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MEMORIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW 
 
MEMORIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED 
 MDCCCXCVII 
 

 John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 
 
ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE 
 CITY OF NEW YORK. 
 
 AT a meeting of the Association of the Bar 
 of the City of New York, held on De- 
 cember 8, 1896, the following memorial, pre- 
 pared by Mr. David Willcox, was adopted by 
 the Association for insertion in its Memorial 
 Book. 
 
 The family of Mr Bristow was English and 
 Welsh in its origin, but for several generations 
 had been settled in Virginia and Kentucky. 
 His father, Francis Marion Bristow, was long 
 the leading lawyer of Elkton, Todd County, 
 Kentucky. He was also a member of the 
 lower house of the Legislature in 1831 and 
 1832; a State Senator in 1846; a member 
 of the Constitutional Convention in 1849, and 
 Representative in Congress from the Third 
 
2 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 District of the State in 1854-55, and again 
 in 1859-61. He was a Whig, and after the 
 dissolution of that party, a Unionist. 
 
 Benjamin Helm Bristow was born at 
 Elkton, on June 20, 1832. He was gradu- 
 ated from Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, 
 Pennsylvania, in 1851. After studying law 
 in his father's office, Mr. Bristow was admitted 
 to the bar in 1853, and for a time practised at 
 Elkton in partnership with his father. Upon 
 November 21, 1854, at Elizabethtown, Ken- 
 tucky, he was married to Abbie Slaughter 
 Briscoe. Their two children are now Nan- 
 nie Bristow Draper, wife of Eben S. Draper, 
 of Hopedale, Massachusetts, and William B. 
 Bristow, of New York. In 1858 Mr. Bristow 
 removed to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and formed 
 a partnership with Judge R. T. Petrie, and after- 
 ward with Mr. John Feland, which continued 
 until he entered the volunteer service. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Rebellion, as Ken- 
 tucky was a slave state, the sympathies of 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 3 
 
 many of its citizens were with the seceding 
 states. Mr. Bristow, however, animated by 
 the anti-slavery principles learned from his 
 father, and by the spirit of patriotism which 
 was always characteristic, at once gave him- 
 self up to the work of preserving the Union. 
 He aided largely in recruiting the Twenty- 
 fifth Kentucky Infantry, and on September 
 20, 1861, was mustered into the service as its 
 lieutenant-colonel. With his regiment he took 
 part in the engagements about Fort Henry 
 and Fort Donelson, and in the battle of Shiloh. 
 In the latter action he was seriously wounded, 
 and the regiment was so reduced in numbers 
 that it became necessary to consolidate it with 
 another regiment. After recovering, Mr. Bris- 
 tow devoted himself to raising the Eighth 
 Kentucky Cavalry. That regiment was mus- 
 tered into the service for one year, on Sep- 
 tember 8, 1862, with Mr. Bristow as its 
 lieutenant-colonel, and on April 1, 1863, he 
 was commissioned as its colonel. With the 
 
4 MEMOEIAL OF 
 
 regiment he was engaged in many cavalry 
 skirmishes in Kentucky in 1862 and 1863. 
 When General John H. Morgan of the Con- 
 federate cavalry made his greatest raid through 
 Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, Mr. Bristow and 
 his regiment were engaged in pursuit, and were 
 present at the capture of Morgan and his com- 
 mand near Wellsville, Ohio, on July 26, 1863. 
 Mr. Bristow's decision of character and com- 
 plete self-possession in the presence of danger 
 admirably fitted him for a cavalry officer, and 
 his military service was successful and dis- 
 tinguished. A brevet as brigadier-general was 
 offered to him, but as his service had then 
 terminated, he declined the honorary rank. 
 
 In August, 1863, while Mr. Bristow was 
 engaged in this active service, he was elected 
 to represent Christian County in the State 
 Senate of Kentucky. This was done without 
 his knowledge. The emancipation proclama- 
 tion of January 1, 1863, had been met in 
 Kentucky by organized and determined opposi- 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 5 
 
 tion upon the part of some of the so-called 
 Unionists, led by ex-Gov. Charles A. Wickliffe. 
 The political situation was very critical, for it 
 was feared that this movement might lead, even 
 at that late day, to some effort to arbitrarily 
 drag Kentucky into secession, as had been 
 done in the case of Tennessee. Those who 
 were in good faith supporting the National 
 Government, deemed it of great importance 
 that Mr. Bristow's well-known personal force in 
 argument and in counsel should be employed 
 in combating any such scheme in the legisla- 
 ture. Inasmuch as the term of service of his 
 regiment expired in the month following, and 
 as his election seemed to be a call to duty, Mr. 
 Bristow reluctantly gave up further military 
 service and accepted the position of Senator. 
 He never ceased, however, to feel that interest 
 in the events and the actors in the great 
 struggle to preserve the Union, which is pecu- 
 liarly intense in those who themselves have had 
 their part in its trials and its victories. He 
 
