Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1877-05-01
THE LATE ROBERT T. BROWN.

Jefferson County,:
"TR1BUTE OF RESPECT TO THE LATE
ROBERT 7. BRowN.-Daniel Il. Lucas, Esq,
who had been, at q meeting of the Bar and
Officers of this Court, held on the 18th day
of March, 1877, instructed to communicate
the action of that meeting and the resolutions
of respect to the memory of Robert I. Brown,
the late clerk of the Court, adopted by it, pre-.
scented the following resolutions and moved
that they be entered upon the record. The
motion having been seconded by Andrew
Hunter, Esq, was granted and the Court di-
rected the resolutions to be recorded upon
the Common Law Order Book, which is now
done as follows"
The resolutions referred to are those which
were printed in our issue of March goth.
In support of his motion, Mr.. Lucas en-
tered upon n brief but particularly happy
sketch of the life, services and character OF
our late venerable and venerated clerk. Mr..
Brown, he said, was born in the year 1900,
of Scotch Irish descent upon one side of his
house, and of Cavalier upon the other. In
the latter part of the last century two streams
of igration-one of Scotch. Irish from
Pennsylvania, and the other of Cavalier from
tide>water Virginia-met here in tho Valley
of the Shenandoah, and the mingling of the
two currents was productive of the happiest
result He thought the manner in which
the people of this Valley had borne up under
the terrible ordeal of the late war might be
proudly pointed to as an illustration of the
happy effect of this amalgation of the several
races. But, however that might be, in Mr..
Brown, individually, the best virtues of the
several strains of blood that coursed through
his veins were distinctly discernible. This
was shown by the high esteem in which he
was held by the people of this county during
the whole period of his official life, which
commenced more than so years ago, and
ended only with his death last March. Since
his first appointment in 1897, there had been
many elections to the Office of Clerk of the
Circuit Court, and several judges had success
sively presided upon the Bench. But MIR.
Browns official life continued uninterrupted
to the day of his death except during the
short period Of the Radical regime immediate-
ly succeeding the war. Here MIR. Lucas re-
ferred to the action of the County Nomina>
ting Convention of 1872, which, disregarding
the will of the people, gave the nomination
for the Office of Clerk of the Circuit Court
to some one else. But the people rose en-
mdsse, threw the nominee overheard, and
elected Mr.. Brown by handsome majority.
This action of the people was high cons
pliment to Mr. Brown, for his modest digni-
ty of character ever prevented him from at
tempting to acquire those arts which are sup
posed to be necessary to popular favor, and
which are so assduously cultivated by the
demagogue. Aud besides, in 1872, party
lines were strictly drawn, and it was only ez-
tremc cases which could induce the Democra-
cy Of this county to repudiate the action of
its regular party conventions. His life taught
the instructive lesson-known to too few Of
our public men-that the surest road to pop
ular favor is the fearless and conscientious
discharge of duty, leaving the consequences
to take care of themselves. After Mr.. Lu-
cas- had finished, Andrew Hunter, Esq, who
had seconded Mr.. Lucas motion to enter the
resolutions upon the records of the court,
rose to say, that notwithstanding the eloquent
manner IN winch ME-. LUCAS uau ulSCHdTpcu
the duty imposed upon him, it might not be
inappropriate if he too-thc oldest member
of the Bar then present-should pay his
tribute of respect to the memory of his de-
parted friend. Mr.. Hunter said that he first
became acquainted with our late clerk in
1924, when the latter was clerk of one of
courts of Jefferson county and deputy clerk
of the other. From that time to the present
his acquaintance had been uninterrupted, and
he thought himself qualified to speak of the
character of his friend, in its several phases
of Christian, gentleman and official. He
then proceeded to illustrate these several
traits of character as they became known to
him during his long acquaintance with Mr..
Brown. Mr.. Hunters remarks were not
merely appropriate; they were highly i'm
pressive and affecting. When he had taken
his seat the court responded briefly but elo-
quently to the gentlemen of the Bar, and
ordered the resolutions to be placed upon
the records of the court.
nur oCn-nTTpHJou WAD