Ohio History Journal

DAVID KELLOGG CARTTER

 

 

BY RUTH GERTRUDE CURRAN

 

Naming the oldest son David Kellogg has been a

custom of the Cartter family for five generations. The

second David Kellogg Cartter was born in Jefferson

County, New York, June 22, 1812, four days after the

declaration of war on the part of the United States

against England. He was the son of David K. Cartter,

a prominent and well-to-do carpenter, and Elizabeth

Hollister Cartter.

The father died when David was ten years old, and

in consequence he chose to learn the printer's trade. He

was apprenticed to Thurlow Weed, a Rochester printer.

Because he was not tall enough to reach the case, he

stood on a typebox to learn the boxes in the printing

case. During the two years he remained with Mr.

Weed, he saved money that enabled him to enter a

classical school in Rochester where he learned to read

Latin. After two years in the school he was compelled

to leave because of lack of funds. He then entered the

Rochester law office of Ebenezer Griffin and E. Darrow

Smith. He was admitted to the bar in 1832.

In 1846 Judge Cartter moved to Akron, Ohio, and

was admitted to the Ohio bar. He pursued his profes-

sion in Akron until 1848 when he was elected to Con-

gress as a Democrat from the eighteenth Ohio district,

composed of Stark, Wayne, and part of Ashland coun-

(105)

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106      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications ties, and called the "backbone" district. He remained in Congress two terms, during which time he was chair- man of the committee on patents. When he retired from

Congress nearly the entire House recommended him for Commissioner of Patents, but Mr. Cartter declined. Leaving Washington, he located in Cleveland, estab- lishing a partnership with Lyman C. Thayer. Their

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David Kellogg Cartter               107

office was on Superior street over Paddock's store.

Judge Elwell and Alfred Elwell were in the same office.

During his first year in Cleveland he became an advocate

of the Fremont canvass and left the Democratic party.

He was one of the influential stump-speakers of the

campaign.

He attended the National Republican Convention of

1860 in Chicago, and was chairman of the Ohio dele-

gation. No delegate to the convention was more influ-

ential than he in securing the nomination for Lincoln.*

Two or three years before his death he related, among

other reminiscences, the story of Lincoln's nomination

to a reporter of a Washington paper:

President Lincoln's nomination was very doubtful up to the

very hour at which it was accomplished. Seward was by all odds

the strongest of the several candidates at the time the convention

met, and had the ballot been taken the first day I think he would

have been nominated. It was not, however, and by a curious com-

bination of circumstances the elements opposed to him finally

selected Lincoln. I was chairman of the Ohio delegation. The

delegation had been elected at Columbus, and was instructed for

Chase. It was made up of mature politicians. Among the dele-

gates were such men as Tom Corwin and Columbus Delano, who

were especially unfriendly to Chase, as were indeed a number of

the delegation. I knew Chase could not be nominated, but I

thought Ohio ought to give him a complimentary vote, and tried

to accomplish this. A majority of the delegation finally said that

they would vote for Chase in the convention. They did so, but

we could not keep the delegation solid. The balloting went on,

and I had my secretary keep a close tally of the votes, as they

were taken. He told me how each candidate stood at the an-

nouncement of the vote of each state. During the second day I

saw from his statement that three votes would nominate Lincoln.

I then asked the delegation if four or five of them would join me

in leaving Chase and voting for Lincoln. I told them how the

count stood and that they could elect Lincoln and beat Seward. I

did not know Lincoln, but I had not any faith in Seward, and I

 

* New York World, April 17, 1887.

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108      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

wanted him beaten. The Ohio delegation consented at once to the

move. I knew Mr. Ashman, the chairman of the convention, and

I caught his eye. He gave me the floor and I changed the vote of

Ohio and Lincoln was nominated. A minute later the convention

appreciated that a new president had been made. They burst into

storms of cheers, and Lincoln then got the first of that enthusiastic

support which followed him to the polls in November.

