USA > Texas > The bench and bar of Texas > Part 16
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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
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BENCH AND BAR OF TEXAS.
WILLIAM H. JACK.
William Henry Jack was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, on the 12th of April, 1806. His father, Patrick Jack, was for several years a prominent member of the Legislature of Georgia, and commanded a regiment during the war of 1812. His grandfather was Captain James Jack, of Char- lotte, North Carolina, who bore on horseback the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence to the Colonial Convention at Philadelphia, and who subsequently com- manded a company in the war for independence.
The educational advantages of William H. Jack were the best that the schools of the period afforded, and, having graduated with honor at the University of Georgia, and prepared himself for the bar, he removed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and began the practice of his profession. In 1828 he represented Jefferson County in the Legislature of Alabama, and in 1830, actuated by a spirit of enterprise and adventure, he removed to Texas, and located at San Philipe de Austin, which was at that time the professional and political metropolis of the Province, and a place of much business activity.
Here Mr. Jack entered zealously upon the pursuit of his profession with every prospect which energy, culture and thorough training could offer. But in 1832 an event occurred which led him to turn his attention to political affairs, inspired him with new aims and gave a new color to his life. His brother, Patrick C. Jack, William B. Travis and Monroe Edwards having incurred the displeasure of Col. Bradburn, the commander of the Fort of Anahuac, were arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned by the command of that officer. Mr. Jack immediately proceeded to the fort for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the
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offense, if any, with which the prisoners were charged, and either to secure their release or obtain a trial for them before the civil authorities. But Bradburn treated the object of his mission with contempt, and informed him that the prisoners would be sent to Vera Cruz and tried by a military court. Well knowing what would be the result of this proceeding, he returned with a sad heart to San Philipe, and having assembled some of his friends, announced to them the circumstances and result of his visit to Anahuac. Resistance was determined upon, and he was sent out to arouse the colonists to a sense of their wrongs, and promote meas- ures of defense. In the meantime the news of the arrest of the three citizens spread rapidly, and caused great excitement among the colonists upon the Brazos and Trinity, and in other sections. Volunteers assembled from all the settlements, and were organized under the command of Francis W. Johnson. The relief proceeded at once towards Anahuac, but finding that Bradburn was being supported and reinforced by the commander of the post of Velasco, they determined to attack that fort immediately. Velasco was taken, Bradburn released his prisoners, and abandoned the fort of Anahuac; and thus began the opening campaign of the Texas Revolution.
Mr. Jack was the author of the " Turtle Bayou Resolu- tions," adopted during their expedition against Anahuac, which, while they declared the fidelity of the colonists to the Mexican Constitution, demanded in unmistakable terms the rights and liberties of the people, and was the first public remonstrance of the Texans against Mexican oppres- sion.
During the war which followed he acted a conspicuous part, and was devoted to the cause of Texas independence.
In 1835 he was a member of the Committee of Safety for the jurisdiction of Columbia. He had no turn or ambition for military rank. He was a private trooper in the com- mand that captured Goliad, and fought in the ranks in the battle of San Jacinto. After the close of the war he was appointed Secretary of State by President Burnet. In 1836 he was elected to a seat in the Congress
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of the Republic, and was chairman of the judiciary com- mittee. He served in that body continuously until the year 1844, when, having contracted the yellow fever while on a visit to Galveston, he died with that disease in Brazoria County, on the 20th of August, 1844, a few days after the death of his brother, Patrick, who died in Houston with the same malady.
