60 I \ 1A628 8 etches of some of tlie I*^ERTON was the second son, — the third child — born into this family 71 which, by the bye, ultimately consisted of seven sons and five daughters. He seems to have enjoyed better educational opportunities in his youth than did any of his brothers or sisters so that at the age of eighteen years he was prepared to enter the junior class at Union College. There he remained only one year but withdrew "in good standing" as the records of the college show. His class — that of 1837 — contained an unusual num- ber of young men who afterwards rose to positions of eminent distinction and the acquaint- ances then made must have exerted a strong influence on all Fullerton's subsequent life. Among his college classmates was Joseph W. Gott who became one of the prominent lawyers of this county a few years later. After leaving college Mr. Fullerton is said to have gone to the South and taught school for a short time. This rumor I have been unable to verify but if it is correct his stay at the South must have been brief as he studied law with William C. Hasbrouck in Newburgh and was admitted to the Bar in 1839. His success in his chosen profession was marked and his progress to the front rank was very rapid. He had all the elements of a great nisi prius lawyer. Other members of the Bar of this county of that day surpassed him in elo- quence of speech beyond a doubt, but in the management of litigated business he had no superior and probably no equal. He was sur- passingly keen, quick and adroit; very energetic and industrious; more a "man of the people'' than most of his competitors and a smooth, ready and forcible speaker. As a cross-examiner he became famous so much so that he was known as "the great American cross-examiner." In the year 1852 he was pitted against Charles O'Connor, of New York Citv, who was then one of the leading lawyers of this country, in some litigation connected with the construction of the 72 ^r .. »k;«^ 'V,:>s^t»i<5«S3»9fci:-f;;«:«%*'*«5;^';^ WIIJJAM irivLEKTON Hudson River Railroad. The matter had been argued at considerable length before Judge Emmott at Poughkeepsie. At the close of the argument both attorneys asked leave to submit briefs. The judge seemed to feel that briefs should have been prepared before the argument and said that they might have until Saturday, which was then two days off, for submitting printed briefs. O'Connor deemed it impossible to get the work done in the alloted time and made no attempt to do so but Fullerton got Judge McKissock to help him and together they went to the printing office of E, M. Ruttenber and there the three worked nearly all night, McKissock stating the points of law and naming the cases which covered the point ; Fullerton looking up the case as reported and stating the language in which the proposition should be briefed and Ruttenber setting the type. In the morning the brief was on the press and the next morning it was in the judge's hands, and was a winning argument. O'Connor was so impressed by Mr. Fullerton's management of this case that he offered him a partnership. This was accepted and Mr. Fullerton removed to New York in the year 1853 and a co-partnership was formed then or about that time under the firm name of O'Connor, Fullerton & Dunning, — the last being also an Orange County man, viz., Benjamin F. Dunning. From this time on Mr. Fullerton's connection with Orange County affairs may be said to have ceased, though he retained his residence at New- burgh as long as he lived. It need only be added that he was thenceforth engaged in most of the important law suits tried in the metropolis and his standing as one of the greatest trial lawyers of this country was universally conceded. During his earlier years in New York he was sometimes spoken of there among the court attendants as "the Orange County cyclone" and 78 his methods were watched with much interest and some curiosity. It is told of him that soon after going to the city he was employed to try a case in Admiralty. The hangers-on about court assumed that he didn't know anything about a sea-going vessel and they gathered to watch the trial and enjoy the sight of the country lawyer's discomfiture. But they were doomed to disappointment. Mr. Fullerton spent the entire night preceding the day of the trial on board the vessel to which the action related and before morning he had learned the name and use of every spar and sail and rope and was completely armed and equipped for the fray. In a number of cases in which he was the plaintiff's attorney, Mr. Fullerton has been known to call the defendant as his first witness and then by a careful and skillful examination get this witness to commit himself to a theory which could be destroyed later by plaintiff's other witnesses. The delicate treatment required in such a manoeuvre will be appreciated by those who may have ventured to try it. William Fullerton's most conspicuous partici- pation in any Orange County litigation after he removed to New York was in connection with the Berdell cases. As to the merits or demerits of those cases I shall not attempt to speak. I know that they nearly disrupted every social circle in Goshen. The Fullertons were opposed to Mr. Berdell in those actions and their management of them was masterly. Mr. Berdell was a man of wide busi- ness experience, — an ex-president of the Erie Railway Company and well able to defend him- self when on the witness stand. His cross- examination by the Fullertons, first by Stephen W. and then by William on the trial of one of those actions was one of the most striking examples of the art of cross-examination ever 74 witnessed in this county. In three different instances Mr. Berdell was driven from point to point in attempting to explain some of his trans- actions until finally he was compelled to say, "I cannot explain that." Taking into account the mental equipment of the witness and his business experience this was a very remarkable exhibition of the ability and ingenuity of the men who were questioning him. There was one painful experience in Mr. Fullerton's life to which I must refer because some reader of this sketch might misconstrue my silence. He was indicted at one time for alleged frauds upon the United States Govern- ment in connection with the settlement of some actions for penalties wherein he had been retain- ed to assist the United States District Attorney. I happen to know the motive for this attack upon Mr. Fullerton and am able to state that there was absolutely no substantial basis for the accusation. This was shown conclusively at the trial for the presiding judge directed the Jury to acquit the accused. Such a charge, however baseless it may be, leaves a scar on any lawyer's reputation and doubtless Mr. Fullerton was pained most deeply and injured to some extent in his business by this baseless and malicious accusation. The only public office ever held by the subject of this sketch so far as I have been able to learn was that of a Justice of the Supreme Court, to which he was appointed in August, 1867, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Scrugham. Under the arrangement which then prevailed in this State by which certain of the Supreme Court Judges became members of the Court of Appeals during the last year of their official term Mr. Fullerton was for a short time a member of the highest court of this State. It is worthy of remark that at that same time John K. Porter was also a member of that august Ti'i tribunal and these two men had been classmates in college thirty years before. STEPHEN W. FULLERTON was the sixth child — the fourth son — of the family and was named for his father. When only about sixteen years old he caine to the City of Newburgh and obtained a position as junior clerk in the post office. This was at the time that his brother William began to practice and it was not long before Stephen W. was taken into his brother's ofSce and began to read law. He was admitted to the bar in due course and began his profes- sional life by forming a co-partnership with his brother Daniel whose office was at Slate Hill. It must have been hard work for the two to get a living at the law in such a little and remote village as that. It was for that reason probably that Stephen Fullerton returned to Newburgh a few years later in pursuance of the suggestion of his brother William. Here he slowly, but surely, made his way to the front rank of the profession and upon the removal of William to New York in 1853 Stephen W. succeeded to a considerable share of the business of the older brother. He remained at Newburgh until 1873 when he removed to New York and formed a partnership with his brother William and two other lawyers under the firm name of Fullerton, Knox & Cros- by. The connection was an unfortunate one because of the misconduct of one of the junior partners; and at the end of four or five years of hard work the firm was dissolved and the Fuller- tons found themselves saddled with a heavy indebtedness which it took them several years to discharge. These things interfered more or less v/ith Mr. Fullerton's success as a metropolitan lawyer but in spite of them he progressed stead- ily, though slowly, towards "the very first line" and came to be recognized by his fellow-lawyers as fully equal to his brother William in all the 76 s'n:i'iii;.\ w iri,i,i;i:Ti 'X qualities which go to make a great lawyer. His success would have continued, doubtless, had it not been for a very serious injury which he re- ceived in the year 189 1 by being thrown from his wagon while driving in Central Park. His horse was a very high-spirited one and when the bit broke Mr. Fullerton had no control of him. He was thrown from the wagon and fell heavily, striking upon his head. For twenty-eight hours he was unconscious and he never fully recovered ; he was never quite the same as before. His phenomenal mental powers had lost an undefin- able something which left him less able to cope with the duties and problems of his professional work. He fought on however as best he could till the end — always the same courageous, unselfish, generous, lovable man. The deepest sorrow of his old age arose from his inability to aid others and his need of help from others. The last three or four years of his life were spent at Middletown, near the scenes of his boyhood days, and there the final summons came to him on April 3, igo2 — in the form of a stroke of paralysis. At a meeting of the bar held at Newburgh to adopt resolutions of respect eloquent tributes to his worth were paid by Mr. Charles Rushmore of New York, by Mr. Luther R. Marsh, of Middle- town, (formerly a partner of Daniel Webster), and by Hon. M. H. Hirschberg, the presiding justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court — who was, in early life, a student in Mr. Fullerton's office. These addresses were all admirable but that of Judge Hirschberg was pre- eminently so and was so fit and just a tribute to Mr. Fullerton's memory that I shall quote from it freely. Judge Hirschberg said : "His greatness was innate. It was the result of native talent and genius and not at all of adventitious aid or fortunate surroundings. He had a mind that was at once alert, sagacious, clear, powerful and comprehensive ; a temperament 77 that threw him, body and soul, into his cHent's cause so that he would win if he could; not for gain, as in this commercial age, but, if need be, at the sacrifice of every dollar he possessed; and withal a shrewdness, an adroitness, an instinctive subtlety in the comprehension of human nature and its complicated motives and impulses and in anticipating its least expected manifestations only equalled, if at all, in the marvelous creations of fiction. I shall not hesitate to express the opinion as a deliberate judgment, formed after nearly thirty-six years of experience and obser- vation, that in his prime, when he was in the plentitude of his health and vigor, the issue of fortune, of honor, aye, of life itself, was as safe in his professional keeping as in that of any other man, however high in standing and repute, who then practiced law in the State of New York. "To speak of Judge Fullerton as a man is to speak wholly of sweetness, gentleness, kindness and geniality, companionship, whole-souled friendliness and generosity. His heart was as large as his mind. His friendship was heroic in its loyalty, of that rare kind that brooks neither offense nor calumny, but adheres alike through evil and through good report. With him no lie about a friend could ever gain a hearing. "His life was full of stainless honor, modest usefulness and manly self-respect. A noble and commanding figure has floated down the current of our contemporaneous life into the mysterious and fathomless sea of the unknown. A great heart has ceased to throb ; a mighty voice is stilled." During his residence in this county he filled various public offices. He was a member of Assembly in 1858 ; a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867 ; District Attorney of the county in 1868 to 1871 ; County Judge from 1872 to 1878. His personal popularity was unbounded and whenever he ran for office he was elected by heavy majorities. 