Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II, Part 38

Author: O'Neall, John Belton, 1793-1863
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Charleston, S.C. : S.G. Courtenay & Co.
Number of Pages: 636


USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II > Part 38


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He had an extensive practice, and was rising to eminence and distinction among such men as Noble, Bowie, Wardlaw, and Burt. "He was a man of indomitable energy. As a proof of this, while diligently attending to a very respectable practice, he acquired, by his own unaided industry, some knowledge of Latin, and such a knowledge of French, as to be able to read the language with facility."


He died early, in 1828 or '9 ; for I know that at the first term at which I presided, at Abbeville, November, 1829, he was not present, and doubtless must have died some time just previous.


The value of Mr. McCraven's example, is very great to our young men. By industry, he triumphed over all the difficul- ties which presented themselves to his early advancement. If our young lawyers would do as he did-set themselves down in their offices, make their books their companions, and seek improvement wherever it could be found, we should have few, very few, instances of ignorance at the Bar.


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EDWARD PETER SIMONS.


To recall the character and virtues of one who impressed his name upon his times, and who, departing, left behind a high and honorable fame, is ever a pleasing task ; but, espe- cially, when to the gift of mind has been added integrity of character and chivalrous principles. We believe there is no State more sensitive than South Carolina to the moral traits of those who, by their talents, claim her regard. She has often preferred to honor those but moderately endowed by nature, in whose principles she could place implicit confi- dence, rather than those, who, though as " suns" in intellect, have yet been deficient in high moral sentiment-and justly so, for talent but confers power; but whether to be exerted for the injury or prosperity of a people, depends upon the spring of action of its possessor-the motives by which he is governed ; " non tam percunctatur," says an old Latin adage, " quid fiat ut quo animo fiat." He who in life sets out with the determination to abandon everything like policy as a guide to his actions, and to be governed alone by earnest conviction and duty, must meet with that which is far more valuable than the trappings of office, or the affixing of titles to the name. He will retain and preserve his self-respect; he will possess the consciousness of having faithfully striven after right and truth, and will enjoy the confidence and esteem of those among whom he lives. The "well done " of con- science, and of the true and good of the community, is far more to be desired than the temporary applause of the fickle multitude. Strive, then, for duty ; make effort, then, for right, and in the end there will be full and rich success.


The mother, when she beholds the babe of her affections cold and still under the icy touch of death, feels keen and poignant sorrow. The father, the son of whose hopes and high expectations has been laid low in the cold and dark tomb, is bowed down under the burden of his grief. The


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State, from whose bosom has been snatched, by a sudden and untimely end, one in the first vigor and prime of manhood- one who, by his mental and moral qualifications, filled a large place in her esteem and regard-one, whose attainments, high and honorable as they were, were but the presage of higher and more honorable renown-drops over his grave the tear of affection, and remembers him as one of " her jewels."


Edward Peter Simons, the subject of this notice, was born at Rice Hope, in Georgetown District, on the 15th September, 1794. He was the lineal descendant of Benjamin Simons, who, at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantz, removed, in com- pany with the Dupree family, to the then wilderness of South Carolina, and united in marriage with one of the daughters of Mr. Dupree, by the name of Mary Esther. He died on the 18th August, 1717, having been the parent of fourteen chil- dren, from whom are descended the numerous family of his name in this State. The immediate ancestors of Edward Peter Simons, were Maurice Simons, Esq., of Georgetown, who intermarried with his first cousin, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter Simons, Esq.


Before he arrived at the age of eight years, it was his mis- fortune to lose both of his parents, and he was at this early age left without the kind guardianship of a mother, and the judicious counsels of a father. To add to his misfortune, he was shortly after deprived of a second parent, in the person of his uncle, Thomas Simons, on whom all his hopes had rested for proper care and control. In this situation, he was left entirely undirected, both in studies and morals, except by the school tutor, and the occasional advice of a good old lady, with whom he boarded. After remaining some time at the Charleston College, under the tuition of Rev. Dr. Buist, its able and learned head, he was removed to Georgetown, and placed under the tuition of Mr. John Waldo, who at that time enjoyed a high reputation as an excellent instructor of youth, by whom he was prepared for an entrance to college.


