USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 24
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It is, perhaps, well that some more extended allusion should be made to Judge Bryant in his capacity as a public speaker. In his prac- tice he is best known as an advocate, though he never goes into court with a case without knowing thoroughly all the law bearing upon it. If the announcement is made that Judge Bryant is to address the jury, people make it a point to get around and hear what he has to say. He likes very well to compose an address-to set his thoughts clearly and logically in array with felicitous simile and apt quotations; but he is also one of the few men who can make a speech under the inspiration of the hour that will, without addition or emendation, read like a pol- ished essay when it appears in print. A notable instance of this faculty is found in his speech at the annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at Milwaukee in 1887, on the Dependent Pension bill, which was taken down by the stenographers as spoken, and printed without revision, a speech made without preparation and called out by the occasion, but that stands as one of the ablest and most eloquent addresses ever delivered in Wisconsin. While Colonel Bryant rarely speaks without some preparation, still, when called upon, with but a short time to prepare, the outlines of a speech quickly take shape in his mind, both as to what he should say and the order of arrangement.
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Close observation of current affairs throughout the world, the study of ancient history, especially the history of governments, and an ex- ceptional familiarity with the best literature, both ancient and modern, have stored his mind with ideas which are always subject to the call of a retentive memory. That such a man should be both an elegant and eloquent speaker need hardly be said. That he is logical and accurate as a debater has been proven in many warm political contests in Wis- consin. His speeches on patriotic occasions are models for all Ameri- ca. He inculcates a devotion to the ideas underlying our form of gov- ernment, and the flag that symbolizes them, "that touches the right spot," as his hearers say, and makes one of his addresses a lesson in patriotism for old and young. To sum up this broad-gauge character in a phrase, it may be said that Colonel Bryant is a true cosmopolitan. The rugged experiences of early farm life put stores of vitality into a physique not apparently robust; his years at that most sedate and most dignified seat of learning, old Bowdoin, imparted the scholastic air which time and later experiences have not changed; the study and prac- tice of law have eliminated haste or prejudice in judgment; the bitter experiences of war have made patriotism an active principle worthy of entering into all the affairs of life; the filling of public offices widely differing in character has imparted a knowledge not only of affairs, but of men, and to these latter qualities thirty years of experience as a pub- lic speaker have contributed more than words can readily express. To all this something equal to all may be added-a wife capable of aiding as well as appreciating. Mrs. Bryant is so charming in society that only those who know her well realize all the graces of her amply stored mind, her judgment of art and literature, her clear insight of character, and her kind and charitable disposition. Their home is a model of quiet ele- gance, and whoever enters feels at once the pervading atmosphere of refinement. It is the model American home of a model American citi- zen.
CHARLES W. BUNN.
For a decade previous to 1885, at which time he located in St. Paul, Mr. Bunn was an eminent and honored practitioner of Wisconsin. Most of this period was spent as the junior member of the firm of Cameron,
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Losey & Bunn, the business of which organization was as large and as legally important as was enjoyed by any combination of professional talent in western Wisconsin. To this strength and prosperity, it is needless to say, Mr. Bunn's energy, honesty and ability greatly con- tributed.
Born in Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, on May 21st, 1855, his boyhood was passed in Monroe county, after he was five years of age his home being at Sparta. Here he attended the district schools until he was prepared to enter the University of Wisconsin, in 1870. After completing the full course, in 1874, he commenced the study of law in the office of J. H. Carpenter, under the special tutelage of P. L. Spooner, who had taken a deep, and what proved to be, an abiding, interest in the character and prospects of the young man. In 1875 Mr. Bunn graduated from the university law school and decided to commence practice in La Crosse. He became a resident of that city in September, 1875, at once entering the office of Cameron & Losey as a clerk, and becoming a partner in January of the succeeding year. This was cer- tainly a high honor for a young man just entering his career-to be thus associated with veterans of the bar who had already an assured standing both with the profession and the public. Mr. Bunn continued his con- nection with the firm until 1885, when he removed to St. Paul, Minn., to engage in practice.
