USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II > Part 4
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 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
The office of Attorney General did not suit him; and it was unfortunate for him that he followed so able an Attorney General as Mr. Petigru. The division in politics in South Carolina, which was beginning, in 1830, to assume an angry and threatening aspect, and which grew more and more vio- lent, until 1832, when the Convention and the Ordinance of Nullification seemed to rend asunder all past associations, and arrayed parents, children, brothers, and friends, on opposite sides. These various matters prepared him to accept the office of Charge d'Affaires, at Brussels, which was offered to him by the United States Government, in 1832. He imme diately repaired to his post, and remained abroad until 1836. He thus escaped all the difficulties and pain attending the contest which grew out of Nullification.
Immediately on his return, in October, 1836, he was elected to Congress, and served two years with great eclat. But he was too much a Whig to suit parties at home; he was, there- fore, thrown out at the election, in October, 1838.
He returned to the Bar; and, by the aid of Mr. Petigru, was placed in prominent positions in the great cases argued from 1837 to 1841. Pell and Ball, in the Court of Equity, is one in which Mr. Legaré had a fine opportunity of display. I did not have the opportunity of hearing Mr. Legaré in that case, and, therefore, speak from public opinion. In the State vs. The Bank of Charleston, Dud. 187, which was heard before me, May Term, 1837, Mr. Legaré was for the quo warranto, and, therefore, on the popular side. His speech was an excel- lent one, but could not be compared to the fine legal argument of his friend, Petigru, on the other side.
In 1841, he was appointed, by Mr. Tyler, Attorney General of the United States. He was here on the theatre which suited him. He had to deal with great questions. Here, too, his consummate knowledge of Civil Law stood him in great stead. He was winning fame, and marching steadily on to
37
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
greatness, when the fatal messenger came; and, on the 20th June, 1841, in the City of Boston, he closed his life, and was interred, with public honors, at Mount Auburn. Hence, the friendly zeal of one of South Carolina's generous and talented sons, (Mr. Richard Yeadon,) by the consent of his sister, re- moved his remains to the Magnolia Cemetery, near Charles- ton, and a suitable monument erected to his memory.
This sketch was not intended to present his merits, as they should be, as a scholar, or statesman, but simply to place his name among his brethren of the South Carolina Bar; and to say of him, that he was, indeed, as a lawyer and a man, one to whose memory the respect, which attends on greatness, should be paid,
·
38
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
HENRY BAILEY.
Henry Bailey, Esq., was born 7th July, 1799.
What were his opportunities of education, I do not certainly know; he, however, showed, in his different offices, that he had received a good substantial education. He wrote a beautiful hand, and had a perfect knowledge of the English language He was a merchant, but had the misfortune to fail in business Whether he was married before, or after this, I do not know. He married the daughter of Rene Godard, Esq., to whose memory and virtues, I can pay no higher compliment than by saying, she was a model wife.
He studied law with James L. Petigru, Esq., and was ad- mitted to the Bar, in Columbia, in 1823. He settled in Coosaw- hatchie. I first saw him at Barnwell, Spring Term, 1829, when he arranged the case of Bourdeaux vs. Cave, 1 Bail. 250. The verdict in that case was for the defendant. He appealed and carried it to the Court of Appeals, in Columbia, his argu- ment will be found Ist Bail. 253. It induced the Court to depart from former decisions, and adopt a new rule, which, however, has been since, uniformly followed.