In him he found an able and affectionate preceptor, one who, with kind and judicious counsels, directed his studies and guided his steps. He was ever remembered by Simons with the kindest feelings of esteem and regard.


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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.


Simons was always conspicuous. From the hours of in- fancy to manhood, he was ever prominent. As an instance of his youthful aspirations, it is said, "while at school there was a juvenile company formed, at the head of which he marched, on the fourth of July, and delivered to them an ora- tion of his own composing, having then scarcely exceeded the age of twelve years." He displayed early in life those traits of character, for which he was afterwards distinguished-a spirit, high-toned in its principles, and emulous of honorable distinction ; a mind above the ordinary mould, ardent in its pursuits, and eager in the attainment of knowledge; a soul open as the day, candid in the expression of its views, and scorning everything mean and low. He possessed great facil- ity in the acquirement of the Greek and Latin tongues, and though among " the first scholars in his class at school, he was at the same time always a leader in the active exercises of recreation."


In 1810, he was sent to Connecticut, to finish his education, but on arriving at New Haven, so great was his ambition, that he feared he might not pass the examination with eclat, and desired and was granted some months' preparation, under the Rev. Dr. Bacchus, afterwards President of Hamilton Uni- versity.


He then applied and was admitted to the Freshman Class of Yale College, in 1810. This institution was, at that time, under the superintendence of the Rev. Dr. Dwight. We are told that during the first year of his collegiate course, he was so impressed by a remark in Bissett's Life of Burke, " that that great man was not conspicuous, at the University, for his attention to the course of studies prescribed for the students, but leaving ordinary geniuses to pursue the beaten track, marked out a road for himself," that he resolved to devote his time to classical and belles-lettres studies, in opposition to the sciences, for which the college at New Haven is remarkable, and for a short period actually persevered ; but early perceiv- ing his mistake, and finding that the University honors were not to be obtained without a suitable attention to the mathe- matics, he relinquished his plan, and with uncommon dili- gence, aided by vigor of intellect, not only recovered his


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standing in the class, but when the honors were distributed, was rewarded with one of the most distinguished. Yet he found time to cultivate his favorite studies, and in the debates before the society wasalmost foremost. He was decidedly the boldest speaker in his class, and on one occasion, undertook, in the college chapel, before all the students and faculty, and in the most heated and excited times of New England politics, to repeat Mr. Clay's phillipic, delivered in Congress, just after the declaration of war. Perhaps no circumstance ever exhib- ited the energy of his character, in a more decided view.


" The southern students were few in number, in comparison with the northern ; the government of the college were known to be in favor of the line of policy then pursued by Massachu- setts and Connecticut ; and in the chapel itself, the excitement among the students was so great, that repeated efforts were made to stop him ; he paused until the turmoil was over, and then proceeded, refusing, until the whole speech was delivered, to leave the rostrum."


It was the custom of President Dwight, during the senior year, to give various subjects for written disputations. Two of the efforts of Simons yet remain to us. The one "on the comparative excellencies of the Constitutions of Great Britain and the United States;" the other, " whether human nature is advancing to a state of perfection ?" They are both well- written productions, and exhibit a matured and reflective mind.


As a mark of the deep impression he left at college, we would mention an anecdote, connected with a relative of his, who, not many years since, was an inmate of the classic shades of Yale. One day, at the close of a recitation, Professor Kings- ley, the able and much-loved professor of Latin, (in 1813, tu- tor,) called him up and expressed a desire to see him. Hav- ing been talking a good deal during recitation, he approached the professor's desk with some anxiety, expecting a reprimand for having expressed his thoughts too freely, during recitation hours, when, to his great astonishment and relief, the professor inquired : "Did you ever, sir, have a relative in this institu- tion ?" Without reflecting, he answered, "No sir ;" but after


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a little while, remembering the subject of this memoir, an- swered, "Yes, sir-one Edward Peter Simons," responded the professor. " Well, sir, you are somewhat like him ; your eyes are very similar;" and a conversation then ensued, with re- gard to his subsequent career. Here had thirty-three years elapsed since his graduation, and yet is it not strange, that among the thousands who had, in the meantime, passed be- fore the professor's eye, he should have remembered and called to mind the features and memory of Simons ?