6 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 always remained a member of the societies of 
 the Armies of the Cumberland and the Ten- 
 nessee. Many a friendship which he formed in 
 the field continued without interruption so long 
 as life endured. And when the end came, 
 none were more heartfelt mourners than those 
 who, amid the stirring events of active service, 
 had learned to know both the high standards 
 of action and the personal charm of character 
 which always made him a chosen companion 
 among his fellow-men. 
 
 Mr. Bristow's term as State Senator began 
 upon December 7, 1863. During its continu- 
 ance, in the various struggles which took place 
 regarding the efforts of the National Govern- 
 ment to suppress the Rebellion, Mr. Bristow was 
 the leader of those who were constantly in favor 
 of giving to the Government the utmost measure 
 of support. Among other things, he advocated 
 and voted for the unconditional ratification of 
 the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, 
 providing for the abolition of slavery. He was 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BEISTOW. 7 
 
 active, too, in the presidential election of 1864, 
 speaking and writing in favor of the re-election 
 of Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 As the exigency to meet which he had ac- 
 cepted the election no longer existed, Mr. Bris- 
 tow resigned from the Senate in 1865, and 
 removed to Louisville. On November 2, 1865, 
 he was appointed to the office of Assistant 
 United States Attorney for the district of Ken- 
 tucky. Upon the special recommendation of 
 Hon. James Speed, who was then Attorney- 
 General, Mr. Bristow was, on May 4, 1866, 
 appointed to the oflfice of United States Attor- 
 ney for that district. By reason of the return 
 of those who had been in sympathy with the 
 Rebellion, a condition of great disorder existed 
 throughout the State. The Ku-Klux-Klan was 
 constantly perpetrating acts of personal violence 
 upon those, both white and black, who had 
 supported the cause of the Union, and frauds 
 upon the revenue were the general practice. 
 It therefore became Mr. Bristow's official duty 
 
8 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 to enforce through the courts the national 
 statutes protecting all citizens in the enjoyment 
 of their civil rights and securing to the Govern- 
 ment the efficient collection of its necessary 
 revenue. He addressed himself to this work 
 with his customary vigor, and succeeded, during 
 his term of office, in establishing a condition of 
 civil order and obedience to law then unequalled 
 in any other part of the country which had 
 been so affected by the influences of the 
 Rebellion. 
 
 The Republican members of the legislature, 
 forty-one in number, on January 30, 1867, 
 voted for Mr. Bristow as their choice for the 
 office of United States Senator from Kentucky. 
 Inasmuch, however, as that party was in the 
 minority, the Democratic candidate, Garret 
 Davis, was elected. 
 
 Upon January 1, 1870, Mr. Bristow resigned 
 from the office of United States Attorney and 
 formed a partnership for practice of the law with 
 Hon. John M. Harlan, now one of the Justices 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 9 
 
 of the United States Supreme Court. Shortly 
 thereafter Congress passed an act creating the 
 office of Solicitor-General. The efficiency with 
 which Mr. Bristow had discharged the duties 
 of his office as United States Attorney had 
 attracted the attention of President Grant. 
 Accordingly on October 4, 1870, without so- 
 licitation upon his part, he was appointed as 
 first incumbent of the office of Solicitor-General 
 of the United States. While he held this 
 office he was actively engaged in writing opin- 
 ions, and more especially in arguing causes in 
 behalf of the Government before the Supreme 
 Court. These covered the entire field of the 
 Federal jurisdiction, including many important 
 constitutional causes. Mr. Bristow thus ac- 
 quired a high reputation, which always con- 
 tinued thereafter, for thorough familiarity with 
 the national jurisprudence, and for effectiveness 
 in discussing the principles upon which it is 
 based and the rules of law established by its 
 adjudications. 
 
