USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II > Part 45
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
rounded him with the sympathy of friendship, and softened his pillow with the kindness of affection. At the early age of twenty-two and a half years, he closed his career, beloved, regretted, and esteemed-a man of mark among his fellows- and though so young, yet already widely known and honored.
Mr. Elliott was a man of middle stature. His face was pleasing. To regular features and a fine dark eye was added that peculiar charm of expression which equally results from intelligence and amiability.
Nearly twenty years have passed away since his death, yet his memory remains distinct upon the recollection of his friends, with that deep impression which the waves of time have no power to efface, and which only true virtue and a rare excellence of mind can ever hope to make.
The following are the resolutions passed at a meeting of the Georgetown Bar :
TRIBUTE OF RESPECT.
TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE BENJAMIN ELLIOTT, ESQ.
At the opening of the Court of Common Pleas, at George- town, on the 11th inst., the Hon. Judge O'Neall presiding, the Attorney-General asked leave, at the request of his brethren of the Bar, to submit the following preamble and resolutions, and to move. that they might be entered on the Minutes of the Court :
" The members of the Bar attending the Eastern Circuit, have learned, with profound regret, the recent death of their young associate, the late Benjamin Elliott, Esq., whose brief career at the Bar, marked as it was by the possession of those talents, which lead to eminence in his profession, and of those virtues which secure the esteem, and attach the friend- ship of the community, furnished a bright promise of distin- guished usefulness, and calls upon his associates for that tribute of affectionate respect to his memory, which is always the just meed of departed worth, and more especially so where, as in the present instance, it was united to a retiring modesty of character, no less than of manner. Therefore
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
Resolved, That whilst we deeply deplore the loss of our late lamented associate, whose early death has frustrated the well- founded hopes entertained of honor and distinction for him- self, and of eminent usefulness to society, we will ever cherish his memory, with respect for his talents, esteem for his char- acter, and a fond recollection of the amiable and persuasive virtues which endeared him to our friendship.
Resolved, That we sincerely sympathize with his surviving relatives in their afflictive bereavement, and tender to them our condolence under this severe visitation of an all-wise, but to us inscrutable Providence.
Resolved, That the foregoing preamble and resolutions be published in the gazettes of Georgetown and Charleston, and . that permission be asked of the Court, now in session, to have them inscribed on its Minutes.
The motion, directed by the last resolution, was supported by the Attorney-General, who was followed in a feeling and eloquent enlogy on the deceased by William W. Harllee, Esq., whereupon the Court made the following order :
On hearing the above preamble and resolutions, and on motion of the Attorney-General, seconded by Mr. Harllee, it is ordered that they be entered on the Minutes.
JOHN BELTON O'NEALL.
November 11, 1840."
Our record is ended-our little task is done. For ourselves, but not for him, we mourn his early and unripened grave, and we leave him to that calm, mysterious repose, which sleeps within the tomb where the good lie down to rest with- out alarm-the retreat of virtue and the refuge of the just. He was the idol of his family in his life, and he keenly enjoyed that love from them which his own affection had excited. His remains were afterwards removed from Phila- delphia to Charleston, and laid in the family burying-ground of St. Philip's Church, where they are now, surrounded by all of those who knew him best, and, therefore, loved him most.
585
MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
ROBERT LAWRENCE TILLINGHAST
Was born in Effingham County, Georgia, November 2d, 1817. He was removed to Savannah at about the age of six years, when his education commenced at a free school in that city.
He was afterwards transferred by the " Union Society," to the academy at Springfield, where he remained until the win- ter of 1833. Here, although a small boy, he outstripped all his competitors. He then removed to Gillisonville, South Carolina, and was there instructed by the Rev. Stiles Melle- champ, until the fall of 1834, when he entered Columbia Col- lege, Washington City. He remained there not quite a year ; but in that brief period he secured the friendship of that emi- nent man, Dr. Chapin, then at the head of the college. On his return, he commenced the study of the law with a rela- tive, Judge Polhill, in Hawkinsville, Georgia. The Judge died in a few months, and Mr. Tillinghast discontinued his legal studies.
He married in Tallahasse, Florida, in January, 1836, re- turned to Gillisonville, and read law with R. J. Devont, Esq.