His bearing was such as to impress every one with whom he mingled, that he was a gifted man-one who would do honor to his name, and reflect credit on the State of his birth. After graduating at Yale College, in 1814, he returned to Charleston, and immediately commenced the study of the law, with his friend and relative, Col. Keating Lewis Simons, a gentleman eminent in his profession. He remained in his office for the space of twelve months, when finding that the large business in which Col. Simons was engaged, prevented his receiving those advantages of instruction which his well- matured mind and rich experience, would have otherwise afforded, young Simons, with the approbation of his relative, repaired to Litchfield, Connecticut, the seat of a flourishing law school, and there attended the lectures. Delighting in the law, as the profession of his choice, admiring its principles, he diligently applied himself, not that he might " see through a glass darkly," further than which, alas, but few aspire ; but that he might possess a grand, comprehensive and enlightened view of its structure and applicability to the wants and neces- sities of society.


While here he was selected by his fellow-students to deliver an oration on the approaching anniversary of American Inde- pendence. It was just after the close of the war of 1812, when the contests between the Federalists and Republicans waxed fierce, when party dissension ran high, and many feared for the perpetuity of the Union. The weakness and instability of our government was at that time the constant theme of de- clamation. The gloomy genius of false prophecy had pre- dicted the swift approach of our final doom. The departed


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spirits of ancient republics were invoked to indicate the politi- cal grave to which we were descending, and the finger in triumph was pointed to the lofty columns of Grecian architec- ture-those splendid specimens of human ingenuity, crum- bled into dust-to the descendants of those heroes who fell at the heights of Thermopylæ, and bled on the plains of Marathon and Platœa, under the dominion of galling and oppressive tyrants-to the proud trophies and triumphant monuments of republican Rome, mingling with the dust around in undistinguishable ruin. Therefore, after eloquently depicting the immense sacrifices of feeling, wealth, toil and precious blood with which this nation had wrought her free- dom, he portrayed its value and blessings by a comparison with the constitution and laws of the other nations on the globe. Believing the government to be composed of mate- rials as durable as human imperfection will allow, he inferred its lasting duration as a legitimate deduction from its nature and form, strengthened by local situation, the benign influ- ences of Christianity and the growing spirit of patriotism. Looking upon the Constitution as a fixed and unalterable charter, (except in the manner prescribed by its very terms,) formed by the people immediately through their representatives containing and defining the rights and duties of the citizens and the corresponding rights and duties of the rulers, he re- garded the Union alone as safe, when the Constitution was preserved by a strict adherence to its principles. We have, with much pleasure, read the oration in question, many parts of which are, alas, but too applicable to the present condition of affairs, especially where he calls upon his countrymen to rouse all the latent energies of soul, and, singing the requiem of party spirit, to rally as one man in defence of the imper- iled Constitution, and thus, with vestal vigilance, maintain the laws and preserve true liberty.


Upon his return to Charleston he was admitted to the Bar, and immediately entered with great success on the practice of the law. The distressed prisoner found in him a warm and zealous advocate. He soon acquired a reputation for eloquence and legal knowledge, and his services were engaged in many cases of importance.


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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.


In the latter part of 1819, the community were called upon to mourn the loss of Col. K. L. Simons, his legal preceptor and much-honored friend, of whom there can be no more appropriate epitaph than that placed by Crafts at the head of his eloquent enlogy,-


-" He kept


The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept."


