Passaic County NJ Archives Biographies.....Mercer BEASLEY, 1815 - 1897
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 9, 2008, 11:00 pm

Author: Mary Depue Ogden, Editor  (1917)

BEASLEY, Chief Justice Mercer,
Eminent Jurist.

   In presenting to the public sketches of the lives of our prominent citizens,
we have endeavored to choose those men who, by their superior attainments and
achievements in some particular walk of life, have risen to heights above their
fellows, and whose characteristics and individuality have raised them above the
ordinary run of mortals. In every walk of life it is the few and not the many
who rise to eminence, and it is these few who give tone and character to our
society, and shape the destiny of the communities in which they reside. More men
rise to eminence at the bar than in any other profession; the majority of our
great orators and statesmen come from the forum, as it is the most general
school for the training of genius or talent, and humanity is indebted to the
genial study of the law and the practice of our courts for the development of
some of the greatest minds the world has ever produced. Certainly no State has
more reason to feel proud of her bench and bar than New Jersey. The record of
her lawyers and judges since the earliest period of her history is replete with
the works of men who were giants in intellect. A foremost place in the ranks of
these illustrious men must be accorded to the late Chief Justice Mercer Beasley.
He was a son of the Rev. Frederick Beasley, rector of St. Michael's Protestant
Episcopal Church of Trenton, provost of the University of Pennsylvania, and of
his wife, Maria (Williamson) Beasley.

  Chief Justice Mercer Beasley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 27,
1815, and died at Trenton, New Jersey, February 19, 1897. For a time he was a
student at Elizabethtown Academy, then was prepared for entrance to college by
his gifted father, and matriculated at Princeton College. After one year's study
at that institution, he left and continued his studies at Trenton until 1834,
after which he took up the study of law in the office of Samuel L. Southard, at
that time United States Senator, and also engaged in legal practice in New
Jersey. In September, 1838, Mr. Beasley was admitted to the bar, and in
February, 1842, he was admitted as a counsellor.

  For a period of ten years following his admission to the bar, Mr. Beasley
confined his study and practice of the law to the trial of cases in the
justices' courts, ignoring office practice as a rule, and conferring with his
clients as he happened to meet them on the streets, where they had acquired the
habit of lying in wait for him. Any spare time during the day was spent in the
library, and his evenings were passed at his office. He gradually acquired a
fine law library during these years, and also frequently consulted the State
Library, to which he had free access. At this time his office was at No. 143
East State street, and later he erected the house on East State street which
adjoined his office, and this was his residence during the remainder of his
life. A strong supporter of Whig principles, he was at this time a candidate for
the mayoralty and for the Assembly, but was defeated. He was fond of both
outdoor and indoor sports and excelled in both, being an especially good
marksman on the wing.

  His first appearance as a lawyer in the Supreme Court was in October, 1849,
and he won his case. From that time he was engaged in many important cases of
litigation, which are matters of historical record. When the Whig party had
passed away, Mr. Beasley gave his support to the Democratic party, being an
active supporter of its principles. In 1834 he was appointed city solicitor of
Trenton, New Jersey; was elected a member of the common council of that city in
1850; and in 1851 was the Whig nominee for the office of mayor, but was
defeated, as above mentioned. On March 8, 1864, he was appointed chief justice
of the Supreme Court, by Judge Parker, to succeed Edward W. Whelpley, was
reappointed again and again, holding the office until his death. In his
administration of the business of this important office, Judge Beasley promoted
promptness and efficiency on the bench and at the bar, insisting upon the
observance of the rules of practice, having always in mind the doing of justice
in the particular case. He was courteous to counsel, and patient even with the
dullest and most exasperating, maintaining the dignity of the proceedings and
deference to the court. In hearing arguments he was quick to grasp the
essentials of the case, and by penetrating questions brought counsel to the
point to which the argument should be directed. In presiding over trials at the
Circuit and in the Oyer and Terminer the Chief Justice was strong and patient,
dignified and courteous. His charges to the jury were simple and clear and
directly to the point, and these were free from the unusual words and the
subtlety of reasoning which are found in some of his written opinions. He
retained his powers and kept on with his work to the end of his long life, and
his last opinion in the Supreme Court was announced by his associates on the day
before his death. He was elected a member of the Society of the Cincinnati,
February 22, 1895, and a fine portrait of him, by J. W. Alexander, hangs in the
Supreme Court room at Trenton, New Jersey.

  Judge Beasley married (first) Frances Higbee, daughter of Charles Higbee, and
(second) October 16, 1854, Catherine Ann Haven, daughter of Charles Chauncey and
Catharine Matilda (Jeffries) Haven, both marriages taking place at Trenton. By
the first marriage he had children: Charlotte Higbee, who married the late
Edward T. Green, judge of the United States District Court; Mercer, Jr.,
deceased, a member of the bar, and prosecutor of the pleas of Mercer county, New
Jersey; Frances, who married William S. Gummere, present Chief Justice of New
Jersey. By the second marriage there was one child: Chauncy Haven, of whom forward.

  For spontaneous appreciations of the character and judicial qualities of Chief
Justice Beasley by those who knew him best, we refer to the words spoken by his
associates on the bench and leading members of the bar at the opening of the
Supreme Court on the day of his death. A few extracts from these remarks are
here given:

Justice Depue said:

  To intellectual and legal attainments of the highest order, he added those
other qualities without which no judge can be great; character in its broadest
sense, industry, independence, courage, and a high sense of the responsibilities
of his office. In all these qualities, Chief Justice Beasley was distinguished
to an eminent degree.

  Justice Van Syckel said:

  His familiarity with the common law, his accurate perception of the true
boundary of equity jurisdiction, and his discrimination in the application of
legal principles, were his rarest attainments, with perhaps, the single
exception of his unequalled knowledge of the science of special pleading and his
skill in that much neglected art. * * * He was a steadfast and devoted friend,
strongly attracted by the high qualities of others, which constituted the beauty
and strength of his own character. He treated his associates with marked
deference, winning their regard by his manner and their admiration and respect
by his great learning and the maturity of his views upon every subject under
discussion.

  Mr. Cortlandt Parker said:

  He was always in fact, I think, Chief Justice. He recognized the duties of
that position and filled them. He guarded sedulously pleading and practice. He
was not disposed to technicality, but he was nevertheless mindful of its
importance to exact justice, and justice in the particular case was his great
end and aim. He had a natural and implacable sense of right, but there has never
been a judge on our bench, perhaps, who was so cold and steel-like in his logic
and who followed so unswervingly where it led. In my own judgment, this was the
point of danger with him. His decisions are models of perspicuity and terseness
and they are always to the point.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

MEMORIAL CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY

UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF MARY DEPUE OGDEN

VOLUME III
MEMORIAL HISTORY COMPANY NEWARK,  NEW JERSEY
1917


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