Cleveland Past and Present: Its Representative Men Part 26

An incident occurred during his term as prosecuting attorney which had a marked effect upon the politics of Cleveland and its vicinity. Up to 1841, slave-owners were in the habit of sending their agents to Cleveland and causing their runaway slaves to be arrested and taken before a magistrate, when a warrant would be obtained to return the slave, and he would be carried back into slavery. All this was done openly and publicly, creating little or no excitement, and Mr. Bolton, in the practice of his profession, was more frequently employed for this purpose than any other attorney in the city. In the Spring of 1841, three negroes, who were claimed as slaves, had run away from New Orleans and were in Buffalo. The agent of their master applied to a law firm in Cleveland for a.s.sistance.

At that time, slaves arrested in Buffalo were in the habit of claiming a trial by jury, which was granted. To avoid a jury, with its sympathies, it was thought advisable to get the negroes into Ohio, and, accordingly, one of the attorneys, the agent and a negro of Cleveland, repaired to Buffalo.

On their return the three negroes came with them, and it was said they had been kidnapped. On their arrival at Cleveland, the negroes were arrested under the law of Congress as fugitives from service, and lodged in the county jail. This information coming to the ears of the few Abolitionists then in the city, among others the late Hon. Edward Wade and Hon. John A.

Foot, lawyers at the time in full practice, they applied to the jailor for admission to consult with the negroes. But public opinion was so strongly prejudiced against the Abolitionists that neither the jailor nor the sheriff would permit any of them to communicate with the prisoners.

Accidentally, a colored man inquired of Mr. Bolton if he would take up their defence. He readily a.s.sented, and being prosecuting attorney of the county, and it being well understood that he was not an Abolitionist, the doors of the jail were readily opened to him, and he immediately made preparations for a vigorous defence of the prisoners. A writ of _habeas corpus_ was immediately applied for to Judge Barber, one of the a.s.sociate judges at the time; the negroes were brought before him, and their case continued for ninety days, to prepare for a defence.

When it was known about town that Mr. Bolton had undertaken the defence of the negroes, great indignation was excited, and many threatened to tear down his office, and to use violence toward his person. This only aroused him to greater energy and effort in behalf of the prisoners. In the meantime indictments were procured in Buffalo against the alleged kidnappers, and the excitement in the city greatly increased, so that on the day of the trial the court-house was packed with people. After an investigation, which lasted two days, the court discharged the defendants and they went acquit.

From the iniquitous proceeding in the case, and the manner in which it was prosecuted, and the excitement it produced, the community was led to reflect upon the iniquity of the system and the oppression of the law; and from that day till the slave-girl Lucy was sent back into Virginia slavery, in 1862, (to appease, it is said, the wrath of the rebels,) not a negro was sent back into slavery from the city of Cleveland, or county of Cuyahoga.

Mr. Bolton left the Democratic party in 1848, or, as he claims, it left him when it adopted its national platform of that year. He then joined the Free Soil party, and was a delegate to the Buffalo Convention, and one of its secretaries. In February, 1856, he a.s.sisted in organizing the Republican party at the Pittsburgh Convention, and in the Summer of the same year was a delegate from this Congressional District in the Philadelphia Convention, which nominated Fremont and Dayton.

When he was admitted to the Bar, the Court of Common Pleas, under the old Const.i.tution, consisted of four members, a president judge and three a.s.sociates, elected by the Legislature, and the Supreme Court of the State consisted of four judges, also chosen by the Legislature. A session of the Supreme Court was held by two of its members once a year in each county, and three sessions a year were held by the Court of Common Pleas in this and the adjoining counties. In 1835, Hon. Matthew Birchard, of Warren, was president judge. He was succeeded by Hon. Van R. Humphrey, of Hudson, and he by Hon. John W. Willey, of Cleveland, who died during his term. Hon.

Reuben Hitchc.o.c.k was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy, and Hon. Benjamin Bissel, of Painesville, was elected by the Legislature during the next session. Hon. Philemon Bliss, then of Elyria, and now Supreme Judge of Missouri, was afterward elected, and his term was cut short in 1851, by the adoption of the new Const.i.tution, under which the judges were elected by the people for the term of five years. Hon. Samuel Starkweather was the first judge elected under the new system, and in 1856. Mr. Bolton was chosen his successor. In 1861, he was unanimounanimouslynated and elected without opposition, and in 1866, at the expiration of his second term, he retired from the Bench and the Bar.

We thus complete our outline sketch of the professional, judicial, and political career of one of our most prominent and respected citizens.