In 1837, he took charge of the academy at Robertville; this he continued for two years. In 1839, he returned to Gillison- ville, and took charge of the academy there. He was admitted to the Bar in Columbia, in 1840, and was then probably teaching the academy at Gillisonville, and may have continued it to 1844. I see he was called to the charge of the school at Gra- hamville, where he taught three or four years. He then re- turned to Gillisonville, and practiced law until his death.
He was elected to the House of Representatives from St. Luke's Parish, in 1846, '48, and '52. He was elected to the Senate from the same parish, without opposition, in 1856.
He died on the 11th of March, 1858, in the 41st year of his age, leaving his widow and eight children surviving him.
His ancestors, on his father's side, came to Rhode Island
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
with Roger Williams ; on the part of his mother, they came from England to Georgia, with Gen. Oglethorpe.
Mr. Tillinghast was a well-educated man, and an excellent teacher, a well-informed lawyer, and was succeeding very well at Gillisonville.
He argued his cases with good sense and precision. His style of speaking showed too much his early occupation, being very much in the dictatorial style of a school-master har- anguing his class. His voice was not pleasant ; it sounded harshly on the ear.
In the management of his business, he seemed to have learned the value of being " prompt, ready, and eager," which is now somewhat overlooked at the Bar.
Mr. Tillinghast was much respected by his cotemporaries and neighbors. The position which he ast held withou opposition, shows how much he was regarded by the people of his parish.
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
WILKES THURLOW CASTON.
This young man, who died in early life, deserves to live in the memory of his brethren. He was born on the 22d March, 1822, in the District of Lancaster. He lost both of his pa- rents at an early age. The care of his youth and education devolved on that kind-hearted, excellent man, lawyer, and citizen, Minor Clinton, Esq., of Lancaster Village. He placed him in the preparatory department of Davison College, in North Carolina, after its organization, and he continued through the different stages until he graduated, in 1843, at that interesting institution.
He began immediately the study of the law, under the care of his guardian and friend, Minor Clinton, Esq. He pursued the study, read the usual course, and was admitted to the Bar in 1845.
While studying law he became the subject of converting grace, and connected himself with the Methodist Church, at Lancasterville, then under the care of the Rev. John R. Pickett, and ever after lived a consistent Christian. His walk and conversation was uniformly creditable.
He became early a follower of total abstinence, and showed his sincerity and zeal by an ardent advocacy of this interest- ing subject. He removed to Camden to practice law, and there became a member of Wateree Division Sons of Tem- perance. He was placed at its head as W. P. In 1854, his brethren in the whole State, impressed with his useful talent, made him G. W. P. of the Grand Division of South Carolina. From 1834 till the same time in 1855, he admirably dis- charged the great duties of his office, and carried forward the work placed in his hands.
He married a daughter of Robert Boyce, of Columbia.
He pursued his profession in Camden, first as the partner of the Hon. James Chesnut, and afterwards alone. He, by his industry and talents, acquired a profitable practice ; he
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also, always had business in the district of his nativity. In the village of Lancaster, at the April extra Court, 1858, I last saw him.
He was an active and efficient friend of education.
He, with his family, attended (as was his habit) the Annual Commencement of the Wafford College, at Spartanburg, in July, 1858. On Monday he was in his usual health, on Tuesday evening, the 13th, he was struck down with apo- plexy, and in a few hours was in the presence of his Judge and his Master. He left a widow and three young sons. Thus, in his thirty-seventh year, was closed, suddenly and unex- pectedly, the life of this excellent man and promising lawyer.
Having known Mr. Caston intimately from his admission to the Bar, I have no hesitation in saying, he was a most promising lawyer, an useful, good man and citizen, kind and affectionate in all his domestic relations, and above all, a de- vout Christian, exhibiting all the works of "righteousness and temperance," and looking forward to his everlasting reward in "the judgment to come."
589
MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
JOHN SIEGLING, JR.
This young gentleman, who had attracted the attention of the Judges, by his correct deportment in Court, his remarkable accuracy in business, his knowledge of his profession and his beautiful elocution, when he chose to speak, which was sel- dom, was suddenly cut off from the society of which he was an ornament, on the 18th day of October, 1857. John Sieg- ling, Jr., was born on the 31st of August, 1825, in Charleston, South Carolina.