Besides having much to do with the nomination of

Lincoln, he also helped to nominate Grant. In his eluci-

dations of maneuverings to nominate Grant, he said:

Yes, I had much to do with nominating General Grant, and I

know perhaps as much about his nomination as any man in the

United States. The Republican party was in a very critical con-

dition during the last days of Andrew Johnson's term. Johnson

was a drunkard, and he was utterly unfit for the position which

he held. The leaders of the party at Washington had many coun-

cils together as to what should be done. The question was, who

should lead the party during the coming campaign? A number

of candidates were spoken of, and among them General Grant's

name was now and then whispered. It was not, however, men-

tioned in the newspapers. He had been a Democrat before the

war, and the Democrats were themselves talking of him as a can-

didate. I believed that the most danger to our party lay in his

probable nomination by the Democrats. I thought the matter over

and decided that we must bring him out as a candidate. If he

accepted our nomination, well and good. I was sure we could

elect him. If he declined it the Democrats could not take him up

as their candidate, as we had claimed him as ours, and we would

thus keep him out of the campaign. Grant was at this time the

most popular man in the United States. His laurels as a general

were still green upon him, and he was full of patriotism and was

possessed of a great love for the Union. I felt sure that if we

elected him as a Republican president, he would be true to his

party and to the country.

He was brought forward through the agency of John W.

Forney, editor of the Washington Chronicle. I proposed Grant

as a candidate to Forney. I met him on Pennsylvania Avenue

and asked him as to who his candidate for the presidency was.

"I have no candidate," replied Forney. "Well, what do you think

of Grant?" said I.

He demurred a little and I told him my reasons for thinking

Grant a good candidate. I showed him the danger which threat-

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David Kellogg Cartter               109

 

ened the party in case the Democrats should nominate Grant. I

spoke of Grant's patriotism and the fact that he wanted to see

the Union preserved. "He has a good record," said I, "and it is

such a one that it can well be put in the newspapers." I closed

by urging him to go to the Chronicle office and write a leader

nominating Grant as a candidate of the Republican party. "After

you have printed it," said I, "wait a few days; then take occasion

to meet Grant, and notice what he says about it."

Forney still demurred. He did not know whether we could

trust Grant. But upon my urging he finally consented and wrote

the editorial. The article created a great sensation. It was widely

noticed and Grant was brought out as a prominent candidate.

A few days after this Forney met Grant, as I suggested.

General Grant was very indifferent. He said he did not want

to be a candidate, that he was well satisfied with his position as

general of the army, and that he did not want to go into the

White House. He probably looked upon the White House in

the same light as does General Sherman now. Sherman, you

know, says that the White House life is synonymous with that

of Hades and he does not want it. Forney remonstrated with

Grant on the ground of patriotism. He told him his election was

necessary to the preservation of the Union. He brought forth

the attitude of McClellan and made a strong plea in favor of

Grant's acceptance. He went away, however, without getting any

satisfaction, and when I met Grant a few days after this I found

him still indifferent, and he told me that he did not want to be

a candidate. I saw, however, that he was somewhat interested,

and I left him satisfied that the leaven was working and that

he would finally accept. I told Forney so, and long before the

convention met Grant gave us to understand that he would accept

the nomination if tendered. He was nominated and elected. His

Republicanism grew during the canvass, and he became one of

the strongest members of the party. Had we not brought him

out the probabilities are that the Democrats would have nomi-

nated him, and the whole history of the country might have been

changed.

Immediately after his inauguration, Lincoln offered

David Cartter a choice of high offices. He could have

anything but a cabinet office that had to be given to Mr.

Chase. Mr. Cartter was offered the privilege of being

governor of Nevada or Nebraska, or having his selection

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110      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

of five foreign missions. He did not want an office, but

finally accepted the mission to Bolivia because he wanted

to see the Andes. While in Bolivia he travelled, neglect-

ing his legation duties. When he became aware of the

impending rebellion in the Union, he resigned and re-

turned to Cleveland.