Upon locating at that point, as a member of the firm of Lusk & Bunn, he resumed his professional work with his usual assiduity and success. The business soon assumed large dimensions and Emerson Hadley was later admitted to partnership. Thus was constituted the firm of Lusk, Bunn & Hadley, succeeded by Bunn & Hadley, which continued until 1895, when Mr. Bunn accepted the position of coun- sel for the receivers of the Northern Pacific Railway company. In 1896 he became general counsel of the receivers and, upon the reorganiza- tion of the company, was chosen its chief legal representative, a position which he retains.
During the two decades and more since Mr. Bunn commenced the practice of his profession he has been identified with a large number of important cases, such as the Washburn will case, Bloomer vs. Phoenix
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Insurance Company, etc. There are few members of the profession in the state who have taken more cases to the higher courts than the sub- ject of this sketch. During the period of his service as an attorney in St. Paul he has argued many cases in the supreme court of the United States. In short, from first to last, his career has indicated that he possesses a legal mind of a high and broad order, and that he is learned as well as executive-an unusual combination of intellectual force.
In 1877 Mr. Bunn was married to Mary Anderson, of La Crosse, daughter of Mons Anderson, a prominent citizen of that place. They have four children-Helen, Samuel A., Donald C. and Charles.
CYRUS M. BUTT.
Colonel Butt is distinctively American. So were his ancestors, both lineal and collateral, for generations. The ancestors of both of his parents, Edward and Hannah (Roberts) Butt, came to America with William Penn. His father was by occupation a blacksmith and a farmer and was also for a time a preacher. He served during the war of 1812 as a private. His wife, the mother of our subject, was a de- scendant of Captain Samuel Roberts of the Pennsylvania contingent of revolutionary fame. Edward Butt disposed of his property in Ohio and moved to Iowa in 1857.
The subject of this sketch was born September 30th, 1833, in the town of Deerfield, Morgan county, Ohio. He obtained his education in the district schools of his native place, following which he took the scientific course at the Wesleyan university of Delaware, Ohio. Be- ginning the study of law with the well-known firm of Evans & Wood. at McConnellsville, Ohio, he followed with a course in Wisconsin and after this thorough preparation was admitted to the bar at Viroqua in June, 1859. He had moved to that city the year preceding and has never changed his residence up to the present time.
Having opened an office in Viroqua, he formed a partnership with H. H. Natwick, which was continued from 1874 to 1876, when he formed a connection with C. W. Graves, which continued until 1894. since which time he has practiced alone.
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His professional experience has been extensive and of an interesting character, for there have been few cases of importance in Vernon county in which he has not taken an active part. He has probably tried more men for murder than any other lawyer in the state, upon one oc- casion during the war trying twenty-three men at the same time for that crime, of which number seventeen were convicted. At another time he tried ten for the murder and robbery of an old man, all being con- victed and hanged. As regards other criminal cases, robbery, forgery and crimes of a like description, the list would be enormous. The suc- cess which has met his efforts has been most gratifying.
The career as a soldier of the subject of this sketch has also been such as to entitle him to an important place in the military history of the state. Entering the service in 1862, he received his commission ås first lieutenant and two years later became captain of company A, twenty-fifth Wisconsin volunteers. Subsequently he was promoted to major and lieutenant colonel of the forty-eighth Wisconsin, in which he served until February 6th, 1866. During his military experience he accompanied his regiment in 1862 through the Sioux campaign in Min- nesota, afterwards with General Grant at Vicksburg and later with Sher- man in the Meridian campaign. He took part in the Atlanta cam- paign, then on to Savannah and afterwards to Goldsboro, North Caro- lina. For seven months he served as ordnance officer of the first di- vision, seventeenth army corps, on the staff of Major General Mower. He was promoted to major in the forty-eighth Wisconsin infantry in 1865, joined it at Fort Scott, Kansas, and served on the Missouri fron- tier until September, 1865. Then went on western frontier and served against the Comanche, Arapahoe and Kiowa Indians until the Ist of February, 1866, when he returned to this state and was mustered out February 26, 1866.
