The Tupelo journal., 1906-01-26

Benz. L. Owen, I think, is
the only lawyer who lived at
Fulton when | began the practic
of whom | have not written in
these "Pen Pictures"
He " 5 q brother Of Buck
Owens OF whom | have hereto
fore written, and older than Buck
They were partners in the prac-
tice of law at Fulton for several
years, and Ben Owen was alone
in the practice for some years
before Buck Owen was admitted
to the bar. Ben Owen was alto
gether a different man from his
brother Buck. He liked the
literary turn of his brother,
though a man of good education,
and extensive reading, besides
his reading in the law. He kept
well up on all the political ques-
tons Of the day, and was an ac-
tive politician, and a great be-
lever in and admirer of the Henry
Clay, and a strong partisan of
the whig party. He was a close
student of Blackstone and his
compeers, and was a good and
reliable lawyer. Ben Owen was
the most technical lawyer with
whom | have ever come in con-
tact. If you failed in the least
particular, he interposed his OBJ
lection. When l. first began
the practice, much more stress
was laid on small and unimpor-
tant omissions, which might
delay a case, than now.
At the present we make no
objections except they are of
a substantial character, and from
which our clients may reap a
successful harvest; while the
rule then was to object to every
thing, whether there was any
ultimate good to arise from it or
not; and now, on looking back
over those times, it seems to me
that many of the objections
were made as an intellectual
contest simply, without hope of
good. The rule now is to waive
all formality, and take dispositions
for instant by agreement; while
then, with all the requirements
about notice, manner of taking,
certifying, forwarding and ope-
ming and fling the same, and
the objections which could be
made and were made, it was
necessary to take the deposition
of witnesses who lived at a dis
lance Among those who filed
these objections, B. L. Owen
was chief. | would have liked to
have seen you make an agreement
with him in relation to waving
anything. He considered him
self employed to fight for his
client all along the line. and would
have considered himself recreant
to his duty to have entered into
any such agreements. His fort
was not that of a technical law
yer however alone, but in the
contest for the real merits of the
case of his clients, he was a hard
fighter, always we'll up O n his
case, and no one ever doubted
his integrity with his client. He
came as near making the clients
case his own as any lawyer |
have ever known intimately.
Ben Owen had made and inher-
tied together nice competency
and had Sought and moved on
a country home before the war,
or just about the beginning of
the same, from which he again
removed to Fulton Immediately
after the war, and there remained
in the practice OF law until some
short while after Lee county,
was organized and then moved
to Verona IN that county
and continued his practice
to the time of his death.
When | was attending school
at old Richmond. | used to pass
by where j. D. Barton then
lived in going to and from my
fathers, and remember very
we'll seeing jim Barton, as we
all called him. leaning back i'll
the old fashioned split bottomed
chair porting over Coke and Black
stone. This was in 1855 and
1855. and / think Barton was adj
mitted to the bar in the latter
part Of 1856, or the first part of
1857. He never moved to Fulton
but remained at his old home
north of Richmond, and began
the practice before the Justice
of the Peace courts. He was
considerably advanced in years
when he was admitted to the
bar, and had then a considerable
family.
Barton was a tall angular man,
slightly built, having long arms
and fingers, with red hair and
red complicated. He was a man
of some aspirations politically
and in a judicial way. During
the latter part of the war he Of
c.-I e.. H. o~r;clo+,,rn Of tho