USA > Texas > The bench and bar of Texas > Part 13
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Blended with the fine legal mould of his mind and the sterner traits of his character, Judge Morrill possessed a nature tenderly sensitive to the beautiful and the senti- mental. He was fond of poetry, romance and music, and delighted in quenching his æsthetic thirst in the Pierian springs and in the fountains of Parnassus. He was re- markably familiar with Shakespeare and Scott, and if almost any line of either of these authors was quoted he could repeat the next. He was also familiar with the Bible, and thought, like the venerable Macklin, who, on entering his son as a student of law at the Temple, en- joined upon him to make the Bible his first book of study. " The Bible, Mr. Macklin, for a lawyer?" asked the learned gownsman. "Yes, sir," replied Macklin, "it is the properest and most scientific book for an honest lawyer, as there he will find the foundation of all law and morality."
In his social and domestic relations, Judge Morrill was kind, genial and affectionate, and he endeavored to make all around him happy. He had the capacity of adapting himself to any company in which he might be thrown, which rendered him popular with all classes and enhanced his professional success. He took great pleasure in the enjoyment of young people, and even in the latter part of
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his life often participated in their amusements. He never had any children of his own, but his house was the home of many others, for which he provided with a generous liber- ality. He assisted in the education of seven, four of whom were dependent entirely upon him for their advantages.
Such a character could not long remain under the ban of the ruling popular sentiment, on account of a mere differ- ence of political views, and long before his death the sacri- fices which he had made for the sake of conscientious convictions and honest, principles were conceded by his bitterest political foes to be virtues worthy of esteem rather than qualities deserving condemnation. But at his death all political animosity sunk beneath the wellings of veneration, and reflecting only upon his great ability as a judge and his purity as a man,
His friends estranged but yesterday, in sorrowing awe return To gather up his greatness into history's golden urn.
On the death of Judge Morrill the bar of his district paid his memory the highest tribute of respect. The following resolutions were adopted : -
"In the Circuit and District Courts of the United States in and for the Eastern District of Texas, at Galveston -
[From the minutes of said courts, March term, April 4th, 1884.]
"T. N. Waul, on behalf of the bar of Galveston, this day appeared in open court, and presented the following proceedings and resolutions, which are here entered of record by direction of the court, to wit : -
" 'At a meeting of the members of the bar, held at the Supreme Court room yesterday, to take such action as might be deemed approproate to evince their respect for the late Judge Morrill, the following proceedings were had : General T. N. Waul was called to the chair, and Robert G. Street was requested to act as secretary. On motion of Honorable W. P. Ballinger, a committee was appointed to prepare suitable resolutions.
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" The committee presented the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : -
" ' Resolved, That the members of the bar of the United States Courts at Galveston desire to express their deep sor- row caused by the death of the Honorable Amos Morrill, who had been for more than ten years the judge of this Federal district.
" ' Resolved, That the relations between Judge Morrill and the bar at Galveston, during all that period, were marked by urbanity, consideration and kindness on the part of Judge Morrill, inspiring permanent feelings and recol- lections of regard and esteem on the part of the bar toward him, of which we desire to preserve lasting record.
" ' Resolved, That familiar as he was with Texas law and procedure from their commencement, one of the oldest and most successful lawyers remaining in the State, and for many years a judge of our Supreme Court, Judge Morrill brought to the Federal bench the largest experience and a devotion and pride in the duties of the station which he filled to the full measure of his ability, with impartiality, firmness and justice.
" ' Resolved, That we shall always cherish the memory of Judge Morrill as a good citizen, friend and neighbor, with whom for many years our relations were most interesting and pleasant.
" ' Resolved, That we tender to his widow, Mrs. Morrill, well known to us to be eminently worthy of the profoundest regard, our earnest and warmest sympathy, and that a copy of these resolutions, signed by the president and secretary, be transmitted to her.
" ' Resolved, That these proceedings be presented by the president of this meeting to the United States District and Circuit Courts, now in session, with the request that they be placed on the records of the courts.
