USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The old court house : reminiscences and anecdotes of the courts and bar of Cincinnati > Part 6
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THE WAY THE OLD CLERK OF THE OLD COURT HOUSE HAD OF ADMINISTERING OATHS TO AFFIANTS.
Our old friend, W-, was appointed clerk of the old Court of Common Pleas, by the stern, sturdy, and obstinate democratic judges on the bench. And he made a capital clerk, and he made capital-lots of money out of the numerous fees and perquisites of the desirable office, for to these, as he was always in the habit of doing in all his duties, he gave his most earnest and undivided attention as well ; and, of course, few there were to blame him for it, as he never took anything beyond what the strict law allowed him. As close as he was, he was by far too honest and honorable for that, though fees and costs were his study by day and his study by night. There used to be no extortions or defalcations in the days of the old court house : these are new-fangled things of modern days! This is the way ( it is in tradition ) the clerk used, in his inimitable way, to administer the oath to the affiant who had duly signed his name to the affida- vit, in the old court room : " Hold up your right hand ;" which being done by the affiant, " you do solemnly swear that the contents of this, your affidavit, are true-for which, hand me twenty-five cents-so help you Almighty God."
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No quarter, no affidavit! Sure, no quarter to the affiant. No pay, no swear!
LAWYER WILLIAM GREENE AND GOVERNOR TOM CORWIN.
Who among the old lawyers who had the privilege of his acquaintance, will ever forget William Greene, Esq., of the old times, of the old court house? As a young lawyer he came to this city about the years 1823 or 1824, from the little State of Rhode Island, which, perhaps, in the days of his young ambition, was not big enough to hold him, and immediately commenced the practice of the law. He was learned and able in his way, and soon commanded a good deal of business, and good standing and respect among the old lawyers, and he was always regarded as an excellent fellow-citizen. He seemed, however, to take especial pride, somehow or other, in his superior knowledge of constitutional law, and was forever obtruding his especial views upon constitutional questions, so that he acquired the sobriquet of "Constitutional Billy Greene," among those who knew him, Because of his frequent discussions on constitutional law, he was prom- inently brought before the people, and in addition to lawyer, became politician for some years, and figured so as a candidate for Congress, once or twice, but never was elected to represent the constitutional right of any con- stituency. He was a good and able man, though not a great one ; but some would be apt to think from his con- stitutional fussiness, and self importance, and self intru- sions and obtrusions, that he was a man of consequence and consideration.
On one occasion, in an assembly of the elite at a certain aristocratic house in this city, Governor Tom Cor- win, who lived in the town of Lebanon, Warren county,
6
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was the especial and chief guest of the evening, and was made much of by all the other guests who were present, and paying court to him. Mr. Greene was one of the invited guests, and of course was present in all his pom- posity and consequentialness, making himself, in his somewhat disagreeable way, agreeable as he could to the ladies and gentlemen. Governor Corwin was earnestly engaged in the middle of the room with a coterie of gen- tlemen, discussing some literary matters, when, all at once, and of a sudden, Mr. Greene came forward and approaching abruptly before him, in his squeaking voice, he exclaimed, " My friend, Governor Corwin, what are the staple productions of Warren county, constitutionally considered? Governor Tom looked right at the presum- ing, presumptuous, and obtrusive and ill-timed questioner and somewhat enraged, gruffly and loudly replied, " Babies and tobacco, and be d-d to you!" Exit William Greene, Esquire, from the lion's quarters, di- rectly in a straight line, and very hastily, quite out of the room, and out of the house, as it appeared.
But this is not all. Next morning some friends of both Corwin and Greene called upon the former and told him they thought he ought to make some sort of apology to Mr. Greene for the occurrence of last night. " I think so, too," said Corwin, " and I mean to call upon Mr. Greene this very day, at his office, and make all things right between us. Where is Mr. Greene's office?" He was told, and that very day, Corwin called at the office of Greene, found him, and began-"Good day, Mr. Greene ; thinking the matter over, I have come to the conclusion to look over the matter of last night, and offering you here my hand, I readily forgive you the unconscious and unwitting affront you incontinently, offered me!" and Cor-
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win extended his hand to Greene, and Greene took earn- estly and energetically, the proffered hand, and warmingly observed "Thank you, Governor Corwin, thank you; I was thinking of offering an apology to you, but I am right glad you have so nobly and generously saved me the neces- sity," and then he shook convulsively the governor's hand again and again, and all was graciously and gratefully made up between them. Funny Tom! Funny, victimized Greeny !
