 Abt 1837 - 1876 (~ 39 years)
-
| Name |
Joseph Winthrop Moses [1, 3] |
| Born |
Abt 1837 |
Charleston, SC  [3] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Alt. Birth |
Abt 1837 |
Charleston, SC [4] |
| Census |
15 Nov 1850 |
Parishes of St. Philip & St. Michaels, Charleston, SC [5] |
| 1850 US |
| Occupation |
Montgomery, Montgomery, AL [4] |
| attorney and head of Montgomery Public School System |
| Reference Number |
2 |
| Died |
1876 |
Montgomery, Montgomery, AL [1, 3, 4] |
| Person ID |
I2 |
aojd |
| Last Modified |
11 Nov 2011 |
-
| Notes |
- "Moved to Montgomery with his younger brother Alfred before the Civil War. Joseph became an attorney and was head of the Montgomery public school system at the time of his death."
CASES ABGUED AND DETERMINED IN THE ^ ^ SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA, DURING DECEMBER TERM, 1877. JOHN \\V. A. SANFORD, SPECIAL REPOBTEE. VOL. LIX. MONTGOMERY, ALA. : PUBLISHED BY JOEL WHITE, 1879. ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by JOEL WHITE, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. HUNTED BT H. r. SCRKWS, MONTGOMERY, ALA. OFFICERS OF THE COURT DURING THE TIME OF THESE DECISIONS. ROBERT C. BRICKELL, CHIEF JUSTICE, IluntsvilU, Ala. AMOS R. MANNING, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, Mobile, Ala. GEORGE W. STONE, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, Montgomery, Ahi. JOHN W. A. SANFORD, ATTORNEY GENERAL, Montgomery, Ala. THOMA&J. RUTLEDGE, CLERK, Montgomery, Ala. JUNIUS M. RIGGS, MARSHAL, Montgomery, Ala. TRIBUTE OF RESPECT TO JOSEPH WINTHROP MOSES. AT a meeting of the Bar of the City of Montgomery, held at the court- house, on Friday, December 21st, 1877, on motion of Gen. J. T. Holtzclaw, Major Henry C. Semple was called to the chair, and Thomas H. Watts, Jr., was requested to act as secretary. The chairman having explained the object of the meeting, on motion of Capt. F. S. Ferguson, a committee, consisting of F. S. Ferguson, W. L. Bragg, J. T. Holtzclaw, Thomas G. Jones, and P. T. Sayre, was appointed to prepare resolutions expressive of the grief of the Bar, caused by the death of Joseph Winthrop Moses. The committee, through its chairman, reported the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, viz.: Resolved, That the members of the Bar of Montgomery have heard with deep sorrow of the death of their esteemed brother, Joseph Winthrop Moses, and by it have sustained a loss which is well-nigh irreparable. Resolved, That his character as a man and as a lawyer was above reproach ; his learning extensive and accurate ; his literary attainments varied and brilliant; and his conduct while living sueh as to command respect, win admiration, and attract affection; and that we will ever pre- serve the memory of his virtues and excellences as a precious legacy. Resolved, That, in his life, so true to every obligation, so pure in every act, so gentle in every sentiment, youth has a most beautiful example, and age has something to cause it to renew its trust in humanity. Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the relatives of our deceased brother, and pray that God will have them in His merciful keeping. Resolved, That the Attorney-General present these resolutions to the Supreme Court, the Solicitor to the Circuit Court, and the chairman of the meeting to the United States Court, and request that they be entered on the minutes of those courts. Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the city papers, and a copy of these resolutions be sent to the relatives of the deceased. Resolved, That the members of the Bar, as a body, attend the funeral of tllG HENRY C. SEMPLE, Chairman. THOS. H. WATTS, JR., Secretary. On the 4th day of February, 1878, the resolutions were presented to the- Supreme Court, by Attorney-General John W. A. Sanfofcd, who said : vi TRIBUTE OF RESPECT TO May it please the Court : A short time ago, a long, black, slowly moving line crept through the streets of Montgomery and rested in the cemetery. It was the funeral pro- cession of Joseph Winthrop Moses. He died in the noon of manhood, but his physical conformation was so unimpaired by vice or disease that it seemed as if with him, life's morning sunlight was still upon .the hills, and its dew was on the flowers. He had lived in Alabama only a few years, but he had so impressed him- self on the people, that various societies and the city herself, were mourners at his grave. Feeling the common bereavement, the Bar of Montgomery adopted these resolutions. There are objects, both in nature and in art, which always challenge and always defy accurate description. Often the colors and shapes of the even- ing clouds are so gorgeous, and beautiful, and evanescent, that neither the poet nor the painter can convey an adequate idea of their brilliancy and beauty. There are strains of exquisite music, which echo forever through the halls of Memory, but which language can neithe'r describe nor pre- serve. So there are characters so rich in fine qualities, and so rare in their combination of them, that words utterly fail successfully to portray them. Such a character is the very fragrance of the soul itself, which the spirit may perceive, but which the brain can not analyze and the lips can only praise. Of this class was the character of Joseph Winthrop Moses. He was so endowed by nature ; so adorned by art ; so affluent in all noble traits ; so devoid of the greed of pelf and place which disgraces the times, and so free from those little, paltry aims of life that wriggle over the soul, dis- figuring and minimizing it, that he seemed to belong to another sphere, and, by some mistake, to have strayed among mankind. This is not the exag- gerated eulogy of too partial friendship, I knew him long and I knew him well. He was born, reared and educated in the city of Charleston. There he was surrounded by the best influences of a community abounding in all the powers that can refine the heart, and brighten the intellect, and elevate the character, and develop manhood. He availed himself to the uttermost limit of these advantages of education and enlightenment. It is not strange then that he should have graduated at the college with honor, or that he should have acquired those habits and tastes by which he was subsequently distin- guished. As