He attended school at the usual age, where he applied him- self to learning with great diligence, and acquitted himself with ability. The tastes which he there acquired for study, induced his parents, at his request, to send him to Europe, to pursue the higher branches of education. At fifteen, he was sent to Ger- many, to reside with his father's family. There, under the ablest professors, he acquired a practical education, and a thorough knowledge of book-keeping, mathematics, survey- ing, civil engineering and topography, and a proficiency in the German and French languages. Amid the labors of study, he found relaxation in music and drawing, in which he was a proficient, and in gymnastic exercises.
After a course of two years' severe study, he left Germany, and traveled on the Continent and in England, visiting and enjoying all the accessible curiosities of nature and art.
On his return to his native city, he conducted, as clerk with his father, for over a year, a large mercantile business, and ac- quired during that time, a knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages, but more especially the former, which knowledge became more thorough by study, and by directing the educa- tion of a younger brother; but evincing an inclination for the law, and having obtained the consent of his parents, he pur- sued the study of the law, in the office of his friend, the Clerk of the Court for Charleston District, and after indefatigable at- tention, and study of the details of legal proceedings, in 1845,
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
he entered the Law University of Cambridge, and attended the lectures of Judge Story, Professor Greenleaf, Dr. Warren, and others.
In 1847, he was admitted by the Courts of Appeal in Law and Equity, at Columbia, to the practice of Law and Equity.
Industrious, careful and prudent, in all of his legal affairs, he was opposed to taking any cause, the justice of which he did not recognise, and when he found his client wrong, de- clined managing, unless he first made a suitable amend. As far as he could, consistently with his duty as an attorney, he would not appear in criminal cases, where he saw clear guilt. Where a person had committed a violation of the crim- inal law, and there were circumstances of extenuation, through ignorance, or improper seduction, he would at times take part, especially where he saw that an undue pressure was made for punishment.
Possessing a fluency of speech, yet his ability consisted more as a private adviser, and adjuster of complicated accounts and titles, than a public speaker.
So diligent, exact and correct was he in investigating titles, that where property was once bought under a conveyance which he drew, subsequent purchasers generally did not care to look further back than that conveyance, that being considered as a stand-point.
A fondness for study was his ruling passion, and he was noted for the extent of his reading, and remarkable retention of memory. Many practical men, from his knowledge of his profession, would consult him for information, which he always cheerfully gave. He did this so often, so readily and so ex- actly, that many of his young brother lawyers considered him a perfect adept in his profession. .
Upright in his character, correct in his advice, he exhibited throughout his life, a holy veneration and regard for truth, and demonstrated in his intercourse with the world, that only justice and truth were always expedient. Influenced by this mighty principle, age frequently yielded to his better judgment.
From the pursuit of the law he had amassed a small for-
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tune, although he had never made any great effort at the Bar, as a public speaker, to draw to him business.
He was elected a Representative to the Legislature from the Parishes of St. Phillip and St. Michael. After serving two terms, he declined being a candidate. During his term of service, he advocated the giving of the election of electors for President to the people.
Although strictly temperate and regular in his habits, he was suddenly attacked with paralysis, which in a few days terminated his life, on the 18th of October, 1857, in the thirty- third year of his age. Although possessed of every virtue calculated for happiness in domestic life, he never married. He died beloved, honored and regretted.
We append the following tribute by his brethren of the Bar, and the editorial remark of the daily paper:
"A very general attendance of the members of the Bar was held in the Equity-room, at ten o'clock yesterday morning, in order to pay a tribute of respect to the memory of their late brother-member, John Siegling, Jr.
The Attorney General, I. W. Hayne, Esq., was, on motion, called to the Chair, and stated the object of the meeting in a few affectingly appropriate remarks.
Hon. W. D. Porter, after a touching tribute to the many virtues which had distinguished the deceased, both as a law-' yer and a citizen, introduced for the adoption of the meeting the following
PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS.