10 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Upon November 12, 1872, Mr. Bristow 
 resigned the office of Solicitor-General and 
 accepted an appointment as general counsel 
 of the Texas and Pacific Railway Company. 
 He found, however, that the duties of this 
 office were largely administrative rather than 
 professional, and, animated by that love for 
 the pursuits of his profession which he always 
 showed, he soon resigned this position and 
 resumed practice of the law at Louisville. 
 Upon December 2, 1873, Mr. Bristow was 
 nominated by President Grant to the Senate, 
 as Attorney-General of the United States " in 
 case the present Attorney-General (Hon. George 
 H. Williams) " be confirmed as Chief Justice 
 of the United States." Mr. Williams, however, 
 was not confirmed, so that the nomination of 
 Mr. Bristow did not become effective. 
 
 Upon June 3, 1874, Mr. Bristow was ap- 
 pointed by President Grant to the office of 
 Secretary of the Treasury. His administration 
 was characterized by great advances in the 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 11 
 
 economy and efficiency with which the puhhc 
 business was transacted, and by vigorous and 
 unflinching enforcement of the laws concern- 
 ins; collection of the internal revenue. The 
 soundness of the views expressed and the 
 recommendations made by him regarding the 
 evils of a paper currency and the necessity of 
 resumption and continuance of specie payments, 
 has been fully shown by the history of the 
 country since that time. Indeed those views 
 may be said to have but recently received the 
 overwhelming approval of the nation. Time 
 will not permit a detailed statement of the 
 events of the two busy years during which 
 Mr. Bristow held this high office. It will be 
 interesting, however, to quote to some extent 
 the expressions of his official reports upon 
 the subjects to which reference has just been 
 made. 
 
 In his official report for 1874 Mr. Bristow 
 said, regarding the existing paper currency : 
 " The universal use of and reliance upon such 
 
12 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 a currency tends to blunt the moral sense and 
 impair the natural self-dependence of the peo- 
 ple, and trains them to the belief that the 
 Government must directly assist their indi- 
 vidual fortunes and business, help them in their 
 personal affairs, and enable them to discharge 
 their debts by partial payment. This incon- 
 vertible paper currency begets the delusion that 
 the remedy for private pecuniary distress is in 
 legislative measures, and makes the people un- 
 mindful of the fact that the true remedy is in 
 greater production and less spending, and that 
 real prosperity comes only from individual 
 effort and thrift. When exchanges are again 
 made in coin or in a currency convertible into 
 it at the will of the holder, this truth will be 
 understood and acted upon." 
 
 Again, in his official report for 1875, Mr. 
 Bristow said : '• The circumstances attending the 
 issue of the United States notes now in circu- 
 lation impress upon the Government a peculiar 
 obligation to provide for their speedy and cer- 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 13 
 
 tain redemption in coin. They were issued in 
 the exercise of a power which can be called 
 into use only in a time of supreme necessity, 
 and were paid out for the support of an army 
 composed of brave and patriotic citizens who 
 had responded to the call of their country in 
 the hour of its extreme peril. To suffer a 
 promise made at such a time, and under such 
 circumstances, to be dishonored by subsequent 
 indifference or non-performance, would be little 
 better than open repudiation, and would affect 
 injuriously our national name and credit. It is 
 worthy of note that for the most part those 
 who now oppose the redemption of legal-ten- 
 der notes, and who ask for a further issue, and 
 continued and indefinite re-issue of the notes 
 now in circulation, were most strenuous in 
 their opposition to such issues during the civil 
 war. The acts authorizing such issues were 
 denounced as in violation of sound princi- 
 ples of finance and not warranted by the Con- 
 stitution. . . . Those who opposed such issues 
 
14 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 at the time of supreme necessity and insist 
 upon further issues when the emergency has 
 passed away, put themselves in the attitude 
 of opposing war measures in the midst of 
 war, and advocating them in time of profound 
 peace." 
 
 So, too, in an oration which Mr. Bristow de- 
 livered upon Decoration Day, May 29, 1875, at 
 the Cave Hill Cemetery, at Louisville, he ex- 
 pressed views which applied with great force 
 to the future at that time, and which have 
 not yet lost their application to the condition 
 of public sentiment. " May we not," he said, 
 " look forward with assured confidence to the 
 time in the near future when all intelligent 
 men, North and South, will not only accept 
 the results of the late conflict, but will recog- 
 nize the blessings that flow from it, and admit 
 that any other issue would have been an irrep- 
 arable calamity to both sections of the coun- 
 try ? While we must differ from those who 
 sought to dissolve the Union, and look from 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 15 
 
 a different standpoint upon the history of the 
 struggle that ensued, we may safely concede 
 to them the right to hold such opinions as 
 they like in respect of the past, and claim from 
 them only a cheerful and hearty loyalty to the 
 present and future. And why should this not 
 be so ? Are we not bound together by ties of 
 consanguinity and community of material inter- 
 ests ? Whatever promotes discord or weakens 
 our common government, threatens danger and 
 disaster to all alike ; and whatever gives 
 strength and prosperity to our free institu- 
 tions promises blessings to the people in every 
 part of the country, and to their posterity." 
 
