Part 17
I was too young to know and fully appreciate the eminent abilities of Mr. Peyton as they deserved to be. But I remember him, when as a boy, in 1839-40, I traveled with him from Charlottesville to Richmond, when the snow obstructed travel and detained us at Trevilian's for more than a day. His genial and cordial manners to a lad [Mr. T. was then about 19 years of age] and his charming conversational powers, mingling vivacity of humor, with grave disquisition on more serious matters--fascinated me then, and so live in my memory as to make me sympathize in all honors done to his name, and attract me to the scene where that is to be so worthily manifested.
But I am not quite well and my duties here forbid my attendance on the occasion.
In full sympathy with the occasion, and wishing the ceremonies to be fully successful, I am, sincerely,
Your friend, J. R. TUCKER.
Major Elder then remarked that he had just been furnished by Judge George M. Harrison with an extract from a speech made by Mr. Peyton when only twenty-two years of age--a speech made to the grand jury of his native county--which threw a light upon Mr. Peyton's whole life and character as a public prosecutor. The Major then read this extract from Mr. Peyton's speech:
"_The history of man from the primeval simplicity of our first parents to the present day has satisfactorily proven that neither the dictates of reason, the light of philosophy, nor the divine precepts of our holy religion furnish adequate restraints to his vicious propensities._"
The meeting then, on motion of the Hon. Marshall Hanger, adjourned.
GEO. M. COCHRAN, Chairman.
EDITORIALS FROM THE STAUNTON PAPERS.
It will not be uninteresting in this connection to read the following editorials from the leading Staunton papers.
In the Daily Post of the same evening, this article appeared:
JOHN HOWE PEYTON.
PORTRAIT OF THIS EMINENT VIRGINIA JURIST PRESENTED TO THE COUNTY.
CAPT. JAMES BUMGARDNER MAKES THE SPEECH OF PRESENTATION, AND MAJOR ELDER
THAT OF ACCEPTANCE--BRIEF SKETCH OF HIS CAREER.
As previously announced, the oil portrait of the late Hon. John Howe Peyton, which, at the suggestion of the late Judge Stout and the Board of Supervisors was placed in the Court House of Augusta County, was formally presented and received to-day at noon.
Captain George M. Cochran presided over the meeting. The jury box was occupied by the Supervisors and within and around the bar inclosure was gathered many of the leading members of the bar, ladies and relatives of the late Mr. Peyton. Among them was Captain James Bumgardner, who, on behalf of the family of Mr. Peyton made the formal presentation address, Major Thomas C. Elder, who received the portrait on behalf of the county, Colonel John L. Peyton, son of the gentleman honored, Mrs. Peyton and others. The portrait was hung in its place upon the north wall in rear of the bench and to the east of that of the late Chief Justice Marshall.
Captain Bumgardner's address reviewed the circumstances leading up to the presentation, and the life and eminent achievements of the distinguished jurist. His address was chiefly biographical, and quoted many distinguished gentlemen in eulogy of Mr. Peyton as a complete lawyer, patriotic citizen, and great and good man. He was born in Stafford County, April 3d, 1778; was educated in Fredericksburg and at Princeton, from which he was graduated with the A. M. degree, studied law under Judge Bushrod Washington, of the United States Supreme Court, and further equipped himself for his profession by an extensive course in literature. In 1799 he began the practice of law in Fredericksburg, and soon achieved distinction. In 1804 he married Susan, daughter of William S. Madison, a cousin of President James Madison. In 1806 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, and served with ability for four years. He was considered the most brilliant debater in that body. A series of resolutions written by him opposing a constitutional amendment providing a tribunal to settle disputes between the State and Federal Judiciary were quoted by Daniel Webster in his memorable debate with Hayne, and were characterized by him as unanswerable.
In 1808 Mr. Peyton located in Staunton and was made Public Prosecutor of the Judicial Circuit of Augusta, Albemarle, Rockingham and Rockbridge. During the war of 1812 he served with distinction on the staff of General Porterfield, and on his return was made Mayor of Staunton. In 1822 he was married to Miss Ann Montgomery, daughter of Colonel John Lewis and his wife, Mary Preston.
