USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II > Part 14
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Gifted with a sound understanding, thorough in his read-
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ing, careful and exact in all his habits, cautious in arriving at his conclusions, he was an excellent office lawyer ; his practice, " the well-earned reward of diligence, punctuality and integrity,"* became established, and, at the election for Recorder of the City Court in 1811, when lawyers of ac- knowledged position and ability were aspirants, Mr. Griggs was named as a candidate, and, upon ballot, received but one vote less than the successful candidate, a fact whieh, alone, is enough to show the estimation in which he was held. He died of consumption, on 16th September, 1816, at the age of 54, and his remains were attended to their last resting place, in the beautiful Cemetery of the Unitarian Church, in Charles- ton, by a large circle of friends, all the prominent members of the "Charleston Bar," and the "Charleston Library So- ciety," of which he was a valued member.
Of his family there now remains but one daughter, who, as a teacher of the young, has acceptably filled this responsi- ble position for many years, and a son, Henry S. Griggs, who, inheriting his father's character and habits, has so long and so faithfully filled the responsible office of Treasurer of that admirably conducted Bank, "The Charleston Savings Insti- tution.
* Chas. Fraser's Reminiscences of Charleston, page 80.
12
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JOHN MCCRADY.
John McCrady, the only son of Edward and Eliza McCrady, was born in Charleston, on the 13th June, 1775. His father, originally from Ireland, settled first in Pennsylvania, and afterwards removed to South Carolina, where he took an active and efficient part, as a Whig, during the Revolution, and was one of those citizens whom the British authorities selected from among the patriots of Charleston, to send as prisoners to St. Augustine.
John McCrady was sent, at a very early age, to Princeton College, where he graduated with distinction, and, upon his return home, commenced and finished his preparatory study for admission to the Bar, in the office of Gen. Charles Cotes- worth Pinckney. He was admitted to the Bar 29th Septem- ber, 1796, and entered immediately upon a large and lucrative practice. His life, although honorable and distinguished, affords little room for biography, as it was soon terminated. He died on the 12th June, 1803, at the early age of twenty- eight years. A most flattering tradition, both of his character and reputation, still, however, survives, and that there should be preserved such a remembrance of so short a career is, in itself, strong proof of the ability and success with which it was run. The following sketch of his mind and character was written, immediately after his death, by Col. William Drayton, an eminent member of the same profession, and his intimate and valued friend :
"Nature had gifted Mr. McCrady with a vigorous under- standing-clear in its perceptions, solid and discriminative in its judgments. His strong and correct mind stood not in need of, and disdained all artificial resources; and they who have heard him in debate, armed with no other intellectual weapon than manliness of diction, and nervous unsophisticated argu- ment, can testify that he was copious, without verbosity, logi- cal, without dryness, and eloquent, without the parade of metaphor, or the pomp of rhetorical flourish. These are the
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prominent features of his mind. The characteristics of his heart were candor, liberality, and a nice sense of honor. To these recommendations of a higher order, were added, the minor, though perhaps not less alluring attractions of a viva- cious disposition, an accommodating temper, a genuine vein of poignant humor, accompanied by unvarying good nature. For some years, Mr. McCrady had pursued the practice of the law with reputation and emolument, and although thus involved in the labyrinths of a profession too often confound- ing legal with moral propriety, yet was his integrity ever untarnished and unsuspected. To sum up his character, without dishonoring the dead by flattery, it may be pro- nounced, such was the rare combination of qualities he pos- sessed, that though formed to enlighten the learned, and to command the respect of the good, the sweetness of his dis- position, and the charms of his conversation, equally fitted him to gladden the gay circles of social merriment."
During his short professional life, Mr. McCrady was en- gaged in several cases, which have not yet lost their interest, and we conclude this brief sketch with his notes in a very curious case-the only one of its kind which has occurred in the legal experience of the State:
" JOSEPH LEWIS vs. A rule to show cause why the body of the defendant should not be interred.
THOS. BOURKE.
The defendant, although surrendered in discharge of his bail, is not in confinement under process of execution at the suit of the plaintiff; no ca. sa. having been lodged in the Sheriff's office since his surrender.
Where, then, is the right of the plaintiff to arrest or to de- tain the body ?
But admit, that he was in custody under ca. sa., at the suit of the plaintiff, where is the law for the detention of the de- fendant's corpse? There is no such law; on the contrary, the tenor of the cases is contradictory to this right of deten- tion .- See 3d Blackstone's Com. p. 414; Coke Litt. p. 289; Cro. Jac. 356.
