History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 13

Author: Laidley, William Sydney, 1839-1917. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 1066

USA > West Virginia > Kanawha County > Charleston > History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens > Part 13

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"Shortly after his admission to the bar, he entered politics, taking an active interest in public affairs; he was an old time Demo- crat and as such took an active part in the campaign of 1844 and in the advocacy of the then paramount issue, the annexation of Texas. In 1854 he was delegate from Kanawha to the State convention as- sembled at the White Sulphur Springs to consider the subject of internal improve- ments; was chosen one of the vice-presi- dents, and pressed on the convention the importance of the early completion of the Covington & Ohio railroad, now Chesa- peake. In the winter of 1854-5, he was a delegate to the Democratic State conven- tion at Staunton, which nominated Henry A. Wise for Governor; in 1855, was candi- date for State Senate from the Kanawha district, but was defeated by the Whig candidate.

"In the winter of 1856, he was dele- gated to the convention at Parkersburg, which nominated A. G. Jenkins for Con- gress. In the spring of 1861 he was dele- gate to the Congressional convention at

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Parkersburg which nominated J. S. Carlile. 28, 1863, he was elected to the Supreme At the outbreak of the war, he opposed the dismemberment of the Union, and made a vigirous campaign against the Ordinance of Secession. He was a member of the Wheeling convention of 1861 which sub- mitted the question of a new State, and was an earnest advocate of all that that implied. At the same time he was a mem- ber of the Legislature, taking active part in both bodies. In all these matters he was a man, earnest and untiring in labors, conservative in views, but prompt in ac- tion, and content with no half-way meas- ures.

"In winter of 1861-2 he was elected and commissioned judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, succeeding the Hon. David McComas. January 14, 1862, he resigned his membership in the Legislature, and on February 14. 1862, his seat in the convention and qualified as judge the following day; entered at once upon the duties of that office, and held, mid many perils and all manner of difficulties incident to the then condition every term of court in every county of his circuit until his promotion to the Supreme bench.

"February 3, 1863, he was re-elected from Kanawha county to the Constitutional convention, to fill the vacancy occasioned by his own resignation, and took his seat upon the reassembling of that body to consider the amendment to the Constitu- tion proposed by Congress.

"While opposed to the arbitrary action on the part of Congress he urged the ac- ceptance of its demands as the lesser of the two evils, and advocated the adoption the Constitution, both in the convention and at the polls.

"He was chairman of the committee on the judiciary, and as such, had much hand in shaping important provisions of the Constitution of 1863.

"He continued on the bench as circuit judge until 1863, when he resigned, having been elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals. No appeal was ever taken from any decision rendered by him while circuit judge. May

bench and commissioned in June follow- ing; served eight years; was re-elected by his party but suffered defeat along with the rest of the ticket, and returned to the practice ; was again nominated for the same office in 1876, and again went down with his party. In 1875 he was the caucus nominee of his party for the United States Senate, and in 1883, and again in 1886, its nominee for Congress from the Third Con- gressional district. He was elected in 1882 to the Legislature, and was the acknowl- edged leader of his party on the floor of the House

"In 1881, he was a delegate from the West Virginia State convention to the In- ternational Sunday School convention at Toronto, Canada. In 1883, a commissioner from the Presbytery of West Virginia to the Presbyterian General Assembly, at Saratoga.

"In 1888, a delegate from West Virginia State Bar Association to the National con- vention at Washington, D. C., which formed the National Bar Association, and was chairman of his State delegation. In July. 1888, he attended the National con- vention of the National Education at San Francisco, California, and, in 1891, was delegate to the National Mining Congress, held at Denver, Colorado, and a member of the executive committee.

"Though he retired from active practice in 1885. his interest in public affairs and matters affecting the community in no wise abated. He devoted himself to lit- erary pursuits, reading and traveling, and up to the time of his death, kept abreast of the times with the best. He retained his physical vigor up to his last brief ill- ness, and his mental vigor unimpaired until the Grim Reaper stood in his presence, at the ripe age of nearly ninety-two.

"He was twice married, first to Louisa M. Beurhing, daughter of Hon. F. G. L. Beuhring, of Cabell, who died in 1872; afterwards to Sallie S., daughter of the late WV. D. Shrewsbury, Esq., who survives him.