78 He was generous to a fault. The writer of this sketch had a somewhat intimate knowledge of his charities and is able to state that he gave away during his lifetime enough to have consti- tuted a very considerable fortune. Indeed his generosity seemed to an observer somewhat indiscriminate and injudicious but it was consist- ent when once you grasped the underlying motive. He gave help not because the recipient deserved, but because he needed it. He imitated Him who "sendeth rain on the evil and on the good." A truer, kinder, more loyal or more courageous heart never beat. A keener, clearer, more vigorous mind it has never been my good fortune to come in contact with. During the period of his stay in this county he formed two co-partnerships. The first was with Charles H. Van Wyck, who was afterwards a Member of Congress, a Colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War, and still later a United States Senator from Nebraska, who was known by the irreverent youths of the West as "Crazy Horse Van Wyck." His second partnership was with the writer of this sketch who cherishes the memory of that relation with much pride and satisfaction. It continued until Mr. Fullerton removed to New York City. William Fullerton had one son and one daughter. The son pre-deceased him and died in early manhood, unmarried. The daughter is still livinf^; (1917) and is the widow of Rudd. She has one child, a daughter, Alice, (now Mrs. Otis), who has three sons. Stephen W. Fullerton left one son, Frank, who is still living to the best of deponent's knowledge and belief. Daniel Fullerton left several children and a number of his grandchildren still survive. One of the latter is a practicing lawyer — Henry B. Fullerton — whose office is at Port Jervis. (The following sketch was prepared by William Graham, L. L. D., at Mr. Anthony's request.) HON. JOHN JAMES MONELL. Like General Borland, William C. Hasbrouck and Judge McKissock, Judge Monell was a native of the Town of Montgomery. His parents, Samuel and Elvira (Scott) Monell, both sleep in the cemetery adjoining Goodwill Church, both having been members of that organization. Like each of the lawyers above named, he was a student at Montgomery Academy, but was pre- pared for college by that distinguished scholar and preacher. Rev. Dr. James R. Wilson of Coldenham. He was graduated at Union Col- lege in the class of 1833, standing well toward the front in a class which included many able men, two of whom were afterward distinguished Judges of the Supreme Court. He studied law under Hon. John W. Brown, was admitted to the bar in 1837, and immediately entered upon practice in Newburgh, and soon attained a high rank in his profession, and was successful both in winning his cases, and in obtaining a proper return for his labor. As a lawyer he was careful in the preparation of his cases, accurate in his pleadings, laborious in preparing his briefs, clear, cogent and concise in his presentation of the law to the court, luminous, convincing and attractive in his ad- dresses to the jury, and, whether on the winning or the losing side, never failed to protect and preserve the rights of his clients. In his earlier life he was a pronounced Demo- crat, prominent and influential in the counsels of his party. He received the nomination for Congress in 1846, but owing to the dissensions between the factions of his party, was defeated. In 1859 he was elected County Julge, and served one term which was the only elective office he 80 JOHN .7, MONEI.L ever held. In the latter part of his life he a£&liated with the Republicans. In every movement for the civic improvement of Newburgh he was active and prominent. No more public-spirited citizen lived in the town. His hand and voice and purse were freely given to every effort for benefiting or beautifying the city. His public addresses in behalf of such efforts were full of eloquence and beauty, and no public enterprise for worthy objects failed to receive his support. Judge Monell was possessed of a singularly equable temper which notwithstanding his high spirit he held under strict control. I never saw him out of temper but once though often sorely tried. On this occasion a brother lawyer, at whose request he had consented to the continu- ance of a case in a Justice Court several times for his accommodation, claimed that the case was adjourned out of court. The case though a small one involved an important question on which the plaintiff wished to obtain a ruling from the General Term. The defendant's counsel succeeded in obliging the plaintiff to bring a new suit, but Judge Monell never took his word for anything afterward. I began the study of law under Judge Monell in the fall of 1852 but did not enter his office until May, 1853 ; from that time until my removal to Iowa, our association was much closer than is usual between preceptor and scholnr, and I learn- ed to admire the clearness of his perceptions, and the soundness of his judgment. Few men ever possessed a kinder heart, a fact that some, who were by no means his friends, were not slow to take advantage of. I have known few men who were more caf^cr or persistent in pursuit of the "AImip:hty Dollar." and still fewer who were more liberal in dispensing it after it was won. There was not the least trace of the miser about him. It was for the satisfaction of winning that HI made him so keen in the contest, and when he had won he was ready to share the fruits of victory in the advancement of civic righteous- ness, or the adornment of the "City Beautiful." When the heart is kind it is generally tender and sensitive, and to such a person the contests of the court room in the trial of cases often become distasteful, and when other avenues open upon vistas of greater profit, with less wear and tear of sensibility, it is no wonder that men who possess rare gifts of persuasiveness, and large stores of legal knowledge, prefer the less con- spicuous and more profitable employment of their talents. I am satisfied in my own mind that it was some such considerations which led William C. Hasbrouck and Judge Monell to withdraw largely from litigated business, and devote themselves to the management of large estates. The last interview I had with Judge Monell was a few months before his death. He insisted that I should go home with him to dinner, and as we sat on the porch of his spacious residence overlooking the noble bay with its grand sur- roundings, v/hich he loved so much, he told me more of his life than he had ever told before. Among other things he said that he inherited from his father a certain amount of money, and a calculation of what it would amount to if he invested it and accumulated the interest, demon- strated that if he lived till his sixty-fifth birthday he would have a fortune ample enough for him to retire on, and he then made a resolution that he would keep his patrimony accumulating, and not spend a dollar of it, and that he would live upon his earnine^s at the bar, and not stint him- self as long as he kept within his income from that source. He said he had adhered to that resolve all his life, and that the legacy he had received from his father was still intact with all its accumulated dividends. He further said that 82 as he approached his sixty-fifth birthday he saw his fortune was more than double what he had resolved to retire on, but his health was excel- lent, and all his mental powers unimpaired: That his business was never better, or more profitable, and his office in New York, on the days he was there, was crowded with clients. It was a severe struggle with him whether he should keep on at work, or retire when his powers and his business were at the maximum. He said that on his sixty-fifth birthday he went to his office, and after reviewing the situation fought the problem out with himself, with the result that he took all the papers relating to the cases then under his charge to Cassedy and Brown, and asked them to try the cases for him, and from that day he had not interested himself in any business except that of his own, or his family. He added that I could scarcely under- stand how much he had enjoyed his retired life, resting under his own vine and fig tree, or rusticating on his farm at White Lake. In that conversation I tried to express my sense of obligation to him for his aid and counsel to which he would not listen, but said that if he had aided me in any respect it was because he liked to do it and it was a source of real enjoy- ment to him, but if I felt under any obligation to him I could discharge it by doing as much for some other student of law, and "you know," said he, "it is our business and duty to help others." And so at the sunset of that summer day we parted to meet no more on earth, but while memory endures the recollection of the kindness of heart and the grace of character of Judge Monell will not fade from my mind. ADDENDA BY W. C. A. Judge Monell was twice married. His first wife was Mary C. Smith (of Connecticut), a woman of unusual attractiveness and of consider- able literary cleverness. During her life-time their home was in the City of Newburgh and was a sort of social center. Every person of note who visited this city was almost sure to be invited to spend some part of his stay with the Monells and a congenial circle of friends would be gath- ered there to meet him. Their home was famous for its charming hospitality. Judge Monell's second wife was Caroline E., daughter of John P. DeWint and widow of Andrew J. Downing ("the father of American architecture"). Her ancestral home was at Beacon and Judge Monell therefore sold his Newburgh home and built a new one on the Fishkill side of the river. Judge Monell was a graceful, easy speaker, who was always listened to with pleasure, — a scholarly, thoughtful and cultivated gentleman. His hospitable ways continued in a marked de- gree as long as he lived. He was born February 24, 1813, and died April 22, 1885. Graduated (Union College) 1833; admitted to the bar in 1837. ^^ ^^^^ one child, a daughter who married Fred S. Wait, a lawyer, the author of several text-books on legal subjects. JOHN G. WILKIN was born on October 22nd, 1818, in what is now the Town of Hamptonburgh in this county. His education was obtained principally at the Mont- gomery Academy where he was a student for a number of years. Afterwards he taught school at Monticello, N. Y., for several years and seems to have combined with that occupation the study of the law, which he pursued in the office of William B. Wright who afterwards became a Justice of the Supreme Court, an Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals and a lawyer of marked distinction. Judge Wright was an 84 JOHN C. Wll-KIN Orange County man — (born at Newburgh) — and began his professional career here. He would well deserve a place in this book were it not for the fact that his work as a lawyer while he con- tinued to be a member of the Orange County Bar gave little indication, if any, of the ability he possessed and little promise of the success he achieved. His real work was all done after he removed from this county. After spending several years in Judge Wright's office Mr. Wilkin entered the office of General A. C. Niven of Monticello. In October, 1842, he was admitted as an attorney and in 1845 as a counselor at law. Meantime — in January, 1843 — he had opened an office in Middletown and he continued to make that place his home and to maintain his office there up to the time of his death which occurred on the 19th day of January, 1889. Under the militia system then in force in this State he was a Brigadier Judge Advocate and under the legal system he was an examiner in chancery. He was the first Special County Judge and the second County Judge to be elected in this county. To the latter office he was elected in November, 1851; and again in 1881 he was chosen to the same position. From 1861 to 1869 he was the United States Revenue Collector for this district. The office was an appointive one and the general feeling among the older lawyers of the county was that Judge Wilkin had im- paired his standing as a lawyer by accepting it. Mr. Wilkin was a large, fine looking man of impressive presence and agreeable manners. For many years he was the leader of the Middle- town bar. This assertion applies more to his position as an office lawyer than as an advocate. In the trial of cases some of the members of the bar could fairly challenge his leadership but it seemed to me that the important and profitable legal business of Middletown and its vicinity found its way, generally, to Mr. Wilkin's office. He had the reputation, and I doubt not deserv- ed it, of being "learned in the law." Aside from this his business experience had been consider- able and he had good practical common sense. Whenever he had an important case to be tried he usually associated Gedney or Fullerton with himself in connection with the work in court. He may at times have employed Winfield for this part of his business though I do not recall such an instance now. He was a very pronounced Republican and though he undoubtedly would consult his clients' wishes as to the trial counsel to be employed his political leaning prompted him, if the choice was left to him, to select either Gedney or Fullerton. Charles C. McQuoid, a very promising young lawyer, residing in Middletown, who died at an early age — (in his thirties I think) — was his partner in business for a time and looked after the litigated business of the firm. Judge Wilkin was possessed of much force of character and had a strong — but not a winsome — personality. His industry was marked ; his loyalty to his friends was sincere; his diligence in protecting and promoting the interests of his clients was intense ; his integrity was unquestion- ed and unquestionable. Take him for all in all he was well adapted to be a leader in a young, growing, active place, such as Middletown then was and he naturally became one of the most prominent men in that community. I am de- scribing the man as I saw him. My acquaintance with him was not especially intimate, and I have therefore tried — but in vain — to induce some of the Middletown lawyers who knew him well to write this sketch. 