Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-01-08

Northwestern Virginia. from the pen of
Judge Henry BrannOn, of Weston. No
man is better fitted for this work than
he, and there is no doubt that the
sketches presented below will be read
with pleasure and profit by lawyer and
layman.
Memories of Our Bench and Bar.
UriHen FOR he Register
Forget not the fathers. Very few re-
main OF these who could best write OF
the bench anl bar Of early days in Cen
trail Northwestern Virginia. Ny per-
SOnal knowledge OF it began only Il short
time before the war: bat well do | re-
member names when in my boyhoOd and
early 'manhOOd'S days were household
words in every home. Little
do judges and lawyers who
travel now by rail know Of the hard
ships OF Judges and lawyers who have
pass ed away, or even OF those who yet
do circuit work on saddle pockets.
What would they think of the Lewis
circuit, which once reached from Mo-
nOngalia county, near the Pennsylvania
line, 10 the Kentucky line, and from the
Ohio nearly TO the Alleghenies, includ-
ing Lewis. Harrison, Wood, Mason. LO-
gan and Cabell counties. Is they then
were, but from which numerous other
counties have since been formed? Think
of the Fourteenth circuit, extending
from the upper end OF Hancock to the
eastern end of Randolph county, now
the Virginia line. The Judges made two
visits year TO each county on horse
back. Thus it was from 40 to go years
ago. These great circuits were then u
bowling wilderness. Only few small
fields smiled on the traveller on his
lonely way. Tee rude cabins OF the
pioneer settlers were far apart. The
Judge had no roads; only bride path
over mountain wastes. No bridges
Spanned the tOrrant streams that
crossed his path. Except when accom-
panied by lawyers going from Court TO
Court. the Judge held mis- way alone
through these wildS. The panther, the
bear. the wild cat crouched by his
way, and the rattleSnake folded his coil;
but one would think that his more
deadly enemies were the friends and CON
fcderate> OF those whom he was going To
sentence 10 death or the penitcntiary,
lurking in the dense forest with the I'M
erring rifle. But those old Judges were
iron men. Their fathers had fought
the Indian and the Blush. aud courage
came 10 them by heredity. But many
have always been tde attractions OF TINS
circuit riding. How romantic these
distant Journeys. how bright the waters;
how beautiful and picturesque the
lifting their SUBMITS alolt.
The very solitude was balm 10 the
car,-wOrn mind. aud from its depth the
spirit drank repOSe. Whether the for
est was abloOm with summer or tinged
with autumn's painting, II was mex
prcSsibly beautiful.
. Here the spruce thrust Ia
rs bri,tius plume tipped with pale green
Tn, sesilapcd beech lcai. aud the birch's, cut
Into hrn. rugged edges, iuterlac",
Whilst here aud there through clefts. the laurri !
ID. snowy chailc-, half brlmmcd with dew"
At the close OF the days long ride the
Judge
..Nuew los the smoke that so gracefully curld
Abov. The grceu elms that a cottage VAS n ar,
Aud he said. 10 there's peace ta be found III
A heart ,hs, W.. humble might hope for if
here.
How tight the grasp Of the settlers
hand for his Judge and lawyer. For
them his cabin latch-Strlng-that was
his only doOr-knOb-was always out,
speaking the warm welcome. This
Judge. to this settler was Il very great
man. for he came "a the oracle Of wis
dom In most things, holding in his
hands the thunderbolt OF the law to
pronounce sentence of death or OF exile
TO the Pcnitcntiary at Richmond, then
as far from the cabin home as London
is now. Except the Methodist preacher,
who was early in our mountains and has
been great ciylizer, the Judge was
the only one who brought news from
abroad twice a year; for the settler
went out only at long intervals with his
ulck horse. taking out skins, maple
sugar and ginseng, and bringing back
salt and other necessary articles.
Every two years only the eau
didate rode the wilderness for
that honor So shining that every
body nearly has yearnod for it-a seat
i'm Congress. Yet how eyaneScent, Who
can tell who spoke in Congress for our
in 1870, 1880 or 1910? But
then talent took the premium, and IL
lustrious men were in Congress, and Tor
q seat with them our candidate pierced
the wilderness TO meet the backwoodS
voter face 10 face on the rOstrum l.
those days of intense political contention
over questions which stirred the Repub-
lie 10 its depths. When the candidate
mounted that rOStrum he was heard, for
he was giant in debate. Could his
grandson equal him? Could the grand
father break his cerementS and resur-
rect In the full panoply of his meridian
davs. should fear the comparison Tor
the Junior. But the old man sleepeth,
and ito Duncan there comes no NOR
row." Only his example remains,
From Winchester to Ciarksburg, l1O
miles over the Allegheny mountains, to
hold the Chancery Court, rode that dis
tinguished man, Henry ST. George
Thicker, later President of the Virginia
Court Of AppoalS.a aud author OF Tucker
Commentaries, book written in ls26,
which, more than any ono book, has
given law to the courts OF the two Ntr-
ginias. That able man, Lewis sum
msr>. a Judge Of the General Court, and
a leader in the Constitutional ConYen-
ton of Virginia in 1879, wonderful Tor
the talents 0f It's memberS, rode l25
miles from Charleston To hold his Cir
emit Courts. He was followed by Ed
win :. Duncan. whose name in all these
narts was on every mans tongue. He
il was who delivered that strong opin-
ion in the General Court in the Hunter
Uill case. the first Virginia case as TO
the admisSibility in evidence OF dying
declarations. Ills description OF the
death agony OF the murdered man Is
celebrated for its plain beauty. He was
succeeded by the cOurtly, cultivated,
scholarly gentleman and able iurist,
George II. Lee, who later adorned the
Depeh OF the Supreme Court OF Appeals
NJ Virginia. That excellent Judge,
Ioseph l.. Fry, rode the Wheeling and
Circuit. All these Judges
Travelled to Richmond 10 hold the gen
eral court. The Constitution OF 1851
abolished that court after life or 1870
rears. What illuStrious men had held
rs bench in the Old Dominion in that
treat period! Under that Constitution
Inc circuits were still large, and the
judges and lawyers performed arduOus
-ravel labors. Men of ability presided
IN these courts OF the people under that
George W. Summers, the
natchless orator OF bis day, the peer OF
any Of the many great Nirginians in the
of 1861, L man Of varied at
ailments. was one of them. George
". Thompson. of Wheeling, Il jurist.
author and poet, was another. David
NcComas. Gideon ID. Camden and Mat