He came to the Bar of Cleveland before Cleveland was a city, and entered upon practice with that force and earnestness which were the ruling elements of his nature. He had able compet.i.tors, but he was a strong man amongst them. His promptness in the courts was proverbial. He was always ready, and if he granted indulgences he never asked for any. He was less given to books than his partner, Mr. Kelly, who was the student and chancery member of the firm, but in the ordinary departments of the common law and in criminal practice, he was always at home. He prepared his causes with the most thorough premeditation of the line of his own evidence, and of all the opposing evidence that could possibly be antic.i.p.ated. Hence he moved with rapidity and precision, and was never taken by surprise. His arguments were not elaborate, or studied in point of finish, but they were strong, downright practical, and to the point. In this sense he was a fine and effective speaker to courts and juries.

These same characteristics he exhibited upon the Bench. Hardy and vigorous in his perceptions and understanding--thoroughly versed and ready in the law of pleadings and evidence--bringing to bear on the civil code, the logical training of the common law system--his ten years of service as a judge were honorable to himself and valuable to the public. In all the phases of his career and life he has been thoroughly upright.

Retired upon an ample fortune, ama.s.sed by forecast and business energy--fond of his home, and devoted with entire liberality to the education of his children--independent of office and in all other ways--strong and robust as ever in person and in mind--he is still a power in any direction wherever he chooses so to be. His broad, projecting brow, his direct and forcible speech and bearing, symbolize his character.

They a.s.sure you of vital energy, strong, practical comprehension, directness and will. He may have more of the "_fort.i.ter in re_" than of the "_suaviter in modo_" but all who know him have faith in his truth, implicit reliance upon the hearty fidelity of his friendships, and a.s.surance, that he is always loyal to his convictions, both in public and in private life.

James M. Hoyt.

Several years since, the writer of this was in conversation with a poor man who had a hard struggle with misfortune and sickness in his attempt to rear a large family, and secure them a humble homestead. In the course of conversation the name of James M. Hoyt was mentioned, and the poor man was inquired of who that gentleman was. "Lawyer Hoyt?" he replied, "why he's the _honest lawyer_, G.o.d bless him!" He who could acquire this t.i.tle among the poor must be no ordinary man.

[Ill.u.s.tration: James M. Hoyt]

James M. Hoyt was born in Utica, New York, January 16, 1815. The circ.u.mstances of his parents were such that he was enabled to acquire a good education, and graduated at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1834. On leaving College he commenced the study of law in Utica, but soon removed to Cleveland, where, in February, 1836, he read law in the office of Andrews & Foot. He remained with them in that capacity for one year, when a partnership was formed under the name of Andrews, Foot & Hoyt, which lasted about twelve years, and was dissolved only by the appointment of Judge Andrews to the bench of the Superior Court of Cuyahoga county.

The firm of Foot & Hoyt continued four years longer, until in 1853, Mr.

Hoyt withdrew from the practice of law and turned his attention wholly to the business of real estate, not as a broker, but as an operator on his own account, or in company with others, nearly all his operations being adjacent to the city. For the last twenty years his transactions have been very heavy, having made of land belonging to him wholly, or in part, in the city of Cleveland and its environs, thirty-one recorded sub-divisions, covering an area of five hundred acres, on which he has personally, or in connection with others interested with him, opened and named no less than seventy-six streets, including the well-known Croton, Laurel, Greenwood, Humbolt, Mahoning, Kelly, Lynden, Maple, Mayflower and Siegel streets, and Longwood avenue. He was also largely instrumental in opening Prospect beyond Hudson, and sold nearly half of the land on Kinsman street, besides selling a large amount of land on Superior and St. Clair streets; also on the West Side, Madison avenue, Long street, Colgate street and Waverly avenue. He has sold in all 3000 lots in Cleveland.

Mr. Hoyt united with the Baptist church in Utica in 1835. Soon after coming to Cleveland he became connected with the First Baptist church Sunday school, and was its superintendent twenty-six years, when he resigned, and became teacher of a congregational Bible cla.s.s, which labor of love he has performed for about three years, and still continues.

In 1854, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, by the church with which he was connected. He was never ordained, and never contemplated being, but simply desired to testify to Christian truth as a business man on the principle of "He that heareth, let him say come." For the past fifteen years he has labored in that capacity more or less in nearly all the Protestant denominations in the city and elsewhere.

