USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II > Part 12
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If I have been correctly informed, he realized a large for- tune at the Bar, and died in Augusta, Georgia, in consequence of over-exerting himself at the defence of a man for murder.
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TIMOTHY FORD.
Timothy Ford was born in 1762, and died 7th December, 1830, aged 68 years. He was “venerable from age, but more venerable for the character and usefulness of his life."
Mr. Ford was a native of Morristown, New Jersey, and re- ceived his preparatory education in the vicinity of that place. He then entered Princeton College, at which he graduated with one of the honors of the institution. The period of his youth was, however, that of the Revolution, and his studies were, consequently, subjected to interruptions, which, in one of less constancy of purpose, would materially have impaired his habits and checked his progress. But, notwithstanding the excitements and difficulties of the times, a foundation was laid, upon which, in maturer life, he reared a superstructure of various and useful knowledge.
Mr. Ford was between thirteen and fourteen years old at the commencement of the Revolutionary war; and an attach- ment to the principles of the Revolution, grew with his growth and strengthened with his strength. Circumstances, too, aided to promote and elevate his devotion to these principles. The head-quarters of General Washington were, for a considerable time, at Morristown, and he occupied a part of a house, the property and residence of Mr. Ford's mother. Opportunities and occasions of intercourse were thus enjoyed, from which juster views of the character of the contest were derived, and its spirit more thoroughly imbibed. During this period, in the severe winter of 1780, the expedition to Staten Island was undertaken ; and anxious to participate in the dangers and toils of the army, he was one of the detachment on this service. In a subsequent part of the same year, a body of American troops was sent to meet a portion of the British forces, which had been marched from New York to the neighborhood of the Connecticut farms in New Jersey. A short, but sharp conflict, took place at Springfield. The attack
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being made by a company of Washington's body-guards, commanded by Captain Coalfax, whom Mr. Ford accompa- nied as a volunteer, he was wounded in the leg by a musket ball and disabled. While sitting and endeavoring to staunch the blood with his handkerchief, he received a second wound in the same limb. After fainting from loss of blood, and re- viving, he was recognized by Col. Livingston-an aid to the officer in command-who had been sent to order a retreat, and was returning. The Colonel dismounted, and, with the aid of a soldier, placed Mr. Ford upon the horse, and mounting behind him, carried him off from the field, but not without great risk of further injury: for the horse, while they were on him, was shot through the body. As soon as practicable Mr. Ford was removed to Morristown, to be greeted by a mother, who, like other matrons of the Revolution, felt the spirit, though tenderness may have checked the expression of the Spartan exhortation, " on your shields, or with them." To her care, under a Providence, is to be attributed his recovery from a six weeks' confinement to his bed. During his suf- ferings, however, he was cheered by the consciousness of having done his duty, and by the approbation of the distin- guished persons around him. Soon after he had been placed upon his bed, he received a visit from Col. Hamilton, who, taking him by the hand, "congratulated him on having re- ceived, what he himself had long sought without success-a wound in the cause of his country."
Mr. Ford studied the law in New York, and soon after the close of the war, settled in South Carolina. His legal learning was profound, his discernment clear, his judgment good, and his practice liberal. He continued his useful services in this profession to the time of his death ; for many years, however, confining his practice to the Court of Equity. The recent expression of the feelings of the Bar on his death, testify the elevated rank he held in his profession.
"At a numerous meeting of the members of the Charleston Bar, held on Saturday last, (December 11, 1830,) for the pur- pose of testifying their respect for the memory of their deceased brother, Timothy Ford, Esq., Mr. G. W. Cross was requested to
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act as Chairman, and Mr. Gregorie as Secretary of the meeting. The following preamble and resolutions were then presented by Hon. Mitchell King, and unanimously adopted :
The members of the Charleston Bar have met to express their feelings and regret at the loss which they, in common with this community, have sustained by the death of their venerable brother, Mr. Timothy Ford, and to pay a tribute of respect to his memory. They have causes of regret peculiar to themselves. They leave to others the duty of commemo- rating his services-to the Union, as a soldier of the Revolu- tion-to the State, as a Member of the Legislature-to the City, as a member of the Council-to Literature, as a Trustee of the Charleston College, as President of Library, and Liter- ary and Philosophical Societies-to the cause of Religion, as a member of the Bible Society. But they will speak of him as one of their own body, whose memory and character they cherish and respect.