"He was a man eminently just in his

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home, leaving that impress upon all, but with it combined in a rare degree those qualities which drew the members of his family very near him and while they hon- ored his life and character in those aspects with which the world was acquainted, they loved the side that showed itself at home.

"He was a man who calmly formed his opinions and then dared ever to maintain them. He never 'counted the cost' when conceived a principle involved. There never was a man of more striking instances of unswerving moral courage. He never in a single instance shrunk or flinched when put to test; policy, interest or influence counted for naught in determining his views and shaping his action, and yet, with all this, he had ever for his opponent a courteous consideration that stamped him among the first gentlemen of the old school. While always of strong convic- tions, openly expressed, he was broad and liberal in his views political and religious. and in all matters affecting the public and private interest, generous and lberal, but always in an unostentatious way, mindful of the injunction not to let the right hand know what the left hand was doing, care- less of popular approval or praise, ever un- obtrusive save where he thought duty called for speech or action.

"He was a scholarly man, a great reader and student. nor confined his reading to the line of his profession. His inclination and training led him into the wide fields of history, literature, science and the classics, and with all this, he kept in constant touch and abreast with current events ; his broad knowledge, always up to date, super-added to his general unassuming manner, made of him an ever charming companion for his friends and those admitted to the inner circle.

"His nature was intensely loyal ; whether it be to friends or to his country, his State, his county, or his town, his ser- vices and his best were to command. He loved West Virginia ; born on her soil, yet present and assisting at her birth in the throes of mortal agony, mid which she was

brought forth. He loved the country of his adoption and sought at first with suc- cess, to christen the new State 'Kanawha' in its honor. He was foremost in all ef- forts to develop her resources and advance her interests. He loved his town and left no stone unturned to make it what it is, and, in the Constitutional convention which formed the State, inaugurated the movement that ultimately gave to it the capitol of the State. I knew him well from my boyhood days, and appreciated during that long period, his sterling and manly qualities. In the evening of his life he stood among us as stands the giant trees of the forest-the growth of former gener- ations, and with his death there passed away the last of a remarkable class of men who lived in this section of the state and whose reputation for strong intellectual qualities, learning and ability in their pro- fession and distinction in public affars, were known not only among the people of our present State but through the old com- monwealth and beyond."

THE LATE JUDGE JOSEPH SMITH

A Biographical Sketch of an Interesting Life.

Ravenswood, WV. Va., Nov. 30, 1887. The announcement last week of the death, on Thursday, Nov. 24th, of Judge Joseph Smith, at Ripley, W. Va., was read with feelings of sadness by a wide circle of friends of the de- ceased. Enemies he had none, for his kindly nature void of malice toward any human being, dispelled all enmity. Meek and humble under all circumstances he did not seem to be elated by wordly honors, nor cast down by losses or disappointments : and but few men have en- joyed or suffered more of both of these experi- ences.

I beg pardon for troubling you with the pass- ing tribute of a few words in memory of my dear old friend.

Judge Smith was descended from early set- tlers in the Ohio Valley. His father, William Smith, Esq., and his mother, whose maiden name was Bane, were of the best and most wealthy families among the rich and cultivated

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people where they were raised. He was born in 1816 on Indian Short creek, near the Ohio river, in Jefferson county, Ohio. His boyhood was devoted to hard work at his father's mill and farm; he attended the common school in winter near his home until he was 18 years old, when he was sent first to Salem Academy, Pa., and then to New Athens College, Ohio. He read law in Steubenville, Ohio, with Hon. Edward M. Stanton under the same preceptor and for a short time had a law office in Wheel- ing, but was induced by the late Hon. Andrew Wilson, who then lived at Cottageville Mills, to open a law office at Ripley, Jackson county, in 1841. Here he married Minerva, daughter of the late Robert Lowther, Esq., a practicing attorney at Ripley and a descendant of Col. William Lowther , of Harrison, one of the earliest and most prominent pioneers west of the mountains. In 1846 he moved to Wells- burg, Brooke county, where he practiced law two years and then returned to Jackson. Up to that time, in Virginia, the right of suffrage was restricted to the white freeholders, or to such as paid state taxes, and even they could only elect members of the Lower House of Congress and of the State Legislature. The Legislature elected the governors and judges and the county officers were appointed by the courts.