On his decease, the whole of his large and profitable busi- ness was transferred to the care of young Simons. " Though young, when such a weight of responsibility was imposed upon him he shrunk not from the task, and so successful were his efforts, that he not only retained the confidence of his clients, but what was intimately more dear to him, the fullest approbation of those who transferred their papers into his possession." He enjoyed great popularity, and was, at the first vacancy, elected a Member of the House of Representa- tives, in the State Legislature, from the City of Charleston, and was regularly returned at each election, with a handsome support. He was also elected a warden of the city, and con- tinued as such to the day of his death. In 1823, the most animated election ever known, up to that date, for Members of the Corporation, took place. Though well known to be thoroughly opposed to the successful candidate for Intendant, yet such was the opinion entertained by the people, of his talents and integrity, that he was triumphantly elected at the head of his ward. "One military company, that high-spirited and patriotic corps, the Washington Light Infantry, which knew and estimated his worth, promoted him to a lieuten- ancy, and, in a short period afterwards, he was unanimously invited to the command of another, the United Blues, the members of which were zealously attached to him, and most sincerely deplored his loss." While he was thus eminently distinguished for his attachment to the interest of his con- stituents by his industry and talents as a warden, and by the many and excellent qualities of his private and public life, the edict of death had already been pronounced, and the summoning angel was winging the air on his fatal and deadly mission.


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" However ardent and diligent he may have been in the pursuits of honorable renown-for he thought with Tacitus ' contemptu famæ contemni virtutem'-yet the basis of his happiness was laid in the domestic circle. United to an amiable woman, and the father of two children, he cheerfully retired from the cares and perplexities of business into the bosom of his family, and from that centre of affection and usefulness, diffused comfort and joy around him. Hospitable and generous, and open, there was not a husband, brother, master and friend, more fondly regarded in the several rela- tions of life-no young man in this community looked out upon brighter and bolder prospects than himself-at the Bar, in the Council, and in the Senate, public office awaited him. In the more sequestered walks of private life, esteem, grati- tude, friendship and respect, shone mildly around him. At one and the same time, attentive to the prosperity and grandeur of his country, and to the interests and welfare of his immediate friends, and sensibly alive to honor, and dread- ing the very semblance of shame, he was in a manner com- pelled to hazard office, prosperity and life upon a single cast"- like Hamilton, forced contrary to his best convictions to the duelling field, he fell a martyr to the code of honor-


"Let the dead past bury its dead."


On the 7th October, 1823, at the early age of 29 years, his spirit passed from time to eternity. His death was univer- sally lamented. He was intered on the 8th, at the Second Independent Church with military honors, attended by the City Council of Charleston, and a large number of respecta- ble citizens. He left surviving him an affectionate family, two brothers, Maurice Simons, for many years Register of Mesne Conveyance for Charleston District, and the late Dr. Thomas Y. Simons, former Professor of the Theory and Prac- tice of Physic in the Medical College of South Carolina. Thus ended the life of Edward Peter Simons, after a short but active exertion for the good of his fellow-citizens. The following tributes to his memory will show that this pen has neither exaggerated his public worth nor his private virtues.


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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.


At a meeting of the Charleston Bar, called for the purpose of expressing their sentiments of regret, for his loss, the At- torney-General, James L. Petigru, Esq., was called to the chair. The meeting was addressed by John Gadsden, Esq., who submitted the following preamble and the customary resolutions, which were unanimously adopted :


" Though our friend should not be conscious of the tribute which we have met to offer; though his shade may not be refreshed by our sympathies, let us gather up those virtues which time may soon dissipate, and redeem them if possible from oblivion, for ourselves and posterity. The love of fame, the instinct of noble minds, sends a ray even from the grave, and seeks in the fond remembrance of congenial spirits, an immortal existence. The violent transition from life to death, from the hopes, the activity, the offices and the affections of our nature, to the extinction, the silence, the torpor and the dampness of the tomb, awakens all our sensibility and excites the deepest compassion for the person who has been doomed to realize the horrid contrast. It was almost yesterday that, vigorous in intellect, high in expectation and ardent in pur- suit, our friend Simons mingled with us in the labors of the forum or sought the public weal in the deliberations of the council; and now his manly form, the earthly tenement of thought and action, 'lies festering in its shroud.'


