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)
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 |
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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 |
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.
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-
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
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
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.
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-
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
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.
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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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)