SC1896_FF1_012

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still do, in Kenty. The County Court; the Governor
having the appointment under the old Constitution
& the County Courts under the new, it rarely happened
that any person was appointed, who did not deserve
it. He was not only a good Mathematician, but a
first rate practical surveyor. He done business
with great neatness & accuracy - wrote a plain
beautiful hand (see his Letters). The Land tables
being very generally disputed & litigated, he was appointed
by the courts, of several counties to survey
the lands in dispute, & make out connected platts
thereof, to be used on the trial. This duty was so well
performed, that he was generally appointed in cases
of difficulty & importance, & it was quite profitable.
He was often appointed a Commissioner to settle
accounts in chancery cases - & almost uniformly to
settle with Executors, Administrators & Guardians,
and he was almost a standing umpire in arbitration
cases. He was a particularly & eminently useful
in keeping down strife & litigation in his neighborhood.
He was emphatically a man of peace. I
feel very confident, that he never had a personal
difficulty with any one. He was always lively &
cheerful, posessing the finest temper in the world.
I am certain, I never saw him excited by anything
like anger but once. He was Sheriff of Clarke
County but did not attend to the active duties of
the office, this being confided to his deputies. In
the winter of 1819-20, during a very cold spell of
weather, a special term of the Circuit Court, had
been ordered for the trial of some Negro slaves
charged with Burglary. He resided ten miles
from the Court house; knew nothing of the Court
having been ordered, but happened to come to town
on the day the Court commenced its session, but
some time after the Judge had taken his seat on
the bench. The day being cold, & the court house uncomfortable,
the deputies had great difficulty to get a jury & the Judge (James Clark) afterwards
Governor of the state) being out of temper when my
brother came into court, said to him in an angry