He was elected State Reporter, November, 1829, and con- tinued in that office until November, 1832, when he declined to serve longer, and Mr. Hill succeeded him. Mr. Bailey re- moved to Charleston, as soon as he was elected reporter. His first and second Law Reports, and his Equity Volume, have certainly never been surpassed, for accuracy, and manner. Indeed, they cannot be read by any one, who will not award the meed of praise to him, which he so well merited, as being then, and until now, the very best of our reporters. He was elected Attorney-General, November, 1836, and by successive elections at the end of every four years, he was continued until November, 1848, when he declined to serve longer. In this high and responsible office he discharged his duties admirably well. In the fall of 1840, he was opposed by a gentleman, who now fills, with so much credit to himself, and
39
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
advantage to the country, the office of District Judge, for South Carolina. There was a serious objection to the habits of Mr. Bailey, in one respect, yet Mr. Bailey's eminent fitness for the office enabled him to triumph. A friend said to the author, whose sympathy, and perhaps influence, had been for Mr. Bailey, at the termination of the election : " You have done the deed." Yet, the same gentleman, whose moral, legal, and intellectual standing will compare with any man in the State, said to the author, spring of 1841 : " You were right, Mr. Bailey is the man for us." He had prepared the pleading in the State vs. The Bank of South Carolina, Ist Spears, 433. His argument, in that case, was certainly equal to any which the most accomplished jurist ever delivered. In May, 1847, he managed, with consummate skill, the defence in the Union Bank vs. Sollee, 2d Strob. 390; and he, and Mr. Petigru, lite- rally snatched their client from ruin, both of means and character, and his surety from heavy loss, notwithstanding, they were opposed by the clearness and acumen of such law- yers as Memminger and Hayne. Their respective arguments will be found from page 396 to 403. Mr. Bailey's argument on the circuit was certainly his chef-d'ouvre. He spoke for more than three hours-and that with good sense-producing strong and effective arguments. This was in 1847 and 1848, and this case was, probably, the last of his brilliant efforts. For he died at 2 P. M., on Saturday, 2d April, 1849. His latter days (indeed, from December, 1848), were of suffering. His mind and body were alike sufferers. His wife preceded him to the tomb, and from her death, his friends knew, that that which did occur, would likely happen. He left three sons, Godard, William, and John.
Henry Bailey had his failings, but all who knew him will concede, he was kind, benevolent, and honest. As a friend, he was sincere and devoted; as a husband and father he was most attached; as a master, he was, perhaps, too indulgent; as a citizen, he knew and did his duties; as a lawyer, he was surpassed by few. His instructor, Mr. Petigru, Judge King, and Mr. Memminger, were possibly his superiors. None others, of the excellent Bar of Charleston, excelled him. Not
40
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
quite fifty years of life were awarded to him-they were in most respects, years of virtuous usefulness.
On his tomb, in the first Baptist church-yard, is inscribed: "Quis desiderio sit pudor, aut modus, tam cari capitis."
The notices, of the Charleston Mercury and Courier, of his death, are appended :
[From the Charleston Mercury, April 30, 1849.] "DEATH OF THE HON. HENRY BAILEY.
"It is with unfeigned regret that we announce the death of the Hon. Henry Bailey, which took place at 2 o'clock, P. M., on Saturday last, at his residence in this city.
Mr. Bailey had but just returned from the Island of Cuba, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, which had been seriously affected by recent illness. In the death of this distinguished gentleman the public generally has sustained no ordinary loss, and the profession to which he belonged has been deprived of one of its brightest ornaments. Indeed, as a lawyer, Mr. Bailey had few, if any, superiors. His knowledge of the law was profound, and his practice characterized equally by great fairness and liberality, and by the most zealous fidel- ity to the interests of his client. He was, in fact, remarkable for the devotedness with which he identified himself with whatever cause he was called upon to advocate; and yet, as was once remarked to us by his most distinguished profes- sional cotemporary, 'he was never known to use his great legal attainments for the purpose of oppressing others, or securing personal advantage to himself.'
Mr. Bailey entered upon the practice of the law at a some- what advanced period of life, and the Legislature very soon manifested its appreciation of his eminent abilities, by electing him, in 1836, Attorney-General of the State-a position which he continued to fill until the session of 1848, at which time he declined a re-election.
His remains will be interred in the cemetery of the Baptist Church, at 4 o'clock, this afternoon."
41
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
[From the Charleston Mercury, of May 9, 1849.]
"MEETING OF THE CHARLESTON BAR.
" A meeting of the Charleston Bar was held at 9 o'clock, A. M., on Tuesday, 8th May, inst., at the Bar Library. Mr. Henry A. DeSaussure was called to the chair, on motion of Mr. J. Phillips; and Mr. DeSaussure requested Mr. James Simons to act as secretary of the meeting.
On assuming the chair, Mr. DeSaussure, in brief, stated, that the object in calling together the Bar was, to express their sense of the distinguished ability, great attainments, amia- bility, and worth, of the late lamented Henry Bailey, Esq., former Attorney General of the State.
