127 f12 T6 opy 2 By B. FITCH TOMPKINS, Esq. i«) Published by (he Madison County Historical Society 1911 1 I J 1806-1906 Biographical Sketches OF THE Madison County Bench and Bar AN ADDRESS BY B. FITCH TOMPKINS. ESQ. (Clerk of the Surroi^ate's Court) Delivered before the Madison County Historical Society at the Court House in Wampsville April 19, 1911 Published by the Madison County Historical Society Oneida. New Tork, 1911 ^ n a> (i 1911 THK ONEIDA I>IS1'ATCH PRKSS (»NKII>A. .NKW VOIIK 7 DEC 19)1 INTRODUCTION This little booklet contains an interesting address by B. Fitch Tompkins, Esq., Clerk of the Surrogate's Court of Madison County, delivered before the Madison County Historical Society April 19, 1 9 11 , at the Court House in Wampsville. It was prepared by the author with much care, research of records and painstaking, with a view of being thoroughly reliable and correcting several errors of historical importance, among other things adding an honor- able name to the chain of Madison County judges, strange- ly enough overlooked by other local historians. The ad- dress is a most valuable acquisition. It has been kindly donated to the Society by Mr. Tompkins, himself an hon- ored member. SAMUEL A. MAXON, Secretary Forew^ord It; Ml'. President and Members of the Historical Society: I think I ought to apologize for not before attending a meeting of the Society, although a member for some years. I know some apology is nee<led for this appearance, for though I i-ealize that it is my misfortune I did not attend before, it is prob- ably yours that I did this time. In searching the records of the past I have discovered that all my eight great-grandparents, the Tompkins, Simmons, Fitch, Brown, Babcock, Lewis, etc., families were early pioneers of the county, most of them of the Rhode Island Colony of 1793, and have always resided here, so I account myself a genuine native; and I have be- come, perhaps for that reason, intensely interested in these early actors on our local life's stage and have discovered some matters of history (decidedly profane history, T may say) which I hope I may be able to correct and in so doing bore you with some uninteresting details. But that I take it is part of the real and serious purpose of our or- ganization. In these remarks I have taken up the portraits of the Judges first and in chronological order, and will devote more time to those older ones which are perhaps less known to most of us. Judges of Madison County KV To get in touch with the period and people we are to talk about, let us hastily recall that the actual settlement of our county commenced about 1790, not long after the Revolutionary War, and was thereafter quite rapid. It was the time of the great Napoleon in France. In 1806 Thomas Jefferson was President of the TJnited States; George Clinton, succeeding Aaron Burr, was Vice-President; Morgan Lewis, succeeding George Clinton and preceding Daniel Tompkins, was Governor of the State, and John Boone was Lieut- enant-Governor. The now towns of Hamilton, Madison, Eaton and Lebanon, comprising the first town of Hamilton, nearly one-fourth the area of our county, in 1799 voted a few more than 600 votes; five towns made irp the county. The population of the county I have not been able to learn, but that of the entire State was only between six and nine hundred thousand. Roads — if they might be so-called — were in their infancy in this locality and the great turnpikes were being agitated and (constructed. Indians were numerous, but settlement was rapid in this great wilderness, and in 1806, only a little more than a dozen years after settlement began, the Legislature set us off from Chenango in a division of our own and provided for the ap- pointment of ojir public officials. Among the first prominent officials was PETER SMITH whom we style the First Judge of Madison county. The medallion colored bas-relief of his profile hangs at the rear west side of the court room gallery and is of considerable age. It was presented to the county some years ago by his granddaughter, Elizabeth S. Miller of Geneva. He was heavy of build, not tall; and, as you observe, had rather stern features, heavy dark straight hair, and large wild eyes, almost fierce. He was appointed by the "Council of Appointment" on the for- mation of our county in March one of the Common Pleas Court Judges with four others, and that appointment with its large, heavy attached seal is still on file with the County Clerk. His designation (8) aw "h'ir.sl .Jml^e," a.s distiiigiii.slie*! from the other four (ami whieh we are lolil wu« |>erlia))^ iiuule a^ a rewartl for his fjuj>[j<jrt of (Jover- uor Ixjwisj, wuij not made until later, on .June 1(», 1S07. Hit* «wlh a» HUfh ii) on tile, taken .Julv 2, ISUT. The first court for the new tx>unty — ant! uhiih «urreH|K)udK to mir prebent county c<mrt — wa8 heitl in the wliool ln>use near liar- nai\i'b at tiuality Hill, in the then town of Sullivan, 'i'uesday, June 3, ISUO; and, an the record re<'it«t>, Hon. Svlvanu.s Sinalley of Sul- livan, IVter Smith of IVtcrlxiro, l^lwanl (ireenof lirtntkHeld, i'llisha Pavneof Hamilton and 1 )aviil ( ook of Sullivan, J'>«juire*< anil Judges, were all present. Smalley, it seeniH, was at the time (jf di- vision one of the jiulji^es of the old county of Chenango, and had been electe*l one of tiie as.semblynjen of our new county, hut he did not ol)je<'t t<» holding two important oHici^s at the same tinje. He did not aj»p«ir, iiowever, at the next term in ( Ktober at the school house near Elisha Payne's in Hamilton. Peter Smith was there; and on .July :5, 1807, at a term of the Oyer and Terminer Court held ut Sullivan by Supreme Court dudjre William W. X'anNess, the reiord re<-ites that l^eter Smith, ".lud^e <tf Madison County," Elisha Payne and Daviil Cook, Assistiint Juilj^es, were also present. Here was tried Alpheufi Hitchcock, the music teacher, for murder. Our country was then, as we have seen, a primitive one, and the inhabitants actual hardy pioneers, more note«l for their enterprise, sturdiness and relij^ious zeal than for their learning, and 1 persume this tirst jurist of our county was fully comj^etent and c|ualiHed ac- fordin^ to the re<|uirement.s of the times and the demands of his leliow.s. Tile country had, of «'t>urse, aclvaiicetl some since the perio«J Irvinj^ tells us about when the e;irly settlers t)f Connecticut proclaimetl they wouhi be ^overne<l by the law.*: of (jotl "until the\ had time to make better," and no doubt our first jud^je was «-jdle<.l iip<^n to apply >ome of tliene "l>etter" laws our wise leu;islators had already enacte<l. Whether he was a re^idarly admitte«l attorney I have not learne«l, but I am leil to tloubt it, as before he was thirty he had uctjuiretl a ipiasi title from the Inilians of a modest strip of only .■)((,(|(H) acres, afterwards known as the New Petersbur^h Tract; had previsously si>eut three yesirs in New York, a ye-.ir near Little Falls and about ten ye:irs in and about IJtica in the mercantile business, and had l>e<'«ime note<l as an Indian trader. His spare moments, if any he had, nnist luive l)een before he was sixteen, ami his time for storing up le^^d lore was very limited. We al.-^o know that he held the ollii-e of SheritT of Herkimer c(»unty (when Mailison was a jnirt t)f (9) it) by appointment February 18, 1795. We are told by historians that his knowledge of human nature was profound (which we can readily believe) and his mental characteristics such as to enable him to judge the right and wrong clearly; his decisions were satisfactory and his integrity unquestioned; which would certainly call for no apology from the bar because presided over for sixteen years by one who might not have been in the first instance an admitte<l at- torney. The first court when it met appointed two constables to look after the Grand Jury, received its report of no presentations, and ad- journed in a few hours. The next one appointed William Hatch to the be-cobwebbed and unless office of court crier, adjourned from the school house to the meeting house, and adopted our county seal. If these are samples of the arduous one-day sessions, his legal lore was not seriously taxed. However, his was later a very busy court and he had the distinction of sitting as associate to the Supreme or Circuit judges in the murder trials of Alpheus Hitchcock, previously mentioned, and Mary or Polly Anthony, as the record has it, or "Antone" as she was better known, in 1815. The last term over which he presided was at Morrisville, June, 1822. His judicial duties did not absorb all of his attention by any means, for he was busy selling his land in 50 and 200 acre lots; was Supervisor of his town; one of the commissioners to superintend the erection of the first court house and gaol at Cazenovia; established the first newspaper in the county, the Madison Freeholder, in 1808; was interested in many business enterprises of the time, including one of the first glass factories. He was pre-eminently a money getter. It was said he was probably one of if not the largest land owners in the country, having title to between 500,000 and 1,000,000 acres. This he secured in many ways — by leasing from the Indians for 99 years and buying large wild tracts at tax sales. It is said he bought at one time 80,000 aci'es in Oneida county, frequently whole town- ships, and $8.40 an acre was the highest he paid for any of it. In 1819 or 1820 he turned over all of his property to his son Gerrit. This consisted of property worth about $400,000 with $75,000 of debts. He reserved for himself the income from $125,000, and from this start in the few remaining years of his life, and while de- voting his time to religious matters, he accumulated a fortune that amounted to about $800,000 at his death. He was married, February 5, 1792, to Elizabeth Livingston, who lived only till August 27, 1818. Shortlv afterward he married (10) Sarah l*<»ji;s4»i» of C'liarleston, S. ('., who was litenirv ami so<ial in her nature, ami the union |irove<l im*hl iiniia|»[)y. She soon left iiint ami relurne«l to her old lumie in the .S»uth, where she dieil after the ( "ivil War. llisnon, IVter Shenamloah Smith, nanieil after hi.