Mr. Jack was a distinguished lawyer of his day, and con- sidered one of the ablest at the Texas bar; and had his life been spent in more settled times, in the midst of peaceful pursuits and under a well organized jurisprudence, his pro- fessional record would have been eminent. Thoroughly educated and well versed in fundamental principles, he pos- sessed the qualities of an able advocate and the qualifica- tions of a great lawyer. These consisted of a combination of learning, noble traits of character and fine social accom- plishments. He was a man of fascinating manners, mild and forbearing in his intercourse with the many reckless and uncouth characters of the country, with whom his pro- fessional business brought him in contact. He was a forci- ble and graceful orator. He possessed a lactea ubitas of diction and the vox argentea, so highly commended by Cicero. He was selected by his countrymen to deliver the address of congratulation and welcome upon the return of General Austin from Saltillo, where he had for two terms repre- sented his people in the Legislature of the State of Coa- huila and Texas. In this speech, Mr. Jack, in addressing the father and founder of Texas, said : -
" Such a boon, then, as is due to him who has faithfully discharged his duties, we grant you, with an assurance that the man whom the people have delighted to honor, still has our most unbounded confidence. The occasion of your most unexpected return to Texas will be long remembered. The present is an epoch in the political affairs of our country on which the pen of the historian will dwell with peculiar pleasure. In conclusion, I can not, perhaps, better express my own feelings and those of our common countrymen than by saying: Well done, good and faith- ful servant; thou art welcome, thrice welcome, to thy home
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and to thy friends ; and may health and happiness always attend thee !"
Cut off in the meridian of a useful life, the death of William H. Jack was a great loss to his country, and had he lived the allotted time of man his talents and patriotism would have added new embellishment to the days of an- nexation and to the bar of the State of Texas.
202
BENCH AND BAR OF TEXAS.
JAMES WEBB.
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This eminent lawyer and good man was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the year 1792. He was well educated and was admitted to the bar in his native State, but soon afterward removed to Jones County, Georgia, where he practiced his profession with distinction and success. He subsequently settled at Webbville, in Florida, a place named for him, on the Chipola river. Here his eminence as a lawyer became so distinguished that he was appointed judge of the United States Court for the district of Florida and held his courts at Key West and Tallahassee.
In 1838 he removed to the Republic of Texas and located at Houston, but soon afterward settled at Austin. He was Secretary of State and Attorney-General under the admin- istration of President Lamar, and was sent by. him in company with General Barnard E. Bee as Minister and Agent to the City of Mexico. In 1841 he was elected to the Senate of the Republic and was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses, in which he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate and a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations.
In 1840 he returned to the bar and practiced in, copart- nership with Judge F. A. Morris, and afterward with Judge W. S. Oldham. He was an active worker in the cause of annexation and, while not a member of the Convention of 1845, he assisted in framing the articles of confederation between Texas and the United States. On the organization of the judiciary of the State in 1846, he was appointed judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District, and held that position at the time of his death, which occurred on the 1st of November, 1856, while on his way to hold court at Goliad.
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JAMES WEBB.
The author regrets that in consequence of the loss of family papers and records he has not been able to obtain more information in regard to the early life of this ac- complished lawyer. Prodigal with learning and research, he had no superior at the Texas bar, and was the most able district judge of his time upon the Texas bench.
In the case of the State v. Jones, 18 Texas, 874, tried before him in the District Court, in which he decided that in prosecutions for misdemeanors incurring only a pecuniary fine the case may be submitted to the court upon an agreed statement of facts as in civil cases, and that the overseer of a road can not be held liable for failure to repair a road within an incorporated town, on appeal being taken, Chief Justice Hemphill ordered his opinion in the District Court to be incorporated in the transcript and published as the opinion of the Supreme Court. This was certainly a high compliment, and is the only instance of the kind within the author's knowledge.
Above his last resting place in the cemetery at Goliad, rises a marble shaft, erected by his noble and affectionate daughter, Mrs. Mott, of Galveston, upon which are inscribed on one side, the simple words : -
" James Webb, died November 1st, 1856, aged 64 years;" and on the opposite side, the plain, touching line : " Sacred to the memory of my father."
Thus oftentimes lives the only story of departed worth ; but Judge James Webb needs no monumental trophies or storied inscriptions to perpetuate his memory; it lives upon the pages of the history and jurisprudence of his country.
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204
BENCH AND BAR OF TEXAS.
EBENEZER ALLEN.
