The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-10-22
A MAsrERLY TRIBUTE.


MASTERLY TRIBUTE.
senator voorhees, t. the Memory of the Late
Judge Ristine. Es =
On Thursday, at Covington, the death of
Judge Ristine, and the death of hts law
partner, George McWilliams. were an
nounced in the circuit court. Judge David
son presiding. After the presentation of
appropriate resolutions, Mr.. Voorhees, spoke
as follows:
NAY IT PLEASE THE COURT have come
here today join in paying tribute to the
memory of the dead. The rush and the roar
of the great world are going on all the same
circle, but here we halt Tor u few moments
and here l enter with you, to per, orm the
last sad rites of love and grief for those who
have passed from this world forever.
The custom of honoring the dead, and OF
making record OF their virtues Is as old as
the heart of w,, man, whether o,s1 civilized
those they honor to the permanent records of
their country. and to the keeping OF marble
Keeping alive the memories of those whose
virtues he emulates. 1t Is for this reason
Of ol'As such III vast importance. They rarely, II
ever allowed to wholly perish. The dead
more; their voices are hushed; their bodies
turn todusG, but we gather together what they
did and said in their lives; we treasure up
everything in consecrated urn, and thus
cerpetuate their Influences upon ourselves as
long we repain IN this world. Something
a few short weeks ago there was law irm in
this good and pleasant town, more known than
profession was transacted from day to day.
That firm has been dissolved; the books are
closed. No notice in the ordinary way In
the newspapers announced The termination
of a partnership. A summons came from the
world 6eyond ana there Is mo no su5siS.ny mean a'
the office, but a few days apart, to return no
more, Ristiue and McWilliams! They sleep
together in your beautiful cemetery, where
| gentle hands laid them, and where the tears OF
| love win long oedew their graves
Joseph RtStine was born IN Brown county,
| Ohio, December, lS,,s He died september IL,
| 1879 His faGner was of the earle L
| pioneers of Fountain county. having settled
| burg now stands, in 1876. From that
time until the day of his death, a period OF 81
| years, Judge Ristine was citizen of this
! county, always active in any pursuit n which
he was engaged, always influential in mis-
| enterprises, always enjoying the confidence of
| the De opie and the deep personal attachment
| his lie are ali well known 10 you and to those
| about me- and yet will venture to dwell u pom
mats upon his character. Judge Ristine be
! gan life as laoOrer, first on farm and after
! ward as a brick mason. He has told me
| of two or three houses yet standing In this
| county, the brick of which he laid At Very
| early age, however, mis- neighbors discave ed
| those qualities which made him safe an
adviser and SO just arbtter, and he was
elected q Justice of the peace of Richland
| townshfp. rms was his first Office and he
pliments ever paid him, as indeed 1t was; for
| there but few positions in which man
can be more useful to the immediate cOmmu
nifty In which he lives than In the in Intelligent
anu upright discharge of his duties as
local township magistrate. He is the
administrator OF home, neighborhood justice,
| and he can reconcile llJiganJS and end l1liga-
hes 6 6I pr pea1gre ~ rsa JUICE Rs
then under so years of age. won favor In his
first official station, Is evident from the TACT
that he was 5000 presented by his township ms
| Il candidate before the county convention for
clerk of the circuit court. He was nominated
| and elected as Gle rk of the court in 1870 and
held tae office Ii years. Il was during this
protracted period that he became power In
| this county, Polite and kind in all his official
relations and strict in his business Integrity
he won the full confidence of the peop.e: He
also became known throughout the State
men of his party. In 1850 he was
elected a member of the conven
Indiana, and tooK u deep and intelligent In.
terest in the Formations of every part OF thai
instrument. Within the last two years he ma,
often expressed to me the earnest wish that 8
meeting of the survivors of that convention
ste ps 10 bring such me citing about He often
dwelt on the ability of that body, and the pro
greSs OF the State under the constitution
which was then devised. He spoke most ire
quentiy, however. of late, of thu ravag S
which death was making in the rank,
80 years ago, and OF his warm desiee 70 Sc,
once more those who remained. such re
union would, indeed, be most interestin;
event in the history of this State, and | hop,
| 1t will yet occur. With what just pride 6nt
| patriotic exultstion the men who framed tn,
together the physical development of tn
state-its increase of population, IT'S educa
| ti0nal fund and system superior 10 any otht
STATE In the UnionD its manufactures oi iroi
and its opened bsds of coal, its marvelou
happiness and glory which have filled all on
| borders for the til yearsi Though the desir.
a reunion as this was denied him Eere. ma.
we not trust and believe that auototr aud
brighter reunion awaited him with tue grea
majority who mad gone before to anothe
When Judge Ristine lie the clerks Office Ii
lsj4a new field OF labor was bsfore him, an,
| one In which / never knew any one else I
succeed as he did. Judge Ristine was not al
educ ted man in the sen>e In which school
men speak. He had known no higher teacne
than the country scnooinaster OF nj. timet
, He had never been a student at law, a. lawyer
understand that deiuition. H, had DO
read and reread Blackstone, and rscSed hi
! brain over Chitty's Pie dings He had n.ve
Thought To be n lawyer on the hooks, and We
at the age OF 40 years he turned 70 the PROBES
sion of the law wi h an ease and self reiianc
, which asfonisned the trained and discipline
menbe of the bar. / well rememorr M
ow thoughts on the subject. was but
l time to my student life AS To implicitly be
lisve tnat success depended on the regular an
no man could iase rank In the prof ssion, o
become real lawyer, unl-ss he Cam
In at the straight aud narro'
D gate prescribed by tue traditions
centuries / did not be ieve the sacred cor
| fiues could be inv ,ded by scaling the walls q
In any other Irregular way. thought Judg
G | Ris'ii.e would utterly fail In taking up Tn
r | profession, and 1t distressed me for a tim'
: | Many Thought he would simply aim to do
& probate business, and perhaps he thought :
] him but from the start he was found I
be one OF the safest counseiiOrs on this circui
n even in cases oil in trio 4cy, involving prooun
o legal learning. This was owing to that fscult
n of the mind which Is known oy many many namss
e ton, mental veraciLy, out whic
e Is really better defined tina
4 tcau be In any other way, as common sens
= OfLh.s Judge Rist ne had as much as ANY ma
= lever knew. Upon q Gaze stated, howev,
wide aud complicated the field of facts migl
be, his opinio ii the law Was al mos. nvari
| bly, right, because he knew what the Ia
ought 10 be, and that is what tho law gene
ally is In 1865 he WAS electei judge of ii
common pleas court Tor he counti s OF Foui
- tain, Montgomery aud V-rmtlliou, Oar con
10 mon pleas was then u court of extensive al
,e Important Jurisdiction. Although his frien'