*; Irienil, the famous Intlian chief, Sjienan«lo:ili, was a .sourre (»f nuieh worrv to his father l)e«>ause of his erratic ways and lack of I>iisine88 aciinien ami st:il>ility, and this son later Im-jiteil in ( >swet^o c«)nnty, where he reside<l until his desith, hut his Hon, (ierrit, whom we 8lmll refer to later, well merite<l the »-onlidenfe and esteem freely tjiven him. While this uni«|ue judj^e t-areil nothing for the wwalleil laws of relij^ious institutions, was fretjnently, we are told, profane, still he was nevertheless verv fons<'ientious, strictly honest ami fair, and de- voteil much of his time U> labor with the }>eo|»le alxtut reliijitjiis matters and to the distribution of religions tr.icts — so nnich so that in 1S2"», after turning over his |>roj»erty to his son, he reniove<l t«) S<-hene<-tad\ and spent a large part of his time in later life traveling on his religiitus missions for the Americim Tra*'! SM-ietv, with whi«'h he was intimately connectetl and Hnancially atwisteil. liorn at or ne:ir 'rapj>an, Ko<klaml county, N. Y., November l.'t, ITiiS, he die<l at S<hene<*ta(ly, Ajiril I), 1.S87, and his remains werr burieil at I'eterikoru. the betiiitifiii little li:unlet he founded, which henurtureil and dre:ime<l might sometinje l>e a metro|>olis of the Mirronnding country, ('ertiiinlv this is a character to remember and to <tudv with profit. JUSTIN DWINELLE Illustrating the comjKiraitive youthfulness of our county is the fact that in Decemlier last the profile cast of Justin l>winelle, the r.u»'»*es-»iir (if inw l''irst .ludge. I'eter Smith, ^\a^ presenletl tothe«-ounty by his tlaughter, Mi.ss Ijouise S. Dwinelle, now living at the age of eighty-four in ("a/.enovia. This me<lallion was made irom a plaster «-ast taken after the ileath of Mr. Dwiuelle, and is the work of the eminent wulptor, Laun«-elot Thompson, late of New York city, and i-^ ac«-ounle«l to be a line work of art and by his daughter "stated to be an e.xcellent likeness. Judge Dwinelle was born at Shaftsl)ury, N'ermont, October JS, 178'). lie graduate<l from Yale College in 1 SOS and enteretl upon the studv of law in the otlice of John Hickenson at Trt»y. lie was iidmitte«l to the b:ir in August. ISJI. ami the next month remnvetl to Cazeiiovia and began the practice of his professiou. lu 1813 he married l^ouisa Whipple of Cazenovia, and of their nine children seven lived to maturity, tive boys and two girls. Two of the boys became doctors and three followed the profession of their father. Miss Dwinelle alone survives. February 7, 1S23, he was appointed First Judge of the Court of (Jommon Pleas of our county and he presided over his first term October, 1823. The last mention of his name as presiding judge was the February 1828 term, and his name appears many times sub- sequent as practicing attorney in that court. The State Civil List and the histories of Mrs. Hammond, Judge Smith and Justice Chester and the History of Chenango and Madison Counties would seem to make his term as judge ten years and his daughter so under- stands, but as Judge Eldridge held the June 1828 term and the name of Judge Dwinelle does not again appear in the records, it must be an error and his term was the usual one at that time — five years. In July, 1823, he sat with Circuit Judge Nathan Williams in the trial of Abraham Antone for murder. Just prior to his appointment as judge, in the years 1821 and 1822, he was one of the members of Assembly from the county, and for the term 1823—25 he was elected Representative to the U. S. Congress. In 1837, as the histories state, he was appointed District Attorney for the county; however, his oath of office as such was taken and filed October 3, 1838, and he served until the appoint- ment of Charles Mason in 1845, during which time he prosecuted the murderer, Lewis Wilber, being assisted by B. D. Noxon of Syracuse and Timothy Jenkins of Oneida Castle, both noted at- torneys. He was one of the organizers of the old Madison County Bank in 1831 and from 1840 to 1842 was postmaster at Cazenovia. He died at the latter place September 17, 1850. Mr. Dwinelle did not always write his name with the final "e," but it was afterwards adopted by the family as more nearly approxi- mating the French spelling "Doninelle." JAMES B. ELDRIDGE James B. Eldridge succeeded Justice Dwinelle as First Judge of the county. He is named first among the judges, according to the record, at the term of the court held June 17, 1828, and, with the exception of the February 1829 term, his name appears first (12) aiiitiii^ tlif ii>t vi jutlgt'f' uiitil .luiif, l^il'l. Again w** are «x»u- froiiteti with an error in tlit> hit>U»rieH and the Civil List, fur the date of hi.s a|>|M»intiiieiit ih thfif given a^ Manh Id, IS:*;;, while tiie t^jurt nt-dni.'. .sh»Av that in l'VI)niar\ , ls:5!», he held hi.-* last term and hi^ name thuts not apjHnir among the presiding jinlgt*s after that. No donht his term l)egan in IS'JS anil he held till Fehruarv, \S'.j'.), for the original (>4)urt re<t>nls tut show it and it W(»uld nuike jnst a Hve-year term, which was the prestTllKMl term at that time. 1 have not the date of his hirth or admi>^ion to the har. 11«- wa« one of the members of AHsembly of tiie c\>unty in I si 7 ami iwit-e snl).se«|uently in IS'JT and l.S2*>. On .Vpril 12, IS'Jo, he was a|t|>oint(*4l one of the <-ommi.ssioners to lay out a road from Norwich llirongh Mailison «'ountv to inter.se«'t the Krie canal in the ti»wn (»f l,*nox at or ne:ir Oneida ereek. Aside from being County .Jndge he was the fifth Surrogate of the ixjuiity from February IS, 1H40, t*» IS-tll. He was a partner of the late A. N. .Shehlon of Hamilton, once District .\ttornev, from lS-}."» to 1S4S, and he ilieil at the hitter lilm-e, September 1 '•, lSr»4, at alxtut the age of TH. JOHN B. YATES Ihe coiirl records show that .Mr. Vates was I'iiat .1 udge of the ( onunon Ple:is Court beginning with the term of June l.S, lt>38; that he was not present in 1S:|-|, but was in l^'A'). He died July 10, l.S;i»;, very smldenly. Mrs. Hannnond in her history gives the date of his apjxiintment as l.silS, an«l stiites that after a short time he resigne«l and was later re-ap|M(inted. This 1 believe was in jwrt true. He was, however, probably appointed iu 183li, resigned at the end of the year, and for ]S'.\\ no First Judge was designateil as the line lor the name of the first jmlge in the court it^-ords is left blank that year; and he serve* 1 from 1 S;5.") until his deiith. The Civil List, which gives the date of his appointment as ISotJ or 18:i7, and Judge Smith's History, which makes his term from 1837 to January, 1843, wIhmi he was de:id an«l l»urie<l, are clejtrlv in error. This note«l man was born at ScheneeUidy in 17JS4 and was ad- mitted to the bar in IHOo, after graduating at an early age from I'nion College in ISO'J. Forseveral years he pnictiseii at Shenect- ttdy, but in IS I2 was coinmissioned by (iovernor Tompkins as Captain and raise<l a coiu|KUiy of artillery and parti«-ipate<l in the unfortunate campaign m northern New Y<»rk in 1S13. In ISl'j and 1810 he wa« member of Congress for the 1 Ith District, comprising the (13) counties of Schenectady and Schoharie. He then removed to Utica, where he took up the profession for a short time before locating in Chittenaugo. He was also a prominent merchant and proprietor of a packet line; was interested in oil and woolen mills and in the manufacture of plaster and water lime, industries which he fostered in the village; was a large investor in other enterprises. He owned much land in and about Chittenango and was the real builder of the village. Quite a large tract of laud he laid off at different times in the village and subdivided into building lots, many of which are still unoccupied. He was at one time appointed to supervise the State lotteries for the promotion of literature which necessitated his removal to New York, where he resided for about eight years, from 1817 to 1825. He was one of the incorporators of the Chittenango Canal Company in 1818, mention of which is found in many deecis in the village. He was also largely interested in a railroad from Chittenango to De- Ruyter and southern towns and on which he commenced grading at his own expense when he was suddenly called by death July 10, 1836, holding at the time the offices of First Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Assemblyman for the county. He was greatly interested in education and it is said at one time saved his alma mater from financial disaster by advancing large sums from his own funds. He is perhaps best known and remem- bered for the establishment at Chittenango of the Yates Polytechnic Institute, in 1824, which for several years he maintained at his own expense. His brother was the first principal, and the school was advertised and noted for its originality, but it was closed in 1832 for lack of patronage. This plan of practical education was less popu- lar then than today, but he was firm in his belief of its practicability and usefulness, and while he realized he was ahead of the ideas of the times, as the provisions of his long will show, for in it he made mention of the necessity of educating the people to the idea by means of publications, etc., showing its desirability and utility. Such an institution was one of his dreams and he made careful plans for the same by this will, but the opportunity was not accepted and the pro- ject was doomed to die from lack of popular interest, the very danger he feared. At Cornell we find the idea developed as he hoped his executors and the State might do. A rich, influential, generous, public spirited and highly respected citizen was Judge John B. Yatesi He was to Chittenango what Peter Smith and his son Gerrit were to Peterboro, and it is interesting to note the many similar characteris- {'u'H ill the livtw of tlita*e two ^(mmI ineii. Keen, active and Huc<'essful iiienuntile men, ricli, larjje land-ownere, pnietically founderh of the n>.