Besides, if it was intended that the power of the plaintiff
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should extend to the detention and imprisonment of the dead body of the defendant, what construction is to be given to the Stat. 21 James, chap. 24, quoted p. 37; 11 vol. of Viner's Abridgement ?
But suppose, that authority can be produced from English books, to warrant this inhuman proceeding, will the Court sanction the validity of such a doctrine in this country ? "
By reference to the Journal of the Court, from 1801 to 1804, we find the following:
"WEDNESDAY, 2d February, 1803.
JOSEPH LEWIS
vs.
THOS. BOURKE.
On motion of Mr. McCrady :
Ordered, That the plaintiff in this case do show cause, to- morrow morning, at ten o'clock, why the body of the said defendant (who has died in the Prison Bounds) should not be interred, he, the plaintiff, having objected to such interment."
"THURSDAY, 3d February, 1803.
Present, Judge Johnson.
"JOSEPH LEWIS vs. 1
THOS. BOURKE.
Mr. McCrady moved, that the rule in this case, obtained yesterday, be made final. The Court, after hearing Mr. Cheves on the part of the plaintiff, and Mr. McCrady, in opposition to him, Ordered, That the said rule be made final."
Mr. McCrady married, in 1797, Jane Johnson, the daughter of Wm. Johnson, and sister of Wm. Johnson, Associate Jus- tice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and left three children, Edward McCrady-at one time United States Dis- trict Attorney, and still practicing at the Bar-Mrs. Henry Trescot, and a single daughter.
NOTE. - The impression, that a creditor had a right to detain the dead body of a debtor, until the debt was paid, seems, at one time, to have prevailed among the people .- See Tapping on Mandamus, p. 146; and it is somewhat curious, that the year after this case was tried, Lord Ellenborough, in
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the case of Jones vs. Ashburnham, 4 East. 455, referred to the same point in the following language:
"Now, an attempt to impose upon a person an unlawful terror (and the threatening of an unlawful suit is as bad), can never be a good consideration for a promise-to-pay; yet that ground is insisted upon by the Chief Justice. And as to the case there cited by him of a mother, who promised to pay, on forbearance of the plaintiff to arrest the dead body of her son, which she feared he was about to do, it is contrary to every principle of law and moral feeling. Such an act is revolting to humanity and illegal, and, therefore, any promise extorted by the fear of it, could never be valid in law."
As late, however, as 1830, an incident occurred in this State, showing that the idea was not obsolete. A man was sued, in Lancaster, and imprisoned under a ca. sa. He died in prison. The counsel for the prisoner declined to advise the Sheriff what to do; and that functionary accordingly, preserved the body in its coffin as well as he knew how, put it in the debt- or's room, and there locked it securely until the next meeting of the Court, when he applied for instruction to the Court, which, it is almost needless to add, ordered its immediate burial.
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
KEATING LEWIS SIMONS.
My imperfect knowledge of the distinguished gentleman whose name is above, made me unwilling to assume the re- sponsibility of sketching one of the most remarkable men who ever stood at the Charleston Bar. I had hoped that a near kinsman would have relieved me from a labor, which would have been pleasant, if I could have spoken from per- sonal knowledge; but that aid not being furnished, I must, as well as I can, do justice to the memory of the South Caro- linian, who " descended early to the grave, bedewed with the tears of his country, and covered all over with her praises."
He was born in 1775, in the City of Charleston. Mr. Crafts, in his beautiful eulogy, delivered on the 13th Septem- ber, 1819, says he was born at the " commencement of our arduous Revolution. His infant eye caught the nodding plume of the soldier of liberty-he was caressed on the knees of the victorious patriot-the trumpet, and the roar of artillery, were the music of his boyhood."
He was the son of Keating Simons, Esq., and was educa- ted in his native State. He was prepared for the Bar by one of South Carolina's purest patriots and greatest lawyers, Ed- ward Rutledge. His letter of November, 1797, written to Keating Simons, Esq., his father, (and herewith given to the public,) says of his son, Keating Lewis, " he is a most charm- ing youth, full of virtue, gratitude, honor, independence and industry ; and, to these excellent qualities, he possesses one of the finest tempers in the world." It was regarded as the greatest, and most enviable blessing, by the ancients, " Lau- dare a laudatis." The praise of Edward Rutledge was just such praise, and prepares us to expect great things from its recipient.
Keating Lewis Simons was admitted to the Bar 23d May, 1796.