86 JOSEPH W. GOTT. Bom May 25, 1814. Died January 6, 1869. In his day Mr, Gott was a power in this county. His influence was not due to any office or position which he held but to the inherent quaHties of the man himself. His health was never robust and for a number of years prior to his death he had to husband his strength care- fully: he had no surplus energy to devote to pursuits outside of his own business matters and those of his clients. Not that he failed to take a keen interest in public affairs and to exert all the influence of his strong personality and com- manding ability in behalf of every cause that commended itself to his judgment and conscience — but all this had to be done in a quiet way. His accurate and extensive knowledge of the law combined with sound judgment and admir- able business habits led to his employment as counsel in most of the heavy transactions which arose in the western end of the county and I feel justified in asserting that he was more frequently called upon for advice by his fellow-lawyers than was any other lawyer in the county at that time. When I was a student in Goshen in 1864-5, Mr. Gott was in declining health. He knew that his days were numbered and must be few but his courage never failed and his devotion to his business never flagged. Day after day he was at his desk, always cheerful, always thoughtful of others and never demanding or expecting any consideration or favors on account of the condi- tion of his health. In fact nothing would dis- turb him more quickly than an intimation that his infirm health entitled him to any different treatment from that extended to people who were well and vigorous. And so he went to his death "without fear and without reproach" at the com- paratively early age of fifty-nine years. Mr. Gott did not cultivate litigated business. 8T When compelled to look after a client's interests in court he usually associated Judge Gedney with himself and the two together made a combination of very unusual ability. In his early practice he is reputed to have tried a considerable number of cases but the strain upon his health and the tax on his patience led him later to forego work of that sort. In fact his partnership with Samuel J. Wilkin during the early years of his career naturally tended to develop in him a preference for the work of the office while his partner looked after the court business. Hon. R. C. Coleman was managing clerk in Mr. Gott's office for some four years — 1865-8 — and was thus brought into very close relations with him and he writes thus concerning him: "His kindly consideration and helpfulness to me in my inexperience * * * were in keeping with his kindness of heart and his unselfish nature and have always been to me reason for bearing him in most grateful remembrance." The subject of this sketch was born at Austerlitz, Columbia County, N. Y. He entered Union College in 1834 and graduated in 1837. Immediately after that he came to Goshen and became principal of Farmer's Hall Academy. Two years later he began the study of the law and entered the office of Van Duzer & Sharpe. In 1842 he was admitted to the bar and for a number of years during his early career he was in partnership with Samuel J. Wilkin. He served for several years also as post master at Goshen and was, at one time, one of the proprietors and editors of The Goshen Democrat. His intense application to business during this period of his life is thought to have contributed to the illness which ultimately caused his death. Shortly after Joseph F. Barnard, of Pough- keepsie, was elected — for the first time — a Justice of the Supreme Court, Stephen W. Fullerton was questioned in regard to Barnard's standing 88 JOSKPH W. OOTT as a lawyer. The query was "is he an able law- yer?" "Very decidedly so," replied Fullerton. "As good a lawyer as Mr. Gott?" was the next question. The answer was, "I don't know about that — ']oe' Gott is a confoundedly good lawyer." This shows the estimation in which Mr. Gott was held by a brother lawyer who had had abundant opportunity to take his measure and who was well qualified to judge as to his ability. EUGENE A. BREWSTER. Born in New York City, April 13, 1827. Died December 14, 1898. In Mr. Brewster were combined such diverse traits of character as to make him seem like two different men. In his office and in all business transaction he was reserved, austere, distant and seemingly unsympathetic. In his intercourse with friends where the restraints of business were thrown aside he was companionable and genial. He was a student and clerk in the office of John W. Brown for six or seven years and would seem to have been to some extent an unconscious imitator of his preceptor. He lacked, however, the power of influencing his fellow-men by his spoken words which Judge Brown possessed in such a pre-eminent degree. Before a referee or a judge or even a bench of judges Mr. Brewster argued a legal question well ; but before a jury he was not at all successful. His manner con- veyed the impression that he himself did not really believe the propositions which he was urging the jury to adopt. In other words he did not give the impression of being in dead earnest. Not that there was anything lirrht or trifling either in his manner or in the substance of his 89 remarks. It was rather due to an appearance oi reserve; he did not seem to put his heart and soul into it. He was entirely destitute of "magnetism;" yet no man could take a deeper concern in the success of his clients or guard their interests more carefully than did Mr. Brew- ster. His sense of what was due from a lawyer to his clients was very keen as was also his sense of what was due to the lawyer from the client. He has been known to decline to do business for a person who expressed dissatisfaction with his charge for his services. His idea was that as soon as a client lacked absolute faith in his attorney's integrity and good judgment the re- lation should terminate. His charges for legal services were never excessive; in fact they were usually less than might have been properly charg- ed by a lawyer of his standing. This was another of the traits that he had brought with him from Judge Brown's office — and it continued to influ- ence him strongly as long as he lived. Notwith- standing all this he was the most successful lawyer, in a financial way, that has ever been a member of our County Bar and probably of any one practicing in this section of the State. Starting with very limited means he accumulated a very handsome fortune. This was done by his own unaided efforts and without any profits from speculative ventures. It is true that he had a succession of managing clerks in his office who all (save one who died early) became, later in life, successful and able lawyers, but this does not detract from the credit due Mr. Brewster for so organizing and conducting his business that it was largely profitable. Neither was his accumu- lation of wealth due to any miserly economy. He was a liberal giver to causes or people that he felt deserved it, and a free and generous liver. It is true he did not "carry his heart on his sleeve" but whenever an appeal was made to him which his judgment approved of he was willing 90 EUOKNR A, P.nKWSTRR and able to give assistance and to give liberally. There are lawyers a plenty who are alivays willing to "lend a hand" but never able to do much. Mr. Brewster was not a promiscuous giver — (or lender, which often amounts to the same thing in the end) — but was always able to do what the situation demanded. For a number of years — say from i860 to 1870 — the important office business of this county was done largely by Mr. Brewster at Newburgh and Mr. Gott at Goshen. They were both excel- lent lawyers, both very prompt and diligent in attending to business, always ready to meet en- gagements on time and very seldom, if ever, asking postponements. They resembled each other too, in this, that they were very skillful pleaders. Documents prepared by either of them were invariably brief, crisp and admirably ex- pressed. It is worthy of remark that these two office lawyers were much more successful in getting and retaining a fair reward for their labor" than were their more famous and conspicuous professional friends the "court lawyers" who practiced side by side with them. Mr. Brewster was for many years the attorney and a director of The National Bank of New- burgh and attorney for the Newburgh Savings Bank. He was a Warden of St. George's Protes- tant Episcopal Church and deeply interested in its prosperity. He held no public office except such as were connected with our local city affairs. His career can be summed up in these words: "He was devoted to his profession and was an able, honorable and successful lawyer." 91 (The following sketch was prepared by Hon. William Graham, L. L. D., of Dubuque, Iowa.) HON. WILLIAM C. HASBROUCK. Born August 23, 1800. Died November 5, 1870. Like General Borland and Judge McKissock, William C. Hasbrouck was a native of the Town of Montgomery and like them, also was educated at Montgomery Academy; thence he went to Union College, from which he was graduated with distinguished honor in 1822, After his ad- mission to the bar he settled in Newburgh and the rest of his life was passed in close connection with its activities. He was a close student, an accurate lawyer, a thorough man of business, and of untiring industry. After many years of suc- cessful practice, he gradually withdrew from litigated business, and devoted himself to the management of the financial affairs of his numer- ous clients. His management of these affairs was so careful and sagacious that his business attained large proportions. I remember hearing it said that he was the best real estate lawyer in Orange County if not in the Judicial District. Either his partner, or one of his clerks told me that he kept a copy of every negotiable instru- ment that ever passed through his hands, and an abstract of any deed or mortgage ; and they were so filed away and indexed that in a few minutes he could produce any of them, and the array of boxes, two or three shelves deep around his office, made it easy to believe the statement. A polished gentleman of graceful manners, of easy address, and an interesting speaker, delight- ful in conversation, overflowing with anecdote, a genial companion, an accomplished host, I have met few men whom I admired more than the subject of this sketch. His manner toward the younger members of the bar, and students of law, was most agreeable. There was none of 92 W Il^IvIAM (". IIASHKOUCK that haughty condescension, or frigid dignity that some assume, nor on the other hand, was there any lowering of the consciousness of what was due to himself by reason of his age and exper- ience. His attitude and action seemed to say, "Boys, I have been one of you myself. I know just how you feel and expect some day I will meet you on the same plane with myself." At the October, 1855, General Term, Mr. Hasbrouck was chairman of the committee to examine applicants for admission to the bar, among them John Miller and John D. Gurnee from his own ofBce, He did not spare them any more than the others. (I did not apply at that term, not feeling myself competent ; possibly I felt that if I failed to pass I would rather fail at some other place than at my own home, so I waited till the January term at Brooklyn, Nevertheless, at their persistent solicitation, I "crammed" two young fellows, Frank P. DeWint and Henry E. Davies, Jr., for their examination and they passed). At the close of the examina- tion Mr. Hasbrouck gave a short talk of advice to the class, one sentence of which has always stuck in my memory : "Young gentlemen! Learn all the tricks of the law, but never practice any of them." This was strictly in accord with his own conduct, for I do not believe that the roll of the New York bar contains the name of one who was more honorable in his practice, or who observed with greater or more punctilious recti- tude the ethics of his profession than the subject of this sketch. Mr. Hasbrouck once gave mc this leaf from his own experience. A client in Dutchess County entertained some fears as to the validity of his title to his farm, and he told him to bring out his deeds, which he did a day or two afterward, a bushel basket full. The counsellor examined them all with his usual circumspection, and wrote an opinion sustaining the validity of his title. In this examination he found inside of one of the old deeds, three one hundred dollar bills of the Bank of Newburgh of the issue of 1817. He placed these in a drawer, and when his client came over he read his opinion, at which the client was delighted. He then asked Mr. Hasbrouck the amount of his fee, and he answer- ed that in examining the papers he had found some old documents that had no reference to the title, but as he was himself something of an antiquarian these were of some value to him, and with his client's permission he would accept them in full payment. The client was glad to get off so easy, and expressed himself as more than satisfied, and was about to depart, when the counsellor suggested that perhaps he had better see the documents himself, and produced the bank notes at which the client was thunder- struck. They took them to the bank which promptly redeemed them, though they had been out of the bank for a third of a century. The client would have had the lawyer keep them as he had said, but Mr. Hasbrouck refused, but did accept one of them. Subsequently his client in- formed him that after the family had talked it over, it was recalled that his father had furnished Poughkeepsie with some sloop loads of cobble- stone in 1817 to pave some of its streets, and complained that in the final settlment he had been in some way beaten out of $300.00. He had probably got the deed from the clerk's office that same day and placed the notes in it for safe keeping, and forgot what he had done with them. Mr. Hasbrouck was a Whig in his early days and was the candidate of that party for Congress in the great contest of 1844, but was beaten by General Niven of Sullivan County. In 1846 he was elected to the Legislature, over my father, and was chosen Speaker of the Assembly of 1847, and I have heard from members of that body 94 many commendations for the urbanity and im- partiality with which he presided over its deHberations. The following incident illustrative of his character was related to me by one of the officers of the defrauded bank : "Mr, Hasbrouck took a great interest in a young friend of his and aided him largely, and placed him in a position which enabled him to defraud a bank with which Mr. Hasbrouck had extensive dealings out of a large sum of money. When this came to light, and the walls of the penitentiary