ORATOR GREENE AND YOUNG ORATOR DONN PIATT !
As we have intimated, Mr. Greene dabbled some- what, in politics. He was a Whig politician in the days of the great Whig party, and a political stump speaker. In fact, he was fond of stump speaking, and frequently harangued mass meetings, where he could give his con- stitutional views on the tariff, the United States Bank, and internal improvements ad libitum sine molestis.
On one political occasion he was invited by his Whig friends to make a political speech upon the subject of the tariff, at a mass meeting at the Four-Mile House, on the Reading Pike, in this county. The Democrats, hearing of the meeting, resolved to have a meeting, too, at the same time and place, and they invited the young Donn Piatt to address the meeting on the subject of the tariff. Whigs and Democrats met, and were assembled, and orators for both occasions were present and ready. But how was this thing to be done? Should the meetings clash, they would break up in a row. The thing was at last remedied. It was resolved by Whigs and Democrats present, that there should be a debate between the orators upon the important subject of the tariff, and the orators were consulted. Greene did not like, mature man as he
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was, to cope in political discussion with such a fledgling as the young Donn. Piatt at once agreed, his youthful ambition being ripe, and resolved to conquer age and the constitutional eloquence of William Greene, Esq. Greene could not get out of the corner, and at last assented. Debate began, Greene taking the initiative half hour, and Donn taking notes, and having in his coat pockets many written documents, filled with black and white figures. Donn arose in reply, and pulling out his written figures, plied them so heavily upon poor Greene's arguments, that he was much disturbed and chagrined at the apparent victory, Piatt was achieving, by his written facts and fig- ures. He kept rising in his place and interrupting Piatt, exclaiming, "Where did you get your facts? Where did you get your figures? Where did they come from ?"
"Here they are," replied Donn, "in black and white."
" But where did they come from?"
" Here they are, in black and white." Here are the statistics ; here are the facts ; here are the figures in black and white ;" iterated, and reiterated Piatt.
"But where did you get them? I object-I object," interrupted Greene, "I emphatically object !"
"I got them from the United States Treasury and Custom House Departments. There they are in black and white, and figures, fellow-citizens-FIGURES, DON'T LIE-FIGURES DON'T LIE !"
Greene grew black and white in anger at the reiter- ated citation of the black and white figures, and finally he excitedly arose, and with his high-pipe, squeaking voice, screamed out to the topmost pitch :
" Mr. Chairman and fellow-citizens, figures don't lie, to be sure; BUT THOSE WHO WRITE THEM OUT, VERY OFTEN LIE !"
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The old man had the democratic youth that time, and no mistake. But the democrats assembled were too many and too much for Mr. Greene, and they hurrahed and hurrahed and out-hurrahed the Whigs in the minor- ity ; and the election of Piatt to the honors of a victory over his green adversary was carried by a very "large majority," and the political mass meeting broke up, and the oratorical combatants returned to the city.
But William Greene, after all, was a very good man and a very good lawyer, although he had his foibles on the Constitution. Ben Fessenden used to say of him that, whatever else on any and all subjects he might know, he was certainly green on the Constitution,-and there let him rest, ever Greene in memory-for his virtues.
LAWYER FINDLAY AND THE MULATTO INDIAN OR THE INDIAN MULATTO.
The Findlays were an early family of Cincinnati, and Lawyer and General Samuel Findlay was one of the important members of the family. He was an intellectual man and a good lawyer ; but he became fonder of politics, and engaging in them most earnestly and prosperously, he was sent to Congress from the Hamilton county dis- trict, once or twice, in the later twenties, He was a first- rate man in every sense, and we are glad to put him down in our reminiscences. I remember him as I saw him and knew him in my boyhood- a burly, portly form, largely developed frontal head, adorned with sandy hair, and he had the mien and manners of a finished gentleman. But there is a good story told and remembered about Sam, burly Sam, General Sam, and it must be repeated, though somewhat at the general expense, and the General's expense.