Mr. James L. Petigru then arose, and, under evident sensa- tions of deep feeling, said, that he had desired that the ex- pression of feeling of the Bar of Charleston should have come from some other member than himself, who, having been so closely associated with the deceased, might be supposed to have his opinion of his merits biassed by the regard and attachment he entertained for him; but that he had under- taken it, because he believed, that all present would concur with him in what he was about to say, and that the recent sad funeral ceremonies of his friend had manifested the deep sense of the loss which the community, as well as the Bar and the social circle, had experienced in the death of Henry Bailey.
Mr. Petigru then read the following preamble and resolu- tions :
Among the vicissitudes of human life, the loss of friends is that which most frequently reminds us of the dark side of the picture-the prevalence of evil, and the vanity of human hopes-and seldom have we received a more impressive lesson of that melancholy strain, than in the event which has caused this meeting of the Charleston Bar. In the demise of Henry Bailey, we have lost an ornament of the profession, and a familiar friend. It was impossible to know him intimately, to see him daily in the discharge of social duties, and hear him as often as any grave question engaged the attention of
42
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
the Courts in the public, without feeling the effect of his superior intellect and amiable disposition. The respect paid to his talents was as sincere as the confidence which his in- tegrity and candor inspired. The law was studied by him as a profession, and his practice was aloof from the contagion of any sordid art. His mind had no sympathy with evasion or deceit; and his ideas of the law were elevated by the purest conceptions of justice and equity. To his clients, a safe and able adviser; to all who came in reach of his active benevo- lence, a sincere and faithful friend, he has been followed to the grave by many painful feelings of regret. In him, the country has lost a son, whose heart was filled with devotion to the public good. The city of his birth mourns the extinc- tion of the hopes that reposed on him; the Courts of Justice are deprived of a counsellor, and the members of the Bar of a friend who lived in their affections. Long will it be before his place is filled. The memory of that voice, upon which persuasion so often hung; of those gentle and manly features, so often lighted up by beams of approving kindness, will long be retained by those to whom they were known; and the name of Henry Bailey, while it revives the recollection of many great and noble qualities, will excite the emotions of a deep and tender feeling of regret. To mark our sense of the merit of our departed friend and brother, we would surround his memory with some memorial of our esteem, therefore:
Resolved, That we deplore the loss which our fraternity, and the public, have sustained in the removal from the sphere of his usefulness of our deceased brother and friend, Henry Bailey; and we tender to his family the assurance of our sympathy in their grief.
Resolved, That, as a testimony of our deep respect for the memory of one so much esteemed, the Charleston Bar will wear the crape of mourning for one month."
The preamble and resolutions were seconded by Mr. Brew- ster, and unanimously adopted.
On motion of Mr. Phillips, Mr. Issac W. Hayne, Attorney General, was requested to present the preamble and resolu- tions in the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions,
43
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
now sitting, with the request, that they be entered on the journal of the Court.
On motion of Mr. Brewster, it was ordered that a copy of » these proceedings be transmitted to the family of the deceased, and also be published in the newspapers of the city.
On motion of the Attorney General, the meeting then ad- journed.
HENRY A. DESAUSSURE,
JAMES SIMONS, Secretary."
Chairman.
[From the Charleston Courier, April 30, 1849.] " DEATH OF HENRY BAILEY.
"We are at a loss to know in what terms to announce the decease of this gentleman to our readers. He departed this life, in this city, on Saturday last, 28th inst., having but a few days previously returned from Cuba, where he went with a view of restoring a broken constitution; but it was the decree of Providence that the hoped-for restoration of health should prove falacious, and he only returned to be sepulchred in the native soil he loved so well and so faithfully.
Mr. Bailey had filled, for a series of years, the high, honor- able, and distinguished post of Attorney-General, of the State; and not only in that character, but in every other position, where talent and ability were required-whether at the bar, as a practitioner, in political matters, or when called on to repre- sent his fellow-citizens, generally on public occasions-he ever proved himself equal to the task, and in all cases, even ex- ceeded the expectations of his most ardent admirers.
He has departed from among us. He has gone to that bourne from whence no traveller returns. That voice that has often enchained and enlightened public assemblies, in our city, is hushed in death. That manly form, whose very step was dignity-that placid, firm, and thinking countenance, that commanded respect, even before his eloquent language reached the ears of an audience, is now rigid and inanimate, and it will be long before the recollection of his power, as a debater, either at the Bar, or in a popular assemblage, will be effaced
44
ATTORNEY GENERALS.
from the memory of those who have listened to his oratorical bursts.