loomed large before the young man, Mr. Hasbrouck voluntarily made good to the bank the amount of its loss, and by his influence and watchfulness brought the young man, whom he had saved from imprisonment back to the paths of integrity and usefulness : Saving thus 'a soul from death, and hiding a multitude of sins'." ADDENDA BY W. C. A. The foregoing sketch of Mr. Hasbrouck's career, prepared by Mr. Graham, seems to me so just and so well expressed that I have adopted it without change. It requires however a few words of explanation, and a slight correction. The "General Term," at the time mentioned by Mr. Graham, and for many years afterwards, was held in October of each year at Newburgh; in May at Poughkeepsie ; and the other terms (two) were held at Brooklyn. Mr. Hasbrouck did not come to Newburgh directly from college. Soon after graduating he became Principal of the Academy at Franklin, Tennessee. A year or two later he removed to Goshen, N. Y., and became Principal of the Farmers' Hall Academy. — At Goshen he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1826. Mr. Graham has stated in his sketch of Judp;e Monell, what I believe to be the main reason why Mr. Hasbrouck withdrew, as he did almost 05 entirely, from litigated practice and engaged in the work of investing money for his many wealthy clients. He was a very sensitive man and did not enjoy the asperities of active litiga- tion. There were other reasons at that time due to the character and unusual strength of the competition which any one seeking to succeed as a trial lawyer had to meet. He drifted into this real estate business probably between 1840 and 1850. John W. Brown, then the leader of our bar, was in his prime; McKissock, in some respects his superior, was in active practice; Samuel J. Wilkin, the peer of either of them, was still a formidable competitor ; Gedney and Winfield and William Fullerton were rapidly rising to promi- nence at the bar of the county. It was no place for anybody to compete unless he loved the fray and feared no foe. Another fact, or group of facts, that probably influenced Mr. Hasbrouck in choosing the special line of work in which he engaged was his wide family connection both on his own side and among his wife's relatives with people of large wealth who had money to invest. In that day it was not as easy to invest money with seeming safety as it has been of late years. There were few railroad bonds, if any — municipal bonds were almost unknown — and public utility bonds had not been dreamed of. This part of the State would not absorb any more money on good bonds and mortgages. Mr. Hasbrouck therefore turned to the western part of the State for mortgage in- vestments and I have understood on good author- ity that so long as he continued in charge of the business himself, which was for many years, not a penny of his clients* money, principal or inter- est, was lost. His integrity was proverbial. He enjoyed the absolute confidence of his clients. His carefulness was extreme. For instance, he al- ways required the mortgagor (and his wife if she 96 liK.NJAMlN l'. I'UUVhIA joined in the mortgage) to make affidavit that he — or they — were severally upwards of twenty- one years old. On one occasion the mortgagor forgot that he had made such an affidavit and threatened to defend a foreclosure suit on the plea of infancy, but changed his mind at once when his affidavit was produced. Nothing but pity for his family on Mr. Hasbrouck's part saved the rascal from indictment. William C. Hasbrouck was an ornament and a credit to the bar of this county. (The following sketch was prepared by Hon. R. C. Coleman). BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DURYEA. Benjamin Franklin Duryea who was born in the Town of Blooming Grove was the son of James Duryea and Mary Heard Duryea and prepared for college at the Montgomery Acad- emy, entered Union College in the Junior class in his eighteenth year and graduated in the class of 1835, with high honors and especial encomiums from the faculty for having delivered the ablest oration in Hebrew ever heard from an alumnus of the college. After graduation he was Princi- pal of the Montgomery Academy for a short time, then studied medicine for awhile, but, finding it distasteful, took up the study of the law in the office of Van Duzer & Sharpe and was admitted to the bar in the winter of 1839. He was elected Surrogate of the county and later a County Judge. While Surrogate he established the power of that Court to punish by imprisonment contempt of its decrees, his decision being confirmed by the Court of Appeals. Mr. Duryea stood high in the estimation of his fellow-lawyers as being well read and ground- ed in legal principles and a safe adviser. In P7 manners he was always courteous and consider- ate. At the time of his death, in 1872, in the fifty-seventh year, he was the senior partner in the firm of Duryea & Bacon, having continuously practiced law in Goshen since he began. BENJAMIN F. DUNNING. During the ten years, or thereabouts, that Mr. Dunning had his office at Goshen he attained a position at our Bar which fully entitles him to be classed among the distinguished lawyers of this county; and his reputation was maintained and enhanced after he removed to New York City. He was born in the Town of Minisink on April 15th, 18 19, and graduated from Union College in the class of 1840. For several years after graduating he studied law at Goshen in the office of Wescott & Gedney and then opened an office of his own. This he maintained until the year 1853 when he removed to New York City to become assistant to Charles O'Connor who was then United States District Attorney — (Southern District of New York) — and who was one of the leaders of the bar of this country. Shortly after this he entered into partnership with Mr. O'Connor and at the same time, or about the same time, William Fullerton became a member of the co-partnership, the firm name being O'Connor, Fullerton & Dunning. Thenceforth his professional career was devoted to his work in New York City though he continu- ed to maintain a summer home in this county during his v/hole life-time. Mr. Dunning was one of the most thorough- goins; business men I have ever met. Figuratively speaking he never failed to dot an "i" or to cross a "t". This trait was shown even in his use and pronunciation of words. He was very lii;X.I.\.MI.\ |-. Ur.NNl.NC 4 careful to choose the precise word he needed and in pronouncing a word he never slurred a single syllable. This tendency to great accuracy and thoroughness appeared to mark all his trans- actions and made him a most excellent coun- sellor. During his stay in this county it was his custom to associate William Fullerton with him in the trial of his important cases and the two men made a combination which it would be difficult to equal anywhere. My personal acquaintance with Mr. Dunning though slight was sufficient to enable me to state that he was a high toned, urbane gentleman whose manners were charming and whose con- versation was delightful. For a number of years during my earlier practice the firm was Dunning, Edsall & Hart ; later it became Dunning, Edsall, Hart & Fowler. The last named being the son- in-law of Mr. Dunning and in recent years, until his death, the President of the New York, Ontario & Western Railroad. Mr. Dunning was prominent in New York City, not only professionally but socially. He was an Elder in the "Brick Church" (Presby- terian) at Fifth Avenue and Thirty-seventh Street for forty years. His death occurred on October i6th, 1896, at his home in New York City. JAMES G. GRAHAM. It was my privilege to know the subject of this sketch intimately during?: the last twenty or twenty-five years of his life, — in fact from the time he removed to Ncwburgh in 1866 until his death — and it is a "labor of love" to write about him. He had those traits of character which 00 were sure to win the affection of anybody who came to know him well. I doubt if he had an enemy in the world — nor can I conceive of his doing or saying anything that would justify any person entertaining an unfriendly feeling toward him. Full of kindness, geniality, cheerfulness and unselfishness he was an ideal companion, a loyal friend, a model citizen, an urbane gentle- man and a sincere Christian. A young lady once said of him that he was "the dearest little man in the world" and she wasn't far wrong. He was witty, suggestive, well read, and possessed of a keen appreciation of good litera- ture — and these qualities, joined to a pleasant and easy manner of speaking, caused him to be listened to with pleasure whenever he addressed an audience. "Stump speaking" was much more of a feature in political campaigns years ago than it is now and Mr. Graham was very often called upon to assist in that line of v/ork. For many years no political campaign of im- portance was conducted without addresses by him being heard in most of the villages of this county and of Southern Ulster. As an after- dinner speaker he had few rivals and no superior in this part of the world. I cannot but think that it was unfortunate for Mr. Graham that he began his professional life in a little, isolated country village — Shawangunk, now Wallkill, where he had no competition. If there had been a good, active, energetic lawyer residing in that same community it would have developed in Mr. Graham a more combative spirit, greater self-assertion and more readiness in the use of his resources. The imperfect development of these qualities in him interfered with his success as a trial law- yer. It may be that his removal from Ulster County to Orange when he had reached middle age also had an influence in preventing him from attaining that position among the prominent trial 100 .lAMKS r; rjRAHAM V lawyers of this county which his ability and character entitled him to hold. He came to Newburgh when he was nearly forty-five years old and it is not easy — usually not possible — for any lawyer at that age, to build up a business in a new place. Whatever the reason was it is undoubtedly a fact that Mr. Graham appeared less frequently in connection with litigated business in the courts of this county than might have been anticipated on the part of a man of his gifts. To some extent he retained his clientage among Ulster County people and was active in the courts there to a greater degree, I think, than he was in our county. As a counsellor he was careful, painstaking and safe and this branch of his practice would have been, in the hands of any one less scrupulously honest than he, the source of an income much larger than it yielded him. As he managed it "Along the cool sequestered vale of life He kept the noiseless tenor of his way" receiving the blessing prayed for by Agur of old who said, "Give me neither poverty nor riches." He was a member of the Assembly from Ulster County for one term and from Orange County for two terms, and was the City Attorney for the City of Newburgh for six years. He was a director of the Middletown State Asvhim and one of the Trustees of Washington's Headquar- ters at Newburgh. This completes the list, I think, of the public offices held by one who would have graced any station to which he might have been elect^ed. The subject of this sketch was born at Shawnn- gunk, N. Y., on October 29. 1821. His early education was obtained at the common school of his native p'ace and later at the Newburgh Academy. After n;radunting at that institution he entered Columbia College and there graduated ini in 1840. He studied law at Newburgh with Bate & McKissock until 1843 when he was licensed. From that time until 1866 his office was in his native village but in the last named year he removed to Newburgh and there continu- ed to reside and have his office for the remainder of his life. Death came to him on January 19, 1896, very peacefully but suddenly though he had been in poor health for several months. He died respect- ed by all and beloved by all who knew him well. Peace be to his memory. May the forget-me-not and the amaranth grow upon his grave as em- blems of the lasting remembrance in which he deserves to be held. DAVID A. SCOTT. David A. Scott was the son of James Scott. He was born in the Town of Montgomery, Orange County, N. Y., August 18, 1825, and died suddenly at Indian Lake, in the Adiron- dacks, August 24, 1890. During the interval of sixty-five years covered by these dates, but more especially during his active manhood, his experi- ences and his usefulness were varied. After graduating at the Montgomery Academy and subsequently at Wesleyan University, he taught school for some years in South Carolina, but ultimately took up the study of law in Newburgh, and was admitted to the bar in 1856. Thirty-four years of professional life and the manner in which it was passed won for him not only reasonable success, but gained for him the respect and esteem of his contemporaries and the confidence of the public. He had no eminent rank as a trial lawyer, but was one whose integ- rity was without question and whose judgment 103 1>A\'1L) A. SCOTT was a safe reliance. Moreover his aptitude in unraveling accounts — even the most intricate — was phenomenal ; and this faculty, in combination with his judicial mind, his courteous manner and his keen sense of equity, made him an ideal Surrogate. Mr. Scott held the office of Surrogate of the county for two terms (January, iS6o, to January, 1866), and at their expiration entered into part- nership with M. H. Hirschberg, under the firm name of Scott & Hirschberg, in which relation he remained until his death, devoting his atten- tion especially to office work, including very largely the settlement of estates and references involving important and complicated questions. For the vocation of an advocate he had no marked aptitude. Aside from his professional life Mr. Scott took an interest in the influences in society having for their object the elevation of his fellows. He was an active member of St. George's Episcopal Church, filling acceptably the post of Lay Reader when