" . W. P. BALLINGER, " . J. T. BRADY,
". S. W. JONES,
"'Committee.'"
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THOMAS H. DUVAL.
This great and good man was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, on the 4th of November, 1813, and was a descend- ant of one of the old Huguenot families which fled from France to Virginia in consequence of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. His father afterward removed his family to Nelson County, Kentucky, where he became a noted lawyer and politician, and while quite a young man, was · one of the representatives of that State in the United States Congress. He subsequently became the famous Governor Duval, of Florida, having been appointed the first Governor of that Territory after its acquisition from Spain.
Thomas received his education in St. Joseph's College at Bardstown, from which he was graduated in 1833. He afterward studied law in the office of Charles A. Wickliff, who was Postmaster-General during President Tyler's administration, and received both from his distinguished father and eminent preceptor the impression of those pro- fessional qualities which so highly adorned his own career. In 1835 he removed to Tallahassee, Florida, where he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profes- sion ; and having served as circuit clerk of Leon County, and ex-officio clerk of the Court of Appeals, he was, in 1843, appointed by the President secretary of the Territory of Florida. In 1845 he emigrated to Austin, Texas, where he resided during the remainder of his life. In 1846 he was appointed one of the reporters of the Supreme Court, and in 1851 was elected Secretary of State. In 1855 he was elected judge of the Second Judicial. District, and was re-elected in 1856. When the western district of Texas was created in 1857, he was appointed judge of the United
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States court for that district, and held this position until the outbreak of the civil war.
Judge Duval, though at that time a Jacksonian Democrat, was bitterly opposed to secession. He bore an intense and unswerving devotion to the Union, and considered the Con- stitution as a palladium of protection to every interest and every section of the country. He was honest and consci- entious in his convictions. Through all the varied spheres of his life not a breath of suspicion or doubt ever assailed the purity of his motives or the integrity of his acts ; but in all, he maintained an exalted position in the esteem of his associates, and in the confidence and affections of the people. While, acting in accordance with his views, he absented himself from the State during the existence of a war, the inception of which he abhorred, he was among the first to return in 1865, and immediately devoted his influ- ences and his energies to the amelioration of the condition of his people. The editor of the Galveston News, says : " When he arrived at Galveston, just after the breaking up of the Confederate camps in 1865, and when the interior of the State was the theater of anarchy, he asked the writer whether it would be safe for him, a Union man, to proceed to Austin with his family. The answer was, that it would be so unless he had private enemies. He said that he did not think he had one in the world. He returned to his home and was welcomed by his old friends of every shade of opinion."
Judge Duval was a profound lawyer, and his success at the bar was assured by many of the loftiest traits that adorn the profession. He was endowed by nature with an intellect singularly adapted to the discernment of truth, however veiled in the speciousness of reason, or enveloped in the delusions of circumstance ; and his mind was embel- lished by literary attainments of a high order. He early learned that application, promptness and fidelity were the qualities which insure professional success, and with these he brought to the bar an honorable ambition and a zealous purpose which kindled and prompted his genius to the noblest exertion in every sphere in which his professional
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services were employed. His industry was indefatigable ; and so versatile was his capacity for usefulness, that no sphere of public duty seemed foreign to its adaptation or incompatible with its highest attainment. While he pos- sessed no one dazzling feature of character, he presented that full orb of virtue, ability and usefulness which is rendered effulgent by its uniqueness and uniformity.
As reporter of the Supreme Court, his powers of analy- sis, his penetration and discriminating judgment are con- spicuously exemplified in the correctness of his interpretation and in the clear and concise method of his compendiums and syllabi; and as Secretary of State, his official conduct was marked by the highest order of competency, by an ardent devotion to duty, and by an efficiency which pro- moted the public interest and adorned the administration of which he was a component.
His energy and integrity, his knowledge of law, and his sound views of justice and equity made him an excellent judge ; and his long judicial career was characterized by an uprightness, impartiality and love of justice which estab- lished, a striking similarity and invites a just comparison between him and Sir Mathew Hale. His decisions are models of plain and precise enunciation, and of perspicuous reasoning. He was firm in his convictions, yet tolerant of the opinions of others, and never obtruded or urged the reception of his views as a condition of his courtesy and regard.