Mr. Crafts, in his eulogy, says, " he entered the Forum,
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which he was destined to elevate, to grace, and to purify-to fill with the sentiments of his lofty soul-to enrich with the treasures of his capacious mind, and decorate with the tro- phies of his honest triumphs. Are there any of his clients in this Assembly? Why do I ask? I am surrounded by them-of these I would inquire: Did they ever know a law- yer more distinterested, more laborious, more devoted to their interests, and more worthy of their confidence? Did he not defend the poor gratuitously ? Did he not embark his whole soul in the cause of the oppressed; and, with a zeal and in- dustry that wore him out, and wore him down, did he not faithfully serve mankind ?" These inquiries convey a lawyer's highest praise.
In 1811, when I was a college boy, I remember to have listened to the outpouring of Mr. Simons' eloquence before the Senate of South Carolina, in the defence of Wm. Hasell Gibbes, Master in Chancery, on articles of impeachment. He was associated, on that occasion, with Col. William Drayton. They were in beautiful contrast. Simons was the rushing torrent, which bore away all obstacles in its course. Drayton was the deep, limpid, flowing stream, on which all delighted to float easily to the destined point. To a college boy, they were Demosthenes and Cicero revived! And, as at present informed, they were much similar in their style to the two gifted brothers of Carolina, John and Edward Rutledge.
He was often, Mr. Crafts tells us, in the Legislature of South Carolina, and that he filled a seat with much useful- ness. I remember him, as Chairman of the Judiciary Com- mittee, in 1818. He was a remarkable and conspicuous member of that body, the House of Representatives of South Carolina, in which Huger led and McDuffie spoke. Indeed, I suppose Mr. Simons, from his position, was the most experi- enced and reliable lawyer in it!
I see at his death, and perhaps for years before, he was the Colonel of the 29th Regiment. This situation he adorned ; for never was there a man who seemed more fitted for command. In person and character, he was like Kleber, " the good Sul- tan" of the French army. Mr. Crafts says "he was a war-
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like man. His tall and athletic form, his manly and erect countenance, the rapid glance of his eyes, the powerful com- pass of his voice, and liis cool self-possession, fitted him for all the exterior of command. His intrepid and refined spirit, his enthusiasm, his dignity, and, on a level with them all, his exact knowledge of military discipline, qualified him for all its dangers and all its duties."
This great and good man was cut down in his prime: he died 1st September, 1819, in the 44th year of his life.
In a letter of the 9th of October, 1819, Judge Cheves, speaking of his death, said-" The country has sustained, in his death, a great and almost irreparable loss. He would have been a great acquisition to the Bench; his solid talent and extensive learning, (for he was, undoubtedly, a more learned lawyer than any of his cotemporaries,) with his unyielding firmness, would have sustained and strengthened, while his high and punctilious honor, and even fastidious sense of propriety, would have cast a graceful blandness over the station." This view of his character from such a man as Judge Cheves, would seem to supersede the necessity of fur- ther remark.
If, however, more be necessary, it will be found in this letter of Edward Rutledge, an eulogium from the Winyaw Intelligencer, the proceedings of the officers of the Seventh Brigade, the American Revolution Society, and the Charles- ton Bar, herewith published.
The beautiful and touching inscription on his tomb, said to have been written by Col. Drayton, and accompanying this sketch, is a beautiful summary of his character.
A friend, Judge Porter, of Alabama, kindly furnished a sketch from his personal observation and recollection of the dead, which I append :
"KEATING L. SIMONS.
"My recollections of this gentleman are those of my early youth. When I first began to form ideas of distinguished men, and of oratory, Mr. Simons had reached a lofty posi- tion at the Bar, and his style quite superior to that of his
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cotemporaries, excited even my own boyish admiration. Of- ten did the writer climb to the windows of the Court-House, in Charleston, to listen to his impassioned eloquence, charmed and captivated by the force and impetuosity of his speeches. Possessed of a most commanding person, and of a manner at once grave and manly, his method of addressing a Jury was striking and judicious. Added to these natural qualifi- cations, was a voice remarkable for strength and beauty of tone. His enunciation was distinct, and he had a brilliant and ready flow of language. His elocution was a torrent swelled by recent floods, breaking out of its natural channels and rushing onward, sweeping all before it. He seldom, if ever, condescended to indulge in humor ; and when he spoke, particularly on questions involving feelings, he rose to the most sublime and overpowering efforts. His action was, of itself, commanding and vehement. The audience sat, over- whelmed by the ore rotundo of his expressions, and the ner- vousness of his elocution ; and there was an air of authority in his address, which awed the popular mind, and enabled him to sway it at will. He was a politician of much note with his party. At the head of the opposition was John L. Wilson, with whom, as rumor went, it was Col. Simons' lot to be selected to engage in a duel.