«i|H*<-tive villages they e:ich ^lI•«lllu^l would one (hiy l)e ^reat centei-s of |>o|)nhition antl iiiartM of trade, enterj»risin^ in all inattens of piihlic interest, pnictieal in muKt things, each jiid^e, and each planning and devoting their ^rejitewt efTort« to henetit mankind — one l)y his e<iucii- tiitiial work.s ami designs, the other by hi« reli^iont* lalxjrs and ex- h<irtati<»ns. I)re:imers, you may Kiy, hut our j^reat men are simply dreamers who liveil to make and see their dre;ims come true, lioth are live« from the study of which we can ^ain much good and in- spinition, not alone from what they did, hut more, })eihapH, from what thev aiine<l at and dreame*! about. EDWARD ROGERS John n. Yates dieil in .luly, 1S:')(), while First .Iiidj;e. The c«)unty histories and the State Civil List make no mention of l^xlward Itogera, who I tind took his oath as "First Jud^e of the County Court of the County of Madison" February 1, 1837, whicli is on lile in the County Clerk's otHce. On February (>, 1837, w^ the court records show, he presidetl over the Common Pleas Court, which with only a few exceptions, probably due to his al)sence in ( oni^ress, he held for five years until the end of 1842 and the appointment of Jud^e liarlow. I have shown that errors exist in the list of judpes publishcnl as U) date«, and it is to be reg^retted that the name of this able man has been entirely omitteil in the ])ul)lications of our local history and 1 have tiiken pains to include it in the list of Madison County Judges I recently had printed. He was born at Cornwall, Conn., May 30, 1787; gnnliiate<l at Yale, and was one of the lirst lawyers of the village of Madison, liM'jiting at that village about the close of the \Var of 1812. He was admitted to j)nictice in Common Plesjs Court, February S, 181,'). There he practice<l for thirty years. He was one of the first trus- tees of the village on inc<)rj)onition in 181G; Supervisor of the town in 1820 and 1821. With litinik lieckwith and John Knowles he was a representative of this countv to the Constitutional State Con- vention of 1S21. This was the memorable assembla^re that destroye<l the ini(|uitous Counsil of A j)[)ointment, restore<l to the j>e<)ph* the light more fully to choose their own officers and, registeretl the triumph of the more democratic town meeting ideas of the eastern .settlers jiver the aristocratic, monarchial ones that had l>een handeil (15) down from the times of the colonies in our own State. Of this con- vention it has been said by competent authorities that it "presented an array of talent, political experience and moral worth never sur- passed by any assemblage of men elected from a single State." Vice President Tompkins presided and Martin Van Bureu was the leading debater. Chancellor Kent, that famous legal authority, and Judges Ambrose Spejicer, William VanNess (who used to sit in our county and presided at the Hitchcock murder trial), Piatt, James Tallmage and many other noted men of the times were members. Just a word about the Counsil of Appointment, so we may judge more clearly about the appointment of our first oificers. The original Constitution of 1777 provided for this machinery and the provision was probably drafted by John Jay, then 31 years old, and by Gouverneur Morris and Robert Livingston, still younger. The Counsil consisted of the Governor and four Senators, one from each Senate District, openly appointed by the Assembly every year, and whose members could not serve two years in succession. The Gov- ernor's powers were not clearly defined and it was sometimes con- tended he had simply a vote iu case of tie. The Constitution of 1801 continued these, but the Governor assumed the real power of appointment. And some of the early commissions on file in our county sliow the appointment was made by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Counsil of Appointment. There seems to have been some dispute as to this concerning some of the appointments, the Counsil claiming the right to appoint when the majority so decreed without the nomination or appointment by the Governor. This power came to be used by the Governor as a poli- tical whip and tool. Gov. Lewis appointed Daniel D. Tompkins Assistant Justice of the Supreme Court. In three years Tompkins, elected Governor by Clinton's friends, began to throw out of office the Lewis supporters. The strife was bitter and the Federalists or anti-Clintonians were shortly again in power and again began re- moval only to be checked shortly by the re-election of Tompkins in 1809 and the ascendancy of Clinton as a power in the State and nation. In 1815 the power was in the hands of the Republicans (not the present party by that name) and in 1817 again thependelum swung back to Clinton and he was still in control in 1819 when Van Buren was removed as Attorney General. The next year the Republicans were in control and a constitutional convention was called. Roger Skinner was a power at this time, being a Fetleral Judge, State Senator and a member of the Counsil of Appointment. (10) The convt'iiti'iii *li<l iiuicli t<» lessen the jxiwer of ajt|M>iiiiiin-iii, ImiI t»iir iuil^w ••oiitiiuieil to Ik.* appoiiittHl down to ISJT. While the >triijrj;le wiim {^oin^ on it is iiiterestinj; to note that I'l'ter Smith, who was or^inally aj)|K)inte<l by (Jov. l>e\\is and it id said perhaps for liis sii|»j>ort of lAJNvis and opj)OHition to Tompkins, still eontinueil to hold liis olllce down to the time of the (•onventi«)n and after. .Imljxe Ivoj^ers was also Representative in ( 'on^^ress from our (•Ji>d) distrift in 1S:}'.> and ISiO. History tells ns he was a writer of al)ility and ])Mblishe<l several works, hut negle<'ts to tell uh the nature of these. He dietl at (ialway, Sjirato^a county, May 29, 1 S.")!, at the age of seventy. He is l)urie<l at Madison, X. Y., and the l)eauliful monument erected by l)r. (Joidd of West Cornwall, .\. ^'., his brother-in-law, has inscribe<l on it the following: "A s<holar and a sound lawyer, an impartial judjre and an incorrupt- ible reprcsciitive of the j)eople." His son, H. (louid Rogers, was consul to Sjirdinia under the adniini>ti:i(i(in of I'resiilcnt Taylor. THOMAS BARLOW \\ ;i> the last ap|)ointe<l Judge of our county, holding the ollice of Kir>t Judge from 1843 to 1847, and was the father of our co- meml»cr, M. Kiigene l>arl(»w of Canastota. He was Imrn at Duanes- iHirgh, N. Y., over one hundre<l years ago, March 14, 180"), anil in him we lind a man, like n)ost of his predecessors, more noteil to posterity for his industrious and studious activities than his legal and judicial experiences, (iraduating from Hamilton College with the degree of A. H., he was shortly, in 1S:{4, admitte«l to the bar and practict?<l at C'anastot;i during a long and active life, his death at the age of 'Jl occuring in C'anastota as recently as Septeml^er 18, 1890. His picture, which hangs in the renter of the circle, was pre- sente<l to the county by himself, and was ])ainte<l by his son, Va\- ward ( i. Harlow, and is, I am told, l)(»th an excellent painting and likeness. The family possess, among other valuable mementoes, theeetifi- t-ate of his appointment as sergeant Major of Artillery in 183],signe<l by F. 10. Spinner, ( 'olonel, who wasafterwards Treasurer of the l'nite<l Stiites at the time of the Civil War and whose signature was well known during the circulation of the old greenback cur- rency. I'cfore his app<iintment as Judge he was Su|>erintendent of Couuuon S'IkhJs in 1S42, and while .ludge he was twice Senator, 0") 1844-48, at the time the Senate was also the appellate court, called "Court of Errors." Judge Barlow was a most industrious man and a profound and enthusiastic student of nature, as is evidenced by large and very com- plete collections of birds, animals, insects, minerals and curios of various kinds. He also took pride in a large collection of original signatures of noted persons. The greater part of his natural specimens he gave to his alma mater, Hamilton. He was a corres- ponding member of the New York Historical Society, New Orleans Academy of Silences, Wisconsin Historical Society, Buffalo So- ciety of Natural Science, a member of the Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, and also many others. Like Jefferson, his violin furnished much pleasure and recreation and on it he played with considerable ability. He was a Free Soil Democrat until 1856, when he joined the Republican party and supported its principles until the close of the war, when he returned to the Democracy. He was an upright, fear- less man, highly respected, and leaves to posterity much to honor and perpetuate his memory. '^,^ JAMES WARREN NYE I regret to say the county does not possess a portrait of this first elected judge of our county. He was born at DeRuyter, this county, June 10, 1815, and attended Cortland Academy at Homer, N. Y., was a driver on a stage line, and studied law at Troy, N. Y. In company with Lorenzo Sherwood, of the Sherwood brothers, also of DeRuyter, he practiced law at Hamilton. Sherwood went to Texas soon after its annexation and Nye continued there alone. Early he was appointed a Brigadier General, and when but 29 years old, Feb. 6, 1844, he was appointed Surrogate of Madison county, which office he held when elected County Judge and Surrogate un- der the new constitution, June, 1847, holding the same until Janu- ary 1, 1852. In 1848 he was a candidate for Congress as a Free Soil Democrat, but was defeated. After his term as Judge he re- moved to Syracuse, where he practiced a few years with such men as AVilliam J. Hough, also from this county. February 19, 1855, he was one of the attorneys with LeRoy Morgan, afterwards Justice of the Supreme Court, and David D. Hillis defending Alfred Flyer for the murder of his wife. Although probably guilty as his subse- quent life tended to indicate, he was acquitted. Judge Charles Amlrews, tlini Imt 27 ye:irs oM, \v:i.s Dlstrirt Atl«)rn('y ami was as- HisttMl bv llirtf other proiniiu'iit attt)riK'\>i in the priise<Miti«iii uf this trial. In IS.')?, when the Metropolitiin I'oliee Ji»»aril for the City of New York was ere;itetl, he bei-anie it*« first president ami renioveil to New York, lie was also at tme time appointed a Master and Ex- aminer in Chancery. In l.SJll Presitlenl Lineoln appointe<l him Governor of the new Territory of Nevada, where he e.\erte<l a stronj; intlnence in opposition to tJie pro-slavery party there, and when the territory was admilte<l as a Slate (Oft. I>1, ISd-l) he was ele<'te<l I '^. S. Senator for the term ISd.l-Oy, and was aj^ain re-elefte<l for the fnll term in ISOT. While in the Senate he served as chairman of the Committee.M on Enrolled Bills and Kevolutioiuiry Claims, and also on the Committees on Naval Affairs and Territories. He was a member of the National Connnittee in IS*}.") whii'hac- (*ompanie<l the remains of the martyred Lincoln to the final resting ])lace at Sprin;^field, 111. He was a('counte<l one of the ablest lawyers of his time and es- pecially for his oratorical abilities, and his efforts connte<l ft»r nnuh in the establishment of law and order in the new State. He was identitle<l with the Itej)nl)lican party from its formation, and his elo- <|ucnce and stronjjj sense of humor made him an efTe<"tive and poj)n- lar stnmp sj)eaker, esj)e<'i:illy in the c:imi)aii;;i of ISJiO, when he made a speaking tonr in the west with William II. Seward. Me was nndonbte<lly one of the strongest attorneys and most prominent men our c(»nnty has pro<lnced. He ditnl at White I'lains, N. Y., l)ecember *J.">, 1S7(». He was a short, thick set man, with dark ciirlcy hair, a fancy dresser, and <|nite a favorite of the opposite sc\. SIDNEY T. HOLMES Mr. Hobnes was a j)rominent figure in our comity from lSr)l)to 1S7(). Alniut his e^irly life and aLso after he left the county I liave not been able to leiirn mu(;h. His f iher was Epiienetus Holmes, one of the first lawyers at Morrisville, and .Judge Holmes was probal)ly born there. 