Of late years the Bar of Charleston has been not unfre- quently called together for a purpose similar to the present. The object has heretofore been to lament the departure of the middle-aged or the old; of those whose years have rendered them, in some measure, ripe for the grave, and whose services and honors have given a sort of finish to their lives. But, on the present occasion, it has been assembled to mourn the death of one who has been stricken down by an unexpected visitation, and a mysterious and inexplicable form of disease, in the prime of young manhood, and in mid-career of those
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
honors and distinctions upon which his gaze was still steadily and ardently fixed. How have the promise of youth, and the pride of intellect, the bright dreams of ambition, and the fair and fond hopes of parents, and relatives, and friends, been suddenly blighted and buried in that untimely grave!
John Siegling, Jr., was a young man of mark, and of distin- guished promise; all of his young cotemporaries so regarded him. He had the talent and the industry to achieve success ; and he had also that substratum of character, which is the true and only foundation of solid excellence. His integrity of purpose and faithfulness to duty were beyond all impeach- ment. He was proud of his profession, and determined to excel in it. His system of study, and the completeness of his preparation, and his performances, showed how high his standard was. Although early honored with public trusts, he voluntarily declined a further acceptance of them, in order that he might the more earnestly and exclusively devote him- self to professional attainments. Whatever he did, was done thoroughly and well. If his aim was high, so was his pur- pose steadfast, and his exertions unrelaxing. Men marked his course, and saw that it was destined to be a lofty and an honorable one; and the public confidence, which always waits upon well-deserving efforts, generally sustained him, and bore him onward in his career of usefulness and honor. Much was accomplished; but still more was before him, fated, alas! never to be performed.
For the purity of his principles, and the fitting examples of his life; for his integrity, which was unstained by a shadow of doubt or suspicion; for the hopeful promise of talent and virtue, which has been so sadly and suddenly extinguished in the gloom of the grave; for that early achievement of reputa- tion which may well excite the emulation of his friendly rivals in the race of professional distinction ; and for the many manly and generous qualities, which endeared him to his friends, and attracted towards him the regards and respect of the community ; his brethren of the Bar will not fail to cherish his memory, and to hold his name and his character in long and affectionate remembrance. Therefore,
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
Resolved, That we deeply deplore the decease of John Siegling, Jr., as of a young fellow-member, who, in his brief life, adorned the profession of the law by a character of blame- less integrity, and by talents and virtues, which had already elicited the high admiration, and excited the warmest hopes of the Bar and the community; and that, in token of respect for his memory, we will attend his funeral ceremonies this afternoon in a body.
Resolved, That the Attorney-General be requested to present this preamble and resolutions to the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions, now in session, for such action as the Court, upon his motion, shall see fit to take.
The resolutions were seconded by T. Y. Simons, Esq., in a very feeling address, and after some eloquent remarks by M. P. O'Connor, Esq., they were unanimously adopted.
On motion of Mr. Buist, it was further
Resolved, That the preamble and resolutions be published in the daily papers, and a copy of the same sent to the family of the deceased.
The meeting afterwards, on motion of John Phillips, Esq., adjourned to the Court-room, where his Honor Judge Glover was then presiding. The chairman of the meeting presented to the notice of the Court the action of the Bar, and moved that the preamble and resolutions be spread upon the Minutes of Court.
I. W. HAYNE, Chairman.
F. J. SCHAFFER, Secretary.
The District Court of the United States, his Honor Judge Magrath presiding, convened yesterday morning at ten o'clock.
The District Attorney announced to the Court the death of Mr. John Siegling, Junior, a member of the Bar, and after rendering a tribute to the memory of the deceased, submitted the resolutions adopted by the Bar of Charleston, expressive of their sorrow at the loss of so esteemed an associate, and moved that they should be entered on the journals of the Court, and that the Court stand adjourned.
On the resolvtions being submitted, the Court expressed
38
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MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
the sorrow with which it received the announcement of the death of one whose career had been so bright, and whose future was so promising, and as an expression of the sympathy of the Court with the Bar and the community, ordered that the proceedings be entered on the journals of the Court, and that the Court stand adjourned.
II. Y. GRAY, Clerk United States District Court.
THE DEATH OF JOHN SIEGLING, JR.