He was a man of exemplary rectitude in all the relations of life - a fond husband, an affectionate father, a warm friend, and a great favorite with the members of the bar. Like most great lawyers, and particularly great judges, he took especial interest in young men who began the practice of law before him, and afforded them every opportunity and advantage which a firm judicial impartiality would permit.
He was married in 1839 to Miss Laura P Duval, daughter of Captain Duval, of the United States army, a lady es- teemed as one of the truest and noblest of her sex, and who no doubt wove the brightest threads in the woof of his
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life. They reared an interesting and accomplished family, and one of their daughters, who married Judge C. S. West, now of the Supreme Court, was a lady of decided poetical genius.
Judge Duval had two brothers who were in Fannin's command when it was captured at Goliad in 1836. One of them was among the victims of that massacre. The other made his escape by feigning death while the other prisoners were being shot, and, after many dangers and hardships, rejoined the Texan army, and had an opportunity of aveng- ing the death of his brother.
In the fall of 1880 Judge Duval, now full of years and in feeble health, in company with his aged wife, visited his daughter, who had married Captain C. S. Roberts, of the United States army, and was residing at Fort Omaha, Nebraska. Here he was stricken with his last illness, and died on the 10th of October, 1880. His remains were brought to Austin for burial, where they rest by the side of many who shared the ambitions, the aspirations and the achievements of his long and useful life.
His remains were received and accompanied to their last resting place by a committee of distinguished gentlemen in pursuance of the following resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Austin bar, convened to do honor to his memory :
"Resolved, That in the public and professional life, the labors and honors of Judge Duval, all those qualities of head and heart are found, which make up the good citizen, the honorable and conscientious lawyer and the able upright and exalted judge. In all the positions which he held his kindness to his associates, his justice to all, his purity and goodness of heart, his unflinching fidelity to the right, even in times of fiercest political contests, and the contribution of his best powers to the discharge of every duty, secured for him the permanent esteem and affection of his fellow- citizens. If not brilliantly great, he was nevertheless great ; for to say of one who sat nearly a quarter of a cen- tury upon the bench, as can be said of him, that he was fully adequate in ability and learning to every judicial task ; that he was always calm, patient and laborious, never an-
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nouncing his conclusions until thoroughly comprehending all the points of the case; that he was impartial and un- varying in his courtesy, sustaining the most fraternal rela- tions to the officers of his court and bar, commanding no less their esteem than their love, it is to pay a tribute which belongs alone to true greatness.
"Resolved, That the members of the bar and officers of the court attend the funeral of the distinguished deceased in a body, and that the chairman of this meeting appoint a committee of twelve members of the bar to meet his re- mains on their arrival in this city."
The distinguished gentlemen who bore his pall to the grave and with solemn reverence tossed the cold clods upon his coffin consummated the last act which the honors of the world could perform for the mortal parts of a great and good man; but turning away from these mournful obsequies we find him still living in the good he accomplished, in the affections of his people, and in the records of his country.
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M. D. ECTOR.
M. D. ECTOR.
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Pericles, in his famous funeral oration, pronounced in honor of those who fell in the Samian war, endeavored in an elegant manner to impress the patriotism of the dead as an example of glory upon the living; that their deaths were a joint and hallowed offering upon the altars of their country ; and that, while collectively they gave to it their lives, individually they received that renown which never grows old, and the most distinguished tomb they could have- the urn of glory which they left behind them, the subject of everlasting record; that for illustrious men the whole earth is the sepulchre, and not only do the inscrip- tions upon columns erected in their own country preserve their memories, but in all lands there dwells for them an unwritten memorial of the heart, more durable than any material monument.