The people of Western Virginia had from an early day demanded a change in the organic law and when after a long struggle, a consti- tutional convention was called, they aimed to elect to it their ablest and best men in order to compete with the leading statesmen of old Vir- ginia, who were to be in that body. By the act calling the convention this district, composed of the counties of Jackson, Wirt, Gilmer, Lewis, Upshur, Randolph and Barbour, was entitled to four members. There were seventeen can- didates and Joseph Smith stood second on the list of those elected. These were J. S. Car- lisle, Joseph Smith, Thomas Bland, and Samuel L. Hayes. In the convention which sat in Richmond in 1851 Judge Smith was an influ- ential member and his reported speeches com- pare favorably with those of the ablest men in that body. The result was claimed as a triumph for the people of the West, as the right

of suffrage was extended to all white citizens over 21 years of age, and all offices were made elective by the people and much also was gained by the West in fixing the basis of rep- resentation and taxation as between the con- flicting interests and sections of the old state. At the first general election of officers under the new regime in 1852 he was elected prose- cuting attorney for Jackson county, and sig- nalized his entrance into that office by the dis- missal of a large number of indictments for petty matters too trivial in his opinion to jus- tify the costs of prosecution. By this course he secured for himself the approbation of the courts and of the people generally. He made it a rule never to allow the public tribunals un- der his care to be used for persecution by un- worthy men to vent private spite, but he dis- liked to prosecute anyone, preferring to take · the side of the defense; and was not a candi- date for re-election when his term of four years expired.

When the Civil War came on in 1861, Judge Smith was justly regarded as quite a wealthy man, and but for the war would no doubt have left a large estate; but the civil strife came on so suddenly that when he went unexpectedly South, his affairs were left in a bad condition, so that during his absence his large property, real and personal, was wasted and squandered, and on his return after the war he had to be- gin the battle of life anew, for the earnings of his professional efforts during his absence had been paid in a currency that lost its purchasing power by the result of the conflict. But with characteristic pluck, he began life anew for a livelihood for self and family.

In 1872 he was elected by the public, irre- spective of party, over an able and popular judge, J. W. Hoge, as judge of this circuit for the term of eight years and served out his term faithfully and well. He was created on a big scale, and of large proportions of body and mind; his open and intelligent face beamed with benevolence; his judgment was enlight- ened by study and reflection, and by the rare natural gift akin to genius, called common sense.

As an advocate, in jury trials, Judge Smith had no superior at the bar; his appearance,

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manner, mode of thought, and language were peculiar and striking and attracted and held the attention. While taking up only the ma- terial points of the case in hand, his arguments were always plausible and often unanswerable. His habits of life were simple, temperate and pure. He cared for neither dress nor display, and his daily intercourse with the people was ever marked with unaffected candor, courtesy and kindness to all. A life long student of the sacred scriptures, he was deeply versed in the oracles of truth and imbued with a spirit of respect and reverence for the religion of our fathers. Yet in this as in all other matters, he was devoid of affectation and hypocrisy, while he believed and upheld the divine doc- trines revealed to man in the life and ministry of our Saviour.

In all the changing scenes of his eventful career, Judge Smith was aided and comforted by the ever kind and faithful wife of his youth, who thus proved herself indeed a helpmeet for such a husband, and who survives him to mourn her irreparable loss. The days of the years of his pilgrimage on the earth having exceeded the allotted threescore and ten, came on his last illness, the result of a painful malady by which he had been a sufferer for many years, but he remained cheerful and resigned, and at God's appointed time, he quietly retired to rest "as one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams."

ROBERT S. BROWN. Memo, Sept. 19th, 191I.

The foregoing was taken from the family "scrap book" of the late Judge R. S. Brown for Mrs. Fred H. Green, daughter of the late Judge Smith of Ravenswood, W. Va., by C. L. Brown.

He died in 1887, at Ripley, W. Va. He was a communicant in the Episcopal church, and a lay-reader in the church.

W. S. L.

JUDGE GEORGE W. SUMMERS

He was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, March 4, 1804, and he died in Kanawha coun- ty, West Virginia, Sept. 19, 1868, aged 64 years.