Ebenezer Allen, a gentleman prominent among those who adorned the early jurisprudence of Texas, was a native of Maine, and having attained an excellent education, was admitted to the bar in that State. He emigrated to Texas during the early period of the Republic, and, being an able lawyer, was made Attorney-General under the second administration of President Houston, and filled the same office during the Presidential term of Anson Jones. In 1849 he was elected Attorney-General of the State, and served in that capacity during the administration of Governor Bell.
His eminence as a lawyer, and his efficiency as the counsel of the State were amply verified by the prolonged demand for his talent. He was also an accomplished diplomatist, and acted a prominent part in the negotiations which led to the annexation of Texas to the Union. While serving as Attorney-General under President Jones, he performed also the duties of Secretary of State, and conducted an import- ant and interesting correspondence with Mr. A. J. Donelson, the Minister of the United States to the Texas Republic. The following characteristic letter is illustrative of the events immediately preceding the annexation, and its conse- quence - the war with Mexico:
" DEPARTMENT OF STATE, " WASHINGTON, TEXAS, May 19, 1845. 3
" The undersigned, Attorney-General of the Republic of Texas, charged ad interim with the direction of the Depart- ment of State, respectfully invites the attention of the Hon. Mr. Donelson, Minister Charge d'Affairs of the United States, near this Government, to the following con-
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EBENEZER ALLEN.
siderations respecting the interests of the two countries, whether viewed in the existing attitude of their mutual relations, or in that of their probable and prospective con- nection.
" It can not have escaped the notice of the Hon. Mr. Donel- son, that, from the tenor of the late communications of General Almonte to the President of the United States, when demanding his passports as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the Government of Mexico, Texas is still claimed by the latter as one of its departments, and that belligerent measures are threatened to maintain this claim; also, that from the newspaper accounts of the termination of all diplomatic intercourse with the American Minister at Mexico, the same belligerent attitude is mani- fested by a circular alleged to have been addressed to the representatives of England and France at that court.
" From the tone of these manifestoes, a new invasion of the territory of Texas may reasonably be apprehended if the proposals lately received from the United States for the annexation of Texas to the Federal Union should be accepted by Texas ; of which result the sure indications of the popular will, exhibited from the various positions of the Republic, present to the mind an assurance so strong as to challenge conviction, and leave scarcely a possible room for doubt.
" For the reasons suggested, the undersigned deems it his duty to respectfully inquire of Mr. Donelson whether, under such circumstances, calculated to excite the reasonable apprehensions of the people of Texas, and especially to disturb the tranquility of the settlements along her western frontiers, it would not be alike proper and consistent for the United States to extend its protection to this Republic?
" The people of Texas would regard the presence of the requisite force on their frontiers in no other light than as an act of justice and friendship, properly accorded during the pending of the measures in progress for annexation, and as an indication of the aid justly due them in the com- pletion of the constitutional steps yet necessary to their admission into the Union.
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BENCH AND BAR OF TEXAS.
"The performance of the conditions required by the United States of Texas, in acting upon the terms of over- ture for annexation, necessarily subjects the people of this Republic to very onerous expenses, the burthen of which operates with far greater severity in consequence of the non-payment of the sums due to this Government from the United States for claims arising in the cases of Snively and the collectoral district of Red River.
" The undersigned can not for a moment entertain the be- lief that the United States will require that Texas shall alone sustain these burthens ; and especially in the event of a renewal of the war by Mexico, that this Republic will be expected to bear exclusively its burthens ; since, in reality, such a war would be hastened and occasioned by the acts, and aimed at the interests no less of the United States than of Texas.
" To this subject the undersigned has, by direction of the President, solicited the attention of the Hon. Mr. Donel- son, and has been authorized by him to say that, in case of the anticipated emergency, the passage of the United States troops through the Texan Territory to its western frontier will be welcomed and facilitated by the constituted authorities as well as by the people of the country.
" The undersigned renews to Mr. Donelson the assurances of his distinguished consideration and regard, and remains his most obedient servant.
"EBENEZER ALLEN."
