Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1883-03-24

accompany the Berkeley Centennial
Celebration" but the pamphlet never
having been published, the material
then collected has been, at our request,
kindly handed over to this paper for
publication
MOSES L. HUNTER, born in 1890,
was the son of Moses Hunter, one of
the early Clerks of Berkeley county,
and one of the Presidential Elec
tors who cast the vote of Virginia,
for George Washington. He was
educated at Princeton, New Jersey,
and after completing his collegiate
course commenced the study of law
in Winchester, under Henry st.
George Tucker, his brother in-law,
at that time one of the most eminent
and successful practitioners in Vir-
ginia. When admitted to the bar,
he took up his residence for a brief
period in Martinsburg, but his tastes
at that time, being more to literary
than to legal pursuits, he removed
to his 6ne estate, called the Red
House" farm, inherited from his
father, about one mile north of the
town.
The "Red House." was a we'll
known spot in the annals of Berke-
ley county. 1t was, as stated, the
property of his father, Moses Hun
ter, and it was here that the Court
held its sessions from May 10, 1872,
until by virtue of writ obtained by
Gen. Stephen from the Secretary's
Office, it's sessions were removed to
Morgans Spring, near the present site
of Martinsburg.
The Jail, a temporary wooden
structure, was located in the public
square, where the old market house
subsequently stood, near the prop
erty of Admiral Boarman. The
clerks office was at the corner of
Queen and John streets. Where
the stocks or whipping post and pill
lory. Ian essential inheritance from
our English ancestOrs) were placed i
have no means of aScertaining. l
can we'll remember its dark and me,
nancing outline when was boy
1t stood directly opposite the Court
nh rfu
the present curbstone, and more than
once have l witnessed the writings
and cOntortions Of human flesh both
of whites and blacks, under the lash
of the jailor,as l passed to and from
old James AndersOn's school house.
The pillory as punishment, was es-
tablished in England as early as the
reign of Henry III, and only abol-
ished during the reign of the pres
emit Queen, Victoria, in June 1887, a
few years subsequent to its abolition
in this State.
The residence of Mr.. Hunter in
the country was in no wise profita-
BILE to him. He had no taste for
agriculture he lived extravagant-
ly, spent his money wastefully and
his house and furniture having been
consumed by fire, he determined to
return to Martinsburg and enter
earnestly upon the practice of his
profession. His circuit embraced
the counties of Berkeley, Jefferson,
Morgan and Frederick; especially
the District Court of Chancery, held
at Winchester, which had jurisdic-
tion over some fifteen or twenty
counties. 1t was in Jefferson that
he seemed to make his deepest i'm
preston upon the popular mind and
there, that he attained his largest
and most lucrative practice.
When first recollect Mr.. Hunter,
which was in 1925, he was Of medi-
um height and strongly tending to
corpulency, but for person of his
bulk, active and alert on his feet.
His cOuntenance, when in one Of his
gay and pleasant humors, beamed
with benevolent expression; his
eye sparkled with wit and intel)i-
gence, and his demeanor was mark
ed by courtesy and affability /; but in
his Grabbed and disagreeable moods
and they were by no means uncom-
months face became as dark ? a
thunder cloud-his tongue was p
ped with venom and sarcasm, and
his manners were repellant, morose
and offensive. He had some of the
finest qualities of an orator-a rich
and poetic fancy-a brilliant imagi-
nation wit humor "a taste en-
riched by classical reading and high
powers OF logical analysis. His
voice was the most agreeable that l
have ever heard at the bar; musical
from its lowest to its highest tones,
and was admirably adopted to give
effect and emphasis to whatever he