He was the youngest child of Col. George Summers, who was the son of Francis Sum- mers of Fairfax county, near Alexandria, Virginia.

Col. George Summers purchased a tract of land on the Kanawha river, of Dr. James Craik of Alexandria and others, and he removed thereto in spring of 1814.

Those desiring to know more of the Sum- mers family and of Judge Lewis Summers, who was a judge of the Kanawha circuit court until 1843, will find a sketch thereof written by Mrs. Ann Isabell Ryon, formerly Summers, in the West Virginia Historical Magazine, for July, 1903, and also in the Southern Histori- cal Magazine, Vol. I, page 49, February, 1892, ** in which is published the Journal of Lewis Summers, of a tour from Alexandria, Va., to Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1808, which latter maga- zine was edited by Virgil A. Lewis.

George W. Summers first attended the schools in Charleston, and attended Washing- ton College, Va., and he afterwards graduated at the University of Ohio, at Athens, O., in 1826 where there were many persons from this part of Virginia attending school in those days.

After returning home from school he read law under the tutorage of his brother Judge Lewis Summers, and he was admitted to the bar of Kanawha Courts in 1827, and continued to practice in the courts of this county, and in the U. S. courts, and the Courts of Last Re- sort.

One of the great points of his success as a lawyer, was his ability to examine and cross- examine witnesses, or as has been said of him, he could come as near getting from the wit- ness what he wanted and to leave unsaid that which he did not want, as any lawyer on earth.

But his strong point was that of an advocate before a jury. He could make himself under- stood and present the facts so clearly and sat- isfactorily, and apply the same to the law of the case that he seldom failed to secure a ver- dict ; or, as has been said of him, by one of the younger lawyers, but an able one, that with Judge Summers before a jury, he was almost invincible.

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So, too, was he before the people as a can- didate. He was elected to the Legislature of Virginia in 1830, and in 1831, and afterwards again in 1834 and 1835.

He also was sent to Congress in 1841, and 1843. He was a member of the Virginia Con- stitutional convention of 1850, where was con- tinued the contest between the East and West- ern part of Virginia, that was begun in the convention of 1829-1830, where the question of taxation of property according to its value, where the basis of representation, and other like questions between the two parts of the state were discussed until the division of the state was threatened, and all these were again discussed in 1850. No abler debater ever was found for the interest of the West, and Judge Summers was credited with being an orator that few cared to contend with.

In both of these Virginia conventions did the West endeavor so to conduct the affairs of the state that Virginia would need not to have gone in debt, or if she did, that she should have been able to have discharged her liabilities within a short time.

But the people of Virginia had the control within that part of the state east of the Blue Ridge and they kept that control there, but little good was effected in 1829-30, but the people became aroused and those of the West were educated to a better understanding of the un- fairness of the East, and in 1850, there were many changes brought about, but it was not until 1861 that the Eastern people would even agree to place in the constitution "that all property should be taxed according to its value."

In 1852, for the first time, did the people have a right to elect very many of the officers, before which time they were appointed at Richmond. In this year he was nominated for Circuit Judge and he was elected.

He was candidate for governor of his state in 1851, as a Whig and the Democrats of Vir- ginia thought they had better run a western man, so they brought one-Hon. Joseph John- son, of Clarksburg, who was a good strong man, but they found that Judge Summers by. his speeches throughout the state was stirring up things to such an extent that it was neces-

sary to do something to counteract his influence on the stump. He soon found that he was charged with being an "Abolitionist," and the Democratic committee made an unusual call on the "Tenth Legion" for them all to turn out, and when out, they always voted the same way and all they wanted to know was who were on the Democratic ticket.

With being charged in Virginia as an Aboli- tionist, and in the Tenth Legion as a Whig, as it has been expressed, "he stood no more show ner a rabbit." Mr. Johnson was of course elected. Perhaps the Judge had more colored servants than most of those who became fright- ened at the charge that was made against him, and perhaps had General Wise known when he was in this Valley that President Lincoln had contemplated, if not offered the Judge a place in his Cabinet or a place on the Supreme bench, that he, General Wise, would have executed his threat made before he reached here, "that he was going to hang Summers."