· O fallacem hominum spem, fragilem fortunam et inanes nostres contentiones "


" How long shall we deplore the unnatural divorce of laws and manners, of religion and honor ? Must the youth of our country fall by each other's hands, and shall the spring of our years suffer a blight?


" They, who untimely perish, leave us only the promise of virtue, unless like our departed friend, they have early and diligently improved the advantages of nature, and secured a reputation over which even death has no power. Though cut off in the midst of his unfinished labors, he has left us materials to treasure up for the instruction of those who choose to profit by his example. At school, at college, at the Bar, in the City Council, in the Legislature, we find in him a


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love of distinction, an ardor of character, a vigor of intellect, a generosity of temper, an openness of conduct, and an intre- pidity of spirit, which promised extensive usefulness to the public, and a lasting reputation to the individual.


" As a member of our profession, we have seen him more closely, and may expatiate with more propriety and justice upon his merits. Few persons came better prepared to the Bar. His education had been systematic, but decidedly prac- tical. His general attainments were considerable, and his stores of legal knowledge extensive and recondite. Yet what- ever he possessed appeared to be always within his reach and at his command. He had no lumber of learning to oppress his mind; occupying the place of valuable acquisitions, and fostering vanity instead of supplying invention. In a ready apprehension, a just discrimination, a copious expression, and a happy elocution he was rarely excelled. In extempore speaking he was prompt, facile, lively and bold.


" A fearless assertion of right, a superiority to mere personal influence, and the artificial distinctions of society where they interfered with the claims of justice, fairness in conducting a cause, candor to his opponents, zeal for an honest client, and a contempt for fraud and baseness; these were the virtues of his professional life. They were sufficient to preponderate over many errors, if his feelings had even had any other source than an impetuous temper, which time and reason would have gradually chastened. Would to God that he had been spared until his understanding had broken entirely through the passions which occasionally darkened it; and that we could have seen him moving steadily along under its light and influence, in the path of public and private useful- ness ! But he has been taken from us ere the autumn of life, and we can only weep over the half-ripened fruits that lie scattered around us, while we record our grief, and testify our respect."


At a meeting of the Charleston Delegation, held in the City Hall, the following preamble and resolutions were submitted by their Chairman, the Hon. H. L. Pinckney, and unani- mously adopted :


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"Whereas tributes of honor to the memory of departed worth, operate as incentives to imitation on the part of the survivors, while they afford a mournful gratification to their afflicted feelings: And whereas, our late lamented colleague, Edward P. Simons, was eminently distinguished by the pos- session and display of a superior order of intellect and elo- quence, by the undeviating consistency of his political career, and by the irreproachable purity and correctness of his prin- ciples, in all the various relations by which he was connected with society: And whereas, we regard the chasm which his death has caused, not only in this delegation, but in the Legislature of the State, as a severe and public loss, which may not easily be repaired, and which, therefore, calls strongly upon us to express our sense of his character and merits, and our sincere participation of the sorrow of his relatives, and of the community in general. Therefore be it Resolved, unani- mously,


" Ist. That we deeply deplore the death of our lamented colleague, Edward P. Simons, as a loss to the State, of an able, eloquent, upright, and independent representative.


"2d. That we sincerely sympathize with his afflicted rela- tives and mourning widow."


We know not that we can better close this tribute to the memory of the dead, than with the ensuing extract from the chaste, pathetic and eloquent funeral address, delivered by the late lamented Rev. Samuel Gilman, D. D., upon the melan- choly occasion of the decease of the lamented Simons :


"We will weep for the dead! His sun is extinguished when scarcely advanced beyond its morning prime. The labors, the sacrifices, the studies of his youth are bereft of their reward, and the life which was short in years, though long in achievements, is forbidden to accomplish its flattering promise. The cup of sweet and delicious expectations has been suddenly filled with bitterness and dust. Smiling pros- pects of usefulness, of activity, of glory, and of happiness, have been fatally overcast. Fond schemes and projects for the public good, are irretrievably frustrated; an ardent career of congenial, intellectual, and energetic pursuits, is forever




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