My Genealogy Hound

ABRAM P. SMITH, eminent as a lawyer, a judge, and a citizen, was the possessor of a name that will go down to posterity as that of one of Cortland’s most distinguished and at the same time most worthy men. On July 4, 1897, this honored gentleman completed a life of usefulness, which from the day when he first came to the time when he rendered his last account, was rounded out with deeds of uprightness and humanity.

Judge Smith entered upon this life April 9, 1831, at a point in the eastern part of the town of Virgil, this county. He received all the education that the common schools could give, and then took a course at the Homer Academy. After this he entered the State Normal School at Albany, and was graduated with the class of 1853. He had all along intended to become a teacher, but after a year spent at the head of the Marathon schools he decided to read law, and forthwith entered the office of the Hon. Horatio Ballard, with whom he remained until formally admitted to the bar. He was admitted to practice in the State Courts January 8, 1856, and in the United States Courts, January 4, 1874.

The standing, which the young attorney early acquired, can but be appreciated from the fact that in the November following his admission to practice in 1856, he was elected to the responsible position of district attorney for Cortland County. This post he held for the term of three years, and in 1859 was the Republican candidate for County Judge. At the breaking out of the late war, Mr. Smith enlisted as a private in the famous “fighting” 76th Reg. N. Y. Vol. Inf., which was raised mainly from this section, and when the regiment was mustered into the United States service, he was commissioned quartermaster, with the rank of 1st Lieut. He resigned from this position in May, 1862, and returned to his home to resume the practice of his profession. Mr. Smith was elected Judge and Surrogate of Cortland County in 1867, and served three full terms, the first being of four years, and the other two of six years each. Up to this time his service of sixteen years was the longest of any man in a similar position in the state. During the earlier years of his practice, Judge Smith had been alone in business, but after his retirement from the bench, the calls upon his time became so many that he associated with him his son, under the style of A. P. & D. E. Smith. About a year later, the son retired and his place was taken by Dorr C. Smith. The latter remained with the Judge until 1889, when he gave way to Henry A. Dickinson. The firm of Smith & Dickinson existed until the demise of our subject.

Judge Smith was a man who has left a noble mark on the records of the Cortland County Bar. Among the men who received their early legal training under his direction are many who are forging their way on to usefulness and honor. He was in his practice pre-eminently a jury lawyer. Alert, facile, and shrewd, few men could try a case with greater ease. Quick to back up an assertion with cited authorities, his words ever carried conviction to the mind of the hearer. As a Judge, he was clean, clear, concise and decided. Few rulings of his ever admitted a questioning doubt. In politics, he was always a factor in the Republican party, and during the days of the late R. Holland Duell, the two made a combination in which was centered a large portion of the political power of Cortland County. As a public speaker, Judge Smith was perhaps at his best. Full of native mother wit, apt in story or simile, and of exceedingly pleasant address, his services were ever in demand, and it is no great wonder that he was so well known and so popular. As a writer, he, too, was skilled. His history of the 76th Regiment is a work of real excellence, and is highly prized by his old comrades. Judge Smith’s social and fraternal relations were of the pleasantest. The G. A. R. claimed him as a member of Grover Post, No. 98, and his best thoughts and kindliest wishes were always with his former comrades.

It has been truthfully said that few men have ever had a wider acquaintance in Cortland County than did Judge Smith. This was due both to his active professional life and to his political standing. He was a man who was interested in all things of moment. To young men he was ever a helping friend. He loved to see the community, the State, and the Nation progress and prosper. Almost up to the time of his death, he was a busy and energetic lawyer and citizen.

Judge Smith was twice wedded. First to Mary Bronson, born in Virgil, this county, who became the mother of two children, and who died about 1871. His second wife was Ellen Prince, who survives him. Of the children from the first marriage, Dr. David Eugene Smith is living at Ypsilanti, Mich., and his sister, who is the wife of A. M. Jewett, now resides in Cortland. The son, Dr. Smith, is now head professor of mathematics at the Ypsilanti, Mich., Normal School, and is a gentleman of high standing and marked attainments. Lucy Smith, the Judge’s honored mother, is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-seven.

The funeral of Judge Smith was an event of note in Cortland, for the best men of the community gathered to do homage to all that was mortal of their friend and acquaintance, the “little Judge,” as he was familiarly termed. The G. A. R. Post and Cortland County Bar Association attended in a body. Some of the remarks then made show how the Judge was held in the community. Said a gentleman of standing: “No attorney in the history of this county ever worked harder or more successfully for clients without expectation of reward than did he.” “No lawyer ever helped so many young men to acquire a knowledge of the legal profession as did Judge Smith.” “No man ever helped more people through financial difficulties according to his means.” Such were the encomiums uttered, and such was the man.