There is not an instance in the history of this world in which any class of individuals exhibited a loftier patriotism, a more glowing public pride or a more splendid gallantry than that displayed during the civil war by the members of the bar throughout the South. No sooner had the first cloud-caps of the coming struggle heaved in view, tban their briefs were left unargued, their books were laid away, their offices were closed, and with drawn swords they were found in every town, in every village and in every hamlet, marshalling their countrymen in the array of battle, organ- izing companies and regiments, encouraging the brave and shaming the timid, leading the advancing files, swelling the ranks or heading the hurrying columns of the Confederacy Everywhere and in all positions, they met the issue with a determination and devotion that challenged comparison in the annals of patriotism.
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Many of them had exhausted their pens through the press and their powers of speech upon the hustings and in the halls of legislation, in argument of the great questions which were now certified by the voice of honor and of patriotism to the arbitrament of war. Before this tribunal they were prepared to vindicate and seal with their blood the scroll of principles which they advocated, and they at once sunk the lawyer in the patriot, the patriot in the soldier, and the soldier in the martyr to what they conceived to be their sacred rights and the honor of their country. Among these there were few more prominent and distin- guished than the gentleman who forms the subject of this memoir. He promptly accepted the issue of battle, and his sword flashed in the thickest of the fight.
Mathew Duncan Ector was born in Putnam County, Geor- gia, on the 28th day of February, 1822, and was of Scotch- Irish parentage. He was educated chiefly at LaGrange, Georgia, and at Centre College, in Kentucky. Having care- fully and assiduously prepared himself for the bar, he began the practice of law in his native State in 1844, and in 1846 was a member of the Georgia Legislature. He afterwards spent some time in California, and, having returned to Georgia, he emigrated to Texas in 1849 and settled at Henderson, where he entered upon a vigorous and success- ful practice, and obtained an enviable distinction at the bar.
As a lawyer he was habitually calm, patient and practical, and he made the dictates of duty the rule of his conduct. He was unswerving in his integrity and devotion to princi- ple, conscientiously faithful to the interests of his clients, and engaged all the powers of his mind and all the energies of his nature in the elimination of truth and the vindication of justice.
Chivalrous and magnanimous in his disposition, he ab- horred the methods of artifice, and spurned a cause which he believed unjust. These well known features of his character engaged universal confidence in him as a lawyer and the highest respect for him as a man. He served in the Texas Legislature in 1855, and was a prominent mem- ber of that body. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in one
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of the first companies raised in Texas for the Confederate service, and was soon afterwards appointed adjutant to General Hogg. He was made a colonel for gallantry in the field, and two weeks later was commissioned brigadier- general for the same reason. He served with distinction at Chickamauga and Murfreesboro' and other battles of the Georgia campaign, and received a wound near Atlanta on the 28th of July, 1864, which caused the amputation of his left leg. Having recovered sufficiently from the shock, he again reported for duty, and was assigned to the com- mand of troops at Mobile about the time that the news of the surrender of General Lee reached the Southern Department. With a sad but dauntless heart he returned to his home in Texas and resumed his profession ; but his efficient services were soon called to another sphere of pub- lic duty, and in 1866 be was elected judge of the Sixth Judicial District. He held this office one year, and was then deposed by the Federal general, Reynolds, as being one of the Southern obstructionists. In 1867 he removed to Marshall, and resumed the practice of law in copart- nership with Col. N. H. Wilson, and the firm enjoyed a distinguished reputation. In 1874 Judge Ector was ap- pointed by Governor Coke judge of his old district, which had now become the Seventh District, in consequence of the reorganization of the judicial districts of the State.
When the Court of Appeals was erected by the Consti- tution of 1875, he was elected one of the judges of that tribunal, and upon its organization in 1876 was chosen by his colleagues its presiding judge, and held that position at the time of his death, which occurred at Tyler during the session of the court, on the 29th of October, 1879.