Mr. Ford was a native of New Jersey. Soon after the Revo- lution, he settled in this State, and was admitted to our Bar. It was then filled by very eminent men-the Rutledges, the Pinckneys, and others-models of all that was profound in wisdom, firm in purpose, polished in manners, and distin- guished in honor, who had conducted their country in triumph through the war of Independence, and then cultivated and adorned the arts of peace.
With these gentlemen, Mr. Ford entered the lists of hon- orable and successful competition, and soon held a very re- spectable rank among them. He had been prepared for the profession by severe and diligent study, and brought to it a mind stored with legal learning and general knowledge. He devoted himself to it, with great zeal and indefatigable perse- verance. He seemed to think nothing done while anything remained undone that could insure success. No pains were spared, no investigation too tedious or laborious, that pro- moted the ends of justice. His opinions were formed with the utmost caution, and the extent of his knowledge, and the clearness and soundness of his judgment, generally, led him to accurate conclusions. Indeed, he almost exhausted every
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legal question submitted to his deliberate consideration, and brought every relevant authority to bear upon it, that the most careful research and patient industry could accommo- date. The lawyer must have been diligent and inventive in- deed, who could find much that was new and important to say on a subject discussed by Mr. Ford. But, while he strove to insure success, he disdained to use any merely technical advantage, or to exert his abilities for the perversion of justice to promote the interest of the most favored client.
In his intercourse with his professional brethren, he exhib- ited great kindness and courtesy. With all, he was sociable and communicative-to his juniors he was uniformly atten- tive and polite. The arguments of the youngest of the mem- bers, when opposed to him, were treated with every respect- no sneer or sarcasm, or depreciating remark from him, ever wounded their feelings. Under the most urgent circum- tances, and in the ardor of legal contention, no excitements ruffled his temper or prompted him to overstep the boundaries of generous competition. Imbued with a nice sense of honor, he shrunk almost intuitively, from the slightest infringements of its laws, and he maintained among us, in the most arduous and spirit-trying duties of the profession, the same self-com- mand and politeness that distinguished him in private life. In conducting his cases in Court, he observed the utmost comity to the Bench. He was, as he deserved to be, always heard with much respect. He broached no crude or half- formed notions : his opinions were weighed and adopted with great care, and always received consideration from the Court. There was nothing light or frivolous in his habits of thought, nothing gaudy or meretricious in the style of his elocution; it was clear, logical, comprehensive and dispassionate-better calculated to elicit truth and promote the ends of justice, than to please the fancy and rouse the feelings. His whole profes- sional career was marked with high integrity and honor. He has closed a long and useful life, amid the mourning of his friends and the regret of the community. He has left to his associates and his successors at the Bar, the grateful recollec- tion of his many virtues, the example of his attainments and his unsullied and excellent character.
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Resolved therefore, That we sincerely lament the death of our venerable brother, and, as a token of his worth and our regret, we do wear the usual mourning for him, for one month.
That we do deeply sympathise with his bereaved family in the loss which they have sustained, and we earnestly wish them all those consolations which the memory of his talents, his usefulness, his pure character, and his unaffected piety, is so well calculated to afford.
That a copy of this preamble and these resolutions, be com- municated, by the Chairman of this meeting, to the family of Mr. Ford, and be published in the Gazettes of the city.
GEO. WARREN CROSS, Chairman." J. LADSON GREGORIE, Secretary.
As a Member of the Legislature, and of the City Council, his services were highly valued by his colleagues, and by the community at large. In all the departments of practical duty, which, during a long life, he had been selected to fill, his course was marked by that firm and enlightened prudence, which has been justly said to be the result of a combination of virtues.
