Page images
PDF
EPUB

upon any given question, referring with accuracy to volume and page without taking the books from their cases; and yet he was by no means a "book lawyer." He was master of the great principles of jurisprudence; and with a mind of great logical acuteness as well as comprehensiveness, he applied those principles with wonderful readiness and discrimination. The writer of this well remembers to have heard the late Chief Justice Mellen remark that he "knew no man so thoroughly endowed with all those qualities which go to make the great lawyer, and entitle him to be a worthy successor of Marshall, as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, as Rufus B. Allyn." But he was a man of great eccentricity of character, reserved to the very borders of misanthropy, of an hereditary temperament which oftentimes induced very great depression, which tended to obscure his faith, and obliterate the faintest trace of ambition or desire to be known or noticed by his fellow-men. He shunned distinction, and every thing like notoriety he avoided with disgust. He might at one time have removed to Boston, and become a partner in business with Daniel Webster; but he preferred a life of absolute seclusion. In all the business relations of life he was rigidly prompt and methodical, and of an integrity unsullied. Towards the close of his life, those gloomy doubts, superinduced by his melancholy temperament, which had at times obscured his religious faith, were dispelled, and he often prayed, "Lord, I believe help thou mine unbelief." It is at all times gratifying to be able to record the religious convictions of a great mind. There were few who were permitted to know the character of the mind of the subject of this notice, but will, in this instance, fully appreciate the extent of that gratification.

by death; and now in firmer, purer, better bonds and brighter realms, the friends are reunited. His widow and five children survive him. — N. Y. Tribune.

ALLING, Pruden, Newark, N. J., Jan. 31, æ. 75. He was the postmaster of that city under the administration of President Van Buren.

ALRICKS, Mrs. Mary E., Harrisburg, Pa., March 30, æ. 47, wife of Hennan Alricks, and daughter of the late Rev. Wm. Kerr, of Lancaster Co.

ALTER, Mrs. Catharine, near Funkstown, Md., æ. 66. The deceased was extensively known and universally respected, and but few, very few persons have departed this life as deeply regretted as this estimable lady, as the lengthened funeral cortege which accompanied her body to the grave, and the many bitter tears which were shed around that grave, fully attested. Her heart was ever open to sympathy and pity for the misfortunes and necessities of the poor; none ever appealed to her in vain, and she dispensed her charities, as dews from heaven, with a liberal hand upon all who sought them. She was devoted to the wants and interests of her family, and well and faithfully discharged all the various duties of life. Hers was indeed a well-spent life.

AMBLER, Rev. Silas, Stanford, N. Y., Nov. 23, æ. 60.

AMES, Mrs. Eliza A., San Diego, Cal., Mar. 14, æ.—, wife of Judge J. J. Ames.

AMIDON, Dea. Elijah, Belchertown, Ms., June 7, æ. 70. He sustained the office of a deacon during many years, to the entire satisfaction of his Christian brethren in the Congregational church at Hardwick, and also in the church at Belchertown. He was able, faithful, and useful in the discharge of the various duties of this honorable and important office. He was a decided and steadfast friend of evangelical truth, which he ably and boldly defended in his intercourse with his fellow-men. He made no compromise with error; he stood firmly on the ground of the Puritan faith.

Late in life Mr. Allyn married the eldest daughter of his friend, the late Samuel Upton; and he perhaps was the only person not connected by family ties to ward whom he had any feeling deserving the name of friendship. Mr. Upton resided in Belfast for some years prior to his removal to Washington, where he died in 1840. This friendship, which was the sunny spot in Mr. Allyn's early life, was strengthened by the family tie, which united them after Mr. Upton's removal ANDERSON, Mrs. Martha, Athens, to Washington, and was only dissolved | Ala., April 6, æ. 79. She was an accept

ANDERSON, Dr. Isaac, Maryville, E. Tenn., Jan. 28, æ. -, one of the "fathers" of Presbyterianism in E. Tenn., and for many years President of Maryville College.

most prominent and distinguished citi

able member of the M. E. Church 57 years; she possessed a strong, vigor-zens, for a time filling the office of chief ous, clear mind, and was in possession, apparently, of all her faculties, in full action to the last.

ANDERSON, Orville M., Rome, Italy, Feb. 12, æ. 29, son of the late John F. Anderson, and a resident of Louisville, Ky.

ANDERSON, Richard, Powhatan Co., Va., March 1, æ. 78. He was long and intimately known to the citizens of Richmond as a merchant, and as the president of the Branch Bank of the U. States until its close. His best epitaph is the esteem of all who knew him. Having connected himself with the church in the meridian of life, his efforts have ever been to be a consistent Christian, at the same time giving his aid and countenance to all works of morality.