 His official experience made Mr. Bristow a 
 firm believer in the principles of civil service 
 reform. In the early days of the movement 
 in that direction he became acquainted with 
 the late George William Curtis, to whom the 
 present success of the reform owes so much. 
 Each, thereafter, entertained the highest regard 
 for the other, based in no small degree upon 
 
16 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 the agreement of their views on this impor- 
 tant question. Wiiile Mr. Curtis continued as 
 president of the National Civil Service Reform 
 Association, Mr. Bristow was constantly one of 
 its Vice-Presidents. In all ways within his 
 power he supported the efforts of the associa- 
 tion, and none rejoiced more sincerely than he 
 in the successive steps forward made by the 
 cause of reform in the civil service. 
 
 In the Winter and Spring of 1876, Mr. Bris- 
 tow was prominently mentioned in connection 
 with the Republican nomination for the Presi- 
 dency. Accordingly, at the National Conven- 
 tion of that party held at Cincinnati, upon June 
 15, 1876, his name was presented as a candi- 
 date for the choice of the Convention. He was 
 placed in nomination by John M. Harlan, of Ken- 
 tucky, and was seconded by Luke P. Poland, of 
 Vermont, George William Curtis, of New York, 
 and Richard H. Dana, Jr., of Massachusetts. 
 The total vote of the convention was 754. 
 Upon the first ballot James G. Blaine, of Maine, 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 17 
 
 received 285 votes ; Oliver P. Morton, of 
 Indiana, received 124 votes ; Benjamin H. 
 BristoWj of Kentucky, received 113 votes, and 
 the remaining 232 votes were divided among 
 four other candidates. The vote for Mr. Bris- 
 tow increased gradually until the fourth ballot, 
 which stood, Blaine, 292 ; Bristow, 126 ; Mor- 
 ton, 108 ; all others, 228. Upon the seventh 
 ballot the opposition to Mr. Blaine was concen- 
 trated in support of Mr. Hayes, of Ohio, who 
 received 384 votes, and was thus nominated. 
 The vote for Mr. Blaine on that ballot was 351, 
 while the remaining 21 delegates, including 
 those from his own State of Kentucky, still 
 adhered to Mr. Bristow as their choice. 
 
 By reason of his conscientious views of official 
 duty, Mr. Bristow always found the cares of 
 office irksome. With the view of relief from 
 further responsibility of this sort, under date of 
 June 17, 1876, he addressed to President Grant 
 a letter tendering his resignation as Secretary 
 of the Treasury. To this the President replied 
 
18 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 in an autograph letter, which has not been here- 
 tofore published, dated June 19, 1876. This 
 acknowledged receipt of the resignation, to take 
 effect upon the twentieth of the month, and 
 added: "In accepting it for that date, permit 
 me to hope that our personal relations may 
 continue as heretofore, and that you may find 
 that peace in private life denied to any one oc- 
 cupying your present official position." 
 
 Mr. Bristow's official career, therefore, cov- 
 ered in all a period of but fifteen years, of which 
 the first two were spent in active service in the 
 field. During the remainder of that period, it 
 was not continuous, but was from time to time 
 broken by his voluntary resignation from offi- 
 cial station. He never sought for office, and, so 
 far as was in his power, discountenanced all 
 efforts of friends in that direction. Animated 
 by the feeling that a good citizen should always 
 hold himself subject to the call of duty toward 
 his fellow-citizens, when that call seemed ad- 
 dressed to him he was ready to serve, both in 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BKISTOW. 19 
 
 war and in peace. But when the necessity for 
 such sacrifice of personal inclination seemed to 
 be past, no one was so happy as he to retire to 
 the repose of private life and to the regular 
 practice of his profession. In them he always 
 found his truest satisfaction. 
 