Industry and close attention to whatever he undertook, were habitual to him. He devoted as much time to books as his professional and social duties permitted. His attainments in general literature were, therefore, considerable, and the accuracy of his information remarkable. He was, at all times, ready to promote, by every means in his power, the cause of learning and science. He was many years a Trustee of the College of Charleston, and, at the time of his death, President of the Charleston Library Society, and of the Literary and Philosophical Societies of South Carolina. Mr. Ford was always deeply interested in questions connected with the constitution, welfare, and policy of the country. Devoted to the principles of the Federal Charter, he was their zealous defender and advocate, and, at different periods of his life, he contributed, by the judicious efforts of his pen, to their eluci- dation and support. Nor was the ardor of his patriotism diminished by age. He was to the last, alive to everything that concerned the honor, the interests, and the destinies of
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the Union. He took pleasure in commending the annals of the Revolution, as the source of pure and elevated devotion to our country ; for he considered the spirit of the Revolution the safeguard of our institutions. But it is most gratifying to his friends, to recall that part of his character which, as it best comports with the condition of man, adorns him most-his religious feelings.
In early youth he lived in the house, and under the care of his grandfather, the Rev. Dr. Jones, of New Jersey, from whom we may reasonably infer he received that direction of char- acter, which, in subsequent life, was more and more devel- oped. He had long been a student of the Bible. His attach- ment to other reading, never diverted him from the reading of the Scriptures ; and it was his high honor to add to his at- tainments in polite literature, the rich knowledge of the Word of Life. Interested in the pure and unostentatious charity of distributing the holy volume, he was one of the founders of the Bible Society of Charleston-the first institution of the kind established in this State-was one of its original officers, and died a member of the Board of Managers. Let not the ex- ample of a life like his be lost on the community. Let all learn from it, that practical usefulness is a title to respect and esteem, and religion the crown of gray hairs.
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WILLIAM NIBBS.
William Nibbs was one of those lawyers who could accu- rately prepare a record according to the forms, in Lillie's Mod- ern Entries, but was utterly inadequate to manage properly a case in Court. He was, therefore, always dependent on a co- partner, or on some friendly lawyer.
He was a Roman Catholic in religion, a native of one of the West India Islands, and had been an office clerk there before he came to South Carolina. It is probable that he served an apprenticeship in Ramsay & Goodwyn's office. He was, I see from the roll, admitted to the Bar, in Charleston, 23d January, 1792.
I recollect Mr. Nibbs as far back as 1804. He always boarded, in time of Court, at my grandmother's, Hannah Holly, at Springfield. He was a singular character, eccentric, simple as a child, always imposed upon by the designing. He lives, therefore, more in the laughable incidents attending his professional life, than in anything useful, which he ever per- formed.
He was the partner of Judge Gantt, when I first recollect him. He always carried his immense book of precedents, which he had written out, and the records of cases (in which he had been concerned) pending, or which had been disposed of in any other way than by judgment, stuffed into a pair of saddle-bags, which, when placed upon his saddle, was straight as a log. He rode a tall horse, and when Nibbs, who was rather of short stature, was mounted, saddle-bags and all, he cut rather an odd figure.
Between Springfield and Newberry, on the old road, which was a few hundred yards below the present one, the creek (Scott's) was crossed at a ford below a cotton gin, which belonged to Moses Evans, (the ford now used was in the midst of the pond.) Nibbs, riding from Newberry, after night, instead of following the turn of the road to the left, to the ford, rode
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straight on, plunged into the pond, and, of course, encountered a cold bath, and had a short swim. When he reached Spring- field, his ample saddle-bags, containing clothing, precedents, and records, had to be unpacked, and the contents dried. He generally walked on foot from Springfield to Court, with his partner, Gantt, and my uncle, John Holly, Sen., who was a bachelor. Nibbs was, also, a bachelor, and was very garru- lous. My uncle was a very taciturn man. After many years, Nibbs, who was then alone as a lawyer, and lived at Ninety- Six, Cambridge, (I should say between 1808 and 1812,) mar- ried; and then at every Court he was loud in his assertions, to his old bachelor friend, of the delights of matrimony. He ceased to attend at Newberry about the era of my admission to the Bar, 1814.
I fell heir to one of his notable cases-John Gooch and wife vs. John Demony. It was in his favorite line, dower. Mrs. Gooch was the widow of Michael Sanders, and claimed dower out of the land devised to his adopted son, John Demony. The case was defended by Anderson Crenshaw; and he had exhausted all his talents, as his pleader, to Nibbs' great annoy- ance. I found, after a Term or two, that both demandant and her husband, and the respondent, were insolvent, and, upon the death of the demandant, the case quietly went to rest.