' To this communication Mr. Donelson replied, that he was instructed by the President of the United States to say that as soon as the existing Government and Convention of Texas should accept the terms of annexation offered by the United States, he would then conceive it to be both his right and duty to defend the State against the attacks of any power, and that if, in the meantime, the necessary emergency should arise, troops would be furnished to repel an invasion.
After the expiration of his term as Attorney-General of the State in 1853, Mr. Allen retired from official life and
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EBENEZER ALLEN.
resumed the practice of his profession. He afterwards be- came deeply interested in the construction of railroads, and was one of the projectors and early managers of the Texas Central Road. But when the aggressions of the North upon the institutions of the South culminated in 1860 in an organized and avowed hostility and an "irrepressible con- flict," he was as desirous of withdrawing the Lone Star from the banner of the Union as he was of placing it there in 1845 ; and when the war began he entered the Confed- erate service, and died in Virginia in 1863. ,
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208
BENCH AND BAR OF TEXAS.
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JAMES WILLIE.
This distinguished lawyer was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, on the 5th day of January, 1823. His educational opportunities were confined to his early youth, and having enjoyed during that period only such advantages as the common schools of his nativity afforded , he was thrown an orphan upon his own resources. But possessed of an active mind, a combative energy and commendable aspira- tion, he sought only for an opportunity to rise above the circumstances and trammels of his early life, and devoloped the germs of a bright genius and the elements of a noble character.
He left his paternal home before he had reached the age of his majority and boldly throwing himtelf into the life of manhood, emigrated to Texas and located near Independ- ence, in Washington County, where he was encouraged and aided by his uncle, Dr. Asa Hoxie, an eminent and affluent citizen of that county. Here he prepared himself for the bar, began the practice of his profession, and resided dur- ing the greater portion of his life.
In 1846 he was elected to represent his county in the first Legislature of Texas, which was convened under circum- stances requiring the wisest and best men of the State, and his talents and discretion were conspicuous in the varied and difficult proceedings involving the task of framing laws in compliance with the requirements of the new Constitu- tion and of putting the machinery of the State government in proper motion. He was considered one of the ablest and most useful members of the body, and as a recognition of his eminent services, he was re-elected to the second Legis- lature, and afterwards, declining all political honors and
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JAMES WILLIE.
discarding all official aspirations, he devoted himself closely and vigorously to the practice of his profession.
In 1856 he was made the nominee of the Democratic party for the position of attorney-general, and was elected by a large majority of the popular vote. He discharged the duties of that office with great honor to himself and in a manner highly serviceable to the State, and at the expira- tion of his term, declining re-election, he retired finally from official life, and, with one exception, devoted the re- mainder of his days to the demands of an extensive prac- tice.
In pursuance to an act of the Legislature of Texas, passed in 1854, Mr. Willie was appointed by Governor Pease to co- operate with John W. Harris and O. C. Hartley, in amending revising and arranging both the civil and criminal laws of the State, and in dividing their labor the task of revising and compiling the civil laws was assigned to Mr. Hartley, while Messrs. Willie and Harris proceeded jointly to arrange and codify the criminal laws ; and the excellent Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure of Texas are the results of their labors. Pursuant to the act Mr. Willie was appointed to prepare their indices and superintend their publication, which he accomplished without material error in the most convenient form. These Codes were adopted by the Legis- lature in 1856, and contain all the criminal laws recognized as of force in the State.
Mr. Willie was a man of great natural power of mind. His talent was brilliant and his energy indomitable; these enabled him to climb continuously and rapidly to a high place of professional eminence. He was a man of versatile genius and varied learning. His mind was of the highest analytical order, developed and matured by severe training. His perception was acute and vigilant, quick to seize upon the gist of a proposition, and profound and searching in its penetration. His judgment tutored to exactness by a thor- ough understanding and balanced by caution and correct association was rarely at fault in determining the real char- acter and merits of a legal question, and he was one of the best practitioners at the Texas bar. His logic was verified
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BENCH AND BAR OF TEXAS.
by a chain of irrefutable points, linked with sound reason. and his briefs were always well prepared and well argued. Supported by an ample store of precedent, strong power- of analogy and parity of reason, and above all by a thorough knowledge of statute laws, his positions, even amid the lurid merits of a doubtful case, were always well fortified and exercised a cogent bearing upon conviction.
