University of Louisville - Thoroughbred Yearbook (Louisville, KY)

Page 32 text:

28 The Colonel HISTORY AND RECORD OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT HE Law Department of the University of Louisville was organized in the fall of 1846, and has held its sessions continuously since that time. It began with a corps of three professors—Henry Pirtle, Garnett Duncan, and Preston 8. Lough- borough. The building on the southeast corner of Ninth and Chestnut was erected with the intention of being used as a suitable building for the Law Department and for an Academic Department, which it was then expected would be established; but no Academic Department was established until 1908. It had been thought that the Louisville Male High School might be a branch of the University, but such an arrange- ment was found to be in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this State. The sessions origin- ally were five months in length, closing in February, and so continued for some forty years; after- ward they were lengthened to seven months’ sessions. In 1881 the Faculty was reduced to a single member, William Chenault, who conducted the school until 1884, when the Faculty was filled up to the old number of three, and so continued until 1908. In 1908 three new chairs were added to the Faculty, so that there are now six professors in charge of the institution. Its professors since its foundation have been as follows: Henry Pirtle, Henry J. Stites, Emmet Field, Garnett Duncan, William F. Bullock, W. O. Harris, Preston 8. Loughborough, Bland Ballard, Charles B. Seymour, Ephraim M. Ewing, Thomas E. Bramlette, George DuRelle, James Pryor, James 8. Pirtle, Perey N. Booth, James Speed, Horatio W. Bruce, Leon P. Lewis, John Preston, William Chenault, Arthur B. Bensinger, Horatio F. Simrall, Henry C. Pindell, Alex G. Barret. Peter B. Muir, Rozel Weissinger, Of those who were professors prior fo 1886, Judge P. B. Muir and James 8. Pirtle alone survive. Probably the oldest alumnus now living is Colonel R. T. Durrett, one of the best-known citizens of Louisville. Judge Miller, at present a judge of the Court of Appeals, is a graduate of the school. Richard Oglesby, a member of the Class of 1849, became a Governor of Illinois. Many prominent members of the Louisville bar have been graduates of the school, among whom I mention: Rozel Weissinger, George M. Davie, and James P. Helm. A considerable number of its alumni have filled judicial positions; numbers of them have been members of Congress. Among the prosecuting attorneys we will mention Colonel Phil Lee and the famous prosecutor, now living, A. Floyd Byrd. The building at Ninth and Chestnut was found too large for the use of the Law School; it was occupied for many years by the Louisville Male High School, the Law School being removed to rented quarters in Court Place; about 1905, however, the Law Department took possession of the old building, and continued to hold sessions there until 1908, when it removed to its present quarters on the University grounds on Broadway between First and Second streets. Judge Henry Pirtle did much during his long course of service as a professor to shape the policy of the school and to form the minds of his students. Although it is now nearly forty years since he ceased to be a professor in the institution, his influence is still felt. He was a man of varied learn- ing, and the contact with him was a stimulus to young men in the direction of the love of learning and fondness for accuracy. It has so happened that five of the professors in the list have each served for more than twenty years, averaging a service of twenty-four years among them. Inevitably the views of these five men have much to do with the development of the school. While their colleagues were men very highly experienced, none of these colleagues served for a longer term than eight years. As might be ex- pected, their modes of teaching are not so well known among the members of the bar of this State as the method of teaching of the five who served for the longest periods. James Speed, who was at one time Attorney General of the United States, is the only instance of a professor who, having retired from the service, afterward returned to a professorship. He served from 1856 to 1858, and also, after the reorganization of the school, from 1873 to 1879.

Page 31 text:

4 Qnd earthly power doth then. show likest God's When mercy seasons justice” oT Merchant of Senice:, ry, we J

Page 33 text:

The Colonel 29 It has been a standing policy with the school to allow to each professor his own mode of instruc- tion. Some have used the text-book almost exclusively; others, written lectures; others, the case method; but every one has constantly used the quiz as a means not only of imparting instruction, but also of producing accuracy of thought and disciplined attention among the pupils. The Law Department is about to enter the sixty-sixth year of its public service with good pros- pects of continuing in active usefulness for years to come. WILL STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL LEFT BY AN ASYLUM INMATE POOR farm—with the added horror of insane wards—is the very last place one would naturally expect to find a will, wherein is bequeathed for world-wide distribution a vast and wonderful property. The testator had once been a cultured and prosperous lawyer; although his estate was of no value ‘‘which is known to law,’’ yet I am sure our fraternity is proud to claim a soul so nobly rich and superior to mankind in general. His testament is as follows: “T, Charles Lounsbury, being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make and pub- lish this, my last will and testament, in order as justly as may be, to distribute my interest in the world among succeeding men. “That part of my interest which is known in law and recognized in the sheep-bound volumes as my property, being inconsiderable and of no account, I make no disposal of it in this, my will. “My right to live, being but a life estate, is not at my disposal; but, these things excepted, all else in the world I now proceed to devise and bequeath: “Ttem: I give to good fathers and mothers, in trust for their children, all good little words of praise and encouragement, and all quaint pet names and endearments, and I charge said parents to use them justly and generously, as the needs of their children may require. . ‘Item: I leave to children inclusively, but only for the term of their childhood, all and every, the flowers of the fields and the blossoms of the woods, with the right to play among them freely, according to the customs of children, warning them at the same time against thistles and thorns. And I devise to children the banks of the brooks and the golden sands beneath the waters thereof, and the odors of the willows that dip therein, and the white clouds that float high over the giant trees. And I leave the children the long, long days to be merry in a thousand ways, and the night and the moon and the train of the Milky Way to wonder at, but subject, nevertheless, to the rights hereinafter given to lovers. “Ttem: I devise to boys jointly all the useful idle fields and commons where ball may be played; all pleasant waters where one may swim; all snow-clad hills where one may coast, and all the streams and ponds where one may fish, or where, when grim winter comes, one may skate; to have and to hold the same for the period of their boyhood. And all meadows, with the clover blossoms and butterflies thereof, the woods and their appurtenances, the squirrels and birds, and echoes of the strange noises, and all distant places which may be visited, together with the adventures there found. And I give to said boys each his own place at the fireside at night, with all pictures that may be seen in the burning wood, to enjoy without let or hindrance and without any incumbrance or care. “Ttem: To lovers I devise their imaginary world, with whatever they may need, as the stars of the sky, the red roses by the wall, the bloom of the hawthorn, the sweet strains of music, and aught else by which they may desire to figure to each other the lastingness and beauty of their love. “Ttem: To young men jointly I devise and bequeath all boisterous, inspiring sports of rivalry, and give to them the disdain of weakness and undaunted confidence in their own strength, though they are rude; I give them the power to make lasting friendships, and of possessing companions, and to them exclusively I give all merry songs and brave choruses, to sing with lusty voices. “Item: To our loved ones with snowy crowns I bequeath the happiness of old age, the love and gratitude of their children until they fall asleep.”’