USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The old court house : reminiscences and anecdotes of the courts and bar of Cincinnati > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
"Mr. Gaines, the court is of the unanimous opinion that you have not made out your case."
Gaines-" What, may it please the court-what?"
IIO
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
Presiding fudge (loudly )-"We say we are of opin- ion, that you have not made out the case for the plaintiff."
Gaines-" Oh, yes, yes, the plaintiff has her case. I will prepare the decree."
Presiding fudge (very loudly)-"No, no, no ! not so, Mr. Gaines ; the plaintiff has no case against the defend- ant."
Gaines-"I know that, your Honors, the defendant has no case at all."
Presiding fudge (emphatically)-"No, you don't understand, Mr. Gaines. The court will dismiss the case of the plaintiff under advisement."
Gaines-"Oh, yes, I understand ; the case will be taken under advisement. Shall I prepare the decree ? Here it is " (holding up one already prepared).
Presiding fudge (impatiently)-"No! we give you no decree. We dismiss the case, but, because the plain- tiff is a married woman, at the husband's costs."
Gaines-"That's right, your honors ; the defendant should pay the costs. I have the decree prepared."
Presiding fudge (out of all patience)-" Mr. Gaines, the court grants you no decree. Your case is dismissed at the defendant's costs."
Gaines-"So I hear. The defendant is to pay the costs, of course. Here is the decree" (handing it to the judges on the bench).
Presiding fudge (to his brethren ) -- " Well, this is un- fortunate-too bad. What shall we do ? (handing back the decree to Gaines). Mr. Gaines, take that decree away-away out of court, and take away yourself and client along with it."
Gaines, (now perceiving, apparently for the first time ) -"Oh, yes, your Honors, glad to go, glad to get rid of
III
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
you, glad to walk out with my dignity preserved from the precincts of a court where-in-justice is done ! Ha! Ha !! "
So brother Gaines, in his speech, drawled out to the court, to give himself time to slowly march out, having emphatically prefixed the syllable "in" to the word "justice," instead of annexing it to the word "where," and having had his say, as he fondly thought, he made his exit, in solemn and measured dignity, in a sort of ponder- ous rage, accompanied with his long and deaf-ridden ears, and the boisterous entertainment of the lawyers and auditors. So much for our pains and our Gaines.
THE GINGER CAKE LAWYER.
There was one singular man, and peculiar and par- ticular lawyer, who must not by any want of memory or lapsus pennæ be omitted. His name was Daniel H. Hawes, and he hailed from down East, I believe. When practi- cing at the bar of this city, from 1827 to 1834, he was always known as the " ginger-cake lawyer." He was a good, smart lawyer, and commanded a good practice, and became a partner of Thomas J. Strait, who also had a good practice, and the firm of Strait & Hawes did well.
Mr. Hawes came to this city as a peddler, about our streets and markets-of cakes, in the year of 1827, on a wager, it was said, made at his Eastern home, that he would go out West to Cincinnati and peddle cakes, and make more money at that, than his partner in the law, whom he left, would make at home. He did come out West, to this city, and he did peddle cakes, and it was said, he did make more money for a period of a year than his partner at home. I remember him well as I saw him on Fifth street Market space, in my boyhood. He drove a beautifully scarlet painted wheelbarrow,
II2
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
figured in blue and white, before him, filled with shelves and apartments, and these filled with all kinds of fancy cakes, including the very best ginger cakes and ginger snaps; and as he made his way, or stopped, followed or surrounded always by a crowd of children, and women, and men, he sung with a rich tenor voice beautiful songs, about his cakes. I remember a verse of one of them.
"Come buy, come buy my nice fresh cakes They are better than the baker bakes. They are made at home, and are homemade ; Come buy, come buy, success to trade."
On the finishing of a song, he would sell a huge number of cakes, to the increased satisfaction of his large audiences and profitable gratification of himself. He made a great deal of money. I used to stop and listen to his songs, and whenever I had a penny or two I was sure to buy, and all my playmates did likewise. He was a great favorite among the young ones, who never tired of him, or his delicious cakes. But the novelty of his system in the course of about a year, wore off, and he concluded to change his business-hang up a shingle and practice law in this city. He did so in 1828, and already so well known as a cake seller, he soon became well known as a lawyer and from his former occupation he was designated by the brethern of the bar, who where not so overfond of his sudden transformation into a full-fledged member of the bar, as the " ginger-cake lawyer." He became popu- lar and was partner in the law of Mr. Strait, and he turned his attention to politics, and in the year 1832, I think, he was elected by the people of this county, to the Legisla- ture at Columbus, where he served with distinction and approbation. General Harrison, afterwards President of the United States, was Mr. Hawes' opponent as a
.