service in that capacity was required, and also that of Superintendent of the Sunday School. When death came to him it found him in the field promoting the success of the Mission of his Church, now the Church of the Good Shepherd. Next to his church he was a devotee of the ancient and honorable order of Free and Accepted Masons. His service as a Trustee of Common Schools from 1887 to the time of his death was of unquestionable advantage to the schools and to the public, and in private walks his charities were many. Regarding Mr. Scott's life as a whole the evidence is cumulative that he wasted neither his powers or his opportunities for usefulness — - that the mean goal, "thvself," did not bound his vision or confine his hand — that the force of his example remains and will remain even though his name shall wholly perish. Of him it may be 103 said with truth that he was a loyal friend, a useful citizen, a genial companionable gentleman. ABRAM S. CASSEDY was born at Ramapo, Rockland County, N. Y., on November 29th, 1833. He graduated from the State Normal School in 1853, and after study- ing law with a Rockland County lawyer for a short time he came to Goshen and continued his legal studies with Wilkin & Gott at Goshen. In 1857 he was admitted to practice as an attor- ney and counsellor. For two years thereafter he was the Deputy County Clerk of this county. In 1859 he removed to the City of Newburgh and embarked in practice on his own account. His success here was marked from the first and he acquired so good a standing at the bar that in 1862 he was elected District Attorney — (on the Democratic ticket). He held that office until January ist, 1866. This was immediately after the Civil War when the whole country was in an unsettled and disorderly condition. At that time there was no Assistant District Attorney in this county and no stenographer to take grand jury minutes. Mr. Cassedy's official duties consequently demanded an amount of at- tention and labor that would have discouraged most men. He had to be before the grand jury nearly all day and at night until "some wee sma* hour" was hard at work preparing indictments. His faithful discharge of the duties of his office under such discouraging circumstances entitled him to much credit. In 1880 he was ejected Mayor of the City of Newburgh. This office he resij5:ned after a few months — thus contradicting Andrew Ja'^kson's assertion about office holders that "few die and 104 AnilAM S. CASSEDY none resign." The two offices above mentioned were the most important ones civer held by Mr. Cassedy. His death occurred on April 29. rSgG. For some ten or twelve years prior to his death he was in partnership with Charles F. Brown and the ability and trustworthiness of the members of the firm together with the continuing influence of the fame of John W. Brown resulted in bring- ing a heavy and profitable business to their office. In 1885 the mortgage against the West Shore Railway — theretofore the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway — was foreclosed and Mr. Cassedy was appointed the referee to sell the property and to distribute the proceeds. The sale took place in the Court room of the New- burgh Court House and the property sold for twenty-two millions of dollars. These figures completely dazed the auctioneer who was a Nev/- burgh man and not accustomed to "think in millions" and he kept announcing the bid as twenty-two thousand dollars until Chauncey M. Depew, the bidder, corrected him three times. In distributing the proceeds of this sale Mr. Cassedy drew one check for over a million dol- lars. This he had framed later on when it had gone through the bank and it still hangs in the office of his son, William F. Cassedy. Up to that time it was believed to be the largest amount covered by a single check drawn on any bank in Orange County — I think that is still true. Mr. Cassedy left two sons one of whom is still living and is a prominent member of the Orange County Bar. HENRY BACON. Born March 14, 1846 at Brooklyn, N. Y. Died March 25, 1915. In August, 1862, Mr. Bacon and I entered Union College on the same day, — he in the sopho- KX'. more class of the classical course and I in the junior class of the scientific course. The latter course at that time covered but three years and consequently the unfriendly relations which usually exist between the members of one class and those of the class next above or below their own was confined chiefly to the students in the classical course. The "scientific" sopho- mores were really freshmen or in other words had just begun their college career. Most of my own intimate 'acquaintances were in the class behind my owr, I ma.'e Mr. Bacon's acquaint- ance very soon aiter we entered college and when, at the end of my junior year his roommate left college and he invited me to share his room I accepted with pleasure. We were "chums" dur- ing my senior year and our relations were very pleasant and friendly during all that time and afterwards as long as he lived. Even at that early day everybody who came in contact with him was impressed by his ability and the soundness of his judgment. He was one of the youngest men in his class but one of the most mature. There was never anything of the "mollycoddle" about him. Self-reliant and courageous to a marked degree he was always prepared to give a reason for any theorv he held and to maintain it against all comers. He was a good student, more inclined to "the humanities" than to mathematics, bvit good all around. His standing in his class was excellent and he gradu- ated in the first rank. At the time of his graduation I had been study- ing in Judge Gedney's office for a year amid most delightful surroundings and .as I intended to leave Goshen in the course of a few weeks I wrote to Mr. Bacon advising him to become my successor in the office. This he did. Our stay at Goshen overlapped each other for two or three months and during that time we were "chums" again. 106 iii;.\i;\' r. \i'<'.\ Mr. Bacon completed his studies in time to be examined at the *"General Term" held at Brook- lyn in December, 18&6. He passed with flying colors but being under twenty-one years of age could not be sworn in until he attained his majority. Soon after his admission he took two important steps in his career, — he married and formed a business co-partnership — Miss Helen Brandreth of Ossining, N. Y., became his wife and Benjamin F. Duryea, of Goshen, N. Y., be- came his partner. Mr. Duryea was a well known lawyer in that part of the county and had been Surrogate of the county and County Judge. His ability as an office lawyer was, recognized by all the lawyers in the county. Judge G-dney and Mr. Gott both stated to me that in their opinion he had the finest legal mind of any man then practicing at our bar. This partnership con- tinued for several years under the firm name of Duryea & Bacon. Then Judge Duryea's son, Henry, was taken into the firm and it became Duryea, Bacon & Duryea. Later, when Judge Duryea died the firm name became Bacon & Dur- yea. Mr. Joseph Merritt and Mr. Philip Rorty subsequently became partners with Mr. Bacon — and that brings the history of his business con- nections down to the close of his life. An incident which occurred while Mr. Bacon and I were fellow-students in Judge Gedncy's office was thoroughly characteristic of him whether as boy or man. He had been "reading law" for about a month when one day a farmer from the Town of Warwick came into the office and asked for the Judge. He was out of town for several days. "Well," said the farmer, "perhaps you could answer the question I wanted to ask him." "Very likely," said Bacon; "what is it?" "Well." said the farmer, "I made a contract with a miller in our ncir^hborhood to sell him my crop of wheat for a dollar and seventy-five cents a bushel and the price has gone up to a dollar and 107 eighty cents a bushel and I want to know if he can make me stand to that bargain." Bacon asked him how much wheat there was and was told sixty bushels. Was any writing signed? No. Any part of the price paid? No, Any of the wheat delivered? Not a grain. Then he can't hold you said Bacon. "Then he won't get my wheat at that price," said the farmer and with a very cheerful look on his face he was leaving the office when Bacon halted him with the suggestion that he had better pay for the legal advice he had had. After considerable protest the farmer paid the five dollars that Bacon de- manded and the latter remarked as he folded the bill up and put it in his pocketbook : "You can't expect anybody to do your dirty work for noth- ing." That farmer went home "a. sadder and a wiser man." Another incident which occurred in the office at about that time will bear narrating. Bacon was in the back office, I in the front one. It was quite early; — Judge Gedney not down yet. In those days a rough looking chap named S , was in the habit of coming to the office to inter- view the Judge. He was the wit and banterer of the Monroe Mountains but looked like any- thing but a quick-witted man. I knew by experi- ence, something of the keenness and roughness of his wit so when he began a conversation with me with the remark, "You look as natural to me as a natural fool but I can't call you by name," I politely said, "My name is Anthony." Bacon had heard the fillip I got and was laughing boisterously in the back office. "Who's that in there," said S. . "Suppose you look in and make his acquaintance," said I. He proceeded to interview Bacon and asked him several ques- tions, — to which he received very brief and gruff answers. Finally he began asking the names and residences of Bacon's parents and the latter suggested that S seemed to have a good 108 deal of curiosity about his family. "No offence meant, stranger," said S. "I wanted to know about them because I realy think they must be mighty nice people." Bacon was placated and innocently asked, "Why?" "Well," said S., "if I had been half as cross and ugly as you be my parents would have knocked me in the head before I was six weeks old." The laugh that followed sweetened the day's work for Bacon and me and although S didn't even smile, I have no doubt he got a lot of satisfaction out of it. Mr. Bacon's career after he was once fairly started in his professional work was one of con- tinuous and marked success. His good, sound judgment, retentive memory, great diligence, clear "legal instinct," and extreme thoroughness in everything he did and in every detail of his work made him in a few years one the leaders of the bar of this county and of several of the counties adjoining this. His success was chiefly due to the thoroughness with which he prepared his cases. His purpose was to know all the facts — and all the law — bearing upon the case he was about to try. His knowledge of the basic principles of jurisprudence and of the leading cases was extensive and accurate and it was therefore comparatively easy for him to prepare for the trial of his cases as they arose. In pre- senting a case to the jury he was not particularly happy. He talked easily and to the point and was listened to with attention. His arguments always deserved and received a respectful hear- ing. But he was entirely destitute of that mysterious quality called "magnetism" which enables some speakers to be in close touch with their audiences even when they have less to say than Mr. Bacon usually had and say it less smoothly than he. Nevertheless he became the most prominent trial lawyer in the county. For many years he was the trial counsel for the Erie Railway Company in this county and, in Rock- 100 land and Sullivan Counties and did a large amount of work for that company in this section of the State. His independence and self-reliance were always conspicuous features of his character. He at- tached no importance to differences of social standing or wealth. The only standards he recognized were mental ability and moral worth — and on this basis he treated everybody as he thought they deserved. In 1886 and again in 1888, Mr. Bacon was elected on the Democratic ticket, the Representa- tive in Congress from this district. He had however little taste for public office and not much aptitude for political finesse. He obtained an excellent standing in Congress and was recogniz- ed as a man of ability. He never held any other public office so far as I know. While at Washington he and his family became intimately acquainted with Samuel J. Randall and with his family. Randall was then the Speaker of the House. A few years later, the first Mrs. Bacon having died, meantime, Mr. Bacon married Susan, a daughter of Mr. Randall. She survived him — as did also a daughter (by the first wife) who is now the wife of Doctor Brand- reth Symonds. One incident of Mr. Bacon's stay in Washing- ton may be worth narrating here. At that time J. C. Bancroft Davis was the reporter of the decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Having a fairly intimate ac- quaintance with Mr. Davis I wrote to him suggesting that I would appreciate any courtesies he might extend to Mr. Bacon. This resulted in a dinner at Mr. Davis' at which Mr. Bacon was one of the guests and Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar — then a Justice of the Supreme Court — was another. After dinner Lamar and Davis talked over the efforts made to bring about the recognition of the Confederacy by England. Lamar had been sent 110 to Russia in behalf of the Confederate States but had stopped at London and was doing his utmost to procure recognition for his government. Davis was then Secretary of the American Legation at London. The plots and counter-plots of that momentous contest were discussed fully and very freely by these two men in their after-dinner conversation and Mr. Bacon declared that he had never heard such interesting talk. WILLIAM VANAMEE was born at Albany, N. Y., on January g, 1847. He was the son of Doctor Simon A. and Anna Graham Vanamee. His parents removed to Kingston, N. Y., while he was a child, — that being the home of the original Vanamee — (or van