PORTRAIT OF HON. JOHN HOWE PEYTON.
presented to the county of augusta by his son col. john lewis peyton.
At the request of the late Judge John Stout, Col. John L. Peyton had a portrait of his distinguished father painted to be presented to the county to be placed on the wall of the Court-room beside the portraits of Chief Justice John Marshall, Thos. J. Michie, and Col. John B. Baldwin. The formal presentation of this portrait took place at a meeting held in the Court house at 12 o'clock last Friday, July 20th, at which the Supervisors of the County, the members of the Staunton Bar, some ladies, and a large number of others were present.
On motion of Capt. Thos. D. Ranson, Hon. Geo. M. Cochran was made Chairman of the meeting.
On taking the chair, he announced its object and said that the meeting was ready for business. Then Capt. Jas. Bumgardner, on behalf of Col. John L. Peyton, delivered the presentation speech, which was done in fine style. He prefaced his speech, with the following remarks:—
"Gentlemen of the board of Supervisors:
"The late lamented Judge Stout, who did much to entitle him to be gratefully remembered by the people of Augusta county, requested that a copy of the portrait of John H. Peyton might be made, to be placed on the wall of this court room.
"In accordance with that request, the portrait has been made, and on behalf of Col. John Lewis Peyton, and other descendants of John H. Peyton, I deliver this portrait to you, Augusta, in order that the purpose of Judge Stout may be carried into effect; and that this portrait may be placed in that group of illustrious citizens, with all of whom he was closely associated in life, and with whom he is entitled to be grouped and remembered in all time to come, as one of the men who have made the Staunton bar famous and honored, and who in their day enjoyed and deserved to enjoy the esteem and admiration of their countrymen."
Then followed a very interesting succinct biographical sketch of the able lawyer, orator, and legislator whose portrait he was deputed to present to the county. It embraced Mr. Peyton's distinguished services from his early manhood to the time of his death in 1847. Capt. Bumgardner quoted the remarks of quite a number of able lawyers and others, the contemporaries of John Howe Peyton, as to his ability as a lawyer and legislator, and all concurred in the opinion that he was one of the ablest lawyers of the State of Virginia, and Virginia has had, and still has, a great many very able and learned lawyers. We regret that we have not space for these eulogistic quotations. They show that he was not only an able lawyer, but a great and good man, whose integrity and patriotism was above reproach.
After the quotations from these distinguished men, Capt. Bumgardner concluded his address as follows:
"It will be observed that these statements are made by men qualified in the highest degree to estimate justly human character and ability, and who had the very best opportunity of judging the character and ability of Mr. Peyton, as they were intimately associated with him at the bar and in public life, and their testimony therefore is conclusive, that Mr. Peyton was a man of commanding ability, of the highest culture, of profound legal learning, of the sternest integrity and the strictest honor. And it is worthy to be commemorated in the manner proposed by placing this portrait in the group which now adorns these walls and I now take great pleasure in presenting it to you for that purpose."
Then Major Thos. C. Elder on behalf of the Supervisors of the county made his speech accepting the portrait, which duty he performed in good taste and in an able and admirable manner. He began his speech by referring to the donor of the portrait and said:—
"To Col. John Lewis Peyton, whom I see before me, and who by right of primogeniture, now stands at the head of the descendants of John Howe Peyton, and through him to all the descendants of this eminent man, I would say that the people of the county of Augusta represented by the judge of their county court and board of supervisors have requested me to signify the acceptance by the county of the admirable portrait of Mr. Peyton, which has been tendered it by Capt. Bumgardner in such appropriate and beautiful terms. Col. Peyton, in presenting to his native county this portrait of his distinguished father has done well, in that he has at once performed an act of filial piety and conferred a public benefit; for whilst Col. Peyton has by this act given apt expression to the tender and loving relations which should exist between a dutiful son and honored parent, it must also be remembered that the father whom he loved so well was amongst the most distinguished of Augusta's adopted sons, and she is now given an opportunity of manifesting towards him those sentiments of affection and pride which a mother cherishes for her honored children. Individuals and families honor themselves in honoring their worthy ancestors, and communities and States offer the highest incentive to industry, virtue and patriotism by honoring the memory of those who have filled public stations with fidelity and with zeal for the public good."
Then Major Elder spoke of the great abilities and noble virtues of John Howe Peyton. It was the happy combination of both that made him the great and good man that he was. The good influence of such a character was ably presented, and the beneficial effect of the presence of the portrait of such a man in the court-room would have on the bar.
We regret that we have room only for a few brief extracts which we give as follows:—
"But we have been told by Capt. Bumgardner that Daniel Sheffey, a competent judge surely, in speaking of Mr. Peyton said: 'He possessed gigantic power without effort.' No greater compliment could be paid to the intellect of any man. Mr. Peyton had time enough to become great in his profession and to spare for other things. With him his daily work was a pleasure rather than a burden. Fortunate indeed is the man who is so gifted. The consciousness of the possession of such powers and the use of them in right directions must be a delight to their possessor."
"But it is the crowning excellence of him whose memory we honor to-day, that he was as pure, as noble in heart as he was great in mind. In him there was that fine and harmonious combination of high moral qualities and great intellectual powers which makes the model man. This combination of moral and intellectual qualities is what so greatly commended this man to the regard and esteem of his contemporaries, and in what still keeps his memory fresh."
"Well it is for the lawyers of the present day, and well it will be for those who are to follow them, that the portrait of such a lawyer should be ever looking down upon them from the walls of this hall of justice.
"Its presence here will be at once an inspiration and a restraint.
"With the form and features of John Marshall, the great expounder of the Federal Constitution and the founder of our Federal jurisprudence, and with the forms and features of such of his disciples as John H. Peyton, Thos. J. Michie and John B. Baldwin, ever before them, the lawyers who come here to practice their profession should not go wrong."
At the conclusion of Major Elder's speech, calls were made on Col. John L. Peyton, who arose and responded in a few brief remarks which can be found on another page of this book.
[From Yost's Weekly.]