 Upon the termination of his service as Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, Mr. Bristow returned to 
 Louisville. In the Autumn of 1878, however, 
 he removed to New York, and upon October 16, 
 
 1878, formed a partnership with William Peet, 
 Henry L. Burnett, William S. Opdyke, and 
 David Willcox, under the firm name of Bristow, 
 Peet, Burnett, & Opdyke. Thereafter he con- 
 tinued a member of this firm and its successors, 
 Bristow, Peet, & Opdyke, and Bristow, Opdyke, 
 & Willcox. From that time forward he con- 
 stantly shunned official position and devoted 
 himself steadily to practice of the law. In 
 
 1879, Mr. Bristow became a member of the As- 
 sociation of the Bar of the City of New York, 
 and had the honor to serve, in 1882, as a member 
 
20 MEMOKIAL OF 
 
 of its Judiciary Committee ; from 1883 to 1885, 
 inclusive, as a member of its Executive Com- 
 mittee ; and in 1887 and 1888, and again in 
 1895, as one of its Vice-Presidents. In 1879, 
 Mr. Bristow was elected as the second President 
 of the American Bar Association, and on August 
 18, 1880, he delivered at Saratoga the annual 
 president's address. In December, 1895, Presi- 
 dent Cleveland tendered to him an appointment 
 as a member of the Venezuela Boundary Com- 
 mission ; but for personal reasons Mr. Bristow 
 was unable to accept the position. 
 
 In the course of his diversified professional 
 career, extending over forty-three years, Mr. 
 Bristow had occasion to become familiar with 
 many branches of the law and to appear before 
 the courts in many parts of the country. He 
 was engaged in numerous important causes, not 
 only in the courts of New York, but of other 
 states as well. His advice was much sought 
 by reason both of his familiarity with legal 
 principles, and also of his keen appreciation of 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 21 
 
 human nature. As already said, however, he 
 was pre-eminent especially on account of his 
 knowledge of the Federal jurisprudence. In 
 the national courts he was peculiarly at home. 
 His first appearance in the United States Su- 
 preme Court was in 1870, in the case of United 
 States V. Hodson (10 Wallace, 395), and his 
 last appearance there was in 1895, in the In- 
 come Tax cases (Pollock and Hyde v. Trust 
 Companies, 157 U. S. 429, and 158 U. S. 601). 
 His last appearance in court was on May 13, 
 1896, before the United States Circuit Court of 
 Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, as counsel for 
 the appellee in the case of the Southern Railway 
 Company, appellant, against the Carnegie Steel 
 Company, Limited. This cause was decided in 
 favor of the appellee, upon November 10, 1896, 
 many months after Mr. Bristow's death. 
 
 Mr. Bristow's arguments were based upon 
 thorough preparation. Without uselessly con- 
 suming time, he addressed himself to the deci- 
 sive questions in the case at bar. He had a 
 
22 MEMORIAL OF 
 
 voice of singular charm, together with entire 
 ease in delivery and dignified urbanity of man- 
 ner. These qualities, joined with a firm grasp 
 of legal principles and strict integrity and accu- 
 racy in stating facts, made him an advocate to 
 whom the courts listened with especial pleasure 
 and confidence. He was thus always in position 
 to render the highest service to the interests 
 committed to his charge. 
 
 Both by constant reading and by wide ac- 
 quaintance with his contemporaries, Mr. Bristow 
 had acquired great familiarity with the history 
 of the country and the characters and achieve- 
 ments of its leading citizens. He took pleas- 
 ure in the consideration and exposition of the 
 principles, both written and unwritten, upon 
 which constitutional popiilar government is 
 based. No one more than he was interested 
 in the recent contest, of which he saw the 
 beginning, to preserve the honor of the nation 
 and the liberty of the individual against the 
 encroachments of repudiation and the tyranny 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 23 
 
 of ignorance. No one would have rejoiced more 
 sincerely than he in the demonstration finally 
 made at the polls of the capacity of the people 
 to govern themselves. But this it was not to 
 be his fortune to witness. 
 
 Mr. Bristow died at New York, after a short 
 illness, upon June 22, 1896. Amid the grassy 
 slopes and shady trees of Woodlawn he lies at 
 rest. But in the memory of those whose pleasure 
 it was to know him, he still lives and will live 
 as one who, with rugged independence, con- 
 stantly adhered to the highest standards of pro- 
 fessional and personal conduct, and who at the 
 same time, by the extent of his information, 
 the breadth of his experience, the justice of his 
 sentiments, and the geniality of his humor, made 
 his society a never failing delight. 
 
UNION CLUB, OF NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 At the time of his death, Mr. Bristow was 
 one of the Governors of the Union Club of New 
 York. At a meeting held upon October 14, 
 1896, the Governors adopted the following Reso- 
 lution, prepared by Mr. Clarence A. Seward, the 
 President of the Club. 
 