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Some time in the year 1829, Cincinnati was all alive, and the elite of the city were all completely exercised over a visit of one General John Ross, a great Indian Cherokee chief, who was received, feasted and party-ed, and balled and dined, and dinnered by everybody who had any pretensions to fashion. Among the young gentlemen of the city who paid particular attention to the doughty General, almost the guest of the city, were Sam Scott, Sam Findlay, and Dandy Foster. These three elite gentlemen were fashionable associates in those days, and all well known and well received in the very best society, and they vied with each other in their peculiar and particular attentions to General John Ross. General Sam Findlay took General John Ross every place-to parties, to balls and routs ; to the theatre, to concerts, and on Sundays, even to church. After a nine days' wonder, the Indian chief or General John Ross, of the great Cherokee tribe and nation, turned out to be an imposter, a pretender, and was found out to be no more or less than a mulatto-a fugitive slave, indeed- from the wilds of Arkansas ; and as an end to the comedy that had been so well enacted, he was arrested as such fugitive, and carried back to his white master, and slave- holder in the State of Arkansas. And this too was found out, that Sam Scott, the fashionable military hero of those days, and lawyer, General Sam Findley had more than once, each and together shared the common bed of the mulatto, General John Ross, at his room in the Cincinnati Hotel, at the corner of Broadway and Front streets. So the chambermaid of the room said, and affirmed, and would have it so; and the fact, bruited about, became a standing and lasting joke among the old members of the bar, upon poor Sam Findlay. Whenever and wherever,
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a brother lawyer would, or might meet Findlay, he would ply him with the interrogatory :- " What's the price of niggers?" "Sam, how about Sambo?" "How is your friend Ross-General Ross-General John Ross- brother Sam?" And then : " How about the Indian chief ? " How about the Cherokee?" "How about the Cherokee general, your particular friend?" And then again. " How about the African odor? " Could you endure it in bed? How could you go to bed with it? What is a bed of roses? "Was it cau de cologne, or la Africaine ?" " Ar'n't mulattoes as well as comparisons, odorous?"
Poor Findlay was almost driven to despair, and from the city. He declared, affirmed, and he swore, that he didn't sleep with the nigger ; that he never knew the nig- ger ; never, hardly ever, saw the nigger, and never heard of the nigger ; but all to no purpose, for the chambermaid's story, a disinterested witness, was against him, and all his denials were useless and vain, and Sam Findlay, the lawyer, and the Congressman, and the General, was ever known to his last days, as the man who had slept with the "nigger ; " as the gentleman, who was fond of turn- ing over, and turning up, the ace of spades as his trump card, as a pirate who wore black colors. One day, the punster Peyton S. Symmes, came across Sam, and he asked him, why he was like the letter C. Sam gave it up. "Well," said Peyton, "because whenever we prefix you to Ross, you become cross." And this was not the only pun at the expense of despairing Findlay. Another one, one more, or rather Moore, was :
"Long, long, be my heart with such memories fill'd Like the vase in which Rosses have once been distill'd ; You may break, you may shatter, the vase if you will, But the scent of the Rosses will hang round it still."
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LAWYER CHARLES FOX AND THE YOUNG JUDGE.
Of all the members of the bar of the old court house, of 1825, the only one now living (1880) is Charles Fox, who, as we have before said, is yet practicing law, not- withstanding he is over four score years of age. He is a remarkable example of the great and practical longev- ity of the English constitution, for-
" It is greatly to his credit That he is an Englishman."
He was born in England, and came to this country at an early age. He came to this city soon after 1820, and engaged for a while in the occupation and trade of a carpenter, and coupled with this, having much talent, learning, and ability in music and singing, he was a singing school master and teacher. My eldest sister, when a girl, was one of his pupils, and was taught to sing by him. His singing ability was kept up, and in days of yore, at any bar festivity "Charley Fox " was always called upon for a song, and he always complied and sang a good song, to the great entertainment of the company. He studied the law, and in 1823 was admitted to the bar of the old court house, and soon, by the utmost industry, diligence, and perseverence, he obtained and maintained a large practice. He was an early partner of Bellamy Storer, and the old firm of Storer and Fox lasted with considerable business, for a long while. Perhaps there was, and now is, no lawyer who has had, and has attended to more law business than Charley Fox, as he used to be so familiarly called. I remember the time when he used to be on one side or the other of every important case in court, and he was always regarded by his breth- ren of the bar as a wide-awake, and sometimes formidable adversary. His extended experience made him most
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learned in the law, and particularly in its practice, and he used to be sought for, for advice and counsel, in many questions of law practice, and the judges of the bench were in the habit, frequently, of interrogating lawyer Fox as to what was the true and right practice in given cases. On one occasion before the court, on a question involving difficult and abstruse points of law, the judge presiding was against the views of Lawyer Fox, and so decided, to the discomfiture and hot indignation of the old and experienced lawyer. The judge who thus decided against Mr. Fox was quite a young judge-quite a young man- though, as afterwards proved, " his judgment was much more elder than his looks ; " and Mister Fox much prided himself on his great experience and his venerable years.