In 1836 he was elected State Senator from Augusta and Rockbridge, and served there until 1845, when he resigned. In June, 1844, after a continuous service of 32 years, he resigned the office of Commonwealth's Attorney for Augusta. He died at Montgomery Hall, near Staunton, April 29, 1847.
Maj. T. C. Elder, on behalf of the county, received the picture in a polished and scholarly address, which was generally pronounced one of the finest addresses of the kind ever heard here. The son, said the speaker, had done an act of filial piety and at the same time a service to his county in presenting this portrait of his honored father. The speaker then reviewed the career of Mr. Peyton, paid a splendid tribute to his legal abilities, which was acquiesced in by many of Virginia's most distinguished men. He held up for the emulation of the bar his untarnished integrity, devotion to duty and loftiness of life and purpose as exhibited in his practice in this court, and referred to the portrait along with those of Michie and Baldwin as among the household gods of the county. In the name of Judge, Supervisors and people he accepted the portrait and promised that it would be highly prized.
Col. John L. Peyton, being called for, responded briefly, thanking the gentlemen who had spoken for their lofty tributes to his father.
The meeting then adjourned.
[From Staunton Spectator.]
PORTRAIT OF HON. JOHN HOWE PEYTON.
PRESENTED TO THE COUNTY OF AUGUSTA BY HIS SON COL. JOHN LEWIS PEYTON.
At the request of the late Judge John Stout, Col. John L. Peyton had a portrait of his distinguished father painted to be presented to the county to be placed on the wall of the Court-room beside the portraits of Chief Justice John Marshall, Thos. J. Michie, and Col. John B. Baldwin. The formal presentation of this portrait took place at a meeting held in the Court house at 12 o'clock last Friday, July 20th, at which the Supervisors of the County, the members of the Staunton Bar, some ladies, and a large number of others were present.
On motion of Capt. Thos. D. Ranson, Hon. Geo. M. Cochran was made Chairman of the meeting.
On taking the chair, he announced its object and said that the meeting was ready for business. Then Capt. Jas. Bumgardner, on behalf of Col. John L. Peyton, delivered the presentation speech, which was done in fine style. He prefaced his speech, with the following remarks:--
"Gentlemen of the board of Supervisors:
"The late lamented Judge Stout, who did much to entitle him to be gratefully remembered by the people of Augusta county, requested that a copy of the portrait of John H. Peyton might be made, to be placed on the wall of this court room.
"In accordance with that request, the portrait has been made, and on behalf of Col. John Lewis Peyton, and other descendants of John H. Peyton, I deliver this portrait to you, Augusta, in order that the purpose of Judge Stout may be carried into effect; and that this portrait may be placed in that group of illustrious citizens, with all of whom he was closely associated in life, and with whom he is entitled to be grouped and remembered in all time to come, as one of the men who have made the Staunton bar famous and honored, and who in their day enjoyed and deserved to enjoy the esteem and admiration of their countrymen."
Then followed a very interesting succinct biographical sketch of the able lawyer, orator, and legislator whose portrait he was deputed to present to the county. It embraced Mr. Peyton's distinguished services from his early manhood to the time of his death in 1847. Capt. Bumgardner quoted the remarks of quite a number of able lawyers and others, the contemporaries of John Howe Peyton, as to his ability as a lawyer and legislator, and all concurred in the opinion that he was one of the ablest lawyers of the State of Virginia, and Virginia has had, and still has, a great many very able and learned lawyers. We regret that we have not space for these eulogistic quotations. They show that he was not only an able lawyer, but a great and good man, whose integrity and patriotism was above reproach.