Some years after Col. Simons died. His funeral was a splendid pageant, attesting his great popularity, and the sym- pathy of his friends.
Among the many orators, whom it has been the fortune of the reminiscent to hear, Col. Simons stands impressed on his memory, as the finest and most perfect specimen of Demos- thenian power. His delivery was bold, spirited, and popu- lar, without being course or vulgar; and a more vehement, perfect, exciting, and eager orator, is rarely met with at any Bar, in any age. It is true, these impressions were upon the mind of a youth, of confessed inability to judge of high lite- rary abilities, but, certainly, that elocution must have been singularly attractive and meritorious, which arrested the way- ward step of a boy, and caused him to stand for hours, lis- tening with admiration to the strong, musical voice of a
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speaker, pouring out a torrent of well-chosen expressions. The standard of perfection in eloquence, is its capability of influencing the learned and the ignorant, the aged and the young ; and Col. Simons, when he spoke, attracted the same attention that the master-piece of a finished sculptor would- it is no sooner seen than its wonderful resemblance to nature is appreciated by the humble observer."
" My Dear Sir,-I thank you very sincerely for the perusal of my much loved friend's letter. He is a most charming youth, full of virtue, gratitude, honor, independence and in- dustry ; and to those excellent quallities, he possesses one of the finest tempers in the world. God Almighty bless him, and may he long live to shed his affection around you, and you, my dear friend, to bestow your fond paternal affection on him. If these good wishes prevail, you will see him an or- nament to society, a friend to human nature, a shield to inno- cence, a protector to the unfortunate and a blessing to man- kind. I know him well, and my love for him is in proportion to my knowledge. I thank you sincerely for your goodness towards me, and we will live and die in the habits of friend- ship.
Yours, ever,
K. SIMONS, ESQ." ED. RUTLEDGE."
[This letter was written in November, 1797.]
" PHILADELPHIA, 9th October, 1819.
" My Dear Sir,-I have received your eloquent eulogium on the character of our excellent and lamented friend, Simons. The country has sustained, in his death, a great and almost irreparable loss. He would have been a great acquisition to the Bench. His solid talent and extensive legal learning, (for he was undoubtedly a more learned lawyer than any of his cotemporaries,) with his unyielding firmness, would have sustained and strengthened, while his high and punctilious honor, and even fastidious sense of propriety, would have cast
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a graceful blandness over the station. You have done me very great honor in connecting my name with the memory of so inestimable a man, and in terms, (though unmerited,) so flat- tering and so eloquent. It is certainly very gratifying to me to discover that I am recollected by my countrymen and friends, and that I am associated in their remembrance with the good and the great.
I am, my dear sir,
with great and sincere esteem, your ob't. LANGDON CHEVES.
WM. CRAFTS, JR. EsQ."
We, with pleasure, comply with the request of a correspon- dent, in copying the following handsome eulogium on the late Col. Keating Lewis Simons, from the Winyaw Intelligencer :
" It has been frequently observed that republics manifested but little gratitude to those who had served them most faith- fully ; and it is but too natural, perhaps, that a duty which de- volves upon all alike, and upon no one in particular, should be sometimes neglected. There have been circumstances of late, however, in Charleston, which seem to prove that a whole community can be operated upon by sensations which come directly from the heart, and that the public, which can so well appreciate, can also gratefully remember merit. This alludes, as it may be supposed, to the universal burst of sympathy, which took place at the death and at the funeral of the late Col. Keating Lewis Simons-a sympathy as creditable to the feelings of the public, as it was reputable to the memory of their departed fellow-citizen. The pride of power might, in- deed, have ordered, and the pomp of heraldry might have mar- shalled, a more splendid funeral exhibition ; but pride and power have nothing in common with grief, and the unstudied, self-ordered procession which took place, and those natural tears that dropped, and those allusions which have been since made, with such pathetic eloquence, to the past life of Col. S., appear to have been well-suited to the character and conduct
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of that much-beloved and much-lamented individual-that good and honorable man. They who knew him as a friend, and could witness those milder virtues and endearing quali- ties which characterized him in the circle of his acquaintance, and in the bosom of his family, can alone conceive the irre- parable chasm which this sad event has made in private life. That such a man-so dear to his friends-so useful to the community, should have been snatched away, at what might have been considered as an early period of his career, is one of those instances of the inscrutable decrees of Providence, to which it is our duty to submit with resignation. But he will
not have lived in vain-the good he did remains. He will have bequeathed to his infant sons the mantle of his fair fame, and the pattern of a life devoted to honorable pursuits. To the young of his own profession, he will have left the example of a distinguished name, built on the firm basis of conscientious principles. His country, too, will long remember him-they will long remember that sound integrity, that unblemished name, that independent mind, that extensive knowledge and that unwearied attention which qualified him alike for the Senate or for the Bar. In him, the virtues of the man we loved -the heart so brave and so benevolent, the mind so dutiful when duty called, and so affectionate-the manners so cheer- ful, so unassuming, so liberal, so kind, were most happily blended and interwoven in the public man; they became a species of public property, and augmented very essentially, by their influence and by their example, the general stock of pub- lic virtue."