Judge Ector brought to the bench of Appeals the varied experience of a long and successful criminal practice, which eminently qualified him for the position. As chief judge of this court of last resort, upon which hung the issues of life and liberty to the unfortunate victims of misfortune, of vice or passion, he admirably blended the firmness and candor of judicial dignity and official duty with the dictates of compassion and mercy. He never lost sight or sensitive-
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ness of the responsibility of his position, and announced no opinion until he was assured that it was fully justified by the facts and demanded by the law, and these he made the scru- pulous measure of his judgments. He was therefore just and correct in his decisions, and his career upon the bench was highly instructive as well as exemplary. His desire was to elevate the new court at once to the highest plain of appellate dignity, wisdom and efficiency, and his decisions add much to the criminal jurisprudence of the State.
The life of Judge Ector was not exempt from the sor- rows which beset the paths of men. Death often invaded the altar of his affection, and tore away the companion of his bosom. He was married three times. He was first married in 1842 to Miss Louisa Phillips, of Georgia, who died in 1848, and in 1851 he was again married, to Miss Letitia M. Graham. She died in 1859, and in 1864 he was married the third time, to Miss Sallie P. Chew, of Missis- sippi, a lady endowed with many charming virtues, and who cherishes his memory with the devotion which characterizes the noblest of women.
In social life Judge Ector was a model of courtesy, gen- tleness and amiability. He was constant in his friendship and delighted in acts of civility and kindness. One of his associates upon the bench, Judge John P. White, says of him: " In his character were mixed and blended all those genial traits and pure elements which go to make up that highest perfection of humanity, God's noblest work - an honest man."
He was held equally as high in the esteem of the judges of the other high courts and in the affections of the people. His remains were borne to their burial at Marshall by the judges of the Court of Appeals, the justices of the Supreme Court, the Commissioners of Appeals, and the members and attendants of the bar of Tyler; and were thus laid away with all the honors which his associates and profes- sional brethren could bestow upon them. Ibi quiescant in pace.
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C. M. WINKLER.
C. M. WINKLER.
Clinton McKamy Winkler, a judge of the Texas Court of Appeals, was born in Burke County, North Carolina, on the 19th day of October, 1821, but was reared in part in the State of Indiana, whither his father, who was a planter, removed his family in 1835. Young Winkler, having re- ceived such education in the common schools of the country as the duties of the farm would permit, and from his mother, who was an educated lady, emigrated in 1840 to the Republic of Texas, and settled at Franklin, at that time the county seat of Robertson County, where he en- gaged employment in the office of the county clerk, and devoted his leisure hours to the study of law. In 1843 he was appointed deputy clerk of the district court, and con- tinued at the same time his preparation for the bar, to which he was soon afterwards admitted. In 1844 he was elected to the same office, from which he retired in 1846, and entered vigorously upon the practice of his profession. In 1848 he removed to Corsicana, where he permanently located, and soon acquired distinction in his profession and a high place in the esteem and confidence of his fellow- citizens. He was, during the same year, elected a member of the Second Legislature, convened after the annexation of the Republic to the Union.
With the exception of one term in the Legislature, Mr. Winkler pursued his profession without intermission until 1861, when he promptly responded to the gage of battle offered to his section, and took up arms in behalf of the South, to the cause of which he was ardently devoted. He was not altogether a stranger to the dangers and hardships of war. Having settled on the frontier of Texas at a time when it needed protection from the invasion of the ruthless
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savage, he was early inured to the life of a ranger, and had learned something of the art of warfare in defending the firesides and cornfields of the border settlers, among whom he dwelt.
Upon the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, by a faction which proclaimed an " irrepressible conflict " with the institutions of the South and the Constitution of the Union, he saw no hopes for his country but in seces- sion, and then in war, bitter, fierce and successful ; and early in 1861 he was elected captain of an infantry com- pany, which formed a part of Hood's famous regiment, the Fourth Texas, to the command of which he attained in the latter part of the struggle. He was a brave soldier and an excellent officer. He was greatly admired and be- loved by his men, and they would have followed him into the mouths of the guns of Balaklava. His services were conspicuous in all the great battles of Virginia, and ended with the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. He was severely wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, where his regiment was engaged in the death-struggle for the posses- sion of Round Top, and many instances of his gallantry are related.
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