It is not our province to eulogize the deceased-it should be confided, as it doubtless will be, to other and abler pens. But we may be permitted to say, what none will deny, that in the decease of Mr. Bailey, the Charleston Bar has lost a member, who, in legal knowledge, had but few equals, and the com- munity an advocate, ever faithful to what he conceived to be their best interests."
U. S. DISTRICT ATTORNEYS FOR SOUTH CAROLINA.
47
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
1
THOMAS PARKER.
This eminent lawyer descended to the tomb before I had the opportunity of knowing him. Hence, all I can say is from the information of others.
It seems he was born in Goose Creek, about the year 1760, and was the son of John Parker, whose wife was a Miss Hervey.
What were his opportunities of education, cannot now be ascertained ; but from his great eminence, it is probable that they were ample.
He married Miss Mary Drayton, the only daughter of that eminent man, Chief Justice William Henry Drayton, and the sister of Governor John Drayton.
I am informed, he was enrolled in the Charleston Militia, and was present at the siege of Savannah, and at the unfortunate assault on the 9th of October, 1779. He also bore a part in the partizan warfare of the low country; but I have been unable to ascertain particulars.
He was admitted to the Bar of South Carolina on the 10th February, 1784, and to the practice of the United States Courts on 26th October, 1790. He was appointed United States Dis- trict Attorney for the State of South Carolina, in 1792, by President Washington, and held this very important position, with the most distinguished success, for the period of twenty- eight years. He was an active member of the Bar of South Carolina for thirty-six years.
He died on Friday, 25th of August, 1820, in the sixtieth year of his age, having numerous descendants.
From the character given of him, by the Charleston Bar, at their meeting of the 29th of August, he must have been well entitled " to be recognized as their leader." For, he was, accord- ing to their showing, a courteous, kind, honorable gentleman, and an old and experienced, and well-informed lawyer.
Tradition is, that his word was law. Whatever Tom Par- ker declared to be law, was at once conceded.
48
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
I had hoped that his distinguished pupil, Judge Edward Frost, would have sketched the character of his great precep- tor ; but so it is, his arduous duty, in directing the ascent of the iron horse over the Blue Ridge, prevents him from under- taking to do that which he could have done more satisfac- torily than any living man.
The testimony of the Bar of Charleston, however, with Col. William Drayton at their head, is surely enough to show forth the character of Thomas Parker, Esq., for all time to come. In closing this short sketch, I must refer the reader to the pro- ceedings of the Bar of Charleston, which is appended :
[From the Courier of August 31, 1820.] " MEETING OF THE CHARLESTON BAR.
"At an adjourned meeting of the members of the Charleston Bar, held at the Court-House, on the 29th of August, 1820, Mr. William Drayton was called to the Chair, when the fol- lowing preamble and resolutions were unanimously approved and adopted :
It having pleased Divine Providence, by the recent death of Thomas Parker, Esq., to remove from the Bar of this State, and from the society of its members, one of the oldest and most respectable of its practitioners. We, the survivors, can- not silently commit to the tomb, one whom we have so long proudly recognized as our head-whom we have so long venerated for his profound learning in the law-esteemed for his amiable liberality and exemplary candor as a practitioner, and admired for those very eminent forensic talents which have distinguished him through life. We have witnessed in him, not only the qualities of an accomplished advocate, but have seen those qualities enriched by great integrity, a scru- pulous sense of honor and duty, a high regard for the rights of justice, and a lenient dispensation of its final process, when left to the exercise of his own feelings and discretion. To intellectual talents of the first order, peculiarly manifested by a deep and thorough investigation of every subject connected with his profession, a close and logical mode of reasoning, and conclusions drawn with clearness and demonstration, he united a habitual candor in stating and examining objec-
49
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
tions, or the arguments of his opponents, and appeared no less solicitous that his reasoning should be just, than that his cause should be gained. He was remarkably decorous in his addresses to the Court, and in his competitions with the Bar.