ANDERSON, Gen. S. H., Jefferson Co., Ill., Sept. 24, æ. 56. Gen. Anderson was a prominent man in the ranks of the democratic party, and held several offices under the state and U. States government. At one time he was lieutenant governor of the state. He was much respected as a man, and leaves many warm personal friends.

ANDERSON, Thomas, Austintown, O., April 11, æ. 87. He was a native of Holland, early took to seafaring life, was impressed into the British service, managed to escape to the U. S., and was aboard the old U. S. frigate Constitution in the memorable engagement when she captured his majesty's vessels, the Cyane and Levant. After peace had been declared, he came to the west, and was engaged for a number of years in the military service of the government, in defending the forts and trading stations of the then western wilderness beyond the Mississippi. After becoming exempt from duty by age and limitation, he came to the vicinity of Beaver, Pa., where he resided for a number of years. Although no scholar, he conversed readily in some half a dozen different languages French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English-acquired during his rovings as a sailor in various quarters of the globe. ANDERSON, Hon. Walker, Pensacola, Fa., Jan. 18, æ. —. A native of Va., but for many years a resident of this state. Judge Anderson was ever one of its

justice of the Supreme Court. A Christian gentleman, a lawyer of eminent ability, and ever foremost in the advocacy of measures of general weal, his memory demands no eulogy at the hands of the public journalist, for his name and character are familiar to all.

ANDREW, Wm. A., N. Orleans, - æ. -. He was well known for his firmness, reliability, high sense of justice, unwavering attachment to friends, and nice sense of honor. His character was deserving of the highest encomiums and greatest respect. As a merchant, Mr. Andrew had secured for himself and the house of which he was the senior partner a very high place, and on public as well as private grounds, the demise of such a citizen at any time is a serious loss, for in all things he was thoroughly identified with N. Örleans.

ANDREWS, Dea. Peter, Ballstown, N. Y., March 24, æ. 76.

ANDREWS, Mrs. Mary, Frankfort, Me., March - æ. 83.

ANDREWS, Mrs. Sarah, Marietta, O., Feb. 26, æ. 76, wife of the late Rev. Wm. Andrews.

ANDREWS, Mrs. Mary, Kennebunkport, Me., æ. 64, widow of the late Capt. Ebenezer Andrews.

JOSEPH K. ANGELL, ESQ.,

Boston, May 1, æ. 63. Mr. Angell was | born in Providence, April 30, 1794, being a lineal descendant of John Angell, one of the earliest settlers of the town, and at the time of his death he had just entered upon the sixty-fourth year of his age. He graduated at Brown University in the class of 1813, and having studied law in the office of the late Hon. Thomas Burgess, he was admitted to the bar in 1816. Though we believe he never engaged in the practice of his profession, he was exceedingly fond of jurisprudence as a study. For many of its investigations his mind was singularly fitted, and in several special branches of the science he had made large acquisitions. He was editor of the "United States Law Intelligencer and Review," from 1829 to 1831, and also for several years reporter to the Supreme Court of R. I., being the first who received that appointment, and the

editor of the earliest volume of the R. I. Reports.

He was distinguished throughout his life for his rare simplicity of character, his kindly feelings to all around him, his attachment to his friends, and his singular freedom from all prejudice or malevolence of spirit. His life was solitary; the members of his immediate family had long ago passed away, and he was, we believe, without any near relatives; but in his unobtrusive career, he had never made an enemy, and his amiable qualities had won for him many valuable friends, who were strongly attached to him, and took a lively interest in all his fortunes. Among those who knew him best, it has been remarked that no small part of the intellectual power which his writings display arose from the singular honesty and directness of his nature. He brought to every subject upon which he wrote a sincere and earnest desire to ascertain and express the simple truth; and under the influence of this spirit did he prosecute his inquiries upon the several important branches of law which his writings have done so much to explain. This childlike simplicity in action might have sometimes made him the dupe of the artful, but in the search for legal truth it secured for him many great advantages.

