those limits within which it could only legally exist, its

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ultimate extinction would inevitably follow. This was enough to stamp him as an Abolitionist, and at that time Cincinnati was a mere "suburb of the South." He was, consequently, at one time the best hated man in the community in which he lived. He had no certainty of personal safety, in his daily life. His public utter- ances were greeted with hisses and hootings, and other evidences of public disappro- bation, violent in expression, and disgusting to the senses. Although incurring all this personal hatred, conscious that the principles he espoused could not fail to ensure unpopularity to the last degree, no thought of consequences to himself for a moment chilled his righteous ardor, or caused him to waver in this steadfast faith. Ambitious of political preferment he undoubtedly was; but when it was to be won at the expense of rectitude and integrity of purpose, his upright soul disdained to consider such a bargain.

Pursuing forever the light of that single star that directed his footsteps while the darkness was over and about him, through whatever thorny ways, over what- ever rough paths it led him, he held his course directly on, until his eyes saw the light of day that proclaimed the emancipation of a race, and liberty throughout his native land. It was unpopular, it made the lawyer odious, to defend the rights of the runaway negro. But, Apostle of Freedom! he was the friend of the fugitive not only with all the fervor of his intellect, but with all the gentleness of a kindly heart. Upon the occasion of the removal of the remains of the chief justice to Spring Grove Cemetery, Governor Hoadly in an address, the chaste beauty of which is a touching tribute of "loving disciple " to "preceptor, master, partner, friend," speaks thus: "His legal services were freely bestowed in the protection of every fugitive slave, and the defense of his friends. He was a walking arsenal of the law of liberty. What he could not do with the writ of habeas corpus, no man might accomplish. His weapons were ever ready for instant service. They required no burnishing, no loading, and with or without preparation they were always at hand for use. This office he never refused. This duty he never neglected."

There is probably no man living or dead, who, upon this subject at least, has had more influence in leading to just views the public mind, which tradition bad so perversely bent. Doubtless he was never himself aware how he had unconsciously brought the rising generation of that day into sympathy with his own views. No thoughtful mind came in contact with his, that was not impressed with the sincerity of his convictions, and did not recognize the force with which they were presented. The seed, unwittingly scattered, like that which floats upon the breeze, going whither the wind listeth, fell in many quiet places, and bore its useful fruit. When the disciples of free soil first undertook to promulgate their faith in Hamilton county, it was an undertaking full of danger. In 1848 Mr. Chase spoke upon this subject, in Fifth street Market space. A majority of that vast crowd which had assembled, not so much to hear, as to suppress him, were honestly of the belief that such flagitious sentiments should not be allowed utterance, in a law abiding,

order loving community. Staid and excellent citizens swelled with indignation that a man should be heard who would give such serious offense to our good friends who lived just over the Ohio river. Very stringent precautions had been taken that he should not be heard at all. Cannon had been provided. A large number of that rough element of society, whose predilections are always in favor of riot and tur- moil, were active in the confusion created. As his tall commanding figure arose, and stood beneath the starry flag, there were many who expected, and more who hoped, to see the glorious ensign of the Republic fall and crush him beneath its folds. And yet it did not. He began to address that vast assembly, and far flashed the red artillery. But this did not disturb the serenity of his feelings, nor the magna- nimity of his nature. Upon a distinctly higher plane, than the dwarfed intellects of those who sought to annoy him, he was sorrowful, rather, in the belief that "they know not what they do." His personal dignity was impressive yet winning. He

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made no effort at declamation, or rhetorical display. His manner was that of calm, persuasive, courageous statement, for he did not shrink from the results of his logic. So simple, so earnest, so truthful, that the listener felt that the man before him was guide, philosopher, and friend.

To this single idea of Human Liberty he devoted his life, until the full fruition of his most sanguine hopes, and through all that era of trial, of distress, of war, he was one of those who stood, with unfaltering trust, around the President, and "felt his own great arm lean on them for support. " His work as secretary and chief justice are part of the treasures of the nation and of its history. Whatever may be said of his financial ability, he came to the relief of the national credit when it was most sorely tried, and the theories which he carried into effect established a currency of which it may be safely said, that none other has ever so completely earned the unwavering confidence of the people. In the tribunal of last resort he was instrumental in the solution of questions, the like of which had never been pre- sented to Courts of Justice, upon the wise disposition of which depended the peace and happiness of States; and in communities which had spent four years in the overturning and confusion of all law, the ancient landmarks were restored, order once more existed, and the reign of night and chaos came to an end.

The closing years of his life were passed in Washington, where the duties of his high office were faithfully discharged for the remainder of his days. The fitness of things well ordered that his mortal remains should finally rest in the State of his adoption, and within this county, so long his home, where were the struggles of his early life, where he first put forth those powers which made manifest the certainty of his future fame, and where he endured so much obloquy and achieved so much honor, for upon the still lengthening record, which preserves to posterity the mem- ory of virtue, of patriotism, and of intellectual grandeur in America's illustrious sons, stands emblazoned, in letters of living light, the name of Salmon Portland Chase.

SUPERIOR COURT.

The State of Ohio has known no other such Benchi as was the Superior Court of Cincinnati when organized under the new Constitution; Spencer, Gholson, and Storer being judges. Many Courts can boast of one or two strong lawyers, but when the entire Bench is one of distinctive ability, the practice of the law comes to be a fine art.

As the Court of Common Pleas at that time had but three judges, business began to fall behind, and the Bar saw the necessity of additional judicial force. Several meetings of the fraternity were held, and among the most active promoters of the scheme were George E. Pugh and A. E. Gwynne. At these meetings the question of judicial salaries was largely discussed. The pay of former judges had varied from $800 per year to $1,000, $1,200, and $1,500, sometimes up and sometimes down, as the liberality of legislators seemed to fancy. It was at all times difficult to satisfy the law-making power that there was anything in the judicial position that required a respectable pecuniary support for the judge. As the General Assembly was largely composed of members from the rural districts, they could not understand that a judge should be paid more than a dollar a day, when that sum would secure the services of a capital farm hand, who could mow ten hours a day, or split wood with equal facility. It was also argued that plenty of lawyers were willing to serve with little or no salary, which was true, although it seemed to be thought of small importance that they served with little or no knowledge of law. The salary provided for in the bill creating the Court was $3,500, $1,500 to be paid from the State treasury, and $2,000 by the city.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 26

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592