USA > Texas > The bench and bar of Texas > Part 15
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Judge Todd was a thorough lawyer and an excellent man. He had applied himself to the study of law with all the vigor and assiduity which a love of the profession inspires, and his success was the sure reward of ability and merit. His career as a judge was elevating to the bench, and adorned the judicial ermine of the State ; and the author regrets that he has not been able to obtain more information in regard to his personal traits and the incidents of his early life.
CHAPTER VI. 1
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THE BAR OF THE REPUBLIC AND STATE - EMINENT LAWYERS, DECEASED - J. PINCKNEY HENDERSON -R. M. WILLIAMSON -WM. H. JACK - JAMES WEBB -EBENEZER ALLEN -JAMES WILLIE - O. C. HARTLEY - THOMAS H. JENNINGS -- JOHN A. WHARTON - E. M. PEASE -JAMES V. DALLAM - W. S. OLDHAM - H. P. BREWSTER - THOMAS M. JACK.
JAMES PINCKNEY HENDERSON.
This distinguished lawyer, soldier and statesman was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, on the 31st of March, 1809, and descended from an ancient and honorable family whose name is prominent in the early history of that State. His early educational advantages were good, and he was for several years a student at the University of the State at Chapel Hill. He studied law and was admitted to the bar be- fore he was twenty-one years of age. He was an ambitious young man, and was endowed with a brilliancy of intellect which early gave promise of a distinguished career. While preparing for the bar he studied with the most intense ap- plication, and often told his friends in after life that during that period he devoted eighteen hours a day to his studies. This injudicious taxation of his powers induced a constitu- tional. weakness from which he never recovered. At the age of twenty-two, he was appointed aid-de-camp, with the rank of major, to Major-General Dorrett, of the North Carolina militia, and was afterwards elected colonel of a regiment.
In the fall of 1835, Colonel Henderson removed to Mis- sissippi, and, having settled at Canton, began the practice
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of law with the brightest prospects of success. But he had scarcely tested the opportunities offered him in this new field before his attention was attracted to the struggles of the province of Texas to throw off the oppressive and de- grading yoke of Mexican rule. His sympathy was at once enlisted in the cause of the patriots who had hoisted the banner of liberty and the Lone Star, and he determined to devote his energies to their interest. Judge Foote, who was at that time a prominent lawyer and politician in Mississippi, in referring to a speech which he made to an assembly of Texas sympathizers at Canton, in the spring of 1836, thus describes Colonel Henderson at that period : -
" When I stepped down from the rostrum it was grace- fully ascended by a young gentleman whom I had never seen before. The person of that young gentleman was noble and commanding; his voice presently proved itself to be both strong and musical ; his eyes and whole counte- nance flashed forth the light of commingled thought and passion. That young orator swept the audience before him like a whirlwind. ' Who is he?' exclaimed many voices, and the response was, 'That is Mr. Henderson, a young lawyer of uncommon promise, and of easy fortune, who has just emigrated from North Carolina and settled among us.' To the honor of Madison County, be it said that several thousand dollars were at once subscribed, and various young men resolved to go forth to the rescue of their brethren in Texas. I was soon introduced to General Henderson ( for by such title is that young orator now dis- tinguished ). I spent a day in his society, and have never seen him since. Next morning he started to Texas."
Soon after his arrival in Texas, Colonel Henderson was commissioned by President Burnett to return to the United States and recruit for the Texan army. He proceeded to his old home in North Carolina and raised a company which he transported to Texas at his own expense. He returned in November, 1836, and was immediately appointed by President Houston Attorney-General of the Republic, and in December following he was made Secretary of State, to
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fill the vacancy in that office occasioned by the death of Stephen S. Austin.