II3
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
candidate for legislative honors, and the future Presi- dent was then beaten by the "ginger-cake lawyer," by a large majority of the votes of the people. But after Mr. Hawes became a member of the General Assembly, he acquired singular and unprofitable notoriety by marry- ing a certain woman in haste and having a chance to repent at leisure. But he did not avail himself of the chance ; on the contrary, being himself a member of the legislature as he was, he took advantage of the oppor- tunity, and had a bill rushed through the House and Senate, absolutely divorcing him from the aforesaid lady. Of course the notorious repute thus attained, put an end to the political future of Mr. Hawes, and he came back and renewed his law practice, afterwards marrying a respect- able lady of this city, but never again appearing as a politician. What became of this peculiar man, and singular genius I know not, but, of course, he must now be among those who have departed this life and gone to a better one. These incidents of his history are novel enough, and if we did not know they were true, we would be apt to consider them fictions. Ben Fessenden used to say of him, if he had used his "wo-hawes" as he did his " gee-bucks " he would have got along better, and made his mark in the world, for as he was a "ginger- cake lawyer," he was also a ginger bred lawyer, as some lawyers could well vouch for.
LAWYER ADAM RIDDLE, AND HIS VOTE FOR RECONSIDERATION.
Lawyer Riddle, a son among many sons of an old, venerable and venerated pioneer of this city, was a "native and to the manor born." We have had occasion to notice him before in connection with others-but we 8
114
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
must tell one or two things more about this peculiar genius, who cultivated the suaviter in modo, to such an extreme, that it became a fault. He literally believed in, and practiced after the example of Saint Paul, being all things to all men, and on this account it was quite a riddle to every body to understand and know if lawyer A. Riddle really, had any opinions or convictions of his own. If he had, he certainly kept them to himself, and never made use of them. He was extremely fond of popularity, and on this account mingled much in politics, and did advance so far in these, as to become once or twice a representative in the Ohio legislature, and was once a State senator, and while he was that, this was told and remembered of him :
He was a strong democrat, having a strong demo- cratic constituency ; but in the legislature, the denio- cratic members-his fellows, had to keep their eyes upon him, to prevent him voting wrong every once in in a while, so anxious was Senator Adam of pleasing all sides on any question. On one occasion, there was an important democratic measure pending, and, as there was only a democratic majority of one in the senate -his vote with the democracy was very important. But Adam had been on good fellowship with a coterie of whigs, and had promised them in his exuberance of good feeling, and friendly obligation, to vote with them, and against the democratic measure. The ayes and noes in the senate were called on the final vote on the bill, and to the surprise of every democrat, when the name of Adam Riddle was called by the clerk of the senate, the unlooked for response of an emphatic "NO" came from the senator. Immediately he was surrounded by his brother democratic senators, and his colleague and
115
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
brother senator, Dr. Vattier, from this county, gruffly called to him :
" Why, Riddle, what is the matter with you, what in the devil did you vote ' no' for?" and the demo- cratic senators were all around him, severely pressing and oppressing him, and almost driving him into a corner. But Adam was equal to the emergency, and arose fully to the occasion, and in his blandest way and manner, remarked most pleasurable and pleasantly :
" It is all right, brother senators, perfectly right-I voted 'no,' so that I might have the right and oppor- tunity, by the rules of the senate, to move for a recon- sideration ;" and he did then and there immediately move for a reconsideration of the vote, which, of course, was carried by the one majority ; and then the democratic measure was again voted for, and it became a law, at last, by the same one democratic majority, with whom brother Riddle took especial and particular care to be on good -the best of-terms, that time, and afterwards.
LAWYER RIDDLE ' GIVING COLOR' IN A CASE.