Previous to the war he was honored by his fellow-citizens by his selection as district attorney, and now, when the sword was laid aside, he was elected to the office of county treasurer of Vernon county, holding the same for four years. In 1868 he was elected state senator on the republican ticket by a majority of 2,573. For four years, from 1870, he again held his former office of district attorney, was mayor for
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one term, and for twenty-four years has had a place on the board of education. From 1877 to 1889 he held the position of county judge.
The political opinions of this lawyer-soldier had been strongly re- publican until 1884, when he joined the populists. He was an advocate of the election of Grover Cleveland during his first presidential cam- paign. Colonel Butt is an old-time. Mason, having joined that order in 1860. In his religious convictions he belongs to the Unitarians.
Business sagacity, as well as professional ability and a never-failing capacity for hard work, has been shown by the subject of this sketch. He possesses a farm of six hundred acres, two hundred acres of which lie inside the corporate limits of Viroqua. This farm he devotes to stock raising, principally cattle and hogs. He resides on this farm and gives it close personal supervision. He is also a large tobacco grower.
Colonel Cyrus M. Butt was married October 16th, 1864, at Mount Sterling, Crawford county, Wisconsin, to Margaret E. McAuley. They have an interesting family of five children-William E., who is a physi- cian and has an excellent practice at Fox Lake; Esther F., a graduate of the university of Wisconsin and who is a teacher in the high school at Darlington; Jane A., a graduate of Northwestern university, of Evanston, Illinois; C. M. Butt, a graduate of the university of Wiscon- sin, and Margaret E., now attending that university in her junior year.
ANGUS CAMERON.
Angus Cameron, a distinguished Wisconsin lawyer and United States senator, was of Highland Scotch parentage, born in Caledonia, Livingston county, New York, July 4, 1824. His father, Duncan Angus Cameron, was from Inverness-shire and came to this country in 1800. His mother, Sarah MacCall Cameron, was from Argyleshire.
Angus Cameron was born on his father's farm in Caledonia and passed his youth there amid wholesome religious surroundings. The people of the neighborhood were all Scotch Highlanders, who pre- served the manners and language of their native hills. The Gaelic was the speech of the household, and Angus knew no other language before going to school. So strong an influence did the training of childhood
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exert upon him that the last words he was heard to utter, whispered as if to himself, were in the Highland tongue.
His education in the public schools was supplemented by a three years' course at the Genesee Wesleyan seminary, Lima, Livingston county, New York, and by one year passed at the Geneseo, New York, academy. He taught school when he was fifteen years of age and con- tinued to teach winters until he was twenty-two years old. One year he was a teacher in the seminary at Lima. He was a good Latin scholar and was good in mathematics and in moral and natural science.
He entered the law office of Wordsworth & Cameron at Buffalo, New York, as a student in April, 1850. Subsequently, in March, 1853, he graduated at the National law school at Ballston Spa, and in the following April was admitted to the bar at Albany, New York. Re- turning to Buffalo, he remained for a time in the office of Wordsworth & Cameron, continuing with them until the spring of 1856. In April, 1856, he formed a copartnership with Frederick H. Wing in the bank- ing business under the firm name of Cameron & Wing and was engaged in banking at Buffalo until the spring of 1857. Removing from Buffalo in the month of September, 1857, he came to La Crosse, where he re- sided until his death. On his arrival in La Crosse he formed a law partnership with Alonzo Johnson, a distinguished member of the bar, under the firm name of Johnson & Cameron. This continued until the death of Mr. Johnson in May, 1860. On the first day of May, 1861, the law firm of Cameron & Losey was formed, consisting of Angus Cameron and Joseph W. Losey. These two strong and able lawyers remained together in active practice until Mr. Cameron entered the United States senate in March, 1875, and their firm became the ablest and most widely known of any in western Wisconsin. It was not finally dissolved until 1886, when Mr. Cameron retired from active practice.