Upon his return, he received a telegram informing

him that Mr. Lincoln had appointed him chief justice

of the Supreme Court of Washington, D. C. The court,

complained Lincoln, was in a state of judicial anarchy,

and he bade Judge Cartter to reorganize the court with-

out a day's delay. Cartter accepted the office in 1863,

and until his death applied himself exclusively to the

duties of the position.

Judge Cartter was a large man, his frame being

properly proportioned for his ponderous head. He had

a slight stammering impediment of speech that italicized

his humorous utterances and the invective for which he

was famous. The court-room was always crowded when

he was scheduled to address a jury, and the jury was

invariably impressed by his genius. What he said was

often sententious and epigrammatic. A few sayings

from a reported case indicate his ability to speak pro-

verbially:

The able manner in which the opinion of the majority of the

court has been presented almost persuades me to waive my own

convictions, especially when my brothers are reinforced by the

opinion of the United States. But inasmuch as the judgment in

this case and in the case before the Supreme Court is predicated

on matter of fact, and matter of fact alone, I must still entertain

my own convictions.

Facts conceded are quite as potent with me as the opinions

of witnesses. It is a picture of mental condition of a testator

during many years, and no philosopher of the mind should shut

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David Kellogg Cartter             111

 

his eyes to it. The case is overshadowed with it. Men in their

right minds do not change their natures so suddenly. Men who

have formed habits of business do not transform themselves in

this way without a cause. No man with a mind in a well-balanced

condition, no man not utterly demoralized would do this.

I dissent, because I have been impressed with this feature of

this case, and they have brought me to the conclusion that this old

man in these last years of his life was demented and unfit for

business, and I cannot get rid of that conviction.

Some of the succinct retorts of Judge Cartter are still

remembered. After a defeat in a case, a lady lawyer

of Washington is said to have asked Judge Cartter,

"Well, Judge, what had I better do now?" Judge Cart-

ter's ready reply was: "The first and best thing which

suggests itself to me is that you hire a lawyer."

He, who despised little details, was often annoyed

by the meticulous Judge Hagner, an associate of his.

"W-w-hy," he stammered, "h-he is a-a-always

p-picking up p-pins w-w-where there's crowbars lying

r-round."

In an encounter with Judge Cartter, Mrs. Belva

Lockwood became angry because the opposing counsel,

a male, had secured a continuance of the case. She did

not hesitate to ventilate her opinion of the injustice.

After she had concluded, Judge Cartter remarked, "Mrs.

Lockwood, the c-court understands the s-s-situation per-

fectly, and it doesn't presume to ever intimate that you

are a shiftless counsel."

At one time an Italian was tried and convicted in

Judge Cartter's court. The minimum punishment of

the offense was three years in the penitentiary at Albany.

Judge Cartter asked the culprit if he had learned a trade

and the Italian said he had not.

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112       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

"In imposing upon you the lightest sentence permitted by the

law," said the Judge, "and in view of the fact that you have no

practical acquaintance with any of the mechanic arts, you will

have ample opportunity to learn some trade that will enable you

to earn an honest livelihood; but should you be unequal to this,

yet deport yourself so as to win the approval of the officers of the

prison, I have no doubt, as a reward for your good conduct, they

will cheerfully request the Government of New York, at the end

of your term, to present you with a hand-organ and a monkey!"

The astonished Italian cried, "Ah! Judge! not ze monkey!

not ze monkey! I can stand ze three year and ze hard work, but

I no can stand ze damn monkey !"

Judge Cartter conducted his office with remarkable

courage. Sometimes he stretched a bad law to maintain

justice, but never broke it. If there existed no law that

applied to a problem, it is said he would remark, "The

c-court cannot f-find that C-c-congress has p-passed any

laws which will apply to this c-case, so it--so it will have

to pass a little judicial legislation."  He was not a stu-

dent of law and had no great "technique." He depended

on his colleagues or the counsel in a case for the appli-

cation of the written law, but the principles of justice

were innate. His wisdom constantly amazed his asso-

ciates. Judge Elwell said,

In his office I have never seen him pick up a law book.