There was an important case on trial in court, managed by competent lawyers on either side; and it was noticed that lawyer Riddle somehow or other, took great interest in the progress and development of the case, and was particularly anxious and solicitous for the success of the plaintiff. He sat by the attorney, for the plaintiff, and ever and anon, he was making and giving suggestions to him, and when the argument to the jury was being made, lawyer Riddle sat right before the jury, and in their fullest view, was continually engaged in nodding assent, and approval to everything that was said by the plaintiff's attorney, and correspond-
I16
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
ingly shaking his head, and dissenting to anything and everything presented by the attorney for the defendant.
At last, the defendant, who was present, and his attorney, got mad at Adam Riddle, and the attorney ap- pealed directly to the Court, and wanted to know per- emptorily, why it was, that lawyer Riddle was sitting there before the jury, and so openly expressing his assent to what was favorable to the plaintiff, and his dissent to what was expressed for the defendant.
" Was he" said the attorney, " allowed to do this as amicus curia, or a curious cuss ? It was intolerable, and he wouldn't endure it, even from as old a lawyer as Adam Riddle."
At this offense, Adam Riddle arose to explain, and he said : "May it please the court, amicus curia, I am, and I am a friend of the plaintiff in this case, and I am employed by him, and as an old experienced lawyer, I sit here, to give color to his case, as I have a right to do."
The explanation was satisfactory, but the giving color to the plaintiff's case did not, it proved, win with the jury. There was a verdict for the defendant.
LAWYER HODGE AND LAWYER RIDDLE.
In the Court of Common Pleas, Lawyer Adam Rid- dle and Lawyer Adam Hodge-the two Adams-were on one occasion engaged on opposite sides in a land case, and in their legal discussion were both ostentatiously, very learned and astute. They succeeded, both of them, in bothering the court, each other, and themselves, in their attempted analysis of the intricate legal questions and points involved in the obdurate land case. At last, bro- ther Hodge, in total despair of appreciation of the nice points of his adversary, exclaimed, "My brother oppo-
II7
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
nent, Adam Riddle, I must be allowed to say, in the curious and cumbersome points which has raised, is a dam Riddle to me, begging the indulgence of the court for apparent profundity-I mean profanity." Whereupon Brother Riddle immediately interrupting, arose and said, " I excuse the brother for not understanding me and my law-points, but if the court will permit, I pronounce him, in his land-law-points, a dam Hodge-podge, sir." Both were equally indulged as being equally pointed.
LAWYER THOMAS J. STRAIT.
Thomas J. Strait was a good lawyer, and especially a good advocate before a jury. He was not given to too much education or "larnin," although, before he was a a lawyer, he had been a country schoolmaster out in Miami township, and from this, by his own energy and skill, became and lived to be a lawyer of renown. He tried politics for a while, got so far as to be a candidate for Congress, but in this ambition as Ben Fessenden said of the musician's brass horn, he was blown straight out, and never tried again, Living to a good old age, he removed to a plantation in the State of Mississippi, where, some seven or eight years ago, he departed this life, and his remains were brought here for sepulture. Everybody remembers Tom Strait, a good man as well as a good lawyer.
Lawyer Strait once had a curious partner in the law, by the name of Collins, and the firm used to be Strait & Collins. Now Collins, unlike his partner, was one who much prided himself on his wit, astuteness, and his learn- ing in the law, especially when he was engaged in a criminal case-and this story is well remembered of him, which we shall entitle :-
118
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
LAWYER COLLINS, AND HERR ALEXANDER.
In the days of the old court house the great and cel- ebrated magician, Herr Alexander, was performing his extraordinary tricks of magic and legerdemain at Shire's Theater, in this city, then standing on the present site of the Burnet House, and while there, he was robbed by his agent of a considerable amount of money. The agent was arrested and indicted. and was being tried in the old Court of Common Pleas, before a jury, and Collins was his lawyer. The indictment, according to legal phrase, alleged the money to be the property of Frederick Alex- ander-"of the goods, chattels, and moneys of one Frederick Alexander, then and there being found, did steal, take, and carry away, etc." To the surprise of the prosecuting attorney and the court, Lawyer Collins, before the evidence commenced, moved to quash the indictment and discharge the prisoner, and said he desired, in support of his motion, to call the prosecuting witness. The court permitted him to do so, and he called the magician witness, as " Herr Alexander." Mr. Alexander arose at the call and took his place in the wit- ness box, and was sworn.
Lawyer .Collins-"Are you the magician, Herr Alexander, and is that the name you are known by and which is so conspicuously posted on the corners of the streets upon your bills?"