In the meantime Senator Cameron held various positions in the state. He was a member of the state senate in 1863, 1864, 1871 and 1872. He was a member of the legislature in 1866 and 1867, and the speaker in 1867. For nine years, from 1866 to 1875, he was a regent of the university of Wisconsin. In 1864 he was delegate to the repub- lican convention held in Baltimore. The election of Mr. Cameron to
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the United States senate in January, 1875, was brought about by a coalition of democrats and of republicans who declined to support Sen- ator Matt. H. Carpenter for re-election. Senator Carpenter was elected four years afterwards to succeed Senator T. O. Howe, but died just prior to the expiration of the first two years of his term, and Senator Cam- eron, in March, 1881, just as his first term was expiring, was again chosen to succeed Senator Carpenter. At the end of this term he had served ten years continuously in the United States senate. While Sen- ator Cameron was not conspicuous as a speaker in the senate, few members acquired more influence as a worker and an unselfish states- man. He was particularly conspicuous as a presiding officer and was very often called upon to preside over the senate. He occupied mem- bership of some of the most important committees, and also was placed on important select committees, one of which was to investigate the al- leged frauds in South Carolina in the presidential election of 1876 and as chairman of the committee made a report which was considered able · and exhaustive, and attracted general public attention.
Senator Cameron was married at the town of Urbana, Steuben county, New York, the 21st day of February, 1856, to Miss Mary Baker, who was a granddaughter of Samuel Baker, a revolutionary sol- dier, who settled in Urbana in 1790. Her father was William Baker. On her mother's side she was of Holland Dutch descent, and her ma- ternal grandmother was first cousin of President Martin Van Buren. Mrs. Cameron is a lady of many accomplishments. During their ten years' residence in Washington she was conspicuous for the grace and charm with which she performed the social duties of her high station. She is now an active promoter of many charitable and public functions.
Senator Cameron had been for nearly fifty years a member of the Episcopal church. He was senior warden of Christ church, La Crosse, and had been a member of the vestry for nearly forty years.
His death occurred the 30th day of March, 1897.
The foregoing statements give in brief outline the salient facts in the life of one of the most eminent citizens of Wisconsin. He had the rare fortune of filling every station he occupied with dignity, marked ability and to the satisfaction of his friends. He never courted public
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favor by unseemly or undignified methods. The public stations which he occupied appeared to come to him in recognition of his fitness rather than from being sought by him.
His life furnishes a remarkable example of the value of making haste slowly. In fitting himself to be a lawyer he spent three years in prepa- ration before his admission to the bar. Afterwards he spent another three years in apprenticeship in the law office where he had remained as a student. When, subsequently, on coming to Wisconsin he opened a law office for himself he was a wise and mature lawyer. His success, unaided by brilliancy or fervid eloquence, rested on those solid talents and acquirements which compelled recognition and won eminence in his profession. In his legislative career the same solid and enduring traits evinced his superiority. It was true of the man that he never as- sumed to be able to do a thing which he was not able to perform. His unpretentious strength was one of his most noticeable qualities. He labored beyond the habit of other men and yet never seemed to be in haste. No one could recall the instance when he appeared to be taken by surprise, so carefully had he prepared for every contingency which might arise. He was firm almost to the bounds of stubbornness, and yet so gracious and good of heart that he appeared to require only what every one ought to acquiesce in.
In his private life he was above reproach. He never passed an idle hour in dissipation. His faithfulness to his friendships and to every interest confided to him left nothing to be desired. The example of his completed life is a legacy such as few men leave behind them as an in- spiration to others.
The following estimate of Senator Cameron is from the pen of one who knew him long and intimately:
"Angus Cameron came to La Crosse about one year after it was incorporated as a city, and for forty years lived among us, rising to the most eminent position among our citizens through his connection with national and state politics and his position as a lawyer and citizen. As a man he had from first to last clear convictions of right and duty. Born a Scotchman, educated an American, he possessed the firmness, deci-
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sion of character, clearness of mental vision and strong reasoning powers of the former and the activity and zeal of the latter.
