Pulaski County GaArchives History .....Pulaski County Bar History 1935
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PULASKI COUNTY BAR

AMONG ITS MEMBERS HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE STATE'S MOST ILLUSTRIOUS JURISTS

   The history of the Pulaski County Bar is contemporaneous with the history of
the county. The history of the county may be found by searching the files of old
newspapers, court records, or the writings of contemporaries of the period under
investigation.

   The history of a county, of a church, or any other organized body of men, is
usually preserved in written records, and rarely do we depend upon the memory of
those who, for one reason or another, may be interested in preserving the
happenings of past days. But the history of a bar, the practitioners of law
before the courts and in law offices, must of necessity be more legendary than
exact. It is not to be confused with the life history of the individuals who
compose the bar, for the events in which such individuals figure comprise many
other things than the trial of lawsuits, or conferring with clients in secrecy
over their legal difficulties. In a large sense, there-fore, the history of the
bar of any county may be found in the history of the county itself, and should
be found there, because the lawyers of a community, if they have been faithful
to their obligations as officers of the court, have in many important
particulars helped to make and to maintain the peculiar civilization which
characterizes the community in which they live and work.

   Whether a given community holds to ideals respecting the enforcement of law,
the dispensation of justice, and true administration of government, more often
than otherwise depends upon the example set by the members of the bar of that
community, and upon the courage, intelligence, and honor of the lawyers as they
practice their daily profession in the community.

   If Pulaski County, from its early days to the present time, has been composed
of a law-abiding people, and if justice has been administered in her courts, and
if governmental concepts have been such as to uphold authority, and personal
liberty has been maintained unsullied, then the bar of Pulaski County has done
merely that which the high duties of the profession of law called upon them to
do, and they are entitled to neither more nor less credit than is faithful to a
trust.

p. 56

   There are many who believe that taking a large view of the more than one
hundred years Pulaski County has been an organized part of the State, law and
liberty have been upheld, and justice has been so administered in her courts
that the inalienable rights of her citizens have been preserved.

   Until something less than thirty-five years back the history of the bar of
Pulaski County has been the history not only of this county, but has been
closely allied with the history of many adjoining counties. They attended the
courts of many adjoining counties, such as Dooly, Wilcox, Irvin, Dodge, Telfair,
Montgomery, Laurens, Twiggs, and Houston. The practitioners of thirty-five years
ago were regular attendants upon the courts of these counties. Their appearance
was expected, and they represented one side or the other of the more important
litigations in all of the counties.

   Travel, when such was the custom of the Pulaski County lawyers, was not as it
is now. With the creation of new counties, however, each county has maintained
its own bar. The activities of the lawyers now are largely confined to the
county of his residence.

   In those days, to which reference has just been made, the members of the bar
of Pulaski County were recognized as leaders. Such leadership was due not only
to the fact that Hawkinsville, situated upon the banks of the Ocmulgee River,
was then an important commercial center, but because of the outstanding ability
and unquestioned integrity of the lawyers practicing here at that time.

   When the Supreme Court of Georgia met first in Hawkinsville in June, 1846, it
admitted to its bar Augustus H. Hansell, David H. Robinson, William S.
Whitfield, Charles S. Hamley, and George Brainard. Of these, Augustus H. Hansell
is probably now best remembered, because of his fifty years upon the Superior
Court bench, a service which began when Hawkinsville, Albany and Thomasville
were the chief towns in South Georgia, and which did not end until the vast
spaces of the wiregrass country had become filled with popular centers, when
trails had given place to double lines of steel, and when the sulky and the
ox-cart had vanished with the approach of the locomotive, automobile, and airplane.

   In addition to Judge Hansell, the bar of Pulaski County has furnished from
its number the following as Judges of the Oconee Circuit: Judge A. C. Pate,
Judge Charles C. Kibbee, Judge C. C. Smith, and Judge J. H. Martin.

   Though not a member of the Pulaski County bar at the time, Judge W. L. Grice,
for many years a prominent, influential, much-loved and respected member of this
bar, was in his earlier years Judge of the Macon Circuit. From its creation
until the present time, every judge of the Oconee Circuit except three have been

p. 57

chosen from the Pulaski County bar. Warren Grice, when a member of this bar, was
in 1914 appointed by Governor Slaton Attorney General of Georgia, and for two
years served with honor and distinction.

   The bar of Pulaski County has furnished many members to both houses of our
General Assembly-M. T. Hodge, Warren Grice, H. E. Coates, H. F. Lawson, and D.
C. Chalker.