His personal qualities were such as adorn the best minds, and the best characters. He was a man of the highest sense of honor. Stern and inflexible in the performance of duty, yet amiable and kind in his disposition, punctil- lious in gentlemanly amenities and professional ethics, and was an ornament to the bar and society.
During his practice Mr. Willie was associated with several gentlemen of distinction, among them Judge W. S. Day, of Austin, and his younger brother, Chief Justice Asa H. Willie. His last partner was the gallant Col. W. P. Rodgers, the place of whose death and the charge he made are told and pointed out to every stranger on the heights that overlook Corinth.
Mr. Willie was married in early life to Miss Sallie Johnson, the accomplished daughter of Judge Thomas Johnson, of Washington County, and who at the time of his death in 1848, was the attorney for the Washington judicial district. She is said to have been a most beautiful and lovely woman, and crowned his life with the highest domestic felicity. He died at Houston in 1863.
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O. C. HARTLEY.
O. C. HARTLEY.
Oliver Cromwell Hartley was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of March, 1823, where his an- cestors, who emigrated from England, settled soon after the American Revolution. He was educated at Franklin and Marshall College, from which he was graduated, and honored with the valedictory address of his class in 1841. He afterwards studied law in the office of Samuel M. Barclay, an eminent lawyer of Bedford, and at the age of his majority was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession. In 1845 he was married to Miss Susan C. Davis, of Bedford, and in 1846 removed to Texas and located at Galveston. The Mexican war was now the object of public attention and interest, and a call was made for volunteers to rescue the little army of Gen. Taylor from its perilous position on the Rio Grande. Mr. Hartley vol- unteered as a private, and hastened with his company to the seat of war, which he reached soon after the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca had been fought, and which enabled the American commander to assume the offensive, and there was no immediate need for the services of the company to which he was attached. On the organization of Colonel Johnson's regiment, he was elected a lieutenant in the company from Galveston, which, having been disbanded during the summer, he returned to that city, and resumed his practice with intense application.
The statutes of the State were at that time arranged in much confusion, and the members of the bar greatly felt the inconvenience occasioned by the want of a sufficient digest. Mr. Hartley prepared a synoptical index of the laws for his own use, which became the basis of his admirable Digest of Texas Laws. This work was begun in 1848, and
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was submitted to the Legislature in the spring of 1850, which authorized the Governor to subscribe for one thousand five hundred copies for the use of" the State. His digest fully met the wants of the profession, and was justly regarded as a work of great merit and perfection.
In 1851 he was elected to represent Galveston County in the Legislature, in which he was distinguished as an efficient and useful member. It was said of him that " he was noted for the frankness and independence of his bearing, and his refusal to enter into the intrigues and cabals by which legis- lation is so often controlled."
While a member of the Legislature he was appointed reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court, and held this office until his death. His skill as a reporter is recognized as eminent. His analysis is accurate and thorough, and his syllabi present a clear and concise exposi- tion of law. He was especially apt and felicitous in eliminating distinctive principles and establishing legal results from complicated relations and views arising from a combination of facts, and his efforts greatly aided in the development of the peculiar system of Texas jurisprudence.
In February, 1854, he was appointed by the Governor one of the three commissioners authorized by the Legisla- ture " to prepare a code, amending, supplying, revising, digesting and arranging the laws of the State." The other members of the commission were John W. Harris and James Willie, and in their division of the labor, the prep- aration of a " Code of Civil Procedure " was assigned to Mr. Hartley. To this work he applied himself with intense application, and with an ambition that the civil code of Texas should be superior to that of any other State in the Union; and as an adjunct to its value and merits he pre- pared a complete system of forms to be used in all civil proceedings; but the State was not prepared to adopt a new civil code, and its publication was postponed.
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