taken his seat, with almost no protest, in the Supreme tribunal of the nation which he sought to overthrow, is a striking example of the way in which the wounds of the war have been healed."-New York Voice, February 2, 1893.

ABIEL LEONARD, MISSOURI.

(1797-1863.)

Teacher, lawyer, legislator, judge.

Born at

Windsor, Vermont, May 16, 1797; died at St. Louis in 1863, aged sixty-six. He received a college education at Dartmouth, studied law in New York, and was licensed to practice in 1818. The next year he moved to Missouri, walking all the way there, locating at Franklin, that State; taught school for six months, and then opened a law office. In 1823 he became Circuit Attorney, and was highly recognized as a lawyer, his application to study having been such that he partially lost his eye-sight. In 1833 he was a member of the State Legislature, during which time there was a revision of the laws of the State, and he labored actively for the public schools. In 1855 he became a member of the Supreme Court of Missouri, and in 1857 resumed practice, maintaining an office also in St. Louis.

He was of Puritan stock, his grandfather being a chaplain in the Continental Army, and his father an officer in the War of 1812. His mother was a granddaughter of General Nathaniel Greene. Throughout

his professional career he was a great student and attained to an exceptional knowledge of the civil law, as well as a very wide acquaintance with general literature. He was characterized by independence of thought, undaunted courage, and absolute honesty. As a Judge of the Supreme Court he achieved a reputation for ability not limited to his State, because of the thoroughness and soundness of his legal views, the wide scope of his investigation, and the classic elegance of his diction. Many of his opinions are masterpieces, and have been classed among the leading cases in this country. Says J. V. C. Karnes, of the Kansas City bar: "Had he written only Whitside v. Cannon (23 Mo., 457), he would have been entitled to a place in the very front rank of American jurists." In the Mulanphy will case (Chambers v. St. Louis, 29 Mo., 543), the whole question of charitable uses was briefed and argued with exhaustive learning, unsurpassed even by Horace Binney in the Girard will case.

Fought a Duel.

In 1824, in addressing the jury in a case in which fraud was alleged against Major Taylor Berry, the

latter took offense at some of the criticisms and horsewhipped Mr. Leonard, who was too small physically to defend himself. Mr. Leonard saw no honorable escape from the dilemma, except to challenge Berry to fight a duel. The meeting took place, despite the interference of friends, and Berry fell mortally wounded. Public opinion sustained Mr. Leonard, and the Legislature subsequently removed the disbarment and political disabilities which the laws visited upon those who engaged in dueling.

A Massive Mind.

"Judge Leonard had a massive mind, and did much to mould the early jurisprudence of Missouri." -Bay's Bench and Bar of Missouri.

"Were the question, who was the greatest and most interesting man that ever stood in the ranks of the legal profession of Missouri, submitted for decision, the living members of that profession would doubtless ratify the views expressed by those who were his contemporaries, and award the palm to Abiel Leonard."-L. C. Krauthoff, in April, 1891 Green Bag.

Eyes Failed him.

He applied himself so diligently to study for the first two years that his eyes entirely failed him, and he paid a young man $300 a year to read to him.

General Stringfellow's Opinion.

"Judge Leonard was a man of commanding intellect, profound learning, spotless integrity, unpretending generosities and kindness, and unflinching courage, moral and physical. In a word, he was the ablest lawyer I have known.”—General Stringfellow.

Wrote 167 Opinions While on Missouri Supreme Bench.

He wrote opinions during his two and a half years on the Supreme Bench of Missouri (20-25 Mo.) in one hundred and sixty-seven cases, and not one can be recalled which his successors have criticised or overruled. But one dissenting case is found. His decisions are characterized by exhaustive research, and a thorough investigation of the English and American adjudicated cases.

Walked from Western New York to Franklin, Missouri.

When he arrived in Franklin, Missouri, to which he made his way on foot from western New York, a distance of fully twelve hundred miles, he was twentytwo years of age, and the possessor of a well-worn suit of clothes, and twenty-five cents in money.