Nibbs afterwards practiced mostly in Abbeville, in the bounds of which District his dwelling was situated. My friend, Chancellor Bowie, says: "He was poor," and as a lawyer, "barely made a decent subsistence for his family." " On one occasion," says the Chancellor, " he had managed a case successfully, for the Rev. Mr. Lilly. He called for his fee." Mr. Lilly jestingly replied : "Why, Mr. Nibbs, I thought you gentlemen of the Bar were not in the habit of charging us ministers for your services." "Ah ! with regard to that," said Mr. Nibbs, "you look for your reward in the next world ; we lawyers expect ours in this !" This was nigher an approach to wit than I ever heard ascribed to my poor friend on any other occasion.
He was admitted, late in life, to the Equity Forum. He was employed in a case which he tried, and lost, before Chancellor
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Thompson. He was in an agony of distress, and said in the hearing of the Judge, "how can I go home and tell my client that I have lost his case?" The witty Judge said: "Nibbs, go home and tell your client you had a good case, but the Judge was a d-d fool, did not understand your case, and therefore you lost it."
The last time I saw him, was in the Equity Court of Ap- peals, between 1818 and 1820. He was the Solicitor on record in a very important case. I think B. F. Whitner, Esq., was his associate. The decree on the Circuit was in their favor. Mr. McDuffie was on the other side, and had appealed. It was his duty to prepare the briefs and bring up the Circuit Decree. Nibbs, who had never before appeared in the Appeal Court, prepared the briefs. When the case was called, on a very warm day in December, some difficulty was made by Mr. McDuffie, that the Circuit Decree was not present. Mr. Nibbs sprang to his feet and said : "In regard to that, may it please your Honors, I know where it is." And before anybody could say anything he was off in a run, to the College, a mile dis- tant, in chase of his friend and colleague, Whitner, who had a copy. He found him and the copy, and in haste returned. The heat of the day caused him to perspire so freely, as to wet the black lining of his hat; the coloring matter in streaks had run down his face. Utterly unconscious of his streaked condition, he made his first and last speech in that Court, gained his case and went on his way rejoicing.
He soon after removed to Florida, died there, leaving his wife and only son surviving him. The latter, I have heard, did not do well, and is now, perhaps, also dead.
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SAMUEL FARROW.
Samuel Farrow, who was one of the hardy, pioneer lawyers of the upper country, and who, notwithstanding the want of an early liberal education, toiled on through difficulties, until he won honor, and fame, both at the Bar, and in the halls of Legislation, National and State, was born in the State of Vir- ginia, in 1759 or '60. His mother was Rosannah, the sister of the veteran soldier of liberty, Col. Philemon Waters, whose memoir will be found in O'Neall's Annals of Newberry, at page 218. His father, John, about 1764 or '65, removed to South Carolina, and settled in the then Ninety-Six, now Spartanburgh District, on the Enoree, about five miles above Musgrove's Mills. His father, about the commencement of the Revolutionary war, returned to Virginia, to settle his unfinished business ; on his way home he was taken with the small pox, and died in North Carolina. He left five sons and three daughters, Thomas, John, Landon, Samuel, and William ; Sarah, Mary and Jane.
Samuel Farrow and his three elder brothers were Whigs, in the Revolutionary struggle. They belonged to a company commanded by Ford, and were mostly engaged in the scout- ing and skirmishing affairs, with which the country abound- ed. In some one of these affairs, which very often were se- vere battles, on a small scale, Samuel Farrow was wounded by a blow with a sword, on his face. The scar is shown on a portrait, in the possession of his niece and her husband, T. F. Murphy, Salem, Alabama.
Samuel Farrow was in the battle of Musgrove's Mills, on the 18th of August, 1781. Before or after this brilliant affair, he and two of his brothers, John and Landon, were taken prisoners, and confined in Ninety-Six goal. Their mother, who, like her brother, Col. Waters, was endowed with uncon- querable courage and perseverance, obtained their release, by delivering to Col. Cruger, six British prisoners. She remarked
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to him that " it was the best trade she had ever made; for," said she, "I can now whip you four to one."