Naame) ancestor, who settled there in 1687. The subject of this sketch received his preparatory education at the Kingston Academy and at the hands of a private tutor. His legal study was conducted in the office of Judge Groo at Middletown, beginning in 1866 and in May, 1868, he was examined at the General Term held at Poughkeepsie and was duly ad- mitted. Thenceforth for many years his home and his office were in Middletown and there he built up a large and lucrative business. Later, seeking a wider field of practice, he removed to Newburgh and for a short time had a business connection in Brooklyn. N. Y., but continued to have his domicile in Newburgh. and there he died on May 7th, 1914. In 1886 he received the degree of M. A. from Hamilton College. Although Mr. Vanamee and I practiced law side by side during the last fifteen or twenty years of his life and were on terms of intimate and friendly acquaintance I never felt that I III really understood him. There was a sort of indefiriable aloofness about him which seemed to me to keep even his intimate friends at a dis- tance; and yet he was friendly in his manner, warm in his greetings * id seemingly sincere in his friends/lips. That he was a man of superior abii.lv and of unusual culture was evident to everybody who sav/ anything of his work. He was unquestionably the best nisi prius lawyer resident in Middletov/n in his day. He tried a case well and summfo it -ip with force and elo- quence. Juries ' 'ler.rd him with pleasure and v/henever he spoke before a miscellaneous audi- ence his remarks were listened to with close attention and spoken of afterwards in terms of admiration. It is not intended as any criticism of either his manner of speaking or of the sub- stance of his addresses when I state that there did not seem to be the same spontaneity about his oratorical work that there was about that of most of the other prominent advocates at our bar. Gedney and Fullerton and Carr never made any preparation for their jury speeches. If Winfield prepared he concealed the fact very successfully. Mr. Vanamee gave the impression of having made careful preparation. His public utterances "smelled of the lamp." If reading maketh a full man, conversation a ready man and v/riting an exact man as Lord Bacon said was the case, Mr. Vanamee would give his hearers the impression of being a reading man, — as indeed he was; for if any man in the profession since Judge Gedney's time has been as much of a lover of good literature as Mr. Vanamee was the fact has escaped my attention. He read very widely and with keen discrimination. His addresses were illuminated with apt quotations and telling illustrations but I cannot sav of them as Judge Brown does of Judge McKissock elsewhere in this book that they "came spontaneously and unbidden from his well-stored memory and glow- 112 WIU^IAM \A\A.\IKK ing imagination, as the lightning breaks upon the distant horizon in the twilight of a summer evening." Rather they reminded one of Long- fellow's lines: "Thus at the flaming forge of Life Our fortunes must be wrought, Thus on its sounding anvil shaped Each burning deed and thought." Nevertheless Mr. Vanamee was a strong and successful advocate and I am not prepared to say that he did not win as large a percentage of his cases as any of .ho^je lav/yers did whose names I have mentioned and whose u.ethods I bnve compared with his. His literary style can be seen to advantage in the article entitled, "The Bench a.'d Bar" in Keadley's "History of Orange Coi ■ y" and I risk no contradictions when I say that he has presented a very dry and unpromising subject in a graceful and captivating way. We may be inclined to criticise it as too eulogistic of his fellow-lawyers — of few more so than of the writer of this sketch — but as to the charm with which it is put there can hardly be two opinions. That the various lawyers mentioned are extreme- ly well spoken of is an indication of the feeling Mr. Vanamee really entertained concerning them. Those who knew him best assure me that he never uttered an unpleasant word about any fellow-lawyer but was actually filled with friend- ly regard and the kindest feelings towards them all. They speak too of his kindness of heart and sympathy for the unfortunate — a tribute of more worth than all the commendation that could be paid to him as an advocate. Mr. Vanamee died at a comparatively early age. His health failed gradually — his physical not his mental strength — and his condition was such that for three or four years before he died he could do no professional work except at the risk of his life. Had it not been for this, his reputation and standing as an attorney might have been even higher than they are. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Ostroni of Goshen. Of thiu marriage three children were born — two sons and a daughter, — the latter being now the wife of Percy V. D. Gott of Goshen. The sons, (named Talcott and Parker respectively) are living, — one a physician and the other a clergyman. Mr, Vanamee's second wife v/as Miss Davis — before her marri- age. Of this marriage there were no children. She is still living. LEWIS E. CARR. *Mr. Carr was born at Salisbury, Herkimer County, N. Y., on March loth, 1842. He was educated in the public schools and at the Fair- field Seminary. After leaving that institution he studied law at the Albany Law School and in 1864 was admitted to the Bar at Albany. Soon after that he settled at Port Jervis and began the practice of his profession. In that vocation his rise to eminence was rapid. In 187 1 he was elected District Attorney of the county; this office he held for one term. Mean- time he had been appointed local counsel for the Erie Railway Company and he retained that position until he removed to Albany in 1893. There he became Resident Counsel for the Dela- ware & Hudson R. R. Company and that position he still holds and fills. The amount of work done by Mr. Carr while he resided in this county would have killed most • N. B. — No extended sketch of Mr. Carr Is intended to be made here for reasons stated in the "Preamble" to this book. 114 HI99M9I LKVVIS K. CAUK men and it is reported that he k still working as h^.ird as ever; and yet, at the age of sev? ity-tivs years his mind seems as vigorous and -cti'. -. as it was in his pri ne and there i- scarcely ;i gray hair in his head. Mr. C'cirr has impressed me as one of irs ablest r.ien of .ny geneiation practicing at our bar id the T-'St fluent speaker among them. H-. is moreover a truly eloquent man — for there is a wide difference bft -veen fluency and eloquence. Mr. Carr's idea •, thoughts, illustrations and argu- ments keep p? e with his smooth and rapid flow of words so tj at what he says is not only well said but conveys a substantial chain of thoughts in an interesting and impressive way. May it be a long time before anvone is called upon to write a sketch of him which treats him as a man of the past. iiii A List of the County Judges, Surrogates and District Attorneys of the County Since the Year 1800 COUNTY JUDGES. Nathan H. White Samuel S. Seward Gilbert O. Fowler Horace W. Elliott Goldsmith Denniston Allen M. Sherman David W. Bate John G. Wilkin - A. H. Benjamin F. Duryea John J. Monell David F, Gedney Thomas George Stephen W. Fullerton — Charles F. Brown John G. Wilkin John J. Beattie F. Seeger SPECIAL COUNTY JUDGES. John G. Wilkin Robert Proudfit, Jr. Charles Borland James W. Taylor E. Gedney Van Duzer James W. Taylor George W. Green J. Hallock Drake James W. Taylor William J. Groo Theron N. Little Michael H. Hirschberg Obadiah P. Howell Amos Van Etten Ferdinand V. Sanford Henry B. Fullerton Frank Lybolt Herbert B. Royce us SURROGATES. Edward Ely Job Noble Edward Ely Wheeler Case David H. Tuthill John B. Booth Geors^e M. Grier Charles Borland Benjamin F. Duryea James W. Fowler John J. McConnell David A. Scott Gilbert O. Hulse Henry A. V/adsworth Roswell C. Coleman O. P. Howell John B. Swezey SPECIAL SURROGATES. Charles Borland Frederick A. Hoyt John V. D. Benedict Henry C. Duryea Bush Daniel E. Pope John P. Sears George W. McElroy John B. Swezey Joseph M. Wilkin Elwood C. Smith DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. (Were not county officials until 1818). Samuel R. Betts Henry G. Wisner Ogdcn Hoffman Charles Borland Isaac R, Van Duzcr Samuel J. Wilkin Charles Borland, Jr. Nathan Wcscott Hugh B. Bull Charles H. Winfield David F. Gedncy Charles C. MrOuoid ''Henry M. C Abram S. Casscdy --•John H. Drake ■^ Stephen W. Fullerton Lewis E. Carr Charles F. Brown Walter C. Anthony Russell T. Headlcy Michael H. Hirschbcrg Abram V. N. Powelson A. H. F. Seeger Thomas C. Rogers J. D. Wilson, Jr. HirschbergJ, OLD DAYS AND OLD WAYS As a sort of summing up of what has gone before I give here Mr. Graham's opinion regard- ing some of the lawyers mentioned in the earher portion of this book. He writes: "In your last letter you intimate that you would like to know my opinion as to the comparative merits of several of the members of the bar of Orange County. My estimate may be very far wrong, but I will give it never- theless. In my judgment, the greatest lawyer who ever lived in Orange County was John Duer. I do not know whether he was born in Orange County, or not, but he practiced at Goshen for a good many years before going to New York City. He was associated with Benjamin F. Butler, afterward Attorney General and Secre- tary of War of the United States, and John C. Spencer, who afterward was Secretary of State of New York, and Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in the Revision of 1830 and for no small share of that work he was responsi- ble. Subsequently he was Judge and Chief Justice of the Superior Court of New York City, and at that time the Bench of that Court had no superior on this side of the Atlantic, and his judgments stood the test of time and critical examination. "Next to him I would place John W. Brown (though born in Scotland) for breadth of learning and power of elucidating abstract principles. Next to him I think stood William Fullerton for power of intellect, entire self-control and incis- iveness in examination of witnesses, and in presenting his case to the jury or the Court. 118 Yet I am told that for breadth of intellect and legal knowledge, and clearness of reasoning he was surpassed by his brother, Stephen W. Fullerton; but 'Whit' (as he was called in my time) had not won his spurs when I came out West. "In reputation for brilliancy of argument, for eloquence of speech and flood of illustration, according to their reputation as it reached my ears, Ogden Hoffman, Isaac R. Van Duzer and Samuel J. Wilkin surpassed all others. For ingenuity in marshaling the facts, for vigor of expression and versatility in the management of a case. Judge McKissock. For polish of manner and speech and careful preservation of the rights of his client. Judge Monell. I frequently heard Winfield, but never heard Gedney make an ad- dress of any kind, but speaking from knowledge of one, and the reputation of the other, I would say that as all around lawyers and advocates they had few superiors. I should say that in power of reasoning and force of logic they were inferior to either of the Fullertons, but of a more captivating manner in presenting their cases to a jury or miscellaneous audience, over whom their influence was deservedly great. "My estimate may be largely erroneous but such as it is you have it. "I often heard Judge Booth speak of Henry G. Wisner, but I can not give you anything that would be of any assistance to you." In my judgment Mr. Graham is about right. Judge Barnard was once questioned as to the comparative standing of the lawvers of Dutchess County and Orange, and he replied: "We have no man in Dntrhcss Covmty who can try a case as 'Whit' I-'ullcrton can. There is no man in Orange County who can sum up a 119 case as Allard Anthony can. But Judge Gedney and Mr. Gott make a team that cannot be equal- ed in Dutchess or anywhere in this judicial district in my opinion," (N, B. — The district then included all of Long Island), Judge Barnard had a very high opinion of Fullerton's ability as a trial lawyer. He said several times that "Whit" Fullerton and "Matt" Carpenter — (later a United States Senator from Wisconsin) — were the best cross-examiners he had ever seen. Carpenter was counsel in a very important murder case which was tried in Dutchess County in or about the year 1865 and he made a very favorable impression upon the entire Bar of that county. The Fullertons — William and "Whit" — were probably the most skillful trial lawyers and certainly the best cross-examiners we have ever had in this county. Their methods were very different but equally effective. William was keen, quick and somewhat aggressive and woe betide the witness who began a game of repartee with him. Whittaker was more deliberate, more cautious and more considerate of the witness. He often said that unless the lawyer feels abso- lutely sure that he can break a witness complete- ly, he must never seem to be harsh with him, for the sympathy of the jury is against the lawyer and with the witness all the time until the latter is clearly shown to be lying. Another of his rules was not to cross-examine a witness at all unless you had a distinct purpose in view and a definite plan for accomplishing it. William Fullerton used to say that he thought he could catch any witness who was falsifying, provided he could examine him long enough. In this connection he said that he cross-examined the leading witness in a very important will case — involving half a million dollars — for two whole days without tripping her un ; but he added : "I got her the third day; caught her on arithmetic. 