   There is no fame more fleeting than a lawyer's fame. Properly to understand
the career of a lawyer and fairly to measure his ability, is a very difficult
thing to do. When his work is done there is left as the record of it merely the
judgment of a court for or against his client. The fervency of his spirit, his
scintillating wit, the brilliancy of his mind, the eloquence and skill of his
advocacy, have no more permanence than the sound of a voice that is stilled. His
words and his acts are embalmed in no printed page. In that respect his work and
his hold upon posterity differ from that of a judge, whose opinions are
preserved and are made readily accessible and become frequently familiar, at
least to the bar, by constant reference. No such monument or reminder is
possible to the mere practicing lawyer. If he lives he must live wholly in
spirit, and if his life survives it must survive alone through the general
impress that it makes upon the community of which he was a part.

   Therefore, no mention can be properly made in this sketch of living lawyers.
A mere recital of their names must suffice. But it is proper that some specific
mention should be made of those whose work is ended.

   Judge A. C. Pate, the first Judge of the Oconee Circuit, was a member of this
bar. For thirteen years he presided over our Circuit Courts with a fairness and
impartiality that earned for him the respect of all those with whom he came in
contact. After the expiration of his service from the bench he was, until a
short time before his death, an active practitioner. He was distinguished for
his high regard for the courts and for his unswerving honor. His successor,
Charles C. Kibbee, was probably one of the most brilliant men who ever practiced
the profession in this State. He was a man of vast learning and of superior
mentality, a scholar and an exceedingly able lawyer.

   Judge C. C. Smith of this bar for two terms served upon our Superior Court
bench. His service was marked by a faithful administration of the duties of his
office.

   Judge J. H. Martin, for many years, was one of the recognized leaders of the
bar of Georgia. He enjoyed a very large circuit practice and a wide reputation
as an expert lawyer. He was a man of tireless energy, a careful and painstaking
practitioner. It is to

p. 58

be doubted whether there are many lawyers who deserved. as he did, so wide a
reputation as a lawyer.

   Pulaski County has furnished two solicitors general of the Oconee Circuit.
The Honorable C. C. Smith, to whom reference has already been made, was
Pulaski's first solicitor general. M. H. Boyer, of this county, now solicitor
general, has served in that office for fifteen years with honor and distinction.

   There have been two subordinate courts of the county-the County Court of
Pulaski County, and the City Court. The first lawyer who was judge of the County
Court was L. C. Ryan, recognized as one of the quickest and cleverest members of
this bar during the period covered by his practice. He was an able lawyer and an
upright judge. He was succeeded in that office by George W. Jordan, for many
years regarded as the Nestor of the bar. He received his appointment from
Governor Candler and held the office of Judge of the County Court for many
years, until its abolishment. He was a genial and fair-minded judge.

   Upon the abolishment of the County Court the City Court of Pulaski County was
established, and during the period of its existence D. R. Pearce was its judge.
Judge Pearce enjoys the distinction of never having had any of his decisions
reversed by the highest courts of the State. Judge Pearce also served as
solicitor of the County Court, which position was also filled by M. H. Boyer,
the present solicitor general of the circuit.

   Marion Turner was solicitor of the County Court and was also solicitor of the
City Court.

   The late Judge W. L. Grice was a Colonel of the Forty-fifth Georgia Infantry.
Prior to his residence here, he was judge of the Superior Courts of the Macon
Circuit. The greater portion of his professional career was spent as a member of
the bar of Pulaski County. He belonged to what we are pleased to call "the old
school." His sense of honor was high. He believed in the personal liberty of the
citizen. His life was marked with dignity.

   Jacob Watson was for many years a law partner of George W. Jordan, and was a
distinguished member of this bar.

   M. T. Hodge, during his active years as a lawyer, was a prominent figure,
both before the bar and in politics. He was a political power in several
counties, a conspicuous member of both houses of the General Assembly, and a man
of brilliant mind and eloquent tongue.

   A unique figure was that of Thomas C. Taylor. He specialized in criminal
litigation and enjoyed a wide reputation as a criminal practitioner.

   Herbert L. Grice, a brother of Warren Grice, a son of Judge W. L.

p. 59

Grice, died as a member of this bar in his early thirties. There are many who
believe that if his life had been spared he would have achieved marked success
as a lawyer. He is remembered by his genial disposition and the brilliancy of
his mind.

   M. S. Means was for many years a member of this bar. He was a self-made man
who, in spite of the handicap of small formal school learning, was possessed,
nevertheless, of an acute legal mind. He was a successful lawyer. Much of his
time was devoted to the interests of those whom he regarded as oppressed. He was
for some years Justice of the Peace of the 542nd Militia District.

   The present members of the bar are: H. E. Coates, M. H. Boyer, D. R. Pearce,
L. C. Ryan, H. F. Lawson, Marion Turner, D. C. Chalker, J. J. Blount, and
Lovejoy Boyer, son of M. H. Boyer.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from 
"HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY
GEORGIA"

OFFICIAL HISTORY

COMPILED BY THE HAWKINSVILLE CHAPTER
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
PRESS OF WALTER W. BROWN PUBLISHING COMPANY
ATLANTA, GEORGIA

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