After the quotations from these distinguished men, Capt. Bumgardner concluded his address as follows:
"It will be observed that these statements are made by men qualified in the highest degree to estimate justly human character and ability, and who had the very best opportunity of judging the character and ability of Mr. Peyton, as they were intimately associated with him at the bar and in public life, and their testimony therefore is conclusive, that Mr. Peyton was a man of commanding ability, of the highest culture, of profound legal learning, of the sternest integrity and the strictest honor. And it is worthy to be commemorated in the manner proposed by placing this portrait in the group which now adorns these walls and I now take great pleasure in presenting it to you for that purpose."
Then Major Thos. C. Elder on behalf of the Supervisors of the county made his speech accepting the portrait, which duty he performed in good taste and in an able and admirable manner. He began his speech by referring to the donor of the portrait and said:--
"To Col. John Lewis Peyton, whom I see before me, and who by right of primogeniture, now stands at the head of the descendants of John Howe Peyton, and through him to all the descendants of this eminent man, I would say that the people of the county of Augusta represented by the judge of their county court and board of supervisors have requested me to signify the acceptance by the county of the admirable portrait of Mr. Peyton, which has been tendered it by Capt. Bumgardner in such appropriate and beautiful terms. Col. Peyton, in presenting to his native county this portrait of his distinguished father has done well, in that he has at once performed an act of filial piety and conferred a public benefit; for whilst Col. Peyton has by this act given apt expression to the tender and loving relations which should exist between a dutiful son and honored parent, it must also be remembered that the father whom he loved so well was amongst the most distinguished of Augusta's adopted sons, and she is now given an opportunity of manifesting towards him those sentiments of affection and pride which a mother cherishes for her honored children. Individuals and families honor themselves in honoring their worthy ancestors, and communities and States offer the highest incentive to industry, virtue and patriotism by honoring the memory of those who have filled public stations with fidelity and with zeal for the public good."
Then Major Elder spoke of the great abilities and noble virtues of John Howe Peyton. It was the happy combination of both that made him the great and good man that he was. The good influence of such a character was ably presented, and the beneficial effect of the presence of the portrait of such a man in the court-room would have on the bar.
We regret that we have room only for a few brief extracts which we give as follows:--
"But we have been told by Capt. Bumgardner that Daniel Sheffey, a competent judge surely, in speaking of Mr. Peyton said: 'He possessed gigantic power without effort.' No greater compliment could be paid to the intellect of any man. Mr. Peyton had time enough to become great in his profession and to spare for other things. With him his daily work was a pleasure rather than a burden. Fortunate indeed is the man who is so gifted. The consciousness of the possession of such powers and the use of them in right directions must be a delight to their possessor."
* * * * *
"But it is the crowning excellence of him whose memory we honor to-day, that he was as pure, as noble in heart as he was great in mind. In him there was that fine and harmonious combination of high moral qualities and great intellectual powers which makes the model man. This combination of moral and intellectual qualities is what so greatly commended this man to the regard and esteem of his contemporaries, and in what still keeps his memory fresh."
* * * * *
"Well it is for the lawyers of the present day, and well it will be for those who are to follow them, that the portrait of such a lawyer should be ever looking down upon them from the walls of this hall of justice.
"Its presence here will be at once an inspiration and a restraint.
"With the form and features of John Marshall, the great expounder of the Federal Constitution and the founder of our Federal jurisprudence, and with the forms and features of such of his disciples as John H. Peyton, Thos. J. Michie and John B. Baldwin, ever before them, the lawyers who come here to practice their profession should not go wrong."
At the conclusion of Major Elder's speech, calls were made on Col. John L. Peyton, who arose and responded in a few brief remarks which can be found on another page of this book.
[From Yost's Weekly.]
PRESENTATION OF A PORTRAIT.
A goodly company, including a number of ladies, assembled in the Court-house at noon on Friday last to witness the presentation to Augusta County of the portrait of Hon. John Howe Peyton, than whom the old county never had a more distinguished son, for although born outside of her confines, the major part of his long and useful life was spent in her service, and the lustre of his fame forms one of her richest heritages and indissolubly interwoven with her history and progress.