Judge Summers was married in February, 1833, and resided in Charleston. His wife was Miss Amacetta Laidley, a daughter of John Laidley of Cabell county, and his home was on Kanawha street where now resides Mr. W. T. Thayer, just above Morris street. There were several children but two of whom attained their manhood-Lewis and George-in fact George while but a boy left home and went with some others into the Confederacy, with- out consulting their parents. He was not long away before he was taken with the measles and died in camp. Lewis remained at home and continued to live at Glenwood. He married Miss Woodbridge of Marietta and they had four children, viz: George W. Summers of Washington, D. C .: Mrs. R. G. Quarrier of Charleston ; Lewis Summers, Jr., who resides on the original Summers Home, "Walnut Grove" in Putnam county. They lost one daughter, Miss Amacetta Summers.

From 1852 until 1858 he was neither a can- didate nor was he practicing law, but was hold- ing the Kanawha Circuit Court, and becoming tired of his quiet retired life, he decided that he preferred the place at the bar rather than that of the bench. One of the last acts as judge, was the trial and sentence of Presley

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S. Turley for the murder of his wife and he was found guilty and was sentenced at the June term, 1858, to be hung and it was executed in September following. He had determined to quit the bench on July 1, 1858, and his resigna- tion had been sent in accordingly, which fact was known to the Bar. On the Law Record, Volume No. 9, pages 421-2 will be found the action taken by the attorneys constituting then the Bar of said Court as here follows :

RESOLUTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE BAR, JULY 1, 1858.

David McComas was called to the Chair, Andrew Parks was appointed Secretary. Thereupon Benjamin H. Smith, James H. Brown, Nicholas Fitzhugh, and Thomas L. Brown were appointed a Committee to pre- pare and present Resolutions on the occasion of the retirement of Judge Summers from the Bench of this Circuit.

Thereupon the following Resolutions were presented and were unanimously adopted :

Whereas, the Honorable George W. Summers has this day terminated his services as Judge of this Cir- cuit, and the Bar of this County regarding it a suitable occasion to express their opinion of his judicial char- acter and capacity, do concur in the following Resolu- tions :

First-That we unhesitatingly declare that he has faithfully and with distinguished ability discharged the onerous duties imposed on him, as Judge of this Circuit :

Second-That we heartily unite in the expression of our admiration of the stern impartiality, which he has uniformly exhibited in the administration of the Law, the crowning virtue of Judicial character :

Third-That upon his retirement from the Station he has occupied for the last six years, we tender to him our sincere esteem and respect :

Fourth-That Major Andrew Parks, the Prosecut- ing Attorney, do present the foregoing Preamble and Resolutions, and ask the Court to enter the same of record.

Whereupon the meeting adjourned.

DAVID MCCOMAS, Chairman, A. PARKS, Secretary.

In 1861 he was sent to the Peace Con- ference at Washington and he attended and did all he could to secure peace and prevent disunion. While in Washington, he and Dr. Spicer Patrick, his neighbor, were elected delegates to the Virginia Convention, and they both attended and remained until after the Convention adopted the ordinance of Secession on April 17, 1861, when they came home. It was in this convention that he made the greatest effort of his life and his whole ef-

fort was to keep the State from seceding from the Union and joining the Confed- eracy, and his speeches portrayed the con- sequences of such action, as if he had writ- ten the same subsequent to the war. His speech was very lengthy, and too long to be inserted. The Kanawha members went to said convention as Union men and they remained as such and came away as such and ever after so remained.

There were other able men in the con- vention, both Union and Secessionist, and it is a fact that but for the action of the President in making a call on Virginia for soldiers with which to coerce the seceded states of the South, that Virginia would never have left the Union; but with the South doing all she could to excite and cause the Virginians to become excited and to become offended, and with this call upon Virginia to furnish men to fight against the South, it was more than even the most of the Union men in the conven- tion could stand and it was like "throwing the fat in the fire," and it caused the adop- tion of the Ordinance. But even with all this the Kanawha delegation remained firm and resisted the passage thereof. In short, the Judge did all in his power to pre- vent the war, and when he had exhausted his power, he came home and remained quiet, because there was nothing more he could do. He resigned his seat in the con- vention.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 13

Author: Laidley, William Sydney, 1839-1917. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co Number of Pages: 1066

Author: Laidley, William Sydney, 1839-1917. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 1066