Who that knew John Siegling can refuse to drop a tear upon his early grave ? He was mild and amiable, and sincere and honorable and talented. He had ambition, but it was of that high order that would attain its end only in the true and the right. He never sought to rise by pulling down another. In his intercourse in private and at the Bar, and in public life, he never failed to yield to others all that should be granted, and so he was beloved by his associates and esteemed by his opponents. He had much to live for. His life was full of promise, sustained by earnestness of performance. Though yet young, he had acquired a large practice in which he had the full confidence of his clients. He was almost the idol of · his family and was the centre of many warm friends. From all these he has been taken suddenly away in his youth, and the blow is sad and heavy.
His funeral at the English Lutheran church was largely attended, and there the sad countenances of the brightest of his profession attested their sense of his worth. The reverend and venerable Dr. Bachman, his pastor and friend, in his funeral service, paid fitting tribute to his character and virtues, which, though he lies buried, cannot soon be forgotten .- Charleston Standard.
DEATH OF MR. JOHN SIEGLING, JR.
We have to announce the melancholy intelligence of the death of John Siegling, Jr., Esq., a prominent member of the Bar, and a useful and active citizen. Mr. Siegling has died in the very noon of manhood, having achieved great success
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MEMBERS OF THE RAB.
in his walk of life, and apparently with every hope for future and higher results. From principle, honor and integrity had become a habit; with the same single-mindedness with which he maintained right and accused wrong, he pursued those studies that enabled him to receive with clean hands the meed of well-merited achievement. As Counsel to several law officers of the State, his advice has been of material as- sistance in tempering and enforcing the execution of justice ; and the result of that experience, embodied in a well-known Manual, has regulated the entire administration of the Courts throughout the State. In his private practice-one of the most extensive at the Bar-he was liberal and accommodating; at the same time his thorough accuracy furnished frequent pre- cedent.
Mr. Siegling had served in the Legislature, and on occa- sions involving his political principles, had mingled in party issues, but without ever estranging a friend or exciting enmity. He held the command of a volunteer company of this city, and was universally considered as worthy, in his rare union of talent and integrity, to advance still higher in the confi- dence and dignities of our community. The future had, apparently, every prospect of earthly reward ; but that inscru- table decree which gathers in those ripened for eternity, has- while he seemed exuberant in the first strength of life-closed with its dark pall the vista of time .- Charleston Mercury.
DEATH OF JOHN SIEGLING, JR.
We regret to learn the death-after an illness of nearly three weeks-of John Siegling, Jr., Esq., one of the most prominent and promising of the younger members of the Charleston Bar. His legal studies were commenced in Charles- ton and finished at the Law School of Cambridge, Mass. His rise in his profession was rapid and sure, and his worth and merit were recognized by all with whom he was thrown into association. He was popular and successful as the com- mander of one of our companies of citizen soldiery, and as a Member of the Legislature of South Carolina, he had the approbation and respect of our community .- Charleston Courier.
597
CHIEF JUSTICES, ETC.
CHIEF JUSTICES.
Names.
1698. . Bohun, Edmund,
1712. . Trott, Nicholas,
1718. . Allien, Richard,
1730,. . Wright, Robert,
1739. . Dale, Thomas, Whitaker, Benjamin, 1749. . Græme, James,
1752. . Pinckney, Charles,
Names.
1753. . Leigh, Peter,
1759. . Michie, James,
1761. . Simpson, William,
1762. . Skinner, Charles,
1771. . Gordon, Thomas Knox,
1776. . Drayton, William Henry,
1795. . Rutledge, John.
LAW JUDGES.
Names.
1736. . Dale, Thomas,
1737. . Austin, Robert, Conseillere, Dela Benjamin, Lamball, Thomas,
1740. . Mazyck, Isaac, Bull, William, Jr., Yonge, Robert,
1741. . Beale, Othniel,
1744. . Lining, John,
1753. . Drayton, John,
1760. . Simpson, William, Pringle, Robert,
1764. . Burrows, William, Brisbane, Robert, 1766. . Loundes, Rawlins, Smith, Benjamin, D'Oyley, Daniel, 1769. . Powell, G. Gabriel, 1771. . Savage, Edward, Murray, John, Fewtrell, John,
1772. . Caslett, Mathew,
1774. . Drayton, William Henry, Gregory, William, 1776. . Mathewes, John, Bee, Thomas, Pendleton, Henry, 1778. . Burke, Ædanus, 1779. . Heyward, Thomas.
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