130 She had sworn to her age early in her cross- examination. On the third day I asked her what her employment was at that time and when she went to work in that position; then I asked her about outside matters for a while so that she would not become suspicious; then I questioned her about what she was doing previous to the latest employment and how long she was in that place and then we talked about other matters again; and so I led her backward step by step until I could call her attention to the fact that she must have been only four years old when she was present at the execution of the will in ques- tion about which she had testified very fully and minutely. Then she went all to pieces. She had lied about her age and also about the execution of the will." One of the questions about the lawyer of former days which will naturally occur to a lawyer of this present time is "what income did his business yield?" I have excellent reasons for thinking that no lawyer in the county made five thousand dollars per year, prior to the Civil War. During that war some of them perhaps avera,2;ed that amount — but they were few and far between. There was an income tax during the later years of that war, and the incomes reported throughout the county were published in some of our news- papers. They make what Horace Grccly used to call "mighty interesting reading" now. Making all due allowances for exemptions it would seem that there was but one practicing lawyer in Ncwburgh, and not one elsewhere in the county, who reported an income of five thousand dollars by the report made in August, 1865, and the one v/hose income exceeded that m figure doubtless derived a considerable part of it as interest on his investments. It must be remembered that business expenses were very trifling then. Office rent, stenogra- phers, telephones, books and various incidentals were then either very small or actually non- existent. I doubt if there were half a dozen lawyers in the county who employed any paid clerical help about their offices, fifty years ago. Living expenses also were very much less then than they are now. It is probably a fair proposition to say that any given income then was worth fully as much as one twice as large is today. The charges for legal services increased somewhat during the Civil War, — but not much; and the "taxable costs" in litigated cases have not been increased since 1848 to any appreciable extent. The charges which lawyers make against their clients in these days are doubtless decidedly larger than they were formerly — but it is much more satisfactory to "live off of the enemy's country" as far as possible. The lawyers as a rule attached less importance to the pecuniary end of their business forty or fifty years ago than thev do now. Gedney had no account books; Fullerton kept no complete accounts. In the old days there was far more practical joking among the lawyers than there has been of late years. They seemed to have more time for it then than they have now. Much of it centered about "Whit" Fullerton. He and all his brothers were full of a spirit of mischief. One incident "Whit" used to relate with great glee. One day his father said to William, "Go over to neighbor Smith's and ask him if he will lend me his wheelbarrow." After an hour or so William returned and 122 reported to his father: "Yes, sir! He says he'll lend it to you." On another occasion Mr. Fullerton, the father, was mending a dam on his farm. The material needed was dug out of a bank on one side of the stream and loaded in a cart and then hauled across the half empty mill pond and used at the farther end of the dam and race. William was driving the oxen and the "old gentleman" and "Whit" were helping. They walked behind the cart until they came to the edge of the pond. Then they would step up on the hind end of the cart and ride across dry shod. Finally on one of the return trips William could not resist the temptation any longer. He stooped down and unloosed the pin, — the cart tipped up, — and the two passengers at its rear were spilled off into a puddle of very muddy water a couple of feet deep. Of course William got a thrashing but that he expected. The fun fully repaid him. I saw more of this spirit of practical fun in "Whit" than I did in his brothers. One instance recurs to my memory. "Whit" and Judge Monell were in the latter's private office adjusting some business matters of importance when a pompous individual enter- ed whose white cravat indicated his claim to clerical standing. Monell had seen him or heard of him before and at once recognized him as a solicitor of contributions for some charity or other. The caller asked whether Judge Monell was in. The Judge, thinking it a good chance to put a joke over on Fullerton, waved his hand towards the latter and said : "That is Judge Monell." No slightest change of expression passed over Fullerton's face. He listened patiently to the caller's story while Monell sat by enjoying the situation. But a change "came o'er the spirit of his dreams" when Fullerton asked to sec the caller's subscription book and with great deliberation wrote in it : "John J. 12» Monell, $10 ;" quietly remarking, "I shall have to ask you to call a little later for the money — I haven't the precise amount by me at present." Needless to say that little joke cost Monell ten dollars. It was very difficult to corner Fullerton or to get the better of him in an encounter of wits. In an action which was on trial before Carr as referee I was a party ; Fullerton was my attorney ; Brewster — (E. A.) — and Brown — (Charles F., afterwards 'J^^g^ Brown') — were opposed. I had invested some money in a v/oolen mill and was likely to lose some of it. Fullerton had lost heavily not very long before in a patent hay press — (He al'ways lost when he speculated and usually when he invested). Brev/ster had a lot of money tied up in cemetery stock which paid no dividend and Brown was largely inter- ested in a plaster mill which just then was giving him considerable trouble and no profits. Brown started the skirmish by saying of my investment that he supposed it was all right but it seemed to him a blamed queer thing for a lawyer to invest his money in a woolen mill. Fullerton's retort came like a flash, "No queerer and no more risky than a plaster mill." Then Brewster took a shot at Fullerton, remark- ing, "Either of them is as safe as a hay press." Again the retort came instantly, "Any of the three is better than a bone yard." John Kerr who was attorney for some of the parties said: "I think I have no remarks to make." It was a particularly neat specimen of repartee — and Fullerton was full of that sort of thing. His neatest and most famous practical joke resulted in a Newburgh Lothario making a "date" with his own wife under the impression that it was with another woman. A very worthy woman came to Fullerton's office and showed him a particularly ardent letter which she had 124 received from a married man. She was furious and wanted the writer of the letter sued at once. Fullerton dissuaded her but said that if she would follow his instructions implicitly she should have complete revenge. At his dictation she wrote a letter and mailed it to the Lothario saying among many other things that she was planning to go to the city on the barge * * * on such a night and would try to secure state- room Number 4, and if there was a gentle tap at the door of that stateroom at precisely 11 o'clock p. m., the door would be opened, — though the room might be in darkness — and no violent effort would be made to keep him out. Mean- time Fullerton sent for the Lothario's wife, who had consulted him several times about securing a divorce from her husband. The situation was explained to her — the name of the lady not being mentioned — and she cheer- fully consented to take the trip to New York on the appointed night and carry out her part of the play. At that time the barge in question was commanded by a near-relative of Fullerton's and he had no difficulty in securing stateroom No. 4 for the night he wished. The rest of the story will readily suggest itself to anybody who has read thus far. The plan worked out precisely as Fullerton had designed. It will be "relevant" for me to add that Mrs. Lothario never had occasion afterwards to con- sult Fullerton, or anybody else, about procuring a divorce from her husband. One case which came to the office soon after I entered it as a student has always been prominent in my memory. One day I saw a young man — perhaps between twenty-five and thirty years old — come into the outer office. He was the incarnation of self-satisfaction; — as "cockey" as a drum major. In that mood he passed through the outer office, entered Fuller- ton's private room, and the door was closed. 125 Half an hour or so later he came out and I have never seen, in all my life, so great a change wrought in any other person in so short a time. He was in a state bordering on collapse. It was a good while after that before Fullerton told me what had caused the change. It seems that a few months before this interview a young man residing not far from Newburgh had gone out alone gunning. A few hours later his dead body was found lying in a roadway in the woods and near him was his gun, one barrel of which had been discharged and the load had entered the hunter's head from behind causing instant death. Shortly after his burial his wife's brother began to talk to his sister, (the widow), about the money due to him from her husband, for which he claimed that he held promissory notes made by the husband. She felt sure something was wrong and came to Fullerton for counsel. He wrote to the claimant asking him to call at the office and see what arrangement, if any, could be made in regard to his claims against his brother-in-law's estate and to be sure to bring with him all notes or other papers in support of his claim. It was in response to that invita- tion that he entered the office when I first saw him. When the door closed behind him he was given a seat facing the window which was back of Mr. Fullerton and the latter could see every movement of his countenance. The notes — three in number — were produced. They aggregated several hundred dollars. Fullerton questioned the claimant about his business transactions with the decedent and the consideration for the notes and the explanation became somewhat confused and indefinite. Then the circumstances connected with the death of the deceased were asked about and the tragedy of the event was shown mercilessly by means of the questions asked. Finally Fullerton said, "You think your 126 brother-in-law was carrying his gun over his shoulder with the butt end behind; that it slip- ped out of his hand and when it struck the ground one barrel was discharged and the shot entering the head of decedent caused his death instantly?" This theory was insisted on very positively under skillful examination; the claim- ant stated that the accident could not be explained on any other theory. Then Fullerton asked him if he didn't think it passing strange that the charge of shot had passed downward through the brain and not upward. This fact was shown by the Coroner's minutes of which Fullerton had a copy. Fullerton then inquired about the making of the notes and the claimant stated that he him- self wrote the body of the documents; that his brother-in-law signed them and immediately delivered them to him and he had held them ever since. He further said that his brother-in- law had placed the revenue stamps on the notes ; that he did it with his own hands before deliver- ing the notes to claimant and cancelled them by writing his initials on them. "Precisely as they are now?" "Yes." "You are absolutely sure of this?" "Yes." By this time the claimant was very badly demoralized — and his overthrow was completed when Fuller- ton held the notes up in front of him and said, "Don't you think that your brother-in-law was a very far-sighted man to put revenue stamps on these notes nearly three months before the law required notes to be stamped?" The claimant went all to pieces. The notes were marked "surrendered and cancelled" and he managed to sign his name to that statement and then he made his way out of the office as best he could. Fullerton added when he told me the story, "I believe I could have convicted him of murder, but his sister would not give her consent." Mr. Fullerton's office table was always covered 127 with bundles of papers and dozens of letters but he disliked to have them touched or re-arranged. One day when he was out of town I straightened out the litter on his desk; the drawers were empty so I distributed the rubbish among them in alphabetical order. When he returned and saw what an improvement (?) had been made there was not the slightest change in his ex- pression. A little later he called me and asked "Where are the papers in against ?" I showed him the proper drawer and explained that the arrangement was strictly alphabetical, the first drawers having the early letters of the alphabet; the second some later letters and so throughout. Presently another batch of papers was asked for. I produced it from the proper drawer, and it,— like the former batch— was restored to its place on the top of the flat desk — and Fullerton, without the slightest change of expression on his face, remarked, "No doubt your intentions were good, Anthony; the trouble is you had too damned many of them." Ever since that day I always have tried to avoid "butting in." One of the famous cases of forty years ago was that of vs. . The action was based on four promissory notes, each for several hundred dollars. The body of the instruments had been written by the plaintiff who claimed that the signature was that of the defendant. Fullerton borrowed the original instruments and succeeded in having them imitated so perfectly in every particular that we could only tell the copies from the originals by means of a minute pin hole which we made in each of the genuine notes. The cashiers of our several city banks swore unhesi- tatingly to the genuineness of the signature on the copies. Finally the plaintiff himself swore that the body of the copies was written by him 1S8 and that the documents were signed by the defendant in his presence. At this point he became a little suspicious and remarked, "there has been a lot of talk about forgery in this case ; let me look at them closer." He took them