After the close of the Revolutionary war, Mr. Farrow studied law with Robert Goodloe Harper, Esq., and was admitted to the Bar, in the City of Charleston, on the 28th of January, 1793. He practiced in the Circuit Court of Ninety-Six, and in the County Courts of Newberry, Laurens, Union and Spartan- burgh. I have often heard two anecdotes in connection with his name. When a young man he made a speech before Judge Burke, (who it seems had no great liking for the young lawyer,) in which he spoke of the necessity of the law being strong. "Yes," said Burke, " the law should be like a wall, through which the lions, bears and wolves cannot break ; but now," he said, " it is so weak that the raccoons and squirrels slip through with ease."
At Newberry, in the County Court, Mr. Farrow had brought a suit against Major Thomas Willoughby Waters, who insis- ted on defending his own case, and made a speech to the Jury. Mr. Farrow said, " he would not condescend to answer the de- fendant standing : he would do so by lying down." He ac- cordingly lay down, according to the tradition, and made his speech to the Jury.
In '94 or '95, Mr. Farrow married Miss Elizabeth Hern- don, the daughter of Col. Benjamin Herndon, of Newberry, who had, while he resided in North Carolina, performed the part of a soldier of liberty, in the battle of King's Mountain.
When the Circuit Court System of '99 went into operation, Mr. Farrow was a leading lawyer at Union, Spartanburgh, Laurens and Newberry. He was endowed with indomitable perseverance, and never knew the word despair. Like Rob- ert Bruce of Scotland, he arose from every defeat, fresher and stronger. The case of Garey and wife vs. the Executors of James, 4th Des., is an instance of that kind.
He and Judge Grimké, from being intimate friends, became bitter enemies. He was, perhaps, often the subject of the Judge's vindictiveness, while he, beyond all doubt, pursued the venerable Judge with unrelenting hatred, until the attempt was made, in 1810, to impeach him, and which failed in 1811.
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Mr. Farrow was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1810; this was a deserved compliment to an old soldier and an eminent lawyer.
Mr. Farrow was elected to Congress from Pinckney District, in October, 1812, and took his seat in 1813. He continued in Congress until 4th of March, 1816. In that time the war of 1812 was waged to a successful termination. Mr. Farrow was a firm supporter of the administration of Mr. Madison. After the Capitol was burned in 1814, at the session of Con- gress which ensued, it was proposed to adjourn to some other place. This Mr. Farrow indignantly repelled, saying, he " would sooner sit under a canvas awning, than remove."
He was elected to the House of Representatives, of South Carolina, in October, 1816. I sat by his side during the ses- sions of 1816 and 1817, and never have I seen a more zealous and indefatigable member. I remember when a Revolution- ary claim was presented, to which objection was made that it was barred by lapse of time, he indignantly replied that he " hoped never to live to see the day when an old soldier's claim would be barred by the statute of limitations."
His experience and wisdom bore him safely over the rocks on which, for some time, I was ship-wrecked. He was re- turned to the Legislature and served in the House in 1818, 1819, 1820 and 1821.
In 1821, he, with William Crafts, succeeded in obtaining an appropriation of $70,000, for the erection of the Lunatic Asylum, and a School for the Deaf and Dumb, in Columbia. The Asylum was built, and has blest many a one. It originated with Mr. Farrow, from seeing by the road-side, on his way to Columbia, a poor woman from Greenville, who, at the sessions of the Legislature, visited Columbia for many years. The School for the Deaf and Dumb was long post- poned, but has at last been carried out, and appropriately located at the Cedar Spring-a Revolutionary battle-ground of Spartanburgh District .- Acts of '21, p. 36.
He then declined public honors, and on the 18th of No- vember, 1824, closed his useful life in Columbia, at the house of Major Clifton. His remains lie at his residence, Spartan-
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burgh District, near Head's Ford, on the Enoree River. His widow survived him, but has since passed away.
Mr. Farrow was an honest conscientious man, in all the af- fairs of life. As a lawyer, he was devoted to his client-his cause was as his own. His arguments at the Bar often showed his want of education ; but when one looked on his face, and saw the scar, inflicted by the sword of the enemy, his in- correctness of speech was forgotten, and his auditors were borne irresistibly to his conclusion.
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