 The sudden withdrawal from our limited num- 
 ber of one of our associates, by a death so un- 
 expected as to be virtually instantaneous, may 
 well justify us in pausing for a moment in the 
 orderly discharge of our official duties to place 
 upon our records a brief tribute of respect to 
 his character and memory. 
 
 Benjamin H. Bristow was with us at the last 
 June meeting. He was then apparently in full 
 health, and interested in pending questions. 
 We heard that he was ill, and then we were 
 startled by the swift announcement that the 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 25 
 
 thread of life had snapped and that he had 
 gone forever. 
 
 Gifted by nature with a physique which 
 may well be called superb, educated in all that 
 a professional gentleman may properly require, 
 bearing himself with a grace and dignity which 
 made him notable among men and peers, — 
 he commanded the respect and esteem of all 
 who knew him, even of those who might differ 
 in judgment and opinion. 
 
 What he believed, he felt ; and what he felt, 
 he spoke and acted, — promptly, vigorously, and 
 with conscientious candor. 
 
 Loyalty was a cardinal principle in his most 
 chivalrous nature. Born in a Southern State, 
 and amid influences which were peculiar to the 
 locality, he stood by his country and supported 
 its Government in the hour of its peril. Trans- 
 ferred to high official position, he carried with 
 him the same loyalty to his chief. Misunder- 
 
26 MEMOKIAL OF 
 
 stood and misrepresented, the loyalty still re- 
 mained, and, seeking neither vindication nor 
 justification, he went to his grave in silence, 
 sustained by the consciousness of the absolute 
 rectitude of all of his official acts. 
 
 An innate and sterling honesty prevented 
 him from discovering that a public place might 
 possiblj'' be converted into a source of personal 
 wealth. 
 
 In the more subtle and delicate relations of 
 social and personal life, as guide, companion 
 and familiar friend, the winsomeness of his 
 character was most apparent, and thereby 
 were formed those cords of friendship which 
 survive even the triumph of death. 
 
 Gentle, affectionate, and considerate to the 
 last degree, no claim ever passed unrecognized, 
 no service unacknowledged. A warmer heart 
 or a warmer hand were never chilled by the 
 coldness of the grave. 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 27 
 
 He was able in all that he undertook. He 
 was prominent to a degree which justified an 
 aspiration for high political preferment. That 
 it was not gratified but verifies the experience 
 of the ability and prominence of many who 
 have gone before, and of many who will come 
 afterwards. 
 
 For twenty years he was a stanch and 
 steadfast member of our Club, whose varied 
 circles welcomed his presence and appreciated 
 and prized his companionship. He was twice 
 a member of its Governing Committee, and as 
 such his courtesy and fidelity were appreciated 
 by all. 
 
 The surviving members of that Committee 
 enter upon their minutes this manifestation of 
 their profound regret that they shall no longer 
 know the touch of the vanished hand, nor hear 
 again the voice that is hushed. 
 
THE BAR OF LOUISVILLE. 
 
 At a meeting of the bar of Louisville, held in 
 the United States Court, June 30th, 1896, to take 
 action on the death of General B. H. Bristow, 
 the following resolutions were adopted : — 
 
 Resolved, That we, the members of the Bench 
 and Bar of Louisville, deeply feeling the loss of our 
 friend and brother, General Bristow, desire to for- 
 mally testify our appreciation of his worth. 
 
 As a citizen, he was intensely loyal and patriotic ; 
 as a member of this community, he was respected and 
 beloved for his courtesy, kindness, and rigid honesty. 
 As an army officer, he was brave and ever ready to 
 perform his duties. As a civil officer, in times when 
 it became necessary to antagonize his friends and 
 fellow-Kentuckians, he rendered services as District 
 Attorney for this Federal District, faithfully, with 
 zeal and ability, tempered by kindness and feeling. 
 As a member of this Bar he ranked among the fore- 
 most of his profession, and his removal from this city 
 
BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 29 
 
 was a marked loss to the local Bar and to the com- 
 munity. His career as a lawyer was always marked 
 by a close study of the law, a faithful attention to 
 and vigorous action in the interest of his clients. 
 
 His behavior toward the Bench and his brethren 
 at the Bar was a notable and happy union of dignity 
 and courtesy. 
 
 Besolvcd, That the Committee on Resolutions ap- 
 pointed at this meeting are directed to present this 
 memorial to the Federal and State courts in this city, 
 with the request that they be spread upon their re- 
 spective records, and that a copy thereof shall be sent 
 to General Bristow's family. 
 
( 
 

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