up close to the window and examined them minutely and then said again that he himself wrote the body of each note and the defendant signed each one; that he was absolutely positive as to these facts. Then Fullerton handed out the genuine notes and quietly asked, "Well, how about these?" The plaintiff was completely non- plussed. The papers became mixed in his hand and he could not tell one from another. Turn- ing to Fullerton he exclaimed, "What kind of a damned man are you, anyhow?" The plaintiff succeeded in the action but there was nobody in our local banks for several years after that who could qualify as an expert on handwriting and bear a cross-examination. Another law suit which made an intense but transient sensation in Newburgh in the "old days" was spoken of as the "bouquet case." One Lee, a queer chap, was deeply interested in a young lady who lived on Newburgh's chief residential street. He decided to serenade her and took pains to let her know of his purpose and when he intended to carry it out. He also announced his intention to some of his young men friends. This information came to the cars of A., who was an inveterate joker, and he, on the appointed evening, chartered a hand organ grinder and piloted him to the young lady's house. Here the organ was played vigorously and A, having purposely clothed himself to resemble Lee as much as possible, marched up and down underneath her window. Of course the young woman had provided herself with an elegant bouquet and although she thought a "serenade" by a hand organ was a very strange performance still as nobody ever knew what queer thing to expect from Lee she threw out the bouquet, — which A. picked up and with many profound bows and wafted kisses marched away, accompanied by the organ grinder. Very shortly afterwards Lee appeared on the scene with three or four musicians and the real serenade began. But the young lady had no more bouquets to bestow and being a good deal mystified by this second serenade paid no attention to it. A few days later Lee learned the facts of the case and sued A. in justice's court for the value of the bouquet. The crowd attending the trial soon outgrew the justice's office and an evening session was held in the Court House. Here the fun grew fast and furious. Lee was in dead earnest. He was one of the sort who can never see a joke, but everybody else in the crowded room was convulsed with laughter. Finally, after a solemn argument by Lee, who by the bye was a law-student, and a humorous speech by A's attorney, the case went to the jury who brought in this verdict: "We find no cause of action and we recommend the plaintiff to the mercy of the Court and community." Having told the foregoing story somewhat at Lee's expense it is no more than fair for me to show another side of his nature. He wrote and published quite a bit of very fair prose and one little poem which seems to me so good that I give it complete. His father was a clergyman and served for a number of years as pastor of a church at Mont- gomery. Some time after his death a lady, a member of his congregation, gave the church a pulpit Bible in memory of the dead pastor and young Lee, the law student, sent her the follow- ing: lao LINES TO A LADY On the presentation of a Pulpit Bible to the Reformed Dutch Church of Montgomery, September 30th, 1858. Honored in the ancient Temple were the gifts of Sheba's queen; Grander yet the Magi's offerings to the lowly Nazarene. Sheba's crown is dust and ashes, no one knows the Magi's grave; But the Lord has not forgotten who they were or what they gave. Heaven's altar needs no incense, and the finest gold is dim In the presence of the glory ever overshadowing Him; But the record has been written that their mem- ory should live. For the spirit of the givers consecrates the things they give. In the grave yard sleeps the pastor by the church he loved so well, But the Word of God abideth, like a deathless Evangel, — And that Pulpit Bible preaches, while the pas- tor's clearer eyes See its mysteries unfolded in the light of Paradise. JOHN WILTSIE LEE. If anybody connected in any way with the legal profession in this county has ever produced anything which came as near as those lines do to being poetry, the writer's attention has not been called to it. 131 Something has been said in an earlier part of this book about a case in which a man named Price was a witness. In some respects the trial of that case presented features of unusual inter- est, and one of the most dramatic situations that ever occurred in our Court House arose on that trial. A man whoinl will call X was on trial under an indictment for murder in the first degree. The victim was a woman with whom he had been on friendly terms and with whom he had been seen walking along a lonesome road one evening. The next morning her body was found in a gully at the side of that road. She had been killed by some one who had caught up a stone from the roadside and struck her with it on the head. She was somewhat advanced in pregnancy and this fact was supposed to have led to her taking off. The accused, an unmar- ried man, made his home with a near-relative who kept a hotel in a neighboring village. The strongest testimony against him was given by a woman who lived nearly opposite this hotel, who swore that between one and two o'clock of the night the murder was committed she was in bed but awake and heard some persons going up the stoop of the hotel. She thereupon looked out of her bedroom window and saw a man who in figure and size resembled the accused, and a woman who looked the size of the victim, going up the hotel stoop; that she heard knocking at the hotel door and conversation between some- body inside the hotel and the man outside; that the hotel door was then opened and the man and the woman entered. This testimony with much else less important made the situation look dark for the accused. In order to meet it the Mr. Price, already mentioned, went to the residence of this witness, stretched himself upon the bed in the same place the witness had sworn she occupied, and found, — or testified that he 132 found — that he could not see the stoop of the hotel to any such extent as the woman had sworn that she saw it. This merely shows how much more a woman can see when her curiosity is aroused and her suspicions excited than a man can see under ordinary circumstances — for a man and a hite ma.n and after asking a few questions went back into the woods. This Dodder was my nearest neighbor, and a good deal nearer than I wanted him, and I hadn't been there long before I heard that he had been lying about me to one of the directors, and I soon found out that he wanted to get his son, who was sworn here against me, in my place. But he hasn't done it yet and if you don't convict me I reckon he won't very soon. "I won't take long to dispose of Dodder No. 2. He testifies that he saw me throw three stones at his father and saw the old man 'dodge.' On cross-examination he says that he was in his own house, in the 'woods, and had to look over a hill twenty feet high and also over three slab fences and two stone-walls. Well, if he tells the truth all I wish is that I had young Dodder's eyes! He certainly is a remarkable boy and can't deny his 'father.' Mb "I am willing to admit that I done wrong in throwing stones at Dodder and I apologize to all the world, and this county particularly, for it. The doctors tell us that there are two causes for all diseases, — pre-disposition and excitability — I think it was the latter cause that moved me to stone Dodder. "I therefore confess myself guilty of the assault, but the battery I deny, — and if you find me guilty of the battery I will appeal from the decision to the Court of High Heaven itself before I will submit to it. Now, gentlemen, you saw Mr. Dodder and heard him swear against me. I asked him a great many questions and I was sorry to hear him answer as he did. I might have asked him more questions, — I might have asked him if he didn't kill my cai and if he didn't stone my chickens because they trespassed in his woods, where actually the rocks are so thick that the cats can't find their way up through them. But then I knew he would deny it and it would grieve me to hear him. "He admits that he was driving my three cows up the road and that he struck at one of 'em, but says it was with a small switch. I have proved that this 'switch' was a pole about ten feet long and about two inches across the butt end, and I have also proved that when he struck the com) fell. It is true my witness couldn't swear that the stick hit her, he was so far off, but take the blow and the fall together and we can guess the rest. If you gentlemen should see me point a gun at a man and pull the trigger, see the flash and hear the report and at the same time see the man drop, I think you would say that I shot him although you might not see the ball strike him. "Now the fact is, gentlemen, that on Sunday I was lying on my lounge in my house when my wife said that Dodder was chasing my cows. I jumped up and pulled on my boots and went out of doors and saw Dodder and the cows com- ing up the road. It is true he says that he was not driving them, but says he and the cows was both going along the road m one direction — and this is as near as I could get him to the cows or to the truth. But it is proved that the cows were going along ahead of him and he was follow- ing after them striking at them with his little switch ten feet long and two inches across the butt, and I reckon you'll think he was driving them. "I sung out to him 'Dodder, stop!' but he didn't mind my order and I just threw a stone in that direction, which went about fifteen feet over his head, — at the same time going towards him. He paid no attention and I sung out again, 'Dodder, stop!' Still he didn't mind me and then I just threw another stone; — but on he came and on I went and I threw the third stone which he says hit him on the back of the neck, but this I think is rather strange as we were going to- wards each other as fast as we could go. But he never slacked up and by this time we were within about eight feet of each other. I halted and hallooed at the top of my voice, "Dodder, ^why in h—l don't you stop!" About then he did stop and raised his ten-foot 'switch* as if to strike me. I sang out, 'Mr. Dodder, look out! You may wallup my cows but if you wallup me with that switch you'll wallup an animal that'll hook — (Here the orator made a gesture with his head as if in the act of hooking, which was followed by tumultuous shouts and laughter that continued several minutes). "Now, gentlemen, if you convict me this court can fine me $250 and jug me for six months and if you really think I ought to be convicted of this assault say so, for I am in favor of living up to the laws so long as they are laws, whether it is the Fugitive Slave Law, the Nebraska bill, or the Excise Laws. I will read you a little law how- 147 ever which I have just seen in a book I found here" — (the speaker picked up a book and read as follows) : " 'Every man has a right to defend himself from personal violence.' Now I don't know whether that is a law or not but I find it in a law book" — (a veteran member of the bar who was sitting near the speaker remarked to him that it was good law). "Well, gentlemen, here is an old man who looks as if he might know something and he says it's good law. Now if you will turn to Barbour — something — page 399 you will find the same doctrine applies to cattle — (great laughter). Therefore I take it I had a right to defend my cows against Dodder's ten- foot 'switch.' Why, gentlemen, nearly all my wealth is invested in them three cows and you can't wonder that I became a little excited when I saw Dodder switching them with this ten-foot pole. I am a poor man and have a large family, consisting of a wife and six children, which I reckon is doing very well for as small a man as I am and I couldn't afford to let Dodder kill my cow! "Now, gentlemen, I don't believe you'll convict me after what I have said, but if you do and this court fines me $250 I shall 'repudiate,' because I can't pay. And if I am jugged for six months why these Dodders will have it all their own way up there. But notwithstanding all this I am willing to risk myself in your hands, and if you think I ought to have stood by and not done any- thing when I saw Dodder hammering my cows why then I am 'a goner' — toll-gate and 'all. "It is true I am a poor man, but not a mean one. The name of Allington can be traced to the May- flower. When she landed the pilgrims on Ply- mouth Rock among the passengers was a widow, Mary Allington, with four fatherless children, and I am descended from that Puritan stock ; and from that day to this there has never lived an Allington who hadn't Yankee spirit enough to 148 stone a Dodder for poling his cows, /'m done," Roars of laughter, — during which the defend- ant took his seat. After a few words from his Honor the jury retired and in a few minutes returned with a verdict of Not Guiliyl Old Dodder and Dodder No. 2 were at that instant seen plunging down the stairs leading to the court yard with unbounded powers of loco- motion ; when the yard was reached they fairly ran and it is supposed never stopped until the deep woods of Minisink hid them from the gaze of men. Allington heard the verdict with the sang froid of a philosopher. No emotion was observable other than taking an extra quid of tobacco into his mouth. It may be as well to remark that the District Attorney declined to be pitted against his elo- quent opponent and let the cause go by default as he said not a word in reply to the defendant's speech. The District Attorney was in a tight place and took the wisest course to get out. It is not often he meets with such a formidable prisoner. 149 Newburgh, N. v.: News Printing and Publishing Company 1917 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. . . . \m ' OCT 30 Form L9-Serie8 4939 ir <;ni iTHFRN RFGinNAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 628 469 9 K 60 A1A62J