All the Judges who have, in succession, occupied the Bench during the long course of his practice, have habitually given to his opinions the greatest weight, to his arguments, in Court, the profoundest attention, and to his rank, as coun- sel, the highest consideration. In the year 1792, General Washington, who, among his great and transcendant quali- ties, was peculiarly happy in discerning and selecting fit characters for public offices, appointed our departed friend to the office of District Attorney, in this State. The prudence, diligence, integrity and ability, with which he exercised its diversified duties, have secured to him the confidence of each succeeding administration, and often drawn forth the most honorable encomiums from the heads of the Executive Depart- ment. To some of us, he hath been known at an earlier period of his life, when, like ourselves, being occupied only by the duties of a practitioner, he was more at liberty to indulge in the private intercourses of society. Here he often mingled with his early associates; and it was here that a cheer- ful and benign disposition, a lofty, but unobtrusive independ- ence of character, and a remarkable amenity of manners attracted a large circle of intimate friends, whose attachments have remained, though latterly, the freedom of such inter- course hath unavoidably been abridged by the arduous duties of his public office. To others of us, he has been known only in his later career, when, almost overwhelmed with those duties he devoted himself to, in a course of incessant exer- tion; and although our intercourse was chiefly on profes- sional occasions, we could easily discern and appreciate the excellence of his native character, and admire with it, that honorable sense of public duty which seemed to engross his whole attention, to the exclusion of those gratifications of leisure and amusement for which he had a taste, and which contribute to mitigate the asperities of human life. By all of us, he hath been sufficiently known, esteemed and venerated,
4
50
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
to call forth this public, but imperfect testimonial of our regret for the loss which we and society have sustained, and of our affection for a member who, for upwards of thirty-six years, hath maintained at our Bar, a standing no less honorable to the profession, than to this country that gave him birth and education; and which may boast that, among the earliest tokens he gave of manhood, was the buckling on of his armor in defence of her liberty and independence. Therefore,
Resolved, That the members of the Bar, in Charleston, will wear crape on the left arm for the space of thirty days, as a badge of mourning for the death of Thomas Parker, Esq.
Resolved, That the foregoing preamble and resolution be published in the gazettes of this city, and that a copy of them, signed by the Chairman of the meeting, be transmitted to Mr. Thomas Parker, the eldest son of the deceased.
WILLIAM DRAYTON, Chairman."
51
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
JOHN GADSDEN.
John Gadsden was the second son of Catharine and Philip Gadsden, and was born on the 4th of March, 1787. His brother, the Bishop of the Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in South Carolina, preceded him, by birth, a year or more. James Gadsden, our recent Minister to Mexico, was the next junior to both. In his untiring energies, and in the footsteps of his grandfather, he has not overlooked the fame which links his name with his progenitor. He is the eldest surviving brother of a once numerous family, equally divided between eight sons and eight daughters, of whom there remain one sister and six brothers.
With this brief episode we pass on to the narrative:
By the paternal and maternal side, these "tria juncta in uno" inherited the good name of distinguished and venerated patriots of the Revolution.
Gen. Christopher Gadsden, and John Edwards-the cavalier and the Puritan, eminent merchants, of spotless integrity, in the province of South Carolina-have left to their posterity, a part from their Revolutionary prestige, an imperishable name. In their devotion to the cause of American Indepen- dence, they were not surpassed, and need no cenotaph to embalm their memories. The inscription stands in bold relief, on the page of history: of indomitable spirits, inflexible per- severance, steadiness of purpose, enduring firmness, their pledges were those of "fortune, life and honor," redeemed in the success of the struggle, which secured the independence of the colonies. Subsequent to the siege and surrender of Charleston, in 1780, they, with other defenders of the common- wealth, were transferred to prison-ships, or transported, as rebels, to St. Augustine. It was thought dangerous to leave them on parole, in their abiding city, or to exchange them as prisoners of war.
Such an ancestry, the subject of this memoir, in all the vicissitudes of life, cherished and honored as an unappreciable
52
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
inheritance. Trained in the wholesome discipline of a devoted, pious, affectionate, beloved mother, and under the unremitting devotion, assiduous, exemplary care of a maiden aunt, whose counsel, encouragement, and solicitude for their welfare, proved the beacon lights through the conflict and pilgrimage of life. They were early initiated in elementary and classic lore, at the Associated Academy, in our city-an institute founded and reared by individuals, who felt sensibly the im- portance and necessity, in our midst, of a well organized and judiciously ordered seminary.
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.