soon as his collegiate course was terminated, he entered as a law- student the office of Mr. Petigru. Stimulated by the example and precepts of that illustrious lawyer, wit and scholar, he continued the pursuit of all knowledges, professional, scientific, literary and artistic. He was early con- vinced that eminence as an advocate could only be obtained through the broadest culture ; for he had learned that, with a few notable exceptions, the most renowned lawyers, from Cicero to Legare, had been as remarkable for their literary and philosophical pursuits as .they were for their profes- sional attainments. Consequently, not content with the literature of our tongue, to-day unsurpassed in its riches, he became proficient in other lan- guages. He was not only master of English (in which he possessed critical skill), but he knew also Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin, and French, and German, and Italian and Spanish. In some of these he conversed with fluency, and he read and translated all of them without difficulty. He was so gifted that these acquirements were easily made. Indeed, so thorough was his mental discipline that no intellectual exercise required labor, or was ever irksome to him. _ His versatility was as uncommon as the ease with which he accomplished his appointed tasks. He could compose with equal facility verses to the belle of a ball-room, or a poem in commemoration of the Confederate dead ; a lecture on humor, or a funeral oration ; a discourse upon art, or a brief in a law-suit; a constitution and charter for a literary club, or resolutions cele- brating the virtues of a deceased patriot ; an editorial on party politics, or a JOSEPH WINTHROP MOSES. vii report on the educational system of the city; a criticism of an opera, or a disquisition upon the Jews, their history and influence upon mankind. And he had this happiness : Whatever he did, whether written or spoken, in " prose or numerous verse," was done so thoroughly, gracefully and well, that he seemed born to do that alone. We are not surprised, therefore, that on his admission to the bar Mr. Petigru should have said, he had one of the brightest intellects he had ever known. His moral traits were no less noteworthy than his intellectual capabilities. He was a Hebrew by blood and in religion, and was superbly proud of his race, and zealously and humbly devoted to his faith ; and yet he so practised all the virtues inculcated by Christ, that I may say of him as Pope said of Garth : ''The best good Christian he, although he knew it not." His spirit was unstained it was scarcely darkened by the shadows of earth. He was altogether exempt from vices. He was unselfish, and generous, and chari- table, and so benevolent that he felt like the old Koman, who believed God had u made man many that they might aid, one another." He had an exalted ideal of life, and sympathized with all that is good, and pure and grand in human thought, or noble and heroic in human conduct. He was sincere and earnest and strong in his convictions, but temperate in his expression of them. He was ardent and constant in his friendship, but he rarely exhibited his feelings. He was calm and self-poised in all circum- stances. The vicissitudes of the world affected him but slightly. He "Was just of the quiet kind, Whose natures seldom vary : Like streams that keep a summer mind, Snow-hid in January." He had self-control and amiability to an unusual degree. Tranquillity was his normal condition. Anger never disturbed his equanimity. Indignation sometimes burned along his veins when injustice was done the poor and ignorant, and humble, and defenseless ; or when an act of signal depravity or atrocity fell under his observation. No violent passions, or ungovernable or barbarous impulses, ever swerved him from the behavior of a being entirely civilized. He never knew the ferocity of hatred, or bore the burden of an nnforgiven grudge, or felt the sting of a regretted meanness. Fidelity to friends and to principles ; truth- fulness in all things; frankness in advising when his advice was sought; courage and an aversion from causeless conflict; prudence in speech and in action ; a faultless sense of justice ; manliness ; robust gentleness, and knightly courtesy, were a few of his characteristics. Time will not permit me to enumerate all the qualities that made his char- acter so perfect, and himself so well beloved. We could reckon all the days of his life, not by the revolutions of the seasons, or the course of the sun, but by the circle and zodiac of his virtues, which have made him immortal. And yet he was modest, unobtrusive and apparently unconscious of his mani- fold powers. For his excellences stood in him so silently they seemed to hav6 stolen upon him without his knowledge. Verily, he was a gentleman, " take him all in all," of so many and such rare perfections that Sidney or even Lee, would have loved to call him friend. And " In these ears till hearing dies One set slow bell will seem to toll, The passing of as sweet a soul As ever looked with human eyes." For gentle as he was, the only pain or sorrow he ever caused his kindred, of the world, was when he died. If it be true, as a wise Emperor has said, that "a man is worth just so much as those things are worth about which he busies himself;" if the pos- session of uncommon talents and great qualities entitle a person to be con- viii TRIBUTE OF RESPECT TO J. WIN. MOSES. sidered great, then our departed friend had surely a claim to such a rank ; but just as surely his humility would never have enforced it. It is fit that some record of the virtues of such a man should be kept and his memory saved from "the tooth of time and razure of oblivion." Therefore, I move that the resolutions may be spread on the minutes of the Court. The resolutions were then ordered by the Court to be spread upon its minutes. [4]
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| Sources |
- [S11] .
- [S285] .
- [S4] PG. 211 MOSES II (2), 334 - CORRECTTIONS 211 (Reliability: 3).
- [S3] SECTION III CH 9 PG 16 (Reliability: 3).
- [S40] YEAR: 1850; CENSUS PLACE: ST MICHAEL AND ST PHILLIP, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA; ROLL: M432_850; PAGE: 310; IMAGE: 456. (Reliability: 3).
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