The meeting was called to order by Capt. T. D. Ranson, and, upon his motion, George M. Cochran, Esq., was designated to preside. Mr. Cochran briefly stated the object of the meeting was the presentation to the Board of Supervisors of Augusta County of a portrait of the late Hon. John Howe Peyton and its acceptance by the authorities.
On behalf of Col. John Lewis Peyton and other descendants of the great lawyer, Capt. James Bumgardner made the presentation address. It was a theme worthy of the best effort and the address was worthy of the theme, and worthy too of the head and heart of the learned and gallant gentleman chosen for the task. He sketched the distinguished career of John Howe Peyton from his birth in Stafford county in the year 1778. Endowed with talents of a high order, Mr. Peyton entered Princeton at an early age, graduating from that institution as Master of Arts in 1797. He studied law under Judge Bushrod Washington of the Supreme Court of the United States, and commenced the practice of his profession on the Fredericksburg circuit. In 1806 he was elected as a member of the House of Delegates from Stafford County, and re-elected the following year and served until 1810 and 1811. In 1808 he removed to Staunton, and was immediately appointed Attorney for the Commonwealth for the circuit surrounding Staunton, and subsequently also Commonwealth's Attorney for Augusta County. This latter position was resigned by Chapman Johnson, himself a great lawyer, for the reason, as he declared, that Mr. Peyton's qualifications for the office were so superior that justice to the county demanded his services. During the war of 1812 Mr. Peyton acted as chief of staff to General Porterfield, and in the field as well as the forum rendered distinguished service. From 1816, when he was appointed Deputy U. S. District Attorney to aid William Wirt, until his health became impaired in 1844, Mr. Peyton continued to fill the office of State's Attorney, serving also terms as Mayor of the city and for eight years as a member of the State Senate.
His busy, useful life closed in 1847, but the fragrance of his memory lingers to this day, and his fame is one of the memories of the county. Captain Bumgardner quoted the opinions of a long list of eminent men who were contemporaries of Mr. Peyton and recognized his great power as a lawyer. Among them was Daniel Webster, who in speaking of the celebrated report written by Mr. Peyton in opposition to the amendment of the Constitution of the United States, said that the "reasoning and conclusion were unanswerable."
In closing, Captain Bumgardner earnestly and eloquently summed up the salient points in the career of Mr. Peyton, declaring him to have been a man of commanding ability, of the highest culture, of profound legal learning, of the sternest integrity and strictest honor; worthy to be commemorated by placing his portrait in the group of great lawyers which now adorns the Court House.
Major Thomas C. Elder was selected by the court to receive the portrait on behalf of the Board of Supervisors. The selection was a happy one. Never have we heard in that Court House an address so chaste, so scholarly, so rich in beautiful worded thought, so thoroughly impressive and appropriate. It was a literary gem. To sketch it would be to mar it, and we regret that our limited space does not permit its publication in full, together with the address to which it was a response.
Col. John L. Peyton, son of Hon. John Howe Peyton, was present in the house, and calls were made for him to come to the stand. In recognition of this manifestation, the Colonel said he was taken by surprise in the call that was made, and could only say that he felt gratified with the enthusiastic manner the gift to the county had been received, and the elegant and affecting remarks which had accompanied the presentation of the portrait and its reception. That he was pleased to see his father's likeness on the walls of the hall where his eloquent voice had so often resounded, and suspended in the midst of a people he had loved so much and served so faithfully, for with him it always was "his country first, his country last, his country all the time."
LETTERS.
FROM THE REV. J. HENRY SMITH, D. D., PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GREENSBORO, N. C., ONE OF THE FEW SURVIVORS OF MR. PEYTON'S OLD FRIENDS.
Greensboro, N. C., July 24th, 1894.