Early in the year of 1837, Colonel Henderson was sent as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary from the Republic of Texas to the courts of France and England. He was commissioned to solicit the recognition of the inde- pendence of Texas by these Powers, and was invested with plenary powers, as ambassador, to conclude treaties of amity and commerce with them. His mission was success- ful. Both of these Powers soon recognized the independ- ence of the Republic and entered into cordial treaty relations with the new nationality. His eminent talents and noble bearing, and the fidelity and ardent zeal with which he urged the claims of his country to a place among the nations engaged for himself a warm personal consideration, and it was not for Thucidides in his elegant delineations of the events which preceded the Peloponesian war to describe a more patriotic embassy than that of Colonel Henderson to the courts of England and France. His appeals for the recognition of that independence which his country had so nobly achieved, fell in stirring strains upon the proud ears of the great statesmen and diplomatists who at that time adorned the courts of St. Cloud and St. James. He was greatly indebted to the kind services of General Cass, the American Minister at Paris, which greatly aided him in ac- complishing his mission to France. He introduced him as a younger brother to the nations, and he was looked upon in Paris as a new apparition of American glory - as another Franklin, fresh from the cradle of liberty.
In 1840, Colonel Henderson returned to Texas, and was welcomed by a universal outburst of applause and the warmest congratulations of his countrymen. A grand dinner was given him at Galveston, and demonstrations of public gratitude and esteem were tendered him by several other towns, which he modestly declined. At the expira- tion of General Lamar's Presidential term, he was strongly urged to become a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic ; but being somewhat under the constitutional age required for that office, he promptly declined the can-
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didacy, declaring that he would not violate the Constitution and laws of his country, though no one but himself should be cognizant of the fact. He would not thus incur the reproach of his own conscience and the condemnation of his own heart.
History furnishes but few more striking exhibitions of disinterested patriotism and personal rectitude. Cincinnatus retiring to his plow-share, Regulus advising his country- men as to their best interest and returning to Carthage in compliance with his oath, Epaminondas asking his judges but one favor, that his patriotism be inscribed upon his tomb, present themselves as parallel instances.
Col. Henderson now settled at San Augustine and resumed the practice of his profession ; but in 1844 he was sent by his government to Washington as Minister Plenipotentiary to act in concert with Mr. Van Zandt, the Texan Charge d'Affairs in negotiating a treaty for the annexation of . Texas to the United States. Mr. Calhoun, who was then Secretary of State, favored their cause, and they had but little difficulty in accomplishing their object. The treaty was at first, however, rejected by the United States, but through the exertions of the Texan Ministers and their friends in Congress, it was subsequently ratified.
In June, 1845, he was elected one of the members from San Augustine County to the Convention which framed the Constitution of the new State, and his debates in that body are still highly interesting. He was an active and influen- tial member and his views were largely impressed upon the admirable organic law which has conferred honor and prosperity upon the State.
In November, 1845, he was elected Governor of Texas, for which his knowledge of the spirit of the Constitution and its mission rendered him peculiarly suitably, and his thorough knowledge of law and discrimination of character enabled him to select that talent and judicial capacity for the Texas bench which glorified the beginning of its jurisprudence.
His message to the first Legislature was plain, simple and brief, as if he did not wish to burden that body with the
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consideration of questions which might in anywise impede the smooth start of the new machinery of government or clog its incipient movements ; yet he was urgent for the advancement of those matters which form the great and vital interest of every free community. In reference to the promotion of public justice and popular education, he said: -
" The prosperity, happiness and permanence of every government like ours, where all authority is derived from and exists at the will of the people, greatly depends upon the intelligence and moral and religious character of its citizens. That prosperity, happiness and permanence can be best secured to ourselves and posterity by making liberal provisions for the education of the rising and future genera- tions. By the Constitution it is made the duty of the Legislature to make suitable provision for the support of public schools, and to set apart not less than one-tenth of the annual revenue of the State as a perpetual fund for that purpose, and as soon as practicable to furnish other means for the support of free schools throughout the State by taxation. The slow progress made by most of our sister States in collecting a sufficient fund for educational pur- poses and maturing plans for public schools, should warn us of the necessity of commencing that important work with our earliest existence as a State. The people of no State have ever yet had occasion to regret the munificence of their Legislature upon this subject, when proper care has been taken to establish a good system of public in- struction, and to insure a prudent management of the means appropriated.