So he got up and indignantly proclaimed to the Court : "May it please the Court : the Court is wrong on this question ; it is an outrage on my clients and on justice ! I have been at the bar a very long while, and, old and experienced as I am, I never heard such a decision from a Court ; the Court is too young and inexperienced ; we have fallen on evil times !
fudge .- " Stop, Mr. Fox ! take your seat directly ; as young and inexperienced as we are, we will not en- dure this contempt even from you !" Fox sat right down in complete obedience, and the Court continued : " We have fallen on better times, perhaps, Counselor Fox. Young hunters as well as old ones can catch old foxes, notwithstanding their old and experienced tricks."
This was of course enough ; there was no more con- tempt of court, or fuss of lawyer.
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LAWYER DAN STONE, AND THE YOUNGSTER LAWYER.
I remember well, Lawyer Dan Stone, but he was much fonder of politics and going to the Legislature than of practicing law ; he was much fonder of making, than he was of practicing law ; but he was a hardheaded old fel- low, and sometimes a pretty good lawyer when he was trying a good case in court. On one of these occasions he was fretted and baffled a good deal by a young sprig of the law, who, however, knew very well what he was about. He bothered Lawyer Stone considerably, and at last Dan Stone began to upbraid and denounce the young lawyer as ignorant and inexperienced in the law, when the youngster jumped up and declared :
" May it please the Court, I have had as much ex- perience in the practice of the law as my old and exper- ienced adversary. I think more, indeed ; for he is more ambitious of making law at Columbus, than he is of practicing under law, here. If he talks of ignorance in the practice of the law, I respectfully advise him that he lives in a glass house, and should not cast the first D-n Stone at me or any other lawyer, young or old.
LAWYER E. S. HAINES AND THE YOUNG POLITICIAN.
Lawyer E. S. Haines was a good lawyer and a mild and polished gentleman. He was for many years Sur- veyor General of the Land Office here, by appointment of General Andrew Jackson through his Congressman brother-in-law, and particular friend of the President, Robert T. Lytle. He was given somewhat to politics as well as to law, and though for the most part a democrat, in his later years, when he was no longer Surveyor General, he kicked in the democratic traces, and became an independent candidate himself, for Congress. Of
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course both whigs and democrats, who had their favorite candidates, were opposed to him, and more especially the democrats, for he was, by his independent action, break- ing more seriously into their ranks. A young democratic stumper met Haines at a mass-meeting on the stump, and Haines spoke first, and the youngster followed, and he thus concluded his speech : " and now, fellow citizens, who is this man Haines? I suspect he is the same fellow who was once traveling along the roads of Virginia on horseback in company with Tom Jefferson, and not know- ing who his friendly companion was, and being a strong federalist, and utterly opposed to Jefferson and the democ- racy, he carried on conversation for some time, denounc- ing President Jefferson and the democracy, in the most violent and outrageous terms ; and Tom Jefferson stood it all with much composure, and without disclosing or exposing himself, to his fellow-traveler. The fellow quite through with his terrible denunciation of Jefferson, and anxious to find out whom he was riding with, at last ventured to ask his horseback-companion his name, just as they arrived at Jefferson's gate at Monticello. Said the President : 'My name is Thomas Jefferson !' Putting spurs immediately to his horse, the fellow yelled out : ' My name is Haines-and I'm off!'"
The youngster stump politician stumped General Haines that time !
LAWYER MOSES BROOKS, AND HIS OPPONENT.