1 find that in IS-l'.) he was Clerk of the Hoard of Snj)ervisors an<l in l.Sol was elected County Judge and Surrogate, which jiosition he held for about ten y«irs. He was our Kepri'sentative in ( 'ongress from the*J'J<l Hislrii-t for two tciins M S( '),"-'( i'.M and xiuu tlM'rc;ifl«'r, in 1871, r»'nioved lo Wav (19) City, where lie continued to reside until his death in 1890. His body was brought to Morrisville for burial February 21, 1890. His activity in our county was about the time of the war and I find he was appointed one of the commissioners to raise an $80,000 war loan for the county in 18()2. CHARLES L. KENNEDY Charles L. Kennedy, whose picture hangs on the east side of the circle, was a son of Dr. Samuel Kennedy, who was an early prominent and much beloved physician of Chittenango and an early Abolitionist who died at that village in 1849, at the age of 59. Judge Kennedy was born at Chittenango, N. Y., November 15, 1825. He studied law at Morrisville with Duane Brown, Esq., aud was admitted to the bar in 1847. He remained with Brown two years, then removed to Chittenango to enter partnership with William E. Lansing. Lansing was elected County Clerk in 1856 and Judge Kennedy came to Morrisville with him as deputy in charge of the orKce. He was elected to succeed Lansing as Clerk in 1858 and after his term as Clerk he practiced for a time at Morris- ville with Judge S. T. Holmes. He was elected Judge of the county in 1808 and held the same to the time of his death in 1883. His term of fifteen years was, with the exception of those of Peter Smith and Alfred D. Kennedy, the longest of any of our judges. As his continued retention shows, he was a most popular, careful, re- spected and competent official. During the later years of his term Judge Coman, now of Oneida, was appointed by him Clerk of the Surrogate's Court, which position he held during the term of Judge Chapman and part of the term of Judge Alfred D. Kennedy. Charles L. Kennedy died at Morrisville, January 12, 1883, and his widow some years after. One son, Charles L. Kennedy of Syracuse, survives. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CHAPMAN Judge Chapman was the son of a self-made lawyer and passed most of his active live at Clockville, where he was born on March 24, 1817, and lived until about 1880, when he located at Oneida and built his beautiful home in which his daughter, Mrs. Charles E. Reniich, still resides. He was educated at Stockbridge Academy, Hudson River Seminary, Manlius and Fayetteville Academies, and graduated from (20) Hamilton Col lt*«je in 1S:^,0. This tliorou^rh c<lnoation «levf!o|»e(l a natural aptitutle for literature and in later life lie was note<l a8 a le<'turer, *<oine of them hein^ "Wa^liin^ton and Itt* Defenses," "Har|)er'8 Ferry," "Salem Witchcraft," etc. He wa.s a prominent and helpfid citi/en, lioldinij^ the po.sition of ]H>8tma.ster at Clockville ft>r thirty ye;ii> and hcin;; S;ij)crvisor of his town in ISTd. He wa.s admitted to the bar in ISll and practiced at ('l(K"kville for forty years, where he was also much in demaml as a t^kilUnl surscyor. in .laiinary, 1 SS3, Governor Clevehuul app<)inte<l him ("oiinty .Indj^e and Surniirate of our county to lill the vacancy cjinsed hy the deiith of Charles Kennedy, and he served until the (|ualific:ition of Jud^e Alfred Kenneily the followin;; January. He died at Oneida, March 20, 1S1)2. ALFRED D. KENNEDY This is an excellent likeness of .hid;;e Kennedy, who died only a few years ap;o at Morrisville (February, ISDO), while servin;; his sixtwnth year as County Judi;e and Surrof^ate, one of the lonjjfest terms of any who have held that ollice. His jwrenta were of Scotch descent and his an<'cstors were banishe<I from the Kirk of Closburn, a smrdl place in Scotland, on ac<'ninit of relii^iotis i)elief, Ixrmi; ScoU'h Presbyterians. He was born at \'oliuitown, Conn., Xovember 10, lS3o, and after the dejith of his father he attended school and taught school before entering; on cmjtloyment in a dry <x(»()ds store at T'oston. His older brother, John M. (now livin;; !>t Oneida), havin;j; taken a farm near Oneida, he shortly followed him then' in 1855 and wjis a clerk in the store of James Tomlinson. (^nite soon lie entered the ollice of Timothy Jenkins at Oneida Castle and when admittc«l to the bar en- tere<l into a partnership with Jnd«;e Barlow at Canastoti, where In* continued until his election as Comity Clerk in ISTO. He served one term and was for some years also Justice of the Peace of the old town of Lenox. We was elected County Judp:e and Surrogate in 1SS3 and by re-elections was still actintr at the time of his death in 1800. (21) GERRIT A. FORBES Judge Forbes was well known to most of you. He was the soJi of a farmer, Isaac Forbes, and was born near Clockville, May 30, 1836, and it is said was named Gerrit in honor of Gerrit Smith, who was a schoolmate of his mother, Abigail Sayles Forbes. After obtaining a common school education he entered the office of B. F. Chapman (afterwards County Judge and Surrogate) at Clockville, in 1860, and in May, 1863, at the General Term in Binghamton, was admitted to the bar. He practiced for a time at Clockville with Judge Chapman. In 3 871 he was elected District Attorney, which office he held for three years, making a most ener- getic and capable official. He moved to Canastota in 1868, where he practiced, except for a time succeeding 188-1. when he was a member of the lii'm of Forbes, Brown & Tracy of Syracuse, matil his election to the Supreme Court Bench in November, 1887. He was afterwards re-elected and served in that position nntil the time of his death at Canastota, September- 22, 1906. He was married, July 10, 1862, to Ellen Brooks, who still survives. For 12 years he was president of the Board of Education at Canastota, where he was a prominent and useful citizen. His life being so well known to nearly all of you, it is not nec- essary to speak of his superior capabilities as a practitioner and his high standing as a judicial oHicer. JOHN E. SMITH Judge Smith was one of the most active members of the committee which had in charge the collecting of this excellent group of pictures we are inspecting. His own, which hangs near the center of the circle in the main court room, is a good likeness of this prom- inent, kind hearted and well known citizen who so recently passed away. Judge Smith was born in the town of Nelson, August 4, 1843. His par.euts died when he was quite young and he was left to the fartherly care of his half brother, S. Perry Smith, who in after life studied law with his brother, and although some advanced in life, be- came a lawyer of considerable prominence, practicing at INIorrisville. (22) Aflt-r aUi'iidiii^; hIhm»I at Ca/tMnivia and a short tiiiif at the Alhaiiv Law S-h<»(»l, where President MeKinley wat* als«i a student at aUint that time, he wan admittetl to the l)ar at the (General Term at Albany, May, ISJ}", ain«l inimeiliately took up the prartire at Morrisville, where at ditlerent times he wa8 with Nathaniel F«M)te, Smith iV: Haskell, Smith iV: ("ramphin and Snnth tV: Smith, the latter firm being himself and his son, (J. Wells Smith. l'\»r a time he was also a member of the lirm of Smith, Kellojjjj; cV: Wells of Syrui'iiee. He was eleetetl District Attorney of our eounty and served from 1S77 to 1S7'.> inclusive; and the next incumbent of the ottice, H. Harclay, resii^ninj; very soon after his elc<'tion on a<'count of ill health, he was aj>j>ointe<l to till the vacancy by ( lovern(»r t'ornell anil 8erve<l until 188:3. lie was ele<'tetl Stiite Senator for the 2:>d Dis- trict (Herkimer, Madison, and Otsego counties) for the term 1SS()-S7. In Jidy, ISS*.), he was aj)|M)inted First Assistant V. S. Di>(rict Attorney for the Northern District of New York and spent c(»nsiderable of his time in Butlalo, where he was in charge of much iniportant litigation, among the important cases being the (iould l):iid< cjises and the celel)rate<l S. A. Mers;in an<l Charles M. Ross murder cases. He served in this position until IS'.tl; and after a memorable political light he se«'ure<l the Kepubiiran nomination for SUite Senator on the '.(iiSth ballot, was electe<l by a goo«l majority, and served for the term lSi>2-0o. l''or manv yenrs he was a leading trial lawver of the county and was intereste<l in much of the important litigation in this and n^ir by counties, both civil and criminal. For fourteen years he was one of the examiners of candidates for admission to the bar — lirst in the Third anil then in the Fourth Department, when the examinations were largely ond. He thus be- cjime acijuainteil with a large number of the yoiuiger members of the profession. His own ollice was continually supplied with student.s with whom he devottnl much time in their instruction and care in di- recting their risiding, and in whose welfare he took an active interest, as I, who was the last of these from 180.") to 1808, e:in testify. On manv long rides with him he seemed to delight in j)assing the tin)e in discussing legal propositions ami in drawing forth and cori'ti-ting the information I had sernreil from study. I'pon the dejith of Judge A. D. Kenntnly, he was ap]>ointe«l his successor as County Judge by CJovernor Roosevelt in 1S!»0 and at the next election was ele<-tcil for the term HMIO-l tMIC). After a spirited and close light he was defeated for re-election, nujuing on an inde- (23) pendent ticket, and although his health had been impaired for some time he continued to practice nearly up to the time of his death, which occurred at Morrisville, August 23, 1907. Much could be said about the active and useful life of this affable lawyer, but his departure was so recent and his smiling countenance so familiar to you all it is not necessary here. No one probably had a