In 1854, he was elected President of the Ohio Baptist State Convention, and has been re-elected annually ever since, and has held anniversaries in nearly every city of the State. In 1866, he was elected president of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, being the national organization for missions for North America, has been re-elected annually, and still holds the office. Through all this time Mr. Hoyt has made many public addresses, and given lectures on both secular and religious subjects, in addition to publishing a number of articles, reviews and other literary work.

He was married in 1836 to Miss Mary Ella Beebe, in the city of New York.

Of this marriage have been born six children, five of whom are living. The oldest daughter, Mary Ella, died in 1854, aged fourteen. The oldest son, Wayland, is in the Baptist ministry, and is now pastor of the Strong Place Baptist church, Brooklyn, N. Y. The second son, Colgate, is now clerk and a.s.sistant in his father's business. The daughter, Lydia, is the wife of Mr. E. J. Farmer, banker of this city.

We do not think it is exaggeration to say, that not a man in the city has more entwined himself with the affection of the people than Mr. Hoyt. For many years he has had the power to do untold evil to the poor, and to do it with a show of justice and legality, but this power was never exercised. Of the thousands of lots sold by him, a very large proportion have been for homesteads for the poor, hundreds of whom became involved through sickness, or other misfortunes, and were not able to make payments when due; many men died and left enc.u.mbered homes for widows to struggle on with, but they never lacked a friend in James M. Hoyt. Other creditors would sometimes crowd such persons, but to the extent of his ability he always kept them at bay, and if the load was in any case too heavy, would sell for the embarra.s.sed owners, and give them the benefit of the rise in property. Time and again have we heard such things from the grateful poor.

He is liberal with his means, contributing freely for religious and charitable purposes. In politics he has ever sided with the party of progress, and, although not a politician, has added his means and exertions to the cause whenever necessary. During the war against the rebellion he was an energetic supporter of the Government, and rendered valuable aid to the cause of loyalty by his money and influence.

Mr. Hoyt, since his retirement from the legal profession, has devoted much time to those liberal studies which are too apt to be neglected amid the engrossing engagements of the Bar. He is a ripe scholar in English history, and especially in the period between the Revolution of 1688 and the accession of the House of Hanover. With an eminently practical turn of mind, he is not disinclined to meta-physical investigations, and we well remember the enthusiasm and keen zest with which he pa.s.sed many winter evenings at the house of a friend in reading, a.n.a.lyzing, and applying the canons of criticism to Burke's Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful. His article on Miracles, published in the October number, 1863, of the Christian Review, contains one of the most searching examinations of Hume's doctrines extant. It presents a vexed subject in a new and striking light, and offers an unanswerable argument to the sophistries of the great skeptic. The article has been widely circulated and much admired for its logical ac.u.men, and its striking simplification of an apparently complex subject. With the faculty, in a large degree, of presenting abstract truth in a form plain, attractive and intelligible to the common understanding, it is to be hoped that Mr. Hoyt will continue to contribute to the higher departments of our periodical literature, and thus by his studies and his pen add to his present usefulness in his daily avocation, for we seldom find one blessed with such a versatility of talent. He is methodical in everything, and thorough in everything. In short, he is a good lawyer, a good preacher, a good citizen, a good business man, a good father, a good neighbor, and a true friend. He is now only fifty-four years of age, both mentally and physically vigorous, and we sincerely hope his life of usefulness may be extended many years.

Franklin T. Backus.

Franklin T. Backus, was born in Lee, Berkshire county, Ma.s.sachusetts, May 6th, 1813. He was the son of Thomas and Rebecca Backus. While Franklin T.

was very young, his father removed to Lansing, New York, where he shortly died, leaving a large family of young children to the care of his surviving widow, with limited means for their support and education. In consequence of this, the subject of this sketch was early in life inured to hardy exercise upon a farm, to which, in after life, he has attributed his strong const.i.tution, and ability to endure confinement, and the severest mental toil incident to an extensive legal practice.

It would be inappropriate in a brief sketch, to refer to and narrate incidents of boyhood days, and they are therefore pa.s.sed over. Mr. Backus, while in early youth, became possessed of an unconquerable desire for knowledge, and while laboring with his hands, his mind was busy determining how he should secure the advantages of education. No superficial acquirements could satisfy him. Added to native talents, of a high order, were thoroughness and perseverance in everything which he resolved to undertake, and these traits applied particularly to him as a student. After resolving to obtain a thorough cla.s.sical education, he set about it in earnest, and in an unusually short period of time, prepared himself, and on examination, entered the junior cla.s.s of Yale College in 1834. Though the only time actually spent in college was during his junior and senior years, yet his standing was very high, and he graduated at Yale in 1836, occupying a position of one of the best mathematicians in his cla.s.s. Soon after, he was tendered the position of a.s.sistant professor, or instructor in that venerable inst.i.tution, an honor accorded to but few in so short a time after graduation.