_Col. John L. Peyton_:
_My Dear Sir_--I have just received from your hand a copy of the "Staunton Daily News" of the 21st inst., and I have read with very great pleasure, the beautiful and eloquent and richly deserved tributes to your honored father at the public meeting in your town called for the acceptance of your father's portrait. It well deserves to be placed among the purest and ablest and noblest of his talented and honored associates and contemporaries. I congratulate _you_ on so interesting an occasion, and I sympathise with you in the filial joy and pride and gratitude to God that your heart, I know, felt, as those tributes were paid to your noble father's character and influence. Next to the fear of God, is the feeling we cherish for a father, who has taught us in the right way of virtue and honor, who has exemplified such a life and led us onward and upward. I think the _5th Commandment_ stands in the decalogue where it does, because the love and reverence to parents is next to the love and fear of God, in the estimation of God himself.
Greek and Latin writers often classified and summed up human duty in the following three-fold way,--"to fear the gods--to honor one's parents and to obey the laws of the land." This was I think in the mind of _Cicero_ when he said "_in aris et focis est Republica_." _Plato_ says "let us believe then that we can have no religious image more precious in the sight of heaven than a father, or a grandfather or a mother worn out with age, and that in proportion as we honor or delight in them with a religious joy, in the same proportion does God himself rejoice." Such sentiments, I believe, are fragments of the true and primitive religion carried abroad--but also, soon afterward, in so many respects corrupted, we recognize such sentiments as a part of the original Divine law not wholly obliterated, thanks to God, by the fall.
For the sake of dear old Virginia, I thank you that your father's form and face is where it is--to be an incentive to virtue and patriotism, as it looks down from year to year upon all who enter your court of justice.
For your considerate kindness in sending me the paper, and awakening thoughts of the long past, and with apologies for this longer letter than I had thought to write, I am,
Gratefully yours, J. HENRY SMITH.
FROM GEN. ECHOLS.
Louisville, Ky., July 28, 1894.
_Major Thos. C. Elder, Staunton, Va._:
_My Dear Major_--After an absence of several days, I returned to this city yesterday, and find your postal of the 23rd inst., and also the newspaper containing an account of the ceremony of the delivery to, and acceptance by, the county authorities of Augusta county, of the portrait of the late distinguished John Howe Peyton. I am very much obliged to you for thinking of me, and giving me an opportunity of reading the addresses made by yourself and Captain Bumgardner on the occasion referred to. I have read the speeches with a great deal of interest, and I have been very much impressed and pleased with your chaste, striking, and eloquent address, as the representative of the Supervisors of the county, in accepting the portrait. You have, with a master's hand, delineated the character of Mr. Peyton, and I hope that your address will be preserved as a fitting accompaniment of the skillful personation of the striking countenance that the artist has presented. I recollect Mr. Peyton very well. When I was a boy I saw him, and heard him frequently at the bar, generally in Lexington. I have also a very pleasant recollection of having enjoyed his elegant and generous hospitality at his home.
When I can first remember Staunton, the Staunton bar was made up of men who will long live in the memory of those who had the good fortune to know them.
Judge Thompson was on the bench, and around him Thos. J. Michie, A. H. H. Stuart, John B. Baldwin, David Fultz, H. W. Sheffey and a number of other gentlemen, all of whom together formed a notable group that would have made any forum illustrious.
It is certainly a most fitting thing that the noble county of Augusta should have her Pantheon, in which shall be gathered the statues and likenesses of her great sons, in order that those who come after shall see the men who have given to her her proud pre-eminence among the counties of the "Old Dominion."
Again thanking you for your kindness, and hoping to see you in a few days, I am, very truly yours, JOHN ECHOLS.
Many other interesting letters have been received from distinguished gentlemen in different parts of the State, but neither time nor the limits of this pamphlet admit of their insertion.
LETTERS FROM CONTEMPORARIES AT THE BAR.
From a number of letters received from persons to whom Col. Preston's sketch was posted, nearly fifteen years ago, the following extracts are selected, because written by Mr. Peyton's colleagues at the bar.
FROM JUDGE ALEXANDER RIVES. (FEDERAL JUDGE.)
In a letter addressed to Hon. John L. Peyton, and dated Eastbourne, Charlottesville, Jan. 29th, 1881, Judge R. says:
"There was no one at the bar, with whom I was associated, for whom I cherished the same admiration, respect and esteem, as for him.