larger personal acquaintance throughout the county than he enjoyed, PHILO GRIDLEY About the time this county was being first settled, at Paris in our adjoing county of Oneida, September 16, 1796 Philo Gridley was born. In his early days he taught school. In 1816 he gradu- ated from Hamilton College, and in 1820 he was admitted to the bar and for a time practiced at Waterville. Later he came to Ham- ilton and for a time was a partner of Surrogate Stower. In 1829 he succeeded William K. Fuller as District Attorney for our county, which oflice he held for about seven years, until 1836. This appoint- ment was probably made under the provisions of the Constitution of 1821 which provided that a District Attorney for each county should be appointed by the County Courts. His residence in our county was comparatively brief, for in 1838 he was appointed Circuit Judge for the 5th Circuit of the State. These Judges had practically the same powers as our Supreme Court Justices. They held courts throughout the district the same as our Supreme Court Justices do now. One Judge was appointed for each Senate District. These courts were sometime held with the Oyer and Terminer for criminal business in which case the Circuit Judge had to associate with him two other Judges of the county. While Judge Gridley was not ap- pointed for our district, he was probably living here at the time as I found on file his oath of office as such taken before Ephenetus Holnjes of Morrisville, August 2, 1838. He removed at once to Utica and when the new constitution was adopted in 1847 he was elected Supreme Court Judge. He died at Utiea, August 16, 1864. AVhile Circuit Judge he presided at one of the most important and noted criminal trials in our country. One Alexander Mcl^eod was indicted for the murder of Amos Durfee by pistol shot Dee. 30, 1837, the night of the burning of the steamer "Caroline" and sending her over Niagara Falls, during the so-called ''Patriot War." (24) McI.«etHl was a Hritish subject aiul liis poverimient deinandtil liis re- lease. Daniel Webster, tlien Se<Tetiiry of State for l^>ite«l States, was in favor of granting the reijuest, but tlie (jovernor of Xew York wouUI not eonsent. On motion of the defendant the place of trial was rhaii<;e<l frouj Krie founty, where the feeliuj^ was very hostile, to Oneida rounty, and .lud^e (Iridley assij^iie** to the c-ase. The State Attorney (ieneral, Willis Hall, District Attorney of Krie e<iunty .John L. Wiwjd, and the District Attorney of Oneiila county, Timothy Jenkins (whose life we will later diseuss), proset-uted. (irejit I'ritiiin re-ally t<.K>k charge of the defen<-e and appropriated nionev for the purpose and (iardner iV: Hnidley with .Joshua A. Spencer (another Madis«jn county man), all prominent attorneys, con- ducte<l the defense. lioth (U)untries were intensely intereste<l and it was fe:ire<l that a conviction would brin^ on war, but (iridley charjred the jurv that if the evidence warraiite<l it to <'(»nvict even if it should "lij^iit up the laud with the llame of war." LcI/eo<l was, however, ac<piitte<l. Sj)encer was one of the foremost advocates in the country. His orif^inal minutes in this trial are preserveil by the Oneida Historic:il»S)ciety at I'ticn. For his services in this case it is re- port e<l that (J rrat Britain |»:iid him $10,000 — a very large fee for those times. Joshua Sj^encer was a Madison county attorney, born at (Jre^it Harrington, Mass., May 1)>, 171*0. He was a clerk in a store after he cjime to Len«>.\ in this county, enliste<l in the War of 1S12, and served at Sackett's Harbor; was subse<piently admitted to the bar !ind |)r:icticed here f(tr a time when, in 1S2'.), he forme<la partnership with William II. M.iynard and rcmove<l to Tticii. In IS-ll he was appointed \\ S. District .\ttorncy for the Northern District of Xew Y(»rk. Jn 1842 he was elected State Senator; in IS IS he wasele<-t- e<I Mayor of Utioa, about which time he informetl his son that he had tried c:ises in every county of the state. Ilis eminence at the bar was well deserved and he was a power with the jury. lie died at rtica, April 2'), 1S.')7. CHARLES STEBBINS, SR. The original of tiiis pi<'tiire was taken by Weld of C'azenovia and presented to the county by his son, Charles Stebbins, Jr. ( "harles Stebbins, senior, was born at Williamstown, Mass., in Mav, 17S1>, and was graduateil fnun \\'iUianis ('ollcge in 1S07. He remove*! to C'azenovia in ISIO, where he continued to live till the (25) time of his death and was one of the most prominent and influential citizens of the community. He was admitted to the bar in 1813; served as Aide-de-Camp on the staff of General Hurd, his fellow townsman and prominent military man, in the War of 1812; was Clerk of Cazenovia village 1814-21 and its President from 1824 to 1826; one of the trustees of the Seminary of the Genesee Conference (now Cazenovia Seminary) in 1825; one of the incorporators of the old Madison County Bank in 1831; director of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company in 1836; first President of the Bank of Caze- novia in 1856. In 1825 he ran for State Senator in opposition to Gerrit Smith, who was on the anti-Masonic ticket, and defeated him. He was re- elected and was acting Lieutenant-Governor of the State for a short period in 1829, when Enos T. Throop became Governor on the res- ignation of Martin VanBuren, by virtue of his being at the time the President of the Senate. He also held the position of State Bank Commissioner from 1830 to 1840. He died March 23, 1873, at Cazenovia, where his descendants occupy honored and prominent positions in the life of the beavitiful village he helped to build up. GERRIT SMITH Gerrit Smith probably had the largest national fame of any Madison County man. His picture, which hangs in the west gallery of the court room, was presented to the county by his daughter, the late Elizabeth S. Miller of Geneva. He was born at Utica, March 6, 1797, being the fourth son of Peter (pur first county judge) and Elizabeth Livingston Smith. The family moved to Whitesboro about five years after his birth and in 1806 came to Peterboro. In 1813 he entered school at Clinton and in 1818 graduated from Hamilton College. His brother Peter went with him, but stayed only a couple of years. In 1819, soon after the death of his mother and his graduation, he married Welthy Ann Bachus, only daughter of Dr. Azel Bachus, the first president of Hamilton College. She died of brain trouble in seven months, and in January, 1822, he married Ann Carroll, daughter of AVilliam Fitzhugh of Geneseo, N. Y. He was a man of considerable wealth for those times, and his fine home at Peterboro was maintained much like the rich estates in the South and was noted for its hospitality. His investments were largely in real estate, which finally cen- tered in and about Oswego in the canal, harbor and ships. The (20) linaiK'ial <lt'j»rest«iun of lS.'>.j-37 iu*:irly swept :i\v:iv his fortuiu', Imt Ije l)(>rn»\vetl .^J.")! ),()()( I from .I<»lm .Ijnol) Astor on little stH'iirily l>iit his naked proniise and was soon on his feet a^ain. His bioi^raplier utateH he had an income of from fifty to sixty thousand doUarsa yesir for twenty-live years and for the hist ten years $S(), ()()(), His wealth enahled him to advance ami make prominent many of his theories an<l policies and he attained nnicli prominence in the ^reiit world of alTairs. Although a c:indidate many tinu's, about the only )>olilic3d oHice he held was Congressman from the Oswego-Madison distri<t in I .sr)"J- '):>. He was a candidate for President on tlu' Liberty |>arty ticket in ISlS and l.S."j"J, for the Industrial Congress in 1S.")(» — ihree times a candidate for the Presidency, equalling the record of ^Vill- iam J. Jiryan. In IS 10 and l.S.')8 he was a c:indi(hite for (Jovernor of New York of the anti-Slavery party, and was defejite<l for the Stjite Senate, running on tiie anti-Masonic ticket. He was always interested in l(M-al affairs and was one of the trustees of the IVterboro Academy. In 17 IS he purcliastnl this, and with land he had ]>reviously donated that institution and the old Presbyterian church he ac(|uired, donate<l them for the Home for Destitute Children of Madi.son County, that admirable in.stitution in which we take great pride. He was not a lawyer by profession, but in 18''<> he became in- teresteil in William Zecher, a Dutchman, accusetl of murdering John liuck of Nelson with an a.xe. He learned that ZiM-her <":ime from the s;ime part of Holland as his fathers family and luH-ameconvince^l he was innocent. He was a.'<signetl with D. Brown and W. H. Kin- ney as counsel for the defendant, while David Mitchell ])ro.><ecuted. He spoke for six hours on summing uj) in his hi^jirty, natund ami ingenious wav and the jury acipiitted. W lictlier this was due to the elotjuence of his plea or the lack of convicting evidence I c(»uld not say, but no doubt his advoca«'y of the defendant's cau.se was a deter- mining factor in the deci.-i(tn. He fonnde<l a chiir<-h at Petei'boro, free from ecclesiasticism and <Tee<l obligation, and its imlpit was lilled liy many men of fame. Xote<l throughout the country as an anti-slavery advocate, and for his aifl to that «'au>c, however he should re<'eive full homage as a suj-cesi^ftd business man, of a beautiful religious nature, a great and staunch temperance worker, but pre-eminently a humaniUuMan. If hi.