" Some confusion will necessarily be produced in our laws by our change of government from an independent repub- lic to a State of the Union. Obscurities have already been introduced into many of our laws by the frequent changes and amendments which have been made or attempted by the Legislature. Our Constitution requires you to provide for a revision of our civil and criminal laws. The interest of the State, it seems to me, requires that it should be done as soon as practicable, and I therefore recommend it to
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your especial consideration. A faithful and rigid adminis- tration of the criminal laws of every State is necessary ; the public peace, safety and morals demand it.
" Economy in the administration of the government is always becoming to the agents of the people - with us it is absolutely necessary. As far as my actions are con- cerned, as the chief executive officer of the State, I can promise a strict observance of that duty, doubting not that I shall find in you, as the representatives of the people, a corresponding disposition.
" I commend you, gentlemen, to God's holy care, with a full reliance upon His bountiful providence for the pros- perity of our infant State. As He has conducted us through all our dangers and troubles to the desired haven, so will He enable us to ride there in safety. He will keep us in the right path and point out the way in which we may perpetuate our free government."
These sentiments, falling upon the ears of patriotism, impressed themselves upon the early policy of the State, and his executive influence was as propitious as his legisla- tive and diplomatic services had been valuable.
But it was not long before he was called upon to serve his country in another sphere. When the bill providing for the annexation of Texas passed the United States Congress it was evident that war with Mexico was inev- itable. The Mexican Minister at Washington demanded his passports and left the country, and a Mexican army im- mediately crossed the Rio Grande. Texas was called upon to furnish four regiments of volunteers. They were soon organized, and Governor Henderson was authorized and re- quested by the Legislature to take command of the new regiments of Texas troops; but at the time of their de- parture for the seat of war he was confined to his bed. A week later he started in a carriage, without an escort, though it was necessary to pass in close proximity to a large body of Mexican troops, and safely joined the United States army. On the third day of the battle of Monterey he led the Second Texas regiment in person, and during the attack was cut off from his men while reconnoitering,
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and was compelled to crawl upon his hands and knees, as Bonaparte did at Vienna, in order to reach his command. Hon. Jefferson Davis, whose command was near that of General Henderson, in describing this circumstance, says: -
"On the third and last day of the attack, when night was closing around us, and we were near to the main plaza, we learned that we were isolated; that orders had been sent to us to retire ; that the supports had been withdrawn, and that we were surrounded by a large number of the enemy. A heart less resolved, a mind less self-reliant than Hender- son's might have doubted, wavered, and been lost. The alternative was presented to him of maintaining a post which he was confident ve could not hold, or of retiring, when it was doubtful whether we could cut our way through the enemy : he asked nc other question than, 'Are we ordered to retire !' On learning that such was the fact, he decided, at whatever hazard, to obey ; and narrowly on that occasion escaped with his life. The sense of duty rose with him superior to all other considerations ; and he obeyed an order which he might have been justified in dis- obeying, because of the dangers to which it would subject him." Again says Mr. Davis: " He was gentle as a lamb in the hour of peace and in the midst of his friends ; but bold as the lion in the face of danger, and when confronted by an enemy."
He was one of the commissioners appointed by General Taylor to negotiate with General Ampudia for the surrender of Monterey, and for his services in that battle Congress voted him a sword. He was soon after appointed a major- general in the army of the United States, and was therefore entitled to the pay of that office as well as his salary as Governor of Texas; but so high was his sense of honor and probity in the discharge of public duties, that he de- clined to accept a dollar of his salary or any compensation from Texas while he held his position in the United States army. After the close of the war he resigned his commis- sion in the army and resumed his duties as Governor of Texas ; and at the expiration of his term, declining a re- nomination, he returned to the practice of his profession,
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which he continued until 1857, when, upon the death of General Rusk, he was almost unanimously chosen his suc- cessor in the United States Senate. He accepted the posi- tion with reluctance. His health had become feeble. He felt that his life was drawing to a close, and he desired to spend his last days in the quiet of retirement, but he yielded again to the general voice of the people. In deference, however, to the entreaties of his friends he delayed his de- parture for the Federal capital. His health continued to decline; but, impelled by an unswerving sense of duty and a desire to be upon the field of his labors, he undertook the journey, and, having tarried a short time amid the orange groves of Cuba, with painful exertion he reached Wash- ington and took his seat in the Senate. But he occupied it only a few days before a fatal reaction ensued, and his spirit passed away in the midst of admiring and sympathetic friends.