As a legal writer, Mr. Angell has acquired a wide and enduring reputation, and as such his name is honorably known, not only throughout the United States, but also in Great Britain, where, as we have had the opportunity to know, his works have repeatedly received the most flattering commendations. The subjects which he has treated are all of unusual practical importance, and the selection of such subjects is of itself a favorable indication of the cast of his mind and the character of his judgment. His published works, as well as we can now recall them, relate to the "Law of Watercourses," the "Law of Tide Waters," the " Law of Private Corporations," the "Limitations of Actions at Law and in Equity and Admiralty," the "Law of Carriers," and the "Law of Fire and Life Insurance." These are the honorable achievements of his life, and, what is no common proof of success for any writer, each one of them, on its first publication, has im

[ocr errors]

mediately become an authority, and taken a high position in the legal literature of the age. Of the treatises we have named above, that on "Watercourses was first published in 1824, and has passed through four editions; that on "Tide Waters" was published, we believe, in 1829; and it passed to a second edition in 1847. The work on " Corporations," in the preparation of which he was associated with Hon. Samuel Ames, the present chief justice of the state, was first published in 1832, and has passed through five editions; that on "Limitations" first appeared in 1839, and had reached a third edition in 1854; the excellent treatise on the "Law of Carriers by Land and by Sea," in many respects the most widely useful of his works, was first published in 1849; the first edition being soon exhausted, a second was issued in 1851, and a third has already passed through the press, and is on the eve of publication by Messrs. Little & Brown, of Boston. His latest published work is that on the "Law of Fire and Life Insurance," which was issued in 1854, and was received with such favor that a second edition was demanded, and made its appearance within a year from the date of the first.

In addition to these well-known works, which constitute the basis of his reputation, he was, at the time of his death, engaged in the preparation of an elaborate treatise on the "Law of Highways," a subject which, in the present condition of society, ranks in importance among the foremost of those to which his writings relate. This work, we believe, is nearly all written, and some of the early chapters are already printed. It was, as has been intimated, in order to attend to the passage of this volume through the press, that he had gone to Boston on the day of his death.

We have already referred to the high estimation in which these works of Mr. Angell are held by the members of the legal profession. We have repeatedly heard gentlemen of eminent legal and judicial position, both in his state and in Massachusetts, express the opinion that, after Story and Kent, no common law writer is so widely known or so highly respected. Lord Brougham also, while lord chancellor of England,

able member of the M. E. Church 57 years; she possessed a strong, vigorous, clear mind, and was in possession, apparently, of all her faculties, in full action to the last.

ANDERSON, Orville M., Rome, Italy, Feb. 12, æ. 29, son of the late John F. Anderson, and a resident of Louisville, Ky.

ANDERSON, Richard, Powhatan Co., Va., March 1, æ. 78. He was long and intimately known to the citizens of Richmond as a merchant, and as the president of the Branch Bank of the U. States until its close. His best epitaph is the esteem of all who knew him. Having connected himself with the church in the meridian of life, his efforts have ever been to be a consistent Christian, at the same time giving his aid and countenance to all works of morality.

ANDERSON, Gen. S. H., Jefferson Co., Ill., Sept. 24, æ. 56. Gen. Anderson was a prominent man in the ranks of the democratic party, and held several offices under the state and U. States government. At one time he was lieutenant governor of the state. He was much respected as a man, and leaves many warm personal friends.

ANDERSON, Thomas, Austintown, O., April 11, æ. 87. He was a native of Holland, early took to seafaring life, was impressed into the British service, managed to escape to the U. S., and was aboard the old U. S. frigate Constitution in the memorable engagement when she captured his majesty's vessels, the Cyane and Levant. After peace had been declared, he came to the west, and was engaged for a number of years in the military service of the government, in defending the forts and trading stations of the then western wilderness beyond the Mississippi. After becoming exempt from duty by age and limitation, he came to the vicinity of Beaver, Pa., where he resided for a number of years. Although no scholar, he conversed readily in some half a dozen different languages French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English-acquired during his rovings as a sailor in various quarters of the globe. ANDERSON, Hon. Walker, Pensacola, Fa., Jan. 18, æ. —. A native of Va., but for many years a resident of this state. Judge Anderson was ever one of its

most prominent and distinguished citizens, for a time filling the office of chief justice of the Supreme Court. A Christian gentleman, a lawyer of eminent ability, and ever foremost in the advocacy of measures of general weal, his memory demands no eulogy at the hands of the public journalist, for his name and character are familiar to all. ANDREW, Wm. A., N. Orleans,

æ.-. He was well known for his firmness, reliability, high sense of justice, unwavering attachment to friends, and nice sense of honor. His character was deserving of the highest encomiums and greatest respect. As a merchant, Mr. Andrew had secured for himself and the house of which he was the senior partner a very high place, and on public as well as private grounds, the demise of such a citizen at any time is a serious loss, for in all things he was thoroughly identified with N. Örleans.