Moses Brooks, though somewhat given to the law, was more given perhaps, to literature, and general edu- cation. It seems that he was at first an innkeeper in this city keeping an inn in 1819, on East Front street. When he got to be a lawyer, I am not informed. I knew him
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in his age, a prosperous and worthy gentleman. In 1824 he conducted a weekly and not a weakly literary news- paper, called the Cincinnati Literary Gazette and Chronicle, which was afterwards, I believe, changed into the old Cincinnati Chronicle, a semi-weekly newspaper. Moses Brooks was a strong man, and a pretty good lawyer. He was engaged in trying a case one day, in the old Court of Common Pleas, and was much harassed and worried, by his opponent, and adversary lawyer. He got out of all patience with his opponent, and being classical in his indignation, he suddenly but unfortunate- ly, ventured to quote the first lines of Cicero's oration against Cataline. "Quousque tandem abutere, Cata- lina, patienta nostra ?" and did not hit the citation ex- actly, calling the word nostra, " nostrum." At once his antagonist took advantage of Moses, and he jumped up in his place, and said : " May it please the court. I may be a Cat-a-line to this, our Moses, and I may dreadfully abuse his imp-patience, but I would most respectfully advise him when he verges, or ventures on classical books, or brooks, he will not engage in peddling " nostrums." This one nostrum of his, so unfortunately and unmistakingly sup- plied, and applied, sickens me! And if I desired to be classical in reply, I would in agony and disgust at his nostrum, exclaim : " O Tempora. Oh Moses!"
It is of ancient record that Moses was found in the bulrushes. On this occasion our lawyer Moses was found incontinently drowned in his own Brooks, and he was seen no more in that case. Further, non inventus, erat. Non-nunquam! at least, "hardly ever."
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LAWYER ISAIAH WING.
Isaiah Wing, in the days I remember him,-boy as I was-was quite an old man. He was a lawyer, and perhaps a tolerably good one, for what I know to the contrary ; but he preferred to exercise the functions of a justice of the peace, and this good anecdote is remembered of him :
THE OLD 'SQUIRE AND THE YOUNG LAWYER.
In ancient days old 'Squire Wing used to be a justice of the peace in our city for the township of Cincinnati. One day there was an important trial going on before him in which a young and brassy lawyer was engaged for the defendant. The trial was much retarded by the interruptions, interjections, and interlocutions of the young barrister, till at last the 'Squire was wearied out, and he observed to the young lawyer: "I am gettin' 'long in years, young man, and I must say, I never saw a lawyer just like you."
Young lawyer .- "And I never saw a 'Squire just like you. I never saw one so long in (y)cars. Like Dog- berry in the play, you should be ' written down an Ass !'"
What could be done to support or vindicate the dig- nity of the Court in such a case? Why, just nothing ; and nothing was done in that behalf, and the case went on, the young lawyer making, and having the best of it, of course.
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ELIJAH HAYWARD, JOHN HENDERSON, JESSE KIMBALL, SAMUEL LEWIS, ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, DANIEL
VAN MATRE, JOHN G. WORTHINGTON, BENJAMIN F. POWERS, AND OTHERS.
To finish up the list of the lawyers of the old court house of the early year, 1825, we have :
Elijah Hayward, once a partner of David Wade in the practice of the law, and a member of the Legislature of Ohio, I think, and once a supreme judge of our State. He was a good man and a good lawyer.
John Henderson, a son of old Judge Tom Hender- son, and a brother of Thomas Jefferson Henderson, was an early young lawyer, but he removed to the city of New York, and left our association, and we have no particular reminiscences of him here.
Jesse Kimball was a good lawyer and a public- spirited citizen, and he was much in public life and devo- ted to law-making for the city, and to the education of its citizens.
Samuel Lewis, was a good lawyer and really a strong public man. He was one of the founders of Woodward High School and was much engaged in the founding and promotion of our public schools, and was distinguished above all, for being one of the original strong abolitionists, and was nominated by them for Governor of Ohio, and ran well before the people for the office. Few citizens of Cincinnati are better remembered than Samuel Lewis. He was a very strong man in all regards.
Arthur St. Clair, was the son of General Arthur St. Clair, whose history belongs eminently to the Western country, and was much respected and esteemed as a lawyer and a gentleman. The old St. Clair mansion, a
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great dwelling house of early days, was situated on Main street between Seventh and Ninth streets, and was surrounded with beautiful grounds, pleasantly cultivated and adorned. Lawyer St. Clair, removed, I think at an early time, to the town of Hamilton, and became an active member of the bar of Butler county.
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