Witness-" Yes, sir."
Lawyer Collins-"That will do. I now move the Court to quash the indictment and discharge the prisouer, because the indictment alleges the money to belong to Frederick Alexander, when I have proven that his name is Herr Alexander. This is a fatal variance, and must,
119
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
of course, discharge the prisoner. I therefore make the motion with the fullest confidence."
Collins then sat down in great apparent triumph and self-gratulation, and congratulation of the prisoner.
Prosecuting Attorney-"Stop a bit, Mr. Collins, I will examine the magician myself. Mr. Alexander, resume the witness stand. (Alexander retook the wit- ness stand.) Mr. Alexander, what is your name ?"
Witness-" Frederick Alexander."
Prosecuting Altorney-"That is your true Christian and surname ?"
Witness-" Yes, sir."
Prosecuting Attorney-"That will do."
Lawyer Collins-" But it won't do, Mr. Prosecutor. Now witness, is not your true and real name Herr Alex- ander ? Is not that the name you go by ? and is that not the name on your bills ?"
Witness -- " Why, Mr. Lawyer, don't you know that Herr means only Mister, and that Herr Alexander means Mr. Alexander ? "
Lawyer Collins-" No, I did not know. That was a myster-y to me. But is that so ?"
Witness-"That is so. Herr is only a German title for Mister."
By this time everybody was laughing, judges, law- yers, and audience ; and Lawyer Collins, who thought he had found a mare's nest, found, too late, on account of his ignorance of the German polite title, that he had sat upon a hornet's nest, and he fled in dismay from his motion, and the case went on, and his client was convicted in the finale.
120
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
YANKEE LAWYERS OF THE OLD COURT HOUSE ; AMONG THEM, LAWYER SALMON P. CHASE AND LAWYER TIMOTHY WALKER.
In the days of my youth and young manhood, before and after I was admitted to the bar, a great passport to society, and to business and its emoluments in this our city, was to be from New England or of New England birth. It was so particularly, in reference to Massachu- setts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and most particularly so to be from Boston-then considered by almost everybody hereabouts and elsewhere the " hub of the Universe" ( better have considered it hub-bub). Boston and her school books, her schoolmasters, and schoolmarms, "and their sisters, their cousins and their aunts," her poets, her philosophers, and all that sort of thing used to have considerable influence outside of their locality-for the better or the worse-and very much so in the West, and especially in Cincinnati in her earlier days. Why, we used to think that all the "larnin" came from Boston ! Boston was the sun, and all other cities were satellites reflecting his light. But, "Oh, vain boast, 'tis not so now!" Boston-BOSTON has been eclipsed by other cities, East and West, and her light no more shines alonc refulgent. She is not called upon any more to extend her arms all over this great West, and scoop up the "little 'uns" of the school houses, the sem- inaries, and the colleges. Well, let be. It was a saying in olden time that the "wise men came from the East." The saying, I guess, was true, but this was and is a fact of greater truth and importance: If the wise men do, and did come from the East, when once out West, they never go back again. But the bar! New England law- yers had great chances and opportunities in the early
-
I2I
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
days of the bar of Cincinnati, and taking Yankee advant- age of them, they were always successful in Cincinnati aforetime, and this fact being echoed back to the barren plains and hills and valleys and rocks, 'Plymouth rocks,' and stones and sands and shells of New England, made fledglings of the law, duly hatched there, wing it at once to the great, growing city-the then "Queen of the West." Why, our city in early days, out west as she was, almost became a Yankee city, and our bar almost a Yankee corporation of lawyers. But there were deserv- ing men and deserving lawyers among these same Yan- kee importations, and as wise men coming from the East, once settled here, they did not want to go back, and did not go back. Of such are some whom we have men- tioned-Storer, Chase, the Wrights, Walker, Eels, Starr, Brush, Greene, and others.