ANDREWS, Dea. Peter, Ballstown, N. Y., March 24, æ. 76.

ANDREWS, Mrs. Mary, Frankfort, Me., March, œ. 83.

ANDREWS, Mrs. Sarah, Marietta, O., Feb. 26, æ. 76, wife of the late Rev. Wm. Andrews.

ANDREWS, Mrs. Mary, Kennebunkport, Me., æ. 64, widow of the late Capt. Ebenezer Andrews.

JOSEPH K. ANGELL, ESQ., Boston, May 1, æ. 63. Mr. Angell was born in Providence, April 30, 1794, being a lineal descendant of John Angell, one of the earliest settlers of the town, and at the time of his death he had just entered upon the sixty-fourth year of his age. He graduated at Brown University in the class of 1813, and having studied law in the office of the late Hon. Thomas Burgess, he was admitted to the bar in 1816. Though we believe he never engaged in the practice of his profession, he was exceedingly fond of jurisprudence as a study. For many of its investigations his mind was singularly fitted, and in several special branches of the science he had made large acquisitions. He was editor of the "United States Law Intelligencer and Review," from 1829 to 1831, and also for several years reporter to the Supreme Court of R. I., being the first who received that appointment, and the

editor of the earliest volume of the R. L. Reports.

He was distinguished throughout his life for his rare simplicity of character, his kindly feelings to all around him, his attachment to his friends, and his singular freedom from all prejudice or malevolence of spirit. His life was solitary; the members of his immediate family had long ago passed away, and he was, we believe, without any near relatives; but in his unobtrusive career, he had never made an enemy, and his amiable qualities had won for him many valuable friends, who were strongly attached to him, and took a lively interest in all his fortunes. Among those who knew him best, it has been remarked that no small part of the intellectual power which his writings display arose from the singular honesty and directness of his nature. He brought to every subject upon which he wrote a sincere and earnest desire to ascertain and express the simple truth; and under the influence of this spirit did he prosecute his inquiries upon the several important branches of law which his writings have done so much to explain. This childlike simplicity in action might have sometimes made him the dupe of the artful, but in the search for legal truth it secured for him many great advantages.

As a legal writer, Mr. Angell has acquired a wide and enduring reputation, and as such his name is honorably known, not only throughout the United States, but also in Great Britain, where, as we have had the opportunity to know, his works have repeatedly received the most flattering commendations. The subjects which he has treated are all of unusual practical importance, and the selection of such subjects is of itself a favorable indication of the cast of his mind and the character of his judgment. His published works, as well as we can now recall them, relate to the "Law of Watercourses," the "Law of Tide Waters," the " Law of Private Corporations," the "Limitations of Actions at Law and in Equity and Admiralty," the "Law of Carriers," and the "Law of Fire and Life Insurance." These are the honorable achievements of his life, and, what is no common proof of success for any writer, each one of them, on its first publication, has im

[ocr errors]

mediately become an authority, and taken a high position in the legal literature of the age. Of the treatises we have named above, that on "Watercourses was first published in 1824, and has passed through four editions; that on "Tide Waters" was published, we believe, in 1829; and it passed to a second edition in 1847. The work on "Corporations," in the preparation of which he was associated with Hon. Samuel Ames, the present chief justice of the state, was first published in 1832, and has passed through five editions; that on "Limitations" first appeared in 1839, and had reached a third edition in 1854; the excellent treatise on the "Law of Carriers by Land and by Sea," in many respects the most widely useful of his works, was first published in 1849; the first edition being soon exhausted, a second was issued in 1851, and a third has already passed through the press, and is on the eve of publication by Messrs. Little & Brown, of Boston. His latest published work is that on the "Law of Fire and Life Insurance," which was issued in 1854, and was received with such favor that a second edition was demanded, and made its appearance within a year from the date of the first.

In addition to these well-known works, which constitute the basis of his reputation, he was, at the time of his death, engaged in the preparation of an elaborate treatise on the "Law of Highways," a subject which, in the present condition of society, ranks in importance among the foremost of those to which his writings relate. This work, we believe, is nearly all written, and some of the early chapters are already printed. It was, as has been intimated, in order to attend to the passage of this volume through the press, that he had gone to Boston on the day of his death.

We have already referred to the high estimation in which these works of Mr. Angell are held by the members of the legal profession. We have repeatedly heard gentlemen of eminent legal and judicial position, both in his state and in Massachusetts, express the opinion that, after Story and Kent, no common law writer is so widely known or so highly respected. Lord Brougham also, while lord chancellor of England,

« PreviousContinue »