While in Paris he met Miss Frances Cox, daughter of Mr. John Cox, of Philadelphia, who was residing in Paris for the purpose of educating his daughters, and they were married in the city of London in 1839. She was a lady of fine intellectual and social accomplishments, and was highly esteemed by the citizens of San Augustine, where she long resided.
General Henderson was par excellence one of the finest lawyers that ever adorned the bar of Texas, and he would have been an ornament to any bar in any age or country. He was distinguished for his mental vigor, clear and pene- trating perception, and for the accuracy and perspicuity of his reasoning. He had mastered the fundamental principles of the common law, and his varied and extensive practice endowed him with an accomplished experience in all the branches of jurisprudence, which commanded the greatest success - the best proof of his ability and professional excellence.
HIe was a man of high sense of honor, and held veracity as one of the most sacred qualifications in every capacity of life. It is said of him that, while negotiating with the French court for the recognition of his country, an event
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upon which the fate of Texas depended, he was asked what the population of his country was, and being ashamed to say what he thought it was, and unable to prevaricate even in the deceitful field of diplomacy, he appealed to a French nobleman, who was a friend of Texas and had just re- turned from that Republic, who promptly replied that the population was about a million. The French courtiers, though astonished at the response, were too polite to ques- tion the accuracy of the statement, and the population of Texas, which at that time did not exceed perhaps fifty thousand, was put down in diplomatic figures about a million.
As a statesman and patriot, his qualities glowed with equal lustre, and his name will ever glitter in the annals of Texas in glaring association with its youthful glory, and will be handed down to the last corridor of time as that of a man of great probity, courage, and talent, which he de- voted to the service of his country, the elevation of his profession and his fellow-man.
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ROBERT M. WILLIAMSON.
Robert M. Williamson, one of the most eminent of the early Texas lawyers, was born in the State of Georgia, about the year 1806. His educational advantages were such only as the common schools of that period afforded, and these opportunities were arrested when he was but fif- teen years of age by an attack of white swelling which con- fined him to his bed for two years and rendered him a crip- ple for life. The disease stiffened the joint of his knee and and made it necessary for him to wear a wooden leg, which caused him to be widely known as " three-legged Willie." He was, however, a bright and ambitious boy, and, during his confinement, devoted himself to the study of mathe- matics and the languages, his knowledge of which was ex- celled by but few of his cotemporaries.
At an early age he prepared himself for the bar, to which he was admitted at the age of twenty-one years. He entered at once upon the practice of his profession, and acquired a large business and a wide professional reputa- tion. But in consequence of an unfortunate event, which reflected upon him no discredit, he determined to seek a home in the wilds of Texas ; to which he emigrated about the year 1826 and located at San Felipe. Here he soon mastered the Spanish language, and, having acquired a thor- ough knowledge of the land laws of Spain and Mexico, en- tered upon a successful professional career. He became the adviser and confidential agent of the famous Benjamin R. Mi- lam and contributed largely to the successful fulfillment of his colonial contracts. He was also a warm friend of the two Jacks, the Whartons, Col. Frank Johnson and other con- genial spirits of the liberal party, whose patriotic efforts, even at that early day, foreboded the dawning independence
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of Texas. He devoted his energies to the accomplishment of a final separation of Texas from Mexico, and so active and energetic were his efforts in this respect that he became especially obnoxious to the Mexican government. In the affair at Turtle Bayou and in all the incipient steps which led to the revolution, as well as during its progress, he acted a prominent and efficient part. He raised troops, aroused the colonists to a sense of their wrongs, and commanded a company of cavalry stationed at Bastrop, where he rendered efficient service in protecting the frontier. Mr. Yoakum, the author of a history of Texas, says: " After a thorough and minute investigation of the records and his- tory of Texas I am constrained to say, that Robert M. Will- iamson did as much, if not more, than any other man in precipitating and sustaining the revolution of 1835.