[From the Charleston Courier.]
" FRIDAY, September 3d, 1819.
" A meeting of the Officers of the 7th Brigade was held yes- terday, September 2d, at 1 o'clock. Col. O'Hara was called to the Chair, and Capt. Elliot appointed Secretary.
Maj. Crafts rose, and, after a feeling and eloquent address, proposed the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
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Resolved, That a committee be appointed to make arrange- ments for a suitable expression of the feelings of the officers of this Brigade, at the lamented death of Col. K. L. Simons.
The following committee was appointed :
Col. O'Hara, Col. Howard, Col. Rouse, Maj. Bacot, Maj. Crafts, and Capt. D'Oyley.
The meeting adjourned to this day, at one o'clock, to receive the report of the committee.
The officers who did not attend the meeting, are notified to attend at the above-stated time."
[From the Charleston Courier, Saturday, September 4th, 1819 ] AMERICAN REVOLUTION SOCIETY.
" At a special meeting of the above society, held on Thurs- day, the 2d instant, the following resolutions were unanimous- ly adopted :
WHEREAS, It hath pleased Divine Providence to remove from a scene of public usefulness and domestic affection, the late Col. Keating Lewis Simons, in the vigor of his age and the full strength of his faculties.
Resolved, That this society, in testimony of their profound respect for his steady integrity, his lofty independence, his high sense of honor, his generous and chivalrous spirit, his solid understanding and his most useful life, will wear crape on the left arm, for the space of thirty days.
Resolved, That a member of this society be requested to prepare a funeral eulogium, to be delivered at such time and place as he shall appoint, on the character of the deceased.
Resolved, That the president do transmit a copy of these resolutions to the venerable parent of the deceased.
In conformity with the second resolution, John Gadsden, Esq., was appointed to deliver the eulogium."
At a meeting of the members of the Charleston Bar, held at the Court House, on the 3d September, 1819, Mr. Thomas Par-
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ker, Sen., was called to the Chair, when the following resolu- tions were unanimously approved and adopted :
" Posthumous eulogy has been so frequently lavished upon the undeserving, that the admirers of departed worth with re- luctance give publicity to their sentiments. The friends and intimates of those who have ceased to be, nevertheless, expe- rience a melancholy satisfaction in the united utterance of their griefs ; and when their friends and intimates know that the sound of praise is not touched without feeling the tone expressed, its vibration strikes a kindred chord within their bosoms, which even art and eloquence, upon a baseless foun- dation, would in vain endeavor to excite. Who can forbear to speak of those whose amiableness gladdened society, whose talents served their country, whose virtues dignified their spe- cies ? Who, then, can be silent as to him whose recent death has occasioned this meeting ? Those who knew him enjoyed the rare felicity of being acquainted with one whose head was the recepticle of a sound understanding, whose soul was the seat of honor, whose heart was the fountain of every moral and generous quality. In speaking of those who are sancti- fied by death-who are reposing upon the bosom of their Father and their God-it were unbecoming, it were indecent, to resort to the language of flattery. The deceased had his failings, for he was mortal ; but without sacrificing truth to panegyric, it may be confidently pronounced that his failings sprang from sublimated virtue. He was sometimes betrayed into exhibitions of warmth-sometimes, perhaps, into ebuli- tions of passion ; but the flame which kindled these transports was formed of no common material-it was an ethereal flame-the excitement of high-minded sensibility, which felt a shock like a wound, when it came in contact with artifice and corruption.
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