-' one legal etTort was a mist.ake, there being some (|Uestion lis to /(H'her's innoccn<'«', it \\as a mistake C3Hise<l by his tin) great (27) sympathy for and ready confidence in the unxortunate; we are proud of the great uplift to society those qualities enabled him to exert. He died at New York while on a holiday visit, December 28, 1874. His biography by Octavus B. Frothingham, published in 1879, is interesting and complete, and it has been difficult to make from it so condensed a sketch as this. NATHANIEL KING Nathaniel King was the son of Samuel King, a farmer, and was born at Amenia, Dutchess County, N. Y., December 26, 1767. His mother was early left a widow, with little means, but was intel- ligent, pious and literary and saw that their son was well educated and admitted to the bar. He graduated from Yale in 1792. When thirty years of age he came to Hamilton, then "Payne's Settlement," and commenced the practice of his profession. He had studied in Albany and became ac(|uainted Avith many prominent men of the State, and in 1798 he was sent to Albany to secure a division of the old county of Herkimer, which resulted in the creation of the old county of Chenango. In April he was elected the first Assembly- man from this new county and was re-elected the next year, in 1799. In 1800 he ran for Senator, but was second best in a large field; however, the next year he was elected Assemblyman again. He was earlier an Assistant Assessor and Justice of the Peace. In 1803 he married Ottillia Mayer, step-daughter of Deacon Olmsted, who died suddenly in 1816, and later he married Mary Biites of Paris, Oneida County, who left him an infant son in addi- tion to the five children by his first wife. These his third wife, Mrs. , Elizabeth Tefft, whom he married in 1818, ably assisted him to bring up. He purchased a large tract of land in Hamilton and erected a large office. Several students of note studied with him, including John G. Stower, afterwards Surrogate of our county. He was ap- pointed Master in Chancery and in 1907 was appointed District Attorney for the counties of Herkimer, Onondaga, Cayuga, Cortland and Madison, but in 1812 he resigned this office and joined the then Republican party. He was subsequently one of the Common Pleas Judges of the county. Mr. King was a student and educator, being well versed in Latin and Greek, all branches of mathematics, rhetoric, grammar, composition and elocution. He carrie<l on discussions with such (28) niatheinaticiaiiM a« Professors Strong of llainilton Colle^ ami A. M. Fisher of Yule. His solutions of diflicuit problems were published in several nuij^azines. His mefhanittil genius is also illustnite<l by his invention of the Tellurian fur illustrating the motions of the earth and e>pe<'iall\' the precession of the etpiinoxes. In 1818 he was one of the twenty-four trustees to found liatnilton Academy. He contributetl materials and money for the erection of buildings and was the first te.icher. He had been a teacher in his early yesirs and took great delight in the w(»rU, in which he was most su<-ce>sful. He was also a succt^sful farmer, devoting nuich lime to the raiding of winter wliejit and cultivating a fine orchard, priHuring st-ions from sueh dist;uices as Ixjng Island and New Jersey. Mr. King was also a noted military man. He was ejirly <'om- missiomHl Colonel of Militia and conducted his ''tnunings" with nuich skill. lie was later promoted to .Major (Jeneral ami in ISl 1 he reipu'stcd his friend, (Jov. Tompkins, to send him into service and went to .Suckets Harbor, where he was in conunaiul of all the militia iu this xicinity, although Gen. Jacob iirown of the regular U. S. troops was afterwards in supreme conunand. The position was made s«) strong that the expe<'ted attack by the Hritish was not ma<le, and in l.Sl.'), after pe;ice was declared, lie came h«»me and superintendeil the militia courts martial for a time beft)re he resignetl. In Mr. King he have one of the successful men of his day. -\s a lawyer, e<lucator, farmer and man of litenirv })ursuits (often in- <lulging in poeticsil comj>osition.s) he made an enviable reputation. He died at Hamilton, .Iidy 'lit, 1848, and was 8urvive«l but a few months by Jiis last \vife. WILLIAM KENDALL FULLER (Jeneral Fuller was born about the time the settlement of our eounty began at SchentnUidv, X. Y., November 21, 17'.>2, was graduateil at Union College, and was admittinl to the bar in IS] j. He |)racti<«'<l at I'tica for a time with J<thn 1>. Yates and was at- torney for the Oiu'ida, St(M-kl>ridge and lirothertown Indians and Master in Chancery from 1814 to 181(1. In ISUl with his partner, John IJ. Yates, he moved to Chittenango, where he be<-ame a promi- nent citi/en. He was Supervisor of Sullivan for live years from 1S27 to l.s:!l and l*resi<lent of the Hoard in 1S:5(), and held many other (»nices such as Conunon Fleiis Ju<lge, .lustice of the I'-.'ace, Town Clerk, Postmaster, S'IkhW Tru.stee, Highway Commi.ssioner. (29) From 1821 to 1828 he was District Attorney of the county, being called upon to prosecute Abraham Antoue for murder in July, 1823. For the terras 1833-5-7 he was Member of Congress for the 23d District (Madison and Onondaga), and as State Surveyor was en- gaged in settling the boundary line with Canada. He had a long militar)^ experience: was Quartermaster of a regiment of militia at Utica, Aide-de-camp to the general of brigade with rank of Captain; Brigade Judge Advocate with rank of Major; Division Inspector with rank of Colonel; Adjutant General of the State of New York appointed by Governor Yates and continued for six months by Governor Clinton, who complimented him by issuing and publishing in the state paper a General Order. He died at his native city of Schenectady, to which he had given a city hall, on November 11, 1883, at the advanced age of 91. DAVID J. MITCHELL David J. Mitchell with Henry C. Goodwin studied fonr years with A. V. Bentley at DeRuyter and obtained much experience in an extensive justice court practice he enjoyed. They were both Delluyter boys, and when admitted both removed to Hamilton and opened an office as partners. Mr. Mitchell was a brother of D. Q,. Mitchell, another DeRuyter attoi'ney, and an uncle of William H. Manchester, for a long time the capable Clerk of our Surrogate's Court. He was born about 1827. Not long after their removal to Hamilton Goodwin was elected District Attorney for the county in 1847, and in 1853, the next succeeding term but one held by Lans- ing, Mitchell was elected to that important office, at which time he prosecuted Zecher for murder, Gerrit Smith defending. About five yejirs after his term expired, in ] 860, he moved to Syracuse as many of our prominent attorneys have done, and entered into partnership with Dauiel Pratt and Wilbur M. Brown. Their firm had a large clientelle and Mitchell was accounted one of the brighest attorneys of his time. He was one of the attorneys for General George W. Cole, who was indicted and tried for the murder of L. Harris Hitch- cock, a prominent attorney of Syrat;use, whom he shot in the head at the Stanwix hotel in Albany for alleged improper conduct with the former's wife. This was a noted case at the time, the jury failing (.SO) to aj^ree Jit lli»' first trial aiitl reiulerinir a vcnli<'t «»f :ii'(|iiittal at the 8ec(>n(l trial. Mr. Mitilu'll (li»'«l at Syracuse, Sept. li 1. 1S7 I, at tlii' t-urly a;^e of fifty. EPHENETUS HOLMES Kphenetiis Holmes \va8 borii at Aineiiia, DiitclieBS County, N. Y., December 1, 17.S1, and was adniillnl to the bar at S-hajxhticoke, N. Y., iu ISOH. After pnieticinii; at that plaee for a time he re- inove<l to Morri.8vi lie about LSIW, where with Andrew S. Sloan they estjibli.'<lie<l themselves iifi the first attorneys at the county seiit. He was elci'tetl . Justice of the l*e:ice and for ten years he was one of the C'onun. in IMeas Jud^eH of the county. He was nuich intereste<l in educiition and was one «»f the first trustees of the old MorrLsville Academy. In ISHl and 1S:V2 he was ("lerU of the Koard of Supervisors, which position he afterward held fnun is;').") to '17. He was the father of Judpe Sidney T. Holmes. His picture, which han;;s in the west corridor, was presented to the county by his (laughter, .lulia I. B. Holmes of Hay City, Mi<h. He die<l about 1800 or '•;!. JOHN KNOWLES This picture was painted in October, IS 11, by A. I>. F, Wliit- nev and was presented t<» the county some years ajfo by his ian)ily. Miss Kstelle Ivnowles, a }xrejit-^rand<lauirhter of the subjwl, is now livin<r in Chittenan^o, but can ^ive little information about this ancestor. Mr. KiiowU-s Wius a prominent man of his town duriiij; the eiirlv vt':irs ot our countv and at one time praetiee<l at Uridireport, where he settb*<l alioul lS(m, before the f(U-matiou of the <'ounty. lie was many times Supervisor of his town of Sidlivan, in ISlti, '17, 'IS, '20, '21, '22, '34 and "M. A man by the .same name was president of the village of ( 'hittenanj^o in isr)2. In ISK) he, with IVrry H. Childs of Cazenovia and .Nathaniel Cole, was a|)pointe<l by tlie Court of Conunon Pleas under an act of the Legislature to su|)erintend the dmiuaj^e of the great swamp or (31) marsh on Canasaraga creek in the towns of Sullivan and Lenox. In 1817 he was one of the commission appointed by the Supervisors to sell the old Court House and Goal at Cazenovia for |l,500. In 1818 he was one of the incorporators of the Chittenango Canal Com- pany formed for the purpose of building a canal from Chittenango to the Erie. He was also one of the incorporators of the Madison County Railroad in 1829 to construct a single or double track rail- road from Chittenango to Cazenovia and south, which was never bnilt. He doubtless later lived at Chittenango and was buried in the Walnut Grove Cemetery about a mile south of that village. I have not learned when or where he was born or when he died, prob- ably prior to 1860. MATTHEW J. SHOECRAFT Mr. Shoecraft was a son of Joseph Shoecraft, a noted mathe- matician, and was born in Herkimer County in 1818. He prepared for college at Union Academy at Belleville, N. Y., and graduated from Union College iu 1840. For a time he taught school and studied law in his spare motnents and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He removed to Oneida^ where he practiced until his death about 190,5. In his early years he was a prominent figure in Oneida, where he was one time president of the village. He was elected Demo- cratic Presidential Elector at one time and was a candidate of his party for Congress, State Senator, District Attorney and other offices. At the age of 80 he prepared an address for a meeting of the Madison County Bar Association at Morrisville, but was unable to deliver it in person on account of illness. TIMOTHY JENKINS Timothy Jenkins was not a Madison county attorney, although he practiced here a great deal, being located at Oneida Castle. He was born at Barre, ]Mass., January 29, 1799, removed to Washing- ton county and received an academic education, went to Utica and studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1825. He was Distinct Attorney for Oneida county fi'om 1840 to 1845, and it was during (32) liiH term that tlit' iiiiDou.'* -M«lie«j(l murder trial \va.'< lield iH'fore Judge Gridlev and in whirh he wuii assisted in the prosecution by the State Attorney (irnenil and the District Attorney of Erie county. For about ten ye:iix lie wa.s tiie attorney for the Oneida Indians and otui- ductetl important litigation for them in the highest courtis. He wiiH tlire*' times elected ats ]{epref*entative in Congress, in 1H44, lH-ir» and 1S.")