Upon the organization of the judiciary of the Republic in 1836, Williamson was selected to fill the position of judge of the Third Judicial District, and changed his residence to the town of Washington. The task of establishing rules of judicial procedure in the midst of a people who had recognized no law but the strong arm of military power, and of eliminating order out of the discordant elements of a revolution was difficult, and required the utmost firmness and prudence. But Judge Williamson was equal to all the de- mands of his position, and, having set the machinery of justice into a smooth and regular motion, he retired from the bench and resumed his practice at the bar.
In 1840 he was elected to represent Washington county in the Congress of the Republic and held this position by re-election until 1845, when he was elected to a seat in the Legislature of the State; and with the exception of one term, served in one or the other branches of that body until 1850, and never resumed his practice. The exciting events of the period of his political career engaged his energies and led his mind into channels of thought and into habits in- compatible with the jealousy of law, and the bar lost a brilliant genius.
In 1850 he was a candidate for Congress and was defeated by a few votes by Volney E. Howard, upon which he re-
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tired to a small farm uear Independence, in Washington County. In 1857, he had a severe attack of sickness, which seriously impaired his mind, and which was aggra- vated by the death of his wife which occurred shortly afterward. From these combined shocks neither his health nor his mind ever recovered, and he died on the 22d of December, 1859.
Judge Williamson was a man of brilliant talents and an able lawyer, and his knowledge of law was due perhaps more to his genius than to any steady or prolonged appli- cation. His comprehension was intuitive. The flashes of his intellect illumined every subject upon which his mind rested, and he grasped the merits of a case with an avidity which no subtlety of combination could parry, and no speci- ousness of reason could evade. He was a man of remarkable force of character and of dauntless courage, and possessed great influence over the sympathies and passions of the varied elements which characterized the society of the Western border. His generous, unselfish spirit, and amiable manners captivated the people, and they idolized him.
As an orator, he was the Patrick Henry of Texas, and, like him, his oratory was of that kind which stirred the heart while it swayed the mind of his audience. He was one of the few lawyers of whom it may be said that a natural eccentricity, and an overweening propensity for ludicrous quaintness and badinage never impaired the most implicit faith in his sincerity, nor weakened the force of his gravest argument ; but, on the other hand, the force of his wit was blended with the power of wisdom. It was not with him, as Dr. Johnson says of Shakespeare, an irrecon- cilable fondness for " a mere quibble which allured him from the dignity and profundity of his disquisitions," nor the "Cleopatra for which he lost the world, and was con- tent to lose it," but it was the aroma which sprung from the blossoms of his genius.
With such a blending and adjustment of pre-eminent qualities and gifts, the career of Judge Williamson flashes like a meteor across the carly annals of Texas ; and, had it
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been cast in the midst of more favorable circumstances, would, no doubt, have adorned the jurisprudence of the State.
Though dwelling in the midst of speculation and easy opportunities for the acquisition of independence and wealth, he seems to have had no desire for the accumula- tion of property. His generous and improvident disposi- tion precluded him from the paths of economy, and he often felt and endured the pecuniary embarrassment and domestic straight which Juvenal calls res angusta domi.
While Judge Williamson was noted for his sudden flashes of wit and pleasing humor, he was much addicted to spells of melancholy, which foreboded the mental infirmity to which he became a victim. But he was always kind and courteous in his demeanor, and took a paternal interest in the young men at the bar, extending to them at every op- portunity a helping hand and kind words of encouragement. He had but one fault, one which often pervades the pur- lieus of professional eminence, but it was lost in the train of his virtues.
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