He would sit and read a novel. He was lazy but had a great

power of mind. He had no equal as a master of invective.

The courage of Judge Cartter often sustained the

depressed Lincoln. Nearly every day he, Zach Chan-

dler, Ben Wade, and Thad Stevens met to discuss the

trying times. Often Salmon P. Chase, Horace Greeley,

and Edwin Stanton would join them.  They used to

meet in Chandler's beautiful brownstone house (later a

fashionable boarding house) on H street. They prob-

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David Kellogg Cartter          113

ably did more in determining Mr. Lincoln's procedure

than did Congress. They would say,

"Well, let's go up and swear at Lincoln a while."

Speaking of Ben Wade, one is reminded of a tale

concerning the emphatic "Bluff Ben Wade." A Mr.

French showed Mr. Wade a newspaper article describ-

ing Beecher's religious attitude. After reading the ar-

ticle, Wade was asked his opinion of it. He struck his

knee, and said,

"Beecher! Hang Beecher! I don't like Beecher! Beecher

knocked hell out of religion, and religion without hell is no better

than pork without salt."

Before Lincoln was inaugurated, Chief Justice of

the Supreme Court Taney became very ill. He was an

old man, and Chandler, Wade, and Stevens were very

concerned about his health; they feared he might die

before the end of Buchanan's administration. They

knew if he died before his retirement, Buchanan would

appoint a Democrat. Wade, Chandler, and Stevens

prayed, they said, for Taney's life to be prolonged.

Whenever they met one would inquire if the other had

said his prayers. Evidently each faithfully said his

prayers.

Taney clung to life until March fourth, and then

Wade, Chandler, and Stevens ceased praying. Taney

could not die quickly enough then to please them. It

was necessary that the Supreme Court should sympa-

thize with the Government, and they believed Taney was

not sympathetic. They were afraid he would never die.

After David Cartter came to Washington, Taney,

who was still alive, was being discussed.

Vol. XLII--8

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114      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

"Say, fellows," the Judge stammered profanely, "in

your prayers about Taney, I'll be damned if I don't think

you've overdone it a little."

David Cartter was long a sufferer from what he re-

garded as dyspepsia. Because of his strong will he was

able to endure his affliction, apparently giving his entire

attention to the cases of his court. When his condition

became alarming, he withdrew from the court to con-

centrate on his health. Thinking the salt air might be

beneficial, he went to Fortress Monroe. Instead of be-

ing helpful, the trip weakened him, and when he returned

from the resort he had lost over twenty pounds.

On Sunday preceding his death he left his bed with

the intention of crossing the room. He fell against the

bedpost, seriously injuring himself, and hemorrhages

followed. Then it was realized that the Judge could

live little longer, and the Judge himself was aware of

his condition. He calmly spoke of his death, requesting

burial at Cleveland. For half an hour before his death

he seemed to be in a deep and difficult sleep. At last a

final gurgle in his throat evinced that life had passed

away. His wife, son William, two grandchildren, and

the servants were gathered at his bedside.

At his request the funeral services were conducted by

a Dr. J. P. Newman, and the body taken to Cleveland

for interment at the Lake View Cemetery. The Cleve-

land bar appointed a committee to meet the remains of

the Chief Justice in tribute to a former Cleveland bar-

rister. The committee, composed of James Fitch, Judge

C. E. Pennewell, John Coon, Judge Daniel R. Tilden,

E. J. Estep, S. E. Adams, and Judge G. M. Barber, acted

as pall-bearers.

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David Kellogg Cartter                     115 David Cartter, it was generally conceded, was worthy of a more important position than the Chief Justiceship. Had he been more aggressive and his nature equal to the capacity of his powerful mind, he would have been a great historical character in the affairs of the nation. NOTES: David Kellogg Cartter was the great-great-uncle of the author of the foregoing contribution. For an interesting account of David Kellogg Cartter's part in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, see "Lincoln and Ohio" by Daniel J. Ryan, Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society Pub- lications, Vol. XXXII, pp. 120-128.

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