64 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



Stephen Ross. March 31, 1796. 

 Henry A. Townsend, March 24, 1800. 

 George McClure, March 25, 1805. 

 John Metcalfe, April 6, 1813. 

 James Read, April 8, 1815. 

 Samuel Baker, Ap»ril 10, 1817. 

 William Read, Mavch 20, 1821. 

 James Brmidage, March 28, 1823. 

 William Wood's, Jan. 8, 1827. 

 Robert Campbell, Jaa. 31, 1835. 

 David Rumsey,. Jan. 24, 1840. 

 Ansel J. McCall, Feb. 3, 1844. 



CHAPTER XY. 



BENCH AND BAR OF STEUBEN COUNTY. 



The establishment of a county and the location of a 

 seat of justice bring in due time a bench and bar. Steuben 

 had no lawyers till the county was organized in 1796. 

 The first arrival was George J). Cooper, from Rhinebeck, 

 on the Hudson. He was appointed the first clerk of the 

 county. The next arrivals were Messrs. Jones, Masterton, 

 and Stewart, from New York City. These gentlemen of 

 the legal profession were followed by William Howe Cuyler, 

 of Albany. Mr. Cuyler was a fine, portly, elegant young 

 man, of very fashionable and fascinating manners of the 

 Chesterfieidian order. In 1812, Gen. Amos Hall appointed 

 him aide-de-camp, and while stationed at Black Rock he was 

 killed by a cannon-ball from Fort Erie. Maj. Cuyler was 

 a very active and intelligent officer, and his death was much 

 lamented. He left a young wife and one son. 



According to Gen. McClure's account, the next lawyer 

 who came to Bath was Dominick Theophilus Blake, a 

 young man from Ireland. He was well educated, but his 

 dialect and manner of speech afforded much amusement for 

 the other members of the bar. Mr. Blake had but little 

 practice, and remained in Bath but a short time. 



Samuel S. Haight, Esq., prior to his removal to Angelica, 

 Allegany Co., was a prominent member of the Steuben 

 County bar. He removed from Elmira to Bath, where he 

 acquired an extensive law practice. Hon. Daniel Cruger, 

 William B. Rochester, and other eminent members of this 

 bar, studied law in his office. 



Among the early lawyers was a Virginian, named Cuth- 

 bert Harrison, whom Gen. McClure describes as a '' man 

 of good sense, and, whether drunk or sober, a good-natured, 

 clever fellow." 



The following amusing anecdote, which was contributed 

 by a member of the Steuben County bar to the " Knicker- 

 bocker Magazine," is said to relate to Judge Helm, who 

 resided at an early time in Bath, and became one of the 

 judges of the Court of Common Pleas : 



'^ Among them was a jolly old Virginian, Judge H , 



a sportsman of the old school of buff breeches and fair 

 top-boots, well known throughout the country for genial 

 habits and generous hospitality. He had been appointed 

 a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Though little 

 versed in legal technicalities, he possessed a fund of genuine 

 common sense, which made him a good judge. On one 

 occasion, in the absence of the first judge, it fell to him to 



charge the grand jury. The substance of the charge, so 

 characteristic of the man and of his opinions, is here given : 

 " ' Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : — In the absence of 

 the first judge, it becomes my duty to address you. If 

 you expect much of a charge, you will be disappointed, as 

 it will be nothing but a squib. I see among you many 

 gentlemen who understand the duties of grand jurors better 

 than I do. I need only say, then, you know your duties, 

 go ahead and perform them. The sheriff has handed me 

 his criminal calendar, by which it appears he has five poor 

 devils in jail for various offenses ; two of them are for 

 horse-stealing. Now, gentlemen, there are grades in crime, 

 and common sense would indicate that the punishment 

 should be in proportion to the criminality of the offense, 

 as exhibited by the circumstances of each case. That I 

 suppose is the law ; if it is not it ought to be so. You 

 will understand what I mean by this, when I inform you 

 that one of these scamps stole a slab-sided Yankee mare, 

 while the other took a Virginia blood-horse. Two others 

 are indicted for mayhem. One of them for biting off a 

 negro's nose, which I think exhibits a most depraved appe- 

 tite ; the other for gouging out an Irishman's eye, a most 

 ungentlemanly way of fighting. I hope you will look well 

 to these fellows. The last is a poor cuss who stole a jug 

 of whisky. The article is so plenty and cheap that it may 

 be had by asking, anywhere, and stealing it is the meanest 

 kind of offense, and deserves the severest punishment that 

 the law will permit. The great men at Albany have made 

 it our special duty to charge you in regard to private lot- 

 teries. What is the mighty crime involved in this business 

 I cannot see, when hustling and pitching coppers is tolerated ; 

 but I suppose they know, and as the law makes it our duty, 

 I charge you to look out for them. Sheriff, select two 

 constables, and march these men off to their duties.' " 



HON. VINCENT MATTHEWS. 



Vincent Matthews, who was for several years a leading 

 member of this county bar, was born in Orange Co., N. Y., on 

 the 29th of June, 1766. At an early age he was sent to an 

 academy at Middletown, N. Y., and finished his classical 

 education under the instruction of the great scholar and 

 lexicographer, Noah Webster. In 1786 he commenced 

 the study of law with Col. Robert Troup, of New York, 

 and during his studies became intimate with Pendleton, 

 Judge (afterwards Governor) Yates, Chief Justice Morris, 

 Aaron Burr, and others whose names form a brilliant con- 

 stellation in the history of New York jurisprudence. He 

 thus had rare opportunities, it being his privilege to see how 

 justice was administered by Morris, Yates, Spencer, Kent, 

 and Savage, and how forensic questions were managed by 

 such master minds as Hamilton and Burr. 



Matthews was admitted to practice in the year 1790, and 

 remained some time with Col. Troup. In 1793 he removed 

 to Elmira. In 1796 he represented the Western District 

 in the Senate of the State. Soon after he retired from the 

 Senate he was appointed, with Hon. James Emott, a mem- 

 ber of the Onondaga Commission to settle the difficulties 

 growing out of conflicting claims and litigations respecting 

 the Military Lands, a delicate and trying position, the duties 

 of which were discharged with signal ability and success. 