(), ',uu\ was there accounttnl one of the le:»diiig members. It is sjiid he may have been the originator of the famous *'S\ ilniot I'rovi.Ho." He was calletl one of the best attorneys Oneida c(Minty has had, and was a staunch DeiiKKTat until slaverv times. He was, however, one of the delegates to the Pliiladelpliia convention in 1S.")C» which forme<l the Kepublican party, and he 8upporte<l Fremont and the Kepubli«'an candidates therej\fter. He died at ( )neida ( a.stle, De- cember 24, IS")'*. DANIEL D. WALRATH Mr. Walrath was born at C'hittenaiigo, March 7, 1821, and his picture, which was taken from a likeness about 1SS4, hangs in the east corridor. He was an attorney, admitteii to the bar in 1.S47 and the U. S. Circuit Court in 1S(»7, and was a prominent figure in the liM-jility. In 1.S42 he was one of the trustees of the village and in 1.S4V) was elected President. He was Supervisor of the town of Sullivan in 1SI'>4 and again in 1S7«'). He die«l at Chittenango, Feb- ruary 2, ISSC). CHARLES STEBBINS, JR. Mr. Stebbins was born at Ca/enovia, .luly :3, 1827, where he continued to reside and practice uj) to the time of his de:ith, e.xcept the two vears he was in practice at Synicu.se. He read law with Stebbins iN: Fairchild and was adn)itte<l to the bar in 1S|;», having graduate<l from Hobart College in IS 1(1. lie was Clerk t»f the vil- lage of ('a/>enovia from 1858 to 18(jl, again in ISd;', and 18()0; l*resident in 1H()7 and 18(58; Supervisor of his town in 18t(7 and 1870; and was interestetl in the establishment of the Home for Des- titute Childivn at I'eterboro, having in'ge<l the matter (»f a sepanite home while he was on the lioard, and his report as one of the com- mittee having the esUiblishment in hand you will Hnd in the Su|)er- (33) visorg Journal of 1871 — probably drafted by him. A humorous and flowery speech made by him at the close of the session of the Board of 1867 is reported in full in the Journal (being about the only speech having the distinction of being recorded). It is full of jokes and puns and descriptions of the towns, and is well worth reading. He was one of the commissioners to revise the Statutes and Code appointed Jnly 1, 1871, and serving till Jan. 1, 1875, at which time he was appointed the private secretary to Governor Tilden. He died May 4, 1898. This crayon was made from a photograph taken by Kurtz at Albany in 1875 and was presented to the county by his wife, Mary M. Stebbins, who with two daughters and four sons survived him. SAMUEL SIDNEY BREESE Mr. Breese was one of the J ustices of the Peace on the formation of the county (in 1806) for the then town of Cazenovia, and is said to be the tirst resident lawyer of the county. He was born at Phil- adelphia, Pa., September 26, 1768. He was the first County Clerk of Chenango county in 1798. For some time he practiced in the county with Jonas Piatt, the firm of Piatt & Breese being well known at that time, and I found on the Court records at the Febru- ary, 1814, term it was ordered that iu all suits prosecuted or defend- ed by Piatt & Breese Samuel S. Breese should thereafter act as at- torney, said Jonas Piatt having been promoted to the bench of the Supreme Court, May 11, 1814. He subsequently moved to Oneida county and became one of the most prominent members of the bar of that county. He was also elected Member of Assembly there in 1828. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1821, but was one of those who did not sign the document, as was also his friend. Judge Piatt, Judge VanNess and several others. He died at Vernon, N. Y., October 15, 1848, being 80 years old. The beautiful painted portrait which hangs in the east corridor was copied by Albert J. Purdy in 1 890 from a portrait by Prof. S. F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, and was presented to the county by Sidney B. Breese of Oneida. GEN. WILLIAM J. HOUGH General Hough was born sit Paris Hill, N. Y., in the year 1775, oi Revolutionary fame, and was educated at Pompey Hill, N, V. 1 1-<' rejul I:i\v jiikI prmiice*! at ( "a/.t*in»via f<»r forty y«jrt», where lie wuti » prominent figure in the I'oninuinity. lie wa« Clerk of that vilhi^e froiD' IS'J'.J to l.S;J3 and airain in 1S:;(>; '\tn President in 1 s:;,s :iHd ISlS, He wa.s a prominent (Jenenil in the Militia and l'ie*<ideiK I'oJk tenderetl him the ntlice of Brigadier (Jenenil in the armv at the time of the Mexic:in War. \n l-S'^.T aiwi lH;i(» he win* a Meniher of A.sf*enibly from this coiintv ;mmI was electetl as Ivepresentative in ( 'ongress from the 'I'-'td district »> iS'i.'t and re-ele<'te<| in I.S17. He was appointe<l one «>f the iit^entri of the Smithsonian Institute at \\'ashinpt<in, D. ( "., in isn*, an<i was much intereste<l in the admind)le worU it (•:irrieil on and ('ontinne<i in that position down t«) the time of his d(>:ith. In IS.'tf) he removnl to Svra<'nse, where he attained a prominent standing in the profession and was intrnste<i with many important matters. He was Viee-Presiident of the ohl .Synieuse ( ity lianU and for two terms was President of the «'ity Board of I'Mueation. His picture in the ejist corridor was painteil by .1. liniylon Wilcox in 1890 and presented to the county by his family. He lli^^l at Syracuse, October 4, 1S(5'.I, at the ripe age of *M. SYLVESTER BEECHER This excellent jKiinting was made by Melvin H. Ilay and was copie<l from a painting by Fretlerick Spencer from a likeness taken in IS II or Mf). It was presente<I to the county by his ilaughter, Mrs. Daniel N. ('rouse of I'tica. Sylvester lieet;her was lM)rn at W olcott, Conn., .January 0, 1781. He was one of the Assemblyn)en from this county in 1827, with .bunes B. Kldri<lge and JytMuuel White. He was Supervisor of the old town of Lenox in 1817, and sid)se<picntly in 18:'.:> and "M, and during the last two years was Chairman of the I^)ard. He was one of the lirst dire<"tors of the Madi.son County Hi\i\k in 18;'.2 and was for seveni I years one of the C«iinmon PK-.is .Indira's in the 'thirties or thereabouts. He also servtnl as ( 'aptain in the militia in llic war during 1812-'!."). He died at Canastota. .Vugust P.t, l.S4'.». PERRY G. CHILDS This prominent attorney was Inirn at Pittslield, .Ma.ss., in 177n, and was admitte<l to the bar in ISOl. He was one of the ejirliest settlers of ( 'a/cnovia and l>c<-aiMc a large land owner and an inlluen- (35) tial man in the community where he spent his entire life. He was one of the most active trial lawyers at the time immediately follow- ing the establishment of our county, and was the attorney for the de- fendant in the first action noted on our Common Pleas Court minutes at the first session of the court, and the court records show the large and varied practice he and his firm of Childs & Stebbins enjoyed for many years. He was appointed Master in Chancery in 1806 and was one of the board of the first trustees of the village of Cazenovia when in- corporated in 1810. He was President of the old Madison County Bank and from 1819 to 1822 he was State Senator from this dis- trict. In January, 1822, he was elected one of the famous "Counsil of Appointment" which had the selection of many of the State and local officers. His palatial residence and grounds was one of the ornaments of this beautiful lake village, and he was the grandfather of Mrs. John Stebbins, who later owned it. Charles S. Fairchilds, who was one of President Cleveland's cabinet officers, was his grand- son. He died at Cazenovia in 1 835. HARRIS COATS MINER Mr. Miner was born at Pharsalia, Chenango County, August 31, 1817, and his rather limited education was received at the Pitcher Springs Academy. His ancestors came from Connecticut and were early settlers in the locality. He remained on the farm until about twenty-one, when he came to DeKuyter and was em- ployed in the store of Israel Smith for about nine years. When Sadock T. Bentley, his townsman, was elected County Clerk, in 1843, Miner went with him to Morrisville, where he was Deputy County Clerk for three years. For about a year thereafter he en- gaged in mercantile business at Syracuse, where Milton S. Price and Judge Charles Andrews, then young men, clerked in his store. He married Cynthia Bunker, a DeRuyter girl, August 29, 1844, and his only child, a young lady of seventeen, died in 1869. While at Morrisville he devoted some time to the study of law and was admitted to the bar of the county December 26, 1849, and later at Cooperstown to all the State courts, and in 1867 to the U. S. Courts. He spent a long, active and useful life at DeRuyter, where he built up an extensive practice, first as a partner of A. Scott Sloan, then with his brother, R. L. Miner, from 1859 to '63, and again with l^atnlH'i-t L. Kcni fi »m ISf.l to '70. \\v (lie<l :it Deliiiyter, Jaunarv "JS, ISIM. He wa« Sii|)ervi8or of his town iu 1802, rrewident of his vil- lage in l.Sr>7, ISJJS and 1S72, and als<» licld tlie <)tti( es of Town Clerk, trnstee and other ollice^. He wari u man of wonderful enerj;y, strong nerve and powerful |)livsi(|iie, which with a frank au<l generous nature enable*! him to win a position of proinin«'n<r in his profession and the coinniunity which his late start and limiteil education might otherwise have denie*l him. Thit^ portnut was presentetl to the county by his w idow, ( ynlhia, now deteiisetl. CHARLES MASON Judge Mason was probably the most distinguished jurist our county can lay claim to. For over twenty-two yejirs he was Justice t)f the Supreme Court of the State for the Sixth District and his de- cisions, manv of which will be found re|)orted in the oilicial reports of this State, bear witness to his high standing as a man (»f I«irning and keen intellect. On the death of Judge Wright of the Court <»f Ap|>eals — the highest court of our SUite — he was appointe<l to that <'ourt under the provisions of the Constitution, wliere he served for the vears l.StiS and '051 and was forcnl to retire bec;iuse of the age limit. He was lM»rn at Phittsburg, Xew York, June IS, ISIO; 8tu<Iie<l with William l{<»gcrs of W'atertown, N. Y., and was ad- mitte<l to the bar. When IMiilo Cridley was appointed to the Cir- cuit Court bench lie removed to Hamilton to take the jilace left va- cant by him there. He was ele<'ted I)istri<-t Attorney of the county, which position he resignc<| when elect«><l .lustii^e of the Supreme ('ouit in .lune, 1847. After his retirement from the Court of Ajipcals he was a j)- j)ointe<l ( 'lerk of the I'. S. ( 'ircuit Court and remove<l to Cticji, where he die<l May 'A], 1S7!