Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-05-03
Interesting RecolIections of Staunton Law
yers of Forty Years AGO,

yers Of Forty Years Ago.
i A correspondent of the Rockbridge News
is contributing to that paper, sketches O.
the Rockbridge bar, and the lawyers from
this section who attended it forty year,
ago. AT that time Judge Lucas z. Thomp
son was Judge of the Circuit Court; Sam
Mcdowell Reid the Clerk, and Thomas j
Niche it's Prosecuting Attorney. The
sketches are very interesting and we TAXI
those of them describing great StauntoI
lawyers of that day:
Il THOMAS J. NICHE
was at that time Prosecuting Attorney for this
Court. This was before the introduction oil
the present county system. Then all cases OF
felony and all important civil cases inyolv
ing large amounts or difficult questions OF
law were tried in the Circuit Court. The
County Court at that time was composed OF
Magistrates and had a more limited jurisdic
ton than at present. OF the lawyers first
mentioned, Mr.. Niche was perhaps the equal
of any one of them in his own line of practice
He had shrewdness, tact, and great legal
4 ability with the peculiar talent of making
the weak side appear the stronger. He had
an unpleasant grating voice with an uneupho
NOUS nasal twang to it. But withal he was
an attractive speaker and could hold his au-
audience to the closest attention by his great
powers of reasoning.
One case in which Mr.. Niche especially
displayed his powers was the celebrated An
derSOn trial Anderson was tried for the muir.
der of the Pettigrew family. The Pettigrews
lived between the two House Mountains on
the Kerr's Greek side in remote and unfre-
quented locality. After severe snow storm
Mrs Pettigrew and four children were found
dead beside the ashes of their burned house.
Some of the children were nearly OF quite
grown. 1t was remarkable, that so many
persons should have frozen to death beside a
burning house and with beds and clothing,
which had been saved from it, to have protec-
ted them, OF that they should have been una
Bile to have communicated with their neigh
bOrs. The result of the corOner'S inquest was
very unsatisfactory. Anderson was an enc
my of the family and their nearest
neighbor. 1t was proven that clothing and
property of the Pettigrews were found in his
possession. He bore bad name having been
publicly whipped for stealing. Niche pros
ecuted him. There was nothing but circum-
Stantial evidence and that not at all consis-
tent, but much heaping up and ingenious fitting
in of minor circumstances and dove-tailing
together of seeming unimportant facts. Such
logical array of arguments were never ex-
ceeded in our courts The jury found An
derSOn guilty, but Judge Thompson set the
verdict aside as contrary to the law and evil
dence in the case remarking that to hang a
man on that evidence would be judicial muir
der. The venue was changed to Bath county,
where Anderson had another trial in which
the jury acquitted him, but the Judge (John-
ston we believe) said in discharging him that
he hadn't doubt of his guilt. This is COM
mentary on the fallibility of human evidence
and judgment. Anderson was ably defended
in this case by R. L. Doyle and E. F. Paxton,
whose names are mentioned in this sketch
The latter had just come to the bar and made
quite a reputation on this his maiden effort.
The
HON. A. H. H. STUART,
of the Staunton lawyers named, stood next to
MI Niche in age. AS an orator, he probably
stood at the head of the list. His fine physi-
que and his commanding and digniied mien,
gave charm to his smooth and measured
flow OF oratory. He was fine lawyer, but
he exceeded chiefly as an advocate and his
forte was his appeals to the feelings and sen
siblities of Jury.
One case we remember which excited at the
time great interest, in which Mr.. Stuart showed
himself at his very best, was the trial of Pax
ton, for shooting sheriff Shields. The shooting
we lra wi inv viii oh, ial1 dc
attempting to arrest Paxton. The wound was
not serious one, but the offence was. Paxton
previously bore good character, and had re-
Gently married. All the circumstances were
suited to the kind of pathetic appeals to the
mercy of the jury, of which Mr.. Stuart was
master. Numbers of the jury and audience
were in tears during the peroration of his ad-
dress to the jury. He saved his man, winding
ing up i'll a most majestic manner with the
sentence abiding to the Merchant of Venice
'Give them their pound of flesh, but one drop
of blood they shall never have''
COL. JOHN BRIsCOE BALDWIN
was of all, the more universally popular. He
mingled with the people. Whilst the othel
lawyers would be in their Offices during the
recess of the court, rummaging through piles OF
papers OF pouring over law books Baldwin
would be out on the street with his negro
headed cane under his arm, whiting red cedal
stick and entertaining crowd of by-standers
with side splitting anecdotes of which he had
an ineXhaustible fund. He was the same in
court, even when engaged in case and no
speaking OF taking leading part in the ex
animation of witness. He seldom took a
note, and sat apparently inattentive and indif
ferent whiting as usual, but when he rose t(
his feet it was clear in a moment that he wa:
master of his case, in all its Details as we'll a:
the law bearing upon it, His strength lay il
Selling the strong points of his own SIDE ant
the weak ones of his opponent, and presenting
them in the most lucid style and the mos
forcible language. The writer once asked hin
how he attained such perfect preparation witt
so little apparent effort. He saidit came large
ly OF hard study when he began the practice
He said he went over his case in the mos
thorough manner, overhauling all the book
he could find upon the question involved, evel
down to the elementary ones, reports, deci
slons, DC. He pursued this plan till he school
ed himself in the law SO that large expert
ence soon made it an easy matter with com
prehensive mind like his to grasp any subjec
Immediately without effort. Col. Baldwin wa
one OF the first minds of his day OF probably O
any other period in Virginia. He, like MI
Stuart was statesman as we'll as lawyer
| Of
i JUDGE HUGH W. SHEFFEY,
whose lamented death suggested these remi
niscences, it is not necessary for us to speal