LONGWORTH, NICHOLAS. 



LONGWORTH, NICHOLAS, an American 

 vine-grower and horticulturist, born in New- 

 ark, New Jersey, January 16th, 1782, died at 

 Cincinnati, February 10th, 1863. His father 

 had been a tory during the Revolutionary war, 

 and his large property had been entirely confis- 

 cated in consequence. Young Longworth's 

 childhood was passed in comparative indigence, 

 and when yet a boy, he went to South Carolina, 

 as clerk for an older brother ; but the climate 

 proved unfavorable to his health, and he re- 

 turned to Newark and resolved to study law. 

 Believing that the region Ihen known as the 

 Northwest Territory offered the best oppor- 

 tunity of success to young men of enterprise, 

 he emigrated thither, in 1803, and fixing upon 

 the little village of Cincinnati as his residence, 

 he continued his legal studies in the office of 

 Judge Jacob Burnet. His first case, after his 

 admission to the bar, was the defence of a 

 horse thief, for which he received some whis- 

 key stills, which he found after a time in the 

 possession of a man who was anxious to retain 

 them, and, having nothing else to offer him, 

 tendered him a few acres of barren land for 

 them, which he reluctantly accepted. This land, 

 from the subsequent influx of emigration, came 

 to be worth two millions of dollars. His prac- 

 tice as a lawyer was tolerably lucrative, and all 

 his surplus earnings were invested *in lands in 

 the city and its immediate vicinity, of whose 

 future value ho was fully assured. He had for 

 some years given much attention to the culti- 

 vation of the grape, with the view of making 

 wine, and at first attempted, though with little 

 success, the acclimation of foreign vines. He 

 tried about forty different varieties before the 

 idea occurred to him of testing the capabilities 

 of our indigenous grapes. In 1828 he with- 

 drew from the practice of his profession, and 

 commenced experimenting upon the adaptation 

 of native grapes to the production of wine. 

 Two of the varieties, the Catawba and Isa- 

 bella, seemed to him to possess the best quali- 

 ties for wine in that climate and soil, and he 

 gradually adopted these throughout his vine- 

 irds, though not entirely to the exclusion of 

 ;hers. He had two hundred acres of vine- 

 yards, and extensive wine-vaults in the city, 

 where the vintage of each year was stored by 

 itself to ripen. He also purchased wine and 

 grape juice in large quantities, to be converted 

 by his processes into the wines of commerce. 

 These wines eventually became profitable to 

 him and to the thousands of vine-growers and 

 vine-dressers, who emigrated from the wine 

 countries of Europe, and established themselves 

 on the hillslopes of the Ohio, in the vicinity of 

 Cincinnati ; but for many years his expenditure 

 was greater than his income from his vine- 

 yards. Mr. Longworth did not, however, con- 

 fine his attention to the culture of the grape. 

 He was also much interested in the improve- 

 ment of the strawberry, and published the re- 

 sults of his numerous experiments on the ihflu- 

 ce of the sexual character of the strawberry 



LOUISIANA. 



585 



in rendering it productive. In private life, Mr. 

 Longworth was a genial, kindly, but very ec- 

 centric man, dressing always in the extremest 

 simplicity and plainness, often to the extent of 

 shabbiness, giving largely, and often, but secret- 

 ly, and oftenest to those whom he called " the 

 devil's poor," the vagabonds and estrays of so- 

 cial life. His property, by the increasing va- 

 lue of his lands and buildings, had increased 

 till, at his death, it was inventoried at nearly 

 fifteen millions of dollars. 



LOUISIANA. The most important subjects 

 of general interest connected with affairs in 

 Louisiana, during 1863, relate, 1st, to the Pro- 

 visional Judiciary adopted in that State; 2d, 

 the movements to organize a State Govern- 

 ment; and 3d, the organization of the labor 

 of the freedmen. 



After the capture of New Orleans and some 

 other parts of Louisiana by the Federal forces, 

 the military being under command of Major- 

 General Butler, and the naval under Admiral 

 Farragut, in April, 1862, a system of govern- 

 ment for the territory rescued from the enemy 

 became necessary, and nothing was called for 

 by the wants of the community more than 

 some tribunal to decide controversies which 

 were constantly arising. All the functions of 

 the previously existing disloyal Government 

 having been suspended, and among others the 

 judiciary, a new one for the time being, em- 

 bracing among others the judicial powers, must 

 take its place. At first, as questions arose, they 

 were often decided by the major-general him- 

 self. Some were by him from time to time re- 

 ferred to other persons for examination and 

 decision : to the various members of his staff; 

 to other officers and military men under his 

 command, and sometimes to civilians. The de- 

 cisions of these gentlemen were required to be 

 respected and obeyed, and the justice obtained 

 in this manner, uncertain as it was, without 

 system and in a great degree accidental, de- 

 pending much on first impressions of the gen- 

 tlemen to whom reference was made, the op- 

 portunity for investigation, or the want of it, 

 was still immeasurably better than none, and 

 was in fact a necessity of society. Soon, how- 

 ever, institutions in the nature of courts were 

 established by the general commanding, and 

 an officer was detailed to hear and decide con- 

 troversies of a particular character. Soldiers 

 were detailed to exe'cute his commands, to 

 bring the accused before him for trial, and to 

 see that the judgment pronounced was execut- 

 ed. Such a court had no name in fact, but was 

 known by the name of the officer holding it. 

 It had no formal records, although probably 

 some one of the men detailed kept a list of the 

 persons against whom judgment was rendered, 

 and some brief memorandum of the judgment 

 itself, such as the number of dollars of fine or 

 of days of imprisonment, and this person short- 

 ly came to be called clerk, if he was not origi- 

 nally so termed. 



About June, and five or six weeks after the 