>. He was a brother of the Judge of our conntv, Joseph Mason of Hamilton, still residing at that village. His picture hung in the t'liambers of Justi«'e Forlxv at Canastota for a numl)er of vears and is now in tliose of the late Justice ('onian. (•57) THOMAS HILL HUBBARD Judge Hubbard was the first Surrogate of our county — tlieu a separate office. His portrait hangs at the right of the Surrogate's trial bench. It was copied in 1890 by Marshall Bros, of Cazenovia from a painting by Harding at AVashington, D. C, in 1822, when he was about 40 years of age, and was presented to the county b}- his son, Robert James Hubbard, father of Robert F. Hubbard of Cazeno^^a. This prominent man was born at New Haven, Conn., Dec. (i, 1781; studied law at Troy, N. Y., and was admitted to the bu- in 1804 or 1805. He was the second attorney to settle in Hamilton, about 1805, and was very shortly appointed Surrogate, March 2G, 1806, when the county was foi-med. He was on hand at the tirst Common Pleas Court for our county June 3, 1800, and with ten others, including Nathaniel King, Arthur lireese, John Kirkland and Perry G. Childs, was admitted to practice in the new court. The tirst case on record in the new county's minutes was brought by him as attorney and defended by Perry G. Childs. At the June, 1810, term Hubbard and Hubbard & Smith had 41 cases brought foriirst orders. In 1813 he, with A. D. Van Home and Nehemiah Hunt- ington, were appointed to revise the Conuiion Pleas Court Rules. He discharged the duties of Surrogate with much ability for nearly ten years until Feb. 26, 1816. He was appointed a commissioner under the Insolvent Law in 1812; Master in Chancery in 1815; District Attorney for the seventh district, Oneida, Herkimer, Madi- son and Otsego counties, 1816, and again for our own county in 1818, when separate officers were appointed for each county, thus being also the first District Attorney for our separate county, and being, as f am informed, the second one ever appointed from the county. Daniel Kellogg was appointed District Attorney in 1809 as stated in Judue Chester's Legal and Judicial Historv of New York. He was twice elected Representative in Congress from the 1 7th District (Madison and Herkimer counties), serving the years 1817- 1818, 1821-1822. He was a Presidential Elector in 1812, 1844, 1852. He removed to Utica in 1824 and formed a partnership with Greene C. Bronson and was later appointed Clerk of the Su- preme Court, which position he held many years. He retired in later years, having accummulated ample means, and died at Utica, (38) Mav Jl, IM.'jT. Ill lier lii.stt»rv, Mi>. liaiinnoml .-civn: "He war a man greatly beloved for his many virtiieK aii<l tin- juirity of l^i^* lift'." OTIS P. GRANGER Mr, (irauger was \nnn at Sullielil, ( oiui., I'l'briiary "Jl. IT'.K'i. and wan one of the early settlers of Morri.->\nlIe, where his life \\a.- H[>ent. lie was atlmlttiHl to the har at l'tic:i, .Inly II, 1S21. aiul for over sixty years was a pniniinent lawyer at the et»nnty seat, .\pril 21, 1K"J7, he was a|)|>ointe<l by (Governor DeW itt Clinton as Snrnn j^te of the fonnfy, which inijM)rtant otlice he held for twelve vesirs nntil Febrnary IS. 1.S40, di.><<-har^in^ the duties with nineh esire and satisfaction. lie was a <lelef;ate t<> the .\atii»Mal eoiiveiition at r>altiiii<)i-e when Martin \'an Hiiren was noniinatt'd foi- the Presidency. His death occurred at M<irrisville, Anjjust '2'.\ \ss:',, ant! his portr.iit was presented to the county l)y his d.iu^hter, .Mrs. .\jrnt*i K. (Jroves, now living in his tine old home at that place. DELOS W. CAMERON Mr. C'amertjn was born at I'eterlxiro, .January 18, 1832, where he received his preliminary e<lut"ation. He r«nl law with Judge Sidnev T. Holmes at Morrisville and was admittetl to the bar in Januarv, ISfti;. For a couple of years he practiced at Chittenaniro and in 1 S.">.S remove^l to ( "a/.eiutvia, where he was hx-atetl until his death, which occurred in .liiiie. I'.MI.'i. In ISC)!' he was elei'te<l r)istrict .Attorney for the county, which jKwition he held with nnich distinction for the term of three y»^:irs. He was cjdled upon to pro8e<Mite one of the dre:KhHl Ixxmiis "gang," and after sei-uring a conviction after a hard tight w;ismin'h «'hagrine«l when the court onlv inij»oscd a tine of $'>i), which w:»s prompt l\ p.iid 1>\ the defendant in <oMrt. He Wiis Collector of Internal Kevenue for the twenty-se<-ond I )is- trict of New York in 1S7(I and '71, and was liefertv in IJankruptc\ for the ("ounlv under the last ai-t, which o|]i<«' he held at the time of his death. He was well verse<i in the law, and note<| for his t-itrrttt interpi-etati<in of the statutes. This couphMl with his keemiess. acti\- (:.^0) ity and forceful pleading won for liini an extensive practice during- the early years. Judge M. H. Kiley studied with him, and after his admission was for a time in partnership with him, the firm being known as Cameron & Kiley. This picture was presented to the county by hi« wife, Ellen, now living at Cazenovia, and was made from a photograph taken about 1 88() or 'ST. WILLIAM E. LANSING Mr, J^ansing for thirty years was a successfid practitioner at Chittenango. At one time he was going over with an important witness the testimony she was to give in one of his cases and discov- ered that she was living with a man not her husband. Fearing she would be questioned about this on cross-examination, he instructed her to refuse to answer and state that she stood on her privilege. On being asked the expected question, she naively answered, "That's my privilege." Mr. Lansing was born at Perry ville, N. Y., December 21, 1822, studied and graduated from Cazenovia Seminary in 1841, went to Utica and studied law under Judge Charles Mason from 1841 to '45, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1845. He was also in 1871 admitted to practice in the U. S. Supreme Court. The same year he began the practice at Chittenango with the firm of Lansing & Kennedy and later Lansing iSz Kellogg. He was elected District Attorney for the county in 1850 and served one term; was President of Chittenango in 1853, at which time he was one of the directors of the Chittenango Bank, and in 1855 was elected County Clerk for one term. In 18(51 he was elected Member of C/ongress and was subsequently elected to the same office in 1871. Very soon after the expiration of his last term he moved to Syracuse, where in 1876 he formed a partnership with F. A. Lyman, the firm being known as Lansing & Lyman, and which existed until the time of his death. He died at Syracuse, July 29, 1882. The likeness from which the picture was taken and which hangs in the County Clerk's office was taken about 1880 and the picture was presented to the county by his daughter, Jessie Lansing Crouse of Svracuse. LORING FOWLER Mr. FowUt was uiw of the promiiK'iit attorneys of CanaMtota. He wat? burn at IVterboro, N. Y., Augiitit 11, I8I0. His pii'tiire, which han^8 in the County Clerk's ofiioe, was copied by I^>^an from a plioto^raph taken at An)any when Mr. Fowler was a member of the State ( 'tuistitMti(»nal ("(invention of ISriS. It wan pre<entt'<l to the (X)unty by his son, John Curtis Fowler, now rei^idin^ at Syra- cuse. Mr. Fowler wais a prominent and liij^hly re.s|)e<'te<l eiti/en of his town, hohlin^ the olli»'e.s of Justice of the Ft'-aee and S'h(M)l Commissioner of the town in the 'fifties and also that of President of Canastota about the same time. He was admitte<l to the bar at Cooperstown in 1S4<). In 1801 he was elwted Comity Clerk for the term ISiJ'J-t).') and in 1S( IS was a member of the C»»nstitutional Convention as above mentioned. He was also one of the directors of the C., C. tt DeRuyter Kailroad Company in 1S09. He die*! at Canastota, May 9, 1888, at the aj^e of 72. LUCIUS P. CLARK Lucius P. Clark was a native of Brookfield, bein^ b<irn at Clarksville, Januar\ 27, 1822, and was Postmaster at that viiiafje before removing to Morrieville, where he "spent his active life. In 18r)0-r)2 he was Deputy County Clerk to lx>ren7X) Dana, .iiid though a Democrat was ele<'ted to succeed him for a term of three years. He wasadnutted to the bar in LSf)."), an<l in LSfjfi wasdefe-ated as candidate for Congress. He was ele<'te<l President of the village of Morrisville in 18(52 and was a rwruting agent for Madison county in war times in 18<):i. His pnictice w:is largely oHice work and comisel. He also «'nrrie<l on a large loan business at one time and he was a connnissioner of pensions. He took an active interest in the Congregational Clnirch at Morri.sville and was leader of the church <hoir up to the time of his death. He was prominent in all local enterjirises and was a trusted and highlv respectinl citi/.en. His popidaritv cnabhMl him to be again electeil ( 'ounty Clerk for the term 187:^-7*). He dic<l at Morrisville February 2'A, 18*J1. ZADOCK T. BENTLEY Mr. Jientley was born in Washington <'(»unty, August S, 1807. and was a son of a farmer who remove<l to DeKuvler when ZsidtM-k (-U) was a boy. While working on the iana lie sei*iire<l such education as the locality afforded and he then studied law with Hon. Alonzo G. Hammond of Rensselaer county summers and taught school winters, later completing his studies with Judge Darwin Smith at Rochester. He was admitted to the bar in 1833 and immediately opened an office in his home village of DeRuyter in partnership with George W. Stone, where the firm of Stone & Bentley on one side of the street and Lorenzo and Luman Sherwood on the other kept the community legally animated until 1840. He was Clerk of the vil- lage in 1835 and '36 and its President in 1841. In 1843 he was elected County Clerk and in 1844 removed to Morrisville, where he continued to practice for seventeen years. He removed to Oneida in 1862 and died at the latter place, July 4, 1870, of paralysis. He was one of the directors of the First National Bank of Oneida in 1865. He was a well read lawyer and a capable advocate. He had a brother, A. V. Bentley, who studied with him at De- Ruyter and was admitted to the bar in 1842, and who afterwards contested several cases w^ith him with great tenacity. He abandoned active practice later and was elected Justice of the Peace in that town for twenty-five years, and was a large and trusted conveyancer of real estate. LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 1 014 113 061 4 •I