Of these, the one perhaps who made the most distin- guished name for himself throughout the country was Salmon P. Chase-Lawyer, Senator, Secretary Chase. I knew him well in all three capacities ; saw him in all, heard him in all, knew him in all. I knew him as an early lawyer at our bar. He came here, had the passport of New England, commenced the practice of the law, went into polite society, and got married to a lady of family and position in society. As a lawyer, Mr Chase was a hard student and a hard worker. He had talents. but little or no genius. He never was an orator, at the bar or elsewhere. He was never brilliant at anything. His chief merit, if merit it can be called, after all, was ambition, and he was forever seeking a position of place and power. I remember when he donned politics, and was a candidate on the whig ticket of this county for State senator, and defeated. Then he became a free-
122
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
soiler, and helped create the liberty party ; and then he was elected by the democratic party, with the help of two free-soilers, to the United States Senate, and then he got the spider of the Presidency in his brain, and moved in that direction himself, but was only helped so far as being made Secretary of the Treasury, and then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and then, not satisfied, he was still a candidate for the Presidency. Apropos ! Being in the law office of Mr. Chase, on Third street, one day, he got talking to me, a youngster . lawyer as I was, about business, future prospects, etc. In the course of our conversation he referred to the proper ambition of lawyers in reference to becoming judges upon the bench, and he remarked, in regard to him- self, that "his highest ambition was to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and if he ever reached that, he would be satisfied with his life." He did reach that, but he was not satisfied.
Timothy Walker, my old preceptor in the law, was a New Englander. He came here early-about 1831- had the New England passport, married one of our rich girls, and was a success, in law as well as matter-o'- money, as Judge Wright had it. He was a most worthy man, and a most worthy lawyer. He had not genius, however ; he had abundance of talent, and chiefly of acquirement. He was learned in the law and out of the law. He could deliver a good lecture and a good speech anywhere, and almost on any topic, if you would give him time for his own preparation. He was one of the founders of the Cincinnati Law School, and for a long time its sole professor and lecturer, and all by himself he carried on that important school successfully. I was in his office as student and attorney clerk for three years, and
123
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
graduated as an "L.B." in his Law School; and in the one session at his Law School, under the instruction of his lectures and his moot courts, I learned more practical law than in all the time before.
He was the author of "Walker's Introduction to to American Law," one of the best of law books for the legal studies of American law students. He served as presiding judge of our old Court of Common Pleas for a time, by appointment of the Governor ; and in every rela- tion of life, public or private, he was a gentleman and a scholar. He was full of good points intellectually, and good parts generally. He never reached political distinc- tion-he never sought it. He was not ambitious ; he was, perhaps, aspiring. He will always be well remembered by those who knew him.
LAWYER WALKER AND LAWYER ANDERSON.
My allusion to the good parts and points of Timothy Walker reminds me of a beautiful incident. At one of the annual festivals of the Cincinnati bar, occurring years ago, at which I was present, it came the turn of Timothy Walker, so distinguished for good points as he was, to deliver an after-dinner speech. Our friend, Charles An- derson, had just come to this city to practice law, from the town of Dayton, Ohio, where he had been married, and lived, and practiced law for some time, although he was a native Kentuckian. Judge Walker desired to compli- ment his friend, Anderson, and, at the conclusion of his speech, after paying some handsome compliments, he said : "And now, gentlemen of the Cincinnati Bar, I toast our new- made friend, and will give you, 'Dayton and'er son!" Of course, the table groaned with thumps of applause, and Anderson was called out, and made, as he always could, a most felicitous after-dinner speech, also.
124
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
Soon after I came to the bar of the old court house, which was in the month of April, 1841, Timothy Walker was appointed by the governor of Ohio, presid- ing judge of the old Court of Common Pleas. He accepted the appointment, and, being now upon the bench, assigned me to defend two of the greatest rascals then in Cincinnati, whose names were Shields and Rob- inson. They had been indicted for burglary in a drug store on the north-east corner of Western Row and Sixth Street, and for stabbing Theodore Marsh, who is yet living, with intent to kill. This was a famous case in criminal annals in Cincinnati, and was my first one as a young lawyer, in the criminal department of the Court of Common Pleas. I did all I could for my clients, and I was highly complimented from the bench for my efforts, but I did not get my first criminal clients off. They were convicted and Judge Walker sent them to the penitentiary for twenty years each. I had occasion, some time after, to return this favor of the judge, and in the famous Summons poisoning case, in 1849, when I was prosecuting attorney, I had the court to appoint my old teacher in the law to assist me in the case, and he made a great effort in that remarkable trial. One good turn deserves another, and I acquitted myself, and Judge Walker was satisfied and gratified. In that celebrated trial, my old preceptor, in his speech to the court and jury, paid me one of the greatest compliments I ever received in my life, and this I shall always keep locked in my memory of him.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.