"At the bar he at once became conspicuous for his knowledge of law, sound judgment and careful practice, never failing to reach a determination of his case on the real merits of the controversy. He was a close reasoner, capable of clear analysis of principles, a shrewd exam- iner of witnesses, of but little magnetic power, but a forcible and con- vincing advocate and talker both to court and jury. He well under- stood the motives and influences by which men are induced to act and he well knew the power of conciliation, and moved by persuasion rather than by eloquence or oratory. He early took a leading position at the bar and maintained it during the years of his active practice. His candor, power of analysis, clearness of statement and logical reasoning made him a strong antagonist. He had a faculty of seeing through false issues to the very substance of the matter before him by a rapid analysis and a strong grasp of the question involved.
"When elected to the United States senate in 1875, while he still maintained his law practice, he no longer made all other business sub- servient to it; but at once met the claims and duties which his entry upon national political life imposed, and as his cares in that direction increased he practically withdrew from all active participation in legal affairs. As a member of working committees in the senate, as a po- litical adviser, as a man of sound judgment, he took high rank among senators. He was recognized as dispassionate, calm, courteous and clear-headed. His work as chairman of the committee on claims in the senate, when claims for millions of dollars were presented for recogni- tion and payment as the after fruits of the war, many of which were fraudulent and most of which were exaggerated, is recognized to-day as being thorough, conscientious and of great judicial merit. In all such work he was fair, painstaking and conscientious. As a member of the committee to investigate the condition of the freedmen in the south his methods in examining the gentlemen who presented them- selves as witnesses did not at all times meet with approval by those who were called upon to answer his searching questions. He was seeking for truth and wanted that and that alone. Those who were annoyed by
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his direct and forceful manner accused him of using the methods of cross-examination of a police court; but the accusation did not alter the fact that he had adopted the only way of bringing to light the truth he was seeking.
"As a politician Mr. Cameron at all times firmly believed the suc- cess of his party was one with the country's welfare. Like a statesman, he always wished to steer rather than to drift as does the politician. He was a determined party man.
"Mr. Cameron took an active part as speaker of the assembly in . 1867 in the repeal of the granger law, limiting the charges for passen- gers and freight on the railroads in this state. It was not at any time a popular party move. His claim, boldly sustained and advocated, was that the railroads then were the most potent factor in the prosperity and well being of the state and every community in it; that the legisla- tion so crippled them that good service could not be had, resulting in the crippling of all business; the legislation was stricken from the statutes.
"As a citizen and a husband Angus Cameron was above reproach. He was a just and good man, a faithful and devoted friend. His char- acter was grounded on sound moral and religious principles, to which he strove throughout his long life to be faithful.
"The church to which he belonged honored him and itself by con- ferring upon him the highest position accorded a layman. For years he was a member of the vestry, a delegate to the general councils, and to each and all of these he devoted time to fully perform every duty im- posed.
"Viewing his completed life, we see a care-taking, methodical, discerning man, not brilliant, but shining with a steady luster long after brilliancy might have faded into darkness; a loyal man to his home, his church, his party, his friends; a successful man in all his affairs; a dignified man."
HUGH CAMERON.
Judge Hugh Cameron was the oldest son of Duncan Angus Cam- eron and Sarah MacCall Cameron. His father was a substantial farmer
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residing in Caledonia, Livingston county, New York, who came of the Lochiel branch of clan Cameron. Both father and mother were natives of Scotland. Four sons came to manhood and made their residence in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Three were lawyers, one a physician. Dr. Dugald D. Cameron, a leading physician of La Crosse, was also a famous politician who seldom failed to land his friends in office. He died in 1867. Alexander Cameron was a young lawyer of much prom- ise, with apparently a brilliant career before him. He united to the mental strength of the family the gift of eloquence. At twenty-two he was district attorney of La Crosse county. When twenty-four years old, in 1861, he entered the Union army as first lieutenant of the first battery, Wisconsin light artillery, and served until disabled by sickness. The hardships of the service brought on consumption, of which he died in 1864. Angus Cameron is mentioned elsewhere in this chapter.
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