On leaving Yale, Mr. Backus settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he established a cla.s.sical school, which at once became very popular and successful, and shortly afterwards commenced the study of law with Messrs. Bolton & Kelly, who were among the leading members of the Cuyahoga county Bar.

In August, 1839, he was admitted to the practice of law at Cleveland, the Supreme Court then being in session there, and entered at once upon the practice of his profession, in which, from the beginning, he took a high position. He was also an active politician, and as a member of the Whig party, partic.i.p.ated largely in its active operations in the State, as well as in his own district, and was frequently a recipient of its honors.

In 1841, he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Cuyahoga county, having been nominated to that office in a contest in which several who were older and more experienced in the profession than he, were candidates. His administration of the office was in the highest degree able and successful, and so met the approval of the public, that he was renominated by his party and elected for the second term of two years.

In January, 1842, Mr. Backus was married to Miss Lucy Mygatt, daughter of George Mygatt, Esq., then of Painesville, now of Cleveland. The choice was a most suitable and wise one, and Mrs. Backus still lives, the light and joy of their home.

In 1846, Mr. Backus was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the Ohio Legislature, and continued there only one term, refusing a renomination. In 1848, he was elected to the Senate of Ohio, in which he took a commanding position, and was widely talked of among his friends in various parts of the State as a suitable candidate for the United States Senate, as well as for the House of Representatives in Congress.

From the breaking out of the Rebellion to its close, he was as strenuous an advocate as any one could be, of putting down the Rebellion at any hazard of blood and treasure, but differed widely as to some of the measures and policy adopted by the Government, and consequently, did not, at, or about the close of the war, act with the Republican party, nor has he since; and though not an active politician, he is now generally recognized as a member of the Democratic party.

In 1840, Mr. Backus a.s.sociated himself in the legal practice with J. P.

Bishop, Esq., with whom he continued for fifteen years. Mr. Bishop was afterwards chosen one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the Cleveland district. Afterwards, for several years, he was a.s.sociated with that able jurist, Judge R. P. Ranney, and now, for some years, he has been a.s.sociated with E. J. Estep, Esq., in his profession.

That he stood high in his profession in the State as well as in Cleveland, is shown by the fact that he was nominated, by the Whig party, as candidate for Supreme Judge of Ohio, and afterwards by the Republican party for the same office, but failed of an election because the party nominating him was unsuccessful each of those years in Ohio.

Mr. Backus' life for the last twenty years has been almost exclusively devoted to his profession. When the railroads were projected which made Cleveland one of their terminations he embarked in the enterprise of their location and construction, and was early retained as their attorney and counsel, and has been acting as such to the present time. The Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad, from the beginning, so far as legal services have been required, has been under his special supervision. His knowledge of the department of law appertaining to corporations, and his ability as a corporation lawyer, it is believed, is not surpa.s.sed. The same may be said of him as a land lawyer, especially in regard to all questions arising in the northern part of this State. In short, Mr. Backus has had a very wide and varied experience in almost every branch of legal practice, and in every case in which he has suffered himself to be retained, he has made it a principle to be thorough and accurate, and to possess himself of a full knowledge of his case in all its aspects.

As a summary as to Mr. Backus as a lawyer, it is the opinion of those best acquainted with him and his professional ability, acquirements and experience, that, as a whole, he is unsurpa.s.sed by any in the State.

In nearly all the great enterprises of the city his advice and co-operation have been sought, and where legal advice and aid have been required, his services have often been called into requisition by the city. He not only has occupied the position professionally, before spoken of, but has, and does, still occupy high positions of trust, both for the city and individuals, and in such matters it may be safely said, there are few men living in whom more implicit confidence is reposed.

The extent of his varied legal practice can only be judged of in part, by his appearance in court. His business out of court has const.i.tuted by far the largest and most important part of his practice, and has always been done with a view to saving his client from litigation in future, so far as possible, and this he has accomplished.

In pecuniary matters Mr. Backus has been successful, not only as the fruits of arduous professional labors, but in other respects.

Mr. Backus is a very benevolent and liberal man, also, but his generosity is not in the beaten track. It is bestowed unseen and unknown by the public, and his own judgment selects the object of his bounty. His friendship when once bestowed is undying and changes not with time or circ.u.mstances so long as the person on whom it is bestowed proves worthy of his confidence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Yours truly, J. P. Bishop]